President Donald Trump viewed his attacks on kneeling National Football League players as a beneficial political wedge issue, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The revelation came in a sworn deposition by Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones, who recounted a phone call from the commander-in-chief last fall.
“This is a very winning, strong issue for me,” Trump reportedly told the billionaire team owner.
“Tell everybody, you can’t win this one. This one lifts me,” Trump continued.
The White House claims the President was actually advising Jones on the best course for America and the good of the sport of football.
“The majority of the American people agree with the president, love our country, love our flag and believe it should be respected,” the White House argued.
Trump’s influence over NFL owners is central to a collusion lawsuit filed by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was allegedly blackballed by the league for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
Secret recordings revealed NFL owners feared Trump would attack them for hiring Kaepernick.
Trump called Kaepernick a “son of a b*tch” — something he didn’t even say about the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally murderer.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to:
[email protected].