Gregg Popovich unloads on Trump in wake of nationwide protests, calling him a 'deranged idiot' whose 'presence will make you die'
- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich blasted President Donald Trump in an interview with The Nation, calling Trump a "coward" and "deranged idiot" whose "presence makes you die."
- Popovich said Trump needed to say "Black Lives Matter" to try to calm the nationwide protests, but said Trump is unwilling "because it's more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity."
- Popovich called the protests "necessary" and said there needs to be a change, but said the protests and marches could be better organized.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich blasted President Donald Trump in the wake of nationwide "Black Lives Matter" protests.
In an interview with The Nation's Dave Zirin, Popovich, who has been highly critical of Trump throughout his presidency, unloaded, saying Trump needs to say "Black Lives Matter" and address the unrest spreading across the country following George Floyd's death.
"It's so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that 'Black Lives Matter,'" Popovich told Zirin. "Just say those three words. But he won't and he can't. He can't because it's more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity."
Popovich called Trump a "coward" and a "deranged idiot."
"He's not just divisive. He's a destroyer. To be in his presence makes you die. He will eat you alive for his own purposes," Popovich said. "I'm appalled that we have a leader who can't say 'Black Lives Matter.' That's why he hides in the White House basement. He is a coward. He creates a situation and runs away like a grade-schooler. Actually, I think it's best to ignore him. There is nothing he can do to make this better because of who he is: a deranged idiot."
Popovich also criticized Senators Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Lindsay Graham, saying Cruz and Graham are "invisible and obsequious in the face of this carnage" while McConnell is destroying the country.
Popovich called the protests necessary, but said they could be better organized, calling them "muddled" and lacking in direction.
Popovich said the protests have been "explosive" because there has been no change and won't be without a leader.
"Without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change ... The system has to change. I'll do whatever I can do to help because that's what leaders do."
He added that white people also have to reckon with systematic racism.
"White Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever because it's been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change."
Popovich is one of several people in the sports world to speak out about the protests. Several sports stars also joined peaceful protests and marches over the weekend, including the Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, the Milwaukee Bucks' Malcolm Brogdon, the New Orleans Saints' Malcolm Jenkins, and UFC star Jon Jones.
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