"That’s just stupid" - Charles Barkley torches athletes ghosting White House visit over Donald Trump ties

Whether it's sports or politics, Charles Barkley has no qualms about letting the world know exactly how he feels about a particular subject.

In an episode of "The Steam Room" posted this weekend, Barkley weighed in on the possibility of the Philadelphia Eagles — recent victors of Super Bowl LIX — visiting the White House. Although the Eagles have not publicly confirmed whether they'll be making the visit or not, Barkley asserted that they should:

“I don’t care who the president is,” Barkley said (Timestamp: 14:44). “He’s the president of the United States. It’s bothered me, the last 10 years, they’re like, ‘Well, I’m not going because this certain person is president.’ Dude, it’s the president of the United States."

Barkley acknowledged how he didn't see eye to eye with President Donald Trump. Although Barkley has been a vocal critic since Trump's first term, he insisted that going to the White House is a gesture of respect to the country's highest office:

"Even though I disagree with President Trump on some things, if I met him, I would still give him the respect and dignity he deserves," Barkley said. "We can disagree, but it bothers me when these teams don’t want to go to the White House."

The Chuckster, who visited the White House in 2014 to interview then-President Barack Obama, also bemoaned the United States' current political climate, saying that the country is "so divided."

Charles Barkley makes political joke after Canada's win over U.S. in NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off

There have been plenty of times when Barkley has sprinkled politics into his humor. One example of this came last month after Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in the final of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off.

In the wake of Canada's victory, the Chuckster offered his congratulations in a backhanded manner:

"Congratulations to Canada. I’m sorry we got the tariffs on you," Barkley said on "Inside the NBA." "They were playing harder because they didn’t want to become the 51st state.”

Barkley's comments came at a time of rising political tension between the two nations, with President Trump suggesting that Canada could become a state of the U.S.

Barkley, a member of the legendary Dream Team that won gold at the 1992 Olympics, clearly decided that diplomacy was not an option as he poked fun at Canada in that moment.