LeBron James’ decision this summer has transcended the basketball world, and many believe its impact will be felt for years to come. For others, like U.S. President Donald Trump, it’s just another stop in what has been a highly overrated career.
Speaking with the media on Friday, Trump was asked about LeBron joining the 76ers and what it means for the GOAT debate. In his usual fashion, he explained that Michael Jordan is still the best in his eyes, based mostly on the fact that they seem to get along behind the scenes, evidenced by private golf games that nobody knew about.
“Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine,” said Trump. “I golf with him; he’s a really good guy. I think LeBron, maybe, is a racist; maybe he doesn’t like Trump. But I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
It may be true that James is no fan of Trump, but claims of him being racist are a stretch too far given there’s no actual evidence. While James may lean more liberal/progressive in his beliefs, we know he doesn’t have any prejudice against any particular race. Even if he did, it wouldn’t necessarily have any bearing on his impact as a basketball player.
Notably, the President did not provide any basketball reasoning to his argument. Despite the fact that Michael is 6-0 in the Finals, with career averages of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 49.7% shooting from the field, Trump did not mention that when arguing for him over LeBron. He also didn’t mention Jordan’s cultural impact, which remains unmatched to this day.
Instead, Trump cited his personal relationship with Jordan, which he classifies as friendly. There’s always been mutual respect there, which is the opposite of Trump’s dynamic with LeBron. In fact, over the years, Trump has been one of the King’s most vocal and outspoken critics, and this isn’t the first time he’s called him a racist. He has said openly that he doesn’t like LeBron, and his son, Trump Jr., went so far as to call LeBron the “biggest b*tch in pro sports.” At several points, Donald has publicly mocked LeBron, downplaying his on-court impact. Even when the King won the NBA Finals in 2020, Trump took a highly critical approach, pointing to relatively low viewership of the series.
It’s unclear what started this beef between Trump and James, but it likely involves their differences in politics. Since Trump took office in 2016, he’s been a highly controversial figure, and James has opposed him at several points. One famous example is during Trump’s re-election campaign, when James endorsed his democratic opposition, Kamala Harris.
Whatever the case, Donald Trump has made it perfectly clear what he thinks of LeBron, and nothing he does going forward is going to change that. That’s why he will always be team Jordan, and it just goes to show how some fans measure greatness with factors that have nothing to do with the game. Fortunately, LeBron won’t be losing any sleep over Trump’s comments, especially with so much hype surrounding his change of scenery.
