Charles Barkley Rips Donald Trump for Not Filling Out NCAA Tournament Bracket

Charles Barkley had some things to say about Donald Trump not filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket like President Obama used to.

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For the first time in almost a decade, the President of the United States will not be all over ESPN in the days leading up to the NCAA Tournament.

During his eight years as President, Barack Obama routinely filled out brackets for both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments and unveiled them on SportsCenter. He showed off his sports knowledge by talking hoops with ESPN’s Andy Katz, and while he was rarely successful when it came to picking which teams would advance in the tournament and ultimately go all the way (who is?!), it turned into a fun tradition.

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That tradition will end this year. Donald Trumphas already announced that he will not be filling out a bracket on ESPN like President Obama did in the past. "We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket," an ESPN spokesperson said in February. "They respectfully declined."

There are many people out there who probably aren’t all that broken up about Trump turning ESPN down. But Charles Barkley believes Trump should have kept the tradition going. TMZ Sportscaught up with him on Sunday just before the brackets were announced, and he ripped Trump for not taking part in the March Madness festivities.

"Of course he should," Barkley said when he was asked if Trump should fill out a bracket. "Every President has. He should do the bracket."

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Barkley also went on to offer up some other criticism for the president as well. "It’s a little silly and stuff with all the tweeting and everything," he said. "The Muslim ban is awful. The immigration and deporting all these people is awful. These people are great people."

Additionally, Barkley talked to TMZ Sports about his war of words with LeBron James, Lonzo Ball's draft stock, and more. Check out the interview in the clip above.

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