A former Obama-era official has said Donald Trump’s tweets criticising the father of a UCLA basketball player arrested in China summarise the President’s “unfitness for the job.”

“He does not see himself as representing the citizens of the United States (that's the job desc) but himself as a kind of petulant emperor who needs to be fawned over to do his job. Unpresidential in the extreme,” tweeted Richard Stengel.

Mr Stengel served as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under former President Barack Obama.

Three UCLA basketball players, including LaVar Ball’s son, LiAngelo, were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of shoplifting during a team trip to China.

Mr Trump said he personally asked Chinese President Xi Jinping, who he met with in Beijing, to intervene in the case. The players returned home last week.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump expressed that he wanted to hear the players’ gratitude for his involvement.

“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!” he tweeted.

The players said ‘thank you’ at a press conference later that day, as well as apologised for their behaviour.

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Mr Trump then issued a follow-up message, telling them “you’re welcome” and to “go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made your release possible”.

“HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!” he added.

But that wasn’t the end. Mr Trump had more words to say on the matter after Mr Ball said the President had done little to help with the release of his son.

“Who?” Mr Ball told ESPN’s Arash Markazi when asked about the President’s involvement in the matter. “What was he over there [on the Asian trip] for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”

Mr Trump retorted on Twitter: “Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!”