Charles Barkley didn’t mince his words when responding to Donald Trump’s latest commentary on Black people.
In a conversation with Gayle King, Barkley responded to remarks Trump made last week in South Carolina, just before winning the Republican primary. The ex-president suggested that Black people have taken a liking to him after getting arrested for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential results in Georgia.
“When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1,” Trump said at the Black Conservative Federation's annual Honors Gala. “You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”
Barkley had a biting response for Trump. “First of all, I'm just gonna say this: if I see a Black person walking around with Trump's mugshot, I'm [gonna] punch him in the face,” the NBA legend said.
When King pointed out that Barkley would get arrested for assault, he said, “I will bail myself out and go celebrate,” he said to laughter. “If I was at that conference I would have got up and walked out. That was an insult to all Black people.”
He continued, “To compare Black history, when we've been discriminated against, to his plight—first of all, he's a billionaire, and they're prosecuting him for stuff he did wrong. … Well, some of the stuff is true. They did storm the Capitol, they did say that the election was stolen. Those aren't lies, Gayle.”
“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, to put them in the same category.” He added, “I was just offended.”
