United States President Donald Trump sat down for a one-on-one interview recently, and surprisingly, the topic of the late great Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was broached.

Jeff Pearlman, who has authored 10 New York Times bestsellers, previously reported that during the 1998 NBA All-Star weekend, New Jersey Nets forward Jayson Williams felt that Bryant came across as disrespectful during an encounter at the Grand Hyatt in New York.

After a punch was allegedly thrown, Trump stepped in to try and de-escalte the situation. The President was asked about this during a sit-down interview with Jake Paul.

“That was a long time ago. Yeah, well I was breaking up a fight, which sometimes is more dangerous than being in a fight, which is sometimes more dangerous than being in a fight,” Trump said.

“But I like Kobe. Kobe was having a hard time with somebody and it worked out fine. But yeah, I broke it up – probably not a smart thing to do. Historically, it’s never good to break up fights.”

Paul for President?

Trump also clearly thinks highly of his interviewee, Paul. At a rally in Kentucky, the President predicted that Paul would run for office in the future, and even gave the YouTuber-turned-boxer his endorsement.

“Now, he’s a great guy. He’s a courageous guy and a talented guy. He’s a hell of a fighter, too, by the way. And I just want to say, I predict, I’m going to make a prediction that you will be, in the not too distant future, running for political office. And you have my complete and total endorsement. Now, that’s what we want. He’s an incredible guy. A lot of courage and smarts.”

Paul has already stated his desire to run for President in the future, although at the time it was unclear whether he was joking or serious.

“Sign and delivered,” Paul said in a video. “Become world champ, become billionaire, have three kids and get married to Jutta [Leerdam], beat [Oleksandr] Usyk, win an Oscar, fight on the moon, and start a presidential campaign.“