Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on Trump's NFL war: 'This is the red meat of all red meat' for his base
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith commented on President Donald Trump digging himself further into a crusade against acts of protest in the NFL on Monday.
Smith said Trump is trying to reshape the demonstration some athletes have participated in — kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racism — as disrespect for the US, its troops, and its flag.
"It's very clear that for his base, this is the red meat of all red meat, because they're able to reframe this," Smith said. "They're able to say, 'oh, they're attacking the national anthem. They're attacking the troops, they're attacking the flag' — none of which they're doing. They're not doing any of that," he said.
"They're upset about racial injustice in the country, and they're upset about the things the president has said, and yet he's able to turn it around for his base."
Smith continued: "Isn't this all a play to his base and could it all possibly be so that they don't notice there is no healthcare and North Korea is the biggest mess since the Cold War?"
Watch Smith's comments below:
Fox's Shep Smith: It's being framed as players attacking the anthem, troops, & the flag....that's not what they're doing and we're complicit pic.twitter.com/Ia31dz5Zka
— Media Matters (@mmfa) September 25, 2017
CNN host Don Lemon had similar words on the controversy in his opening monologue, Monday night: "Taking a knee is a constitutionally protected expression. It falls within [National Football] League rules — period. If anyone actually believes this is about the flag, then you must believe that Rosa Parks' protest was about a bus. Think about that."
Watch Lemon's monologue below:
.@DonLemon: Let's set the record straight. Taking a knee at an NFL game was never about the flag or the military. https://t.co/eYmt2XBG8Q
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) September 26, 2017
Trump turned his attention toward the kneeling demonstration on Friday while delivering remarks during a political rally in support of Sen. Luther Strange of Alabama, who faces a primary runoff vote on Tuesday. Trump carried on about the protests through the weekend and all day Monday.
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