Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley is excellent on TNT with Shaquille O’Neill, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson. He’s hilarious. He ripped Jussie Smollett and his hate crime hoax that sent the whole nation into a Trump-hating frenzy. In the end, two Nigerian brothers staged the hoax. The Windy City devoted countless hours and resources to this circus act—and while the national media thought this was an actual story, local news did its job, reported on the facts, and revealed it to be a fraud. Barkley’s commentary during a halftime show for TNT’s coverage only showed that it was now a national punchline.





Yet, when it comes to politics, Barkley, an Alabama native, threw his support behind Democrat Doug Jones for U.S. Senate in the state’s special election. Yet, he torched Democrats for pretty much exploiting black voters, only reaching out during election year and then doing jack when they’re ushered into power. Barkley made these remarks in an interview with Sirius XM’s Michael Smerconish.

He also said Republicans need to start doing outreach since they really don’t do it at all with minority communities. That has changed in recent years, especially with former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s agenda of fighting poverty, but it could be better. School choice especially is an area where the GOP can make inroads, not just with black communities, but with urban areas. It’s a win-win issue across the board.

The former NBA star might give liberals heartburn when he said that not all Trump voters are racist, though he admits that some are. Yes, and there are probably some racists who voted for the Democratic Party last year as well. In fact, the Ku Klux Klan backed Democrats throughout the Reconstruction and Jim Crow era. That doesn’t make it the party of the KKK, though when Democrats try to make it seem as if the GOP is—that’s when you hit them over the head with this history lesson. So, in short, Barkley ripped everyone. That’s fair. I think you’ll find a lot of Americans who think both parties suck (via Daily Wire):

On Wednesday, speaking on Michael Smerconish’s SiriusXM radio show, NBA Hall Of Famer Charles Barkley, in his inimitably blunt style, said Democrats only talk to black Americans when they want their votes. […] Barkley recalled, "I said 'Doug, I’m going to support you. I’m going to try to get every black person in Alabama to vote for you.' And it worked out. We won for the first time in 40 years. But I said, 'We need to start holding you Democrats accountable' because they’ve been taking black people’s votes – and they only talk to black people every four years. All of these politicians only talk to black people every four years because they want their vote." Barkley added, "Oh, actually, the Republicans don’t, the Democrats do. But when they get elected, they do nothing in the four years in-between." Barkley also opined on the supposed racism of Trump supporters, saying, "I don’t think everybody who voted for Trump is racist … I think some of them are, but I don’t think everybody who voted for Trump is racist.

Does this mean Charles is canceled now?