As Trump comes under fire for his handling of the unprecedented unrest in his country, Popovich — who has coached the San Antonio Spurs since 1996 and is also the national coach for Team USA — delivered a blistering attack on the Commander in Chief.
"It's unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 per cent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people," Popovich told Dave Zirin of The Nation.
"But he doesn't care about bringing people together. Even now. That's how deranged he is. It's all about him. It's all about what benefits him personally. It's never about the greater good. And that's all he's ever been.
"It's so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that black lives matter. Just say those three words. But he won't, and he can't. He can't because it's more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity.
"What we have is a fool in place of a president."
Popovich also called Trump a "coward", a "destroyer" and a "deranged idiot".
"I'm appalled that we have a leader who can't say, 'Black lives matter'," Popovich said.
The 71-year-old also despaired that "without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change".
