Donald Trump Lost Two Key Allies In Anti-Kneeling Crusade, Analyst Says

U.S. President Donald Trump long had the NFL and NASCAR standing behind him when it came to the president’s anti-kneeling campaign. Both of those organizations abandoned him in the span of a couple of weeks, Politico‘s Meridith McGraw wrote in an article on Sunday.

On the heels of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests going on in several cities around the country, the NFL and NASCAR both announced they were dialing back restrictions against athletes kneeling during the national anthem. Those kneeling have long said their protests weren’t about the anthem or the American flag. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video saying he was wrong to not have listened to players who were kneeling about why there were doing so. NASCAR not only eased restrictions on kneeling but banned the use of Confederate flags at its races.

McGraw pointed out that Trump “stood his ground” when the president attacked Goodell as being weak.

He tweeted out a response to the video asking Goodell publicly if “it would now be O.K. for the players to KNEEL, or not to stand, for the national anthem, thereby disrespecting our Country & our Flag?”

Trump also lashed out at those who were supportive of changing the names of military bases that are named after Confederate generals. The writer said she believes both of those organizations changing their stance could be bad news for the president.

McGraw wrote that Trump has long leaned on the front offices of both organizations. He’s routinely attacked athletes who kneel during the anthem, both on Twitter and during campaign rallies. He has also reportedly pressured NFL owners behind the scenes to put policies in place to quash those demonstrations. McGraw said Trump has also been able to lean on NASCAR’s historically conservative, Southern fan base. He’s repeatedly called fans of the sport “patriotic Americans.” He’s routinely talked about racing fans standing during the national anthem while blasting NFL players in the same breath.

LZ Granderson, a sports and culture columnist for the Los Angeles Times, told McGraw he thinks the changes in the NFL and NASCAR are going to “put a damper” on one of Trump’s favorite plays.

Granderson added, “People who didn’t give a damn before won’t give a damn now, but the people who view themselves as nonracist, they just aren’t going for that rhetoric anymore.”

Rick Reilly, a former ESPN and Sports Illustrated columnist, told McGraw he believes Trump “completely missed the boat” on the issues of kneeling and the Confederate flag. The writer compared the president’s take on the situation as a senile grandfather who is stuck in 1962 and thinks Joe Dimaggio is still playing for the New York Yankees.