President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday night once more about the NFL, an organization with which he has been feuding for the past week
President Donald Trump on Saturday night stoked the controversy over his call for punitive action against NFL players who take a knee or otherwise protest during the national anthem.
Between tweets railing against criticism of his response to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico, he tweeted anew that players should remain standing out of respect for the nation and its flag.
He wrote: ‘Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country!’
The tweet came amid his spat with San Juan, Puerto Rico mayor Carmen Cruz.
Cruz began criticizing the Trump administration’s response to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico last week.
Trump tweeted on Friday: ‘The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
Trump wrote on Saturday: ‘Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country!’
Pictured are members of the Indianapolis Colts taking a knee during the National Anthem on Sunday, September 24. Trump has railed against NFL players who choose not to stand during the National Anthem as a protest against social injustice
‘Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.’
On Saturday, Cruz said in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the tweets about her were merely an attempt to distract the public from what she considers to the government’s sub-par response to the disaster.
She said: ‘Maybe he’s used to women who need to be told what to do but that’s not what we are here in San Juan.’
‘He’s looking for an excuse for things that are not going well,’ she said. While irksome, her feud with the president sparked a new wave of supplies, she said.
After Hurricane Irma hit the island, Trump tweeted that the United States unincorporated territory had ‘broken infrastructure & massive debt’.
Colin Kaepernick (center) inaugurated the taking-a-knee gesture last season, while he was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers
San Juan, Puerto Rico mayor Carmen Cruz told host Anderson Cooper on Saturday that since her feud with the president, she has received a new wave of supplies from FEMA
Trump was mocked on Saturday Night Live for both the Puerto Rico and NFL controversies in which he found himself embroiled this week.
Protesting during the playing of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ drew national attention last season when Colin Kaepernick, then a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers, declined to stand as a way to bring attention to police treatment of blacks and to social injustice.
Kaepernick said at the time: ‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.
‘To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.
‘There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.’
During a wide-ranging speech at a political rally in Alabama on September 22, Trump called for NFL owners to fire players who engaged in such a protest.
‘That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,’ Trump said, encouraging owners to act. He added: ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you’d say, “Get that son of a b**** off the field right now. Out! He’s fired.”‘
The next day, Trump echoed his stance in a tweet.
‘If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem,’ Trump tweeted. ‘If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!’
Saturday Night Live returned for its 43rd season, and it picked up right where it left off from its memorable 42nd season – with Alec Baldwin lampooning President Donald Trump. Aidy Bryant is playing White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The episode mocked Trump for his recent Puerto Rico and NFL controversies
Last week, Trump said regarding the NFL: ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you’d say, “Get that son of a b**** off the field right now. Out! He’s fired’
In the days that followed the president issued a series of tweets reiterating his views and calling for a boycott of games by fans.
Criticism from players, owners and fans — and some praise — greeted Trump’s remarks.
The controversy boiled for days and seemed to overshadow other issues facing the Trump presidency, including the failure of congressional Republicans to repeal and replace the nation’s health care law, the primary loss in Alabama of Trump’s favored candidate, a turbulent hurricane season particularly in Puerto Rico and the back-and-forth between the U.S. and North Korea over missiles and nuclear weapons.
Relatively few players had demonstrated before Trump’s remarks. Last Sunday, at least 150 NFL players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during the national anthem.
Players from both the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars were the first to protest by taking a knee ahead of their game at Wembley Stadium in London.
No players were kneeling during the playing of God Save The Queen – the British national anthem.
The defiance against Trump continued as games kicked off across the country with an unprecedented number of players kneeling and most teams in the early afternoon games last Sunday locking arms in solidarity.
At least 20 Patriots players were spotted kneeling as Tom Brady linked arms with his teammates.
Pittsburgh Steelers players were absent from the sideline and remained in the locker room during the Star Spangled Banner. Alejandro Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan, was the only Steelers’ player to stand outside the tunnel for the anthem.