LeBron James took to Instagram to officially endorse Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris for the 2020 presidential election. The Los Angeles Laker shared a picture with his 74.1 million followers and wrote that “we need EVERYTHING to change,” in hopes of encouraging them to vote today.
The image featured both Biden’s and Harris’ faces side by side and looking stoically off into the distance. The word “United” was also visible in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture.
James’ post has received over 1 million likes since he shared it last night. Many of his fans also applauded him for taking a stand publicly.
Prior to Election Day, James had not taken an official stance on who he planned to vote for. However, it was fairly obvious that he gave his support to the Democratic Party, as he and Donald Trump have taken shots at each other in the months leading up to November 3.
The support for the former vice president comes just a day after Trump attacked both the NBA and James for the political activism they displayed during the playoffs. The 74-year-old Trump blamed the historically low ratings the league experienced during the playoffs on the protests that several teams practiced during the season.
Although James has traded shots with the commander-in-chief in the past, he recently stated that he is focused on positive action and does not want to distract people with pointless banter.
“I don’t go back and forth with anybody. And I damn sure won’t go back and forth with that guy,” he said in regards to the POTUS.
“But we want better, we want change in our community. We always talk about, ‘We want change,’ and now we have the opportunity to do that,” James added.
In the months leading up to the election, the four-time NBA champion put a majority of his focus on educating his followers about the importance of voting, as well as encouraging people to register, according to a report from Yahoo Sports . He did so by leading the More Than A Vote campaign, and also recruited other professional athletes to join his cause. Such athletes include Patrick Mahomes, Alvin Kamara, Damian Lillard, and Odell Beckham Jr.
Additionally, numerous other influential members of the NBA have recently announced their support for the Democratic Party. Head coaches Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and Doc Rivers all came together to create an advertisement for The Lincoln Project, which is a committee that is seeking to prevent Trump’s reelection.