Part of what has made Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley a beloved figure in the media in the days since his Hall of Fame playing career has ended is his willingness to always express his beliefs, popular or otherwise.
Barkley recently appeared on The Chris Cuomo Project, where he discussed how foolish he finds some of the far-left political movements gaining steam on the heels of politicians such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and popular streamer Hasan Piker.
“Some of these people out here talking about no ICE, no prison, using words like socialism,” Barkley said. “Like, no, I don’t believe in that. Wait, wait, no cops? I think that’s some of the stupidest sh*t I’ve ever heard.
“What are we gonna do without cops? Yeah. What are we gonna do without prisons? Like, I’ve seen some of these politicians, I’m like, this is the stupidest sh*t ever. And a lot of— most of them, well, probably all of them have been Democrats.”
Barkley then spoke about how, although he believes it is vital, ICE still must do a better job.
“Now, ICE has to do a much better job, much better job. We need that. We need a Like, we can’t just let people come across the border. We can’t do that. But ICE has to do a better job. We need immigrants in this country. They’re some of the most amazing, hardworking people in the world. But we need to get rid of the crooked immigrants.”
Barkley also touched on President Trump, who he feels has allowed racists to get comfortable.
“The one thing that makes me sad, these people out here now, you used to have to be quiet when you were racist. You don’t have to be quiet anymore,” Barkley said.
“People who are racist, they feel confident and comfortable being racist,” he added. “There was a time you used to have to hide it. There were always racists, but they used to be able to hide it. But he’s made it comfortable, and that’s why he’s able to get away with a lot more.”
Barkley has recently flirted with retiring from Inside the NBA after this season and taking a step back from the public eye, but as long as he’s around, don’t expect him to hold back his opinion, whether it be basketball or politics.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.