LeBron James Brushes Off Donald Trump’s Fury Over National Anthem Controversy

President Donald Trump accused the Sixers star of disrespecting the country for stretching and making a shooting motion during the national anthem at Tuesday’s season opener against New York.

The president kept up the criticism during a Thursday rally in Sioux City, Iowa, treating the warm-up as a scandal.

“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE. LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!” a fuming President Trump wrote.

LeBron James answered Donald Trump’s demand for an apology with a laugh, brushing off the president’s criticism after Philadelphia’s game against Cleveland on Thursday, October 22.

“Must have been a slow news day at the office. Slow news day at the office,” James said.

Trump’s complaint focused on a clip from Tuesday’s pregame ceremony at Madison Square Garden that spread online Wednesday.

This is not the first time Trump has turned a question about James into a personal complaint. In July, the president was asked to choose between James and Michael Jordan during an Oval Office exchange with Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy.

Trump picked Jordan, whom he described as a friend and golf companion. He then suggested James might be racist, adding that James might simply dislike him. Trump supplied no evidence for the accusation, as AllHipHop reported at the time.

That clash came as James announced his move to the 76ers. It followed years of public conflict, including James’ criticism of Trump over the Golden State Warriors’ White House invitation in 2017. In 2018,

Trump attacked James’ intelligence after James interviewed him on CNN with Don Lemon. Jordan defended James.

James has also opposed Trump in presidential campaigns. In October 2024, he endorsed Kamala Harris with a video montage of Trump’s comments about immigrants and Black jobs. The montage also included comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s watermelon joke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.

James framed that endorsement around his children, his family and the future in which they would grow up. He urged voters to choose Harris.

“When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me,” he wrote.