President Trump refuses to let the national anthem debate subside.
While speaking at a rally in Great Falls, Mont. on Thursday night, Trump again brought up the NFL, this time zeroing in on its updated national anthem policy. It turns out he’s not a fan of the new policy, and will likely continue using it as red meat to appeal to his base, and even to people outside his base with a strong sense of patriotism.
The NFL updated its anthem policy back in May. The league’s new rule states that players who are present on the field during the national anthem must stand, and players who do not want to stand can stay in the locker room for the song. To some, it may have seemed like a fair compromise because players did not even go out for the anthem before 2009, but Trump’s strategy on the matter is clear now.
“Hey, how about the NFL?” Trump asked the audience. “Look I don’t want to cause controversy … I don’t want to cause controversy. They passed this stupid thing. You don’t have to do this anymore if you don’t respect the flag or if you don’t like the country or whatever it is, just go into the locker room.”
“I think in many respects that’s worse,” he added. “Isn’t that worse than not standing? You know? I think that’s worse. You know what? It doesn’t play. It doesn’t play. I actually think in many ways, it’s worse.”
The fight is one Trump can use to make himself look patriotic while appealing to a wider base than his own. His stance that players should stand for the national anthem is a popular one. Trump may have an approval rating that has hovered around 42 percent for the past two months, but there are indications the majority of people agree with him here.
After all, a survey conducted by the Washington Post in February revealed 53 percent of adults agreed it is “never appropriate” for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem, compared to just 42 percent who said it could ever be appropriate. In addition, a Remington Research Group poll conducted on Sept. 25 of last year — just after Trump’s initial anthem comments — found 64 percent of Americans felt as though NFL players should stand for the national anthem.
Since the majority opinion in the country is that players should stand for the national anthem, Trump agreeing with that position is an ideal opportunity for the president to boost his popularity. After all, players who kneel say they are doing so in order to curb police brutality and to help the black community and yet, Trump thinks it’s possible to do both — respect the flag and make life better for African-Americans.
Not only did Trump offer to meet with NFL players to discuss pardons for people they felt should not be imprisoned, and invite Colin Kaepernick to a summit on race relations earlier this year, but there are policies he may push in the near future that could be beneficial to the black community. He supports expanding school choice, and his administration has pondered the possibilities of criminal justice reform and decriminalizing marijuana federally. He’s also for controlling illegal immigration, which can hurt African-American workers. It also doesn’t hurt that black unemployment has reached a record-low under his presidency (6.6 percent back in April).
Although Trump could let the national anthem issue go and be pleased that at least no one will kneel, he is determined to make sure every player shows respect for the military and the police who protect their country. Is it a battle he needs to fight? No. But he sees it a worthwhile one to pick — and the polls back him up on it.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelancer 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.
