Favor for mugshot merchandise irked a former NBA All-Star who offered a violent promise to black supporters of former President Donald Trump.
(Video: CNN)
More than a week after the president spoke at the Black Conservative Federation’s Annual BCF Honors Gala there remained some talking heads who hadn’t had their say on his “eyebrow-raising” comments. This included former basketball player turned commentator Charles Barkley who was “sincerely” ready to throw hands with black backers of the GOP leader.
“First of all, I’m just gonna say this, if I see a black person walking around with Trump’s mug shot, I’m gonna punch him in the face,” Barkley told “King Charles” co-host Gayle King on their CNN show Saturday.
The remark that earned laughter in the studio came after clips from the president’s speech were aired.
“And then I got indicted a second time and then a third time and a fourth time! And a lot of people said that that’s why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as — I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing,” Trump had said at one point.
Then, speaking of merchandise sold featuring his Fulton County, Georgia mugshot, he had said, “You know who embraced it more than anybody else? The black population. It’s incredible. You see black people walking around with my mugshot — you know, they do shirts.”
An attempt to hedge her co-host’s comment didn’t land, when in response to King saying, “You really can’t say that, ’cause A you don’t mean that,” Barkley fired off, “Oh, I mean that sincerely.”
When she reminded him that he’d “be arrested for assault. And then what?” the former basketballer declared to more laughs, “I’m gonna bail myself out and go celebrate.”
Shifting from controversial to contradictory after claiming he would have walked out on Trump’s speech, Barkley took umbrage with anyone treating the black population as a monolith before admittedly doing so himself. “I don’t like speaking for all black people, but I’m going to right now. We don’t feel sympathetic to his plight. We do not.”
However, like his All-Star game commentary that decried San Francisco as filled with “a bunch of homeless crooks,” he went on to articulate exactly why many black voters were turning away from the Democratic Party.
“I really just feel bad, because we need adults in the room,” said Barkley. “You know, we got the immigrant problem, we got inflation, we got the situation in Hawaii — like, I wanna solve real problems. I don’t wanna talk about all this extra-curricular stuff behind the scenes. I want somebody to get in there and say, ‘Hey, you know what, I’m gonna do what’s great for the American people.'”
The former NBA player went on to contend that instead of talking about black people, they should be talking about discrimination against poor people before admitting that he had only voted for a Republican for president once in choosing former Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2016.
Having voted Democrat all other times, he said, “I’m starting to question that,” as he contended black voters never hold leftists accountable for their policies.
Meanwhile, users on social media were ready to hold Barkley accountable for his threats of violence, including radio host David Webb who challenged, “OK #CharlesBarkley, where do we meet? I can book a plane ticket while I’m on the air.”
OK #CharlesBarkley, where do we meet? I can book a plane ticket while I’m on the air.
— David Webb (@davidwebbshow) March 5, 2024
They think they own black people.
Who exactly is racist here?— Caroline (@carolinecwilder) March 5, 2024
What Charles Barkley and other Democrat plantation puppets must understand is that black Americans are not afraid to support Donald Trump in 2024. Times have changed. Support for MAGA is shared by Americans of ALL backgrounds. We will NOT be bullied into groupthink voting.
— Suburban Black Man (@niceblackdude) March 5, 2024
Charles Barkley fell into the media’s trap by taking a 2 hour speech from President Trump out of context.
One thing I can guarantee is when you see Wesley Hunt sporting “The Mugshot” Sir Charles won’t be punching this Combat Vet in the face. pic.twitter.com/P27t0p0Ez2
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) March 5, 2024
Let him say that to Trump supporter, Mike Tyson
— Shill on the Hill (@jgatorman41) March 5, 2024
Well, Charles….. pic.twitter.com/xu5upYyYoo
— Wookalar (@iliketocamp) March 6, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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