LeBron James defended calling Trump a bum on twitter after the president announced that the Golden State Warriors would not be invited to the White House. Following is a transcript of the video.
Reporter: Is there any regret that you got into a name-calling situation with the president?
LeBron James: No. Name calling? What did I say? Let me hear you say it.
Reporter: You called him a bum.
James: That's not a name-call. "You bum." Me and my friends call each other that all the time. I'm not his friend, though. I don't want to see that on a note. He's not my friend. No, no, that was the first thing that when I woke up and saw what he said about Steph Curry.
First of all, it's so funny because it's like you invite me to your party, right? Matter of fact it's not like you invited me, it's almost like, you know, "Tom, hey, I'm not going to be able to make it. I'm not coming." And then he be like, “Hey LeBron guess what? You're not invited." I wasn't coming anyways.
So that was funny to me when I woke up and saw that. So, and my first initial response was you bum. First of all, you don't understand the magnitude. He doesn't understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country. He doesn't understand how many kids, no matter the race, look up to the president for the United States for guidance, leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn't understand that.
That's what makes me more sick than anything, that we have someone, this is the number one position in the world. You guys agree? Being the president of the United States is the most powerful position in the world. I don't know of another one. If you find one let me know. It's the most powerful position in the world, and we're at a time where the most powerful position in the world has an opportunity to bring us closer together as a people and inspire the youth and put the youth at ease, saying that it's okay for me to walk down the street and not be judged because the color of my skin or because of my race. And he has no recollection of that. And he doesn't even care. Maybe he does. But he doesn't care. So, do I take away … take away "you bum" off my, no, because if I did I would've deleted my tweet.
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