Trump praises fans who booed football stars’ racism protest

DONALD TRUMP attempted to rally his conservative base and American football supporters as he drew a new battle line across the US yesterday.

The US president praised fans who booed their NFL teams for engaging in anti-racism protests by kneeling during pre-game playings of The Star-spangled Banner. He also issued a call on social media for fans to “Stand For Our Anthem”.

His focus on the issue was expected to be popular with many conservatives who voted for him in last year’s presidential election. The latest appeal to his core support came as Mr Trump suffered another blow to his efforts to repeal Obamacare. Maine’s Senator Susan Collins came out against the last-gasp Republican health care bill, leaving Republican leaders clearly short of the votes needed for it to pass.

Amid a backlash, one of the NFL’S most recognised star players, Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback who is a personal friend of Mr Trump, accused the president of being “divisive” and said he “certainly disagreed” with him.

More than 150 players, coaches, and some team owners, launched silent protests at games on Sunday, by kneeling or linking arms. A handful of black players had previously made similar gestures in an attempt to highlight racial discrimination in America.

Last week, Mr Trump called them “sons of b------” who should be “fired”.

Yesterday he said on Twitter: “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!”

Initial ratings figures for the NFL on Sunday indicated that Mr Trump’s comments had not had a major effect either way.