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President Donald Trump recalled friend and boxing legend Mike Tyson defending him against accusations of racism during a Black History Month speech at the White House Wednesday.
Trump made the claims about Tyson as the president was praising famed Black athletes in American history, including Tyson, fellow boxing legends Muhamad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard and NFL legend Lawrence Taylor.
“Mike Tyson, boy, I’ll tell you, Mike has been loyal to me. Whenever they come out and say ‘Trump’s a racist!’ Mike Tyson goes, ‘He’s not a racist! He’s my friend, he’s been there since the beginning. Good times and bad,” Trump said.
“But Mike Tyson is a great guy, and he was so loyal, always been loyal.”
Trump and Tyson have a friendship that dates back to the 1980s during Tyson’s prime as a boxer and Trump’s rise as a celebrity New York City real estate developer.
Tyson has contributed to multiple initiatives during Trump’s administration.
Tyson stood with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, partnering with the Trump administration to fight obesity earlier in February. During the Super Bowl, Tyson spoke in a commercial about the importance of tackling U.S. reliance on processed food.
BOXING GREAT MIKE TYSON DISCUSSES HEALTH TURNAROUND, JUNK FOOD PAST AND TRUMP RELATIONSHIP
Last summer, Tyson wrote a letter to Trump urging him to federally recategorize cannabis as a less harmful substance. Tyson led a coalition that featured other athletes and entertainers, including Kevin Durant and Ricky Williams, pushing for the change.
It paid off in December when Trump rescheduled cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, which is considered less harmful and more usable for medical research.
Trump praised other famed Black American athletes at the event
On Ali: “Muhammad Ali, who was a friend of mine, I put a picture of myself and Muhammad. It was another piece of work. He taught the best, but he could fight good in the end.”
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On Taylor: “Lawrence Taylor, great friend. Lawrence, the great Lawrence Taylor, the greatest defensive player probably in the history of football, is a great friend of mine. But I’m longer off the tee than him. You know what you say? Take the trip back for it takes a club back this far and he hits it 200 yards. When you can do that, you’re strong. He’s a great, he is a great guy.”
On former NFL star Herschel Walker: “Herschel Walker, speaking about loyal. How good a football player was. Herschel. Yeah, Herschel Walker now is ambassador to the Bahamas.”
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