LeBron James made his regular-season debut this week as a Philadelphia 76er, but of course Donald Trump decided to make himself the main character again. The 41-year-old made a historic comeback Tuesday night, months after he jumped ship to Philadelphia following eight seasons with the Los Angele s Lakers. Trump seemed intent on ruining James’ game, but it was no match for the King. Donald Trump called LeBron James a “TOTAL DISGRACE” over his behavior during the national anthem before the 76ers’ season opener. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) James and the 76ers erased a 29-point deficit to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 114–106, the franchise where his career began. But the drama started before he even hit the court at Madison Square Garden. ‘The Game Will Go On’: LeBron James Responds to Trump Saying That He’s Disgusted By NBA Players Kneeling for the National Anthem ‘This Is Wild’: Trump’s NBA Appearance Sparks Devastating Domino Effect for Knicks Fans Eager to Celebrate, and One New Change Has Them Furious On Thursday, the president demanded a public apology over a few seconds of pregame footage most people in the building probably never noticed. What actually set him off all came down to a golf swing. Footage of James warming up while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played before the season opener against the New York Knicks Wednesday night. In the clip, he rehearses a golf swing and then switches to his jump-shot form, while most of his teammates stand still in line beside him. Trump shared the video on Truth Social and let loose on the four-time NBA champion. “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,” he wrote. He insisted James owed an apology to every American service member who ever died for the flag. “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!” Trump concluded. Later that night at a rally in Iowa, Trump told the crowd, “And what about LeBron James? Did you see that? During the national anthem, he’s practicing his golf swing. I said What the hell is that? It’s a big scandal kind of a story. I don’t understand it.” Apart from that, the night was a celebration for James. Tuesday’s matchup against the reigning champion Knicks was part of the NBA’s opening-night tripleheader. It kicked off his record 24th season, and the Sixers left the Garden with a win. After the game, press cornered James about Trump’s national anthem tantrum. A reporter asked the NBA star directly how he felt about the president “taking shots at him.” James brushed it off and responded with a brutal one-liner: “Slow news day at the office, you know.” Online supporters praised the Ohio native for keeping his cool while still “cooking” Trump in his response. “That one-liner was actually too smooth. He really just dismissed him like that,” said one person. Another said, “He deada— fried him; this really the goat of basketball.” ESPN pointed out that Trump is hardly a model of anthem etiquette himself. In 2020, video showed him waving his hands as if conducting an orchestra during the anthem at a Super Bowl watch party, while those around him stood with their hands over their hearts. The POTUS has also been seen failing to salute soldiers or sleeping during memorial ceremonies. The irony wasn’t missed. Online, plenty of people weren’t buying the outrage. “Didn’t know it was illegal for a man to practice his golf swing,” one user wrote under an X post. Meanwhile, over on Threads, another joked, “Trump’s watching LeBron more closely than his own intelligence briefings, again. Priorities!” Others zeroed in on who was delivering the lecture. “I’d say dodging the draft is more disrespectful to the country,” one person wrote. That was a nod to the five draft deferments Trump received during the Vietnam War. Another put it plainly: “White man tries to tell a free Black man how to behave.” One commenter questioned the strategy of it all with midterm elections around the corner: “Ah yes, attacking a beloved national icon for no good reason — an iron clad electoral strategy if there ever was one!” As TheWrap noted, this isn’t the first time this year Trump has come for James. In July, on the same day James announced he was signing with Philadelphia, Trump was asked in the Oval Office whether James or Michael Jordan was the greatest of all time. He picked Jordan, calling him a friend he plays golf with. Then he said of James, “maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump,” according to CNN. “I only like people that like me,” he added. Yes, the same man who brags about golfing with Jordan is now furious over a pretend golf swing. The bad blood goes back nearly a decade. In 2017, James called Trump “U bum” after the president pulled the Golden State Warriors’ White House invitation. A year later, Trump mocked James’ intelligence after a CNN interview, writing that Don Lemon “made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.” James went on to endorse Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Black public figures, and Black Americans in general, have been frequent targets of Trump’s Truth Social account. In February, he drew backlash for reposting a video targeting Michelle and Barack Obama as apes in a jungle. Over the summer, he claimed Black and Brown voters were flocking to the Republican Party, a claim polling didn’t support. View on Threads LeBron’s Response to Trump’s National Anthem Tantrum Makes That Apology Look Unlikely ...read more read less