There is no love lost between Donald Trump and LeBron James, and that extends to the president’s supporters as well.
On Monday, less than 24 hours until Election Day, Trump held a campaign rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania when his speech naturally turned to the important issue of NBA ratings.
“How about basketball? How about LeBron? I felt badly for LeBron,” Trump said, per TMZ Sports. “I felt very badly. [Ratings] down 71% and that’s for their championship – I didn’t want to watch one shot.”
Ratings have been down across all sports, with some pointing to the pandemic and contentious election as factors for the dip, while others say they are tuning out due to many athletes expressing their feelings about important issues plaguing the country.
“When they don’t respect our country, when they don’t respect our flag, nobody wants to watch,” Trump said. “Nobody!”
This elicited a “LeBron James sucks” chant throughout the crowd.
James has been the face of social activism among NBA players and a critic of Trump’s since he ran against Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Los Angeles Lakers star has been active within the community during the election cycle as well, supporting Democratic nominee Joe Biden and spearheading an initiative to help Black citizens register to vote with his More Than a Vote campaign.
James and the NBA have been a target of Trump’s as well, with the president recently referring to the All-Star as a “very nasty spokesman” and often criticizing the league for its players’ support of Black Lives Matter. Many players decided to follow the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick and kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and injustice this season.
At one point during the season, players decided to boycott their games in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which Trump criticized by pointing to the league's ratings.
Trump attempted to change the subject to the NFL, another favorite target of his as he went through the same lines about the flag and anthem, but the anti-LeBron chants only grew louder.
“What a crowd,” Trump said. “What a crowd.”
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