Some on the right are bending over to give Trump credit for the NFL decision yesterday on their new National Anthem policy. I for one have not done that, however it is interesting that the owners are admitting that Trump did play a significant part in their decision:
NY POST – President Trump was on Long Island Wednesday, but he seemed to have a spot in the NFL owners’ meetings in Atlanta.
After the league announced it had changed its national anthem policy, which will fine teams whose players do not stand for it, owners admitted that Trump played a significant factor in their decision making.
“Oh yeah,” Packers president Mark Murphy said, laughing, when asked by the MMQB if Trump came up in discussions. “It was more how [Trump] might react, anticipating that. Also, how the fans will react, how the media will react.
“That’s what we tried to think through. … No matter what we did, [Trump] would probably try to get involved one way or the other—either criticizing us or taking credit for the change.”
One owner said Trump’s name came up three times, though never for an extended time, before the vote passed unanimously.
“[Trump] certainly initiated some of the thinking, and was a part of the entire picture,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the website. “But all of that was given consideration.”
I think it’s funny they thought he might take credit for the decision. I too made that prediction.
However when asked about it this morning, Trump did no such thing:
Trump points out that while he did bring the issue out more, he says the people pushed it forward:
I think the people pushed it forward. This was not me. I brought it out, but I think the people pushed it forward.
He also suggested he mostly agreed with the decision:
“I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms. But still I think it’s good. You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem.You shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country.”
They shouldn’t be in the country? That sounds a bit fascist doesn’t it? I don’t agree with people burning the flag, but I do think they have that right to protest. As your favorite SooperMexican writer told me, “If we can’t criticize our laws then we’d still have slavery.”
But absent that, I thought he handled the NFL decision much better than I predicted.