The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Elliot: Trump waging war with NFL to compensate for struggle to deliver on agenda

Going to war with the NFL appears to be cheaper than going to war with North Korea.
Donald+Trump+gives+a+speech+during+the+Freedom+Summit+in+the+Hoyt+Sherman+Place+in+Des+Moines+on+Saturday%2C+Jan.+24%2C+2015.+During+he+speech%2C+Trump+said+he+was+concidering+running+for+office.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FMargaret+Kispert%29
Donald Trump gives a speech during the Freedom Summit in the Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. During he speech, Trump said he was concidering running for office. (The Daily Iowan/Margaret Kispert)

So I see (with my glasses on, anyway) that Our Great Leader, eyes always on the future and what greater swamps he can create, has decided to go to war with the NFL.

And the Golden State Warriors, just for good measure.

Well, cheaper than going to war with North Korea, I guess. And it has the added benefit of not costing millions of lives.

The Trumpster, it appears, is at his breaking point because some NFL players (fewer than 10, as of a week or so ago) have refused to stand for the national anthem to protest racism and injustice in America. What’s the big deal? you wonder. Outside of, of course, injustice and racism are such big deals that white America doesn’t want to discuss them.

RELATED: Former national-security adviser talks North Korean diplomacy

But not standing for “The Star-Spangled Banner”? That hardly seems to be the stuff that would topple the Great American Republic. Especially given that the song wasn’t adopted as the national anthem until 1931, and the Great American Republic seemed to shamble along (replete with injustice and racism) just fine without it until then.

But the Trumpster’s breaking point seems to be that of a 3-year-old’s in daycare. (Yes, I have volunteered in a daycare, so I was lucky enough to become familiar with a 3-year-old’s breaking point. More than once or twice or 40 times.)

So we were treated to the grand adventure of hearing the Trumpster in an Alabama speech labeling protesting NFL players as unpatriotic and SOBs who should be fired. Followed by 15 or so tweets echoing the same. (The Trumpster tweets so much so fast, and so nonsensical, that often I wonder if he’s really a bot. Makes a certain sense, in a time that not much does.)

Let’s see; 15 tweets about NFL players not standing for the national anthem, zero tweets about Puerto Rico and its struggle in the aftermath of the stunning hurricane that ravaged the American island. Priorities, you know.

By the by, you ever wonder why this White House seems to think it can fire people who work in private industry? Yeah, me too. Yet another symptom of botness.

So now we have Our Great Leader in a rage about NFL players, calling them unpatriotic and bellowing that they don’t support the troops, the first-responders, and anyone else he can think of in the moment. When all they are doing is exercising their freedom of speech.

Let them protest on their own time, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says. He’s the person who wanted a military jet to fly him and his bride on their honeymoon in Europe. Apparently, he didn’t want to fly on his own time. Or dime.

And so how did things work out this past NFL Sunday? Protesters that had numbered around 10 became hundreds of protesting players. NFL owners (many of whom voted for the Trumpster) backed the players. As did the NFL commissar. (Oops, I meant commissioner. It just slipped out.) Yep. Our Great Leader sure knows how to wage a war. I can hardly wait for the war with North Korea.

RELATED: Elliot: ESPN reporter is right about President Trump

Now, cynics (not me, of course) could wonder, or muse or ponder or mull, whether the Trumpster took aim at the NFL players because the newest version of the GOP health-insurance plan seems to be in trouble, yet again. So why not change the landscape? Or streetscape? Or some kind, any kind, of scape? Escape, anyone?

That GOP Obamacare-repeal plan apparently has more second, fifth, and 17th sequels than the Fast & Furious franchise. Which means that it will probably still be making comebacks in our great-grandchildren’s time. (Wait till you see the tattoos then.)

More to Discover