President Donald Trump fumed about basketball star LeBron James on Truth Social Thursday, accusing the athlete of disrespecting the nation by continuing his warm-up routine during a pregame performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
In a post paired with a video of James swinging his arms and appearing to practice his shot ahead of his Tuesday night debut with the Philadelphia 76ers, Trump wrote, “While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country!”
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“I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE,” the president said of James, someone he’s publicly clashed with in the past.
“LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag and all that our Country stands for!”
Trump: "While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE. LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that… pic.twitter.com/zxnO4CBZTP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 22, 2026
James and Trump have a history of trading insults. The NBA veteran, who campaigned for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, knocked the president’s reaction to Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, saying he’d vote against visiting the White House if Trump invited the team to celebrate their 2017 championship.
“U bum,” James posted on X. “@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!”
Trump sneered when asked whether he thought James or NBA legend Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time back in July, saying he thought James may be “racist” and that, “I only like people that like me.”