President Donald Trump renewed his public feud with LeBron James on Oct. 22, accusing the NBA superstar of disrespecting the national anthem and calling him “a terrible person” and “a completely disgraceful individual.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said James was “disrespecting our country” during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and said James “should apologize to the great American soldiers and heroes who sacrificed their lives for the U.S. flag and all the values our country represents.”
The post included video that Trump said showed James on Oct. 20 appearing to practice golf swings and jump shots while the anthem played before a game.
James, a four-time NBA champion and one of the most prominent athlete-activists in the United States, has clashed publicly with Trump for years. He supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and campaigned with her.
In 2017, after Trump criticized NFL players who protested racial injustice, James said Trump “tried to use sports to divide us” and added, “I will not allow a single person, no matter how much power they hold, to use sports as a means to divide people.” That year he also referred to Trump on Twitter as “U bum.”
In 2020, when NBA players knelt during the national anthem to protest racial discrimination, Trump said, “When I see players taking a knee, I just turn off the TV.” James responded, “I don’t think the basketball world would miss him if he doesn’t watch the games.”
The dispute has continued in recent months. In July, asked whether he considered James or Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time, Trump chose Jordan and said, “LeBron might be a racist, or maybe he just hates Trump.”
Neither James nor his representatives had publicly responded to Trump’s latest post as of Oct. 22.
