He may want to be “Mr. President,” but Donald Trump has a back-up title: “Saint Donald.”
At least according to Bobby Knight.
The legendary basketball coach, himself known as “The General,” has been using the phrase to describe the GOP candidate in recent days as he campaigns for him.
“I actually enjoyed the day with ‘Saint Donald,’ and I’ve enjoyed watching him,” Knight said on “Fox and Friends” on Friday. “I think the man has a lot of really, really good things to bring to the table.”
It’s an honorific Knight has been quick to use in recent days. He also called Trump “Saint Donald” during a campaign stop in Chester Township, Pennsylvania, on Thursday and in another interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Asked about elevating Trump to sainthood, Knight says that’s what he thinks of the real-estate mogul.
“Well, in my mind, I do just to kind of let him know that,” he said, with host Jenna Lee interjecting that it was a sign of “affection.”
Leaving Trump Tower on Friday, Knight said it’s all light-hearted.
“I just kid him about that,” Knight told reporters. “I needle him about that. He’s got a great sense of humor and I think that’s another thing that he has that’s gonna be good.”
Knight said Friday he’s watched Trump’s style evolve since he first endorsed Trump before the Indiana primary and that he has been strong.
“I just watch him, I think, become — I don’t know if the word ‘mild’ is the word to use or not, or ‘milder.’ But I just have seen him take a different approach to how things should be and to go about attacking things and what’s wrong,” Knight said Friday on Fox. “I’ve really been impressed with the interest that he has in seeing that things are done in the right way.”
Knight is famous for coaching the Indiana Hoosiers and is one of the winningest college basketball coaches of all time. He endorsed Trump and campaigned with him before the candidate went on to the win the Indiana primary, effectively sealing his nomination.
But Knight left coaching on controversial ground, after he as accused of physically and verbally abusing a student. Knight was legendary for his temper as much as his wins.
Trump proudly touts the endorsement on the campaign trail, even when he is not appearing with Knight.