President Donald Trump faced renewed accusations of racism Saturday after mocking the intelligence of Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James and broadcaster Don Lemon of CNN.
Trump took to Twitter late Friday night to bash Lemon after his interview Monday with James, and ended up slandering the celebrity athlete too. In the interview, James reiterated his criticism of the president as racially insensitive.
"Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!" Trump posted, apparently in reference to former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
Trump's criticism of the intelligence of James and Lemon, who are both black, comes after he has repeatedly referred to Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., one of the most prominent African-American members of Congress and a fervent Trump critic, as being "an extraordinarily low IQ person." The president's attack on Waters as "low IQ" has become a staple of his political rallies, as recently as Thursday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and it routinely gets cheers.
During his campaign and presidency, Trump frequently has used racially charged language, particularly in talking about Latino immigrants. He faced his strongest backlash nearly a year ago for not immediately condemning the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., during a march by white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and equating them with anti-racism protesters who turned out.
Trump also has been outspoken in slamming black NFL players for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem as a protest of police brutality and racial injustice. His frequent comments on that topic have led some professional sports teams, such as the Golden State Warriors, to decline the traditional congratulatory White House visit after winning a championship.
Trump's post about James drew immediate criticism on social media, particularly given that James was in the news last week for opening a school for at-risk children in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, funded by his foundation. That school opening was the basis for Lemon's CNN interview.
Lemon made that connection in responding to Trump's attack, asking in a Twitter post Saturday morning, "Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?"
Lemon, who did not address the president's attack against himself, was referring to the Trump administration's controversial "zero tolerance" policy of separating as many as 3,000 immigrant children from their parents as they crossed the southern border. Some of the children were held in cages. Under pressure, and a federal court order, Trump rescinded the policy but hundreds of families remain apart.
James has called Trump a "bum" on Twitter and campaigned for his Democratic opponent in 2016, Hillary Clinton.
In the CNN interview, James said he called Trump a bum because "he kinda used sports to kinda divide us. And that's something that I can't relate to because I know that sports was the first time I was around someone white."
James said he has felt a need to respond to Trump's attacks against NFL anthem protests and decisions by athletes to skip White House visits.
"I can't sit back and say nothing," James said.
Asked what he would say to Trump if they were to sit face-to-face, James responded, "I would never sit across from him."
Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, James' home state, who is frequently at odds with Trump, came to James' defense Saturday. Instead of criticizing James, Kasich said on Twitter that "we should be celebrating him for his charity work and efforts to help kids."
James remains popular in Ohio, even after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, for a second time, via free agency to join the Lakers.
James led the Cavaliers to the NBA championship in 2016, the first for the franchise and the first in any major professional sport for the city in more than 50 years.
