Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Donald Trump is turning the presidential race into a reality show.
In a guest column for the Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, the former basketball star said the Republican presidential candidate should be ashamed of himself.
“Donald Trump reminds me of the AGT [“America’s Got Talent”] contestant a few seasons ago who called himself ‘Horse,’ whose sole talent was having people kick him in the scrotum,” Abdul-Jabbar writes. “The live audience screamed in delight at every strike, so naturally, the judges voted him through.”
“Like Horse, Trump has delighted the voting audience by enduring a series of kicks to the nether region from the political left, right and center that would send any other candidate staggering to the nearest podium to suspend his or her campaign in shame. Shame is a byproduct of conscience that keeps us on a moral path. Without shame, we permit ourselves to perpetuate any offense without recourse.”
He noted that there is “no shame” when it comes to reality TV contestants.
“They confuse having character traits — like cruelty, self-deception and rudeness — with having character,” he said. “They think malevolence and malice is the same as grit and grace. Sound familiar?”
“If anyone has cause to be ashamed, it’s Donald Trump. His Kevlar athletic cup has protected him from shots to the groin that include, most recently, his misogynist statements, his indecision on major issues, his contradictions and his outright lies.”
Meanwhile, Abdul-Jabbar said Hillary Clinton is held to the standards of a public official.
“We rightfully question her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.”
“However, Trump and his supporters have so far completely ignored the fact that State Department investigators found that former secretaries of state under President George W. Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, also received, or had top staffers receive, classified information through personal email accounts.”