President Donald Trump obviously found a snappy new applause line when he gave a speech in Alabama on Sept. 22. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,” Trump riffed, “When somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired!’ ”
It went over as Trump hoped, delighting his hardcore supporters, so now we are having a national moment of flagomania. Trump is hitting the theme hard, with at least 21 tweets or retweets, so far, deriding pro athletes who kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest. NFL watchers seem to be talking more about kneeling than touchdowns or game scores. As Trump himself has eagerly pointed out, the NFL’s TV ratings are down and booing of kneelers at stadiums is up.
How Trump is losing
But Trump isn’t winning. In fact, he’s losing, and this is going to become more and more apparent as his crusade against kneelers progresses. Within a few weeks, it will almost certainly peter out.
First, the teams. Trumpian demagoguery is meant to divide and conquer: sow dissension, turn people against each other, fragment communities. Trump’s anthem crusade has failed to do that. In fact, it’s actually surprising how effectively the individual teams have found ways to respond that everybody can live with. On many teams, some players stood and some kneeled during the anthem following Trump’s tirade, with the players typically locking arms as a sign of solidarity, whatever each player’s personal viewpoint. Nothing wrong with that.
The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the locker room during the anthem, spending the controversial moment out of sight. One player, Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva, was uncomfortable with that, so he stepped onto the field and stood before the flag, saying later that going it alone made him feel “embarrassed.” On Monday night, the Dallas Cowboys and several of their front-office honchos, including owner Jerry Jones, kneeled in unison, then stood for the anthem. Clever. Touching, even.
Consider what hasn’t happened. Trump is trying to goad NFL team owners into firing players who kneel for the anthem. If any owner took the bait, it probably would ignite a bigger crisis, precisely what Trump wants. But none of them has signed on with Trump. At least half of the league’s 32 owners have publicly disagreed with Trump, and not a single owner has voiced agreement with him. Meanwhile, there is practically no dissension among the players. Undoubtedly they have differing viewpoints, but they have essentially agreed to disagree, in a far more civil way than Trump treats those he disagrees with.
Next, the sponsors. The NFL runs on money, and the best way to hurt the league is to persuade sponsors to bail. But Trump has failed here, too, since none of the sponsors has done much of anything. A few have issued mealymouthed statements meant to please everybody and say nothing. Nike is one sponsor that took a stand, declaring that the company “supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression on issues that are of great importance to our society.” Sorry, Trump.
The NFL fallout
A few individual players may suffer financially for the positions they’ve taken. A car dealership chain in Denver apparently decided not to renew an endorsement deal for Broncos linebacker Von Miller, after he knelt during the anthem following Trump’s remarks. So he’ll forgo a few bucks. But that’s not a mark of shame. If anything, it indicates the kind of principles Americans largely feel their politicians lack — the willingness to put your money where your mouth is. Miller’s stock has risen, not fallen.
Finally, the fans. No doubt some of them are genuinely offended by players who refuse to stand for the national anthem, even without Trump goading them on. They have a choice to make: Quit football on a matter of principle, the way Miller gave up income for something he felt was important, or stop complaining and enjoy the game. Aside from Trump’s base, public opinion is clearly turning against Trump when it comes to the NFL, and fans will move with it. Plus, pro football has had undesirable elements before this, most notably the ugly spectacle of star players disciplined for abusing women. The NFL survived that. The flag flap won’t do any worse damage.
The recent Southwest Airlines tragedy that claimed the life of a woman who was sucked through an aircraft window also showed up a worrying lack of knowledge about basic safety procedures. An image shared online by Marty Martinez, a passenger on board flight 1380 from New York to Dallas, shows him and his fellow passengers wearing oxygen masks, which dropped down after one of the jet’s engines blew. Oxygen masks should be placed over the nose and mouth (Facebook/Marty Martinez ) However, as travel expert and former flight attendant Bobby Laurie pointed out on social media, none of the people in the picture are wearing their masks correctly. He tweeted : “PEOPLE: Listen to your flight attendants! ALMOST EVERYONE in this photo from @SouthwestAir #SWA1380 today is wearing their mask WRONG. Put down the phone, stop with the selfies and LISTEN. **Cover your NOSE AND MOUTH.” In the photo, the three passengers clearly shown only have the mask over their mouths,
Donald Trump is set to reverse an order by former President Barack Obama to close Guantanamo Bay, it has been claimed. The notorious military prison holds suspected terrorists but has attracted fierce criticism from human rights groups. During his time in office, President Obama signed an executive order for Guantanamo to be closed "as soon as practicable". In practice, he wasn't able to end the facility entirely due to opposition from US Congress. But hundreds of prisoners were moved to the mainland and just 41 remain. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump made clear his support for Guantanamo and said he wanted to "load it up with bad dudes". According to Politico, he now intends to come good on that promise and will start by signing an executive order reversing the Obama mandate. He is expected to make the announcement during the State of the Union address on Tuesday or perhaps before, the reports claim.
Devin Nunes set off a storm with the FISA memo, which now has the whole nation talking. Reactions have been split, with many saying this is a major break through and there should be prosecutions. While others, mainly from the left, are saying this is a bunch of nothing. Nunes has come under harsh attack from the left since the memo’s release, with some even going as far to say he is a Russian agent. Brett Baier was able to have a moment to ask Nunes about what he thinks about the aftermath of the release and what comes next. And what Nunes said will likely not cause the situation to simmer down. In fact, it appears that this is just the beginning. See The Video Below: NUNES REVEALS WHO HIS NEXT TARGET IS Devin Nunes appeared calm and collected in his interview, despite the new BOMB he dropped on the State Departmemt. Nunes said the recent memo release “completes the FISA-abuse portion” of the investigation and stated: “We are in the middle of (what he calls)
I beg to differ. I think the NFL is going down and I will be proud to see it!
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