Almost as if on cue, Trump took to Twitter to placate an increasingly racist and xenophobic base by attacking two respected black individuals in a single tweet.
The president obviously spent his Friday night watching CNN, the network he claims to loathe and the one on which Don Lemon conducted an interview of the most celebrated athlete in the NBA, LeBron James. At the end of the interview, there was one question in particular that seemed to have gotten under Trump’s thin skin.
What could *possibly* make the most insecure man in America attack LeBron James, the most celebrated athlete in the NBA, despite having heaped effusive praise on him in the past?
Oh. pic.twitter.com/MOq77op1kr
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 4, 2018
Our insecure Commander-in-Chief wasted no time pounding his fists on the internet.
Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2018
But the CNN host did not stay silent for long, hitting Trump right where it hurts.
Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages? #BeBest https://t.co/XO50qVksnR
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) August 4, 2018
Lemon rightly points out that while LeBron just opened a new $8 million public school, where students get free bikes, meals, and college tuition, Trump is still dealing with the fallout from his ongoing human rights catastrophe of separating children from their parents at the border and then putting them in cages. Even despite a federal judge’s mandate to reunite the families ripped apart by the administration, hundreds of children remain separated from their parents. This may not be the best time for Trump to compare virtuousness.
Trump has never been good at picking his battles, but this latest dog whistle to an increasingly deplorable – albeit shrinking – base truly takes the cake.