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A number of NFL players protested during the first preseason games Thursday night, raising fists, kneeling, or simply not taking the field during the national anthem. Predictably, Donald Trump responded on Twitter Friday morning in a pair of tweets.
“Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their ‘outrage’ at something that most of them are unable to define,” according to Trump (or the staffer who made the tweets just a little too coherent to truly sound like Trump). Dude, just because the people protesting disagree with your mischaracterization of what and why they are protesting does not mean they are unable to define it.
“They make a fortune doing what they love......” … and risk their health and even their lives, at a minimum playing in pain on a regular basis.
A decorous 14 minutes later, Trump tweeted again: “.....Be happy, be cool!” Yeah, Trump definitely didn’t write that, but he signed off on it going out under his name because not attacking black men for protesting would be too off-brand. “A football game, that fans are paying soooo much money to watch and enjoy, is no place to protest.” Um, most fans are watching on television, and also, disruption makes protest more, not less, effective.
”Most of that money goes to the players anyway.” Nope nope nope nope nope. If we’re talking the “soooo much money” that fans pay for tickets, 40 percent of ticket revenue goes to players—which is to say, is split among dozens of players per team, while 60 percent goes to people off the field including owners whose wealth is massively larger than that of players.
”Find another way to protest.” Right. Like there’s a way black men could protest for racial justice that Donald Trump would approve.
“Stand proudly for your National Anthem or be Suspended Without Pay!” There goes Trump again, trying to issue instructions to the league and its owners as they consider how to respond to protests.
It’s unlikely Trump wrote those tweets himself, but that’s almost worse: it’s now a matter of White House staff time to attack people for peaceful protest in an attempt to increase racial division.