NBA star LeBron James slammed Donald Trump as a "bum" on Saturday (23 September), after the president uninvited the Golden State Warriors from visiting the White House after their 2017 championship victory, and Twitter loved it. Early Saturday morning, Trump took to Twitter, saying he decided to rescind the invitation citing Stephen Curry's public reluctance to visit the White House.

"Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn," Trump tweeted.

Golden State Warriors point guard Curry said last week that he didn't want the team to make the traditional commemorative visit to the White House to celebrate their NBA championship title.

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"I don't want to go," Curry told reporters on Friday "That's the nucleus of my belief. If it was just me, it would be a pretty short conversation."

The team's general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr said the team would have a serious discussion and would make the decision as a team, noting that the Warriors had been in discussions with the White House.

"We basically don't stand for what our president has said and the things he hasn't said at the right time," Curry said, SFGate reports. "By not going, hopefully it will inspire some change for what we tolerate in this country and what we stand for, what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye toward... I don't think not going to the White House will miraculously make everything better. But this is my opportunity to voice that."

After Trump's announcement that Curry was no longer welcome at the White House, LeBron James hit back at the president calling him a "bum" and said "going to the White House was a great honor until you showed up!"

Twitter quickly erupted with praise, jokes and comments in response to the Cleveland Cavaliers star's "brutal" clap-back. His tweet has since garnered over 647,000 retweets and has been "liked" more than 1.4 million times.

Some people criticised James for his tweet saying it was "incredibly disrespectful" and told him to "stay in your lane." Many, however, praised him for standing up to Trump.

"Nothing but respect for my president, LeBron James," New York Times bestselling author Molly Knight tweeted. Another person wrote: "Trump may be our so-called President, but Lebron is King!"

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LeBron James called President Trump a "bum" after his criticism of fellow NBA player Stephen Curry and Twitter loved it Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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