Piers Morgan is calling on President Trump to invite NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick to the White House if he truly wants to heal the divide in America.
In his Monday column for the Daily Mail, the British commentator said Trump owes athletes and their mothers a “heartfelt apology” after the president called players who kneel during the national anthem a “son of a bitch.”
“By using such an ugly taunt, Trump let himself down, he let down the office of the presidency, and he let down the country,” Morgan wrote.
Morgan said he initially opposed Kaepernick’s protest during the national anthem, but changed his mind after he switched from sitting during the song to kneeling.
“[A]t the heart of Kaepernick’s protest lies an undeniable truth: America’s black population still gets treated differently and more unfairly than the white population. There remains a deep-rooted prejudice at the core of American society that disadvantages black people and to deny that is to propagate and prolong that prejudice,” he wrote.
Trump tweeted about the controversy he inflamed throughout the weekend, prompting dozens of NFL players to either kneel or lock arms during the national anthem.
Morgan said Trump can fix “this mess” by inviting Kaepernick to the White House to hear his side.
“Let this brave, bold young man tell you face to face what he feels is inherently wrong with the way black Americans are still being treated,” Morgan said. “Then pose for a photo as you shake Kaepernick’s hand in the Oval Office and tell black Americans to a TV camera that you hear them, you will listen to them, and you will strive to make their lives better.”
