Charles Barkley has never been shy to speak his mind.
The former NBA star has long been one of the most outspoken broadcast personalities. He makes it clear where he stands at almost every opportunity, whether he’s talking about sports, social issues, or politics.
The 61-year-old’s stance has changed multiple times over the years. In the 1990s, he identified as Republican, even claiming to have considered running in Alabama’s election for governor in 1998. But he crossed sides a few years later, declaring he was a Democrat who had been Republican “until they lost their minds.”
Barkley made another switch in 2008, identifying as an independent. He has since supported candidates from both parties.
The 11-time NBA All-Star has been very critical of former President Donald Trump in recent years and, earlier this year, threatened to punch any black person he saw wearing a shirt bearing Trump’s mugshot.
“Obviously, I’m not going to go around punching random strangers in the face – first and foremost,” he said later on. “Secondly, people can vote for who they want to. People can vote for who they want to.
“Now, I do want to say this. I want to make it perfectly clear…If you’re a black person and you wearing a Donald Trump mugshot, you are a freaking idiot. And I’m only saying ‘freakin’ idiot because they won’t let me say what I really wanna say. But you can figure it out, it starts with an ’f.'”
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Charles Barkley Isn’t Happy With The Democratic Party Either
Barkley has also been very critical of the Democratic Party, claiming they only care about Black people “every four years.”
“They come into our neighborhoods and say ‘we’re going to make stuff better. We’re going to do this, do this, do this,’” he said. “And then finally, us Black people are like ‘yo man, other than my ability to dunk a basketball, all my neighborhoods is still the same. Our schools are still the same.’ And that’s why Black people are being disappointed in the Democratic Party.”
Barkley remains independent, though he appears to lean more to the left. Still, it does not mean he will not call them out over various issues.
