President Donald Trump on Friday proposed that LeBron James is "racist" simply because "he doesn't like Trump."
Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Trump to settle the LeBron vs. Michael Jordan debate, prompted by James's announcement that he is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Doocy wanted to know Trump where he stood on LeBron versus Jordan as the greatest player of all time.
"Well, Michael Jordan is a guy that's a friend of mine, playing golf with him. He's a really good guy," Trump said. "And I think LeBron is — maybe he's a racist, but maybe he doesn't like Trump. I don't know. But I only like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way."
Back in August 2018, after James told CNN's Don Lemon that Trump was using sports to divide the country, Trump fired back on X with a midnight post questioning James's intelligence.
"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!" Trump wrote.
"I support LJ," Jordan said in a statement at the time. "He's doing an amazing job for his community."
James had first gone after Trump a year before that, in September 2017, after Trump rescinded the Golden State Warriors' White House invitation over Stephen Curry's reluctance to attend.
"U bum @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!" James wrote on X. According to Twitter, it was the most retweeted post by any athlete that year.
James, who turns 42 in December, signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers.