LeBron James has poked fun at Donald Trump after the president called him a “total disgrace” over footage appearing to show the NBA star practicing his golf swing during the national anthem.
The video went viral earlier this week, shortly after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks on the opening day of the new season.
In the footage, James appeared to mime a golf swing and work on his free-throw technique while The Star-Spangled Banner played at Madison Square Garden.
Trump, who has repeatedly criticized James, responded with a furious post about the NBA legend on Truth Social on Thursday.
“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE,” the president wrote. “LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”
Asked about Trump’s remarks after the 76ers’ dramatic comeback victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 41-year-old James offered a short response. “It must be a slow news day at the office, you know,” he said.
LeBron James mocked Donald Trump after the president branded him a “total disgrace”
The president criticized the NBA legend for appearing to practice his golf swing during the national anthem
Trump renewed his attack on the NBA superstar during a rally in Iowa on Thursday night.
“During the national anthem, he’s practicing his golf swing… what the hell is that?” Trump asked as the crowd booed James. “It’s a big scandal… what it’s all about? I don’t understand it.”
The latest exchange is another episode in the long-running feud between Trump and the four-time NBA champion, which dates back to 2017, when James called Trump a “bum.”
Earlier this year, Trump launched another extraordinary attack on James, just hours after the 41-year-old announced that he would sign with the 76ers.
With James’ 24th NBA season confirmed, Trump was asked to give his view on the debate over basketball’s greatest player of all time.
“Michael Jordan’s a guy that’s a friend of mine, I’ve played golf with him,” Trump said.
“He’s a really good guy and I think LeBron is – maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump, I don’t know – but I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
James, 41, has regularly used his public platform to criticize Trump. He has also endorsed Democratic candidates and supported voting-rights initiatives across the United States.
Trump launched an extraordinary attack on James this summer, saying “maybe he’s a racist”
Trump and James previously exchanged heated remarks on social media in 2018
Their dispute entered the national spotlight during Trump’s first presidency, after he withdrew an invitation to the White House for Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry when Curry expressed reluctance to attend.
James quickly defended his rival, directing a message at Trump on Twitter: “U bum, Steph Curry already said he ain’t going! So, therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
The public spat escalated in 2018 when Trump announced he was pre-emptively banning both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors from visiting the nation’s capital following that year’s NBA Finals.
Refusing to be fazed, James swiftly shut down the snub, declaring at the time: ‘Winning a championship is way bigger than getting invited to the White House, especially with him in it.’
Later that year, James voiced his frustration with the President’s leadership during an interview with ESPN, admitting it made him ‘sick’ to see how Trump handled the moral authority of the Oval Office.
‘He doesn’t understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country,’ James said at the time. ‘He doesn’t understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the President of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn’t understand that, and that’s what makes me more sick than anything.’
James’s political opposition to Trump stretches back to 2016, when he penned an emotional op-ed for his local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal, endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
Reflecting on his childhood in a single-parent home, James argued that Clinton was the only candidate who truly understood the plight of underprivileged youth, praising her as a champion for children alongside his ‘good friend’ Barack Obama.
James’ political opposition to Trump stretches back to 2016, when he penned an emotional op-ed for his local newspaper, the Akron Beacon Journal, endorsing Hillary Clinton for president
James and the Sixers spoiled the Knicks’ banner raising party with a 106-100 victory Tuesday
James joined the Sixers over the summer after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
On Thursday night, boos rained down before halftime of James’ first home game – before the 76ers mounted the biggest comeback of his glittering career to secure victory.
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, James’ former team and hometown franchise, Philadelphia fell 27 points down inside the second quarter.
That prompted some fans inside Xfinity Mobile Arena to boo their team before halftime. At one point, Cleveland’s lead was 29 and ESPN analytics gave Philadelphia just a 1.3 percent chance of victory.
But the Sixers refused to cave and turned the game on its head in the second half. After Philadelphia’s biggest comeback of the modern era, James and Co won 114-106.
‘It was everything that I dreamed of and more,’ the four-time NBA champion said. ‘The boos, that was amazing. We deserved it. And then we got the cheers and almost blew the roof off this thing tonight in a good way. So that was a hell of a night.’
