The heated situation between between president Donald Trump and the NFL has taken on an entirely new life. The president initially ripped NFL players, calling for them to lose their jobs for kneeling during the national anthem. His words led to protests around the league on Sunday and Monday, and that was followed up by Trump taking to twitter to comment more on his displeasure with the protesting.
With devastation from Hurricane Maria unfolding in Puerto Rico, coming on the heels of the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Hurricane Harvey in Florida, and the huge Earthquake that struck Mexico, it feels shortsighted and downright inappropriate to spend so much time focusing on a peaceful protest happening at the beginning of a football game.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a longtime supporter of Trump, spoke Sunday of his disappointment with the tone of the comments made by the president.
“Nothing more divisive than politics,” Kraft said before adding he supported players’ “right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.”
Trump shrugged off the comments
“He’s a good friend of mine and I want him to do what he wants to do.”
This beef Trump is having with the athletic world comes as the president prepares to sell a tax overhaul plan and revive health care legislation — his party’s top legislative priorities. But instead of publicly prioritizing policy and courting votes, the president spent three days attacking the NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
We are now learning that Trump is apparentlcy thrilled about the attention he is receiving for feuding with the National Football League, with CNN reporting that the president let word get out at a dinner on Monday night that his criticism of the NFL has “really caught on.”
“It’s really caught on. It’s really caught on,” Trump was heard saying, a person who attended the event told CNN. “I said what millions of Americans were thinking.”
Another person in the room told CNN that “you could really tell [Trump] was satisfied” about the entire situation involving the NFL.
According to Josh Dawsey of Politico, Trump likes the feud so much he wants to “keep it going.”
Trump told conservatives at White House last night that his NFL feud was going well and he wants to keep it going, per people present.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) September 26, 2017
Trump fired off a bunch of tweets on Tuesday morning related to the NFL. He pointed out that ratings for NFL games were way down.
Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
According to the NFL and the actual numbers , however, this is not true.
Trump, nonetheless, was also excited about all of the booing, “great anger” and the “big progress” being made.
The booing at the NFL football game last night, when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees, was loudest I have ever heard. Great anger
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017
Trump also believes the league should institute a rule that forces players to stand during the national anthem.
The NFL, which did not even begin requiring players to be on the field for the anthem until the 2009 season , is unlikely to institute a rule requiring players to stand.
Also, with football being so popular and Trump so polarizing, it appears highly unlikely that the feud between Trump and the NFL will cease anytime soon. The situation appears to be rallying a great number of people to his side while angering those who oppose, with one congressman even calling for Trump’s impeachment as a result of his NFL-related comments.
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]