World

Trump: UCLA Players Ought To Thank China’s Xi Jinping For Their Freedom

REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Ryan Pickrell China/Asia Pacific Reporter
Font Size:

President Donald Trump has been pushing three UCLA players hard to remember to thank those who spared them from spending years in a Chinese prison.

Trump tweeted Thursday morning that LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, three UCLA basketball players charged with shoplifting in Hangzhou, should thank Chinese President Xi Jinping for their release.

The young men were arrested during Trump’s five-nation tour of Asia that took him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The president brought their future up in a discussion with Xi, asking the Chinese leader to let the boys return home.

The president’s tweets follow a tweet Wednesday questioning whether the UCLA players would thank him for securing his release. The three risked spending up to ten years in Chinese prison for stealing merchandise from a Louis Vuitton store near their hotel.

After returning to the U.S., one of the players spoke at a press conference. “I would like to thank President Trump and the United States government for the help that they’ve provided,” he said. Now, the president wants them to thank China for letting them off the hook.

The players will not face charges, but they have been indefinitely suspended from their team.

Follow Ryan on Twitter

Send tips to ryan@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.