U.S. ‘declared war’ and we’ll fire: N. Korea
PRESIDENT TRUMP on Monday remained on the offensive against the NFL — and called in his press secretary to back him up.
Trump ran his gridiron grumbling play for the fourth day in a row, starting his morning with another Twitter rant berating the NFL for letting its players protest the national anthem — urging the league to fall in line with NASCAR.
But even as Trump ramped up the pressure, a major supporter threw his campaign for another loss by showing support for the protests.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones — who gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee — took a knee ahead of the “Monday Night Football” contest with the Arizona Cardinals in Phoenix.
He and his Dallas team locked arms and sank to one knee during introductions. But when the anthem began, the team stood — still with locked arms. The Cardinals also locked arms but stayed upright.
NASCAR threatened on Sunday to fire drivers and crew members who protested the anthem during its Cup series race in New Hampshire, even as more than 100 NFL players kneeled or locked arms in solidarity during their games. Some NFL teams stayed off the field entirely during the anthem.
“So proud of NASCAR and its supporters and fans. They won’t put up with disrespecting our Country or our Flag — they said clear!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s White House team lined up behind him, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling NFL players hypocrites.
“I think that it’s always appropriate for the President of the United States to defend our flag, to defend the national anthem and to defend the men and women who fought and died to defend it,” Sanders said in her daily briefing, which was consumed by questions about the NFL beef despite a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, continuing tensions with North Korea and the Republicans’ ultimately doomed Senate bid to repeal Obamacare.
Sanders claimed it was “hypocrisy” for players to challenge the national anthem as a protest against police brutality and suggested NFL stars should instead focus on the cops in their stadiums.
“I think if the debate is really for them about police brutality, they should probably protest the officers on the field that are protecting them instead of the American flag,” Sanders said.
Many in the sports world pushed it loud and back against the President — including Trump pal Tom Brady, the New England Patriots’ star quarterback.
“I certainly disagree with what he said,” Brady told the “Kirk and Callahan” radio show in Boston. “I thought it was just divisive.” NBA All-Star LeBron James also took aim at Trump, who he called “a bum” over the weekend. He said Trump doesn’t get that kids look to him for guidance and leadership.“That’s what makes me more sick than anything,” James said, adding he “doesn’t understand the power that he has for being the leader of this beautiful country.”
Trump insisted he was just standing up for the flag — despite criticism that he was essentially singling out black athletes who were kneeling during the anthem to protest racism.
"The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem,” he tweeted. “NFL must respect this!"
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is African-American, started the kneeling trend last year as a statement against police brutality toward black Americans.
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t seem too revved up about Trump’s support for his sport.
“All Americans R granted rights 2 peaceful protests," Earnhardt (photo inset) wrote in a tweet. NORTH KOREA’S foreign minister said Monday that President Trump has “declared war” on the Communist country and given Kim Jong Un license to shoot down any U.S. warplanes near his nation.
“At last, he declared a war on our country,” Ri Yong Ho told reporters in New York City, referring to Trump’s incendiary United Nations speech last week about North Korea and his tweet over the weekend that Kim might “not be around much longer.”
“Even the fact that this comes from someone who is currently holding the seat of the United States presidency, this is clearly a declaration of war,” Ri said.
Ri added that North Korea now has “every right to take countermeasure,” including shooting down U.S. bomber planes flying in international territory.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “We’ve not declared war on North Korea. Frankly, the suggestion of that is absurd.”
She added it was “never appropriate” to threaten to shoot down planes.