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UCLA Basketball Players Thank Trump After He Wondered If They Would

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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The three college basketball players that were released from detention in China thanked President Donald Trump Wednesday after the president publicly wondered if they would show gratitude.

“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!” Trump tweeted.

University of California, Los Angeles basketball players Cody Riley, Jalen Hill and LiAngelo Ball were all arrested in Beijing last week for allegedly stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store. They returned to the U.S. Tuesday night and will not face charges.

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Trump told reporters Tuesday that he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping who intervened in the situation.

“The basketball players, by the way — I know a lot of people are asking — I will tell you, when I heard about it two days ago, I had a great conversation with President Xi. What they did was unfortunate. You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences. They do not play games,” Trump said aboard Air Force One Tuesday. “He was terrific, and they’re working on it right now. And hopefully everything is going to work out. And I know they’re very grateful because they were told exactly what happened.”

“We really appreciate you helping us out,” UCLA’s Riley said about President Trump.