President Donald Trump has accused the father of one of three American college basketball players arrested in China for shoplifting of being ungrateful, saying that he should have left the students in custody.
The three players from the University of California, Los Angeles — LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill — were released after Mr Trump raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on his recent visit to the country.
But at the weekend LaVar Ball, LiAngelo’s father, played down Trump’s role in their release, telling ESPN: “Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”
Last night Mr Trump responded on Twitter: “LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!”
The three players admitted stealing from three stores during the trip.
