Former CIA Director John Brennan, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, slammed him on Saturday for posting a tweet attacking the intelligence of CNN host Don Lemon and NBA star LeBron James.
"What responsible & right-thinking adult can point to [President Trump] as a role model for our youth?" Brennan wrote, after retweeting the president's message about James and Lemon. "Whenever he spews lies, insults, and polarizing hate speech against fellow Americans, think of its harmful impact on our young people and the way they talk, act, & treat others."
Late Friday night, Trump called Lemon in a tweet the "dumbest man on television" and that he "made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do."
During the CNN interview, initially airing Monday and then repeated on Friday, James said the president is using sports to "divide us," and when Lemon asked what James would say if he was sitting across from Trump, the basketball giant replied "I would never sit across from him. I'd sit across from Barack [Obama], though."
In addition to politics, James and Lemon discussed the NBA star's contributions to his hometown of Akron, Ohio, including the I Promise School, which is being built for at-risk children in grades three and four through the efforts of the LeBron James Foundation and the Akron City Schools.
Trump has had ongoing feuds with NFL and NBA players, mainly centered on the controversy over athletes kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem. Trump's tweet drew cries of racism, including from CBS news anchor Dan Rather.
In a pair of tweets, Rather slammed Trump, calling his tweet "racist" and saying it came from the president's "petty but dangerous habits."
"This is apparently what the President of the United States feels the need to share with the world at what should be long past his bedtime?" Rather posted early Friday morning. "It's a disgrace. It's racist. And it's the product of petty but dangerous hatreds."
He went on to praise James and Lemon, saying he'd "much rather live in a world reflecting the values, philanthropy, and yes intelligence of LeBron James and Don Lemon's intelligent commitment to truth and journalism than the divisive peevishness, lies, and narrow self-interest displayed by the President of the United States."
James did not respond to the president, instead tweeting a link for the I Promise School.
Lemon, however, did respond to Trump's tweet, coming to James' defense.
"Who's the real dummy?" asked Lemon. "A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?"
He also added the hashtag #BeBest, referring to First Lady Melania Trump's initiative, aimed at kindness and respect.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.