Trump takes aim at LeBron
President Donald Trump has reopened his long-running feud with LeBron James by making a striking claim about the basketball star.
Trump was asked at the White House whether James or Michael Jordan should be considered the greatest player in NBA history.
Instead of focusing only on their sporting records, Trump turned the question into a personal attack on James.
“Maybe he’s a racist”
According to Adam Cancryn’s report for CNN, Trump said:
Read also: Trump wants another US World Cup immediately but faces a 12-year wait
“Well, Michael Jordan’s a guy that’s a friend of mine. I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump. I don’t know, but I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
Trump offered no evidence to support the accusation. James had not publicly responded when the original report was published.
Jordan gets Trump’s vote
Trump said his choice was shaped partly by his personal relationship with Jordan.
He described the six-time NBA champion as a friend and said the pair had played golf together. His answer made clear that James’s political opposition had influenced his view.
Read also: Dani Olmo accuses Roberto Ayala of lying over World Cup final apology
Jordan won six championships and five regular-season MVP awards, while James has won four of each. James is also the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
LeBron makes shock move to Philadelphia
The comments came only hours after James announced that he would leave the Los Angeles Lakers and join the Philadelphia 76ers.
As described by Natasha Dye for People, the 41-year-old had seriously considered retirement before deciding to continue.
His next campaign will be a record-breaking 24th season in the NBA. James spent the previous eight seasons with the Lakers.
Read also: Manchester City plot €80m Pedro Neto raid as Maresca eyes Chelsea reunion
A feud stretching back a decade
The clash between Trump and James began well before the latest White House comments.
James backed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, writing that “we need a president who brings us together and keeps us unified.”
He later supported Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024, placing himself firmly against Trump in three consecutive elections.
The “U bum” post
Their dispute became more personal in September 2017 after Trump withdrew a White House invitation to the Golden State Warriors.
Read also: The truth behind football’s biggest Ballon d’Or misconception
James responded directly on social media:
“U bum. Going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
The post became one of the most memorable attacks on Trump by an American sports star.
Trump mocked his intelligence
Trump hit back the following year after James appeared in an interview with CNN presenter Don Lemon.
Read also: “I’m not joking”: Richards reveals when he will quit television
During the interview, James criticised Trump’s treatment of Black athletes who protested racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.
Trump later wrote that the conversation had “made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.”
James backed Harris in 2024
James again made his political position clear before the 2024 election.
“When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me,” he wrote while endorsing Kamala Harris.
As quoted by Lawrence Ostlere in The Independent, the post included a video criticising Trump’s rhetoric. Harris later lost the election to Trump.
Politics overshadows the sporting debate
Arguments over James and Jordan usually centre on championships, individual awards and their influence on different NBA eras.
Trump’s answer shifted the focus away from basketball and back towards his personal dispute with James.
For James, attention will now turn to Philadelphia and one final attempt to win another championship. For Trump, the latest remark has added another chapter to a feud that has already lasted almost a decade.
