Former President Donald Trump called out LeBron James for his “racist rant” about the Columbus officer who shot a troubled teenager.
Ma’Khia Barnes, 16, was shot four times by Officer Nick Reardon as she raised a knife to stab a woman during a fight outside a foster care group home on Tuesday.
The shooting occurred about an hour before former cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
James posted a photo of Officer Reardon and tweeted “YOU’RE NEXT” with the hashtag “ACCOUNTABILITY”.
15 minutes later, James deleted the tweet and explained that he wrote the tweet out of anger.
Trump issued a statement on Thursday calling out James for inciting violence with his tweet.
“LeBron James should focus on basketball rather than presiding over the destruction of the NBA,” Trump said in a statement. “His RACIST rants are divisive, nasty, insulting, and demeaning,” he continued. “He may be a great basketball player, but he is doing nothing to bring our Country together!”
Trump was among a plethora of celebrities, professional athletes, and politicians who called James out for his tweet.
