Miami HeraldPresident Donald Trump is under fire after a video emerged showing him fidgeting, joking and pretending to conduct the music during the national anthem during his Super Bowl watch party at Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
The POTUS has been accused of being ‘disrespectful’ for not ‘standing proudly’ in the clip, which was released by a real estate agent who is said to work for a Russian-American firm, according to reports.
It comes after Trump condemned Colin Kaepernick for kneeling in protest against police brutality and inequality during the national anthem, saying, ‘you have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there’.
Check it out here:
Trump caught mocking the National Anthem during the #SuperBowl.
Since we know the GOP takes a zero-tolerance stand against any display of disrespect toward the flag, I expect the right will be offering a full-throated condemnation.
…Any day now.pic.twitter.com/lMcwYfkPog
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 3, 2020
Political host Brian Tyler Cohen shared the video on Twitter writing:
Since we know the GOP (Republican Party) takes a zero-tolerance stand against any display of disrespect toward the flag, I expect the right will be offering a full-throated condemnation.
…Any day now.
In 2018, Kaepernick famously knelt down during the national anthem after he received an open letter from ex-green beret Nate Boyer, who said he didn’t appreciate seeing the football player sitting during The Star-Spangled Banner.
Kaepernick reached out to him to discuss how he could continue his protest without disrespecting the military. Boyer suggested Kaepernick kneel.
Despite trying to go ahead with his protest in a peaceful manner, Donald Trump suggested he shouldn’t even ‘be in the country’.
PA ImagesThe video of Trump has been shared all over social media, with many criticising him for being a ‘hypocrite’.
‘If there was ever a video to use in an anti-Trump commercial, it’s this one showing Trump during playing of the national anthem – fidgeting, waving, moving chairs and then waving his hands around conducting,’ one person wrote, adding, ‘what a great American.’
Others pointed out how many news stations covered the fact Beyoncé and Jay-Z chose to sit during the national anthem while sitting just a few rows back from the pitch at the Super Bowl, by comparison to how few channels covered Trump.
Four different Fox shows ran segments this morning on Beyonce and Jay-Z not standing for the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, "As others stand at attention for anthem, Trump fidgets, points, pretend-conducts the band" https://t.co/aLlVsePlAp pic.twitter.com/4gTcookoSU
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) February 3, 2020
Matthew Gertz, a senior fellow at media watchdog Media Matters, tweeted:
Four different Fox shows ran segments this morning on Beyoncé and Jay-Z not standing for the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, “As others stand at attention for anthem, Trump fidgets, points, pretend-conducts the band”
It will be interesting to see what Trump tweets about this one.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.