Donald Trump came out with another one of his polarizing statements recently, which did not sit well at all with Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
The former United States President attended a conference in South Carolina last week wherein he claimed that he earned the respect of a lot of Black folks because of his mug shot that was taken after his arrest for his role in the failed attempt to overturn the results of the presidential elections in 2020.
Sir Charles was having absolutely none of it.
Donald Trump Makes Bold Claim Over Mug Shot
Trump seemed proud of the fact that he was arrested a few years ago as he boasted about the impact it had on his reputation, particularly with the African American demographic:
“When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1,” Trump said at the Black Conservative Federation’s annual Honors Gala (h/t Yahoo Entertainment). “You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”
It would be hard to put words in the mouth of the former commander-in-chief, but the message seems to be along the lines of getting more street credit with Black folks because of his arrest and the subsequent mug shot.
Charles Barkley Fires Back
Barkley is not the type to keep his feelings to himself. He had to calm himself down a bit on a recent episode of CNN’s King Charles program before sharing his thoughts on Trump’s recent message. The former NBA MVP did not hold back:
“First of all, I’m just gonna say this: if I see a Black person walking around with Trump’s mugshot, I’m [gonna] punch him in the face,” he said.
"If I see a Black person walking around with a Trump mug shot, I’m gonna punch him in the face." – Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/g8sbf4AEMy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 4, 2024
His co-host, Gayle King, then reminded Barkley that he would get arrested for assault if he actually delivered on his promise. He clapped back by saying that he didn’t care and that he would gladly “bail myself out (of jail) and go celebrate.”
Barkley also said that he would have walked out of the summit if he were present when Trump said what he did.
After composing himself, Barkley then expressed why he believes Trump was being disrespectful towards Black people with his recent statement:
“To compare Black history, when we’ve been discriminated against, to his plight—first of all, he’s a billionaire, and they’re prosecuting him for stuff he did wrong. … Well, some of the stuff is true. They did storm the Capitol, they did say that the election was stolen. Those aren’t lies, Gayle.”
“He’s had a great life. He’s been President of the United States. To insult Black people who have been discriminated against all these years, to put them in the same category.” He added, “I was just offended.”
Sir Charles clearly isn’t a fan of the presidential hopeful.
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