Why President Trump Picked a Fight with Athletes

You’d need to be living under a rock to have missed this weekend’s latest Trump-driven controversy, as he inserted himself into debates over the national anthem and picked a fight with professional athletes. The ensuing firestorm infected what had previously been one of the glaring holdouts from the present “all about politics” culture. (The tech industry lost its immunity a year ago, or longer, and is proving to be poorly adept at navigating the new political landscape.) The presidential escalation in the freshly heated culture wars was notable not for its novelty — Trump has played this card before — but by the organized nature of the backlash from professional athletes and team owners. The dual attacks on critical NBA players and those looking to make a political statement on the NFL sidelines highlighted the dual motivations at the heart of most of President Trump’s actions — in many cases for decades. He seeks respect and attention. In the basketball case, he felt attacked as Steph Curry indicated he didn’t wish to visit the White House. In the case of the NFL, he found a wedge issue that guaranteed he would be at the center of the conversation — and then spun it to his political advantage. Terry Sullivan, Marco Rubio’s former campaign manager, expanded on those themes in an interview with TIME. As much of the focus has been on race, it would be ignoring the simplest explanation to suggest that was Trump&...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Morning Must Reads Source Type: news