Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, thought she had a picture-perfect moment on her hands when she posted a video of Donald Trump at the U.S. Open men’s final Sunday night. Instead, her attempt at a feel-good highlight quickly became meme material.
The clip, shared on X, shows Trump autographing bright red hats and lofting them into a crowd of eager hands. Leavitt captioned it with full-throttle admiration: “The People’s President and the coolest boss ever. Signing hats for fans at the #USOpen.”
The goal was clear: showcase Trump as a crowd favorite in the middle of one of the year’s biggest sporting events. His loyal supporters ate it up, calling the moment proof that he’s still a magnetic draw. But detractors didn’t take long to spot the disconnect. While pockets of fans were cheering, large parts of the stadium were raining down boos.
The People’s President and the coolest boss ever. Signing hats for fans at the #USOpen 😎🎾 pic.twitter.com/RKFyHLOQqL
— Karoline Leavitt (@karolineleavitt) September 7, 2025
When Donald Trump’s face appeared on the big screen at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the crowd wasted no time making its opinion known. Boos echoed through the arena, loud enough to drown out the pockets of applause.
The jeering didn’t stop there. Throughout the evening, every appearance drew another round of disapproval, with the loudest moment erupting during the national anthem when the Jumbotron spotlighted him again.
Online, however, Trump loyalists painted a very different picture. Karoline Leavitt’s video was shared as supposed proof of his lasting star power, with comments like “undeniable proof of his popularity” flooding pro-Trump accounts.
The clip of Trump signing red hats and tossing them into eager hands was celebrated by his fans as if it were a rock concert highlight. But for many who were actually in the stands, the sound of boos told a story that was far less flattering.
Outside Trump’s inner circle, the video landed very differently. To many viewers, it looked less like a spontaneous moment and more like political theater, especially with the sound of boos overwhelming the cheers.
Critics were quick to pounce, accusing Karoline Leavitt of polishing the image while ignoring what most of the crowd was actually doing. One reply summed it up bluntly: “If he’s the people’s president, why is the stadium booing so loudly?”
This was hardly Trump’s first cold welcome at a major sporting event. Back in 2019, he was loudly booed at the World Series, and later the same year he faced a similar reception at a UFC fight in Madison Square Garden.
The scene at the U.S. Open followed the same script. Loyal fans showed excitement, but the larger crowd made sure their disapproval was heard just as forcefully.
At just 27, Karoline Leavitt has become one of Trump’s most prominent defenders, using social media as her main stage. Her posts regularly cast him as a man of the people, even when the scene on the ground tells a more complicated story.
Her latest caption, calling Trump “the coolest boss ever,” followed that same formula. This time, though, the reaction showed that plenty of viewers were not convinced.
Trump’s visit to the U.S. Open was not part of the official program, which fueled speculation that he is still searching for ways to connect with broader audiences as the 2024 election approaches. The moment felt less like a surprise appearance and more like a test run.
Whether the boos make any difference to his base is another matter. For loyal supporters, the lasting image is not the jeers but Trump smiling, signing hats, and tossing them into a sea of red caps.
For plenty of people in the crowd, the most striking part of the night was not the hat toss or the cheering fans. It was the wave of boos that rolled through Arthur Ashe Stadium whenever Trump appeared on the screen.
That chorus of disapproval at one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events may be the image that lingers. More than the souvenirs or the smiles, it was the sound of thousands voicing their rejection in unison, according to WomenzMag.
