Broadcaster and former NBA star Charles Barkley slammed the Democrat Party in the wake of Tuesday’s debates, saying that the party has done little to elevate most blacks in America.
The former Phoenix Suns star was in the audience during the July 30 Democrat presidential debates, but the former player was not impressed by what he saw telling reporters that “every black person I know has always voted Democratic,” but most are “still poor” despite that support.
Barkley went on to slam the Democrats for ignoring minorities, saying, “It’s an economic thing, and that’s what both parties have been neglecting, especially the Democratic Party,” according to Yahoo News.
“Every black person I know has always voted Democratic, and with the exception of a few guys who can play sports, all those people are still poor,” Barkley continued.
The TNT commentator added that he said the same thing in 2017 and no progress has occurred.
Despite the Democrat’s failure, Barkley exclaimed that both parties “suck” at delivering for black voters.
“I think all politicians take black folks for granted. They talk to black folks every four years, and that’s about it and then do nothing about it. Both parties suck in that aspect,” he added.
The former player was also not a fan of the debate format.
“You can’t really judge anybody by seeing them on television, especially when you’ve got 20 people. Nobody gets a word in edgewise. That’s really unfortunate,” he said.
Barkley thought that his network could handle the debates better than CNN.
“We can do a much better job [of the debates], especially CNN,” he said. “We could do a much better job of doing like an individual night where we have plenty of time.”
But after saying that, Barkley joked that he hoped his boss, Jeff Zucker, who was standing only a few feet away, would not fire him for the comments.
As far as which candidate he favored, Barkley ultimately suggested was leaning toward supporting either former Obama HUD Secretary Julian Castro or South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
One thing he was not fond of was the constant proclamations from Democrats that Donald Trump is a racist.
“‘I’m leery of calling people ‘racist.’ He says some things that can be construed as ‘racist.’ Some things he’s said are very wrong and flagrant,” Barkley insisted.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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