Shaquille O’Neal’s fans ‘disappointed’ after he cozies up to Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr at UFC event

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Shaquille O’Neal, mostly known as Shaq, recently found himself out of favor with a section of social media users who did not take kindly to his meeting with Robert F Kennedy Jr and Donald Trump while attending the UFC 314 in Miami on Saturday, April 12. 

As the NBA legend attended the tournament, he brushed shoulders with several right-wing bigwigs, including President Donald Trump and the 71-year-old Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Kennedy Jr posted a photo with the 53-year-old former basketball player and announced that they were heading to the UFC fight in Miami.

Shaquille O’Neal warms up to Donald Trump and RFK Jr during UFC fight

Apart from genially posing with Robert F Kennedy Jr, Shaquille O’Neal was also seen in a now viral video, exchanging fond greetings with President Donald Trump, 78. 

Many of Trump's conservative allies, including Elon Musk, Kash Patel, and Dana White were also present at the Kaseya Center for UFC 314.

O' Neal hobnobbing with Trump and Kennedy Jr comes as a great surprise as almost a decade ago, the retired athlete was a vocal critic of Trump.

Back in 2016, he said, “Donald Trump speaks to an eclectic type audience… I just think he says it wrong. Donald’s like a straight-up guy. He’s a straight-forward guy.”

Internet dubs Shaquille O'Neal 'opportunist' over UFC meeting with Robert Kennedy Jr

The internet was not impressed with Shaquille O'Neal hobnobbing with Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr as many fans wondered whether the former athlete was turning into a MAGA supporter. 

One Reddit user wrote, "We don't look up to Shaq. Only literally."

"Lol Shaq has made many questionable moves before that, rich people gonna rich people, can't put them on a pedestal," said another cynical user. 

A user said, "Amen. Nothing the rich do surprises me anymore. They don't care about anything but their own pocketbooks and will ingratiate themselves with whomever holds the most power at the moment."

"The rich have the kind of class solidarity us peasants could only dream of," declared another, while someone else chimed in, "I mean, I didn’t have a lot invested in a pristine vision of Shaq’s politics."

"He likes to hang out with white nationalist fundies so it’s not that shocking," said someone else. 

Another disgruntled fan noted, "Yall gotta stop looking up to rich people. They don’t care about you."

"Shaq, in my most generous criticism, is an opportunist. This doesn't surprise me at all," said someone else. 

"I didn’t have particularly high expectations, but I am still somewhat disappointed by this," a user remarked.

"Is Shaq MAGA now?" asked another user on X. 

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