White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday said there’s not much to clarify about the administration’s position on some NFL players and coaches who drop to one knee to protest during the national anthem because the issue is “pretty black and white.”
Many NFL teams have staged the protests to call attention to the treatment of minorities in the U.S.
Sanders made the remark during her daily briefing in response to American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan’s question for clarification on President Donald Trump’s condemnation of players and coaches who take a knee during the anthem.
“So the NFL players, from what we’re hearing, it’s not about not having pride. They’re saying they’re patriots, they love this country, but they’re challenging the system and they’re looking at history like the challenge of the system when it came to women’s rights issues as well as civil rights,” Ryan asked. “What does the President say when you look at history and see how people love this country but wanted to challenge the system to make it better?”
“I think if we’re going to look at history we should look at the thousands of Americans who have given their life to protect that flag, to protect that anthem. We should be celebrating those people,” Sanders said, and went on, talking over Ryan’s interjection, “I gave you a chance to answer. I’m going to finish your statement.”
“Sorry. Okay,” Ryan said.
“We should be looking at every way we can to bring our country together, not looking at ways to divide it,” Sanders went on. “The President is simply talking about what we’re for, not about what we’re against.”
“Sarah, wait, to clarify. One second to clarify on that,” Ryan said.
“I don’t think there’s much to clarify,” Sanders replied.
“Yes it is. Yes is is, because this is a big issue,” Ryan said.
“It was pretty black and white there,” Sanders retorted.
“People are very divided on this issue. It is is a racial issue for some people,” Ryan replied. “The players are saying they are thankful for the military service to allow them to have the freedoms to do this. I mean is there some kind of confusion here or is it a ‘us versus them’ kind of scenario?”
“It certainly shouldn’t be,” Sanders said. “This should be a very unifying moment. When the national anthem plays, all Americans should be proud to stand up, salute that flag, salute that anthem and be part of that process.”
San Francisco 49ers’ former quarterback Colin Kaepernick last year refused to stand during the national anthem before a game in late August to protest police violence against black people.
Trump last week said that any “son of a bitch” who protests during the national anthem should be fired, a remark which resulted in renewed protests from NFL players and coaches.
Sanders’ remark, though unfortunately phrased, was far from Ryan’s first clash with a member of Trump’s administration. In March, then-press secretary Sean Spicer accused Ryan of having an “agenda” and scolded Ryan for shaking her head.
Trump himself singled Ryan out for commentary during a barnburner of a press conference in February, when he asked Ryan if she was “friends” with the Congressional Black Caucus and told her to “set up a meeting” with the caucus for him.
Ryan said she had “never” seen anything like the press conference, and called it “a very interesting dynamic.”
“A lot of people assume that all black people know all black people,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the chairman of the caucus, said later. “I laughed it off, but it’s consistent with what we’ve seen from President Trump all along.”
