President Trump told reporters LeBron James might be “a racist” just hours after the NBA superstar signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, reigniting a bitter, years-long feud with one of basketball’s biggest names.
Story Snapshot
- President Trump said LeBron James “maybe” is a racist during Oval Office remarks on Friday.
- Trump made the comment while naming Michael Jordan, not James, as basketball’s greatest player.
- Trump explained he prefers Jordan because “I only like people that like me.”
- The feud traces back to 2018, when James said Trump had “emboldened racists” in America.
- First Lady Melania Trump publicly sided with James during that earlier clash.
Trump Picks Jordan Over LeBron in Blunt Oval Office Remarks
Reporter Peter Doocy asked President Trump on Friday whether he thought LeBron James was better than Michael Jordan, on the same day James’s move to the Philadelphia 76ers became official. Trump did not hesitate. “I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump,” he told the room, before turning the conversation to his longtime friend Jordan instead.
Trump made clear his ranking came down to loyalty, not just skill on the court. “Michael Jordan’s a guy that’s a friend of mine. I play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said, adding plainly, “I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way”.
A Feud That Goes Back Years
This is not the first round of this fight. Back in 2018, James told reporters that Trump had given racists “a chance to be open and vocal without apprehension,” accusing the president of emboldening division across the country. Trump fired back at the time, calling James’s comments “racist rants” that were “divisive, unpleasant, insulting, and degrading”.
That earlier clash even reached the Trump family dinner table. First Lady Melania Trump publicly backed James after her husband’s 2018 remarks, siding with the basketball star just hours after the president’s comments made headlines. The split inside the Trump household showed even then how personal and unpredictable this rivalry had become for both sides.
Media and Fans React to the Latest Round
Outlets wasted no time framing Friday’s comment as a bombshell, with one report calling it a “shocking claim” made “right from the Oval Office”. For conservatives who have watched years of media outrage cycles, the coverage felt familiar: a blunt Trump quote gets clipped, amplified, and turned into a culture-war headline before anyone asks what actually started the feud in the first place.
(VIDEO) Trump Calls LeBron James a Racist When Asked if He’s Better Than Michael Jordan – “Maybe He’s a Racist, or Maybe He Doesn’t Like Trump”
Link in the comment section. pic.twitter.com/fPXB1sivcZ
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) July 24, 2026
Nothing in the public record shows Trump pointing to a specific act or statement proving James is racist, and James has not issued a direct denial of this exact charge. What is clear is a mutual, years-long war of words, one where James has repeatedly cast Trump as a racial villain and Trump has hit back just as hard. Readers deserve the full history, not just the loudest soundbite of the week.
Sources:
cnn.com, tmz.com, bbc.com, washingtonexaminer.com, thehill.com, facebook.com
