What Really Started LeBron James' Feud With Donald Trump And Don Jr.
You may recall, Chrissy Teigen's years-long feud with Donald Trump. By now, the list is almost as long as his list of legal woes. The infamously combative ex-president has thrown jabs at everyone from the late Senator John McCain to NFL star Colin Kaepernick. He continues to rub people the wrong way, including Los Angeles Lakers power forward, LeBron James. James isn't one to take a punch lying down, and his back-and-forth sparring with Trump has made for some headlining social media content over the years.
In 2022, Trump shaded James's stance on transgender athletes during a campaign event in Nebraska. This followed James' denouncement of the commander-in-chief's behavior following the 2021 Capitol riot. The bad blood between James and Trump is such that even Donald Trump Jr. waded into the fray in 2021 (though it didn't end too well for him). Fast forward to 2023, and keeping track of who said what is hard.
It does appear that the feud was sparked after James campaigned in favor of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. The future Hall of Famer initially accepted the Republican nominee's election win, but his relationship with Trump deteriorated after the Golden State Warriors turned down an invitation to the White House following their championship win in 2017 — a championship James played for then with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Donald Trump didn't like being turned down
Because they held different political beliefs to then-President Donald Trump, Stephen Curry, and his Golden State Warriors did not visit the White House after their NBA win, leaving Trump incensed. "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore [the] invitation is withdrawn!" Trump posted to X (via Bleacher Report). Enter LeBron James, who quickly jumped in to defend his friends. "U bum @StephCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up," he tweeted.
Curry appreciated the support from King James. "I think it's bold, it's courageous for any guy to speak up, let alone a guy that has as much to lose as LeBron does," he praised his fellow NBA player, via NBA.com. As a result, the reality mogul was so upset at Curry and James that he didn't invite either James' former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, or the Warriors to the White House after the NBA Championship the following year. "I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry ... But we have other teams that are coming. If you look, we had Alabama — national champion," Trump said in 2018, per USA Today.
Prior to the whole debacle, Trump was actually a fan of James', whom he congratulated after the latter won Athlete of the Year at the 2013 ESPYs.
The feud escalated
After LeBron James and Steph Curry's White House no-show, James' feud with Donald Trump kicked up a notch. In 2018, James slammed Donald for being "divisive" during an interview with Don Lemon. "What I've noticed over the past few months is he's kinda used sports to divide us, and that's something I can't relate to," the power forward said, (via X). Apparently, the former president had nothing better to do than fight with King James on X, because he quickly responded (via GQ), "LeBron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do." Donald uninviting Curry to the White House may have been the catalyst for his feud with James, but this exchange proved the pair were already at odds thanks to their political and social differences.
While Donald Trump Jr. never had any beef with King James before, he seemed to take offense on his father's behalf. In a series of 2021 Instagram posts, Trump Jr. made fun of the NBA legend for the time he requested that fans be ejected from a game for inappropriate behavior, via Vanity Fair. Maybe Trump Jr. intended to be funny, but the internet wasn't having it. "I wonder if Don Jr wants to call LeBron a b**** to his face," NBA alum Rex Chapman suggested. Let's call it Trump: 0, James: 1 — and this feud isn't likely to blow over anytime soon.