Charles Barkley on Trump shooting: ‘We should not be trying to kill the President of the United States’

Hours after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Charles Barkley was on stage wishing the former president well.

In recent years, Barkley has used the Saturday night of the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe to preach his support of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, however, Barkley took the opportunity to speak out against the Trump shooting.

With a drink in one hand and a microphone in the other, Barkley condemned the shooting, offered well wishes for Trump, and chided Fox News.

“I don’t like to be too serious, but I gotta be serious for a second,” Barkley said in Tahoe Saturday night. “Something really sad happened today. Somebody tried to kill the President of the United States.”

Barkley was quickly reminded by someone else on stage that Trump is not the current President of the United States. But Barkley’s point still stands.

“Now, that is really f*cked up,” Barkley said of the assassination attempt. “I’m not going to get up here and act like I’m a Trump guy. But I want to say this, I wish President Trump health. Now I want to make it clear because I know by the time Fox News chops my s**t up tonight they’re gonna say I voted for him, but I want to wish him the best. We should not be trying to kill the President of the United States.”

Despite making it a point to note he didn’t want to be painted as a Trump supporter from a political standpoint, Barkley also recently called for Biden to “pass the torch to a younger generation.” Like many voters, Barkley doesn’t seem satisfied with either presidential candidate.

Barkley has been a harsh critic of Trump in recent years. Just a few months ago, Barkley even flippantly claimed he would punch anyone wearing a Trump mugshot t-shirt in the face. But the disdain he has for Trump didn’t stop Barkley from using part of his stage time typically reserved for LGBTQ+ support to comment on the former president.