NBA star Dwyane Wade, whose cousin was fatally shot in Chicago last week, said Donald Trump’s tweet about the shooting left a “bad taste” in his mouth.
“On one hand, your cousin’s death is used as a ploy for political gain,” the Chicago Bulls player told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview Friday on “Good Morning America.” “On the other hand, it’s a national story. It goes back to that for me. I want eyes on the city. I want us to be able to do more together and the only way we can do more together is if more people know what’s going on.
“I was grateful it started a conversation,” he said. “But on the other hand, it was a bad taste in my mouth because of what my family is dealing with and what our city of Chicago is dealing with and it looks like it’s been used as a political gain.”
Mr. Wade’s first cousin, Nykea Aldridge, was fatally shot in Chicago on Aug. 26 as she was pushing a stroller in the city’s Parkway Gardens neighborhood.
Mr. Trump responded to the news the next day, tweeting, “Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
He initially misspelled Mr. Wade’s first name, but he spelled it correctly in a later tweet expressing his condolences.
“My condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family, on the loss of Nykea Aldridge. They are in my thoughts and prayers,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Trump senior adviser Tana Goertz said on CNN that she was not aware if the Republican presidential nominee had apologized to Mr. Wade after his comments, but added that Mr. Trump “would be the first to say, absolutely, I’m sorry, I did not mean that to come across that way,” Politico reported.
“But at the end of the day, we are talking about how safe — or how unsafe our country is and how we do need to stop these criminals and we do need to protect our country,” Ms. Goertz said. “Hillary Clinton is not talking about that. And Donald Trump is the only one that is saying we need to keep America safe again. So he by no means meant any harm by that. I can guarantee you that.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.