President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner committed to reaching out to NBA basketball superstar player LeBron James on Thursday to discuss issues of racial justice.
“If LeBron James reached out to the White House or we reached out to him, we’re happy to talk with him,” Kushner said in an interview with Politico’s Playbook reporters Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer.
Kushner was asked about the protests and the rioting and looting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after a black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by a police officer.
When asked by Sherman if he had reached out to James, Kushner replied, “I have not. I’ll reach out to him today.”
Kushner spoke about the group of NBA players led by James who boycotted last night’s playoff games to raise awareness about black people getting shot and killed by police. He criticized the protesting NBA players for relying too much on slogans and protests.
“They have the luxury taking a night off from work. Most Americans don’t have the financial luxury to do that. I think that it’s nice that they’re standing up for the issue, but I’d like to see them start moving into concrete solutions that are productive,” he said.
He pointed to the Trump administration’s “proven track record” of pushing through criminal justice reform as an example where the president worked with both parties to develop and sign important legislation on the issue.
“With the NBA, there’s a lot of activism, and I think that they put a lot of slogans out, but I think that we need to turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that’s gonna solve the problem,” he added.
Kushner also criticized Democrats for failing to offer specific policy proposals.
“We need to bring it to constructive solutions,” he said. “I just think that look, we’re offering solutions with policy, the other side’s doing a lot of complaining.”
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