LeBron James says he's 'for sure' campaigning for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
LeBron James is “extremely focused” on winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he took time off from watching the playoffs Wednesday night to join the premiere of “Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports” on VICE TV.
James, whose Lakers are down 0-1 in their series against the Portland Trail Blazers, said Cari Champion and Jemele Hill were the only ones who could get him on the phone.
He addressed campaigning, if he will run for office after his career and what his More Than A Vote initiative is all about.
James plans to campaign for Biden, Harris
James campaigned for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 and said he would “for sure” be doing the same for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
“We are in a time where we need change,” James said. “In order for change, it’s all about leadership and leadership starts at the top.”
James campaigned for Clinton is his native Ohio, a swing state, months after winning an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He appeared at a rally, which would be all but impossible now given the NBA’s bubble and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Will James run for office?
Will someone be campaigning for James, 35, one day? The three-time NBA champion didn’t say no to running for political office after retiring.
“The people who’s in office right now, let’s get them to the side, let’s get them off first,” James said. “And then, you know, you can come back to me.”
Champion and Hill had some fun with the non-answer and asked James to spill the real tea, but James didn’t go for it. So in short, yes someone very well could be campaigning for James in political office one day.
Election 2020: James gets out the vote
James is focused on a title, but he’s also making social justice issues and the election a core part of his life. His More Than A Vote coalition released an open letter on Monday detailing its goals and calls to action.
The nonpartisan initiative is working to combat voter suppression and make a fair election process.
“More Than A Vote is not only about getting people in our community to actually go out and vote, but it’s giving them the knowledge and the power and the mechanism to know that they can create change,” James said. “And that’s all we hear in the black community all the time. They say we want change.
“We’ve been lied to for so many years in the black community saying that we can’t do this or we can’t do this or do that because we’re so bottom-of-the-barrel. Change starts at the very top when it comes to leadership, but it also is going to continue beyond November, going into December and also 2021.”
James said the first time he voted was at the age of 21. He didn’t vote at 18 because of the “narrative that was taught to us” that his vote didn’t count or matter. He said seeing Barack Obama’s strength, power and dignity as a senator and then as president made him “want to be better.”
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