“President Trump lambasted Hillary Clinton for defending the NFL players who have been kneeling during the National Anthem.”
Hillary Clinton has come on record stating that kneeling NFL players are not against “our anthem or flag.” While speaking at the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival, she also noted that kneeling is a reverent position. Her comments drew a sharp rebuke from President Donald Trump, who claimed that that “thinking” was why Clinton lost the election.
“Honestly, it’s that thinking, that is the reason she lost the election. When you go down and take a knee or any other way, you’re sitting, essentially for our great national anthem.” -Donald Trump
Trump went on to say that if Clinton made the comments, he “fully understand why she didn’t win.” The President was asked about her comments before actually hearing them for himself. He cited other reasons for her loss, including not being “very good at what she did.” Trump also argued that the comments were disrespectful towards the United States as a nation.
Clinton was in the United Kingdom promoting her book “What Happened.” The former Secretary of State has been easing her way back into the spotlight while promoting the book. Clinton has claimed that she will not run for office again. However, that doesn’t mean she’s staying out of politics.
“I think it would be a grave error for Democrats to recede from those fights, so therefore we have to stand up, fight back, resist.”- Hillary Clinton
While speaking in London she urged the Democratic Party to resist President Trump. She claims that black athletes are kneeling in order to resist the White House. That’s a strong claim given that the kneeling phenomena started before President Trump assumed office.
Recently, Vice President Mike Pence left an NFL game in Indiana after players knelt during the National Anthem. The Vice President’s actions drew both praise and criticism. Many critics have argued that it was an expensive publicity stunt paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Trump has referred to kneeling NFL players as “sons of bitches”, and has called on team owners to fire players for kneeling. He has also threatened the NFL with increased taxes.
Clinton also likened alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election to the September 11th terrorist attacks. She noted:
“We have really well-respected security and intelligence veterans saying this was a kind of cyber 9/11 in the sense that it was a direct attack to American institutions.”
Clinton quickly admitted that her claims sounded dramatic. However, she also alleged that Russia’s interference ran deeper than social media. She claimed that Russia was “recruiting” for the election.
The Russian allegations are serious and people on both sides of the aisle should be concerned, in my opinion. Russia is no friend of America’s and if not an enemy, the Kremlin is certainly a rival. At the same time, the NFL kneeling phenomena appears to be a mostly overblown distraction.
