Kerr responds to Trump's attack: 'The circus will go on'

Steve Kerr found himself the target of Donald Trump on Wednesday, with the president attacking him over his less-than-detailed answer to a question about the NBA's ongoing controversy in China.

On Thursday, Kerr responded to Trump, who said the Golden State Warriors coach was "like a little boy" and "scared" to address the question despite his frequent readiness to talk about social issues inside the United States.

"You stop and you think, well this is just every day, this is just another day," Kerr told reporters when asked about Trump, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "I was the shiny object yesterday. There's another one today, and there will be a new one tomorrow, and the circus will go on."

Kerr went on to lament how the tenor of politics has changed since his first White House visit in the wake of his father's murder. Malcolm Kerr, a professor at the American University of Beirut, was shot dead in the Lebanese capital in 1984.

"I've lived a privileged life, and met, I think, the past five presidents prior to President Trump," Kerr said. "First one was in 1984, and Ronald Reagan was president. And he invited my mom and me, six months after my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. President Reagan and Vice President (George H.W.) Bush invited us into the Oval Office and spent about (a) half an hour with us, thanking us for my dad's service. ... And all I could think of last night was the contrast of what has happened in 35 years. There was no regard for whose side you were on politically ... it was just you were an American, and the office held such dignity and respect.

"It's just sad that it's come crashing down."

Kerr also explained his reason for not expounding on the China situation, saying it all comes down to familiarity.

"For me to sit here and say, 'I feel really comfortable making this statement,' it's not my place," he said. "Just like I wouldn't make any comments on the tariff war. I don't know anything about that. What's going on in our country - I'm very comfortable talking about what's going on in our country. I'm a citizen of this country. ... Not really feeling comfortable being in the midst of it, I think it makes more sense to lay low - and be a scared little boy."