Broadcasters directed to hide any crowd reactions during Trump’s US Open appearance

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Broadcasters covering the US Open men’s singles final have been asked not to air audience reactions to President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to attend the Sunday, September 7, championship match as a guest of tournament sponsor Rolex.

Tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg revealed Saturday that the US Tennis Association (USTA) sent an internal email instructing networks to censor potential protests or disruptions connected to Trump’s presence at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

USTA directs broadcasters to avoid disruptions or reactions during Trump's attendance

The message, obtained by Ben Rothenberg’s publication Bounces, stated “With respect to Broadcast Coverage, the President will be shown on the World Feed and the Ashe Court Feed during the opening anthem ceremony. We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage.”

Rothenberg wrote, “The USTA’s plan to show Trump during the anthem, one of the noisiest and bombastic portions of Sunday’s events, is already an effective way to insulate Trump from likely booing. But the preemptive instructions outlined by the USTA in this email - asking broadcasters to censor and avoid any possible protest or negative crowd reaction to Trump for television audiences watching around the world - is further complicity in broadcasting Trump’s desired stagecraft for his first appearance at the US Open in a decade.”

Trump last attended the US Open in September 2015, when he was still a presidential candidate. He was booed by spectators while watching a quarterfinal match between Venus and Serena Williams from his Trump Organization suite.

Responding to the criticism over the directive, USTA spokesperson Brian McIntyre told The Hill: “We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions.”

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Trump's attendance

When asked about competing before the president, Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz downplayed the impact.

“For me, playing in front of him — to be honest, I will try not to be focused, and I will try not to think about it. I don’t want myself to be nervous because of it. So, but I think, you know, attending the tennis match, I think it’s great for tennis to have the president into the final,” the 22-year-old told reporters.

Trump will sit in a suite sponsored by Rolex during the men’s final between Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, according to the Associated Press. The Swiss-based watchmaker is currently facing a 39 percent tariff on imports to the US.