President Trump tried to do something nice on Twitter over the weekend and was immediately blasted with misguided outrage.
The president tweeted out a congratulations to San Francisco 49ers first-round pick Nick Bosa, who was selected second overall in this year’s NFL Draft.
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In one of his more innocuous tweets, Trump said, “Congratulations to Nick Bosa on being picked number two in the NFL Draft. You will be a great player for years to come, maybe one of the best.”
Congratulations to Nick Bosa on being picked number two in the NFL Draft. You will be a great player for years to come, maybe one of the best. Big Talent! San Francisco will embrace you but most importantly, always stay true to yourself. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2019
He tweeted this because Bosa is a Trump fan, although the defensive end said he won’t be talking politics during his NFL career. He even deleted many of his past tweets (one of which called former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “clown”), including ones supporting Trump. Bosa knew he might end up playing for the 49ers in one of the most liberal areas of the country.
Congratulating a supporter for getting picked number two overall in the NFL Draft isn’t all that outlandish, so obviously the media had to make it into a racial issue.
The first overall pick of the NFL Draft was Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, an incredible two-sport athlete who the Oakland Athletics selected ninth overall in the 2018 MLB Draft. Murray happens to be black.
Although there’s no connection between Trump not saying anything about Murray and the color of his skin, that’s the angle many in the media took.
The Washington Post put out a piece headlined, “Trump praises NFL No. 2 pick Nick Bosa, doesn’t mention top pick Kyler Murray”; Time Magazine went with, “Kyler Murray, a Black Man, Was the Number One NFL Draft Pick. Trump Congratulated the Number Two Pick Instead.” Meanwhile, BET’s story about it concludes with, “The fact that Donald Trump had to skip over the Black guy in order to praise the white guy is just another example of his racism and pettiness.”
Misguided media individuals made the same mistake. Soledad O’Brien, who swears she’s not biased, tweeted out:
If we’re still playing this game: He congratulated the white guy who’s the number 2 draft pick, but not the black guy who’s the number 1 pick. https://t.co/dHbuFFU7Ax
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) April 27, 2019
Helen Kennedy, formerly of The Boston Herald and New York Daily News tweeted out, “Wait, why are you congratulating No. 2? Because No. 1 is black and 2 is not?”
Wait, why are you congratulating No. 2? Because No. 1 is black and 2 is not?
— Helen Kennedy (@HelenKennedy) April 27, 2019
And New York Times contributor Jeff Nesbit rhetorically asked, “seriously?”
Seriously? https://t.co/v8kPu7U1DS
— Jeff Nesbit (@jeffnesbit) April 27, 2019
It’s all ridiculous.
Trump tweeted a congrats to Bosa because he has said nice things about the president in the past. He didn’t tweet about Murray because Murray has never made a public statement about Trump. There’s no grand old Trump tradition of congratulating the first overall draft pick on Twitter every single year that he skipped out on and instead tweeted about the white, No. 2 pick this year. Case in point, if one were to search Trump’s tweets for anything about Baker Mayfield, last year’s No. 1 pick who is white, nothing comes up.
It’s not like Trump is discriminatory against all black athletes and celebrities.
Trump has had no problems offering praise for black celebrities like rapper Kayne West, golfer Tiger Woods, singer Joy Villa, NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, and more over the past few years.
Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community – Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades – Legacy Stuff! Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game – he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2018
Good luck to @Joy_Villa on her decision to enter the wonderful world of politics. She has many fans!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2017
The GREAT football (and lacrosse) player, Jim Brown outside the West Wing of the @WhiteHouse. He is also a tremendous man and mentor to many young people! pic.twitter.com/yo7MxoGL6C
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 12, 2018
It’s not a race issue. It’s just a matter of tweeting about celebrities who are his friends or supporters (or both).
If Murray came out tomorrow and said he loves Trump, Trump would almost certainly tweet about it. If famous people support Trump, he’ll gladly support them back. If one says something anti-Trump, there’s a chance he’ll rip them on Twitter.
If a celebrity says nothing about Trump, like Murray, there’s a good chance Trump will say nothing about them in return, regardless of the color of their skin.
This isn’t a hard system to follow. Those in the media who pretend to be oblivious to it are either ignorant, dishonest, or probably both.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
