Did it ever occur to anyone that Trump is really upset by the disrespect to the flag shown by overpaid athletes?
1
Hey, how is the project to rebuild Puerto Rico going?
He is trying to get "even" with the NFL from his failed attempt to join the club 30 yrs ago.
These are the same people that gave to his election.
These are the same people that gave to his election.
And Trump supporters repeatedly cite that they like Trump because he isn't a politician? This is just the latest pure political move that Trump exists daily on. And it's the ugliest, most divisive form of politics. God Almighty how can anyone support this malignant, incompetent man.
1
Anti-politcally correct means white supremacist. His white base. His white, racist base.
Trump’s “base” is a minority fringe. If the man were smart - which he isn’t (“It’s a big ocean, a really big ocean”) - he would be trying to appeal to that majority of Americans who voted against him; not to the Twitterbot followers who like the ACA but hate Obamacare.
Guy’s doomed. Hopefully most of the rest of us will get through it.
5
Are these people (Gen Kelly etc) bothered by the insults to John McCain's service and Kisr Kahn's son, and supporting the parade of confederate and nazi flags. Trump loves the patriotism of NASCAR where confederate flags fly along side the US flag. How about the patriotism of a man who makes the Secret Service pay exorbitant rent to stay at Trump Tower and Mara Lago? How about how he doesn't pay taxes? I despise form over substance.
5
It is all a distraction. Trump knows that Mueller investigation is getting closer and broader. The footsteps are getting closer and he is becoming even more compulsive and erratic. Indictments are starting, Trump's criminal behavior will be exposed and he thinks by bolstering his base it will protect him from what is coming. The real facts are Trump and his family have a lot to be concerned about and a lot to lose. Desperate people have desperate actions. Buckle your seat belt, Trump is preparing for what is to come and it will be a wild ride.
4
America's Worst President is a master of making up issues then setting everybody against one another over nonsense while he robs us blind.
4
Trump's base is not just white working class. It is white every-class. Mr. Trump won 80% of white voters, across all economic levels. Please stop pushing the narrative that only working class white voters are bigots. A broad coalition of white voters have shown themselves to be - if not bigoted themselves - fully willing to tolerate bigotry as a way to maintain their own economic standing.
5
At Georgetown today Mr. Sessions gave a talk about free speech. He reserved his criticism for colleges and universities. They are, he claimed, echo chambers "of political correctness and homogeneous thought, a shelter for fragile egos.” The Sessions event was invitation-only. Does the Constitution only protect the free speech of Mr. Trump and his white supporters? Whose is the most fragile ego in the room?
9
It's very sad and distressing to realize that all of this has to be discussed and explained in the year 2017. It's so elementary. This is all mind boggling. There's no point in trying to educate Trump or anyone else. He's not interested in what this country and the Constitution stand for. Not in the least.
I thought the original point of the protest was the murder of people of color by the police. No one is talking about that at all.
11
The ultimate "disrespect" for the flag and our anthem started with the government's decision to pay the NFL for incorporating them into a for-profit event. For all those insisting that these silent protests somehow denigrate the sacrifices made for our country, please explain why it is not similarly offensive to treat these objects as if they are commercial logos. Indeed, the silent protest is not the crass and offensive act.
8
Mr Trump needs to put his dog whistle away (far away) and accept the fact that he is the President of all Americans. Unfortunately, it appears that he is incapable of doing that.
8
First of all, I have never ever understood the country's insistence that it tie its national anthem to sporting events. That is simply weird. The national anthem has nothing to do with sport.
As for asking spectators to celebrate a country that condones and even encourages a sport whose outcome is not wins, not losses, but CTE for its participants? Well, that's the weirdest part of it all.
3
If this article is accurate, we are dealing with one sick, underdeveloped man. The comments about this article are spot on. I too am a veteran. I served to insure the fundamental right of all Americans to peacefully express their opinions. The Founders were so committed to this notion of free expression that they put it in the First Amendment. If Trump has to trample all over that fundamental right to insure popularity with his base, he is more disturbed than I thought. The oath I took means it is time to stand tall against someone who means to do us harm.
9
No, it's not an attempt to shore up his base. It's part of his pattern of making distracting moves whenever another revelation of the progress of the special prosecutor's investigation is reported. He doesn't want anyone focusing on the Facebook ad buy, because it is the key to the whole scandal. Stay tuned.
7
“They call him impulsive. He is intuitive.”
If that is the case, then he is decidedly evil and the most self-centered, divisive, racially and ethnically prejudiced bigot to ever the lead the country.
12
Amen!
1
Saying that Trump made his NFL comments to "shore up his base" is a very superficial look at a very ugly situation. Does it really take blatant racism to shore up his base? If so, let's hope his base is small. Perhaps the most disturbing thing Trump said isn't about patriotism and kneeling during the national anthem, it's about encouraging the type of violent football that even the NFL agrees leads to brain damage. Does that shore up his base too? What kind of person says such a thing? Let's not kid ourselves. There is something much more disturbing here than Trump trying to shore up his base.
8
Donald Trump accuses NFL players of disrespecting the country when they kneel during the National Anthem.
No, Mr. Trump. It is you who disrespects our country on a daily basis. When you disrespect Gold Star families, Senator McCain, the disabled and women, you disrespect the nation as a whole.
I will kneel with Colin Kaepernick, but I will not stand with Donald Trump.
25
Trump's new fixation with kneeling NFL players is a replacement for his old fixation on Obama's birth certificate. It's the same thinly disguised "dog whistle" racism.
18
By kneeling, the players seemed (to me) to be taking a prayerful stance. If ever there was a time to pray for the United States, this is it.
10
>>Over the past several years, what has Trump & his family done to commemorate Flag Day? Does he know when Flag Day is?
>>Can he recite the first stanza of the national anthem?
9
Yes, he does know when Flag Day is......or should do.....it's his birthday.
This from a serial draft dodger whose flat feet kept him on the sidelines. As is true of most bullies, Trump is a coward and when others have the courage of their convictions, he should at least have the decency to shut up.
13
The Episcopal church encourages its parishioners to pray either standing or kneeling. Apparently what's good enough for God isn't good enough for Trump.
10
Nascar's mostly white fans, who enjoy watching mostly white drivers travel monotonously in circles for hours is the perfect metaphor for Trump's base. Not much different than a cat transfixed by a laser pointer.
14
My husband played in the NFL for 10 years. 99% of the guys on the 2 teams he was at were very respectful toward the National Anthem and the office of the President. But guess what? All the rules go out the window when the guy at the "top" throws out respect and rules like trash, and starts behaving like a racist 15 year old.
This is all you, Trump. You're ruining everything from the top down.
15
So sorry, Kellyanne, Trump is an "I"-word, all right, but that word is neither "impulsive" nor "intuitive," it is IGNORANT.
12
Trumps NFL anthem remarks can only be rationalized as a distraction to very real problems facing the White House: investigation of Trump, Puerto Rico, Florida, North Korea.
NBA training camps opened today. I'm curious to see, once the regular season begins, if players will protest during the American anthem, but stand when the Canadian anthem is played. Obviously, both anthems are played for all Toronto Raptors games.
I anticipate little, if any protest in the National Hockey League... It may happen, but players in the NHL are far more international.... There just aren't many American NHL players, and it is solely an American issue: Trump comments, and whatever number of concerns American pro athletes are protesting.
1
You guys are on Trump's mailing list, right? The signals being sent out are unmistakably tribal and divisive, the kind of thing that could lead to civil war if there's an attempt to remove him.
"...They say I’m isolated by lobbyists, corporations, grandstanding politicians, and Hollywood."
"...GOOD! I don’t want them. All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE who’ve been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class.
"Look -- Hollywood and the media are going to hate us no matter what we say or do.
"Their goal is to take us down. My goal is to bring all Americans up!
"The economy is still booming, our border is getting secured, illegal immigration is down big league, justice is being delivered, sanctuary cities are losing support, and American energy is on the rise.
"...And that’s even with self-serving politicians obstructing our agenda.
"Edward, I was proud to go to the U.N. and declare before the world that for the first time in decades, America will look out for America’s interests FIRST.
"I didn’t run for president to be a puppet for the global political class. I ran to be a champion for the American people.
"The only support I will ever care about is from American patriots like you."
3
The article nails it with the statement "the president is worried that his recent show of bipartisanship on the budget and on [DACA]... endangers his standing with the base", as if bipartisan cooperation is nothing but a political liability. Our president couldn't be less troubled by the divisiveness he sows. In fact he thrives upon it.
3
The president is "intuitive." He intuitively knows when another racist maneuver is called for, in order to placate his fickle, angry and racist mob. No matter what happens, he always has that to fall back on. And always does.
Let's stop using the word populist for Trump. It isn't accurate. His supporters are not working class; they are relatively well off. And their principal motivation is still racial resentment, for example, the NFL brouhaha.
Demagogues lie, not populists. Trump does not value or even understand our democracy's most important values and principles. He preaches division, violence, destruction, and especially racism. What is he?
6
My question is simple.
If a NASCAR driver celebrated winning a race by crawling on all fours and pretending to urinate, then suggested that it was in response to President Obama, how would liberals have reacted?
Would they have hailed that driver's courage and defended his actions as protected free speech?
If the answer is "no", then where is the outrage regarding Odell Beckham's actions on Sunday?
1
I had no idea who Odell Beckham is, and what he did is disgusting. I am happy to say that.
Then again, he is not Pr*sident of the U.S. who shames every single one of us with his flagrant racism and transparent appeals to white supremacists.
#notapresident
2
Odell Beckham was acting like a dog when he did his end zone dance, in response to 45 referring the players who took a knee for the anthem as 'sons of bitches'. Beckham has stated that if he was to be referred to as a son of a bitch, that made him a dog and he was going to behave as a dog.
No outrage necessary.
1
Our country has consistently discriminated against African Americans going back to its founding. To pretend that isn't still happening (e.g., housing and zoning policies) is just plain ignorant. The question in my mind has always been why ANY African American would want to respect the flag. The fact that so many do respect the flag simply shows just how tolerant and forgiving African Americans are. It's not the people who are kneeling who should be ashamed-it's the people who can't empathize with the plight of African Americans in our society who should feel shame.
6
These players are unpatriotic and anti-American radical liberals. They are trying to impose their beliefs on others including their own team mates who are being compelled to go along.
Hopefully patriotic Americans will boycott anyone who sponsors or supports these teams.
3
Really? All it takes to placate the president's supporters is disparaging words against minorities?
3
According to this article Trump is waging a "culture war" he perceives to be raging between two groups of empowered white people: his white base and the white "liberal elites." He has no concern about hurting, insulting, cursing or further marginalizing and impoverishing people of color and the poor who aren't in either of those "warring" factions but are the objects of his despicable rants. These outsiders are merely political fodder to him and the significant damage his words and actions cause them and their children is of absolutely no concern to him.
2
Oh, come on folks. He's distracting and dividing again. The Koreans are threatening to blow us off the map, Trump's health care repeal went down, his Senate candidate is about to lose and Mueller is closIng in. Look over there, not over here.
3
“More than anything, such fights are a reflection of his focus on what it takes to keep his restive populist base behind him, and a ritual of self-preservation intended to divert attention from other, more damaging narratives.”
In other words, Trump’s “intuitive” perception of the support he receives from his so-called base is that it is always insufficient, untrustworthy and fleeting. Meanwhile his catalog of “damaging narratives” grows apace.
When self-preservation (emotional, political, financial or otherwise) becomes the sole objective, everything else becomes expendable. Thus …
“In his brief career as president and a candidate for president, Mr. Trump has attacked virtually every major institution in American life: Congress, the courts, Democrats, Republicans, the news media, the Justice Department, Hollywood, the military, NATO, the intelligence agencies, the cast of “Hamilton,” the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” the pope and now professional sports. He has attacked the Trump administration itself, or at least selected parts of it (see Sessions, Jeff), and even the United States of America (‘you think our country’s so innocent?’).”
Calculated attempt? No calculus here. Only the tedious tirades of a madman.
3
The article is both interesting and an intriguing take on Trump’s poor behavior. Probably to much credit is given to Trump's intellect relatively to actually giving anything some thought.
Of the broader weekend picture, all of this tribal vs national interest is getting out of hand. For instance many players of the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars in London this weekend, stood for God Save the Queen but not for the Star Spangled Banner. Sorta crazy since it was Britain that gave us slavery. Frankly the nation can no longer afford to pit tribal loyalties against shared national identity.
2
Will someone please ask President Trump why he now claims that America is great, since he previously stated it needed to be made great again. When exactly did it change and what precisely changed?
Upon his inauguration, Donald Trump swore to the oath of office:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Now he violates the First Amendment.
3
Thrush and Haberman reported President Trump said he's opposed to those "who disrespect patriotic tradition." He should look in a mirror; his behavior is wantonly disrespectful more than and more broadly than any private or public figure in my recollection. There's nothing patriotic about his disrespecting counterparts of foreign nations. He's endangering us all. Patriotic tradition does not include lying. A reasonable person, reading Article II, and the oath taken by the president can only conclude he never intended to "take care" no matter what he might have thought his supporters elected him to do. He's disrespectful of his own office. When we don't like what's in the Constitution we amend it. But until it's amended we implement it. He's lying, just as he did about President Obama's birth place, when he maintains, "'The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race.'" President Trump has demonstrated he isn't fit to preach to anyone about respectful behavior and citizenship.
2
And by association, Melania's not fit to crusade against cyber bullying when her husband is the biggest cyber bully of all!
If the comments of reporters and people like me are acknowledged, trump lost the NFL war (despite his tweets to the contrary). He also lost the health care fight (again!) and, hopefully, he will lose the Alabama candidate he made a special trip to support. We are not tired of winning, as trump promised; we are tired of watching trump drag the country down while losing.
2
The photo of Trump flashing the peace sign, caused a little Nixon flashback.
Nixon tried to expropriate the peace sign. I am not sure if Trump is that cognizant of that symbolism.
When someone tries to wrap himself in the flag, the best thing for patriots to do is run away from the moron as fast as possible.
Trumpi is obviously playing the Nixon card: start a culture war in order to save your political life. Destroying the country for his personal benefit is just collateral damage.
Oh nicely done, Donald. Way to go big fella. You sure told 'em. Just like the North Koreans and everyone else, you told 'em what's what. You haven't done anything about the nation's problems, but you sure told 'em all. Except maybe that Putin fellow.
If our government could run on tongue lashings, you'd be doing a great job. As it is, you're not doing your job at all. Your legislative accomplishments? Zero. Your diplomatic accomplishments? A negative number. What have you produced? Just a lot of yak, yak, yak, mostly offensive.
In fact, you are a miserable failure as a president and as a human being. You prove it every time you send a tweet or open your mouth. And the more of that you do, the more resistance you generate, as this sorry episode demonstrates.
33
Kelly says that people should forego their freedom of speech during the three minutes it takes for the national anthem. “After that happens, folks should feel free to do whatever they want to do to express their opinions.”
People need to agree with me that Kelly is a ridiculous old man with addled brains and a penchant for selling himself to the lowest bidder. After you've agreed with me on that, you can say anything you want about Kelly.
Republicans, this is why you don't do well on college campuses. Who the heck says that freedom of speech applies to everything except (e.g., the national anthem) the thing that I personally care about--and apart from that, it applies to everything? A freshman student wouldn't be able to pass a basic introductory course with that kind of reasoning.
13
"They call him (Donald) impulsive. He is inuative." More alternative facts from the maestro of spinning fake facts Kellyanne. No Kellyanne, his critics, and any rational person not hitched to Donald's feed trough have characterized Donald correctly.
15
Why do you two reporters somehow manage to make Trump sound like he is behaving in a legitimate and rational manner? You failed to report that his efforts to shore up the base included stoking racial hatred, scornfully name-calling the mothers of African-American athletes, and enthusiastically endorsing and applauding the fact that many NFL players suffer early and severe brain CTE brain damage. Trump demonstrated his vulgarity and ignorance. It is absolute madness that he focused much more on this than the suffering of 3.5 million in Puerto Rico. His so-called statement of concern was more of a scolding for Puerto Rico about their financial problems than a Presidential call to action for Americans reach out and help their fellow citizens. He is a low-grade reality-show President, not a real one.
22
Curious that the White House has used harsher language for the athletes "disrespecting the flag" by peacefully protesting, than that used for those marching down a city street, in our own country, brandishing the flags of Nazi Germany and the Confederacy - both governments that were bent on the destruction of the very nation that our flag represents. What could be greater disrespect for our flag than that?
26
Why do we call him a 'populist' when he is harping for a minority of ultra-conservative fascists?
17
Trump in an interviewed by Howard Stern in 1997: “I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world,” Trump told Stern of avoiding STDs. “It is a dangerous world out there. It’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam era. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.” (Trump reportedly avoided serving during the Vietnam War by getting student deferments and a medical deferment.)
Patriotic? NOT!
10
Kellyanne says Trump is not impulsive, just intuitive; perhaps she meant 'able to read' his crowd when throwing red meat at them, and continuing to use them to prop up his growing irrelevance. You have to give it to him, he is a consummate demagogue, however miserable his message of hate and division. The N.F.L. fiasco is just his latest attempt to distract us, hide his incompetence and mean spirit by draping his vulgar self with the flag.
8
Trump will soon have to stop distracting from Mueller's investigation.
The IRS is beginning to share information with Mueller, and soon it will include Trump's info.
Trump and family will have to take action to save his business. cut a deal, then resign.
They got Al Capone on his taxes too.
The clock is ticking..........
10
Didn't Mr, Kelly, ex-General Kelly of the USMC, take an oath to defend the Constitution of the US when he joined up?
Isn't the First Amendment part of that Constitution?
Yes and U=Yes. And Mr. Trump took a similar oath.
The flag and National Anthem are symbols, not the real thing, which is the Constitution.
8
People have always knelt before their gods and their altars. We kneel when we propose. Athletes kneel when another player is injured. Knights and warriors knelt before their sovereigns. None of these are signs of disrespect. Now, in the United States where the people are sovereign, some of our brethren have chosen to kneel before us all in a display of our greatest freedom. I submit that anyone who claims these protests are disrespectful fails to understand both the fundamental meaning of the act, which is respectful and submissive in nature, and the First Amendment.
7
This man is just like Richard Nixon who would go far out of his way to tear into a group or a person who Nixon knew his base, particularly those in the deep south despised-war protesters, civil rights marchers, college students whom he thought of as ungrateful elitists. It's as though there has been a reincarnation, a resurrection of Nixon in the person of Trump. Does Trump, or even his defender Conway (Trump's "intuitive") remember how Nixon ended his time in office?
4
Stop this normalization of Trump by comparing him to Nixon! There is no comparison. Yes, Nixon used divisive tactics that Trump is using now and both are reprehensible for sewing terrible discord to distract their bases from the reality of their policies and behaviors. But the comparison stops there. There is no precedent for Trump. Nixon served this country in uniform for the Navy during World War II. Trump evaded the draft for Viet Nam by claiming bone spurs that he later laughed off. Nixon spent his life in public service to the people of California as a representative and senator and the people of the United States as Vice President under Eisenhower. Trump has done zero public service and his record of philanthropy, given his "huge" net worth, is meager and laughable. Both men may have been racists but only one has committed treason by selling access to our democracy to the Russians. Nixon would NEVER go to the Soviets for anything, let alone help in winning an election. As I've said before, Nixon may have been a crook but he was OUR crook, a truly patriotic crook who had at least proven his loyalty to this country repeatedly. Trump is just a crook who only cares about himself and a treasonous traitor willing to sell this country for the peanuts of a Trump Tower in Moscow. That people would see some sort of equality of Trump with Nixon, given Nixon's life record versus Trump's, continues to boggle my mind!
1
It's an attempt to distract attention from the Republican/Trump health care legislation debacle. Bread and Circus/Spectacle and Illusion are the coins of his realm.
4
For all those who think Kelly is one of the good guys...let this be another example. He ain't.
Don't forget, Kelly is also the guy that wanted to separate undocumented children from their (undocumented) parents at the border in order to further discourage illegal immigration.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/03/06/politics/john-kelly-separating-childr...
He was forced to walk this policy back after it became known.
Kelly is as much a zealot as everyone else in this administration...he's just quieter and more disciplined about it.
9
Re: Bipartisanship. Trump (likely unwittingly) does something constructive and his base howls. That's all I need to know about his base. (Though I know *a lot* more than that about it.)
5
Wasn't it great when America had a President that was intelligent….
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible
will make violent revolution inevitable – JFK”
Isn't it pathetic how far we've sunk under this present, 'unelected' President?
Thanks for the opportunity to make a statement….
10
Instead of stunts, Trump could try being a good president. Nah, stunts are too much fun for him.
3
I heard a guy on the radio this morning say something as a joke, but it made sense. When the leader in a country like North Korea or Syria tells you to salute the flag or stand at attention during the national anthem, you don't have the option of sitting it out or taking a knee. I'm uncomfortable with mixing sports and politics but to threaten people for doing so is sad.
15
President Chaos at work again. The NFL should have ignored him.
9
What are the chances that Trump could recite the words to the Star Spangled Banner without the text in front of him?
20
I think this wag of the dog is payback to the NFL owners who rejected trump's bids to buy a team.
8
“griping about the size of the crowd”
He just can’t think about anything but himself. This will be his downfall.
And if crowds aren’t big enough, excellent!
14
I think this is less about shoring up the base and more about Trump's bottomless need to be the center of attention 24-7. He was feeling ignored during the hurricanes.
10
No surprises here: EVERYTHING Trump does is done to target his base.
8
Yep. Because appealing to white ring extremists via Twitterants is much more important than governing this country. Much, much more important than sending aid to millions of Americans in crisis.
9
One of the big problems here is the contention by right-wingers that the flag *only* represents the Armed Forces and nothing else. The flag represents all of us, and belongs to all of us. This deification of the military is one of the big problems in our country, especially since 2001.
And the right's position that protesting injustice against minorities is wrong, and somehow we should just accept it, tells you everything you need to know about what their real motivations are.
19
We all know someone like
Donald Trump...that person who
gets a kick out of irritating
people, that person who likes
to be mean and unpredictable,
that person who, when you see
him, should be avoided, that
person who always has to
be right. Unfortunately,
that person is our President.
17
I just never get tired of all this winning!!
Forget about hurricanes and the devastation of our Caribbean neighbors and our citizens on Puerto Rico- we can drum up chest-thumping commands to fire people that express themselves freely.
At the core of this protest is the simple equation:
a police officer's bullet does not equal a judge and jury.
Dozens of people caught in the midst of what appeared to be petty property crimes were murdered in cold blood while police departments stood by and watched. Police commissions and blue-ribbon police tribunals exonerated the police officers that murdered these petty criminals.
This is an issue that deserves protest and examination of the causes behind what appear to be race-motivated killings of African-Americans by white police.
Mr. Trump's tweeting and chest-thumping volleys of "You're fired" are simply his inadequate attempt to shout down the right of people to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights.
Was it Lincoln who said, "you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." This logical construct still holds true today, unfortunately for Mr. Trump.
9
Sigh. All this over an objectively, demonstrably false narrative. Not only is there ZERO evidence that police are disproportionately using lethal force against black arrestees, the actual data -- use of lethal force per arrest -- completely disproves this allegation. As reported in the NY Times, a black Harvard professor was "surprised" to reach the same conclusion in his own study. (No surprise that he was surprised, given the degree to which this narratively is uncritically accepted.) And the chief anecdotal example (Ferguson) turns out to be a now-admitted lie (see DOJ report) -- the person shot by the officer was not surrendering with his hands up, but was charging the officer after previously striking/attacking the officer in his car (and locals now admit simply lying about what happened). Not that anecdotal evidence would support any conclusion anyways. Before we engage in this divisive fight over how to respond to alien abductions, can we back up and examine whether aliens are indeed landing on Earth and abducting humans??
1
Not sure a draft dodger should be lecturing anyone about respect. Likewise a tax-evader or someone who admits to barging into dressing rooms to ogle semi-clad teenage girls. The day we outlaw protest is the day America ceases to exist. I am a veteran who served to protect our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Our president has yet to earn my respect.
21
You're giving him way too much credit...he's simply not that smart for this to be a well thought out plan. And, saying he's proud of NASCAR for their stand is preaching to the choir: the mostly white, middle and south US state inhabitants that voted for him in the first place.
Let's get it out there: black and brown people are not treated the same as whites in most parts of this country. Let's stop talking about the ways people show their frustration and pain, and FIX THE PROBLEM.
9
Any evangelical supporter of President Trump, might want to spend a bit more time with the New Testament, to sort out the NFL or NBA players Rights to use the First Amendment.
Standing up against senseless police violence against unarmed Americans is a good thing.
"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." -Jesus, The Beatitudes.
8
This is just another of Trump's attempts to distract us from Muller's investigation. It's like watching a drowning man flailing in the water.
17
Of course trump knew his comments about 'taking a knee' would rile up his base. This is the 'my country love or leave it' crowd where there is no room for dissent. Trump has turned this into a patriotism diatribe. Rather than finding a path to further discuss the decaying race relations and how to improve them, he is widening the divide. One thing you an say about trump, he knows his base...
However, I think he has miscalculated. Whereas he has, in the past, been able to bully his way through (remember al, those debates?), the NFL players will not cow to his tactics. He has met a formidable match. I believe this is an argument he will lose. With the backing of the owners, the money these players make, and sports (especially football) being so important, the players have nothing to lose. They can out wait him in the public relations arena. There is nothing he can do to win this fight.
Speaking of picking formidable foes (and somewhat off the topic), trump also started a fight with Kim Jong un he can't win. The NK leader is not scared or fearful of trump. It was a stupid and juvenile tactic to call him Rocket Man. But of course what can you expect when the speech was written by 28 yr old Stephen Miller? This is not 'lying Ted,' 'little marco' or 'crooked hillary' but a dictator who cannot lose face to the world. It just goes to show how little the administration knows or cares about the workings of NK or the world.
And let us not forget Susan Collins and health care.
9
Why is the national anthem played at professional sports events? It is a business, entertainment not a national team. Do they play the national anthem at your place of employment?
9
Why is it displayed in some churches? Flag and Cross - that bothers me.
Who do people wear lapel pins of flags? It’s like these people are anxious about how they’re perceived. And imagine that a flag on the lapel is some kind of magical protection.
I’m sick of pseudo-patriotism.
5
It's a game, folks. For Mr. Trump and his base to decide dropping to one's knee during an anthem that has no relevance to the sport is somehow disrespectful to all we hold dear is just silly. It's a gesture of belief and that's fine, agree or don't, watch or don't, but really, it's still just a game albeit one that's worth billions. That's kind of ridiculous, too, although it probably explains the hyper-ventilating.
But then, football has always been elevated to a pedestal. Fans gather with their tribe to yell at opposing teams, all kinds of fun. Loyalty to our team tells us who we are and here come people with an opinion to disrupt our mindless venting?
So much easier to rile up on this than worrying about being nuked by North Korea or hurricanes destroying lives or refugees fleeing wars and poverty.
5
Third, seems our faith in the General's steering Trump away from the edge was misplaced. General Kelly apparently needs a refresher course on the Constitution and General Mattis thinks North Korea can be struck first and militarily defeated without millions of South Koreans dying. We will be lucky to survive these clowns' tenure.
9
The NFL are no saints.
They bleed taxpayers fro subsidies of their stadiums, but privatize the gains.They also preside over a sport that, medically speaking, needs to disappear. Players are overpaid steroid cases.
1
Mr. Trump,
I really don't agree with 99.9 percent of the things you have to say, but i have to respect you for you are a man, and the President of our great nation. I guess you are flexing your right to your own freedom of speech, but i pray you could learn to tame your mouth piece. We all have off the wall thoughts, lord knows I do when I am at the DMV. But a man in your position should really learn to tone it down a bit. And for that 00.1 percent time that I agree with you, is when you say good night. Peace Yall.
3
Over 3 million Americans in Puerto Rico are living in utter devastation. Most are without power, many are without water, a large part of the population is homeless and there is a looming threat of food shortages in the foreseeable future.
And you are all so concerned about what is happening at a football game?
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
16
I feel sick to my stomach that this man and his staff are so machiavellian and cynical that they will just toy with people thru race baiting and deliberately pitting our citizens against one another. This is still not normal, don't ever get used to it.
14
The "shut up and sing" theme applies here. People attend games and tune-in to games to watch the athletes play. I don't care what their political views are and don't care to hear them. The NFL is starting to lose fans. Shut up and play already or continue to watch your fan base i.e.( revenue) shrink.
2
you don't care what their view are, but they have to conform to yours?
If you want them to shut up, maybe also stop playing the national anthem and get rid of all the military paraphernalia and celebrations. I don't want to see those when I attend a game. As long as the league and the audience wrap themselves in a mantle of "patriotism", dissent must be allowed too.
3
Who even listens to this draft dodger? He ridicules POWs, His wife has to tell him to put his hand over heart to anthem. Is standing up really mean you are Patriotic. Not to me. I'm more into who cares for the people. A Uniter not divider. And being gracious. You dont bully people to get your way. These people are just so greedy and want the power to control. Authoritarian comes to mind.
9
Donald Trump is said to be "deeply worried" that the one decent thing he has agreed to do as president--taking action to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children--will hurt him with his political base. A true leader would try to persuade his supporters that his actions are just and morally correct and, failing that, be prepared to take some political heat. Instead, a coward like Trump tries to "shore up" his base by picking new fights to exacerbate the cultural divide in the nation. Is that base so malnourished that it has to be fed red meat every few days?
13
I agree that Trump should be leading his base. He boasted that he could shoot someone on 5th Ave and the base would stick with him. So he needs to learn that a leader persuades and teaches followers to understand and support his actions. He has high-paid communication experts to write something along the line of "now that I am president and lead all the citizens of this country, I see the complexity of this situation. I still think that anyone entering the country should come legally and I will address that, but I also want to support the young people brought here and who are contributing to the USA so I will extend DACA for x more years, support the DREAM act....." - you get the idea. There is a chance the base will continue to support him. Lead, Trump, lead. Is there someone who can persuade him to go this route?
If Trump or any of the other racists in his party want to show how much they respect the Stars and Stripes, they could begin by ripping down the Stars and Bars when it's it is waved at his rallies.
6
So, from this article, I can conclude that President Trump (and his supporters) are most satisfied when he propagates animosity, provokes ill will between & among citizens, and deepens the discord that divides America. SAD.
But the tactic serves its purpose well -- to mask his ongoing, outright tyranny, re:
-- seeking to serve only the Americans who agree with him
-- disclosing top-secret information to our adversaries, IN THE OVAL OFFICE, and with no American press present
-- welcoming foreign dictators to America and allowing innocent American protesters to be physically attacked by their henchmen
-- spreading proven, bald-faced LIES about his predecessor... and/or lies about anything at all
-- throwing endless, combative and partisan rallies -- at which only conforming Americans are welcome
-- conducting an isolated, undisclosed meeting with Putin (in order to presumably engage in duplicitous conversation and possibly to arrange a secret communications backchannel for traitorous purposes)
-- outwardly threatening our 1st Amendment rights
-- brazenly profiting monetarily from his elected office
7
I thought he took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. I guess he takes that oath as seriously as he does his marriage vows.
10
I propose a simple solution to takeakneegate: don’t play our nation’s anthem at for-profit sporting events promoted by privately owned franchises.
11
One gets the impression from the coverage that no other president in America's history has ever remarked about the numbers of people that came to hear them speak. I take it the obsession with the matter dwells more with reporters and anchors than the subject of it. Just because a story leads with something does it mean it's important to the story that really does matter, if there even is one.
Oh please. Trump is famously obsessed with the size of his crowds (among other things). Were you asleep around the time of the inauguration?
4
I believe in addition to protesting persistence and perpetuation of racism in our country, we also should be protesting the intrusion of the national anthem into our sporting events. My understanding is that in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the playing of the Star Spangled Banner "at all military ceremonies and other appropriate events" to foster support of his interest in entering WWI when the country was reluctant. What is the point of perpetuating militaristic nationalism? Is it America's Pied Piper calling us to be oblivious to a military budget that is more than 53% of discretionary spending? If we need a song before an athletic event (which is questionable), how about Arlo Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" or Richie Havens "Freedom". It is not the players who are mixing politics with sports.
2
"Mr. Trump at one point asked those in attendance if evangelical voters were aware of what he has done in office . . ."
Actually, Donald, I'm having a hard time thinking of anything you've accomplished either.
3
Percentage of time spent thinking about actions which could improve the lives of American citizens:
WTA Pro Tip: Camping at Pratt Lake makes a great base camp for backcountry adventures, including fishing (catch-and-release), a short stroll to Lower Tuschohatchie Lake just 0.6 miles away, or a day hike to Melakwa Lake, a more demanding six-mile roundtrip hike. O
Percentage of time thinking about himself - that is, how he is perceived, and how he can profit from the office - 100
(Which is not to suggest he has the intellectual capacity to develop coherent and rational policies - doesn't.)
It is actually kind of comforting that there is potentially some level of rationality behind Trump's erratic behavior. Even so, I am beginning to worry that he's completely lost his mind.
It seems Mr. Trump's ego is so bruised by losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton that he can't see the forest for the trees. His "base" is the minority and I would imagine the part of his base who aren't completely deranged have fallen away, making his minority support even smaller than the 60 or so million that voted for him. This does not bode well for his future, no matter how much he fake outrages with the NFL or praises NASCAR.
1
Trump operates on the short run. Temporary. He needs lesson in evolution. He's going the other way which is unnatural and prone to extinction. Not really a student of life, or Politics, or anything it will a hard lesson learned.
I do not understand why N.F.L. and football fans are so keen to show their patriotism by playing and listening to our National Anthem and displaying huge flags and while selling beer and boozing. I find this very disrespectful to our flag and National Anthem. Has nothing to do with loving our country.
3
Kneeling is a sign of respect in all Eastern traditions. Even in European royalty, you had to kneel in front of the King or Queen. So kneeling should never be taken as disrespect or insult during the playing of national anthem.
4
His still obsessed with crowd size--so he starts a culture war. Can't wait to see his White Supremacist friends fill his next ranting engagement.
1
He's much more comfortable with avowed racists and neo-Nazis who commit violence including murder and pointing out how he felt many of them were actually "good people". Yet when it came to Black men making peaceful gestures of anguish and concern for the racial injustices that continue to afflict this nation, he had only insults.
23
"But White House officials say the president is deeply worried that his recent show of bipartisanship on the budget and on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals immigration program with two Democratic leaders — Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer — endangers his standing with the base."
...or, in short, "Oh no, I'm being sensible again...quick, deploy the crazy blabber and twittery!"
9
Jingoism is a deadly disease.
14
Trump needs to be reminded that he lost the popular vote by over 3,000,000 votes. If the election were run again today, I can't see him doing any better. I don't believe anyone who voted for Clinton would vote for Trump today, and I imagine that there are millions of disillusioned Trump voters who regret their votes for him. It's easy for Trump to suck us into his anti-culture, culture war, but I wonder if our reactions make it worse and further inflame the consciously and unconsciously white supremacists who seem to be Trump's core supporters. Maybe if we didn't react so quickly to Trump's provocations, his base might question his wisdom instead of immediately reacting to rally to his side.
6
I'm sure the pink tie was a mistake. I'll send him a half-dozen more.
6
Well Dotard J. Trump, long after you've been impeached, you'll always have Alabama.
21
Quite apparent!
1
Just as with his "rough-up when you arrest em" rant to the cops a month or so ago he's indulging, not patriotism or law and order, but the fantasies of a soft, senile blowhard. One could call this kind of thing Nixonian or Hitlerian, but thank the gods, Trump's vision and cunning don't measure up to either. He's barely in the George Wallace league.
Although this may play well on Fox and Limbaugh, what he's done is to convert a symbolic prayer for minority victims of police violence and turn "taking a knee" into a cross-section of America praying for an entire country suffering under Trump. The police unions and neo-Archie Bunkers might cheer, but I think (or at least hope) they represent a dying, not emerging generation.
7
.....and the home of the free......Do I need to say more?
3
Highly despicable, divisive and dangerous to America.
This so-called leader needs to be removed.
14
U-Bum is trying to take away their health care, start another pointless war, and give another tax windfall to the rich. His base must be as ignorant as U-Bum, the draft-dodger, is if this it what it takes to shore them up.
11
The man clearly lives by the credo of divide and (try to) conquer -- he is also a demagogue who will say anything to get his way and a pathological narcissist who cares only for himself...not country, not even party. I used to to think (hope?) that he was a demagogue but not an idealogue -- I was wrong...he ideology is his own self worship. His rants against freedom of expression (while there are so many things that should be occupying his time and his so obviously limited intellect and attention span) show a complete lack of understanding of US History and our Constitution. Oh -- and about healthcare...this was the man who told us that he wins so much we will all be tired of winning. He's right about us being tired -- we must hope that our system is strong enough to withstand his assault. And we must hope our sense of right and wrong will allow us to withstand and not be polluted by this egomaniacal, mean spirited, blow hard of a bully who behaves in ways we would not tolerate from our children and would not be allowed in elementary school much less anywhere else.
4
tRUMP by his own recorded words, is a racist, sexist, bigot and xenophobe. Because he is supposedly a wealthy privileged white man, although we have no real proof of that without his taxes, he truly did way more than a racist dog whistle about the NFL principled quiet respectful protest. Yes, some black athletes have become wealthy by playing major-league sports. And why should they not? They have more talent in their little fingers then this fake bone spur draft dodging racist will ever have or could even contemplate. And who do you think makes more money? The athletes with the real talent, or the white men who own the teams. And what a horrible word - that alone speaks to what the system is about. Our flag represents a country built on the back of chattel slavery and black people. It is not disrespectful to speak out about that, nor is it disrespectful to the veterans who fought and served to protect America. The protesters have been very respectful, but COTUS (clown) has not. Of course when is he ever! The athletes standing up for what is right is absolutely admirable and I am with them one thousand percent!
Ps how many so called rump supporters do many other things that disrespect the flag like wear flag clothing, plaster it all over their pick up trucks, etc. etc. And I'm sorry, but human beings and their dignity, safety and constitutional rights are way more important than any piece of cloth.
5
Yep, Dixie-Racists, the Donald's fallback supporters.
Oh, and the ones who support him after he shoots someone on Fifth Avenue.
5
Craven, cynical low-life... goes to Alabama and crudely threatens an African American player and players in a professional league dominated by African Americans for exercising their Constitutional rights in front of a room of largely lily white Amuricans, and he claims he's not injecting race into the discussion??? Please Mr. Mueller, save us from this cretin.
8
As much as the current resident of the White House disturbs me on every level I want to here comment on John Kelly . I do not need you to tell me what I as an American should do when the national anthem is played . I guess you don't know what your service has been for . My rights . Maybe you should stay a little further away from your boss . Apparently ignorance is contagious .
18
that Korean twerp had it wrong when he called trump Mr Evil President. lemme fix it.
Doctor Evil President.
2
News. News Analysis or Opinion. Certainly not labeled, but not straight reporting. This is getting tiring from NYT......
Trump saying NFL owners act like plantation owners and control their blacks is just playing to TRumps rabid base in the face of the flop of his repeal effort it seems he has done nothing but stir up trouble for the country and the world Impeach or resign pick one Don the con stop wrapping your self in the flag like a tin pot dictator.
6
Look at it this way.
If things really go south for the Duck in his Russian gambit, he will need a rabid base to whom he can turn to and cry foul because those of color and the liberal intellectual establishment colluded to deny his divine right to the executive office.
it seems much of what he does and says now is a desperate attempt to prepare his base to take to the streets and raise holy hell if he is indicted.
If he is intuitive, it is from a schooled past from which he has weaseled and crept out of so many legal jams that he's practically punch-drunk from the hits he has taken. The upcoming big hit will be greatly deflected by the threat his base will eventually pose to the stability and peaceful existence we want to enjoy in our towns and communities.
This not portend well for us at all. Are we being bullied into letting him off for what he has done? Will he just resigned and be pardoned by Pence? What's the deal? Are we just being positioned: set up?
Why else would he risk the flak for having declared off-with-their-heads to our black football warriors?
The flag issue is for knuckle-heads. The flag is a rag if it don't stand for what we all understand to be the guarantees of our Constitution. Taking the knee is just the right physical gesture to express the racial oppression many feel now and is so close to prayer and submission to the greatest authority it could even be Holy.
Really folks these are very sad times. Let's hope for light at the end of this tunnel.
7
Does Trump believe anything that he says, or is it all thought out to appeal to his base? I think it's really scary that he may just be saying what he's decided in his little marketing brain will appeal to his die-hard supporters. Nothing about right and wrong, nothing about what's best for the people, just what this bunch wants to hear. 2018 and 2020 will come soon, right? Meanwhile people suffer in Puerto Rico and wait for help in Florida and Texas. DACA people are in suspense about their future. Black people are treated like criminals. Horrible.
8
Our president reminds me of that old dismissive Texas insult. Big hat. No cattle. Bad hair, small brain, too.
7
Once again, this is a winning issue for Trump.
Anyone who doesn't understand this, probably still can't figure out why Hillary lost.
The people who criticize him and support the protests viscerally hate Trump. There is absolutely nothing that he could do to win their respect or vote, so why should he even try?
Moreover, most liberals despise the NFL as violent symbol of toxic masculinity and don't watch games anyway. As such, the biggest loser in this situation will not be Trump, but rather the NFL.
3
nascar, straight out of the hart of Dixie. Not very impressed.
4
Since when does Trump calculus anything?
1
First and foremost as far as I understand it the NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not meant to show disrespect for the flag but pure and simple protesting the flagrant actions members of the police force take when dealing with African-Americans. Trump, who is a racist, as evidenced by the way he discredited former President Obama and his wife, brought racism once more to the forefront. Needless to say, his base loves it.
3
I am sorry, NFL players, owners and supporters, but you are overpaid egotistical folks who are disrespecting the very flag that draped the coffins of the real heroes coffins who paid the ultimate price for you to have the right to act the way that you do. Have the decency to 'protest' in a different fashion...maybe even in your spare time, not ours!
2
I asked my flag what it thought about the protests. It didn't voice any objections.
You don't get to make that determination for men of color or to tell them what to do. If you don't like what they are kneeling for don't watch. Anyone who believes this is about disrespecting the flag or the heroes coming home in coffins has no idea what they are talking about. That you would believe and are so easily led by a draft dodging liar who avoided serving his country, says all one needs to know about you.
What a sad man. Or, as he would say.....SAD!
1
To Trump and his Band of so-called Patriot's:
Take 'your National Anthem' out of 'our game'.
Signed: The NFL
Something to ponder:
What Constitutional Dictate or Congressional Act or Executive Order or Jeff Sessions Mumbling Mandate declared the playing/singing of the National Anthem at NFL Football Games?
2
Mr. President, you were elected to fix problems, not create more.
We know that Puerto Rico, healthcare, and North Korea are complicated issues, but you've really got to concentrate here. We know it's hard, but these issues affect millions of Americans and we can talk about patriotic displays later, maybe after you've napped.
1
Know what I wish for? A button on the NYT site where I could click to OPT OUT of tRump coverage for a day. Just a day (of my choosing) where his name, his tweets, his messages didn't pollute every aspect of every story EVERY SINGLE DAY. C'mon NYTimes, try to be innovative here!
2
I know folks who have joined together and take turns following the Trump Circus for a week at a time. Prevents Trump fatigue - at least until it is your week to watch and report back.
1
Everything is just about appearances, it would appear.
2
How Don the Con can complain about the lack of patriotism of the NFL players and then turn around and condemn John McCain for "getting caught" and saying he is not a patriot is beyond my comprehension. Such is the hypocrisy of the so-called president.
7
ave you ever noticed when something important is going on i.e. the health care bill, he divederts our attention to something frivolous?
5
The fact that he's chosen to create this little grandstanding sideshow (possible oxymoron) after having stirred up so much fear and loathing about N. Korea, in the midst of the horrifying health bill repeal-attempt, and, especially, in the face of the suffering and destruction in Puerto Rico...it's just mind-boggling. Atrocious. When will we unite to say "enough"?
1
So Trump made these ignorant comments to shore up his base.
A base is just that, (The lowest or bottom part) and nothing more.
Trump"s getting closer and closer to that point in time, when Americans will collectively shout. . .enough is enough. His base will not save him.
4
Aren’t those offended by the protests being a bit too alarmist and using, shall we say, a huge double standard? I ask myself whether the people finding taking the knee such an offense whether they stand up and honor the anthem when watching the game at home. If honoring the anthem, the fallen soldiers and armed forces fighting for our rights requires that we stand up when the anthem is played then we should all stand up no matter where we are when we listen to it. I bet that is not the case.
And if taking the knee is an afront to the flag then why do we allow the stripes and stars to be printed on hats, shirts, bathing suits and even underwear? Taking the knee in protest of what the flag represents appears to be so much more respectful than wearing it on one’s posterior!
So to all of those out there outraged at the NFL players taking a stand against what they see as an injustice by simply taking a knee when the national anthem is played or the flag is lifted I say: Please take a deep breath and let them be. You certainly are entitled to not agree with their position and even believe that what they are doing is silly, but please do not waste your time arguing that what they are doing is disrespectful until you also start calling on those who wear the flag as clothing and start standing every single time the anthem is played.
4
President Deplorable does not nor has ever had any concern about patriotism, the flag or the anthem. Personally I think his inane ramblings about the NFL goes back to the the lawsuit he filed against the league while an owner of a USFL team. His whole participation in the USFL was done only to force his way into the NFL by a merger ala the AFL/NFL merger, way back then they wanted nothing to do with him.
The straw that no doubt broke his back was winning the suit but being awarded One Dollar in damages, trebled because it was an anti trust lawsuit, I can still picture the steam coming out of his ears singeing that polyester bushel on his head.
1
“The president’s critics have it wrong,” Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser who served as Mr. Trump’s campaign manager and pollster in 2016, said Monday. “They call him impulsive. He is intuitive.”
Trump uses his gift of 'intuition' darkly ....to stir fear, scarcity, and hatred to unify his tribe tribe and keep the applause coming in the moment. I am frightened by the toxicity of this .
3
Trump`s base of deplorables can be emotionally aroused with cheap sentimentality and lukewarm beer. Trump has turned any notion of patriotism into an expression of racism and vulgarity. By making patriotism the province of political exploitation of the riffraff, Trump is making it increasingly harder for educated Americans to be proud of their country. We have seen this before in other parts of the world. Ominous.
4
How ironic that Demagogue 45 would raise the issue of disrespect for the flag and the national anthem to the very descendants of those who first disrespected it by waging the bloodiest war ever on the North American continent in an attempt to overthrow the government in order to keep an entire race of people in bondage and fly a different flag—the one with the “X” and stars.
Demagogue 45 and these descendants who claim to respect the “Stars and Stripes,” would rather be whistling “Dixie” while waving the flag with the “X” and stars. The reality is that these descendants show more respect for the other flag—with the “X” and stars, than the “Stars and Stripes” they claim to respect in opposition to Colin Kaepernick, which speaks to the abysmal hypocrisy and ignorance of the bulk of white America in general and southern white America in particular.
“…these people who endlessly boasting of their freedom—we’re the best because we are free!—loathe the very suggestion of such a possibility for anyone other than themselves. They are forever stitching flags, making and threatening and dropping bombs, creating instruments of torture and torture chambers and overseers and deputies and detention centers. Their notion of freedom is so strenuously callisthenic, not to say defensive, that freedom becomes a matter of keeping everybody else out of your backyard….Whatever it is that white Americans want, it is not freedom—neither for themselves nor for others.” James Baldwin
His base is indeed base.
3
While he is tweeting about the NFL, they are at the verge of Lord of the Flies in Puerto Rico, what is he doing to help them?
5
Who would come to the rally? He needs to be adored and without launching an attack on someone, what does he have to stand on? No legislative accomplishments, Obamacare continues, the ban (which is not a ban, oh wait it is a ban), the Wall, golfing every weekend, on the verge of war with North Korea, Comey firing, Russia investigation . . . still waiting on those tax returns. He needs to change the subject and in his simple mind he looks for an easy target. Lebron James' observation that this is an attempt to maintain a divide in this country is what the petty little dictator feeds. Stand tall people, I do not believe we elected this person and our country is and has to be stronger in it's unity than this tiny little man is in his continued effort to maintain the division, which is the tiny base of his power.
5
He throws a bomb (literally, at least for now) when he feels threatened. He stirs the pot and starts trouble to divert attention away from his lack of achievements, his conflicts of interest, his blatant hypocrisy, his constant lies or just to simply have people talk about him (got to feed that narcissism). His shrinking base is too blind to see through this transparent charade.
He methodically attacks a person or group, sits back and enjoys the mess, and then attacks someone else. What happens after he runs out of bombs and targets? Real bombs?
I almost wish (not really) that trumpcare would pass so his supporters would suffer some real world consequences for supporting this joke of a man. They deserve some pain for saddling the country, and the world, with captain chaos.
This guy has some nerve to talk about the concept of respect. Ask John McCain or the Khan family Trump's idea of respect.
5
as long as everyone who wants respect for this flag also acknowledges and repeats out loud that it was in the service of this same flag that at one point in time half the country wanted to keep a certain race in chains.
A U.S. president who would deliberately aggravate racial conflict in American merely for his personal political benefit is by any test a low-riding demagogue. Kelly Anne Conway and Mr. Trump's personal supporters may excuse or extenuate this behavior all they want--and as self-confessed Chjristians--but this kind of Cross they would impose on the American people isn't the sacrifice the great Lutheran martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer had in mind when he declared that "slander is the murder of the brother's heart." That's exactly what Mr. Trump did when he went out of his way to utter a profane personal slander against black athletes in this country. It wasn't "intuitive," as Ms. Conway says it was. It was a calculated piece of hatred promoting strife and division in the nation Mr. Trump was elected to lead and heal, not divide and conquer.
Let me see if I understand Trumptalk: The American flag is the symbol of free speech. So much so that you aren't allowed to use free speech to demonstrate against un-American values.
Have I got that right?
1
While I have gret respect for General Kelly and his service to this country, he fails to realize that the flag represents very different things to different Americans. Trump's crude, self-serving actions in this matter underscore the exact problem these athletes are attempting to highlight with their free speech.
It is remarkable to me that people are willing to take the side of a president who engages in this sort of childish taunting simply to score political points with a sliver of the American people. Trump intentionlly divides America to protect his ego.
What a sad little man. How this is construed as strength in some circles is a testament to how fear has infected the minds of so many of our citizens.
It is a dark and shameful period in our history. The big question is whether we come out the other side stronger or weaker. Very unclear at this point.
What steps can we take to prevent the next demagogue from rising to power?
It seems to me that Trump would fail even a basic high school civics class. He shows, over and over again, a very poor understanding of First Amendment rights.
1
You could substitute "his base" for "his mob" and you'd be talking about the same thing. Whatever happened to appealing to "the better angels of our nature"?
Yes, the NFL criticism was a calculated attempt to whip up hysteria in his base to change the new cycle away from Mueller's investigation. The closer Mueller gets to Trump, the more unhinged he becomes.
Expect the lunacy to continue because Mueller will start interviews with WH staff this week. I can't wait to see Trump melt down!
:D
1
What would Trump actually "winning" a culture war look like?
It shows the utmost RESPECT to kneel during the anthem!
Kneeling is what many do in worship or when proposing marriage -precisely to show respect and love.
Kneeling in place is peaceful resistance and one grandchild of Dr King's marches and sit downs (none of which were universally endorsed at the time).
Especially under Trump, America shows the frightening stirrings of fascism and extreme self righteousness....like Trump deciding for the world what is or isn't 'respect'.
Well I am a Vietnam Era vet and I approve of those protests...most of those objecting to them are doing so because they prefer the symbols and not the essence of what this country stands for.
You can sing the anthem all you want and salute the flag but if the essence of America continues to be hollowed out by appeals to racism, fist pumping crowds shouting for the imprisonment of political opponents on flimsy charges, approval of violence, gerrymandering of districts, voter suppression, crude attacks on vets and minimising sexual attacks on women, and suppression of dissent by calling for the firing of those state protests, then just what does the national anthem and the flag signify?
2
Trump worries about appearing weak. He is weak. It's obvious to about 60% of the population and most of the rest of the world.
I grew up in the 1950's and 1960's. I have always supported the troops. What I didn't support was blind allegiance to the politicians who sent these troops to war. I protested the Vietnam War, but not the soldiers who fought the war. I wasn't thrilled with both Gulf Wars, especially the second one. Sadam Hussein was a piece of garbage, but he didn't cause 9/11. It may have been an excuse to finish Gulf War 1 or Rumsfeld's need for a bigger target than Afghanistan( at least in this war we were going after someone who actually had attacked us). But, I always supported the troops. I support our country, but not necessarily the politicians who are in charge. I support the police, but not the few who should never wear a badge which they feel allows them to essentially get away with murder.
So, protesting a war or police brutality by taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem? It's expressing our Freedom of Speech. That's what the flag and the National Anthem truly represent.
The argument, " My country, right or wrong", never was more wrong. It should be, "My country right or we will make it right". I think the Founding Fathers would be proud.
It seems all I ever see him doing is shoring up his base.
1
Rather than taking a knee, I'd like to see the NFL players flat out ignore the Presidents comments and tweets. I wish the press would as well.
With the support of the owners, the NFL, and the Player's Association the players should go out into their respective communities, join forces with the local police department and meet with the citizens to engage in bringing a positive change to what the players and local citizens are concerned about. The Player's Association could enlist retired players doing the season to keep the conversation moving forward. It would be a positive step that would negate the idiocy that spews from the White House. Just don't engage with the President.
Mr. Trump feels he has a winning hand here and the multi-millionaire athletes are a perfect target and are perfectly stupid by not declaring victory and ceasing the protests. The Heartland of America is seriously upset and now increasingly sees the NFL as part of the same elite that flood their towns with opioids and sends their factories abroad rather than an organization that organizes team to play a game. If the players and the League remain myopic and don't back down on this, we are going to see backlash protests, which may include tactics like: boycotts of cable TV, NFL products and products advertised at NFL games; lines of flag carrying protestors encircling the stadiums and making it a chore to pass through a flag line to use a ticket; rallys at which the numbered jerseys of NFL kneelers are burned ; and tv ads using Veterans and Gold Star parents to smear kneelers as the political PACS smells blood.
If I were a kneeler I would declare victory for bringing the issue up and then indicate that at one designated game (the PRO Bowl perhaps) the players will take a knee before the anthem much like the Dallas game last night. The players have to realize that they are playing with fire.
As Agent Orange's base shrinks and shrinks due to his obviously unfit and incompetent behavior, we may have to leave the last faction of confused and scared trump fans behind when the rest of the country gets a chance to recover from this mess. Resignation is coming fairly soon.
A few well paid football players have decided to get rid of our National Anthem? What next?
Colin Kaepernick knelt in August 2016 for the first time. Over a full year ago. He is not currently signed to any NFL team for the 2017-2018 season. The ONLY reason this is news is because our President made it news by tweeting and tweeting and tweeting some more about it (over 22 tweets as of 9/26/17).
Hopefully members of Congress will decline to stand when Trump enters.
His need to shore up the base is getting creepy. How insecure can one get? Those that are still with him after all these months will be there for ever, i think.
On the other hand, all these efforts to shore up the base are viewed as repulsive by those not under his spell. So, as a result, his base just might become his ceiling.
“'Every American should take the three minutes or so that it takes for the national anthem to play to stand up, remove their hat, put their hand over their heart and think about the men and women that have been named, sacrificing their lives, so that song can be played in the stadium,' Mr. Kelly, a former four-star Marine general, said in a statement late Monday."
It's not about the anthem, the flag, or the military, General Kelly. Never was.
Please stop pretending otherwise.
The protest is not a protest against the national anthem. DJT made it into that. He should be finding out what the protesters are concerned about and trying to help them. The NYT should devote less space to the subtleties of the president's mood and more to policy details. Please try to educate the public rather than highlight divisions and people's misinformed opinions. Our nation depends on it.
I don't care about how he feels, I care about how he makes Americans feel. I think he is making everyone feel terrible. Even his supporters are unnaturally hyped up and upset about things that may or may not be true, or that are misrepresented by DJT. He is terrorizing all of us.
1
One of our greatest freedoms, enshrined in the Constitution, is our 1st Amendment right to speech, and to protest. Take a look at China -- protests are squashed and protesters are jailed or murdered for their speech.
NFL protesters (and others) are protesting during our National Anthem and our US flag, with respect -- quietly, with dignity, but to bring attention to the fact that most definitely not all Americans are treated equally. Bring it on.
Trump is doing grave damage to our freedoms by his lack of education and understanding of our Constitution, our American history, international relations, and science, by his disrespect of international agreements, by his weak ethics, by his racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-everyone but his "base," attitudes, thoughts and actions, and by his inability and/or unwillingness to consider and work with the needs of ALL Americans, not just his "base."
1
When does Trump announce the campaign for the Flag Burning Amendment? That one usually pops up every time a Republican President needs to whip up his voters.
It even could include the "NFL clause." which would make "disrespecting the flag" as a crime punishable by Congress. Trump would have a great time tubthumping it for the next three years. It's not like we have greater problems to deal with.
At least trump is consistent, No matter how unimportant and inconsequential an issue, trump will use to divide this country. No matter how important and consequential an issue, trump will maintain his life long commitment to ignorance. And trump remains firmly and consistently committed that his enemies are The United States Constitution, the US Judiciary, The US Congress, the US economy and being a mature adult.
To add to my previous post. Goodell, the head of Players Association , the captains of all 32 teams and Kaepernick should call for a meeting with Trump at the White House at which all the grievances are discussed, and then each side makes conciliatory statements afterward with an agreement that the Anthem will be respected going forward and that an annual protest to remind all of the grievance issues will take place at the Pro Bowl game.
I'd like to see the national anthem not be played at public events of any kind. I'm tired of hearing it, and respect shown for what is symbolizes is hypocritical. If you want to show your patriotism, pay your fair share of taxes, do work that contributes to the respect and dignity for all people, help preserve the environment, and learn to distinguish between fact and fiction.
The NFL and their sponsors no longer have my support. I support Our Country.
1
Some People have been activists for minority groups for years but now that an actual minority has control of the government some people have a problem with it.
Trump praises NASCAR as showing respect for the flag, only he didn't say it's the Confederate Flag which is prevalent at the race track, the flag that symbolizes racism, segregation, slavery, rebelling against the United States and the Flag of the Union.
1
Trump is primarily focused on being at the center of everything. All news that features him is 'good news' no matter how ludicrous his statements or actions are. Perhaps the media and other groups attacked by Trump should use the 'Lent approach' as the best way to sideline him. Give up mentioning him for the next six weeks which would frustrate him more than any negative media coverage or poll results.
As a strong believer in personal liberty, I have always supported Colin Kaepernick's right to free speech but I was very disappointed when he said he wasn't going to vote for anyone. I mean, seriously, Kaepernick brought all of this attention by stirring up controversy and then set an example of NOT voting for Hillary Clinton which then set the stage for a Trump and GOP victory -- the exact opposite outcome needed for his cause. But, now with all of the absurdity of a Trump administration, I find myself applauding the NFL players who are sticking up for his First Amendment right. And yet by publicly refusing to vote in 2016, I can't help but feel bitterness towards Colin for the very fact that we are now living in the worst of all worlds. Did it never occur to him that dealing with an attorney general selected by Hillary Clinton would not have been far better for the cause of police reform than Jeff Sessions? Seriously, you guys, what were you thinking?
I agree with Ms. Conway that Mr. Trump is intuitive. Unfortunately Trump's intuition is informed by the quality of his upbringing, education, and experiences including the breadth and depth (or lack thereof) of his relationships with women, minorities, and people that have to work for a living. Many non-minority athletes support their teammates while being careful to acknowledge that they have not shared the same experiences (driving while black, etc.). Mr. Trump not denies the experience of blacks (and women, etc. etc. etc.) but has closed his mind to the possibility. Isn't intuition great?
Why does it seem like the American flag is always, almost exclusively associated with the military? The last time I checked the flag it had 50 stars representing 50 days. That means that it represents all of us, not just Americans who defended this country, but the Americans who helped build it. That includes the laborers who picked cotton, laid our railroad tracks, helped raise your children, and so on...
If the president wants respect, he needs to embrace the diversity of this nation,
he needs to acknowledge the America beyond his base.
Furthermore, the president, though not a student of history, should know that the US was founded on dissent; created in a revolution and thrives on the disparate freedoms we enjoy.
In 1990, the Supreme Court ruled on a case about burning the flag. The majority opinion is quoted in part. It is about flag burning but read it and you will see similarities to what the occupant of the White House has complained about.
"Expressive conduct cannot "be justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech."[8] It must therefore be subjected to "the most exacting scrutiny",[9] which cannot justify its infringement on First Amendment rights. While flag desecration – like virulent ethnic and religious epithets, vulgar repudiations of the draft, and scurrilous caricatures – is deeply offensive to many, "the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
It is difficult for us (Europeans) to understand the American devotion to their flag and national anthem. It works for us on special occasions (Liberation Day, soccer world cup finals), but not every day and everywhere. Patriotism isn't much of a thing this side of the ocean and I kind of like that. Must be recent history that cured us. Although Le Pen, Wilders and to a certain extent the British (with their longing for 'sovereignty') are maybe signs that things may change here, heaven forbid.
What actual work is Trump doing? What policy topics interest him, and what policy research and experts does he consult with to achieve his policy goals? What is his broad vision for our country, and how will that vision be effectuated. Aside from tweeting, devising ways to entice his base, traveling for campaign events, fancy dinners and golf, how much time and effort does he spend on the work he was elected to do?
I would like to all American Profesdional sports teams march as a unit in the parking lot, after exiting their Escalades and before entering the stadiums, carrying their protest signs, with whatever messsging they aim to convey. Which I still don't what that is. Hopefully it's a positive message of working hard and staying in school. Then leave that all in the locker room and focus on the game / entertainment on the field.
1
Don't think it's so much about shoring up his base. who else are they going to support? It's more about the cheers at the rallies and the huzzahs on Twitter he gets for "saying what he thinks." it's the 24 hour coverage of him that it provokes. It's always and will forever be only about Trump.
When a freedom becomes mandatory it is no longer a freedom. The core issue isn't about the flag but about social justice and racial equality. Which are difficult issues to talk about. So instead the president and others look to shift the conversation because they don't want to address these highly charged issues. Yes, would it be nice if everyone stood during the National Anthem? The thing is when displays of patriotism become forced they become about nationalism. We have the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech in this country where its guaranteed by our constitution. Even though I and others may disagree about the method of protest i.e. kneeling, I will always defend your right to protest with my last dying breath. For it is easy to protest for things when everyone is in 100% agreement on an issue. The true courage of a protest is when it becomes inconvenient to the powers that be. To advocate change in this country it has to be uncomfortable. For change arises from a place of discomfort. From the very beginning our nation was founded on dissent. A Founding Father once said that, "Dissent is the highest form patriotism." For those who are shocked and disgusted by the protest, then it means you are still living in a free society. For as a three tour combat vet of Iraq, I risked my life for all Americans to have the right to protest even when I may not agree with the protest.
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“When a freedom becomes mandatory it is no longer a freedom.”
That should be on billboards. On TV ads. That is a brilliant sentence. The GOP should take a lesson.
1
When only 35% to 40% of Americans support Trump, even with the best economy in a decade, he can't afford any more slippage, especially when he can't pass any legislation.
The so called tax bill reform is heading for a real donnybrook within the GOP, as there are plenty of upper middle class Republicans who are going to pay thousands more in taxes with the elimination of state and local tax deductions, aka double taxation.
My uncles didn't fight in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam so that some dotard who avoided the draft because of imaginary foot issues could tell me how to show respect for the United States. Colin Kaepernick is right about police brutality and racial inequality belittling much of what the flag represents. Why honor that belittlement? But then the current president has made it more than clear that he approves of police brutality, and that racial inequality is fine with him. So he plays to his (racist) base, which includes NASCAR, where honor for the confederate battle flag (losers, by the way) and the racism it represents can be found on any given race day.
28
Ms. Hall: you have a lot more company among military families than you may realize. And let's remember this: a significant portion of the Armed Forces today are composed of black Americans. Their commanders realize this, even if Trump's mob doesn't.
2
“Every American should take the three minutes or so that it takes for the national anthem to play to stand up, remove their hat, put their hand over their heart and think about the men and women that have been named, sacrificing their lives, so that song can be played in the stadium."
Other Americans disagree with what you and this nightmare of a president think they should do, General Kelly. The men and women who sacrificed their lives made it possible for them to do so.
30
It is philosophically inconsistent to protest the national anthem, and then suggest that said protest is not about the national anthem or the nation. That is exactly what the highly paid athletes (making more in a week playing sports than most hard-working Americans do in a year) are doing when they kneel or stay in the tunnel during our nation's anthem. Does our nation have issues to address? Yes. It does. Do we need racial reconciliation. Yes we do. We should address those issues, but to disrespect the nation through these sensational protests does not advance that cause. That's why Alejandro Villenueva's jersey is the NFL's top selling merchandise today. It's also why an angst-ridden Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Heyward spent so long postgame trying to explain their support for the anthem, flag and U.S. military after their misguided protest. And it's why Roethlisberger, unable to sleep the night after their game (and loss to an inferior team), said it would never happen again. The Steelers will stand up for our nation in the future. It's too bad more players didn't have the principle of a Villenueva on Sunday, but it's heartening that at least one man was willing to stand up for something bigger than himself. Hopefully he'll help more players to stop following the crowd, and to stand for principle too.
5
So if one is highly paid then they don't have a right to protest on whatever issue? Social injustice and racial inequality can be felt at all income levels and regardless of profession. President Obama was a 'highly paid' politician yet he was called every racial slur in the book. For those whom deal in hate and division they will never see the content of one's character but only the color of their skin. One's level of personal net worth shouldn't determine their credibility or lack of on a social issue. They lend their social stature and voices on behalf of those whom go unheard on this highly charged issue. The protest happens during the National Anthem to make it uncomfortable for those whom are watching. To break through the stupor of passivity of the casual fan. For if the protest happened off the field or on their own time folks could ignore it. We are being forced to pay attention to their protest. Yes, we may disagree with their method of protest, but they have the right to protest. If the players were following the crowd they would all had remained standing. Folks like to deflect from the core issue because it means we have to confront the need for change and realize as a nation we don't always live up to the ideals that is enshrined in the Flag. I, myself a combat veteran of Iraq bled for All American citizens to have the right to protest even if its 'misguided' as you claim.
2
Wesley, I understand why these protests bug so many people, especially those of us who are older and have been through a lot of this over the years, going back to Vietnam, etc. A good term for these protests is "inarticulate." It all started with one guy, Colin Kaepernick, who might have had trouble articulating why he was doing what he was doing and how it might take us on a path to some specific change.
Contrast this to the Montgomery bus boycott, where the protesters said, "We've had it with riding in the back of the bus, and we're boycotting until we get exactly this--we can sit wherever we want, nothing less." And it took a year but they got it.
Except what's happened here is that the President's blundering into this has changed the conversation. Now, it has little to do with whatever Mr. Kaepernick's issue was. Instead, it now has to do with your right to protest, period. I think with the high profile that NFL players enjoy they could get much more bang for their protesting buck by involving themselves in focused political and social efforts off the field. But now it's degenerated into this mess.
1
I think it's wonderful that these men have found a sensational way to draw attention to the deplorable racial mess we have in this country. I don't find their behavior disrespectful in the least. I wonder if not not this way, how on earth does anyone effectively begin advancing a cause to solve these problems that have only gotten and will continue to get worse under the current administration. I know how helpless and sick I felt when Philandro Castile was killed for being black by a cop who was not convicted, and I'm a white woman. I also wonder how many people who seem to find the only way to be patriotic is to put on a show of "patriotism" actually do anything to make their community and country any better. Sounds to me that's way more like "following the crowd" than football players kneeling in unity. Standing up during the national anthem is not the same as standing up for our country.
1
Of course, Trump's base is NOT concerned about the frequent spoken rants and tweets that are clearly evidence of a mentally unstable individual who has no concept of the world except his own tiny bubble that has convinced him that he is the center of the universe. The question I have is: Is the "President" a sociopath or a psychopath?
28
BOTH
William
Clearly evident? What Medical School did you graduate from, please? Can you also help then to diagnose Hillary, Nancy and Maxine for us?
The real question is, who cares? Apparently the majority of us do, but then we don't count. We don't live in low information, low population counties and as it stands now, those are the people who elect presidents, not the majority of us.
A thief intuitively knows that what he wants to do rather impulsively might lead him to trouble. That is the only apt "intuitive-impulsive" relation that one can and should attach to this fellow.
Suffice it to say that the man would not have made public mincemeat of very fine athletes and citizens who chose to display their displeasure at societal ills in a very peaceful, if public, manner were they not predominantly African American.
But here is the rub you racist clown - Steph Curry, LeBron James, Colin Kapernick and others like them do a lot more to advance the notion of America than you ever will through your Twitter raging.
Kneel down folks. Kneel down at all public events where the anthem is played. Let us send a collective 100 million thumbs down to this clown. Peaceful protest is our right. Let us not let this man scare us into shelving it. America is great despite this rabid TV showman.
34
Two weeks ago -- before Trump weighed in on the NFL -- I was at an event where the national anthem was played and I instinctively took a knee. I used those moments to ponder the state of affairs in this country, the regression of civil liberties (racial and otherwise), and the need for "regular" citizens to be heard, to demand better of our elected officials (or install better candidates), and to support organizations that promote social justice. It was time well spent.
I was pleased that this gesture could demonstrate my kinship with athletes and others who lament the incivility that's pervading our culture. Now that Trump has
tried to dictate a punishment for this gesture, I'm certain to repeat it at my next opportunity. Especially in the age of Trump, is there a more respectful, essential act than dignified, silent protest?
2
It's a shame, really, that all this rage and energy should be directed at NFL players who are only doing the American thing by exercising their right to Free Speech, when the President could have done something useful like submit a bill for funding Humanitarian Aide to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Oh, I forgot, those people's skin color is brown, even if they are US citizens. Too bad they are running out of food and water and won't have any electricity for perhaps 4 or 6 months.
And not that any of his base cares about Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands either. But they sure love to yuck it up when the President makes fun of the NFL players who take a knee in protest of innocent Blacks getting shot by police, or when he calls a dangerous leader of another country a childish insult. Do they want a better life, better jobs, a better world for themselves, or do they want the dog and pony show?
23
Ms. Black, please the next time you are robbed or have a attempted rape- don't call a policeman.
Call CK or Black Lives Matter.
Let the police help US
BLUE LIVES MATTER!
The rabble love their rouser.
14
Will the protest spread to include not standing, but bending the knee when Hail to the Chief is played?
14
Here again is the racist man Trump has always been back to his early days in New York. His business fined for housing discrimination, his call first for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. Then refusing to admit they were innocent when DNA tests and the admission of the real man who did the rape resulted in their freedom. the NFL is 80% Afro-American and they are not protesting the flag or the soldiers. They are protesting the shooting deaths of unarmed black people by police all over the country.
NASCAR is about 100% white and no Police are shooting down unarmed white people. Trump is just distracting his base from the real issue which is the Russia Investigation. Matter of fact he may start a war with North Korea to really make sure we forget about that investigation.
15
As a political act it was quite effective, machiavellian. His base is vindicated-- see he is a racist just like them. Or is he? Is this a game of Three Card Monty or is he just nuts? I don't know, but he's quite a juggler!
6
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." Sinclair Lewis (I think)
39
While he is arguably the most hideous reptile ever to occupy the Oval Office you have to grant him some considerable skill and lathering up the Trumpeltonians. Serial natural disasters have knocked him off the front page, he has resoundingly lost the goofy hairdo contest with Kim Jong Eun, to say nothing of the raving loonie stakes (although that has been a much closer call), he has discovered that the only way he can get anything to happen in the congress is to team up with the Devil Incarnate in the persons of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and some of the stuff going on in Puerto Rico looks like it might stick to him.
What better to do than dredge up an old NFL story involving another uppity black man? The press swallows the bait whole and the Trumpeltonians hoot and holler.
America continues to be the laughing stock of plant earth.
21
Did anyone ever tell this incompetent fool that he is supposed to be President of everyone not just a minority.
19
He's creating another diversion! He doesn't want people to see his failed policies on health, travel, taxes, etc. This is classic Trump. Keep your eyes on the ball people and don't listen to his racist trash, which is not worthy of one iota of our attention. Focus on his lack of follow-through and political know how. He's in far over his head.
14
I wish someone would read this to Mr. Trump - ""Freedom of speech means you support the right of people to say exactly those ideas with which you do not agree." the late, great Bill Hicks
4
You know, of course you know, that this isn't what you signed on for when you decided to be journalists. I appreciate your coverage, but every once in a while, you could let on that you had once set your sights higher. Guess you gotta play the ball where it lies. And, lies and lies and lies.
3
Can we notch up the reality here?
His "base" is uneducated, racist, white and angry - and a minority. We have a DOTARD focused on his base and nobody else in this country.
This angry man will never accomplish anything in this presidency.
This country is the BIGGEST LOSER in the end, he is a divider, not a unifier.
I am so sick and tired of this con artist, this grifter and his complicit family.
I cannot believe we are eight months into this and we have another 40 to go.
Forty more months of this deranged individual. Forty!!
Think about it...
34
Draft dodging coward! We serve with honor sir! You have none!
28
The racist in the WH LIED about the REASON for the player protests. They are about RACE, and the unequal treatment people of color get (too many times fatally) from our law enforcement and justice people. It was ALWAYS about race, and it was NEVER about "disrespecting" the flag, or our military (and how absurdly hypocritical for the "president", a DRAFT DODGER, to say anything about "disrespecting" the military! That's HIS personal history!
Kaepernick has put his money where his mouth is, donating well over $1 million to flood victims, under-privileged children, et al, (and counting).
Meanwhile, we have a humanitarian emergency in Puerto Rico, the demented man in the WH is goading NK to a potentially military conflict, and there appear to be no sane people in or near the WH. Certainly we haven't heard a peep from the cowards that "lead" the GOP, and I'm not holding my breath. They all seem to be corrupted, unaccountable and in violation of their oaths of office. Remove the man in the WH, using the 25th Amendment, before something really tragic occurs at his hands.
10
You may think it is about race, and it may be, but by choosing to protest during the national anthem, the players have also made it about the national anthem. period!
Who cares what Trump thinks of any of this. Really.
7
Seriously, that's all that this unfit narcissist is concerned with? Off to Puerto Rico -- sorry, way too late for that ploy.
6
I am so tired of these bizarre attempts at programming a culture of millions of citizens, most of whom do not support this administration at all. WE cannot support a racist country with theological policy rammed down our throats and never will. I hope this "catches on" with this administration.
6
Trump declined the opportunity to respect the flag and demonstrate his love of country when he evaded service in Vietnam. I don't participate in social media, but I would love someone to start a twitter account with the hashtag FakepresidentTrump. Seems rather fitting.
7
What is most disgusting is how eager DJT's base was to take the bait. Almost immediately social media filled up with manufactured outrage, all focused on "disrespect to our flag, our anthem, our armed services!". It was a bitter amusement watching all these busy bees using their stingers in the service of their vainglorious drone, but still it is so sad to see them be so easily manipulated.
14
A quick glance at any thesaurus will give you these synonyms for base: depraved, mean, offensive, poor, cheap, coarse, contemptible, despicable, immoral, loathsome, sleazy, trashy, worthless, and wretched, to name a few. Sounds about right to me.
3
Sickening.
1
It's an attempt to elevate his base's views on race and free speech - who gets to say what - to a central location where they do not belong. And, during the weekend, his talking heads' (Mnuchin, others) and the Fox News response amounted to: "You ungrateful black guys just shut up and entertain us." It's hideous. Everything Trump touches is poisoned by division and racism. He excels at bringing out the worst in people.
7
The fake president is a draft-dodger who would not stand with America when duty called. This fake president disrespected, John McCain, a decorated war hero who fought bravely so that the freedoms that we enjoy (freedom of speech) will not be forsaken. How dare this dotard talk about patriotism when he is under investigation for treason! Does anyone see the irony? This fake president has soiled America for far too long. He is a grifter who is about as sharp as a marble. Throw this bum, and his spawn out!
14
Well, as Michael Gerson recently observed, he's a cheat and a liar, but he's THEIR cheat and liar.
Ho hum.
And Mueller, be thorough.
3
Why does this guy even dare to talk about patriotism when he had 6 bone spur deferments during the Nam draft. Also his sons have never served but those poor white folks down on the farm who voted for him sent their sons to die in Viet Nam and still do to this day to our many wars. And yes, they still support the 'orange mane' who they are proud to call-leader of the free world,
1
I keep reading/hearing this vague phrase "shore up the base."
The president makes a speech - he's shoring up the base.
The president keeps a promise - he's shoring up the base.
The president sends a tweet - he's shoring up the base.
The president visits a site - he's shoring up the base.
Please, please, please, give this phrase a rest already.
NYT = Junk Journalism
The pretender in the white house is all about ratings. Forget that the rest of the country is burning, underwater, or being swept away by wind. Forget that Puerto Rico may never come back. Forget that he is moving us to a war with finality with North Korea. Forget that he has alienated all of the allies of the US. It's his numbers folk. Have we had enough of this idiot yet?
3
President Trump's has let his mercurial nearsightedness put him in an unwinnable position in calling for NFL players to be fired for exercising their Constitutionally protected right to peaceably protest considering his previous statements about "good people" being involved in the White Supremacists/Nazi rallies in Charlotte, NC.
I am not sure what "base" of Americans President Trump is playing to, but in so doing he diminishes the Presidency.
1
One can only hope that next time Trumpkin sticks his foot in his mouth he ends up asphyxiating himself.
1
"You forget," declared King Edward VII, "that I am King of ALL Englishmen."
Responding to the Tories, incensed by Liberals and their proposed tax increase. (Hey! Sound familiar?)
Oh Mr. President! Let these words sink into your heart. You are President of ALL Americans. Black--brown--red--and (I gotta just SAY it)--WHITE. Three hundred million and counting.
OF COURSE you've got to do business with Democrats. Why not? All great presidents--and some not so great!--do business with people of the other party. Roosevelt (back in the day) reached out to various Republicans. Lincoln's own Secretary of War--an enormously competent man--was a Democrat.
Your base, Mr. President? Your base? There are millions upon millions of Americans, sir, who DON'T GIVE A HANG FOR YOUR BASE. Let 'em scream--roll their eyes--wave those angry fists. . . .
. . .a huge (you know--"yuge") number of us don't belong "your base"--never did--never will. Step away, sir, from that loud bellicose minority--and, sir, they ARE a minority, let 'em say what they will. . . .
. . .and step up to the plate and be President of the United States of America.
And, sir--one last thing. . .
. . drop this asinine feud with the NFL. It's doing you--it's doing us--no good at all. It's making us--it's making YOU the laughing stock of the world.
Including Mr. Kim Jung-un.
(I knew that would get your attention. It did. Didn't it?)
1
When Trump appeases and applauds the basest voters in his base - with blatant racism, war-mongering and showy ignorance - he shreds the fabric of our democracy. The more moral segment of the GOP needs to step up and stop Trump now.
29
The longer the "moral segment of the GOP" remains silent, the more I wonder if their existence is just a myth. Maybe they really are all racists, war mongerers, and amazingly ignorant. Of maybe they're such a tiny little segment of the GOP, that their voices are drowned out by the rest of the party.
2
I agree - I think because that more sane segment was always morally flexible - kind of amoral really - they are flummoxed by this Trump mess. I wrote to a longtime GOP stalwart this week and asked what can be done about Trump. He's always had an answer before with some vaguely positive outcome that the GOP would see from any GOP action of substance. His answer to my question this week? 'Crazy. No idea.'
1
One thing for sure with Trump's Presidency he is churning up the waters in America. This may be a good thing because it's bringing everything to the surface compared to the last administration that tried to hug everything out and everyone was kicking back thinking he was going to be the savior. We were lethargic and listless as a nation - now we are having hard core conversations which may be uncomfortable but need to be aired.
2
It fascinates me that people say things like that. Don't you remember the "beer summit" Obama had with the white cop and the black Harvard professor? These discussions DID take place during the Obama years but there was at least an attempt at civility and not a bloviating narcissist insisting he was right in the White House.
81
Lethargic and listless? What about the Tea Party? What about the Occupy Movement? What about Black Lives Matter? There was plenty going on, plenty being brought to the surface, just not enough. It's true that too many people sat back - and Obama didn't do what he should have in terms of getting people out there taking action. But I'm sure there are plenty of people spending this first year of Trump sitting home trying out new recipes and posting pictures of their pets on Facebook... nothing wrong with that... Trump's raw unpleasantness keeps a lot of people quiet.
2
Trump's slight of hand is top notch. While his supporters and the media are focused on his calculated nonsense, we are somewhat distracted from what is really going on. His loss on the Healthcare front was tempered by his race baiting NFL and NBA rhetoric.
As Mueller's Investigators close in on his Russian Ties, I am afraid of what he'll stoop to next. The likelihood that his so-called "hoax" is "fake news" is vanishing with every passing day.
Don the Con.
8
I am sure there must be photos or videos of Trump at events where the Anthem was played. I'd be willing to bet that a large number of those have his sitting or talking instead of standing. I'd also be willing to wager that he could not sing the lyrics without error.
When it comes to these kind of obscene culture war tactics, the left needs to play with the same level of mean-spirit as Team Trump.
5
Trump appeals to his "conservative" base by attacking young African American men peacefully protesting the injustices experienced by African Americans. Ergo, he must strongly believe that conservatives appreciate racist attacks. This appeal shines a spotlight on the true desire of conservatives, including the so-called "christian" evangelicals, to keep the uppity from daring to want equality.
12
Don't you wish Trump would make public his tax returns? Imagine how patriotic that would be. Currently, he's being non-presidential, in my opinion.
Until he show the American people his income tax returns, whatever he says is fake news.
15
Edison High School in Philadelphia had the highest causality rate in the Vietnam era. In 1971, my lottery number was 256 and since then, I have given back to this country without question because of their sacrifice.
As the Beatles composed, President Trump needs to figure out "you were perverted too / I don't know how you were inverted / No one alerted you.".
So Sad!
Paul Anziano
5
I, like many, who follow U.S. politics, often grow weary of the relentless barrage of uniformed, if not incredibly obtuse, missives launched by the Divine Donald.
The lack of knowledge of history, law and government is appalling. But then no less than Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffet warned that Trump was a con man and unfit to be president.
The right of freedom of expression is enshrined in the U.S. constitution. Even burning of the flag is permitted as constitutionally protected free speech.
The U.S. federal government and each of the 50 states had passed laws criminalizing and punishing flag burning.
In Texas v. Johnson 491 U.S. 397 (1989) the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all the statutes as unconstitutional restrictions of public expression. The feds then passed another statute which was struck down in U.S. v. Eichman 496 U.S. 310.
If the flag can be burned, what is wrong with a little kneeling? Trump should get some legal advice before he makes a fool of himself yet again.
10
All the legal advice in the world cannot prevent him from making a fool of himself, because that is, in fact, what he is.
Your sanctimonious Canadian missive aside (and I am a Canadian so I know when the Canucks are looking down on the Yankees), no one is saying that what the players are doing is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court did not rule in that case that burning the flag was patriotic so yours is just plain old nonsense.
Alone in the White House, hunkered down with cable TV, with no understanding of key foreign or domestic issues, Trump has devolved even further, from demagogic candidate into a pathetic excuse for a president. The never-ending spew of hate, misinformation and outright mendacity that masquerades as leadership to the aggrieved base is eroding any standard of government we have left. McConnell, Ryan and the Republicans will bear the responsibility for the damage being done, assuming we survive as a constitutional democracy at all. I remain convinced that, if this situation continues to erode, and the Congress does not act under Article 25, we will see a military takeover in some form to neutralize this egomaniac.
13
Of course it's to shore up the base that responds to this kind of "us" versus "them", with the added bonus that the "them" are minorities. That was evident immediately. It was not a current issue that anyone debated. Moreover, why is kneeling silently disrespectful? They did not turn their backs on the flags. They did not heckle or behave in any noisy and disruptive manner that prevented others from standing or singing. They did not spit on the flag or burn the flag. They were silent. No one should be compelled to stand or sing the anthem. That is what totalitarian governments do, which apparently appeals to fake president Trump. The flag represents different ideas to different people and we have a right to our own interpretation and relationship with the flag. I don't know whether fake president Trump is truly racist, but he certainly exploits racist tactics to appeal to his supporters. Demonizing and blaming the "other" for grievances and resentments was the foundation principle of Nazi propaganda and drove his campaign and continues today.
10
NFL teams are 70% black. Football fans are watching a version of Roman Gladiators, except players are not slaves (currently). Similar to today, gladiators were admired and endorsed products. Only big change is that the emperor (Trump) doesn't participate in combat at the statium.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-
3
Before every game, make the players sign a loyalty oath. Even better make everyone entering the building sign a loyalty oath. That will smoke out all the subversives. Make america great again!
Swannie, making people do things like sign loyalty oaths kind of sounds like what we did back in the 50s. The name we applied to it was "McCarthyism." I don't think it did anything to make America 1% greater, and in fact we look back on it now as one of our darker periods.
I do agree we need to make America greater, and the answer of how to do that is also in history--build a strong nation out of a diverse people with a crazy mix of backgrounds, talents, and beliefs. Most of us, including me, like to stand for the national anthem, etc., but that does little to get us where we need to go.
1
Please, Trump's outrageous comments about Kaepernick were not calculated. That was his fallback position when met with lukewarm reviews from his sycophants. More importantly, if calculated, it was a very poor calculation. Sure, a bunch of sod heads cheered his comments in Alabama, but it didn't change their minds about being an NFL fan. The notion that Trump is politically intuitive is laughable. Rather, he's found a base with such a paucity of sophistication, combined with a 19th Century bigotry, that they cheer anything he says. Even when it's bad for them.
5
This, like all the controversies he starts via Twitter, are merely to distract the public from the important issues. Things are not going well with healthcare - better tweet something to stir things up in a completely different direction. Things are not going well with Korea. Ditto. Things are not going well with investigations - double down and tweet about both Hollywood AND professional athletes. And sadly, it works because we (and the media) continue to pay any attention at all to what he says. All that does is reinforce his behavior.
7
“Every American should take the three minutes or so that it takes for the national anthem to play to stand up, remove their hat, put their hand over their heart and think about the men and women that have been named, sacrificing their lives, so that song can be played in the stadium,” Mr. Kelly, a former four-star Marine general, said in a statement late Monday.
“After that happens, folks should feel free to do whatever they want to do to express their opinions.”
No, folks should always feel free to express their opinions, not just when some military hack who's sold his soul says so.
14
President Trump can crow all he wants about NASCAR. As a business it pales in comparison to the NFL.
Maybe the owners that gave millions to President Trump may be a little bit less generous when Republican politicians approach them for campaign donations during the next political cycle.
3
Does he think the Teams literally OWN the Players??? Or should???
Any reasonable person could interpret his remarks that way. Seriously.
13
Trumps runs the Presidency like a "reality" t.v. show. Ratings are all that matter. Reality is fiction.
4
"I suspect these protests -- originally intended to draw attention to [race relations and tension between police and minority populations] -- have now taken on a life well beyond that intention and could potentially have the opposite effect originally intended by Kaepernick." (Scott Jennings, CNN) Possibly, but only because Mr. Trump and many like him have intentionally ignored the original purpose, and labelled the protests as something they could castigate in order to score political points. Like birtherism, people dancing in New Jersey after 9-11, massive voter fraud, etc., etc. Just another cynical lie that Mr. Trump uses to inflame his base and divide the country.
6
Trump probably really doesn't care about the flag issue...it's just a very convenient, divisive diversion for him that he decided to throw out there like a hand grenade. Whenever he does things like this, I assume that he's either diverting attention from negative information about his other actions and/or enjoying the ensuing conflagration which satisfies his borderline personality traits.
1
Trump does seem to have an uncanny ability to latch onto issues that rouse his base. I am not a Trump supporter but I do not agree with the national anthem protests. When I watch or attend a game I want to be entertained. I don't want to view a political statement. Likewise I don't want to hear political statements (from either side) from people who are providing me a service for payment such as my dentist, hairdresser or dry cleaner. Sure people have a right to say whatever they want and I then have a right to take my business elsewhere. The NFL is foolish if they don't think they will be damaged by this. The players can protest outside the stadium but don't do it on my time.
2
Intuitive demagogues all fall down.
They believe they know best. They don't learn any limits. Eventually they attack a core institution, and their house of cards tumbles.
Trump survival depends on mainstream Republicans, not his base. The 30% who love his views will never change. They're the 30% who still think Obama was Muslim, Bill Clinton the anti-Christ, and dinosaurs were man's best friend.
What Trump needs are mainstream Republicans, who support him for expedience, and because they're afraid of being primaried. They're the moat around his castle.
Demagogues survive because a mainstream group protects them, while a base loves them.
Demagogues fail when the mainstream group finally can't stomach them. In McCarthy's case, when the Senator went after the Army. In Trump's, it could be football.
Football's owners are symbols of mainstream Republicanism. They no longer stomach Trump. NASCAR viewers are in Trump's base. But in living rooms and sports bars across the country, NFL viewers are sick of that base.
If the NFL and other sports protests continue to grow, it could push mainstream Republicans to abandon the demagogue. Humpty Dumpty is ready to fall.
4
Trump was in Alabama stumping for Strange and even Moore strange! Throwing out chum to his basest base. Alabama is sending it's racists to Washington. 'And some, I assume are nice people.' Trump couldn't possibly be more blatant in his racist views and sympathies. Nobody is fooled or really thinks that he is of the opinion that we are all equal, especially when it comes to basic rights.
1
If Trump had taken the trouble to read yesterday's thoughtful piece in the Times by Eric Reid, he would have known that his and Kap's taking a knee never, ever, had anything to do with patriotism or the flag. It had everything to do with innocent, unarmed black men being shot and killed by some members of the police. The extent to which Trump has twisted and perverted this story from one about justice and social concerns to one about respect for, and loyalty to, one's flag and country is the epitome of "fake news". In fact, his complaints about so-called fake news are themselves an inversion of the actual story, for he is the original and most prominent purveyor of it.
3
I heard it said the 'patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels’. djt has given real meaning to the aphorism by his senseless blathering demanding blind obedience to his dictatorial vision of patriotism. A nation does not automatically get patriotism by grace. Patriotism is bought and earned by each generation as needed. This generation is patriotic because they are kneeling. But I will say that djt is being somewhat successful in his campaign promise to bring our nation together, only not in the way he expected. As it’s turning out, in only seven months two thirds of the nation are now questioning his abilities, childlike utterances and tweets, if not his sanity. Nice going djt, a job well done. Now if you can only kill the ACA, Medicare, Sociality Security and 10 or 20 million North and South Koreans and cutting taxes on the wealthy we’ll certainly be great again. You think?
1
To my knowledge, this is the first American president who desires to speak for only his base, "my people," he calls them, a minority of the country. Not only does he not care about the rest of us, the majority; he actually lives to anger and incite us. The angrier the majority, the happier he is. He is despicable way, way beyond the pale, and his so-called presidency could not end soon enough... we will hope, before the end of our Republic, for which he does not stand.
5
You presume that your opinion is the majority opinion. It certainly is on this comment board, but I suspect that outside of NY, NY there is a fundamentally different opinion.
Can we see this" Patriot's" actual fifth deferment records at the draft board when he cut and run from VietNam ? I want to know about the heel spurs and the doctor who sent the letter. Why didn't he honor the flag then ?
7
When you want to distract an infant, you move something shiny in front of it and the baby temporarily forgets the object of its desire. Could Trump supporters be that easily manipulated? Won't they eventually remember that they need health care, international stability, and climate control? Or will they just keep waiting for the next shiny object?
2
Sports events have been politicized for many years. Racial issues have infected both amateur and professional sports, and some of us were around when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. How much has the Defense Department paid professional sports organizations so members of the military are on the field as advertising? What did it cost taxpayers to reqiuire teams be on the field for the national anthem? Can we buy "tradition"? As with one's religious beliefs, patriotism is personal. It is not dispensed and dictated by presidents or generals who tell us that we must put hand over heart when the anthem is played or we are not patriotic. Does rote reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance make us patriots? For many politicians and citizens, criticizing elected officials, criticizing government actions are deemed unseemly and unpatriotic. In the present over-heated climate while the President of the United States seems intent on provoking yet another war, perhaps not only professional athletes but everyone in the nation should take the knee -- or get down on both knees -- and pray for peace.
How many more must die, how much more must be spent, to soothe the savage lust for war? And just as the Burns-Novick brilliant documentary about Vietnam is playing to remind us the cost of embracing the folly of arrogance? Back to jumping in the Big Muddy while fools cry we must "Push on!" "When will they ever learn?"
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
1
Trump is smarter than most liberals think.
When he rants about some nonsensical issues, he is almost always trying to divert people's attention from something else that is critical. Shoring up his base is secondary benefit. (He knows they are easy to shore up).
Through his NFL rant, he has successfully stolen significant debate time away from following issues that are directly relevant to his campaign and his administration:
(1) Jared's use of his personal email for government business. The issue later spread to include at least six people in WH administration. Absent NFL issue, this discussion would have spread like wild fire because Trump is in WH primarily due to Clinton's use of personal email account.
(2) Dismal delays toward disaster recovery in Puerto Rico while the situation is worsening.
(3) Diverting attention away from one more humiliating loss in healthcare repeal effort.
Press could have a bonanza with above over the weekend, but they too were misdirected in kneeling debate.
1
NFL players as wealthy celebrities are using their high profiles as a way yo express their political views in accordance with the first amendment. Likewise private citizen Trump ,wealthy and high profiled expressed his view that President Obama was not a native born American. In 1989 he took out full page ads in the three NYC newspapers condemning the "Central Park Five" prior to their trial for rape. In both of these cases Trump was wrong yet I do not recall anyone challenging his first amendment rights.In the case of his falsehood designed to undermine President Obama no one it seems even questioned his patriotism !
"In both of these cases Trump was wrong yet I do not recall anyone challenging his first amendment rights. In the case of his falsehood designed to undermine President Obama no one it seems even questioned his patriotism."
Matter of fact, instead they rewarded Donald with the U.S. presidency.
2
Where was his patriotism when he evaded the draft?
1
Trump's NFL attacks may well play to the base, but for the rest of us it's just another round of Rope-A-Dope, distracting everyone from two decade and a half wars, a third one we may be on the verge of, and the endless attempts to erode an already imperfect healthcare system.
NFL kneeling put Trump's name in the headlines of as many as 5 above-the-fold articles in this paper at one time, displacing many more important issues, including the prevalence of police violence against African-Americans. Dozens of articles here over the past few days.
This is what Trump does; goes wing nut crazy on some bizarre tangent, gains admiration from his base and woefully distracts everyone from the serious issues we face. When do we begin to ignore this child's attention seeking tantrums? When readers reward the tantrums with attention, the paper will continue to lead with tantrum news. We've been played again.
1
Agree! Let's focus on the real heroes. McCain, Collins, Kaepernick, Cuban, Marie Tillman, and even Jerry Jones (give NFL owners a chance to evolve; let's see who signs Kaepernick and how soon). Please pile on to this too short list of heroes for helping Puerto Rico, not destroying healthcare, free speech AND patriotism, and promoting racial equality.
It does not dawn on this US President that he has a higher obligation than to his base. What a small-minded, despicable person we have completely lacking in any semblance of "leadership." Say Trump voters, on another note, have you seen any evidence that DT is working on improving your healthcare, more affordable and "wonderful" as per his promises during the campaign? He is too lazy and selfish to focus on the substance of the issue.
Let's call this for what it is... Red Meat for Trump's base to distract from the Mueller investigation.
What really matters today are the american citizens, without food, water and power, begging for help in Puerto Rico!
1
The National Anthem is symbolic of everything that makes our country great. Athletes, heck anyone, can protest all they want before or after the anthem. But, during the anthem, the American citizens need to show their respect for the country. These "take a knee" displays are only for personal gratification/publicity and mean nothing. These "knee protests" are doing absolutely nothing except dividing the country rather than unifying it. Protesting during one's "work hours" isn't appropriate. Protest all you want before or after work.
2
Protests during work time are only problematic if your employer takes issue with it. The NFL and many of the owners have made it clear that they stand behind the players in this.
Protests aren't supposed to be convenient for everyone or make you comfortable with their premise. They serve to open conversations about changes that protesters would like to see happen. That's what makes a protest effective. Our country was founded on protest, protesting is patriotic.
Even if I agreed with you....which I don't.... the protesting football players have opened up the conversation. Now, they can stop the nonsense.
Listen - I think Trump is a buffoon but this coverage misses the mark. Indeed the Grey Lady's coverage has been woefully lacking actual data.
Here is the most recent polling:
72% of Americans are against the kneeling, sitting form or protest from a September 2016 Reuters poll.
The owners and the players are simply shooting themselves in the foot which is ironic because they would be better served working against gun violence which remains the single largest source of death [homicide] for young Black males from 15 to 35.
1
They lost me when they refuse to address the extraordinary rate of domestic violence among NFL players.
More likely a diversion to hide the healthcare failure. The media always looks at the shiny object.
1
Why would anyone listen to what Trump has to say about respect for our Country? A man who outed a spy to Russians in the Oval office? A man who... I could go on and on.
I didn't vote for Trump, and don't approve of his style or tactics, but I wholeheartedly agree that at its core the actions of NFL players who refuse to stand for the national anthem is an affront the the nation. That's the whole point of those players. It is a protest against the flag and what it symbolizes, which is why the national anthem is the aim of the protest.
I so appreciate Pittsburgh Steeler Alejandro Villenueva for his principled stand (although I know he feels badly that it made his teammates look bad.) But Villenueva, who received texts from wounded veterans and others asking him to salute our nation's flag, acted out of principle. Does our nation need racial reconciliation and healing, yes absolutely. But let's pursue that in a way that honors the sacrifices of so many like those wounded veterans who reached out to their fellow veteran Villenueva. It's no surprise that as of this morning Villenueva's jersey is the hottest selling piece of NFL merchandise. The veterans he stood to support know much more about sacrifice than do the richly paid athletes disrespecting our nation's flag in misguided protest today.
2
I am an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran. I served this country from 1971 until 1978. I served with men who fought and died. Now I see this country being led by a man who publicly ridicules citizens of this country for what they hold dear; who suggests they lose their livelihood for voicing their opinions; who calls them vile names.
This is not the country I fought for. It is what I fought against.
522
just to shore up the base. makes you wonder what idiocy he will crawl to when this doesn't work.
7
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
1
It seems that everytime I listen to tv news or read an article about he who should not be named; I continue to hear and read, that he is once again attempting to shore up his base. Wow, is his base that needy? Do they really need constant reinforcement? Or is the media merely " splanning" it away as "tossing red meat to his base", shoring up his base etc.. How about, he is really a blow hard who enjoys pushing the "base" buttons as he is so very much like them. In that I sense that there is a terrible poverty and that is a poverty of mind, of imagination and a poverty of heart.
6
Hurricane, what hurricane? Maria was down in the Caribbean somewhere. Lots of my friends make lots of money down there
Escalating rhetoric down a path to war? Keeping America strong again(sic)!
Free speech and the Constitution? Old stuff!
It's all about Trump, 24/7.
7
Remember, too, at the U.N. last week, "...my friends are making a lot of money in Africa."
Mr. Muellerrrrrrrrrrrr???!!!!
2
“The president’s critics have it wrong... They call him impulsive. He is intuitive.”
I don't call Trump impulsive. I call him repulsive. And I don't see him as intuitive. I see him as a man devoid of the morals and values one looks for in a leader, who manipulates his base by creating a crisis to cover a failing on his part. His negatives far outweigh his positives, and the fact that he has chosen fan the flames of racism, for his own questionable benefit, further cements his legacy as Divider in Chief.
16
Holy Moley - find this senior citizen a hobby. Preferably something like fly-fidhhing that will take him into an area without cell phone reception.
14
Fly fishing takes patience and coordination. Doubtful he could master it.
4
President Trump has painted himself into a corner. If he works with Democrats in Congress to accomplish something worthwhile, he alienates his core constituency who fear that he isn't sufficiently racist. If he expresses his views as a white supremacist, he alienates progressives and liberals. Poor Donald, whatever he does, he appears to be a loser to someone. He just can't be a winner for all of the people, all of the time.
6
Of course he blames Obama for forcing him to be a race baiter; as if he didn't ignight the whole birther controversy. Naturally.
Trump really has no confidence in his base that they might abandon him for one of their perceived failures - cooperating with Democrats. He and they deserve each other. I will never forgive him for stoking animus between Americans, and feverently hope some scandal can take him permanently down.
22
Trump is a racist. What more evidence do we need?? He thinks black people are there for his entertainment, even if they get brain damage, and he thinks they need to obey him. Trump also wants to be a dictator, but I think he will find that more difficult, considering how rebellious those who despise him are.
Kelly has my deep sympathy for the loss of his son. That does not, however, give him any right to tell those disenfranchised under that flag that they do not have the right to protest it. What do soldiers fight and die for, if not for our right to free speech?? Trump and Kelly seem to think free speech means the right of white men ONLY to mock everyone else, threaten to use swords on reporters, and dissent only in the ways they approve of.
And let's stop thinking Kelly is the adult in the room, or even moral: at DHS, he wanted to separate mothers from babies, raided Church sanctuaries, he supported Trump's narcissistic dream of 3 million illegals voting for Hillary, and told Trump to use a sword on the media. Sane?? Moral?? I sadly think Kelly is just as racist and almost as crazy as Trump.
And Maggie Haberman?? She is clearly the NYT's newest version of Judith Miller. She should be fired for her normalizing Trump and all the stories about Hillary's email.
18
Football players, and everybody else for that matter, ought to be kneeling during the national anthem to pray for our country to be delivered from the evil of Trump.
30
Such a lot of analysis wasted on the crudest, simplest situation. Trump is a narcissist. Narcissists need narcissistic supply. He's not going to get that from dealing with complicated policy issues, on most of which he is failing dismally. He can only get it by stirring up some cultural issue that ignites his mindless base. Expect more of the same.
28
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
36
It's a shame that Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence do not see anyone in Puerto Rico as part of their base.
10
President Trump is correct when he says that people who don’t sufficiently show respect to our country should be fired. Congress, get on with it.
10
Looks like there is no one who surrounds Trump who has the guts to tell him
that "the Emperor is not wearing any clothes".
4
So what we have here is a president willing to blatantly sow discord and divisions among Americans in a vulgar effort to shore up his ever-shrinking base. And he has to do this because he is failing miserably at everything else.
Resist. Replace. Peace.
5
Everything he does is an unmistakable symptom of serious mental illness, namely, Narcissistic personality disorder
From Mayo Clinic:
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism.
DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder include these features:
-Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
-Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
-Exaggerating your achievements and talents
-Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
-Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
-Requiring constant admiration
-Having a sense of entitlement
-Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
-Taking advantage of others to get what you want
-Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
-Being envious of others and believing others envy you
-Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner
8
Every single action, tweet, and comment by Donald Trump is an attempt to distract us from his complete inability to accomplish anything positive. Soon, there will be no place to hide; my fear is that as the walls begin to close in, this man will think nothing of starting World War III for no purpose other than to distract us from his gross incompetence.
5
It isn't about the kneeling and it isn't about football, its about making the crowd erupt and make donnie feel good about himself. He tries out various attack lines at these Bund rallies and sees what catches on. Only the base matters. In all honesty, if a black kneeling player was to be shot by a trump supporter, donnie would consider the remarks he used a success.
When people sat out of the last election saying Hillary was no better, I hope you can see how much worse having trump in office is. Please vote in 2018 and 2020.
10
“The president’s critics have it wrong,” Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser who served as [his] campaign manager and pollster in 2016, said Monday. “They call him impulsive. He is intuitive.”
If he's so intuitive, why hasn't he fashioned a "terrific" health plan that would both benefit the American people and be acceptable to bi-partisan lawmakers?
If he's so intuitive, why was his response to the Charlottesville race riot such a major public relations gaffe from which he has yet to fully recover?
If he's so intuitive, why did he fire FBI director James Comey in one his most boneheaded decisions to date?
If he's so intuitive, why did he pick a fight with the NFL and the NBA in which he came off a poor second and further divide an already nation torn apart over his presidency and his Russian roulette games with North Korea?
If he's so intuitive, why didn't he foresee the myriad of problems his infatuation with with all things Russia would create for his administration?
If he's so intuitive, why hasn't he been able to find a way to build his border wall?
If he's so intuitive, why did he hire Sean Spicer as his press secretary, then fire him for being ineffective?
If he's so intuitive, why did he hire Stephen Bannon as his White House Chief Strategist, then shove him out the door as fast as he could?
With intuition like the president's, no wonder his every decision seems to be based on guesswork and gut feelings instead of policy and leadership.
21
"...self-preservation intended to divert attention from other, more damaging narratives..."
7
He may win some battles but he won't win the culture war - demographics are against him. He is a white dinosaur whose time as the king of the jungle is coming to an end. Good riddance.
23
Quite frankly I am weary with Trump’s nonstop campaign with “his base,” that angry, fearful, uneducated minority of Americans who have signed onto the Trump Personality Cult Mystery Tour. Right wing characters such as Limbaugh, Hannity, and Bannon, can be as untruthful, bigoted, and provocative as free speech allows – because they have NO responsibilities for the well being of 320 million Americans. The Constitution protects those loud mouth ignorant jerks but Trump no longer has the luxury of being an untruthful and bigoted provocateur. As POTUS he DOES have the responsibility for the well being of 320 million Americans and it is time that he accepted those responsibilities. Trump needs to stop the nonsense and do his job, and if he is unable or unwilling to do his job, then he should resign.
16
I had an English teacher in college who critiqued one of my papers, writing on it, "Please don't explicate the obvious".
2
I truly hate these stories about how insecure and thin skinned Trump is. His private psychological needs are between him and his psychiatrist (whose services I sincerely hope he is taking advantage of). I am more interested in how he is doing at his job. Has he spent at least a few hours at work? And if so, please, let us know what he is trying to accomplish.
4
Trump hates the NFL because his failure to launch the absurd United States Football League back in his days as an up-and-coming serial bankruptee was a public humiliation. Can we believe he has carried a grudge? He also hates the fact that people are enjoying themselves watching football on Sundays instead of thinking about him... Our Dear Leader...Professional athletes are the 'elite' of the working class and they should use that power to transform society...for every so called 'thug' in the NFL there are twenty others who are giving largely of themselves and their money to social causes...they should all take a knee on Sunday's with a hand on their heart...they can and should have it both ways.
7
Surprised there has not been more made in the media about Trump's failure with the USFL. His forcing the hand of the USFL to a Fall schedule was Trump's attempt to back into the super-elite club of NFL owners. Remember that earlier, upstart leagues (AFL, ABA, and WHA) had teams absorbed into the established leagues. That is what Trump was hoping for in 1986. Jersey Generals would survive absorption into the NFL with marketable talent on his roster. He miscalculated and was rebuffed by the NFL. Later, he failed to buy existing NFL teams. So yes, like with Obama and the jokes at the Correspondents' dinner, Trump does hold a grudge.
"Mr. Trump’s football tweets came just before a Monday evening dinner at the White House with several Christian evangelical leaders, conservative activists from the Koch political network and Leonard A. Leo, the executive vice president of the Federalist Society."
And scene.....
9
Trump's actions indicate desperation. Since he assumed office in January he hasn't been able to pass any notable legislation. And the likely defeat of his health care, "Repeal and Replace" is another embarrassment for Trump. Of course he will blame others for this disappointment. And then there is his support for "Big Luther." Who will he blame when he loses? Instead of working to unify our country, Trump is just appealing to his Nascar, core base. The base is getting smaller and smaller, just like his hands.
23
Just as Trump is ignorant of the Constitution and the rule of law, Trump has no knowledge of economics or diplomacy, nor does he care in the least about these realities, He constantly seeks the thrill of being cheered on by his adoring racist fans. That is what rules his life - the need to be saluted by even by white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the KKK. These are indeed his people and he wants to, no, he is compelled to please them. Trump is driven solely by his massive ego and underlying insecurity. This is why he is such a disgrace to our nation and a danger to the planet.
51
The silence of a stupid man
looks like wisdom.
Syrus, Maxims
1
Call Trump by any name but he is not dumb, he knows how to get the attention, how to successfully change the topic, and how to play the masses.
49
No, T just knows how to fight, stir up trouble, and be obnoxious. He lives on conflict; it's his element, and it probably served him well as a rich NYC business scion, not so much as a politician. But the hairspray on this 71-year-old has set: It's his only dance move (sorry for the back-to-back incongruous metaphors).
2
That also doesn't mean he is smart. It just shows a certain sick cunning.
1
So could a a certain Austrian veteran of a Bavarian regiment after WWI.
I tend to view the Trump presidency as a math problem. You need almost 50% of the popular vote to be elected president—for President Trump, 48% was enough. Then, you want to keep a certain level of this thing we call “approval,” but part of the reason is to maintain enough popularity to get your 50% (or 48%) of the vote again in four years so you can get reelected.
President Trump’s challenge is that his 48% was the sum of a 40% that was his “base” plus an 8% of very lukewarm supporters. Remember how he griped that when upon his election polls had his approval rating at only 40%? Well, that was because the lukewarm 8% may have voted for him but even so didn’t like him even as they cast their votes.
Here’s the point. He continues to do things like this NFL thing that are feel-good things for him and his base, but they work to continue to alienate everyone else, especially that critical 8%. And even his base is shrinking, down into the mid-30s. So when he “shores up” his base that simply digs him in deeper, and dooms him to defeat in 2020 by any decent Democratic challenger and possibly one or more Republican primary challenger. And I don’t think he gets this, or maybe it’s just that his hubris is so great he can’t see clearly on this issue.
6
Actually, it was 46%.
1
Trump took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. He is not carrying out that oath when he calls peaceful protesters obscene names and urges that they be fired. He can disagree with their actions, but he took an oath to preserve, protect and defend their right to engage in peaceful protest - and there's hardly a more peaceful way to protest than kneeling for a few short minutes.
So what recourse is there when a President refuses to honor and carry out his oath of office?
5
In related discussion, Trump and his supporters suggest fan booing is a vindication of Trump's heinous comments, but they fail to note that protest movements, including those for racial equality, are often disliked and unpopular. Peaceful protests put the spotlight on issues that need conversation. Often that conversation leads to improvements.
For example; many Americans disliked the Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King's kneeling and 1960's Washington protest marches highlighting racial inequality.
So before suggesting unpopularity proves Trump (and you?) right, ask yourself this, as should Donald.
Are you willing to talk about deadly police shootings of Americans of color? Should the DOJ investigate or could police themselves reduce occurrences with additional training?
3
The NFL's most recent problems are real, and I don't pretend to know how they will sort out, but they are peripheral to its main problem
Its product stinks.
Games are predictable, boring, crushingly violent. They have no "flow" due to commercials, penalties and injuries. In a word, NFL games are unwatchable.
The NFL has become a 'studio' sport that owes its remaining popularity to two factors: gambling and fantasy football.
I haven't heard anyone mention this, but parallels between the NFL and the rise and fall in the popularity of Professional Boxing...gambling, violence and the studio sport aspect, are interesting.
2
There is still a "base" that likes to watch grown men (and women) attempt to punch each other unconscious, but the fact that there are timed rounds severely interferes with the business of commercial insertion. The NFL has "fixed that glitch" by one play at a time, timeouts, penalties, etc. LOTS of commercial opportunities, and, yes, viewers can easily forget what they were watching.
And then I remember those glory days of Professional Bowling, especially with Chris Schenkel announcing ("play-by-play" may be an overreach). Commercial opportunities were minimal, but then so was the "action" (sprained ankles don't have the same visceral impact as a broken bone or a bleeding facial laceration).
We've come so far!
1
Kelly has finally albeit belatedly exposed.
How dare he speak for others' feelings , interpretations and connections to the flag. Kelly's military service does not bestow him with a moral authority beyond the reach of us cowardly civilians.
My father won the Bronze Star, and he would be more disappointed in the duplicitous Kelly than the transparent Trump
12
All the while serving as Chief of Staff to a draft dodger!
Someone served Gen. Kelly a "hyuge" glass of kool-aid while he wasn't paying attention...
1
"Trump ... asked if evangelical voters were aware of what he has done in office...?" So this is all a political stunt as far as That Man in the White House is concerned? He doesn't really care if you kneel, stand, or go out for pizza during the anthem as long as you vote for him?
Forgotten by many in all of this, including DJT, seems to be the fact that both the flag and the anthem are symbols of what America stands for. The players and their defenders are trying to draw attention not to the First Amendment but to the Fourth and Fourteenth: the rights of persons to be secure in their persons, and the right of all persons to equal protection under the law. If the anti-kneelers were as concerned about that as they are about "desecration" and "lack of respect" I doubt we would even be having this discussion.
5
Any fringe group, no matter principles, can manipulate trump with applause and a moment of adulation.
5
Yes, it certainly is feeding the beasts of his base.
Trump's theatrics were on stage in Alabama just like a Bible-thumping, southern baptist preacher at a revival meeting, including:
1. The fist pumping
2. The "dramatic" turning to profile position
3. The "dramatic" turning of his back so he is aligned with the crowd.
4. The hot rhetoric
5. The fervor
So, in one swoop, Trump denigrates the government and also denigrates religion by posturing like the worst of them.
6
Mussoliniesque.
1
It's a shame that he doesn't realize that he would gain more support with bipartisan activities than by playing to his base. That base won't be enough to propel him to another electoral win, should he last that long (which I'm still convinced he won't). Every time he chooses between campaigning and actual governing, we all lose.
15
Unfortunately, I think not. The concrete has pretty much set for those of us who detest Trump, and his calculus likely tells him that being seen as presidential and bipartisan will subtract more from his base than it might add to his support. Sadly, no matter which way he blows in the wind, we all lose.
1
I found this article especially helpful in understanding Trump being Trump. He is gauging his audience as an entertainer would, and adjusting the content of his 'act' based upon the latest 'ratings'. Our frustration with his unpredictability is because no one can duplicate his perception for evaluating his audience, and how he processes that to inform his subsequent actions.
His entire presidency is nothing more than a managed series of slogans, soundbites and rants, his 'hits', metered out in tweets and at rallies, in an almost superstitious homage to the 'base supporters' who handed him a surprise presidency.
He has no idea what he is doing as a leader of a nation, and we should not expect him to. There is really no sound reason why he was elected, and his election surprised him as much as anyone. His election was a fluke of circumstances, and he is holding onto the saddle for this wild ride doing the same 'schtick' over and over, because that is what got him elected. In his mind, that is what his supporters must want from him. So he books rallies which are nothing more than a live performances of his hit parade, and tries out a few new twitter tunes.
Congress needs to take his microphone way and turn off the spotlights.
42
This is by far one of the best explanations I have read to date of Trump's behavior.
I learned the Flag Code when I was a child--what bothers me is not someone exercising his constitutional right, but the flag left on a pole until it disintegrates, the flag used as a towel (especially popular during the Olympics), the flag worn as clothing, the flag used as a table covering (I made one good ole boy really unhappy criticizing that choice at a county fair). Those actions show disrespect: a protest that recognizes the power of a symbol does not.
30
Exactly. And apparently it is also disrespectful to display the flag horizontally, as they often do before NFL games (across much of the field.) That also is disrespectful. Curiously, it is only military service members who are required to stand at attention to the flag. Civilians are not
3
Trump's entire political life, such as it is, has been built of driving wedges between people. Why does anyone think he would change now. As my junior league football coach used to say, we're going to keep running around right end until they stop it.
10
Kellyanne Conway had it right, sort of, when she said Trump isn't impulsive, he's intuitive. Sure he's impulsive all the time, but in Alabama he was all about a calculated message of racial provocation. Looking at the video, he had his rant rehearsed and locked and loaded and let it fly. He knew exactly what he was doing, and delivered a performance that clearly polished and refined to reach into the hearts of uninformed bigots that are the core of his base.
Trump's defense that he didn't mention race and this wasn't about race is laughable and dishonest at every level, Friday night in Alabama was all about race and stoking the fires of division.
29
Alabama is all about race. What else, ever, has it been about?
2
The only reason he did this was that his Obamacare repeal was headed for another loss.
So he needed a diversion--immediately. Smoke and mirrors. Something to grab everyone's attention instantly.
He needed another "win" and fast.
So he picked something very divisive that would immediately make people take sides. Then he could go off script and say whatever he wanted.
Trump is COMPLETELY transparent. There is NOTHING he does that you can't see right through.
24
"But this time, Mr. Trump, who tends to lash out when attacked, seemed to make his comments during comparative quiescence...". Quiescence? Wouldn't quiet work just as well here?
"waging war against “politically correct” coastal elites on behalf of his supporters in the South and in the Midwest"?
For the love of whatever deity you hold dear please stop lumping everyone in the Midwest into the same basket (full of rump supporters). Living on a coast doesn't make anyone an elite or any more enlightened than someone from the Midwest or the South. Maybe we could stop stereotyping at some point in time?
19
I think in the context of the article it's fairly clear the authors are referencing the way Mr. Trump and his people see it. Still; I appreciate that could be a sore spot; and yes, perhaps that should have been called out explicitly.
1
I agree with your point. But you have to admit the deep southern states are his base. I mean just look who Alabama will probably elect for the Senate, Ex Judge
Roy Moore, a more God loving bigot then one could make up.
He naturally gravitates to minor issues like this. The big things are over his head. He relishes topics like people's appearance, football players behavior, other celebrities. He needs a TV show with lights and a band and lots of snazzy women. Leave the presidency to grown ups. So boring! So many rules!
31
Trump nearly succeeded in raising a lynch crowd with his "Lock her up!" rabble-rousing. Let's not let him divert our attention again with this "You're fired!" nonsense.
10
Efforts to find some strategy much lest sound strategy are pipe dreams.
Donald Trump was simply expressing his deeper darker sentiments. He's used to telling people what to do, and he likes to be adored, and he does not like dissent, and he ran desperately to white, working class evangelicals (folks he has almost nothing in common with --except he is white) once he found some adoration there. Trump doesn't like Blacks or Mexicans--he doesn't hate them but he does not like them either--unless they are rich--then he feels a sense of simpatico. He measures everyone by their wealth or fame. Winners win losers lose, and winners get all the prizes to show they are winners.
Morals, values, justice, mercy, issues, none much matters -- just money and more money and fame.
Martin Luther King would likely be viewed as a loser --relatively poor -and he was shot --he likes people who don't get shot; Jesus would likely be viewed as a loser too. Obama (poor when he arrived in office was an upstart -unworthy of the presidency--might as well have been from Kenya--and certainly no one to talk down to Trump--who had more moolah).
If Carl Ichan took a knee,Tump would love his kooky crazy pal acting the fool. For Trump it is not complicated (or meaningful) just about money (how much?), fame (how much?), crowd/poll size (how much?) -- and how many trophies amassed (including girlfriends/wives).
Trump, a la Martin Luther King, sees the world as a mirror to himself not a window to others.
7
If Mr. Trump is concerned about respect for the flag and the country,
where was his total outrage at the the Neo-Nazi flags being paraded in Charlottesville? He states that his comments are not about race but rather about respect for the flag, our country and all those who gave their lives for our freedom. REALLY! Perhaps he forgets how many gave their lives in WWII to defeat the Nazis. Isn't flying the Neo-Nazi flag and White Supremacist flag thousands of times more disrespectful to our country and those who died for our freedoms.
If his comments aren't about racism, then why not the same vitriolic
condemnation of the Neo-Nazis and the White Supremacists.
69
Pres. Bone Spurs showed no respect for the USA when he lied to avoid serving in Vietnam.
4
People are being suckered again by Trump. This controversy is all about the Alabama primary. After that, it will be dropped and then on to a completely different circus act.
15
That and a few other important things happening in D.C. at this time that might not reflect glowingly on him.
1
"He is soothed by fighting that unnerves others" says it all. Our president grew up stunted and very fearful of his powerful, emotionally withholding father. It is clear he was raised in conflict and thus more conflict is the safe place for him.
He is merely pathetic.
13
I am sick to death of Donald Trump, a dissipated hack who is an embarrassment to my beloved country. How DARE he criticize people exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest his racist, xenophobic policies? Donald Trump has no claim to legitimacy in any forum; he has gratefully accepted Nazi salutes from white supremacists thugs. This is surreal, and I can only hope that a couple of years from now, we are looking a this in the rear-view mirror and thanking God that the country survived his illegitimate and stolen presidency. Nazi salutes? Given to the president of the United States, who fails to repudiate them? A president who denigrates the first amendment, uses his office for the advancement of racist causes and has sold the presidency to the highest bidder for the next deal by the family business? Really?
147
Trump is cunning and manipulative. He knows how to control his base of selectively ignorant constituents. He's doing his best to ensure his re-election.
13
The President is describing the contours of a new black resistance that has turned away from MLK and into the arms of the early Malcolm X. Kneeling or sitting for the Anthem is effectively a secession and hence provocative. Some people on both sides are eager for the fight it may precipitate. In that event, it is hard to imagine Mr. Trump as Lincoln.
1
How is kneeling a secession? MLK knelt, so how is anyone turning away from him? There is nothing militant about kneeling - it's submissive and reverent. It's the people who can't recognize the rights of certain others to peacefully protest injustice who are being provocative and eager for a fight...though yes, I'll join a fight to preserve the rights of all Americans, just as the people who fought and died in uniform did.
8
Man Oh Man. You are completely off in the weeds on American history.
Kneeling, holding hands, locking arms is NOT "turning away from MLK".
It is the essence of non-violence to draw attention to a systemic problem that has no way to be addressed in our culture.
Being "provoked" is part of putting up with Democracy.
Trump aint Lincoln. He is not even George Wallace, who had a conscience at long last.
3
Do we not kneel to pray? Do we not "bow down before him"? To equate kneeling with disrespect is empty criticism. The easiest thing in the world is to criticize without thought. True patriotism is about community, and I salute the solidarity we are seeing among the NFL community who I would have to assume have given some thought to their actions.
21
I'm not an avid golf fan, but I did come across Peter Malnati's statements in Golf Digest (https://www.golfdigest.com/story/peter-malnati-becomes-first-pga-tour-pl.... He generally criticizes the Trump administration's stance on the same issues raised by many NFL/NBA players.
I also notice that Trump has not assailed Malnati or the PGA; no calls for boycotting golf over this issue. True, Malnati is just one man, but so is Kaepernick. I also doubt Trump, so steeped (even as president) in the business and playing of golf, has not checked to see how his brand is playing with PGA golfers. He sure noticed NASCAR's moral shrug at current events.
For those who don't want to follow the link, Malnati specifically said (among other critiques): "The current administration in Washington has made it very clear they don't want the United States to be a nation that cares for those on the margins of society. Or a nation that celebrates freedom and equality... I take a knee for the flag that represents this administration. Not because I don't love this country, but because I do."
What, I ask, is the difference between criticism from Curry/LeBron in the NBA and Malnati on the PGA tour? Why would does Trump seem to believe criticizing the NFL and NBA would be such an easy win with his base, but he stops short of ranting against the PGA? How did Trump... discriminate, shall we say... between targets on this issue?
16
Donald's not going to criticize golfers; remember, he owns 13 or so golf courses around the world and has no intention of ever harming himself financially.
2
What is the difference? How did he discriminate between targets?
1. Because he plays golf, and owns golf courses, and could make a lot of money if the PGA came to one of his courses. Could most people name one black golfer other than Tiger Woods?
2. Because, as Trevor Noah said yesterday, Trump may not be a white supremacist, but he certainly likes white people better than black people.
1
@Gus and @Joanna: Yes in both cases. It is a perfect storm of political expediency, bigotry and financial self-interest. Donald Trump's gaudy, gold-plated brand of "patriotism" has never come in the form of economic or personal sacrifice and, in fact, is almost always indistinguishable from his own enrichment/glorification.
1
When did the national anthem become the special property of the military, as Trump chief of staff John Kelly (and many others) seem these days to be saying? I have the greatest respect for military service. But the national anthem belongs no more to soldiers (who, in any case, take an oath to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights) than to any other American.
101
People seem to think Kelly is some moral person, the adult in the room. If you look at his actions, he is a racist who ran the DHS and promoted and supported vicious actions of that organization. Kelly is not a friend of America.
1
I thought that once a president is elected, he's supposed to govern, not simply continue campaigning.
27
He can ONLY campaign.
4
Let me get this straight. The President, who is *supposed* to be bipartisan and make compromises on both sides, was afraid that his discussions with Schumer and Pelosi would make his base angry. So he started another Twitter war and ignited yet another divisive subject in order to show them he was still "their guy"? In what universe is this considered responsible governance?
I don't know who I'm more disgusted with: his base, who sees any bipartisan dialogue as a betrayal, or the President, who cynically tries to appease them by being a troll.
22
Trump wants to quit but he's painted himself into a corner. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be interested in what football players do, but their recent actions have made them heroes.
18
The NFL anthem protests are not against the USA as a country. They are directed specifically against President Trump. Trump knows this, and as usual, is making it into something else. Our divisor-in-chief will continue to find anyone or any group to pick on. Co-opting a national entertainment franchise to further his political standing is a shameless endeavor, even by this current President.
12
As much as I dislike what he is doing, it may work. About a third of the country receives his hateful divisive messages with enthusiasm and approval, a third disapproves, and a third don't have a clue. The future of our country depends on the clueless.
8
All this national anthem stuff is just a distraction by the ruling class. They want you all to be fighting among yourselves while they run off with all the money and get more powerful and commit more crimes while we the people write the checks for them. Wake up people can't you all get it by now the NFL and most sports in the West are the modern day version of the Roman bread and circuses and the people are falling for it every time.
9
How about running the country like he was hired to do I don't believe he can or is competent.
7
I really don't care what his motivation is anymore. I, for one, have had enough of this clown. Just looking forward to 2018, and then 2020, to help set things right again.
87
Kneeling NFL athletes are not protesting the flag. How is kneeling and peaceful protesting a litmus test for patriotism? These players are pointing out racial unfairness with respect to a string of deadly police violence against Americans of color.
If anything, it's very patriotic to ask America's DOJ to look into these deadly events more carefully. Considering the Trump Administration's poor track record on racial issues, they could acknowledge this racial concern openly. Instead Trump et al (now Pence) slanders these American athletes by calling them S.O.B's, language that is considered so vulgar on TV and in the media that it's is bleeped or redacted.
30
It's good to hear that millions of Trump supporters continue to focus on the most important issues of our time including deporting law abiding productive immigrants, denying health insurance to countless fellow citizens, and condoning and encouraging the violent actions of white supremacists.
22
Trump is has classic Cluster B disorder (or worse). Look at the symptom list on Wikipedia. It is very unnerving that "trained" psychology PhD's can be bamboozled by these people every day. The basics of the disorders should be taught to every person in the USA. My thought is that these disordered are in charge of the curriculum in colleges and universities and do not want it taught. Get informed and kick these disordered people out of your life.
5
Perhaps he is trying to reassure his base. But there is more. Trump is massively insecure. And he harbors deep resentments. And at some dimly perceived level, he thinks we're thinking he's a phony, a fake president in way over his head (and in this he's correct).
30
Yes, he's appealing to his base - its racism. That's all he has left.
46
So Mr. Trump thrives on his base reveling in his hatred. After 248 days, a majority of the nation is turned off by Trump's childish antics and bellicosity. Trump never displayed this hatred when he talked about the Neo Nazi or the KKK.
Now, Trump should ask himself, how many of these supporters are really from the local area that his recent rallies take place? From local reports of his rally in Fort Worth, TX in Feb. 2016, many were from out of state. Many of Trump supporters appear to be his groupies following him from rally to rally around the country.
I raise the basic question, how many local people are really showing up to Trump's rallies? Is Trump fooling himself with these inflated crowds? How large is Trump's real support around the country?
15
That, my friend, is the $64,000 question: What *are* the actual numbers on Donald's so-called base?
1
I would point out to General Kelly, and President Trump, that saluting the flag is not the only way for an American to express respect for his or her country. Seventh-Day Adventists consider saluting the flag to be idolatry, but more than a hundred SDA's were killed in Vietnam---a fate that Mr. Trump evaded with student deferments and, finally, a medical exemption.
361
A PHONY medical exemption. His "problem" has NEVER interfered with his golf "game" (not the incessant cheating, but the actual physical activity).
7
Well, his foot hurt.
1
Even casual observers of Trumpian behavior have noted that Donald Trump often accuses others for things he is actually guilty of. Remember the debate exchange with him asserting several times in short order accusing Hillary of being Putin's puppet? Not him?
Donald's fake outrage over NFL players protesting police violence against their brothers might be stemming from a guilt complex he suffers from he, himself "taking a knee" while the Vietnam War played out.
Trump is trying to turn the NFL protest into some perceived slight against America and honoring the sacrifices millions of men and women in uniform have made for this country.
That is pretty ripe for 'Bone Spurs' Trump, who as a young dandy did everything he possibly could to avoid serving his country, while hundreds of thousands of other brave men his age took their place in the ranks and ran that gauntlet. Allowing Trump to take a knee and sit that one out. By not serving his country Trump disrespected the very flag and sacrifices made by those Americans he now so loudly professes to champion.
Donald J. Trump is a hypocrite. Bigly.
106
So what's new about tactics of demagoguery and in this case that of a racist. He is using racism to shore up his racists fans, but absent this article media shamefully ignores Trump's M.O. If one listens closely its possible to hear America's gurgling sounds of drowning in its hypocrisy.
4
Here and elsewhere, this pathetic excuse of a president is exhibit A for Samuel Johnson's assertion, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel".
59
Yes of course.. he is a racist. His most ardent followers are racists. He has to hold on to them. Meanwhile his people are undoing regulations that protect average Americans..distraction action.
25
The mythical base...It's wearing thin as any meaningful predictor of political outcomes. It is a myth that drives Trump because he has no other indicator of his much-craved popularity than these isolated, mob-rallies, and "Fox & Friends." Good lick with that.
9
The NFL is another in a long list of groups that rejected DJT. He desires so desperately -- pathetically -- to be part of the elite and lashes out at those who exclude him.
http://fortune.com/2017/09/24/donald-trump-nfl-usfl/
20
I don't understand what's wrong with kneeling during the anthem. I remember even in elementary school over 50 years ago we could opt out of placing our little hand on heart and reciting the religious words of the Pledge of Allegiance. It was never about the hollow, manipulative word 'patriotism.' I also remember some time later being repeatedly sent to the principal's office as punishment for wearing pants (it was very cold in the winter!). And then things changed and we were the mainstream. Athletes are role models, what they do is very important. I hope they continue to act in good conscience.
187
When I was an older teenager, my parents bought me a little flag to wear on my lapel, and couldn't understand why I wouldn't wear it. I told them that it seemed that the kind of people who wore flags on their labels were like our racist, extreme right-wing next door neighbor, who wore one. And many years later, my wife and I attended an excellent big band concert which was marred at the end when the leader made a political statement and then asked everyone to rise for a rendition of God Bless America, which he made clear was in support of George W. Bush. I think everyone was a little shocked when my wife and I, alone in the crowd, wouldn't stand. No false patriotism for me.
20
saigal...i wrote you back and in a truthful polite way...wasn't posted.
Even more, this is the first time that I have heard that kneeling is considered to be disrespectful. We kneel in the presence of god or the king. I would expect trump to insist that people kneel in his presence.
The entire exercise demonstrates a lack of any cohesive positive policy focus. It is just embarrassing beyond words.
21
Let’s ponder this musical question: Why is the national anthem sung at sporting events AT ALL? What do the bombs bursting in air have to do with a double down the right field line, a hail Mary pass with one second on the clock or a 360-degree slam dunk?
Nothing, that’s what. What it does do is serve as a recruitment device for the armed forces. A young person hearing the marshal music and seeing the flag, sometimes half the size of the football field, fluttering down below, and all the people standing, might get the crazy notion that joining the army might be a better gig than stacking two-by-fours at Home Depot.
54
I really don't think so. There is so much more to the choice of serving in the Armed Forces than hearing the National Anthem at sporting events. There really is.
I think it's a great mistake to see anything calculated or insincere in Mr. Trump actions. or to think Mr. Trump has any policy goals besides self-aggrandizement. He has the emotional maturity of a toddler; and pretty much lives in the moment. If Mr. Trump finds that something appears good in immediate prospect, he does it; and if it does feel good will do it again until he gets bored. His base instincts resonate with a large segment of our fellow citizens; and those instincts are what he follows at any moment. Mr. Trump' personality-driven and reactive style works as a campaign, but not as a government; and this means he has two irreconcilable goals: to get large crowds and applause from his voters, and to get something, anything, he can post in his "Win" column. To infer anything deeper is ascribe adult motivation to an infant.
22
Trump's cabinet surrogates on TV and radio, and their references to athletes making many millions of dollars and living the good life, but disrespecting America ring very close in their racism to Reagan's Cadillac welfare queens and HR Bush's Willy Horton. The racism is clear. The media and spokespersons across races (athletes, politicians, celebrities and religious leaders) need to nail the Trump administration on this.
375
You mean Al Gore's Willie Horton -- he brought it up originally against Dukakis in the democratic primary.....
Reagan was much more subtle in his support of racism and derision of government. Reagan built the base that Trump now exploits in crude and crass ways that Bubba in the bar with his Bud truly loves. It remains to be seen in the next two elections if that Reagan/Trump base has peaked and if the silent majority of decent Americans have had enough of their divisive, corrosive political "philosophy".
12
How odd that Mr. Trump didn't respect his country enough to serve in the military when called upon, and that his"patriotic" base isn't the slightest bit offended by him shirking his duty to his country. Both he and his supporters are "faketriots" indeed.
113
I was a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, and a veteran with an honorable discharge. The price paid by veterans was to ensure my right to gripe about the government, sit if I want to when the national anthem is played, or, as sometimes happens, tear up when I see the flag or hear the anthem. The idea that a pledge is compulsory and unthinking is something I associate with the Third Reich.
836
@Lane Wharton: Thank you so much for your brave service and for this incisive comment.
9
General Kelly is a fine man. However, any American who wants to can stay seated when the national anthem is played. That, for everyone's attention, is what makes America great. Lane Wharton's comment says it all.
7
Thank you for your service.
A base now composed of
only the most entrenched,
the most rabid of red hatters.
Trump will continue to
shore it up his base
and then fumble it,
and then shore it up again,
until the only one left on those shores
is Trump himself,
stooping to admire that handsome guy
in the reflection at his feet.
13
With all due respect to Mr. Kelly, since when does the flag translate into thinking about "the men and women that have been named, sacrificing their lives, so that song can be played in the stadium?” That is a preposterously narrow idea of what the flag "means." Why does Mr. Keely get to decide what the flag means? Why not Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Malcolm X or Colin Powell or Colin Kaepernick or Paul Tillich? The flag does not mean "the troops." Or another way of saying that is that the flag means the troops and the pacifists and the bankers and the community organizers and the nurses, teachers, cops, nannies, and Sandy Hook school children. I'd like to see the NYT start resisting these simple connections.
199
Can we please dispense with the idea that t rump's very base base is conservative. These people are not conservative, they are radical reactionaries and they seem to think we need to destroy our governments and institutions in order to "make America great again". The common meme from republicans and the confederate states of America that they stand for is they love our Country but seem to hate our government. Unless, I guess, they are in control of exploding the debt and deficit.
And what is the United States of America, after all, but the Constitution and the institutions that bind US together.
29
Evil, dangerous, and manipulative. May he reap what he sows. I cannot imagine facing my Maker with the life he has lived.
14
The athletes aren't kneeling to disrespect the flag, Mr. President. They're kneeling to disrespect you, though you're already a pro at doing that yourself. You inserted yourself into the fray to distract your base from your latest failure (they're so easily distracted) and now you think you've found another group you can set up as the enemy to be trashed. What counts as success to you is truly bewildering.
563
This whole thing was started by Kaepernick in the 49ers' final 2016 preseason game on Sep 1, 2016, long before Trump was elected to office. Kaepernick politicized the issue and the media followed the story for months. Trump is a very late entrant to the debate.
President "light" can deal with this. Leave the tough stuff to others!
He is a disgrace to our country. We need a healer and we have a hateful divider.
John Kelly deciding that an Americans bringing up grievances that cannot get traction any other way is a slap at people who sacrificed their lives in our military is inappropriate.
Kelly might consider that his boss lied and faked his way out of military service in Viet Nam and some other guy went in his place. Trump doesnt get to preach to anyone about patriotism or gripe about POWs like McCain either.
People are not stupid. Or blind.
208
Kelley says you must show loyalty to the country by respecting the anthem first before you can disagree with it?
America is not exceptional, except in having no health care for all, a massive military it uses constantly, wild street gun violence, gripping urban poverty, substandard education, and some real affinity for violent football.
9
So by inflaming and dividing this country further he seeks to gain approval and adoration. What a sick human being we have elected to this presidency. So much has happened in the 9 months he has been president. The country seems irrevocably changed for the worse.
134
It does seem like it will take years for the country to recover from the harm this evil man is doing to the country!
8
I didn't vote for President Bone spurs. In fact, I am not sure he even won. The election was decided by less than 70,000 votes in 3 states with clear evidence the Russians were disseminating false information to help TRUMP!
I think he stole the country just like he has stolen money for years from anyone foolish enough to do business with this lying, cheating idiot. Why else has he been involved in over 4000 lawsuits ?
5
This clown pays attention to only one thing : Audience and TV approval ratings. Given that affinity, one would think it would be easy to figure him out and stay two steps ahead of him by creating "fake news" that would allow the rest to bring him down. We have to fight fire with fire, not sugar. Destroy the weak platform on which he stands by allowing maggots to have a go at it.
18
At his recent Alabama rally Trump's people played the national anthem when he came on stage and Trump strutted and displayed his little thumbs right through the first half of it or so then they abruptly shut off the music in mid-verse as he began dispensing his bile.
The athletes are presenting a formal, disciplined protest in the purest tradition of civic dissent while Trump openly disgraces the anthem with his pathetic Mussolini act.
178
I never really thought about it, but Trump does seem rather Mussoliniesque with his theatrical facial expressions and hand gestures. Mussolini, though a former journalist a bit more adept with his language, eventually did lose the love of his audience when he blindly marched them into a war they didn't want.
1
The more Trump fails, the more he'll turn up the racism to hear the adulation of his sad supporters.
84
NYT headline writers have to get up to speed on 21st century programming. Use of the 'wild card' character would be so much more efficient, as in:
"Trump’s * a Calculated Attempt to Shore Up His Base"
The "*" character used here essentially is a stand-in for EVERYTHING that Trump does.... see how easy!
Trump, master of creating distractions.
9
Racism, nothing like it to " shore up" THAT base. And, they will respond, Bigly. Thanks, GOP.
20
Of course he is trying to shore up his base and the Democrats are taking the bait. He won because of three states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that is the audience he needs to win. The Democrats are falling into his trap, focus on jobs for the middle class in middle America. Once you win you can change the narrative. I am afraid we are going to get 4 more years of this.
14
His critique does shore up his base and distracts from the deepening abysss into which his presidency could fall--the Mueller Russia investigation. Trump is quoted as saying that the NFL controversy has really "caught on." He knows how to exploit cultural wedge issue The backlash and criticism can only strengthen his hold on those who resent the sight of black or liberal players taking a knee. I wish the whole country could take a knee against Trump's duplicity. What I really wish is that we could ignore him. That would hurt him more than outrage.
82
Actually, the tide is turning. #45 has cried wolf too many times. His comments are farcical.
11
Trump and his dinner guests might want to take a look at the Constitution. What is it about freedom of speech that is so hard to understand?
329
@Della Cook
I don't disagree with your sentiment, but it's a lot more complicated than that.
The football players are at their place of work when they exercise their freedom of speech, as evidenced by the uniforms they're all wearing.
Are you really implying that freedom of speech applies to the workplace?
When was the last time somebody strolled into HR and said, "Hey, you can't discipline me for leering at my colleague at the weekly meeting and saying she had a "nice rack". You might want to take a look at the Constitution. I can say whatever I want. I'm just trying to be noble here, and honor the Founding Fathers by exercising my freedom of speech."
And would it be OK if the whole team wore Nazi armbands and swastikas on their helmets in exercising their "freedom of speech"?
Or do your lofty thoughts only apply when you agree with the protesters?
Maybe freedom of speech is harder to understand than you think.
2
Trump is (illegally?) inserting government opinion into the operation of the private sector. Something most Republicans and Trump himself would typically rant against.
Trump fails to acknowledge that while the NFL contract has latitude allowing for Owner reprimand, the NFL as a whole and all Owners are permitting the athletes to kneel in peaceful protest.
Trump's position is wrong on so many levels. Additionally his "approval" of Richard Petty saying NASCAR would fire folks for kneeling could be taken as yet another inappropriate racial remark.
2
@Question Why
Those noble and righteous Owners are making money by knowingly having the "peaceful protesters" scramble their brains. Every single Sunday.
The data is irrefutable at this point, which makes the Owners' position "wrong on so many levels".
It's the one constant of the Trump campaign and presidency: when in trouble "turn on the hate," as Bannon advised him.
248
He wasn't in trouble, though. His poll numbers were higher than they had been since July. He just needed a jolt of testosterone and a good mouthful of red meat to remind himself that he's THE BOSS. The insight that "conflict seems to soothe him in the way that it unnerves others" is an important one.
62
Interesting how Trump’s NFL tweets were made precisely when coverage about his son-in-law Kushner’s (and others in Trump’s admin) private Email server inquiries were released. Hum?!? Wonder Why?
Russian investigation / smokescreen
Oh, Trump's in trouble BIGLY desperate!
1