President Trump isn’t afraid to get in the middle of the fight, and that doesn’t just apply to the Middle East.
The president sat down with YouTuber, boxer and perhaps future politician Jake Paul at a rally in Kentucky this week, where the two discussed a variety of topics, including fights from the president’s personal past.
At one point, Paul asked Trump if he had ever been in a fight. That question prompted the president to recall and confirm a legendary story of getting in the middle of a scrap involving several NBA stars, including the late Kobe Bryant.
According to Jeff Pearlman, the author who covered the incident, the fight took place at the 1998 NBA All-Star weekend in New York, where Trump found himself in an elevator with Bryant, famed Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley and longtime New Jersey Net Jason Williams.
The problem reportedly began when Williams became irritated with Bryant for not greeting him respectfully. Bryant, who had only been in the league for two years, was a star, but was still relatively new to the scene.
Williams became so angry that he pounced on Bryant and a fight began.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the violent brawl between very large pro athletes in a confined space, Trump intervened to break up the fight.
“That was a long time ago. Yes, well, I was finishing a fight, which is sometimes more dangerous than getting into a fight,” Trump said.
“But I like Kobe. Kobe was having a hard time with someone, and it worked out OK. But yes, I broke it up — maybe it’s not a wise thing to do. Historically, breaking up feuds never ends well.”
Given who the combatants were in that elevator, Trump is absolutely right to say that breaking up a fight can be more dangerous than getting into it.
