NBA coach and fierce Donald Trump critic Doc Rivers tears into Democrats
Milwaukee Bucks head coach and Donald Trump critic Doc Rivers has urged the Democrats to take a page out of the Republicans' book after their bruising election defeat last year.
Rivers, who has staunchly opposed Trump throughout both of his terms in office, has taken aim at the party and claimed it needs to be fully united on major issues in order to take back the White House in 2028.
And despite his well-publicized disdain for the president, the NBA figure admits Republicans are showing them how it's done by singing from the same hymn sheet.
'Well, the first thing we have to point towards is getting out of our comfort zone and thinking if we keep doing the same thing we are going to get different results,' Rivers told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on her podcast, via Fox News. 'That doesn't happen, there needs to be change from the Democratic side.
'I don't know what that change is, but I know the norm has not worked. The norm worked on the popular vote, but there are states that haven't voted on the Democratic side in 50 years.
'We are a party of being [inclusive], everybody is included, right? But I remember Cory Booker, we are at a function, and I ask him why can't the Democrats all agree on something, because the Republicans do that well. You have to look at some of the things they do well. One of the things they do is they fall in line. They don't care.
'If you listen to some of the things these guys said about Trump and then when you hear them speak now, all they do is praise, they are falling in line.
'But he said something interesting. He said we have so many groups on our side, we don't just have the White male. We have everybody, and to get everybody to agree on one thing is very difficult, but we're going to have to start doing that if we want change.'
After becoming the first Republican candidate to win the popular vote for 20 years, Trump also swept up all seven key battleground states and won the Electoral College on his way to a resounding election victory over Kamala Harris back in November.
Rivers added that the Democrats need to move away from the 'Trump won because' debate, saying: 'I think we need to take the 'because' out, and I am serious. Trump won and start there, not 'because.' Trump won and what do we have to do differently?
'You have to take ownership of things. We do it in sports all the time. Yeah, I come in after a game we lost 'because.' But then I say we lost, but we have to do these things differently if we want to win. We can't just say we lost because 'they just made a lot of shots.' Then we have to force them to miss more shots, we have to do something different.
'It is so strange we are blaming the people who voted for Trump for why he won. It makes no sense to me. It's backwards.'
Rivers has tirelessly spoken out against Trump over the years, calling one of his rallies at Madison Square Garden before last year's election 'atrocious' and previously accusing him of offering 'empty promises'.
Yet following his win over Harris in November, the NBA Championship-winning coach urged Democrats to accept the result of the election.
'Donald Trump is our president, and we're going to have to support him. We want him to do the best job for the country at the end of the day,' Rivers told reporters after a practice with the Bucks.
'Do I like some of the things that he does? No. But now he's getting a second chance to be a better president than he was the first time, and I hope he is. I'm cheering for him. I really am.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
US FTC accepts consent order on Omnicom-Interpublic merger
June 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it had accepted a proposed consent order to resolve potential anti-competitive coordination in the advertising agency Omnicom's(OMC.N), opens new tab $13.5 billion acquisition of rival Interpublic(IPG.N), opens new tab . "The proposed order imposes restrictions that prevent Omnicom from engaging in collusion or coordination to direct advertising away from media publishers based on the publishers' political or ideological viewpoints," the FTC said in a press release.
The Sun
18 minutes ago
- The Sun
LA cops forced to delete ‘offensive' post about US strikes on Iran and admit it was ‘unacceptable' in lengthy apology
LOS Angeles police have been forced to delete a social media post about the Iran conflict that they called "offensive and inappropriate." Cops issued a lengthy apology for speaking out on the issue and falsely suggesting people were killed after the US launched airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran. 5 5 The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shared condolences for the "tragic" bombing in a since-deleted post on X on Sunday. An original version of the post read, "Our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran. "While this tragic event occurred overseas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is closely monitoring the situation alongside our local, state, and federal partners." No deaths have been confirmed in the US airstrikes on Iran. A few moments after the post was shared, it was edited to remove mentions of Iranian victims and families. The statement was also edited to say police were "closely monitoring the situation overseas." Then, the post was deleted entirely after backlash from social media users, some of whom called the message "embarrassing" and "pathetic." LASD then shared an apology for the post. "We are issuing this statement to formally apologize for an offensive and inappropriate social media post recently posted on our Department social media platforms regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran," police said. "This post was unacceptable, made in error, and does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the Department. Inside Operation Midnight Hammer: How Trump carried out unprecedented Iran attack using decoys in 37-hour covert mission '"As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters. "Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities." The department said it launched an internal review to figure out how the post was created and published. Police also said they're working to strengthen their social media policies and "ensure that any future communications align with our Department's standards of professionalism, respect, and accountability," the apology added. LA County Sheriff's Department's statement The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department issued the following apology after sharing a post about the US airstrikes on Iran: We are issuing this statement to formally apologize for an offensive and inappropriate social media post recently posted on our Department social media platforms regarding the ongoing conflict in Iran. This post was unacceptable, made in error, and does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the Department. As a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters. Our mission remains solely focused on protecting public safety and serving our diverse communities. We fully recognize that the words and messages we share carry weight. As law enforcement professionals, we are entrusted with a position of public responsibility, and that trust demands that we communicate accurately. In this instance, we fell short of that expectation, and we are taking quick corrective action. We are committed to learning from this failure and to prevent such incidents from occurring again. We have updated our social media post and have launched an internal review to determine how it was created and published. Steps are being taken to strengthen our social media oversight protocols and ensure that any future communications align with our Department's standards of professionalism, respect, and accountability. We appreciate the continued trust of our community and will work diligently to reaffirm that trust every day. Source: LASD The LASD hasn't returned The U.S. Sun's request for comment. It comes after Los Angeles law enforcement officials are already facing backlash for how they handled anti-ICE protests in the city, which saw violence and looting break out earlier this month. The demonstrations were peaceful at first, but escalated after President Donald Trump sent in the National Guard as some rioters lit self-driving vehicles on fire. Cops and local politicians were slammed for failing to keep the peace during the rallies. 5 5 CONFLICT IN IRAN The LASD's original post about Iran was shared just hours after Trump entered the conflict between Israel and Iran on Saturday night. He sent American warplanes to target Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. It's unclear if there have been any casualties in the attack, but Trump said the sites were "obliterated." He wrote on Truth Social after the strikes, "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" Iran has warned that there will be consequences for the strikes.
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Defiant pro-Palestine protester sends message to Trump after being freed from ICE detention
A defiant pro-Palestinian activist has delivered a strong message to President Donald Trump after being freed from ICE custody following more than three months of detention. Mahmoud Khalil, 30, a Columbia University graduate student was released Friday evening from an immigration facility in Louisiana after a federal judge ruled his continued detention violated his rights. Khalil, a Syrian-born activist who holds Algerian citizenship and a US green card through his marriage, was arrested by ICE agents on March 8 after he participated in a series of violent pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia campus. In his first television interview since his freedom, the father-of-one told ABC News that he will not back down and that 'no threat' will stop him from advocating for Palestinians. He said he represents 'a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do' - and insisted he will not be silenced. 'Because I represent a movement that goes against what this administration is trying to do,' Khalil told the outlet. 'They try to portray me as a violent person. They try to portray me as a terrorist, as some lunatic, but not presenting any evidence, not presenting any shred of credibility to their claims.' 'I can be detained next week if the government prevails on appeal, which they will not,' he said. 'But what I will focus on is continuing to advocate for Palestinians.' 'Not any threat would deter me because no one should stay silent when people are getting killed. No one,' Khalil said. He claimed he felt like he was 'literally kidnapped' when he was detained. 'I felt like I was literally kidnapped, all the 'know your rights' that I've indulged myself into felt like nothing because at that moment ICE made it clear that you have no rights, whatsoever,' he told the outlet. While detained, Khalil missed the birth of his first-born. 'That's the most cruel thing that any administration would do,' Khalil said. 'Clearly, I was not danger to the community, that they could have afforded me that opportunity to be with my son, but it's not only about me, it's about the thousands of people who cannot be with their children.' 'There's no place for any form of racism, including anti-Blackness, antisemitism in the Palestine movement, and the Jewish students and people in general in the United States are an integral part of the Palestinian movement,' he said. Khalil arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday to an eruption of cheers after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for over 100 days. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greeted him at the airport and stood by his side as he spoke to the press. Khalil defiantly spoke, telling reporters: 'If they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.' 'I just want to go back and continue the work I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, a speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished.' Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the conference to condemn the Trump administration for 'persecution based on political speech.' She added that Khalil was unlawfully 'taken' and argued that federal officials acted illegally when detaining the activist. Khalil was granted release and freed on bail by a New Jersey federal judge on Friday. The green card holder was taken into custody on March 8, 2025, as the Trump administration cracked down on pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses. He was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and was a lawful permanent resident of the US. Khalil was one of the primary organizers of protests that took over Columbia as the Israel - Hamas conflict was ignited. In the ruling Friday, Judge Michael E. Farbiaz said that none of the Trump administration's allegations against Khalil justified his continued detention, and sided with Khalil's argument that he was locked up as an unlawful retaliation for his activism. In his ruling on Friday, Farbiarz said: 'There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil - And of course that would be unconstitutional.' Khalil has not been charged with a crime, but the judge's order to free him comes as the Trump White House continues efforts to deport him back to Algeria, where he is a citizen. When he was detained earlier this year, Khalil's case gained national attention as he was the first pro-Palestinian protester to be arrested by the Trump administration in its crackdown on college campuses.
