President Donald Trump responded to LaVar Ball on Wednesday morning regarding his role in helping Ball's son, LiAngelo Ball, make it back to the United States on the heels of shoplifting allegations in China.

In a pair of tweets, Trump took credit for getting LiAngelo Ball out of a prison sentence and criticized the Ball family patriarch in the process:

"It wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department, it wasn't father LaVar's so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man's version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It's a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!"

Ball and UCLA teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill returned to the United States on Nov. 14 after being held at a Chinese hotel after being arrested for alleged shoplifting.

The battle between Trump and the elder Ball began on Friday, as Ball said, "Who? What was he over there for? Don't tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out," regarding Trump, according to ESPN.com's Arash Markazi.

Ball also downplayed the incident that landed his son and two other UCLA players in hot water. Ball said people were trying to "make a big deal out of nothing" despite UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero saying that the players stole from three stores while in China for a game against Georgia Tech.

After that, Trump tweeted, saying he shouldn't have aided in the UCLA basketball players returning to the United States: "Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!"

LaVar appeared Monday on CNN and questioned what role Trump had in LiAngelo's release:

"Did he help the boys get out? I don't know. ... If I was going to thank somebody I'd probably thank [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping]. ... It wasn't like he was in the U.S. and said, 'OK, there's three kids in China. I need to go over and get them.' That wasn't the thought process. I say thank you when I see something. If you help, you shouldn't have to say anything. Let him do his political affairs and let me handle my son and let's just stay in our lane."

Upon returning to the United States, Ball, Riley and Hill were all suspended indefinitelyfrom the UCLA basketball team.

Per Markazi, UCLA officials are debating how stern their punishment should be and are discussing whether they should be suspended for half the season or the entire 2017-18 campaign.