President Donald Trump has picked up where Don Rickles left off as the new master of the insult. The difference between the two is that Rickles was a stand-up comedian who used to denigrate celebrities, minorities and others on TV and in his nightclub act, and everyone thought it was hilarious. Trump does much of the same thing in his Twitter posts and during his campaign-style love-ins. But in his position as Leader of the Free World, nobody seems to know whether he's kidding or not.
The latest of Trump's controversial missives concerns NBA star LeBron James, who did a TV interview with CNN's Don Lemon to promote the startup of a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. James told Lemon that, among other things, the President was using sports to divide the country along racial lines.
After the interview aired, Trump tweeted that Lemon was "the dumbest man on television" who made James look smarter by comparison. The President concluded by saying he liked Mike, which presumably meant he preferred Michael Jordan to James in the debate over who was the greatest basketball player in the last 25 years. Or is it because Jordan plays golf?
Up until now, Trump hasn't insulted James for his past criticisms the way he has with other African-American athletes--most of whom refuse to be seen with him even if they've won a championship. The President's remarks about James' "low IQ" must have been due to his bypassing college for the NBA, but that really has nothing to do with his intelligence.
The other reason is more political: James recently left the Cleveland Cavaliers (for the second time) to go play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Ohio is one of the states Trump needs to win re-election for a second term in 2020. With LeBron out of the way and is now considered fair game, Trump believes he has a better shot at doing that.
Dozens of NBA and other athletes, including Jordan, have come to James' defense with tweets of their own which criticize the President. But LeBron is too busy to care about that right now, what with his charitable efforts, the TV projects he's lined up, and just getting ready for next season with his new team.
Rickles, who died in 2017, is now considered a comic legend for getting laughs with his insults. President Donald Trump, who used his tweets and public appearances to hurt and belittle people with his insults, is on his way to becoming a legend in his own mind.
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