LeBron James: Donald Trump Has Made Hate 'Fashionable Again'

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James criticized President Donald Trump's response to the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

James tweeted Trump has made hate "fashionable again" Tuesday:

The protest began last Friday with a "Unite the Right" rally led by white nationalists and carried over into Saturday. CNN's Jason Hanna, Kaylee Hartung, Devon M. Sayers and Steve Almasy reported 19 people were injured and one woman died when a man drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.

Many were critical of President Trump for his failure to specifically condemn white nationalists in the immediate aftermath of the protests Saturday. He addressed the topic in a statement Monday.

"Racism is evil—and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," he said, per CNN.com's Dan Merica. "Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America."

On Tuesday, however, Trump said, "You got a lot of bad people in the other group, too," alluding to the counter-protesters, per CNN:

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Trump also used the occasion to talk about a winery he owns in Charlottesville, per CNN Politics:

Former NBA point guard Steve Nash joined James in his criticism of the president (Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language):

James' tweet Tuesday echoes his sentiment toward Trump on Saturday following the protests.

"It's sad what's going on in Charlottesville," he wrote. "Is this the direction our country is heading? Make America Great Again huh?! He said that."

The four-time MVP added that "our youth deserves better" in a subsequent tweet.