LeBron James called Donald Trump a “bum” on Saturday morning after the president tweeted that he had withdrawn Steph Curry’s invitation to the White House. James followed up by saying that “Going to the White House was a great honor until you [Trump] showed up.”
U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017
James later elaborated on his comments in a video for Uninterrupted:
"It’s not about dividing. We as American people need to come together even stronger.” — @KingJames responds to @realDonaldTrump’s comments. pic.twitter.com/UHpzXpb42K
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) September 23, 2017
“I think it’s basically at a point where I’m kind of, just a little frustrated, man. This guy who we’ve put in charge has tried to divide us right again. Obviously, we all know what happened with Charlottesville and the divide that caused. Now, it’s even hitting home for me more because he’s now using sports as the platform to try to divide us.
We all know how much sports brings us together, how much passion it has, how much we love and care, the friendships and everything it creates. For him to use this platform to divide us even more is not something I can stand for and is not something I can be quiet about.
You look at him asking the NFL owners to get their players off the field because they’re exercising their rights. That’s not right.
And then, when I wake up, I see that a colleague of mine has been uninvited from something that he didn’t even want to go to in the first place, to the White House. That’s just something I can’t stand for, man.
We got Jemele Hill, Colin Kaepernick, all these people are speaking up, and it’s for the greater cause. It’s for us to all come together. It’s not about a division. It’s not about dividing. We, as the American people, need to come together even more stronger, man.
Because this is a very critical time, and me being in the position that I am, I had to voice this to y’all.
Love y’all, man.”
Trump had withdrawn Curry’s invitation even though the Warriors’ point guard said a day earlier that he wouldn’t have attended anyway.
Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
The White House had never formally invited the Warriors when Trump announced that he was withdrawing Curry’s invitation.
This isn’t the first tweet James has sent out against Trump. Just a month ago, James lashed out at Trump on Twitter, saying that the President “Made hate fashionable again.”
The Warriors released a statement in response to Trump’s tweets:
Golden State Warriors release statement on Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/VmdNKqLBrs
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 23, 2017