CLEVELAND — It came out of nowhere -- but when it happened -- President Donald Trump seemed to enjoy it. Holding a rally in Avoca, Pennsylvania on the eve of the Election, Trump took aim at low NBA television ratings for the Finals and then Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
After the president went at James, Trump supporters began chanting, 'LeBron James sucks' to which the president replied, "What a crowd. What a crowd."
Prior to the chants, Trump went in on the NBA.
"How about basketball? How about LeBron? I felt badly for LeBron," Trump said. "I felt very badly. Down 71 percent and that's for their championship — I didn't watch one shot."
Trump was holding a series of rallies on Monday right before Election Day in hopes of boosting support. The final NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll, which was released Sunday, shows Joe Biden leading President Trump by 10 points nationally.
This isn't the first time Trump has gone after James. The president has commented before on the fact that James supported Hillary Clinton on her campaign trail back in 2016.
More recently, the president and the Akron native clashed over NBA players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in the aftermath of George Floyd's death at the hands of police during the summer.
Trump called the act "disgraceful" and said he turns off any game in which a player kneels during the national anthem.
"I really don't think the basketball community [is] sad about losing his viewership, him viewing the game," James said.
The 4-time MVP later added: "I hope everyone, no matter the race, no matter the color, no matter the size, will see what leadership that we have at the top in our country and understand that November is right around the corner and it's a big moment for us as Americans. If we continue to talk about, 'We want better. We want change,' we have an opportunity to do that. But the game will go on without his eyes on it. I can sit here and speak for all of us that love the game of basketball: We could care less."
