President Trump Takes Shot at Athletes Protesting During the Anthem in SOTU

Trump: “Preston’s reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us … why we proudly stand for the National Anthem”#SOTU https://t.co/8UrwdIQhDZ

— Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) January 31, 2018

In a thinly veiled dig at NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others who followed his lead, President Donald Trump said that those who revere America stand for the national anthem.

Trump segued from a story about 12-year-old Preston Sharp, who started a movement to mark veterans’ graves with flags on Veterans Day, into what “our civic duty as Americans” is, which includes standing for the anthem.

“Preston’s reverence for those who have served our Nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.”

Kaepernick famously took a knee during the national anthem before a game to show support for and solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and other athletes followed suit. Trump has publicly denounced the action, saying the NFL should have fired Kaepernick.

Meanwhile, the judicial system has ruled that actions that fall into Trump’s category of “civic duty” are unconstitutional to force. As laid out in the 1943 Supreme Court case West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, choosing not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance is a First Amendment right.

Exercising that right, too, is American, President Trump.

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

from Mediaite http://ift.tt/2DNBLOk