President Donald J. Trump weighed in on the ongoing debate about whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest NBA player of all time, offering up his unique insight that could settle the question once and for all.
In an Oval Office press conference on Friday during which he answered questions on a wide range of topics, the sports fan in chief was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy about who is the “best ever” after the 41-year-old James signed a contract to play with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the day.
The answer was easy for Trump, who sided with “Air Jordan” over “King James,” and it was less about their accomplishments on the basketball court than the quality of their character, and in the president’s mind, the iconic Chicago Bulls superstar wins hands down because, unlike LeBron, he’s not a racist.
Asked by @pdoocy if he thinks LeBron or Jordan is the GOAT, Trump says Jordan is the GOAT and is a good guy, says LeBron doesn’t like him and maybe that’s because LeBron is a racist. pic.twitter.com/mGxw4KCb8t
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 24, 2026
“Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine, play golf with him. He’s a really good guy,” Trump said. “And I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump, I don’t know. But I only like people that like me, so, I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”
James has previously taken shots at Trump, has used his celebrity to promote racial divisiveness, turns a blind eye to Chinese human rights abuses, and is a supporter of the Democratic Party as well as a friend of former President Barack Obama.
A superstar from a different era when most pro athletes chose not to divide fans, Jordan stayed out of politics and was criticized by some over his remark that “Republicans buy sneakers, too” when he declined to endorse Democrat Harvey Gantt in the 1990 North Carolina Senate race against GOP incumbent Jesse Helms in his home state.
During his 15-year career in the 1980s and 1990s – the golden era of NBA basketball – Jordan averaged 30.1 points a game on his way to winning 5 MVP awards, 6 NBA Finals MVP awards, and led the league in scoring ten times. He also played defense, making the All-Defensive Team a total of nine times.
Jordan won six golden trophies with the Bulls being the dominant dynasty of the era. A run that included two three-peats in the 1990s.
Early in his career, James won two NBA championships with the Miami Heat (2012, 2013) and another with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), his original team, which he returned to after his stint in South Florida.
Since his move to the Los Angeles Lakers, James added just one more title to his resume, and that should come with an asterisk as it happened during the abbreviated 2020 season with the entire playoffs being held in a bubble at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.
Jordan has more rings in less time, but when it comes to being the GOAT of racism, James will always be the KING!
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