LaVar Ball went on national television Monday night to rebut President Donald Trump and the tweet storm he brewed up on Sunday when the commander-in-chief called Ball ungrateful for his efforts in getting his shoplifting son back from China to the U.S. It was as predictably off-the-rails as you might have expected.

Ball and CNN host Chris Cuomo hit on a number of topics, but the discussion hit a pile of mud and slowed to a crawl when Cuomo brought up gratitude and ragged on LaVar's decision to not show gratitude to the president for his efforts in assisting his son, LiAngelo. From there, things got completely sideways.

Ball refused to say thank you to Trump earlier this week and even went so far as to ask, "Who?" when asked about Trump's involvement in the UCLA saga. He again refused to say thank you on Monday night and insisted that Trump could have done more to resolve the issue in expediting the matter. "What did he do for me?" said LaVar, adding that after 18 years, LiAngelo has earned a pass for his behavior in China.

In the end, LaVar downplayed a feud with the president and challenged the notion that he's picking fights with "the most powerful man in the world." He also got in a few good sales pitches for Big Baller Brand, for good measure.

Despite the sideshow feel, it quickly became apparent that Ball's appearance brought in quite a significant audience. When the interview went off the rails, the internet wasted no time in jumping in to award points and declare winners. There seemed to be plenty of polarizing reactions.

Regardless of anyone's thoughts on Ball's performance in the hot seat, his face at the very end of the segment indicated that he was well pleased with his appearance.

It seems that Mr. LaVar Ball is a believer in the mantra that no publicity is bad publicity.