When President Trump impugned NBA Superstar LeBron James’ intellect, tweeting Aug. 3 that Don Lemon, “the dumbest man on television … made LeBron look smart” during a CNN interview — even first lady Melania Trump came to James’ defense stating she believed he “is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation.”
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018
Asked if it bothers him that the president called him dumb, James just laughs.
“No, because I’m not,” he says. “That’s like somebody saying I can’t play ball. That doesn’t bother me at all. What bothers me is that he has time to even do that. He has the most powerful job in the world. Like, you really got this much time that you can comment on me?”
James has long been an outspoken voice in the national conversation on race.
When he was playing in Miami, he and his Heat teammates donned hoodies for a photo that served as a visual protest of the death of Trayvon Martin and Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
And he’s been unafraid to call out the frequent mendacities and insults emanating from Trump’s Twitter feed.
When he responded “U bum” after Trump claimed to un-invite Stephen Curry and the 2017 champion Golden State Warriors to the White House, it made national news and became the most retweeted athlete post of the year.
One reason James has the activist credibility he does — especially in the black community — is that he has not forgotten where he came from. In July, he opened the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Currently enrolled are 240 third- and fourth-graders, with the goal of having 1,200 students by 2022. So he’s not just throwing bombs on Twitter or donning T-shirts with slogans.