--- title: Gregg Popovich on Donald Trump at Press Briefing description: San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich slammed President Donald Trump by calling him 'dangerous' and 'embarrassing.' canonical: https://time.com/4779060/gregg-popovich-on-donald-trump/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-15T18:53:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:43:39.083Z og:title: 'He's In a Game Show.' Gregg Popovich Sounds Off On Trump og:description: The basketball coach said he is "embarassing" and "dangerous" og:url: https://time.com/4779060/gregg-popovich-on-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'He's In a Game Show.' Gregg Popovich Sounds Off On Trump twitter:description: The basketball coach said he is "embarassing" and "dangerous" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 'He’s in a Game Show.' Gregg Popovich Criticizes President Donald Trump > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 15, 2017 6:53 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 15, 2017 6:53 PM UTC San Antonio Spurs coach [Gregg Popovich](http://time.com/gregg-popovich/) hasn’t been shy about what he thinks of President Donald Trump in the past, going so far as to call out Trump for being “[xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic,](https://www.si.com/nba/2016/11/11/gregg-popovich-donald-trump-comments-spurs-election-results)” and it appears that his sentiments about him haven’t changed. During a Sunday press conference before the first game of the Western Conference Finals, when asked about whether or not he gets distracted by the world outside of basketball, Popovich made his feelings known. “Usually things happen in the world and you go to work — and you got your family and you got your friends — and you do what you do,” he said. “But to this day, I feel like there’s a cloud, a pall, over the whole country in a paranoid, surreal sort of way. It’s got nothing to do with the Democrats losing the election. It’s got to do with the way one individual conducts himself. And that’s embarrassing.” Popovich also continued to criticize the President, saying that he acts like “he’s in a game show.” “It’s dangerous to our institutions, and what we all stand for and what we expect the country to be,” he said. “But for this individual, he’s in a game show. And everything that happens begins and ends with him. Not our people or our country; every time he talks about those things, that’s just a ruse. That’s just disingenuous, cynical and fake.” Watch Popovich’s full speech below. > [](https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/863821013779226624) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4779060/gregg-popovich-on-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4779060/gregg-popovich-on-donald-trump/"},"headline":"'He’s in a Game Show.' 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