Charles Barkley doubles down on criticism of black people wearing Trump mugshot merch and calls them 'freakin' idiots' - days after he said he would 'punch' anyone he saw in MAGA clothes

NBA legend Charles Barkley doubled down on his criticism of black people wearing Donald Trump's mugshot merchandise and has labeled them 'freakin' idiots.' 

Barkley sat down with Gayle King on Wednesday night's edition of King Charles on CNN and discussed the controversial Saturday comments where he said he would 'punch' any black person he saw sporting MAGA clothing. 

He addressed the scathing comment from the weekend and clarified that it came from the anger he felt after Trump addressed a crowd at the Black Conservative Federation Honors Gala in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 22, and said black people like him because they get indicted like the former president has been.  

'No. 1, obviously I'm not going to go around punching random strangers in the face. Secondly, people can vote for who they want to,' the NBA legend said on Wednesday. 

'The point I was trying to make, no, the point I was making- when Donald Trump compares his plight with that of that black person, that is what I had a problem with.' 

'I want to make it perfectly clear- if you're a black person and you're wearing a Donald Trump mugshot, you are a freakin' idiot,' he added. 

Barkley sat down with Gayle King on Wednesday night's edition of King Charles on CNN and discussed the controversial Saturday comments where he said he would 'punch' any black person he saw sporting MAGA clothing 

'I want to make it perfectly clear- if you're a black person and you're wearing a Donald Trump mugshot, you are a freakin' idiot,' Barkley said Wednesday

During his speech in South Carolina, Trump claimed that black voters like him because they get indicted and face political persecution. 

'I got indicted a second time, and a third time and a fourth time! And a lot of people said that that's why the black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against,' Trump said.

'And they actually viewed me as– I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing.' 

'When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1. You know who embraced it more than anyone else?' Trump asked the crowd. 'The black population.' 

'Does that make sense?' Trump asked.

Despite receiving applause for those comments, an incensed Barkley has continued to take aim at Trump for insulting black people. 

When he said Saturday that he would punch people in the face on the show over the weekend, King interrupted him and said that he would get arrested for assault, to which he replied: 'I will bail myself out and go celebrate.'

Barkley then continued: 'If I was at that conference I would have got up and walked out. That was an insult to all black people.' 

'To compare black history, when we've been discriminated against, to his plight - first of all he's a billionaire, and they're prosecuting him for stuff he did wrong.'

'He's a billionaire, he's had a great life. He's been President of the United States. To insult black people who have been discriminated against all these years, to put them in the same category... I was just offended,' Barkley added. 

On Wednesday's episode, King brought up the social media storm that followed the 11-time NBA All-Star's comments. 

'You're a grown a** man, you say exactly what you think, and you take responsibility for everything you say.' 

Zeek Arkham posted a picture of himself wearing a black tee-shirt with Trump's mugshot on it and a red MAGA baseball hat and called Barkley out for his weekend comment and said: 'Anyone seen Charles Barkley? I heard he was looking for me' 

Trump's mugshot from Fulton County, Georgia. He said the 'black population' embraced it more than any other group

A black man is seen wearing a shirt with Donald Trump holding up a placard and a jacket with a Trump 2024 patch on it (left). A black woman is seen wearing Trump's mugshot on her shirt (right) 

King then said: 'And it's not like you just willy-nilly say stuff for clickbait, right?' 

'I always know how much gasoline I'm putting on the fire,' Barkley replied. 

Multiple people took to social media and responded to Barkley's threat, as user Zeek Arkham posted a muscular picture of himself wearing a black tee-shirt with Trump's mugshot on it and a red MAGA baseball hat. 

'Anyone seen Charles Barkley? I heard he was looking for me.' 

'I grew up in the "you hit me, I'm gonna hit you back" era,' Arkham said in his caption. 

Barkley laughed it off as King said she knows that he wouldn't actually go around 'attacking people.' 

He then said that Trump comparing himself to black people was 'assinine' and 'stupid.' 

'For him to compare a white billionaire who is in trouble for stuff he did- black people get in trouble for stuff they deserve to do.' 

He ended the interview by saying that he 'appreciated' those who responded to his comment and continued to wear the former president's merchandise. 

'Now if you got the mugshot and the Trump sneakers on, you done crossed over a line that you cannot get back,' Barkley jokingly said.