Trump blasts LeBron James over national anthem behavior

President Donald Trump publicly criticized LeBron James of the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday (local time), renewing a long-running feud with one of the NBA's biggest stars.

Trump posted a video on Truth Social showing James moving around during the pregame national anthem, writing that James "is disrespecting our country while our national anthem is being played."

The 22-second clip shows James on the court during the national anthem, making what appear to be golf swing motions with his bare hands and repeatedly practicing basketball shots.

Trump said he had "said from the beginning that he was not a good person and is a total disgrace," adding that James "should apologize to all of the great American warriors and heroes who gave their lives for our flag and everything our country represents."

Trump has long expressed hostility toward athletes who kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice. His history of clashes with James also appears to have fueled Thursday's public attack.

James is one of the most prominent anti-Trump voices in American sports. He endorsed Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party candidate Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential election, and campaigned alongside her.

During Trump's first term, James said Trump "made racism fashionable again" and that he was "frustrated and angry" that Trump was "using sports to divide us." When Trump canceled a White House invitation to the NBA champion in 2017, James called him "a bum."

Trump fired back in 2018 after James sat for an interview with CNN anchor Don Lemon, writing that James "just did an interview with the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do."