(NEW YORK) — The White House said it didn’t ask the U.S. Tennis Association to censor reactions to President Donald Trump during his attendance at the U.S. Open over the weekend.
“That’s not true,” a White House official told ABC News on Sunday. “We did not ask anyone to censor.”
USTA officials earlier responded to a report that they had asked broadcasters to censor any reactions or protests aimed at Trump as he appeared at the tournament’s men’s final in New York on Sunday.
“We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre told ABC News.
The Athletic, a sports publication from The New York Times, published a report on Saturday that described a USTA memo to broadcasters. The Athletic reported that it had reviewed the memo.
“We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity,” the USTA said in the memo, according to The Athletic.
The president drew boos and some cheers when he arrived at Arthur Ashe stadium in Queens, where Trump grew up.
Trump, arriving back at Joint Base Andrews after the championship match, said he “really enjoyed” it and said the fans were “great.”
“I loved it. First of all, the two players have unbelievable talent. It just seemed they hit the ball harder than I’ve ever seen before. Incredible talent and I enjoyed it. I used to go all the time but, you know, lately, it’s a little bit more difficult. I really enjoyed it.”
Trump said the “fans were really nice.”
“I didn’t know what to expect. Usually, you would say that would be a somewhat progressive, as they say nowadays, crowd. Sometimes — some people would call it liberal. But we’ll use the word they like to use, progressive. But they were great, the fans were great.”
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