Retired NBA great Charles Barkley said this week that he will punch black Trump supporters in the face if he sees them “walking around with a Trump mugshot.”
Barkley made the shocking remarks on his new CNN show with Gayle King, while reacting to remarks former President Donald Trump made about black Americans increasingly supporting him, including even wearing his mugshot on t-shirts.
“You know who embraced more than anybody else? The black population,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “It’s incredible. You see black people walking around with my mugshot – you know they do shirts.”
Trump added that some black supporters of his have said he is being discriminated against.
King played the clip of Trump’s remarks, eliciting a long sigh from Barkley.
“First of all, I’m just gonna say this: If I see a black person walking around with a Trump mugshot, I’m gonna punch him in the face,” the basketball star said.
Trying to temper Barkley’s remarks, King responded, “You don’t mean that.”
“Oh, I mean that sincerely,” Barkley reacted, adding that if he’s charged for assault, he would bail himself out “and go celebrate.”
“First of all, if I was at that [conference], I would’ve got up and walked out,” he continued. “That was an insult to all black people. To compare black history, where we’ve been discriminated against, to his plight.”
“It’s not a fair comparison,” Barkley said, asserting that Trump is guilty of the civil and criminal crimes he’s been charged with. “He’s a billionaire, he’s had a great life, he’s been President of the United States. To insult black people who have been discriminated against all these years and put them in the same category, I was just offended.”
WATCH:
“Oh, I mean that sincerely.” Charles Barkley rips Donald Trump, threatens to punch in the face any Black supporters wearing a Trump mugshot t-shirt. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/C6fdsai2RF
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 5, 2024
Barkley is known for being outspoken, and has routinely hit the political Left. More recently, however, the athlete has taken shots at Middle America and Trump. Over the summer, for example, Barkley mocked conservatives for boycotting Bud Light over the beer company’s bizarre team-up with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
“I’m gonna buy some drinks for y’all and I’m gonna buy Bud Light,” Barkley said at the time, The Daily Wire reported. “Hey, let me tell you something. All you rednecks or a**holes who don’t want to drink Bud Light, f*** y’all. Hey, y’all can’t cancel me!”
“Hey, I ain’t worried about getting canceled because let me tell you something, if y’all fire me and gimme all that money, I’m gonna be playing golf every f***ing day,” he added. “So listen, as I said last night, if you’re gay, God bless you. If you’re trans, God bless you. And if you have a problem with them – f*** you.”
Related: Charles Barkley Attacks Americans Boycotting Bud Light: ‘Rednecks’ And ‘A**holes’