Few figures in professional sports have been as proudly and aggressively outspoken against Donald Trump as Steve Kerr. After the former President was re-elected to the White House for the second time, the Golden State Warriors coach shared a special, sarcastic message with his team before Wednesday’s highly anticipated clash with the Boston Celtics.
“I just told them in our meeting this morning, let’s make America great again and beat the Celtics tonight,” Kerr quipped during pregame media availability when asked if discussed Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris with the team.
Steve Kerr laments Donald Trump’s hypocritical stance on 2020 ‘voting fraud’
Make no mistake. Just because Kerr has been sounding the alarm about Trump for nearly a decade—including after the 2016 election—and decried Republicans’ lie that the 2020 election was “rigged” as recently as Monday, that hardly means he’s rooting for the 47th President and country at large to fail to in Trump’s second term.
“I believe in democracy. I think the American people have spoken and voted for Trump,” Kerr said. “I want him to do well the next four years. I want our country to do well the next four years.”
Just because he’s seemingly come to terms with Trump getting back in the White House, though, doesn’t diminish the obvious contempt Kerr has for the twice-impeached President-elect. Kerr couldn’t help but turn to sarcasm while addressing the election before Wednesday’s game, again lamenting Trump and his team’s illegal efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election.
“I’m just thankful that there wasn’t any voting fraud this time. Last time, I mean, all those illegal immigrants who crashed the border and raped and murdered people and then voted six times, that was unfortunate. But thankfully this time everything was clean. So it’s great that every election has been really valid, except for that last one four years ago. Twinkle in my eye as I say that, in case you couldn’t see it.”
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Kerr and the Warriors first grew crossways with Trump after refusing to visit the White House upon winning the championship in 2017. They also didn’t make the customary trip to the nation’s capital for a Presidential meet and green the following season after going back-to-back.
Golden State did meet and greet Barack Obama at the White House in 2015 upon winning its first title of the dynasty, an event where Kerr and Stephen Curry, among others, established personal relationships with the former President. Both coach and player endorsed Harris this election cycle, and Kerr even spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, ending his speech by suggesting the country could say “night night” to Trump on November 5th while performing Curry’s signature celebration.
Kerr has never made a secret of where and with whom whose political and social allegiances lie. As America stares a second Trump term in the face, he’s simply hoping for the best.
“I will do everything I can to support my country and our government. I want nothing but the best for us,” he said. “It’s a complex world. We’ve got a lot of interest stuff between wars abroad, the global economy that has shifted everything in terms of what it means for our citizens and their day-to-day lives. I’m well aware I live in a bubble and I’m one of the luckiest people on earth. I want what’s best for us, and I hope Trump can deliver it.”