Trump clobbered after claiming NBA GOAT contender might be ‘a racist’

PoliticsPresident Donald Trump spurred outrage after claiming new Philadelphia 76ers superstar LeBron James might be "a racist." (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)APBy Howard Koplowitz | hkoplowitz@al.comPresident Donald Trump is drowning in criticism online after claiming new Philadelphia 76ers superstar LeBron James 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.Off the court, James has been a critic of the president, mocking Trump’s election loss in 2020 by posting a meme of Joe Biden blocking Trump’s shot. James’ post superimposed Biden’s face on James’ body and Trump’s face on Andre Iguodala. The president’s response was widely condemned by his critics, some of whom lobbed the attack against Trump as the president did against James.“Racist claims LeBron James is racist," posted the anti-Trump X account PatriotTakes. “Republicans legit can’t go a day without making it about race,” added Isaiah Martin.The X account for Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee suggested James’ social media post is living rent-free in Trump’s head:Democrat demands House investigate Trump’s ties to Tate brothers, subpoena BarronTrump doubles down on ‘insane’ Iran war death toll remarks, gets slapped with fact checkGOP senator sounds off on Trump’s Iran war, warns of midterm backlash: ‘We’re worse off’Trump makes ‘bats--- crazy’ claim that ‘communists’ want to ‘blow up’ a US landmarkTrump elicits shock after claiming fallen US troops said these 8 words: ‘Very sick individual’Howard Koplowitz is AL.com's Breaking & Trending Reporter for afternoons and nights. He has been with AL.com since 2015 and has served in a variety of roles, ranging from coverage of Donald Trump's first...