Trump to UCLA player’s father: “Very ungrateful!”
Developments on Day 304 of the Trump Administration:
Trump Angered by Player’s Father
Upset that he has not received enough credit for the release of three university basketball players from a Chinese prison, Donald Trump says he should have walked away and left them in detention.
Tweeting on Sunday morning, Trump continued an argument with Lavar Ball, the father of one of the UCLA players, who has played down Trump’s role in the release.
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
He returned to his message later in the day:
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
Trump followed the line of the White House’s social media director Dan Scavino, who preceded Trump with a Saturday blast at LaVar Ball:
Wannabe @Lakers coach, BIG MOUTH @Lavarbigballer knows if it weren’t for President @realDonaldTrump, his son would be in China for a long, long, long time! #FACT https://t.co/j2GcY7F4f9
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) November 18, 2017
LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill were arrested last week on suspicion of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store while the UCLA team was in the city of Hangzhou.
Trump, who was on a 12-day tour of Asia, said he personally asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene. On Wednesday, he tweeted: “Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!”
At a news conference later that day, the players — who have been indefinitely suspended from playing — gave the requested thanks and apologized for their behavior. Trump issued a follow-up message to the students on Thursday: “To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You’re welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!”
Trump’s Anxiety About Being America’s “Favorite”
Trump had been relatively quiet on Twitter over the weekend, but on Saturday morning he also betrayed ongoing anxiety over the reception of his 2016 victory. About 15 minutes after a Fox TV report on his Demoocrat opponent Hillary Clinton, he tweeted:
Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2017
On Saturday, he proclaimed himself America’s “favorite President” as he lashed out at Senator Jeff Flake on Arizona, who said in an impromptu remark that the Republican Party would be “toast” if it followed the lead of the President:
Sen. Jeff Flake(y), who is unelectable in the Great State of Arizona (quit race, anemic polls) was caught (purposely) on “mike” saying bad things about your favorite President. He’ll be a NO on tax cuts because his political career anyway is “toast”.
