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The Memo: Trump stokes culture wars over national anthem | TheHill

posted onJune 6, 2018
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Article snippet: MORE has stepped into the center of the nation’s culture wars again — and one big question is whether it will be to his benefit or detriment. Trump disinvited the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from a White House visit on Monday evening, saying the team was no longer welcome less than 24 hours before the event was due to take place. Instead, Trump held a brief ceremony that the administration billed as a “Celebration of America” at the White House on Tuesday. Trump has returned again and again to the NFL issue, complaining about players who have protested racial injustice by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. To his supporters, he is standing up for patriotic values against cosseted athletes and a broader liberal culture that backs them. To his detractors, he is taking a racially charged stance and stoking white resentment by assailing a sports league in which most players are black. The pro- and anti-Trump camps did find one area of common ground on the specific question of the Eagles event. There was wide agreement that Trump had little choice but to rescind the invitation after it became clear that only a small number of Eagles players were willing to attend. “This is not a disinvitation. They have chosen not to go,” said Grant Farred, a Cornell University professor who has written widely about sport and race.  “The majority of players have said no. This is an embarrassment of Trump and they have forced his hand,” Farred added ap... Link to the full article to read more

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