RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesIt’s no secret that ESPN host Stephen A. Smith and NBA star LeBron James don’t get along.
On Monday, Smith defended James after President Donald Trump called James “racist” last week when taking questions from reporters.
This, even for a hot take machine like Smith, was “beyond the pale.”
“It’s embarrassing,” Smith said in a video posted on YouTube . “You’re the commander-in-chief, you’re the president of the United States, and you’re going to come out and you’re going to call this black man, who’s universally recognized one of the greatest athletes who have ever lived, who has been an upstanding citizen, somebody I don’t get along with, and I’m still willing to concede he’s great.”
Smith argued that Trump is resorting to calling James racist simply because James has never supported Trump politically.
James endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and Kamala Harris in 2024.
“The only Democratic candidate LeBron James ever really stood up for was Barack Obama,” Smith said. “Everything since then has basically been anti-Trump over the last three elections.”
Last week, Trump claimed new Philadelphia 76ers superstar might be “a racist” after weighing in on the debate over who is the greatest basketball player of all time.
When Trump responded to the question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy on Friday, the president pointed to his personal relationship and not statistics to settle the debate between James and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
“Well, Michael Jordan’s a guy that’s a friend of mine — play golf with him. He’s a really good guy. And 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 said.
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