A lot has changed under President Donald Trump. Amid a wave of new policy proposals and executive orders that aim at restoring national security and dismantling Obamacare, at least one prominent Alabama Democrat is angry that the Republican Commander-In-Chief won’t fill out an NCAA tournament bracket this year.
President Trump confirmed in February that he would break the a tradition started by his predecessor by not filling out the bracket.
During his eight years in office, President Obama would annually discuss his college basketball picks on ESPN. They had invited Trump to do the same, though the GOP president turned down the offer.
“We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined,” ESPN said in a statement.
Former Auburn University and NBA basketball star Charles Barkley was recently asked by TMZ about his response to the announcement.
“Of course he should,” Barkley said. “Every President has. He should do the bracket.”
Asked to pick a favorite college basketball team this year, the former Auburn player declined to select his alma mater.
“I like North Carolina right now,” he said.
No stranger to politics, Barkley has also recently weighed in on the divisive culture on Capitol Hill. In a recent interview with CNBC, he said that “Republicans and the Democrats, they act like little kids.”
“They are lying to real people out here trying to get through life. … It’s both parties: They disagree on every single issue and it [angers] me … because their job is to work for us,” Barkley said.
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