Charles Barkley Nukes Politicians: 'Both Parties Suck'

Charles Barkley went nuclear on politicians following President Donald Trump returning to office.

Trump is back in the Oval Office as Donald Trump's 47th President, and there is no question that it's a new day in America.

Optimism is high, but you can also count on plenty of complaints and criticism in the coming years. That's the nature of the beast, and Barkley thinks both sides are to blame.

Charles Barkley unloads on politicians.

Barkley addressed the state of politics in America following Trump's return, and said the following, according to Fox News:

"I wish that people were smarter, personally. I think these politicians – both parties – I think both parties suck. But I think they do a really good job of making us not like each other…Racism exists, always has, always will, unfortunately. It's a disaster. But what America has become is rich people against poor people. And I wish people would understand that politicians do a good job of making us fight with each other. But it’s really rich people against poor people. They try to make it about black, white, immigration, homosexuality and all these different things, but what it is, is rich people making people not liking each other. And until we address that, we’re never gonna be successful."

Charles Barkley unloaded on the state of politics in America. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

While I disagree with some of what Barkley said (claiming racism is a disaster in America is just not true in 2025), his overall point certainly has some merit.

Many politicians are awful, and yes, that includes people on your own side. Doesn't matter if you're liberal or conservative. There are politicians on your side who are scumbags. That's just the nature of the business. They don't care about you at all.

They care about attending fancy D.C. events and rubbing elbows with powerful people. I've witnessed it for 10 years. It's gross.

This also isn't the first time Barkley has made comments like this. He said in 2021 that politicians wanted to make whites and blacks hate each other "so they can keep their grasp of money and power."

He's been beating this drum for a long time.

What do you think of Barkley's comments? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.