Charles Barkley always lets you know exactly where he stands on an issue. That usually involves something related to the NBA or sports world in general. But with his new CNN show, King Charles, he’s dabbling more and more into political discourse.
Sir Charles has never been much of a fan of former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Any lingering concerns that Barkley might still consider casting a vote for Trump were seemingly put to bed Wednesday night on the latest episode of King Charles.
Trump has been accused recently of co-opting rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in saying that undocumented immigrants are “destroying the blood of our country.”
Barkley told co-host Gayle King that while he thinks America needs to fix its immigration policies, rhetoric like that makes it impossible for him to vote for Trump.
“For a man who is running for the most powerful position in the world to use ‘pseudo-racist rhetoric,’ well that’s one of the reasons I can’t vote for that guy,” he said. “He just rubs me the wrong way. And people can vote for whoever they want to, but I just do not like it at all.”
Charles Barkley on Trump pic.twitter.com/2zXowRhhgd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 21, 2023
Barkley can be a complicated and nuanced individual when it comes to political and social issues. He even found himself on the same side as Trump when it came to LIV Golf, though he most certainly would disagree with the January 6th instigator on most issues. He often does his best to try to give both sides their say, as he does in the clip above, but there’s only so much he can do when you’re talking about someone who seems to want to be a dictator.
Not that many people are watching King Charles, but that’s never going to stop Barkley from speaking his truth.
