President Donald Trump Wednesday continued to wage war against LaVar Ball, who has downplayed the president’s role in freeing his son after he was detained in China for shoplifting.
Three University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball players were arrested in China recently for stealing merchandise from a Louis Vuitton store in Hangzhou. The three players, including one LiAngelo Ball, were facing up to 10 years in prison, but Trump, who was traveling across Asia at the time, spoke personally with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the issue, effectively securing their release. (RELATED: UCLA Basketball Players Freed By China After Trump Intervenes)
While LiAngelo thanked the president, LaVar has refused to express gratitude, going so far as to suggest that the president was not involved in the process. He has also suggested that shoplifting, apparently unaware of the penalties for such a crime under Chinese law, is not a serious matter. Trump fired back on Twitter Wednesday morning, reminding him who it was that really saved son.
It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
…LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
This is not the first time the president has lashed out at LaVar Ball on Twitter. In a separate tweet Sunday, Trump suggested that he should have just left the players in jail.
Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017
Shoplifting is a very big deal in China, as it should be (5-10 years in jail), but not to father LaVar. Should have gotten his son out during my next trip to China instead. China told them why they were released. Very ungrateful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017
Since the three young men returned home, the president has urged them to thank him and the Chinese president. At the same time, he has encouraged them to learn from this experience and live a good life.
While he is no longer tweeting at the players themselves, Trump’s feud with LaVar Ball continues to heat up.
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