Trump recalls Tyson defending him during Black History Month event
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President Donald Trump recalled his friend and boxing legend Mike Tyson defending him against accusations of racism during his Black History Month speech at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump’s allegations about Tyson came as the president praised famous Black athletes in American history, including Tyson, boxing legends Muhamad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, and NFL legend Lawrence Taylor.
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“Mike Tyson, boy, let me tell you, Mike was loyal to me. Every time he came out and said, ‘Trump is a racist!’ If they say. Mike Tyson says: ‘He’s not a racist! He’s my friend, he’s been there from the beginning. Good times and bad times,” Trump said.
“But Mike Tyson is a great guy and he was very loyal, always loyal.”
Trump and Tyson have a friendship that dates back to the 1980s, when Tyson was at his best as a boxer and Trump’s rise as a famous real estate developer in New York City.
Tyson has contributed to many initiatives under the Trump administration.
Tyson stood by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins partnered with the Trump administration to combat obesity in early February. During the Super Bowl, Tyson spoke in a commercial about the importance of combating the United States’ addiction to processed food. In advertising,
BOXING GREAT MIKE TYSON DISCUSSES THE HEALTH TRANSFORMATION, THE HISTORY OF JUNK FOOD AND THE TRUMP RELATIONSHIP
Last summer, Tyson previously wrote a letter to Trump urging him to reclassify marijuana as a less harmful substance at the federal level. Tyson led a coalition pushing for change that included a list of other athletes and artists, including Kevin Durant and Ricky Williams.
It paid off in December, when Trump rescheduled marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which is considered less harmful and more useful for medical research.
Trump praised other famous Black American athletes at the event
About Ali: “Muhammad Ali, who is my friend, I put a photo of me and Muhammad. This was another work. He taught the best, but in the end he was able to fight well.”
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On Taylor: “Lawrence Taylor, great man, Lawrence, great Lawrence Taylor, probably the best defensive player in the history of football, he’s a great friend of mine. But I’ve been on the field longer than him. You know what you’re saying? Back up, ’cause you can take a stick that far back and hit it 200 yards. When you can do that, you’re strong. He’s a great, great guy.”
Former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (56) is seen sacking Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Craig Erickson during a game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on September 12, 1993. (MARK D. PHILLIPS/AFP via Getty Images)
On former NFL star Herschel Walker: “Herschel Walker talks about being loyal. What a good football player he was. Herschel. Yes, Herschel Walker is now the ambassador of the Bahamas.”
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