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NEW: Pro-Trump NBA Star Wins GOP Senate Primary

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4 months ago

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A former NBA star who has been loud and proud about supporting former President Donald Trump is set to take on progressive Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in November.

Royce White, who retired in 2014 and plays semi-professionally in the minor leagues, won the Republican primary on Tuesday night, beating back a close challenge by retired Naval officer Joe Fraser. He will now take on Klobuchar in the heavily blue state that was trending Trump’s way before Vice President Kamala Harris jumped into the race. Still, White can rely on his successful career playing for the Sacramento Kings to perhaps raise national funds, which he’ll need; he enters the general election with roughly $53,000 cash on hand while Sen. Klobuchar has a war chest surpassing $12 million, according to Fox News.

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Describing himself as a “MAGA extremist,” White, 33, earned the endorsement of the Minnesota Republican Party and has made his politics known during several high-profile appearances on the court. In July of 2023, he appeared at a BIG3 basketball game in Brooklyn on Saturday with “Trump Won!” emblazoned on the left side of his shaved head, a reference to claims that President Trump actually won the 2020 election. The matchup was nationally televised on CBS, something White no doubt knew would give his outspoken position massive attention.

The president’s campaign team was quick to highlight the show of support.

With a nod from President Trump as well, expect MAGA donors across the country to take a close look at making donations to White’s campaign. He joins other hard-right conservative Senate nominees running to support a second Trump administration alongside Arizona candidate Kari Lake, Ohio’s Bernie Moreno, and businessman Mike Rogers of Michigan. Neither is this White’s first time running for office. The power forward ran for Congress as a Republican in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, home to “Squad” member Ilhan Omar, but lost the primary election. Rep. Omar won her Democratic primary on Tuesday against a more moderate challenger.

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Sen. Klobuchar was first elected in 2006 and is the state’s first woman to serve as a U.S. senator. However, her higher aspirations, including her 2020 campaign for president where she demonstrated an angrier, darker side in dealings with her staff, may be fodder for White on the campaign trail. The 2012 first-round draft pick has already laid the groundwork to contrast himself as more relatable than the elitist Democrat. He has publicly spoken out about his Generalized Anxiety Disorder and a deep fear of flying, preferring instead to travel to games by bus. He took a hiatus from professional basketball before joining the Canadian professional league in 2017 and later went semiprofessional with the Big3 league.

With more sports figures in recent years using their platforms to promote political causes, White is a contrarian in the liberal basketball world. He has called out China for its genocide in Uyghur and used his noggin to advertise his belief that the U.S. explored “gain of function” research with the coronavirus to increase its deadliness as a potential biological weapon. Speaking out about the 2024 presidential election, White has voiced support for a theoretical ticket that would see Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. join President Trump as the vice presidential nominee. In a Twitter post, he defended RFK’s assertion that the nation’s surveillance agencies were behind the assassination of his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.

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