Donald Trump may support Michael Jordan in the debate over the best player in NBA history, but it doesn’t seem like Jordan is taking the president’s side in the war of words between himself and LeBron James.
Trump insulted the intelligence of the best player in the NBA late Friday night, tweeting about an interview James gave to CNN. The end of the tweet said “I like Mike,” ostensibly a reference to Jordan. The president, in essence, was picking Jordan in the never-ending battle between people who like to argue about basketball, and it was meant to slight James.
The rub of the whole thing is that Trump doubted James and his intelligence in a week where he opened a full-funded public school in his hometown of Akron. But despite the vote of confidence in the GOAT battle, Jordan stood up for James and his philanthropic goals on Saturday in a statement given by a spokesperson to various members of the media.
NEW: Jordan sides with James over Trump tweet. NBA legend Michael Jordan tells NBC News through a spokesperson: "I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) August 4, 2018
James, for his part, had not responded to Trump’s tweet. On Saturday afternoon, though, he tweeted about his “I Promise” School and offered love for the kids attending it in Akron.
Last summer, James made national headlines when he called Trump a “bum” in a tweet after the president claimed to uninvited Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors from visiting the White House. Trump had never officially invited the NBA champions to Washington, plus Curry had already said they would not go.
