(CNN) - According to always-outspoken Charles Barkley, Mitt Romney's "going down" in November's presidential election.
The former pro-basketball star and NBA hall-of-famer turned hoops-analyst made the comments Sunday night during the airing of a playoff game between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks.
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Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and his wife Ann were at game, which was held at Boston's TD Garden. A picture of them in the crowd was shown on TNT, which along with CNN is part of Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting division.
"We are going to beat you like a drum in November. But don't take it personally. I like you. You seem like a nice guy. But you're going down bro," Barkley said on the TNT broadcast, after seeing Romney in the crowd.
Barkley, a former Republican who switched his party affiliation to Democrat, has previously spoken out about the race for the White House. In December, he described the GOP presidential candidates as "idiots" for their criticism of the president.
Barkley twice weighed runs for the governor's office in his home state of Alabama, but never took the plunge into campaign politics.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, a top Romney surrogate who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008, responded to Barkley on Twitter Monday, writing: "Dear Charles Barkley, "don't take it personally, you seem like a nice guy," but you're clueless – @MittRomney wins. Wanna bet?"
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From CNN Politics
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@Bill from GA:
You make an excellent point. I hope from now on, folks realize the important of voting – primaries, mid-terms, congressional, presidential. Because of low turnout in the mid-terms, we now have grid-locking tea party folks whose only agenda is to defeat the president, even at the cost of the nation. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE 2012
OBAMA/BIDEN/FIRST LADY MICHELLE 2012!!!
To all of you idiotic racists saying Barkley only supports President Obama because he is black....remember Charles Barkley is married to a WHITE woman. I really don't know where you people get your info. Oh now I remember, you get it from Rush and Faux noise. Stop being sheep and read something. That old slogan from the 70's is real. Reading Is Fundamental!
OBAMA 2012!
Mitt Romney parks bus in front of Obama speech venue. Mitt Romney is now "doing" the basketball circuit.
This "dances with Obama" theme of Mitt's is way past juvenile and bordering on "psychotic".
How right he is! Yes! Romney is going down down down in November!!!! Enough of his stupid rhetoric and passe' opinions. We're on the way back up and no thanks to Republicans, who have hindered every step of the way.
hey charlie, who is we're? do you mean brown people!
And here I thought we were going to beat him like a runaway sisterwife. Make up your minds!!!
I think Charles Barkley would make a great Senator.
You give it to him Charles!! Also, gove Obama's Super Pac some money too!! Thanks for all you do for Obama and the Democratic Party.
Hope barkley is right, Obama 2012
this guy barely has any credibility as a sportscaster, let alone for political commentary. Barkley didn't make the switch from R to D until Obama ran... sounds a little bit like there may have been some racist motiviation in that.
This guy's 15 minutes were up a long time ago. Let's give the mic to someone else.
If the GOP hates President Obama so much, why is Wall Street Mitt now trying so hard to BE Obama?
Are we supposed to be surprised that a black person in supporting Obama?
Go Charles!
Mitt's only good plan was the healthcare model used as the template for Obamacare – and now he denys it! Mr. Etch-A-Sketch has so much to deny...
I've never liked Charles Barkley but on this he's right. Willard is going DOWN in November.
Obama is the worst Pres. he gives money to brazil to drill and refine oil jobs for them, he gives money to Finland to build cars jobs for them, he gives the building of his tour bus to canada more jobs for them. how about you create some jobs here Obama you are a failure
go get a doughnut Barkley....hahaha.....cause Mitt and the reat of America who vote for a guy because he "qualified"....not just because he "looks like me" like the rest of the balcks who voted for Obama for the only reason.....blacks are clueless why they vote for him except for that one black lady in Miaimi back four years ago who was so happy Obama won by yelling "I don't have to pay my car payment or my house payment no more cause Obama is going to take care of me"...hahaha....stupid is as stupid does.....hahaha.
And not for the first time nor probably the last, Democratic strategists wish they could find a way to get Charles to tone it down.
Mitt Romney at a basketball game? Oh, now hes just trying too hard. It would maybe get past the fake fan meter if it were a BYU game.
Other than some of the die-hard lefties on CNN, who really cares what a loud mouth like Barkley has to say? He's a basketball player/sports analyst. He holds as much weight as Limbaugh, another loud-mouth who happens to be a rightie. Why CNN even gives these guys face time is beyond me.
GOP followers might be the stupidest people in the world. You follow a party that only cares about a half % of its people. This party is destroying the country. Wake up America.
I'd like to see Mitt and Barack settle this like men on the court. lol
The 45Th president of United states will be Gov Mitt Romney.
Obama-Romney, Democrat-Republican, Christian-Mormon, Black-White, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.........Don't really matter who's in office because BOTH parties sold OUR interests to corporations decades ago. Some of you people are just plain dumb if you think life will change dramatically for the better if the person you support from these two corrupt parties gets the throne. Don't matter at all and that's sad.
Mitt is just going to follow Obama around like a little puppy dog. He doesn't know how to be a leader.
Obama 2012