A since-deleted tweet by Los Angeles Lakers basketball star LeBron James about police brutality has been covered extensively on Fox News, and "Outnumbered" cohost Kayleigh McEnany used the controversy to present an unusual hypothetical during a segment on her show Thursday afternoon.
McEnany, who served in the Trump administration as the White House press secretary, speculated on how the reaction to James' tweet would be different if he were related to her former boss.
"With LeBron James, you know, he had the audacity to mention accountability," McEnany said. "I would like to see accountability for a leftist saying something wholly inappropriate, putting a target on the back of a police officer. For a moment, think that this was not some celebrity athlete from the left, LeBron James."
Kayleigh McEnany: "Let’s say his name was LeBron Trump and he was a right-wing activist. He would be banned from Twitter and he would lose his job, likely. He'd lose all his sponsorships and he would be relegated to the outskirts of society."pic.twitter.com/ysgEnrzTpd
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 22, 2021
"Let's say his name was LeBron Trump, and he was a right-wing activist," she continued. "He would be banned from Twitter, and he would lose his job, likely. He'd lose all his sponsorships, and he would be relegated to the outskirts of society."
Instead of James weighing in on police shootings, McEnany said she would "rather hear from Shaquille O'Neal, the great Shaq."
James later explained his deleted tweet, saying that he was acting out of anger following another fatal police shooting after the Derek Chauvin murder conviction. Initially, James tweeted a photo of the police officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.
ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail! 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn’t about one officer. it’s about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 21, 2021
McEnany said she was not satisfied with the four-time NBA MVP's mea culpa.
"He said that because he's desperate to find a way to blame others for his heinous tweet and his mistake," she said.
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