Barnes called the President a “dumb**s” and said he was convinced the president was a racist. Barnes wants to run for mayor in Sacramento. His campaign, he says, will be reliant on his sports fame and will use his influence to be elected.
Barnes was asked if he agreed with LeBron’s thought that the President was using sports to divide the country, and Barnes said “there’s no doubt.”
“His ploys and his tactics work for some, but they don’t work for our community. Like I said, that’s why I think it’s so important for us to show unity and really support each other … It’s race-driven. Whether he is racist or not — I think he is — but it’s really race-driven.”
Barnes went on to talk about him running for mayor later on down the line in Sacramento. “That’s something I’m into. That’s something I want to do down the road, obviously — run for mayor of my hometown of Sacramento down the road.”
He concluded the interview with TMZ Sports saying, “Athletes are doing a lot these days. And it’s unfortunate that people try to continue to pigeonhole us and try to tell us to stick in a lane because we don’t have a lane.”
Barnes criticized the president before this TMZ interview on the Trump and LeBron debacle.
He said, “Trump is the perfect example of how a man shouldn’t act! Maybe it’s the little dick syndrome. After he ended his insecure rant about Lebron yesterday by finishing [with] “I like Mike,” I really feel like for once MJ should step up & say something for all of us who’ve supported this man & bought his expensive ass shoes for all these years! #ILikeLebron — Just my thoughts.”
Barnes played 14 seasons in the NBA, playing for nine different teams. He won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in his last season in the NBA.