The first lady just picked Team LeBron over Team Trump.
One day after President Trump blasted LeBron James’ intelligence, Melania Trump broke ranks with her husband, saying on Saturday that the hoops superstar was doing “good things” and that she’d be “open” to visiting his newly-minted school for at-risk kids in Ohio.
“It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokesperson, said in a statement shared with the AP. “Her platform centers around visiting organizations, hospitals and schools, and she would be open to visiting the I Promise School in Akron.”
https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1025815297574494208
One of Melania Trump’s initiatives as first lady is to bring children to the “forefront of her agenda,” according to the White House’s website.
James opened the “I Promise” school earlier this week, providing 240 kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, with a host of perks, including free meals and a new bicycle.
President Trump reacted Friday night to an interview James did with CNN’s Don Lemon earlier in the week in which the new L.A. Laker said he “would never sit across from” the POTUS. Trump dubbed Lemon the “dumbest man on television,” and tweeted that the host “made LeBron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.”
Trump then jumped back to the early ’90s, referencing Gatorade’s Michael Jordan ads by adding, “I like Mike!”
Jordan — now the owner of the Charlotte Hornets — said in a statement that James is “doing an amazing job for his community.”
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan’s official statement, via spokesperson, in wake of Donald Trump tweet referencing him and LeBron James: “I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2018
We’ll keep you updated if anyone says they’ll back Trump in his latest feud.