LeBron calls out POTUS: Trump made hate 'fashionable again'
In the aftermath of the weekend's hate-fuelled riots in Charlottesville, Va., LeBron James has continued to speak out against the United States' Commander-in-Chief.
Moments after President Donald Trump delivered a speech Tuesday afternoon in which he downplayed white supremacist demonstrators as being merely protesters rallying against the removal of a Confederate statue, James tweeted his steepest criticism of the current administration.
The Cavaliers' star lambasted Trump for what he perceives as his inability to appropriately handle the racially charged events:
Hate has always existed in America. Yes we know that but Donald Trump just made it fashionable again! Statues has nothing to do with us now!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 15, 2017
On Sunday, James wrote a pair of Tweets, asking "Is this the direction our country is heading?" and "Our youth deserves better!"
The outspoken superstar has previously voiced his disapproval of Trump's immigration ban and has been a vocal leader among his peers on issues relating to race in America.
The clash in Charlottesville between white supremacist demonstrators and counter-protesters led to violent clashes, including the murder of a 32-year-old paralegal - Heather Heyer - who was struck in a vehicular assault.
Related: NBA players react to Charlottesville riot
"(Heyer's) death fills us with grief and we send her family our thoughts, our prayers, and our love," Trump said in a statement Monday, promising Americans that "justice would be delivered" for the racist violence of the weekend.