Trump claims credit for UCLA players’ release

President Trump on Wednesday claimed credit for securing the return of three UCLA basketball players arrested in China, questioning whether they would thank him for his efforts.

“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?” Trump wrote on Twitter. “They were headed for 10 years in jail!”

Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017

The three players, LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, were detained after being accused of stealing a pair of sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store near the hotel where they were staying in Hangzhou. 

{mosads}Trump reportedly raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Beijing. Xi promised to look into the case and told Trump the players would be treated fairly, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The UCLA men’s basketball team was in China for a weeklong trip, during which they played a game against Georgia Tech without the detained trio. The rest of the team then flew back to the U.S. over the weekend.

Ball, Hill and Riley were returned to the U.S. on Tuesday. 

The players’ detentions coincided with Trump’s own visit to China, as part of a broader trip across Asia. The president returned to Washington on Tuesday night.