President Trump was merely making a « rhetorical response » to criticism when he said he should have left three UCLA basketball players in a Chinese jail, according to White House press secretary… Politics News Summaries.| Newser
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President Trump was merely making a « rhetorical response » to criticism when he said he should have left three UCLA basketball players in a Chinese jail, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She said Monday that Trump was « happy to intervene » in the case and had been responding to statements from LaVar Ball, father of player LiAngelo Ball, who questioned how much Trump had helped, the Washington Post reports. « I think it was less about the players than the father of one of the Americans really seemed to have a problem with it, » Sanders said. “Frankly, it didn’t seem like the father wanted the president to intervene, which I think would have been a sad thing if he hadn’t, most likely. »
LaVar Ball doubled down on his criticism of Trump later Monday, telling CNN that if he was going to thank a president, it would be China’s Xi Jinping. Ball said he had some people of his own « that had boots on the ground » when the three players were arrested for alleged shoplifting earlier this month. « If you help, you shouldn’t have to say anything, » he said of Trump. « Let him do his political affairs and let me handle my son and let’s just stay in our lane. » Ball denied being in a feud with Trump and wished him a happy Thanksgiving. « I don’t consider him an opponent, » he said. « I just consider him a human being, and the President of the United States. » (UCLA suspended the players after they returned to the US .)
