Someone Took A Knee At Donald Trump's Eagles "Fan" Event & It Was Just So Shady
There is honestly nothing in this world that has brought me greater joy this year than what I've just laid eyes on. Someone took a knee at Donald Trump's Eagles "fan" event, which was meant for attendees to show their patriotism on the heels of the ongoing national anthem protests, and just proved to me that not all heroes wear capes. Seriously, the message is more powerful and commendable than I can even begin to explain. (But most importantly, I just really wanna know if this guy is on social media so we can start working on our friendship.)
According to The Hill, the unidentified spectator — dressed in a blue, polo shirt and khaki pants — kneeled while The Star-Spangled Banner was playing at President Donald Trump’s “Celebration of America” event on June 5. The rally was meant to serve as a replacement to the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl ceremony, which Trump appeared to cancel amid renewed furor over national anthem protests, as well as reports that only a few players had planned to attend.
Unfortunately, the kneeler reportedly left before he could give his name or any commentary about his decision to kneel on the lawn of the White House, but take a look for yourself — maybe he looks familiar to you. I mean, I really wasn't kidding about being friends.
With Trump continually missing the message behind the national anthem protests (he views it as disrespect to the United States, the flag, and the song rather than attempts to highlight racial injustice and police brutality), it's refreshing to see someone take a knee right in front of him. All hail this guy.
Trump even appeared to forget the words to “God Bless America" at the event, which makes matters even more surprising. Trump seemed to only know a couple of lines before it became extremely obvious that he didn't know the rest of the words. He did, however, manage to pull it together for the chorus, but it's just like: dude, before you plan a patriotic event, you might wanna make sure you know the words to one of the most patriotic songs ever. Just a thought.
The Eagles visit was canceled on June 4, after Trump announced via a statement that the players had been uninvited because "they disagree with their President," over standing for the national anthem. The statement, per CBS Sports, read:
The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.
In a message shared to his Twitter later in the day, Trump added that the event was also canceled because only a "small number of players decided to come."
Trump simultaneously announced his "Celebration of America" event in the aforementioned statement, which he said would "honor our great country," and "proudly play the National Anthem." The message continued:
The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem.
A random guy taking a knee in protest at the White House probably wasn't what Trump expected when he planned the event. But if you look at it like this: it really wouldn't be a celebration of America if people couldn't use their rights the way they wanted to. Trump might wanna think things like that through for future occasions.
