When I first saw the tweets about Steph Curry and the Sons of Bitches video at the Alabama 1st year president campaign rally I immediately thought this was something different. Donald Trump has been using these incite the base red meat tactics to distract and cause divides for years now. Eight months while being president even. But this time our president seems to have given up all hope of accomplishing anything legislatively or addressing America’s problems. Instead he has given up and is using the racism and nationalism tool to incite the base. But this time it is even more emotional and irresponsible as he is targeting black citizens of the United States and is making no apologies. This has gone from to disappointing and embarrassing to downright dangerous.

The National Anthem is sacred. I have always stood and removed my hat. Taught my kids immediately to do so at their first games. While occurring I usually think about how great our country is. Think about soldiers and our history. No partisan viewpoints. Just country. That is nice isn’t it? Enjoy the National Anthem and be proud to live in and be part of America. Contrary to what people may be thinking this morning that is still the case today in 2017. Some people choose to use this moment to protest or to make a statement and that is fine too. I have never done it. But that is their right as an American citizen and that has long since been decided. Does everyone hear that? The right to protest even during the National Anthem is not up for debate. That was decided long before most of were born. You see it is not really a thing. Some people do it and they have their reasons. Some people can’t stand this and think it disrespects all the military and all those that love this country. That is OK too. But in the final analysis the National Anthem occurs hundreds of times a day at sporting events and it is nice. My guess is that The Donald has spent a lot of National Anthems in luxury boxes talking about himself and disrespecting the country while everyone else is quiet.

Now we have the President of the United States choosing, probably sitting on the toilet or something, to politicize and make rabid his base by playing on emotions related to the National Anthem. He doesn’t care about causes or social anything. He has gone to the bottom and only seeks the kind of sleazy cheers and applause he gets at the campaign style rallies. What can I do next? I will point out that there are black guys who kneel during the National Anthem. Perfect. This is so despicable and I am very offended. For two very different reasons. The first is that he is taking the National Anthem and politicizing and using art of the deal tactics to pervert it into something else. While not illegal it is sleazy and unethical and not honorable. Second, he is pointing out black athletes and lumping them all together into some sort of “they hate America” pie that we will all be forced to eat as Americans if we don’t so something now! Which is a direct appeal to his racist supporters. At this point the level of danger with what Donald Trump is willing to do to receive any approval can’t be ignored.

After 8 months of no accomplishments and no leadership Donald Trump has given up. He knows he is politically dead. The repeal won’t happen. Immigration reform he screwed up. There will never ever be a wall as sure you sit there. Steve Bannon left and that was the real base that got him elected. They are now jumping ship. The Republicans have been exposed as at the very least incapable of promoting and passing laws. Nothing on trade deals. The tax cut that is coming he also knows will be the final act. It will give marginal help to the middle and lower class while rewarding the rich with a huge tax cut. After that there will be no base and he will have betrayed his base in a very measurable way.

So, what is left? Incite the base! Cultivate and care for a divide in the citizens that might get you elected in 2020. Play the racism card! Gross and wrong.

Last week or whenever it was that Jemele Hill of ESPN made her comments I was a little upset over the blanket nature of the comments. Not the tweet portions that called Trump a racist or a white supremacist. Those have merit. Although the term white supremacist I think means you just do anything you can ever to destroy all other races. Like that is your daily schedule. While an idiot useless racist misogynist boob I think Donald Trump isn’t a white supremacist in that sense. The phrase that went “Trump’s rise is a result of white supremacy. Period.” was my pick. Because the fact that the middle and lower classes are living in a real vacuum and that corporations and the elite are cultivating this so the top 1% could prosper at the expense of working people. The swamp message. Those things are real and contributed to Trump’s rise. I didn’t vote for the jerk and never considered it. But lumping all Trump voters into the white supremacist bucket was a little extreme and broad brush angry stuff. I commented on it saying she was wrong but that she shouldn’t be fired. Well a week later I feel differently. This guy is playing the race card at every turn as a last-ditch way to stay relevant and to get applause.

My main take away from the #TakeTheKnee episode in history is the following. Donald Trump took the National Anthem and decided to use it to promote hate and racism in America. Today a lot of players will take a knee and it will be to protest the President of the United States. Hopefully sending him the message to not defile great traditions like the National Anthem for personal political gain. U bum. I stole that last one from Lebron James.