Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) ripped President Trump on Sunday after the president said he should have left three UCLA basketball players in jail in China after they were accused of shoplifting.

"Dear @realDonaldTrump: As public servants, we help people because it is the right thing to do, not because we want to be praised for it. Also, the US President should never wish for Americans to be locked up in a foreign jail," Lieu tweeted.

Dear @realDonaldTrump: As public servants, we help people because it is the right thing to do, not because we want to be praised for it. Also, the US President should never wish for Americans to be locked up in a foreign jail. https://t.co/nKPqotDUC2 — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) November 19, 2017

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Lieu's comments come after the president tweeted that he should have left the three college athletes in jail after the father of one of the players downplayed Trump's role in the release.

“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!” Trump said.

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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017

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LaVar Ball, the father of formerly detained player LiAngelo Ball, minimized Trump's role in the process during an ESPN interview on Friday.

"Who?" LaVar Ball said of Trump. "What was he over there for? Don't tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out."

The players faced potential jail sentences after they were accused of shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton store in the country. Trump reportedly spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter, and the players were eventually released and returned to the United States last week.

Trump has taken credit for securing their release, and the players thanked the president at a press conference last week.