Donald Trump’s day from Hell
You’re Donald Trump. You’re less popular than head lice. Your escalating scandals may land you in prison. People are openly questioning your mental health. You try to appease what’s left of your racist base by attacking black athletes. You take it too far. Within a twenty-four hour period you’ve been condemned by everyone from the biggest star in the NBA to the commissioner of the NFL. Donald, you’re having a day from Hell – and it’s just getting started.
Trump’s hellish twenty-four hour cycle began when he referred to NFL quarterback Colin Karpernick a “son of a bitch” at a rally tonight. He thought he could get away with it, because Kaepernick’s kneel-downs are seen as controversial by a number of moderate white Americans. But it turned out he’d taken things too far, even by his low standards. By today, after NFL stars like Lesean McCoy were calling Trump an “asshole” and worse, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement condemning Trump’s remarks. The owners of the New York Giants did the same. But that was just the half of it.
After NBA star Steph Curry hinted that he would decline to visit the White House, Donald Trump tweeted that Curry and his entire Golden State Warriors were no longer invited. This prompted LeBron James, the only NBA star with even more clout than Curry, to respond by calling Trump a “bum.” Kobe Bryant and others piled on. NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement in support of his players.
Donald Trump has been pushing an openly racist agenda for years, and it’s defined his entire time in politics. But these past twenty-four hours feel like a shift has taken place. Trump has taken his racist attacks so far that even moderate white Americans, who would generally prefer to not to get involved in social issues one way or the other, seem to be finally scratching their heads today at just how dementedly racist Trump is. If so, this will indeed go down as Trump’s ultimate day from Hell. Contribute to Palmer Report
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report