Would Colin Kaepernick‘s protests have continued—and others followed in his footsteps—if the National Football League had initially suspended him?
It’s a fair point, and one that was raised during an interview between President Trump and Fox News’ Sean Hannity yesterday evening at a Pennsylvania Air National Guard base. “I watched Colin Kaepernick, and I thought it was terrible, and then it got bigger and bigger and started mushrooming, and frankly the NFL should have suspended him for one game, and he would have never done it again,” said Trump, before a live audience. “They could have then suspended him for two games, and they could have suspended him if he did it a third time, for the season, and you would never have had a problem.”
EXCLUSIVE: “You cannot disrespect our country” @POTUS interview w/ @seanhannity on Fox News Channel tonight at 9p ET https://t.co/kfXwIQlcrU pic.twitter.com/JrlifJMvMJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 11, 2017
Of course, the president’s kicker, which came after that insight, once again misrepresented Kaepernick’s original reason for kneeling during the national anthem: that of protesting social and racial injustice. Trump once again colored the protest as one of patriotism, saying, “But I will tell you, you cannot disrespect our country, our flag, our anthem; you cannot do that.”
The president has been railing on the NFL for its opaque policy on the sideline protests. But the league may soon give in, as recent reports reveal that the NFL may require players to stand during the national anthem.
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