his name is lavar ball. the big talking attention seeker who dismissed the president's efforts to cnn. the president taking the bait, when he, mr. ball told espn that he didn't think it was a big deal. the president called him "very ungrateful." the table is now set for what could be an epic clash of smack talkers. tonight lavar ball is here, and he has a message for the president. mr. ball, thank you for taking the opportunity. >> no problem. >> did you ever think you would be on cnn discussing geopolitics and the president of the united states? >> never in my wildest dreams. >> so as we live this dream. let's discuss how we got here. your son was playing ball with ucla in china. they stole merchandise from a store. the president finds out about it, he gets involved, the boys are released, they get to come back home which was never a certainty until he got involved. he says that your son -- >> how do you know he was involved before i knew that. he didn't know they were over there. what was the reason for hi

the real winners here tragically are donald trump and lavar ball. we're talking about this instead of serial sexual assault and problems with the tax bill, which is incredibly unpopular or the fact the head of his oklahoma state party was just indicted for child sex trafficking. lavar is a p.t. barnum style huksster and the president is tweeting his name. this does great things for lavar ball in nba circles, because donald trump is viewed as a bigot and lebron james words as a bum. people like steve kerr and greg pop vich have called donald trump a racist and lavar ball is not viewed greatly in the circles, but out of this he'll be more an anti-hero than a heel. >> do you agree that the president was the guy out of his league on this? they are playing this game of attention seeking. i don't quite agree he's out of his league in terms of the game on twitter. we're now in an attention economy where everybody tries to leverage retweets and hits on the media for gain. in the president's case it started out early in his life in terms of financial gain. n

this is good for lavar ball.tionally or not, i want your take on this, he has drawn into his sphere of influence people who are resistant to the president. i don't know that he was looking to be politically relevant. i think he was looking to be relevant from a marketing sp ii perspective, but what's your take? >> without a doubt. this is great for him. you're right, there are people who don't like the president, many, many people, who are saying this guy is kind of a sports parent times 100, gone crazy in some ways. but at least he's now drawing trump's ire and is a thorn in trump's side. of course, now i'm on his side. that's also great for lavar ball. whether they'll buy the shoes or pay any attention to him after next week, probably not. but, yes, for the time being, he is the resistance so he is the latest person to go up against trump. and i agree with april, of course, on this. i think we all do. the fact that the president of the united states can be drawn in to a fight with a sports parent is just an ext

>> if trump had grown up in lavar sirgz he would have been lavar and if lavar had grown up rich and whiteent now. it's like listening to a fight between the two loudest guys in the bar. in one serious note, a navy plane went down in the middle of the night and three people on that plane are still missing and i woke up this morning and saw tweets about lavar ball before i saw a tweet about that, the plane. >> it is a really good point. >> it makes donald trump so happy to be able to have this kind of dumb fight. he loves a pointless culture war. he loves, especially, pitting himself against black athletes which has racial connotations and in the wake of his comments from charlottesville, you would think that the guy -- that the president, perhaps, could handle himself with a little bit more dignity. the nfl anthem, the nfl kneeling, that is his absolute favorite cultural war. he also went back to that again this morning. >> he went after steph curry, mvp, a family man, a religious guy, president trump went so far to write his name out of spite. steph curry didn't want to go to the white ho

then lavar ball got involved.er the interview i'm guessing we'll see more angry tweets from the president. we'll see. and if so, we'll probably talk about it tomorrow night. but in the grand scheme of things, this was settled and lavar ball brought the president into the matter >>> we're talking about virginia for the 2018 mid terms, with mark levine, back after this. did you know you can still get a refreshing any size soft drink for just one dollar at mcdonald's? with the days getting shorter and your to-do list getting longer, you'll enjoy this ice-cold deliciousness more than ever. hurry over to mcdonald's. ♪♪ (♪♪) (♪♪) it all starts with a wish. the lincoln wish list event is here. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complementary first months payment. they're looking at the mcpick 2... ...two for five deals all across the board! here it comes... (crowd cheers) a big mac and 10 piece mcnuggets! they got em! get your fan favorites on

the players thanked him, lavar ball did not. but may karrie, the president doesn't just lash out at african-americans, there are plenty of people he has gone after that are white. how do you differentiate the two? >> it's clear. the president establishes the people he lash out. people that are quote unquote jeff lange and jeff sessions or anyone else. then you have the media. the clearest example of this you had eminem at the bet awards. john, i don't know if you were watching like the rest of us. he went down the reasons he disrespected and didn't like the president of the united states. what has happened? the president has not respond. the president has this tendency of not responding to people who simply look like him. this is not a difficult or something that is a controversy what so far. the president of the united states picks these foils and many fall into a few categories. their muslim, immigrant, establishment figures or their african-americans and that's where lavar ball falls in the category. the reason he discuss thi

lavar is just a poor man's version of don king just without the hair. just think, lavar, you could have spent another five to ten years during thanksgiving with your son in china. remember shoplifting is not a little thing. it's a really big deal especially in china. ungrateful fool. speaking of sports, the president continued. "the nfl is now thinking of a new idea keeping teams in the locker room during the national anthem next season. that's almost as bad as kneeling.

>> lavar ball has said he could take on michael jordan and beat him. is trump just giving ball exactly what he wants more attention? >> absolutely. this is the greatest thing that's ever happened to lavar ball and i would tell the president which is to ignore this guy. lavar ball is -- picture the worst mom or dad on your kid's youth sport sideline, the worst screamer that you've ever met multiplied times ten, maybe multiplied times 100 and that's lavar ball. he's one of these guys that just can drive you crazy. he's gone on sexist rants and got a female referee removed from his youngest son basketball game this summer. he's had other sexist rants. he's really not a good guy and there are a lot of people -- i've been critical of him, a lot of people critical of this behavior but to think that now he's been able to troll the president of the united states and drag the president into a twitter war or war of words with a guy who is, other than being ridiculous parent, basically harmless and this is the president of the united states. this is unbelievable

lavar ball is kind of doing a trump to trump. he knows if you criticize this man, he will respond is. >> this is one of the remarkable things about the president of the united states. everybody from foreign dictators to some guy trying to sell athletic shoes can figure out how to sort of manipulate him, poke him, sort of goat him and how to get some kind of a rise out of him. it's a shame that while president trump -- let's take him at his word, did the right thing and helped these kids get out of a really sticky situation, one wishes he had done that for political prisoners in china. one wishes that he was beating his chest taking credit for trying to sort of deal with democracy and human rights issues across asia which he absolutely failed to do. >> but, errol, back to your original point because i have been here marinating on it. every conversation the president publicly has had has been a person of color. look at sergeant johnson's wife. you look at congresswoman wilson. the gold star muslim family. look at lavar ball. >> sur

[chanting] >> juan: what about lavar ball as don king?ked him. >> kimberly: don king supported him. >> brian: do you think it's over? >> juan: no, no. >> dana: never over. we have talked about it two days in a row. it's never over. >> greg: what trump is saying, he recognizes that ball is a showman. when he set a poor man's don king, he was basically saying i know what you are doing. a lot of people call me a poor man's lou dobbs. >> kimberly: everybody says that. >> dana: it is written in the bathroom. >> brian: they didn't just take glasses. they took a lot of stuff. they could've ended up in a lot of trouble. >> kimberly: it a serious thing. he did something wonderful. lavar ball. blah, blah, blah. >> dana: he is asked about it on the plane. the president is very restrained and talking about how bad the situation was. at one point, he says it wasn't good, okay. he leaves it at that and everyone could have left of it that. instead we have to go over it over and over. >> juan: i had fun with the ridiculous tweet but i think he has self i

lavar ball, father of ucla's liangelo ball and l.a. lakers rookie lonzo ball dismissing the president's role in getting his son released. the outspoken mr. ball telling espn, who? what was he over there for? don't tell me nothing. everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out." now the president slamming ball as ungrateful. cnn's boris sanchez has more from the white house. >> reporter: dave and christine, president trump never known to back down from a fight. this latest spat with lavar ball over the release of his son from prison in china over alleged shoplifting. this all started while the president was on his 12-day, 5-nation tour of asia. those three ucla players were detained. the president found out about it, we're hearing from white house officials, and personally asked chinese president xi jinping if those students could be released and safely returned to the united states. they were. and in that process, the president allowed on twitter, wondered whether or not those players would thank him. they did, and he tweeted a

seems like lavar is enjoying himself, too. >> well, to be clear, though, was it lavar who started it or the president? >> not -- again, not to defend lavar ball, for the record. >> they seem to be enjoying themselves in this whole thing, and i think the sons probably wish they could leaf it alone. >> it was just a matter of time that the intersection of donald trump and lavar ball, it was just a matter of time before these two reality stars collided. >> well, yeah. lavar ball is a firebrand in and of himself and an apple cart upsetter is how i term him. he's taken on the nba and the ncaa. but this isn't without precedent because in 2011 the georgetown basketball team ended up playing a series of goodwill games in china and there was a brawl at the end of one of them. the vice president at the time, joe biden, had to -- had actually attended the game before and subsequent to the brawl, the chinese officials worked through normal diplomatic channels to ensure the safety of those players for the rest of their trip and safe return home and nobody asked for a thank you. >> let's turn to r

(steve)and the one and only lavar ball...ries to explain why he won't thank the president for helping get his son out of china and back to the states... gary has mister ball... and all the sports... coming up <> baller is!!"because big thanksgiving! great trump to have a "tell donald aford it." lavar ball the outspoken father of liangelo who was one of the three ucla players caught shoplifting talked tonight about why he won't thank president trump for his role in getting the boys out of china he was on cnn with chris cuomo"i don't have doubt abut what he did, i have doubt about what he didn't do.how's that?" "you have doubts about what he did and what he didn;t do?""i'm goona tell you this.if i'm coming to get you out of trouble you best believe i'm gonna take you with me.did he help the boys get out, i don't know. if i was gonna thank somebody i would prpobably thank president xi. if i help somebody, i don;t alk around saying i helped you now... come on gfive me some love!...

it looks like donald trump fell right into lavar ball's brand.e are on national tv talking about lavar and his brand. he needs that opponent. that seems to be the only way he can operate. usually it's hillary clinton or the media. he also has this thing where he likes to press upon the divisions. so when you have those instances like jamil hill, fredricka wilson or lavar ball, there is a common thread. it preys on the darkest part of our country's history. >> the president targeting people of color when he picks his fights? >> no. jeff flake caught it later in the day. i think bakari is right he likes to foil. he is elevating him and his brand and all. i just think it is a little bit more fun. trump has a record now of getting some of our american young people especially out of asia where they are in trouble. the kid from ohio came home and passed away here. at least we got it home. trump takes some pride in that. no one takes lavar ball, who has taken on on michael jordan, no one takes him as seriously as the jeff flake debate. i don't see it as

he's talking about lavar ball and the nfl. >> yeah. look, if there is a thread that goes through donald trump's presidency in his political life it is personal peak. he does not like when he doesn't get credit that he believes he deserves. he does not like when people say bad things about him. and he is unwilling or demonstrated to willingness to ever take the high road. he will get in any fight with anyone. and this is just more evidence of that fact. look, last week he attacked lavar ball's son, liangelo ball, and two others arrested for shoplifting. he attacked jeff flake, cnn, the new york sometimes, marshawn lynch. now we are to the nfl and roger goodell and now lavar ball. he cares about what is him. he cares what affects him and what people say about him. he does not view the presidency as a representative of the country, just as sort of a lone individual, an individual who gets a lot of attention, but an individual who will not allow himself to ever be attacked and not respond. >> so how does that play, a.b., into what's going

, it was me, too bad, lavar is a poor man's version of don king without the hair. then again -- never mind. he followed up by saying think lavar you could have spent the next five to ten years during thanksgiving with your son in china but no nba contract to support you but remember, shoplifting is not a little thing it's a big deal especially in china ungrateful fool. lee angelo ball and two of his aclu team mates were left while the president was visiting. the three have since been suspended. >> i want to tell you what. it amazes me every day, it should not -- you're the president. >> now, let's put it this way. >> but lavar ball, why -- what was the incentive for him to say -- who? look. let it go. it's over and done with. his son broke the law in a foreign country. >> absolutely. >> and yes, it's harshly punished there. >> i just, but you're right. then, >> it's beneath the >> they're two grown men. >> i agree but i think he's a wants, you're the president of the united states. stop responding. you can't respond to everybody. if you and i responded to everybody

in a different context, we'd be applauding lavar ball. probably advertising classes some day across the country are going to be studying, probably a chapter on lavar ball and this run he's had. >> i don't know if i'd go that far, steve. you're a coach of ucla. if you were coach currently and all of a sudden you're thrust into this geopolitical situation, would you be saying to somebody at the school, could we get a pull aside with his father and tell him to ixnay with the president, would you have that chat? >> i think for starters, if you have a rapport with a parent that starts with recruiting and you develop the trust and communication with each other, it wouldn't be something to pull them aside. hopefully we have -- >> a conversation. >> -- a conversation, to be able to communicate in a gentlemanly way. >> so, you would maybe have that conversation. have you ever -- as a coach, would you let it go, or would you -- >> well, i think it's a balance. it's a delicate balance. because if you start trying to control things you really don't h

lavar is just a poor man's version of don king, but without the hair. just think. trump revisited the national anthem controversy, aiming not at the kneeling players but the league itself. "the nfl is now thinking about a new idea - keeping teams in the locker room during the national anthem next season. that's almost as bad as kneeling! when will the highly paid commissioner finally get tough and smart? this issue is killing your league!" president trump spent most of the morning at the golf club. he will be having meetings and working the phones, encouraging senators to pass the tax cut and tax reform bill. signing the package into law would fulfill a major campaign promise. back in d.c., vice president mike pence and second lady karen visited with wounded warriors recovering at walter reed national military medical center and the uso warrior and family center where nearly all of the service members had amputations or prosthetics. >> thank you for your service. the caregivers gathered here. you give your best to america's best. we are all grateful to you and than

you know, lavar ball's comments were on friday on espn. for some reason it wasn't until sunday afternoon that president trump decided to weigh in. maggie said months ago during a documentary, that president trump's critics would be made to bow down to president trump. that that was the mindset. now maybe that was only on the mindset. wing we've seen that in president trump's own comments whether it's about this case or other cases. it reveals, i think his tweets reveal a lot about his inner psyche and for that i suppose i'm grateful to twitter that we get this inner look all the time. >> and the timing of the tweets, april, what does it say? that the president tweeted about lavar ball, waited six hours and tweeted about him again. >> the president is thin-skinned. he is watching twitter. he -- i mean, they can say he doesn't watch tv, he doesn't watch the news, that's not true. he does. he's watching twitter. and he sees the unfavorable words about him. this president, according to those who knew him before, people in his inner circle, peo

why lavar ball is refusing to thank the president... for his role in getting 3 u-c-l-a basketball players out of china. ( terisa ) good morning i'm terisa estacio. (james) and i'm james fletcher. lets start the morning with a check of weather and traffic... rebecca:high pressure will bring dry and warmer weather to the area tuesday and wednesday. the high will move east on thursday with the next chance of rain late this weekend. no major hot spots. bay bridge wb 80 is less then 30 min from the no major hot spots. bay bridge wb 80 is less then 30 min from the maze to sf. ( terisa ) our top story this morning... a 14-year-old boy is arrested for bringing a loaded gun to school in the east bay.( james ) kron 4's lydia pantazes is live at de anza high school in richmond with the details. lydia. ( lydia ) in the east bay... a 14-year-old boy is arrested for bringing a loaded gun to school. it happened at de anza high school in richmond last friday and police are just now releasing the information. the revolver was found in the student's back

lavar ball is a character, but he's a civilian.he president to even engage lavar ball i thought was foolish. and to be honest, when we look at the president, we want the president to show leadership. children are supposed to look to the president, not to lavar ball and his son, the president. i think he is showing a poor example. >> martha: what you think about that? initially when i watched this back and forth over the weekend i kind of had the same reaction, why is he going there? wires he going? why is he doing it? the more i looked at it and thought about it, everything is about figuring out a message to young people and he clearly felt that the message that was going out from lavar ball, the father of these basketball players, was the wrong message, and he wanted to make very clear that he felt differently. what do you think? >> i agree. i think it's important to note that lavar ball is a donald trump-like figure, he says what's on his mind. the problem with his message regarding his son is counterproductive to what he has alw

so, we get back to lavar ball. why won't he thank the president for helping get his kid out of china? here is what he said. >> it wasn't like he was in the u.s. and said, okay, there's three kids in chiena. i need to go over there and get them. that wasn't the thought process. i have to know what somebody is doing before i say thank you. i'm not just going to go around saying thank you. >> they were in a place that didn't need to let them go and they could have been held for a long time. >> they were in a place that didn't let them go? he got them out of jail, right? >> they didn't need to let them go. >> you heard what he tweeted because he's mad at me. i should have left their asses in jail. >> yep. >> first of all they wasn't in jail. they was in a hotel. >> the president of the united states says he helped and you say if you didn't see it, you didn't hear it, you don't believe it? >> hey, if he said he helped, that's good for his mind. >> what do you mean, good for his mind? >> why do you even have to say it? i

but remember, lavar, shoplifting is not a little thing.ecially in china. ungrateful fool!" (pam) coming up.. (pam)(pam) coming up.. a look at the downside of thanksgiving dinner table conversation... are you taking the tissue test? yep, and my teeth are yellow. time for whitestrips. crest glamorous white whitestrips are the only ada-accepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. and they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. i'm never gonna be able i'll take a sick day tomorrow. on our daughter's birthday? moms don't take sick days... moms take nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep with a cold, medicine. ( pam ) it seems a lot of people who come together for thankgiving .. do not like political talk at the dinner table.( steve ) more than a third of americans dread talking about politics over thanksgiving. that's according to a new poll by associated press. it says that democrats are slightly more likely than republicans

the president exercised about lavar ball. that big interview on cnn a couple nights ago and broke the internet and the president still thinking about it. yesterday he didn't say anything, but today he is on vacation to mar-a-lago. the new comeses out about the navy crash. we assume the commander in chief knows about it before we do, but he does not tweet about it. he tweets about lavar ball and the nfl and raises issues on whether he tends to target things that exacerbate racial tensions. how do you see it? >> it's bad for him because it's taking him off message, yet again. at a time when his party is desperately trying to put parties on the board and pass tax reform. and you look at other presidents in the past and they would never go off message at this message in time when his party desperately needs him to stay on message and not go, you know, in that direction. and that's problematic for him. this is why we're seeing kind of this party in disarray. this party that is so incredi y incredibly, all these factions. this is v

<lavar ball>"if spmebody does something for you then you say thank you." "somebody did something for you. say thank you.""okay, i would have said thank you if he had put him on his plane and took him home...i'll send you some big baller merch." "send it because it's too expensive. i can't "tell donald trump to have a great thanksgiving! because big baller is!!" my easy answer answer to why he was on..hes good tv...whether people admit it what th busines looks for.....now granted i even question why cnn would go on and on with a bawesketball father....but honestly do we need two more minutes of wolf blizter...d ner asked me whos good who bad..................who doesbt deserve to be on tv....because i'l a sucker for a gu with a twinkle in his eye....and i think....he's his eye....and i with a twinkle in his eye....and i think....he's playing the media for suckers..back playing the media for suckers..back next hour stanford playing powerhours north carokina..in college hoops.gs coming upis it a case of be ca

lavar is just a poor man's version of don king, but without the hair. don king supported president trump in 2016. the president went on to call ball an ungrateful fool. in a season of thankfulness, it was a blistering response for ball's refusal to say the words thank you to president trump. >> if i was going to thank somebody, i'd probably thank president xi. >> reporter: the president didn't stop there, also reviving his beef with the nfl. the nfl is now thinking about a new idea, keeping teams in the locker room during the national anthem next season. that's almost as bad as kneeling. the tweet storm didn't stop until the president arrived at trump international golf course. >> yeah, i'll be talking. >> reporter: the messages may have been an attempt to change the subject from his remarks tuesday at the white house. >> let me just tell you, roy moore denies it. that's all i can say. he denies it. and, by the way, he totally deny it is. >> reporter: even as a majority of americans say moore shouldn't serve. tonight, a new quinnipiac poll shows 60% of

lavar is jeff sessions a poor man's version of don king, but without the hair. the president went on to call ball an ungrateful fool. it was a blistering response to ball's failure to say thank you to donald trump. >> if i was going to thank somebody i would thank president xi. >> also going after the nfl. the tweet storm didn't stop until the president arrived at trump international golf course. >> i'll be talking. >> the messages may have been an attempt to change the subject from his remarks tuesday at the white house. >> let me just tell you, roy moore denies it. that's all i can say. he denies it. by the way, he totally denies it. >> even as a majority of americans say moore shouldn't serve. tonight a new poll says 60% of american voters say if moore is elected, the senate should expel to vote him, 28% do not. in alabama moore's campaign touted the move. sending a copy of mr. trump's kind words to supporters. francis rooney told cnn he was not backing roy moore. >> i would rather have seen no support for roy moore myself. >> now as for the president's meeti

lavar ball speaking out, nfl players taking a knee bothers him.hat about fredricka says bothers him. he attacked lavar ball saying he was a poor man's version of don king. that is absolutely a dog whistle. what about these particular folks, particularly in the ucla players's case makes him think they are grateful for them. >> because they are not in a chinese jail. it's very simple, simone. they should be grateful for the president intervening because today they are with their families for thanksgiving. they could have been sit anything jail for 15 some odd years. >> i'm not in the habit of giving people cookies, candy and pats on the back for things they should be doing. donald trump and the state department did what they should do, often what the state department does in many cases across the world when americans get in trouble. they often do so without tweets from the president and folks saying you have to tell me thank you. so i think the problem here is donald trump has presumably done a lot of things since he's been in office. for all we kno

lavar ball is a professional troll.ave him everything you wanted by elevating him here. >>> all right, would you get into an uber that didn't have a driver? >> no. no, i would not. >> it soon could be a reality. details on "cnn moneystream," next. what started as a passion... ...has grown into an enterprise. that's why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. now, i'm earning unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase i make. everything. what's in your wallet? so, verizon and google have teamed up on the pixel 2. it's a match made in tech heaven. it's like verizon is the oil and google is the balsamic. no, actually, they separate into a suspension. it's more like the google pixel 2 is the unlimited storage. and verizon is the best unlimited plan. what if it's like... h2 and o? yeah. yeah, like that. i had a feeling that would score with you guys. good meeting. (vo) when you really, really want the best, get up to 50% off the pixel 2 on google's exclusive wireless partner, verizon. allow you to take advantage of

jamil, can you guess why it is that people think that lavar ball and lavar burton are the same personhe issue at hand. donald trump, this week, i will confess, i had no idea who lavar ball was before this week. now that the three basketball players are out of china, lavar ball, the father of liang el low is unaccepting for what i did for his son. i should have left them in jail. your thoughts on the idea that the president of the united states said he should have left them rotting in jail because their dad didn't thank them enough. >> for generations now, black people have been told they are not grateful enough to have what they have in this country or they don't show enough appreciation for all the gifts that have been bestowed upon us. i think you have the president here perhaps experiencing such pain that he's actually helping black mennes cape prison. you can't help but lash out, and say that, hey, these young black men aren't being thankful enough, neither is their loud mouth father. and so, we're going to have another round of let's talk about the prominent black person so we ca

lavar burton here, you're a has-been actor with a a son. trump is the president of the united states, get the picture? >> how about another washed up actor, check. son caught stealing innen ch, check. r his daughter. get in, fred! even if it means being the back half of a unicorn. fear not fred, the front half washed his shirt with gain. and that smell puts the giddy in "giddy-up"! ah... the irresistible scent of gain flings laundry detergent. you can't help but smell happy. i'm joy bauer, and as a nutritionist i know probiotics can often help. try digestive advantage. it is tougher than your stomach's harsh environment, so it surivies a hundred times better than the leading probiotic. get the digestive advantage. i had this chest cold, e kept wearing off. oughs)! i missed you! then i discovered mucinex. one pill lasts 12 hours,and i'm good. why take 4-hour medicine? one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. because your carpet there's resolve carpet care. it lifts more dirt and pet hair versus vacuuming alone.

we'll show you what lavar said. >>> all right, and here it is, lavar ball in a verbal tug-of-war withnn's chris cuomo in an interview that lasted 23 head-spinning minutes. ball refused to thank president trump for getting his son and two ucla basketball teammates out of jail after their arrest for shoplifting in china. >> ball had minimized the president's role over the weekend, to which the president responded by tweeting that ball was very ungrateful and he should have left them -- the players -- in jail. ball telling cnn he is still not convinced the president helped bring the young men home. >> if he said he helped, that's good for his mind. >> what do you mean good for his mind? >> but why even say it? if he helps, he shouldn't say anything. if i helped someone, i don't walk around saying, i helped you now. come on, give me some love. i helped you! come on, for real? i would have said thank you if he would have put them on his plane and took them home. then i would have said, thank you, mr. trump, for taking my boys out of china and bringing them back to the u.s. there's a lot of

the president has been demanding a thank you from lavar ball and lavar ball so far refusing to give that thank you. this really underscores the president's continuing anger over perceived spites, if you will, by individuals going all the way back to about 2011 or so. the president obama speaking, making jokes about donald trump at the washington white house correspondents dinner. and i think it also points out that the president now is also engaged in a back and forth on twitter with a man who refuses to kneel and that makes good copy, at least, in the reality show that is the white house these days. meanwhile, it is important to say, also, that the president is not traveling with some of the people who tend to keep him in check. in a variety of different ways. cnn producer liz landers points out that a number of the people including the press secretary, the white house chiefs of staff not here as the president begins the long thanksgiving holiday. john and poppy, back to you. >> joe johns, thank you very much. >>> to alabama now where in the president's view an accused child molester wh

too bad, lavar is just a poor man's version of don king, but without the hair."en went on to call ball a, "ungrateful fool." for me, i'm joined by a.b. stoddard and jonathan capehart, msnbc contributor. jonathan, why does the president punch down? why does he get another ego guy like himself, who nobody ever heard of, and pitch up a holiday-long fight with this guy? >> well, that's a good question. the president always punches down. let's think about this for a second, chris. we have the president of the united states, who is engaged in a fight with a private citizen, with an american citizen. you know, we used to have presidents who used to rise above these things, who would leld such insults as the interview that lavar ball gave on cnn, just let that slide, because that sort of thing is beneath -- should be beneath the president, should be beneath the office of the presidency. and yet, what we have here, chris, are two big egos in the age of trump, where the president feels that it's okay to punch down and zbeget into a very public fight with a private citizen.

but remember, lavar, shoplifting is not a small thing, especially in china. it's a big deal. ungrateful fool. michelle is columnist for "the new york times". it seems to be everything you need to know about the president's theory of the law, the theory of justice and theory of law and order and crime and all of that is there contained in the 12 hours that he essentially endorses roy moore against doug jones and rants at lavar ball about his son's shoplifting. >> right, on the one hand, it is shocking to see the president of the united states stick up for somebody who is almost certainly is a child molester, who at the very least has admitted to pursuing teenage girls when he was in his 30s, albeit with their parent's permission. but like you said, everything -- it's of a piece with the defense of white supremacists in charlottesville. and i think that the only question that donald trump asks himself, when he decides who to support is, do these people support me? are they on my side? do they show me the right kind of gratitude and deference? and the other questions, i don't th

this is lavar, he has his own brand of controversy around him. he said i don't know how much president trump had to do with freeing my son liangelo. the president heard it and fired back. now that the three basketball players are out of china and saved from years in jail, lavar ball, the father of liangelo, is unaccepting of what i did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. i should have left them in jail. >> china told them why released. very ungrateful. >> the president attacked republican senator jeff flake of arizona. again, of course, in a tweet. this was after an open mike moment captured senator flake calling the gop toast if president trump and roy moore are allowed to define it. >> writing senator jeff flaky, who is unelectable in the great state of arizona, quit race, anemic polls, was caught purposely on mike saying bad things about your favorite president. he'll be a no on tax cuts because his political career anyway is toast. >> let's bring in cnn senior analyst ron brownstein, david drucker and alex byrnes. ron, a little f

he's talking about lavar ball. every basketball fan on earth knows who that is right now. we're at the white house with the latest on this. a busy president looking for people to fight with this morning, joe. >> reporter: that's true. but also taking on sports figures really plays well to the president's base. and in a way, this sounded more like a couple of reality stars going after each other than it really did about policy or politics. but that's how this white house rolls. they also like the fact that the president can seize control of the news cycle with his twitter account. but in this case, because it's lavar ball, this is really a guy who has made a career of self agra aggrandizement. meanwhile, another of the president's twitter targets that would be senator jeff flake of arizona, the outgoing senator, caught in an open mic moment, and teeing off or teeing up the president on twitter. jeff flake really didn't say anything. he hasn't said about the president before, if you think about it. but here, judge for yourself. >> become the party of roy moore and donald tru

carley: latest twitter feud that the president has gotten after lavar ball said this to espn, what wason't tell me nothing, everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out. well, the president fired back tweeting this, now that the three basketball players are out of china and safe from years in jail, lavar, the father of dean deangelo is accepting what his son did, i should have left them in jail. shoplifting is a big deal in china as it should be. 5 to 10 years in jail but not for father lavar, should have gotten his son out during my next trip to china instead. china told them why they were released very ungrateful. now reaction to this back and forth has been mixed, jacob on twitter says, president trump has a big heart, lavar ball has a big mouth but other people are saying the president should have risen to the occasion. i still think you did the right thing, they are americans and shouldn't be rotting away in prison over in china. so there you have it. heather: yeah, a lot of people were talking about otto warmbier. carley: after the whole thing went down on social media,

sharpe even said that lavar was disingenuinous in his interview with cnn monday. i'd say he's being down right juvenile and denying reality and that reality is that the president of the united states went out of his way to do something he did not have to do. he saved lavar ball' son from spending 10 years of his youth in jail for shoplifting inchon a and for whatever reason, lavar ball cannot get the strength to think him and it's absurd. >> liz: we have breaking news i'd like you to respond to the first house democrats has come out against john conyers, new york congresswoman kathleen rice saying she does believe that congressman conyers should resign. there is an ethics probe into him. here is the tweet and what she said. "i have reviewed the allegations against him and there is credible as they are repulsive what's your response? >> i commend her for doing that. even if these allegations aren't necessarily true which i agree with congresswoman rice that they are he spent $27,000 of taxpayer money paying off a woman who said she was fired because she didn't resp

how more $500 shoes is lavar going to sell because of this thing? >> he should do a blank trump edition of the z02, bozo2s. >> the bozos. [laughter] >> the victoria's secret fashion show in shangi.

but remember, lavar, shoplifting is not a little thing, it's a really big deal, especially in china. ungrateful fool. >> this is not presidential behavior. the one good thing about next president, that person will probably look better than the current president no matter what. >> goodell says the nfl is thinking of a new idea, keeping teams in the locker room during the national anthem next season, that's almost as bad as kneeling. when will the commissioner get tough and smart, this issue is killing your league. white house officials said this will be a working holiday for president trump, he'll be making phone calls on tax reform and other key issues, but he did find at least five hours today to spend at his west palm beach golf club, veronica de la cruz. >>> tonight, two more women are stepping forward accusing senator al franken of touching them inappropriately, one of them talked anonymously huffington post at political events in minnesota in 2007 and 2008. tonight franken said quote it's difficult to respond to anonymous accusers. grabbing her chest she said he forcibly kissed

lavar is just a poor man's version of don king without the hair.k, lavar, you could have spent the next five to ten years visiting your son in china but no nba contract to support you. remember, shoplifting is not a little thing. it's a really big deal, especially in china. ungrateful too. this twitter rant comes after ball showed a lack of appreciation in the president's role in his son's release. >> if he said he helped, that's good for his mind. why even got to say that. if you helped you shouldn't have to say anything. if i help somebody, i don't walk around saying, i helped you now. i would say thank you if he would have put him on his plane and put him on. if i was going to thank somebody, i'd probably thank president xi. >> jeff zeleny is out front. jeff, the president chose to engage in this fight on twitter early this morning, 5:30 in the morning, two and a half hours before he took to twitter to address the navy plane crash in which three americans are still missing. why? >> poppy, he did. it was actually about 90 minutes before sunrise h

. >> the surreal war of words escalating between lavar ball and president trump after ball's son wasrrested by china for shoplifting. the president tweeted a slew of insults today, among them writing that it was he alone, the president alone, who got china to release ball's son and to other ucla basketball players. president trump went on to call lavar ball a "ungrateful fool and poor man's version of don king" but without the hair. we many is marc lamont hill and bradco hen, lormer and former "apprentice" contestant who supports president trump. gentlemen, nice to have you both on. >> good to be here. >> marc, to you first. the quotes i just read, "ungrateful fool" and "poor man's don king." chris cillizza is calling this a racial dog whistle. do you agree? >> it feels like a racial dog whistle. the entire time there's an undertone of you should be grateful to me. these uppity black people. is isn't just because of lavar ball, it starts with the nfl where he talked about highly paid athletes who should be grateful to be in the nfl. this discourse keeps recurring and directed largely

what did lavar ball say about president trump? >> yeah, brooke, well, this is a really big clash of two massive personalities. lavar ball taking it all of the way back when his sons returned home essentially said in an interview that he didn't think that president trump had done anything for him, and president trump had already made it very clear that he wanted thanks, and he asked for the three basketball players to come out and thank him for what he did to help them. they did that, but lavar ball was very much not on the same page. the president tweeting yesterday the tweet that you just read, but also again this morning tweeting to lavar ball that shoplifting is a very big deal in china as it should be. five to ten years in jail, but not to the father of lavar ball should have gotten my son out during my next trip to china, instead. china told they were released, very ungrateful. so president trump not letting this one go and reviving yet another sports feud on social media yet again. in a second tweet, completely unrelated to

and lavar ball is known for stirring things up.e has the big baller brand for the family and the ball in the family facebook reality show. they have done well. but lavar ball has made outlandish claims saying he could have beaten michael jordan one-on-one and his son is better than steph curry although lonzo has one of the lowest shooting percentages for a rookie guard in history. lavar ball said i'm from l.a.,'s seen worse things happen than a guy taking glasses. my son has built up enough character and one bad decision doesn't define him. the critics say the president gave lavar ball exactly what he wanted, which was a great deal more exposure and this thing continues to go on, shep. >> shepard: trace, this has been kind of a political football along the way. >> and really, it's back and forth along the party lines. you have california democratic congressman adam schiff that said this. the president would have left american students in a foreign jail because their families didn't lavish sufficient praise on him? how can someone i

but for the president to get in the mix with lavar ball or some of the members of his cabinet, didn't make a lot of sense. the president should focus on the issues that are before him, the tax cuts. he has a great agenda in some areas and he should focus on that agenda and move that ball forward rather than worry about what lavar ball says or doesn't say. he is out there all the time. if everyone responded to what lavar ball said, we'd be here all day talking about that. >> and you heard mark short really not answering the question, does the president believe or not believe the accusers against roy moore. not answering the yes or no question that he could have answered. why doesn't this white house, why don't his staff and those who are around him just say we believe or don't believe whatever the case may be, move on from roy moore, take the lead -- maintain the lead in the senate 51 and let that one go? because otherwise there is a huge overhang in the next six to who knows how many months on this very topic. >> well, look, first of all, it's important to remember that losing that on

in a series of interviews, lavar ball has refused to thank mr.. >> if i were to thank somebody, i'd thank president xi. >> reporter: hello said he's an ungrateful fool. he said would be as bad as kneeling. >> he totally denies it. >> reporter: the twitter attacks the notable for who the president did not mention. he continues to defend republican candidate roy moore against multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. >> he says it didn't happen. you know, you have to listen to him also. >> reporter: a white house official said this will be a working holiday for president trump. he'll be making calls for issues. he did find time to spend almost five hours at his west palm beach golf club. >> reporter: on "cbs this morning" we'll speak to this neighborhood nanny. she's caring for dozens of children free of sparts. >> plus cbssports an aalyst and nfl coach bill cowher joins us for a thanksgiving day matchup of the game. we'll look at the hawkeyes' tradition involving a nearby hospital. that's the "cbs morning news" for this thursday. have a very happ

but not to father lavar. should have gotten his son out during my next trip to china instead. told them why they were released. very ungrateful." the president, though, is catching flack for this suggestion that he would not have gotten these u.s. citizens, student athletes, released from a chinese president had he known that one of their parents would not give him credit in public. boris sanchez, cnn, at the white house. >> boris sanchez with the reporting. and now perspective and context with scott lucas. scott, the professor of international politics at the university of birmingham live in birmingham this hour. it's good to have you with us as usual. scott, let's talk first of all about this latest twitter attack from donald trump responding foorth of lavar ball who downplayed the president's role in their release. and we've seen personalized attacks like this before, these counterpunches as the president's advisers would describe them. when mr. trump feels attacked. what purpose do these attacks serve? did this work or did this backfire? >> well, i don't think you can read