Trump's US Open visit sparks boos and long security lines

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was loudly booed at the men's final of the U.S. Open on Sunday, where extra security caused by his visit led to lines long enough that many people missed the start of play, even after organizers delayed it.

Wearing a suit and long, red tie, Trump briefly emerged from his suite about 45 minutes before the match started and heard a mix of boos and cheers from an Arthur Ashe Stadium that was still mostly empty. No announcement proceeded his appearance, and it was brief enough that some in the crowd missed it.

Trump appeared again to more boos before the National Anthem. Standing in salute, the president was shown briefly on the arena's big screens during the anthem, and offered a smirk that briefly made the boos louder.

When the anthem was over, the Republican pointed to a small group of supporters seated nearby, then sat on the suite's balcony to watch the match intently. He mostly didn't applaud, even following major points that energized the rest of the crowd as Spain's Carlos Alcaraz bested Jannik Sinner of Italy.

Trump was shown on the big screen again after the first set ended, and elicited a roar of louder boos and some piercing whistles. He raised his left fist in salute as the noise continued in the stadium, which with a capacity of 24,000 is one of the largest in tennis.

The president later moved back inside the suite, where he was seen seated at a table with family members and appeared to be eating, but he was back in his seat shortly before match point. Cameras briefly flashed on Trump as Alcaraz celebrated, but his reaction to the conclusion was as muted as it had been throughout most of the match. This time, there was little crowd reaction, too.

Organizers pushed the start of the match back half an hour to give people more time to pass through enhanced screening checkpoints reminiscent of security at airports. Still, thousands of increasingly frustrated fans remained in line outside as the match got underway. Many seats, especially those in upper rows, stayed empty for nearly an hour.

The Secret Service issued a statement saying that protecting Trump “required a comprehensive effort” and noting that it “may have contributed to delays for attendees.”

“We sincerely thank every fan for their patience and understanding,” it said.

Trump attended the final as a guest of Rolex, despite imposing steep tariffs on the Swiss watchmaker's home country. The U.S. Tennis Association also tried to limit negative reaction to Trump's attendance being shown on ABC’s national telecast, saying in a statement before play began: "We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions.”

The reactions to Trump didn't ultimately constitute big disruptions, though.

Going to the U.S. Open was the latest example of Trump having built the bulk of his second term’s domestic travel around attending major sports events rather than hitting the road to make policy announcements or address the kind of large rallies he so relished as a candidate.

Since returning to the White House in January and prior to Sunday’s U.S Open swing, Trump has gone to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500, as well as UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Some of those crowds cheered him, but people booed him at other events.

The president accepted Rolex’s invitation despite his administration imposing a whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products. That's more than 2 1/2 times higher than levies on European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S.

The White House declined to comment on Trump accepting a corporate client's invitation at the tournament, but the president has had few qualms about blurring lines between political and foreign policy decisions and efforts to boost the profits of his family business. He's tirelessly promoted his cryptocurrency interests and luxury golf properties, and even announced that the U.S. will host the Group of 20 summit in December 2026 at his Doral golf resort in Florida.

No large street protests against Trump could be seen from the tournament's main stadium on Sunday. But attendees also steered clear of wearing any of the the Republican's signature “Make America Great Again” caps.

A 58-year-old tennis fan originally from Turin, Italy, came from her home in the Boston area to watch the final and said that when she bought a U.S. Open cap, she went with a fuchsia-hued one so it wouldn’t be mistaken for the signature darker color of MAGA hats.

“I was careful not to get the red one,” said the fan, who declined to give her name because of her employer's rules about being publicly quoted.

Among those attending with Trump were White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff. Trump spent various portions of the match engaged in conversation with many of those around him.

Elsewhere in the crowd were a slew of celebrities — some of whom publicly backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris during last year's election. Among them were Pink, Bruce Springsteen and Shonda Rhimes. In pre-match interviews shown on large stadium screens with the likes of Martha Stewart and Jon Hamm, the questions asked stuck to tennis and pop culture — not Trump and politics.

The president nonetheless was excited enough about his trip to tell reporters on Air Force One during the flight to New York when the plane flew over Ashe stadium — though the covered roof kept those inside from reacting.

Trump was once a U.S. Open mainstay, but hadn't attended since he was booed at a quarterfinals match in September 2015, months after launching his first presidential campaign.

The Trump Organization once controlled its own U.S. Open suite, which was adjacent to the stadium's television broadcasting booth, but suspended it in 2017, during the first year of Trump’s first term. The family business is now being run by Trump’s sons with their father back in the White House.

Trump was born in Queens, home of the U.S. Open, and for decades was a New York-area real estate mogul and, later, a reality TV star. Attending the tournament before he was a politician, he usually sat in his company's suite’s balcony during night matches and was frequently shown on the arena’s video screens.

President Donald Trump talks with Steve Witkoff before the start of the the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

President Donald Trump attends the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

President Donald Trump, right, Steve Witkoff, center, and U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, watch play between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Fans react to President Donald Trump during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

President Donald Trump, joined by Steve Witkoff, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, Lindsey Halligan, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, and Arabella Kushner, watches play between Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, and Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Flushing, N.Y. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Flushing, N.Y. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the US Open tennis men's singles final Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Flushing, N.Y. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump deplanes Air Force One as he arrives at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump speaks after deplaning Air Force One as he arrives at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Md., to board Air Force One, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen during a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

HAMIMA, Syria (AP) — A trickle of civilians left a contested area east of Aleppo on Thursday after a warning by the Syrian military to evacuate ahead of an anticipated government military offensive against Kurdish-led forces.

Government officials and some residents who managed to get out said the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces prevented people from leaving via the corridor designated by the military along the main road leading west from the town of Maskana through Deir Hafer to the town of Hamima.

The SDF denied the reports that they were blocking the evacuation.

In Hamima, ambulances and government officials were gathered beginning early in the morning waiting to receive the evacuees and take them to shelters, but few arrived.

Farhat Khorto, a member of the executive office of Aleppo Governorate who was waiting there, claimed that there were "nearly two hundred civilian cars and hundreds of people who wanted to leave” the Deir Hafer area but that they were prevented by the SDF. He said the SDF was warning residents they could face “sniping operations or booby-trapped explosives” along that route.

Some families said they got out of the evacuation zone by taking back roads or going part of the distance on foot.

“We tried to leave this morning, but the SDF prevented us. So we left on foot … we walked about seven to eight kilometers until we hit the main road, and there the civil defense took us and things were good then,” said Saleh al-Othman, who said he fled Deir Hafer with more than 50 relatives.

Yasser al-Hasno, also from Deir Hafer, said he and his family left via back roads because the main routes were closed and finally crossed a small river on foot to get out of the evacuation area.

Another Deir Hafer resident who crossed the river on foot, Ahmad al-Ali, said, “We only made it here by bribing people. They still have not allowed a single person to go through the main crossing."

Farhad Shami, a spokesman for the SDF, said the allegations that the group had prevented civilians from leaving were “baseless.” He suggested that government shelling was deterring residents from moving.

The SDF later issued a statement also denying that it had blocked civilians from fleeing. It said that “any displacement of civilians under threat of force by Damascus constitutes a war crime" and called on the international community to condemn it.

“Today, the people of Deir Hafer have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to their land and homes, and no party can deprive them of their right to remain there under military pressure,” it said.

The Syrian army’s announcement late Wednesday — which said civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday — appeared to signal plans for an offensive against the SDF in the area east of Aleppo. Already there have been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides.

Thursday evening, the military said it would extend the humanitarian corridor for another day.

The Syrian military called on the SDF and other armed groups to withdraw to the other side of the Euphrates River, to the east of the contested zone. The SDF controls large swaths of northeastern Syria east of the river.

The tensions in the Deir Hafer area come after several days of intense clashes last week in Aleppo city that ended with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters and government forces taking control of three contested neighborhoods.

The fighting broke out as negotiations have stalled between Damascus and the SDF over an agreement reached last March to integrate their forces and for the central government to take control of institutions including border crossings and oil fields in the northeast.

Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, which was formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkey-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The SDF for years has been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with Kurdish separatist insurgents in Turkey.

Despite the long-running U.S. support for the SDF, the Trump administration has also developed close ties with the government of interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and has so far avoided publicly taking sides in the clashes in Aleppo.

Ilham Ahmed, head of foreign relations for the SDF-affiliated Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria, at a press conference Thursday said SDF officials were in contact with the United States and Turkey and had presented several initiatives for de-escalation. She said that claims by Damascus that the SDF had failed to implement the March agreement were false.

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Associated Press journalist Hogir Al Abdo in Qamishli, Syria, contributed.

Members of the Syrian military police stand at a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense, stand next to their vehicles at a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A displaced Syrian family rides in the back of a truck near a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army next to a river in the village of Rasm Al-Abboud, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Displaced Syrian children and women ride in the back of a truck near a humanitarian crossing declared by the Syrian army in the village of Hamima, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Displaced Syrians at a river crossing near the village of Jarirat al Imam, in the eastern Aleppo countryside, near the front line with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)