Donald Trump again escalated his war on football players on Monday night, disinviting the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from the White House on Tuesday because several players were planning to skip the event in protest. (One, Chris Long, had also skipped the White House visit as a New England Patriot last year—go him.) Trump canceled the event in a statement and then, of course, took to Twitter.
In place of the Eagles, 1,000 fans will get to see … military bands playing the national anthem.
So instead of celebrating a Super Bowl win, attendees will get to stand with their hands ostentatiously on their hearts, mouthing words many of them are only pretending to know. Talk about trading up.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney responded by accurately describing Trump: “a fragile egomaniac obsessed with crowd size and afraid of the embarrassment of throwing a party to which no one wants to attend.” Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Brendan Boyle offered a tour of the U.S. Capitol as an alternative to the White House, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro offered to discuss criminal justice reform with Eagles players, several of whom have been outspoken on the issue.
Sign if you agree: No punishments for NFL players who kneel during the anthem.