Donald Trump Hits NFL Once Again In His State Of The Union Address: ‘We Stand For Our National Anthem’
President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union (SOTU) address continues to raise more eyebrows after he made some questionable remarks, including one that appears to shade Colin Kaepernick and the NFL players who knelt in protest during the singing of the national anthem.
According to Hollywood Life, Trump seemed to remain caught up in the issue of the NFL protest during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” last year because he seemed to have included a statement on his first-ever SOTU address that refers to the issue.
While talking about 12-year-old Preston Sharp who was acclaimed for placing 40,000 flags and flowers to veterans’ graves in Northern California, Trump emphasized the real reason why the American people perform certain gestures to pay their respects to the flag and anthem on Tuesday.
“Preston’s reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.”
Based on a report from USA Today, applause erupted from Republicans in the room after his statement, which was clearly a dig at the controversial NFL national anthem protest, while Democrats were a lot less happy about it.
Back in September 2017, the 71-year-old president of the United States prompted more ire towards Colin Kaepernick who started the movement in 2016 to protest racism and discrimination towards people of color in the country.
At the time, Donald Trump said NFL team owners should fire “any sons of b*****s” who are “disrespecting the flag” by kneeling instead of standing during the singing of the national anthem, based on an Independent report.
“That’s a total disrespect of our heritage. That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”
Nearly five months later, the 45th president seemed to have not moved on yet as he continues to criticize the football players for kneeling and protesting the systemic racism in the country, and people on social media are not taking very kindly to how he played it.
Just turned on the #SOTU address in time to hear Donald Trump shade Colin Kaepernick ??
— Harlem Belle (@cdiddylove) January 31, 2018
Donald Trump taking a passive aggressive stab at the NFL about standing for the National Anthem! On Super Bowl Weekend!!! Super Bowl should be a national holiday! #NFL #sotu pic.twitter.com/GZKvplU8fT
— Jessica R (@TXJessNicole) January 31, 2018
"Stand For Our National Anthem." Dissing the #NFL Players. WTF Does That Have to Do With #SOTU? #DonaldTrump Only Caters To His Base and Shows He Has to Get The One Roast in There. #StateOfTheUnion #CurrentlyWatching
— Nile Fortner (@Nile_Fortner) January 31, 2018
Some even noted how President Donald Trump attacked people of color when they criticized him but chose not to respond to others like Eminem.
Black celebrities, athletes & business people #DonaldTrump attacked:
– Jay-Z
– Stephen Curry
– Colin Kaepernick
– Jemele Hill
– Lavar Ball
– Marshawn Lynch
– Ken FrazierBut he never said a word when he was attacked by:
– Eminem
– Steve Kerr
– Gregg PopovichHe's a RACIST. pic.twitter.com/7XEkH0AClX
— Island Girl – 100% Pro-Choice, Vote Blue in 2022 (@bluepolitics_) January 28, 2018
Donald Trump has attacked:
Colin Kaepernick who is black.
Frederica Wilson who is black.
Lavar Bell who is black.
Steph Curry who is black.
Jemele Hill who is black.
Jay-Z who is black.But never said a word about Eminem, who is white, criticism of him.
Let that sink in.
— ?????? (@Wirjil) January 28, 2018
Even before he made his first SOTU address and NFL dig, President Donald Trump has been raising eyebrows by his questionable statements and decisions, including the creation of his “Fake News Awards” that gained plenty of attention online to the point of crashing the GOP website.
President Donald Trump is delivering his first State of the Union address, and CNN's Reality Check Team is vetting his claims. Live updates: https://t.co/ANN3w9br6S #SOTU pic.twitter.com/GFki2PlMQ9
— CNN (@CNN) January 31, 2018