Trump sets anthem example
speech in Nashville, “and we want our national anthem respected also.”
The college teams remained in their locker rooms during the anthem.
The president then watched the game from a private box overlooking the Alabama sideline flanked by ROTC students. The Tuscaloosa News reported that he was scheduled to appear on the Alabama radio broadcast during the game.
A few dozen protesters took a knee in cold, light rain on a sidewalk near the venue, shouting slogans against the president.
“Black lives matter! Women’s lives matter and immigrants’ lives matter!” the protesters chanted.
“We are getting the message out across the country to everyone that is agonizing and very angry and fearful of the fact that we are facing down a fascist regime and it needs to be stopped,” said Tee Stern, with the group called Refuse Facism ATL.
The NAACP Atlanta branch urged people to wear white and wave white towels when the president arrived at the stadium or when his name was mentioned. Organizers said the show of white was intended to mock the “snowflake” insult that Trump supporters make against the president’s opponents.
Earlier Monday, a largely white crowd in Nashville, Tennessee, cheered at Trump’s reference to kneeling for the anthem and chanted “U-S-A” as Trump pivoted back to scripted remarks about farm policy and deregulation.
Trump also laced Monday’s farm address with references to his promised border wall, his electoral college victory, his Twitter handle, the tax cut he signed, the American flag and the climbing stock market.
Farmers are not entirely supportive of Trump’s trade policies. Trump referred only briefly Monday to his attempt to negotiate changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and he did not excoriate the trade deal as he often does.
Many farmers also rely on immigrants, both undocumented and those who enter through legal means such as the “chain” of family connections that Trump has criticized, to perform agricultural and packing labor.
He told the audience members that they were “happy” they voted for him and “lucky” he gave them the privilege. He announced two executive orders that aim to improve internet service in rural areas.
Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker accompanied Trump. Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has urged the president not to reimpose sanctions on Iran that would break the nuclear deal that Corker argues has worked to keep Iran’s weapons ambitions in check.
The president must, by Friday, renew an executive waiver of certain nuclearrelated sanctions against Tehran or the United States will be in violation of the multinational pact.