President Donald Trump did not mince words when he extended his feud with LaVar Ball into Wednesday, calling the father of one of the three UCLA basketball players detained in China an “ungrateful fool” the day before Thanksgiving.
Ball, the outspoken father of LiAngelo Ball, refused to thank Trump for interceding with Chinese President Xi Jinping on behalf of his son and the two other players arrested for shoplifting and detained in China earlier in November. Although the three college basketball players thanked Trump for his efforts, Ball told CNN Monday night that Trump didn’t deserve his gratitude because he did “nothing” to secure the boys’ release.
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The father’s dismissal of the president appeared to spur Trump into revamping the feud Wednesday in two tweets.
“It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS ME,” Trump tweeted. “Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair.”
“Just think … LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you,” Trump added. “But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!”
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Last week, LiAngelo Ball had no problem thanking Trump directly for his involvement in his release.
“I’m grateful for this UCLA team that stood strong beside us and made it possible for me to be sitting here in front of you all today,” LiAngelo Ball had said. “I’d also like to thank President Trump and the United States government for the help that they provided as well.”
But his father told CNN Monday night that there wasn’t any reason for him to thank the U.S. president.
Related: LaVar Ball: I’d Rather Thank Xi Jinping Than Trump for My Son’s Release
“Did he help the boys get out? I don’t know. I don’t know. If I was going to thank somebody, I’d probably thank President Xi. I’d thank him. He’s in China. He’s the head, the president in China,” Ball said. “I mean somebody can make a suggestion and somebody can do something. You’ve got people who make suggestions and people who do things.”
“If you help, you shouldn’t have to say anything,” Ball added. “All this stuff going on, and that’s on your mind, that a father didn’t say thank you? And you’re the head of the U.S.? Come on.”
Ball urged Trump to “stay in [his] lane” and stick to “his political affairs” while he handled his own son.
When ESPN asked Ball on Friday about Trump’s intercession on his son’s behalf, Ball responded, “Who?”
“What was [Trump] over there for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out,” Ball, a former basketball and football player and the CEO of sports apparel company Big Baller Brand, told ESPN.
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