Trump was asked about the two players on the day James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. Trump plays golf with Jordan and calls him a friend.
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WASHINGTON – Asked how basketball star LeBron James is different from Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, President Donald Trump said, “Maybe he’s a racist.”
James is the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time champion and a four-time Olympic medalist.
He has played for teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers. On July 24, he made headlines when he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jordan, now retired, won six championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He took two years off when his baseball skills were at their peak.
Since James and Jordan did not play in the same era, fans debate who is the greatest player of all time.
Without mentioning basketball statistics, Trump put his thumb on the scale to evaluate Jordan.
“Michael Jordan is a friend of mine. Let’s play golf together. He’s a really nice guy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think LeBron is. Maybe he’s a racist. Maybe he doesn’t like Trump. But I only like people who like me, so I’ll always say Michael Jordan.”
Trump and James have a history.
James first criticized the president in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon. James said President Trump was “trying to use sports to divide us, and that doesn’t resonate with me.”
President Trump shot back on Twitter at the time, saying James was making Lemon look smart, even though the president called him “the stupidest man on TV.”
