Donald Trump: People protesting the anthem should be thrown out of America

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he explains his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement at the White House

On Wednesday, Roger Goodell and the NFL announced new “rules” to deal with NFL player protests of the National Anthem. Colin Kaepernick got the ball rolling a few years ago, when he was with the 49ers, and he decided to sit for the National Anthem as a way to protest police violence and the police committing extrajudicial killings of people of color across the country. That’s what the “anthem protests” were always about: police violence, the protest of white supremacy and the agency of individuals to use their first amendment rights. But to Donald Trump and many white people, the anthem protests were “un-American” and “an insult to the troops” by “ungrateful” black people. So what are the new NFL rules?

NFL owners have unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that requires players to stand if they are on the field during the performance but gives them the option to remain in the locker room if they prefer, it was announced Wednesday.

The policy subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other team personnel do not show respect for the anthem. That includes any attempt to sit or kneel, as dozens of players have done during the past two seasons to protest racial inequality and police brutality. Those teams also will have the option to fine any team personnel, including players, for the infraction.

[From ESPN]

The NFLPA (the players’ union) shaded the f–k out of the NFL’s new rules and the union says they weren’t consulted. The new rules are being seen – correctly – as Goodell’s capitulation to Trump and the Deplorables, and the rules are being seen as un-American, because that’s what they are. So I’m so glad that Donald Trump appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to suggest that Americans should be thrown out of the country if they refuse to stand for the National Anthem. Jesus Christ. Trump literally says: “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…the NFL owners did the right thing.”

Keep in mind that Trump referred to Kaepernick as a “son of a bitch” for peacefully protesting, and yet the white supremacists who murdered a young woman in Charlottesville were “very fine people.” Keep in mind that Trump was a draft-dodger who is now lecturing people on how peaceful protests insult the American military. Keep in mind that Colin Kaepernick still doesn’t have a job, and that ESPN did Jemele Hill dirty because she mildly criticized Trump and the NFL a few times. This is all such a deplorable, fascistic mess.

Also, this is a really good video about Kaepernick’s evolution on anthem-protesting:

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Cover courtesy of Time, additional photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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154 Responses to “Donald Trump: People protesting the anthem should be thrown out of America”

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  1. Lorelei says:

    I cannot believe the headline I just read.

    • Hoopjumper says:

      Honestly, the contrast between Trump’s remarks and the video posted has me almost in tears.

      • AnnaKist says:

        I’m not even American, and I just cannot even look. What the hell have people left to protest with? J hope many, many players decide to remain in the locker rooms. Sadly, that loophole will likely then be plugged up, too. The sooner Dump drops off the perch, the better, because his sh!t has already filtered down far too quickly. This is gut-wrenching.

      • holly hobby says:

        Per the Jets’ owner that was a compromise. He said the original rule was a lot worse. I think players should just stay in the locker room. Oh yeah, the Jets will pay for whatever infraction that is incurred by this stupid rule. So even though they voted “unanimous” things will go on pretty much the usual.

    • Eric says:

      How’s that Nobel Prize and commemorative coin coming?
      Emperor Zero just cancelled the summit in Singapore with KJU.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I will forever taunt his supporters with the NK Summit commemorative coin. Talk about spiking the football prematurely!

    • Carmen says:

      Who is he kidding? He doesn’t even know the words.

    • DearWhitePeople says:

      I can believe it. I just watched the “wild wild country” documentary, and the combative evil cult leader “Sheelah” is a putinsPuppet twin! Both surly, spin the truth, potty mouthed with cliche smoke & mirror brand of “sprituality”. Also with SheelahTrump the “art of the deal” means bending democratic rules, then screaming victim when caught, often sending out the attack lawyers to bite and devour.

    • Lilly says:

      I thinks he’s still a big baby about his efforts in professional sports and, of course, erodes the constitution whenever possible. Plus if #PresidentMiller tells him what to do, he does it. It may be that I only watch the Jets from now on, or no football. They’re really altering and catering to who they see as their key fans, it ain’t me. The entire presidency, and administration, is so horrible, like so many the horror is unending. Plus, as I said before, I’m sure the Royal Wedding drives him crazy and screaming “Look at me!”

    • anyway says:

      Me. Every morning I wake up.

  2. NoShame says:

    The only person who should be thrown out of the country is the guy who committed treason by conspiring with the Russians to steal a presidential election.

    • Mamunia says:

      +1000

    • boredblond says:

      So true..the real disrespect is a flag that’s always stood for individual freedom is pinned on this lying narcissist who is hell bent on creating his own little dictatorship.

    • lucy2 says:

      YES. He is literally under investigation for colluding with foreign governments. He is in no position to talk.

      I wish the players union would sue the league, but I supposed that’s why they put the “stay in the locker room then” loophole in.

    • Floydee Mercer says:

      Truer words were never spoken.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Yes, 100%

      And I will add to that. Trump is also attempting to sell our country to ZTE/China in exchange for a Chinese bank loan to build a Trump tower in Indonesia. US intelligence has warned for years that ZTE’s technology had the ability to conduct surveillance on the US. Thankfully, Congress is taking measures to limit Trump’s influence. I hope it works!

  3. Darla says:

    We’re in a lot of trouble. A lot. I am seeing on MSNBC, so not Fox, that what he’s doing is working. Supposedly, 59% of Americans believe Mueller has found no wrongdoing in his investigation. That is 100% false. But 59% believe it. What is going on?

    And this. We’re in the middle of something that some of us clearly see. We are in the middle of changing from a democracy to something else. And it will be too late to turn back. It may already be too late to turn back.

    I feel that future historians will mark allowing Trump to take office as the end of American democracy, and the judgement will be that extraordinary steps should have been taken to prevent his taking office.

    • kate says:

      Propaganda works, Americans were wrong to believe it would not work here. And propaganda laced with a healthy dose of racism works even better here.

      • Darla says:

        double post

      • Darla says:

        True. I was saying to someone yesterday that I feel as if I dreamt the Obama presidency. And that I feel as if I have been living in this presidency for 40 years already. It’s a nightmare I thought would end, but I no longer believe it’s ever going to end. No going back now.

      • Mamunia says:

        +1

      • tracking says:

        Truth. I still can’t believe it, but it’s true.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        So true.
        I am visiting red state family in a little bit, and I am trying to decide if having serious conversations face-to-face will help. I’m a middle child, therefore a bridge builder in conflict. I really hope I can introduce some skepticism about the Trump administration. Fingers crossed.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Darla ITA – it is terrifying and I think there are so many people — average Americans, most of my family and friends, tbh — who don’t realize it’s happening. Or they’re vaguely aware of it, but do not realize how serious this is. They’re just going along with their lives, and don’t view the news as something that really affects them or their day-to-day lives. I wasn’t as engaged with the news during the W or even Obama years either, but this is uncharted territory.

      Your comment about so many Americans not believing that Mueller’s investigation is invalid or not finding any wrongdoing is so, so scary. Fox “News” has literally brainwashed half of our country. I do not see a way that we can come back from this when no one will admit they were wrong about Trump, and “fake news” is the response to anything negative about their hero.

      I’m terrified of the direction we’re heading in. And we are all seeing the corruption play out right in front of our faces, day after day, and eventually people get numb to it.

      • Darla says:

        I know. A part of me wishes I could be numb. Instead my level of horror and anxiety rises weekly.

      • Beth says:

        I was also never engaged in the news with any other president until Trump. A problem with so many people I know is that they get all of their information from Fox News and don’t read or watch anything else. A few have admitted to me that they’re embarrassed that they were so easily conned, but too many are still die hard Trumpsters.
        Things are getting worse and people are used to his crazy behavior and are definitely getting numb to it

      • cr says:

        It’s interesting, because polls also show that a majority of Americans believe that the SC should continue, but apparently many of those aren’t paying enough attention to realize that we’ve already had indictments and guilty pleas.

        Mueller’s team filed some court documents yesterday, from Brad Heath’s twitter:
        “Mueller’s office notes it “has brought criminal charges against 22 individuals and entities,” but that the tally “does not imply that the Special Counsel’s investigation into the assigned matters is closed.””

      • otaku fairy says:

        Agreed. Trump’s “presidency” in some ways seems like a constant, hellish form of babysitting. Almost every day you have to be on high alert for what this administration or Trump’s supporters are doing to screw everyone else over in some way. I’m not really that shocked by Trump’s comment about the anthem protestors because he’s shown us what he is, but the NFL’s decision is a very upsetting move. I hope as many players stay in the locker rooms too.

    • B n A fn says:

      Leslie Staull, sp. said he told he the reason he keeps going after the reporters calling them layers is, when they hear the truth they will not believe them. This calculated by him to bring the country down. He says before the election he was going to tear the country down and turn it into his likings and it’s working. This was a plan by Bannon, 45 and some others. I’m so done I refused to watch him on tv this week, I’m just over the lying.

    • aang says:

      I always assumed many of my fellow Americans were ignorant idiots. I seriously underestimated just how many fit that description.

    • Tiffany says:

      Yeah, non white people have been saying this since, forever. White people have just chosen not to listen and look at where things are.

    • Zee says:

      I don’t know if you have been keeping up with Atty Avenatti/S. Daniels case but he said himself that Mueller probably was’nt going to get Trump on the Russia scandal. Avenatti stated he has seen men like him and they usually are caught on small things that snow ball into bigger ones. I believe him because I have always said they would not get him on Russia.

      Thumbs up to Mr. Costas for having an intelligent/open minded conversation with Colin thats how people suppose to behave. That idiot (T) knows that people have the right to choose but thats all part of the games him and his administration play. Remember people whatever negative things you throw out in the universe will come back on you. People seem to truly forget this.

    • Cee says:

      Darla, unfortunately you’re experiencing populism. Every one person born and raised in a south american country can tell you what will happen next. The way out of populism is hard because people become indoctrinated and things like facts and truth are debased.

      Next step – the educational system, particularly public schools and universities. The propaganda machine will begin there, holding captive at least one generation, thus preventing change.

  4. Alisha says:

    Oh f*ck him. That’s all I have got. I am tired.

  5. Betsy says:

    See, and I think that people who are guilty of treason should be punished to the fullest extent of the law and people making a thoughtful protest should be left the heck alone.

    ETA: James Clapper has come and said that he personally believes that Russia DECIDED the election. This man is illegitimate.

    • Giddy says:

      James Clapper is a true patriot. His book just came out, Facts and Fears, Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence. And you are right, he says that “ of course” the Russians swung the election to Trump. Therefore, he says that Trump is an illegitimate President. I couldn’t agree more.

  6. B n A fn says:

    We have a madman running the country. Every time I see him on tv 📺 I change the channel. I have to keep my sanity. I read that there is a study that since he’s been pres there are more prescriptions for anxiety medication. I don’t believe his pres is going to ends well, just a hunch.

  7. MCV says:

    Why play the anthem at a football game? I just don’t get it. If this was a thing here in my country or Europe in general there would be whistles every single game.

    • Mrs. Wellen-Melon says:

      USAian here. I was coming to say the same thing. There is nothing inherently patriotic about a football game.

      We play the national anthem before sporting events, before the first symphony concert of the season (at least in my town), before school events, etc., etc., etc. There is nothing inherently patriotic about any of these events.

      It’s got to be left over from World War II. I love my country but do not need to “prove” it at the beginning of my town’s annual kids’ ice skating show. Let’s just stop this silliness.

    • Léna says:

      Yeah In France we only play it for the national games and even then we have problems and debates because some players are not singing the national anthem (and yes of course, this debate is racist because even though some white players are not singing it, it’s always the black and arab players that are at fault!)

    • Kitten says:

      9/11 was the big turning point.

      http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/sep/25/short-history-national-anthem-and-sports/

      Honestly, 9/11 forever changed our country in the worst way possible.

    • Cee says:

      Same in Argentina. We only sing an abridged version at national football (soccer) games.

  8. Beth says:

    Until just a few years ago, the players weren’t even on the field for the anthem, they were all in the locker room. Why is the anthem even played at games?

    • Cran says:

      I Googled and found this attributed to Josh Levin at Slate.com

      NO NFL PLAYER STOOD FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM UNTIL 2009—BEFORE THEN, THE PLAYERS STAYED IN THE LOCKER ROOM AS THE ANTHEM PLAYED. NFL TEAMS GOT PATRIOTIC IN RECENT YEARS BECAUSE IT WAS GOOD FOR BUSINESS. A 2015 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT REVEALED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HAD PAID $5.4 MILLION TO NFL TEAMS BETWEEN 2011 AND 2014 TO STAGE ON-FIELD PATRIOTIC CEREMONIES; THE NATIONAL GUARD SHELLED OUT $6.7 MILLION FOR SIMILAR DISPLAYS BETWEEN 2013 AND 2015.

      • Tiffany says:

        This right here.

        Recruitment was down so the military went to the NFL and they collaborated on this.

      • Kitten says:

        Yup. The military paid for it. The f*cking military sponsors our sports here in the US. How appropriate. *eyeroll*

      • Aren says:

        If that had happened in any other country, people would be calling it a military state.
        Like Argentina and Chile in the 70s, with their military dictatorships.

    • The Original G says:

      I can’t believe I’m saying this but see Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent.

  9. adastraperaspera says:

    More distraction from him. He loves the anthem theme, because it riles his base. That is all he is doing. He cares nothing about patriotism. At least in the U.S. He seems like a loyal Russian lover, though. Every day is just another attack on our values, to make us feel outraged. I am not feeling it. I don’t care what he does. I am just patiently waiting for the Law to take him down once and for all.

  10. minx says:

    I feel like drinking and it’s 8:30 AM.
    And I’m at work.

    • Kitten says:

      Same.

      At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it is a nightmare to be an American right now.

      • Betsy says:

        Honestly for me one of the worst things is the gaslighting by our fellow citizens. Gaslighting and willful ignorance.

      • Kitten says:

        Same, Betsy. I accepted that Trump was a selfish, narcissistic bully decades ago but discovering that our fellow Americans are this stupid, this immune to logic, facts, reason….it just blows my mind.

        I ALWAYS knew Trump would be a catastrophically awful POTUS, but never did I think that he would reveal who he is time and time again and Americans would STILL support him! In my mind, I figured his supporters would realize what a terrible mistake they made and we would unite to remove him from Office. I also thought the GOP would actually CARE (silly me) about the sanctity of our institutions, about the reputation of the Oval Office…

        In other words, I’m a f*cking fool.

      • tracking says:

        Yes, this is the part that is breaking my heart into a million pieces–the knowledge that so many Americans are on board with what would amount to a fascist theocracy.

      • jwoolman says:

        Kitten – I’ve always been afraid of a second Constitutional Convention. I’ve always felt we would lose the Bill of Rights. Americans have been paying no attention to violations of those rights for a very long time, in the name of war on whatever. Irrational fear of other people (racism and xenophobia are in that category) overtook them long ago. Trump has built on that, but he didn’t create it.

        We only have as many rights as our neighbors allow and defend, no matter what the law says. Our neighbors have been afraid of difference and dissent for a very long time. That didn’t start with 9/11.

    • BlueSky says:

      @Minx you and me both…..

  11. kate says:

    Let it be know that the NFL is trash from start to finish.

    • Pandy says:

      ABSOLUTELY!!!!! We KNOW Drumpf is on a quest to ruin your country …. but STOP supporting this bullshit “entertainment league”. Stop watching them.

  12. Reef says:

    Honestly, I don’t need football players to fight criminal injustice on the field. I respect it, but not necessary. They need to focus on their labor rights. They still get sent out on the field w/ concussions. They’re still banned from using weed but are given addictive narcotics like candy. That’s a more pressing concern for them as a whole. The fact the owners made this sweeping new policy without consulting their union is a problem. The NFLPA is the worst union in professional sports. Every president of NFLPA has been swindled by the owners in return for favors.
    I hope they rally.

    • Loo says:

      Football players can do two things at once.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Their contract is up in 2020 and I suspect there will be a strike or walkout. All those items are issues along with the Commissioner having too much power in arbitration to the extent that he suspended a player for 4 games simply out of spite.

      • Kitten says:

        Oh ok thanks, LP. I was going to ask you about this.

      • Reef says:

        The vast majority of NFL players are broke and live paycheck to paycheck. They can’t afford a strike. The NFLPA has not prepared and is not preparing for a sustained a strike. It would require the top tier players subsidizing the lower tier players for an extended period to get real change and it was a struggle the last strike. Look how much they gave up then.

  13. Lightpurple says:

    I hope every single player stays in the locker room

    • Swack says:

      My thoughts exactly. Or maybe everyone in the stadium could stay seated during the anthem – wishful thinking.

    • Pandy says:

      Yes, hope it doesn’t come down to white players standing on the field and black in the locker room. Although, protest is protest so if that has to play out … but I’m hoping the teams support each other and just opt out of being on the field.

  14. Miranda says:

    Oh go f*ck yourself with an extra crispy KFC drumstick you f*cking traitor. At least none of the NFL players are kneeling in front of Putin.

  15. aang says:

    After the CTE thing came to light I can’t believe anyone is still watching. Mostly black, mostly poor kids being given a 1 in several million shot to make it and all they have to sacrifice along the way is their brain function. And they do it for our entertainment. Gross. Now the “owners” treating these men like property and demanding forced patriotism so as not to upset the fans. Also gross.

    • Esmom says:

      I can’t believe kids are still playing. Our high school is a huge football school and I can’t believe how parents justify letting their kids start tackle football at such a young age. They say things like “this program teaches safe tackling” and “people don’t realize that other sports are just as dangerous.” I just roll my eyes and go back to watching my kids in the marching band, lol.

      Everything about the sport is gross to me and this NFL decision reaffirms that.

      • Juls says:

        Both my boys are excellent athletes as well as excellent students. They have participated in a variety of sports from a young age (I wanted music but they were not inclined). They do NOT want to play football and I would probably try vigorously to stop them if they did. They get asked to try out for football every year and they always say no thanks. There are so many awesome sports to choose from, football should not even be an option anymore because it’s so dangerous. And with the NFL being so horrible, I say good riddance. And I used to love college football.

  16. Sam says:

    So he’s fine with Nazis marching the streets, but he wants people thrown out of the country for this.
    And they actually want him to get the Nobel Peace prize…I don’t even know what to say anymore. I just feel weary, you know?

  17. ks says:

    What happened to the land of the free and the brave.

    • Kitten says:

      Honestly it hasn’t been that in a long-ass time.

      • Lady D says:

        How long, Kitten? ‘Cause it felt that way to me for a long time with Obama at the helm. I had so much hope for your country, he was such a breath of fresh air after the Bushes. Trump in charge just stuns me, ya know? I cannot believe the difference. It’s like the North and South Pole flipped.

  18. homeslice says:

    I can’t even anymore. I’m so depressed at the state of my country I want to just curl up in a ball and hide until this nightmare is over.

    • funfactor says:

      It feels so surreal to go about daily business as if things are normal, when it’s clear there has been a coup in our country. Many people I know shun talk about politics because it might offend someone. We need to be “socially acceptable and not be divisive.” I want to scream. Sometimes I do! I’m 70, poor, and a disabled artist, so no other country wants me. I accept that I’m toast. It’s not too late for my daughters and grandson, though. I wish they would move to Canada, Europe, NZ. Even if I never saw them again, at least they might be safe–safer than staying in the U.S. Of course, eventually NO place will be safe, but I expect to see Russian boots of American soil and President Putin formally taking over the country. I think many of us on Celebitchy can identify with Cassandra in Greek mythology. She was cursed to utter prophecies which were true but which no one believed. This is where we are.

  19. Surly Gale says:

    Please forgive my ignorance with this question: Have any white players taken the knee in solidarity? I looked quickly but didn’t find any pictures indicating white players had supported Colin K’s protest….which, for the record, as a white person, I found classy and deeply moving. It appalls me what Mr. Trump is saying. It hurts me to know there are STILL many who believe him.

    • Swack says:

      If you google “player’s taking knee during anthem pictures”, you will see many with white players also taking a knee.

  20. Lila says:

    The irony of the NFL owners action to make players kneel when the national anthem is played, is that they have taken Trumps idiot statements and have hyper-politicized the anthem for every black player, for every potential anthem singer, Super Bowl half time performer, private citizen, and football sports fan. That few minutes before a game will now look like a forced nationalistic display. Honestly, it is a violation of one’s First Amendment rights.

    • WingKingdom says:

      Ugh, you are so right. I’m genuinely worried that spectators in the stands who don’t rise for the anthem are going to get verbally or physically assaulted by so-called “patriots.” When did patriotic become synonymous with nutjob?

  21. PunkyMomma says:

    I will forever hold the GOP in contempt for their greed and cowardice in allowing Cheeto Mussolini to attack and damage every frickin’ institution in the USA.

    IIRC, Cheeto couldn’t even remember the words to the National Anthem. His remarks regarding throwing people out of the country for taking a knee (or however one chooses to signal a peaceful protest) should also apply to any elected official who can’t remember the words to The Star Spangled Banner.

    Slightly OT: I lived through Watergate and this feels very much like the last few weeks prior to Nixon’s resignation, only on a much more dire scale. Foreign adversaries were not involved with Watergate, and say what you will about Nixon, he didn’t sell this nation to the highest bidder.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Nixon actually did some good things like the Medicaid program and he did care about the program. I like to drive Trumpets crazy by pointing out that Tricia was way prettier than Nagini and she didn’t need the massive amounts of plastic surgery.

      • Chrissy says:

        Wasn’t Nixon also involved in establishing the EPA that is now being decimated by that corrupt, lying scumbag Scott Pruitt ? Even Tricky Dickie might be rolling over in his grave.

    • jwoolman says:

      You recall correctly. We have it on video. Trump was at some game and doing what we all do when we are supposed to sing something and can’t remember the words, sort of mumble and try to repeat what other people are singing a split second after they sing it.

      Considering the fuss he’s made about it, you would think he would at least have practiced. Melania could have taught it to him.

  22. Digital Unicorn says:

    He screams about patriotism and immigrants – people forget that he himself is the child of an first gen immigrant. He mother was not American, she was born and raised in Scotland. Someone doth project too much!!!

    • Beth says:

      And he’s married to an immigrant whose parents are here through chain migration. His foreign immigrant wife had to nudge “patriotic ” Trump to remind him to put his hand on his heart during the pledge of allegiance

    • Indiana Joanna says:

      drump is so unbelievably evil. He does these things to confuse, intimidate, control.

      The NFL owners are cowards and complicit in this evil.

    • jwoolman says:

      Trump’s paternal grandfather (Fred’s dad) was also an immigrant from Bavaria in his mid-teens. Bet he didn’t know much English – his first job was for a German-speaking barber. He wanted to go back to Bavaria when his wife was pregnant, but they wouldn’t take him back. Their gain, our loss.

      Trump’s mother didn’t have any special skills when she arrived. She told immigration that she planned to look for work as a domestic servant. She had just turned 18. English was actually her second language, learned when she went to school. She came from a very poor large Scottish family and benefited from chain immigration – her two sisters had immigrated first.

      Trump’s story was that his mother met his dad “on vacation”, “at a party”. More likely Fred was forced to marry her after getting her pregnant, possibly she worked for his family (they were rich thanks to the efforts of his Bavarian immigrant father). Trump’s parents weren’t exactly thrilled with each other, according to observers.

  23. Rapunzel says:

    Worse than this is Trump’s demonization of undocumented children as “not innocent”

    We are so screwed.

    • Natalie S. says:

      What’s happening at the border -I don’t have words to describe how I feel about it. What we are doing to children -What every Trump voter and supporter is complicit in doing to children -I don’t want to hear ever again about having to understand Trump supporters when the country we are all a part of is doing things like this.

      • Kitten says:

        F*ck Trump-supporters. Deplorable, trash people who voted for a deplorable, trash man.

      • jwoolman says:

        If Americans can’t stop what they are doing to children at the border – is there any way the Canadian government could intervene? The situation is so bizarre. There must be human rights violations involved somehow.

        The Trumpies did the same kind of thing when Trump ordered the first attempt at a Muslim ban. One little boy (about five years old) was isolated from his mother at the airport for at least several hours. I would have been terrified. And those were legal arrivals – they had already jumped through all the required hoops before they even got on the plane to come here, either as refugees or holding proper visas.

    • Kitten says:

      It gets worse every day. ICE is essentially operating as a mercenary, rogue agency created to psychologically torture and detain immigrants.

      I am so scared for Americans who were not born here. I am so scared for us. We are in really up shit’s creek.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        ICE is really out of control. I share your fears. Honestly, I worry for any human being in the United States that speaks a language other than English.

  24. Léna says:

    I watched the last episode of The Handmaid’s Tale this morning and I cried because in a way it hit home. Now I’m starting to understand why. And I’m not even american.

    • Anastasia says:

      I couldn’t even watch the entire first season. Too chilling, and too possibly real. It gave me nightmares.

      • Léna says:

        It gave me nightmares too. I dreamed I was one of those Handmaid. I woke up sweating.

      • jwoolman says:

        I’ve been afraid to even try watching The Handmaid’s Tale. Sounds entirely too depressing, and I’m depressed enough by the daily news.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I watch it for survival tips. It sounds hyperbolic, but it is the honest truth.

    • tracking says:

      Yes, the writers have made a point this season of stressing how fascist regimes begin, and how regular folks tend to brush off the obvious signs. It is chilling, and hard to watch. I am thankful the last episode ended on a glorious note.

    • Léna says:

      @Tiffany 🙂 have you come with any good tip or advice for survival? haha I want some too
      It feels like if you want to survive at some point you have to side with the powerfuls and awful people, and that’s depressing

  25. Indiana Joanna says:

    Horrible. Shades of the beginning days of a totalitarian society.

  26. cr says:

    Oh, and Trump cancelled the NK summit.
    From the letter announcing the cancellation:
    “You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used,” Trump wrote.

    • Lightpurple says:

      Bolton wrote the letter

    • Lindy79 says:

      Oh Christ.

      However, in a way, I’m glad. He was riding this as something other Presidents had failed to do and he was the only one because he is so great when in fact it was obvious to anyone with an ounce of intelligence that this was a pointless exercise and never going to happen and could potentially have had catastrophic consequences but of course his racist fan base were cheering it on as some fat lump heading over to a country to show them whose boss. His basic lack of understanding of diplomacy and how things works is just baffling and infuriating.

      • Kitten says:

        Same.

        The thing is, I think most of us rational folks saw this coming because most of us understand how fragile, complicated and tenuous our relationship with NK is. We also know that KJU has a history of playing games with foreign leaders. The only idiots who didn’t foresee this coming are his brainwashed followers. Trumpsters know ZERO about foreign policy because they’re insular f*ckstains who still subscribe to the fallacy that America is the greatest and doesn’t need allyship with any other country. Unless of course, it’s Trump doing deals with China and Saudi Arabia. And by “deals” I mean deals that help to further enrich Trump’s companies, not “deals” that would actually benefit the American people.

        Gah! What do I do about this incessant rage I have? It’s so consuming and so toxic but I am just so f*cking ANGRY.

      • Rapunzel says:

        +1 Lindy and Kitten. KJU has had family members killed. He doesn’t care that his people starve. He was never going to be scared of the juvenile former host of the celebrity apprentice, a man so infantile and ignorant that he thinks calling a foreign leader rocket man on Twitter is effective leadership.

      • Lindy79 says:

        Yes Kitten, exactly!!

      • Beth says:

        He definitely cancelled this as it became clear that Kim Jong Un was playing games and would humiliate Trump by not showing up or refusing any deal. Did Trump actually believe that a dictator whose family legacy involves nuclear weapons would be willing to get rid of them all? No Nobel Peace Prize for Trump

      • Jerusha says:

        “Gah! What do I do about this incessant rage I have? It’s so consuming and so toxic but I am just so f*cking ANGRY.”

        @Kitten. Check Pete Souza’s IG today. It’s hilarious. Also, I fantasize ways of going medieval. It helps. And working to elect Dems who will, hopefully, burn his a$$.

    • Elkie says:

      No Nobel Prize for Five Deferments Donnie. SAD.

      And maybe if the Trump Administration was actually doing something about police brutality against minorities the players would be standing, but sure, it is the latter who are the REAL problem…

      • Juls says:

        I think people (not anybody here, just in general), may be giving Trump too much credit by saying he realized he was being played by NK. It’s much simpler: He wasn’t gonna get his Nobel that he (or his base) demanded, so he said screw it, I’m out. It’s the equivalent of a child saying “I don’t get to be the captain of the team? Fine! I’m gonna take my ball and go home! ”
        Obama has his, so King Nothing must have one as well!

    • Alexandria says:

      As a Singaporean I am glad he is not coming. Such a drain on our resources and manpower.

  27. Tania says:

    I stopped watching the NFL when they punished a dog fighting QB with suspension and continued to allow wife beaters play the game. The message then was we care about animals more than women.

    Prior to that watching football on Sundays with my Dad and brothers was a regular thing. I can’t say I miss it at all. Them treating Kaepernick as they have will harm them.

    If the players were smart, every single white player would kneel every single anthem of every single play. Every single POC player should walk away from the game. This is where, “principles only mean something if you stand by them when it’s inconvenient” (The Contender).

    • Kitten says:

      What about the players union? Can’t they tale this to the courts or am I being naïve?

      C/Bers familiar with law: anybody know if this is an option?

      • tracking says:

        I’d like to know this, too. How can the players be denied their First Amendment rights? But the NFL’s legal team would have vetted this, so we need to know more.

  28. Swack says:

    The NY Jets owner said that it was the players’ decision whether to take a knee or not. And while he would like them to stand, he will pay whatever fines are levied against the team and individual players. At least there is one owner with some balls.

    • Kitten says:

      Yes but a gentle reminder that Woody Johnson (Jets co-owner) was given an ambassador position (to UK) from 45. That doesn’t negate Chris Johnson’s admirable stance, but it does make me side-eye the Jets ownership in general. Then again, Belichick accepted an offer to work with Trump’s “sports council”. He’s tainted AF, too.

      I think this year is going to be the year that I quit watching the NFL. It sucks because I look forward to football season every year but last year was bad enough with how they treated Colin but this sh*t? Nah. The owners are as complicit as Ivanka at this stage. Sigh.

      • Swack says:

        Thanks for the info. I don’t watch football, never have. At the very least he is supporting his players.

  29. ORIGINAL T.C. says:

    So this week, we have a defendant in a criminal case being allowed to find out the name of the FBI’s informant. The same crocked defendant stepped into matters of a private organization and is forcing the employees to be denied of their first amendment rights. So in another 6 months it will be illegal not to stand and salute our Dear Leader Trump? The media will be jailed if they don’t write made up positive news about him? This is not about football players or only minorities, this is the road to fascism and Americans should stop treating Trump like a harmless joke.

  30. Eric says:

    Now that the summit that was to never happen got axed (“write or call me”), Emperor Zero has tons of time to sit down and have a chat with Mr Mueller.

    Go on Orangeutan…have at it
    Chicken$&£€

    • B n A fn says:

      How is he going to get the Nobel peace prize? What’s going to happen to the commencement coins now. Now, watch the spin from his people begins, bhaa, bhaa,

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      I just read the letter – its a veiled threat of war (the mine is bigger than yours) and its something that he wrote himself as you can tell by the language and grammar used.

      • jwoolman says:

        The comments from the North Koreans that bothered Trump came after Mike Pence threatened them again. He said something about dealing with Kim as we dealt with Khaddaffi in Libya, who gave up his nuclear program and you know the rest. And this after withdrawal from the Iran deal, proving that the US does not keep its word about economic incentives in return for stopping a nuclear weapons program and won’t believe the results of international monitoring of compliance with such agreements. So what’s the point? The US also has a history of flattening North Korea just with conventional weapons.

        I don’t think anybody in his right mind would give up nuclear weapons when dealing with a hostile United States. Kim can stop testing with no trouble, just as the US was eventually able to sign treaties promising no more certain types of testing. At some point, the tests are no longer necessary and I think North Korea is at that point. They just had to prove they could deliver a nuclear weapon if needed to US territory.

        But how else do you keep Russia and the United States from using their huge nuclear arsenals to annihilate you other than being able to threaten them with a bit of damage yourself?

        Trump can’t be involved in negotiating anything. He doesn’t know anything about nuclear weapons or ways to monitor compliance with treaties. He wants more and more nukes at his command, instead of getting serious about working to denuclearize everybody (starting with Russian and the US, who are the biggest dangers to the world). And he knows less than nothing about Korea. Let the North and South Koreans work things out, ignoring the lunatic in the White House.

  31. Tanya says:

    Sure! Hook me up with a flat in London, preferably Pimilico.

  32. Blythe says:

    No one is protesting a song with words, you lumpy piece of sheet.

  33. Happy21 says:

    Dictator Donnie Dumbass

  34. Valerie says:

    It’s just a song, you orange pile of garbage.

  35. lamaga_hyun says:

    F___ him. Just F___ him. I know too many people–myself and partner included–who are legit leaving this country due to what has been happening. At the risk of sounding alarmist, it’s actually unsafe for so many people. I’ve lived outside the US and in a lot of places, it’s better.

  36. Olive says:

    oooooh do I get to pick where I get thrown out to? would love to live in Sweden!

    • Fluffy Princess says:

      Oooh! If I can pick too, I’ll move close to you in either Finland, Denmark, Sweden or Norway.

      • jwoolman says:

        Here’s a song that can be taken as advocating Norway:

        The Song of Donald: A rather devastating parody (from The Parody Project) of the Song of Ronald from the Norwegian point of view, in response to Trump’s wishing we had more immigrants from Norway:

        https://youtu.be/gq5WTNmyDaY

  37. Case says:

    This makes me so angry I’m ready to cry. I hate this man more than anything on the planet.

    The NFL is stripping these players of their right to free speech. It is shameful what this country has become. Or rather, what it is revealing itself to have always been.

    Side note: I admire the hell out of Kaepernick. He lost his job to stand up for what he believed in, and continues to do wonderful charity work. What a fine man in a terrible time.

  38. Neelyo says:

    I hope this isn’t forgotten by next year and everyone starts tuning into the Super Bowl ‘just for the commercials’ or the half time act.

    Do not support the NFL in any way.

    • jwoolman says:

      As long as you tune in for the commercials, the owners will be happy. The game is played to bring in money from the commercials.

      • Neelyo says:

        That’s why I’m always grossed out by people who watch the Super Bowl ‘just for the commercials’. You’re watching something not to be entertained by the content, but the advertisements?!?

        If that isn’t the most depressing statement about capitalism, I don’t know what is.

  39. Cher says:

    He should be thrown out of America.

  40. Veronica says:

    And nationalism continues on its rise.

  41. Sara says:

    He’s still here?

  42. NotSoSocialButterfly says:

    And the fascist goes after 1A rights. He’s got his propaganda news network working overtime. He’s got corrupt supporters in the House. He’s actively trying to damage the reputation of the intelligence community, and the Judicial branch. He’s currently undermining the free press every chance he gets, has attempted partial border closure many times, and has co-opted the armed forces for policing boarders.

    HOW CAN ANYONE **NOT** SEE THIS AUTOCRAT IS ON HIS WAY TO BECOMING A FULL-BLOWN FASCIST????????

    Get this fascist f&ck out of the OO and into federal prison.

    • Giddy says:

      Madeleine Albright is on the best seller list with her book, Fascism, A Warning. She calls out Trump and his minions.

  43. Aren says:

    Taking a knee is not even disrespectful; turning your back, sitting down, or crossing your arms, are a different story.

  44. seraph7 says:

    This treasonous bastard’s not content with wrecking your country, now he wants to destroy our NHS as part of his shitty trade deal.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Thanks for the heads up! I didn’t hear about this, so I did a search. WTF. He knows NOTHING about how insurance or drug prices work. The US isn’t subsidizing the rest of the world’s drug costs. We are being price gouged by corporations because our gov’t ALLOWS them to price gouge us. Making the UK pay more will not impact what Americans pay for medication.

      He’s such a freaking idiot!

  45. Shaz says:

    So has this moronic asshat amended the constitution to prevent freedom of speech and replaced it with an amendment that says only the most idiotic person to ever hold public office is allowed to have free speech? He’s turning a once powerful country into a (hopefully temporary) banana republic.