President Trump retweeted a photo of a war widow to remind his followers the importance of standing for the National Anthem on Thursday.
“So beautiful,” he wrote to his 46 million Twitter followers. “Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel!”
So beautiful….Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! https://t.co/tJLM1tvbvb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018
The original photo, which shows a war widow with a newborn child lying by her deceased soldier’s grave, was tweeted out in September by a young Trump supporter.
We stand to honor those who fought and died defending the greatest nation the world has ever known. God bless our vets! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/Oez8pI1lzZ
— CoreyJones (@CoreyLMJones) September 16, 2017
And while most anti-Trump media outlets took issue with some of his other tweets with similar time stamps, Yahoo! Sports writer Jay Busbee just couldn’t leave this one alone.
He first takes a swipe at this “meme” by reminding readers that it’s “months-old” at this point, as if its age destroys its credibility.
Somebody tell this guy that photos don’t lose meaning just because they’re a little old.
10 Key Statistics About the Battle of Iwo Jima https://t.co/Tse50sEB2e #ww2 pic.twitter.com/WCaFSxQkcr
— WW2 History (@madefromWW2) December 18, 2017
But Busbee has the audacity (or ignorance) to speak for veterans everywhere. That’s right — the pasty sports and fantasy writer who poses in front of fireworks probably to look cool — thinks he has the authority to act as the voice of US soldiers everywhere.
He says:
Leaving aside the question of whether it’s appropriate to use a military widow’s grief purely for scoring political points, Trump’s tweet continues to push the narrative that the protests are disrespectful to the military…Many veterans have indicated that they fought to defend not a flag or an anthem, but the freedoms that flag and anthem represent, including, of course, the freedom to protest.
Thank goodness we have people like Jay Busbee to bravely stand up for veterans and serve as their voice.
The last time I checked, Yahoo! Sports writers were not in charge of veterans. They don’t serve veterans, and most of them sit in cozy offices sipping lattes and can’t remember the last time they thanked a veteran. Two entities are allowed to speak for veterans: the commander In Ccief and veterans themselves. Donald Trump happens to be one of those things.
So, Jay Busbee, continue to write your progressive drivel about how Kaepernick is such a selfless citizen because he’s “donat[ed] nearly a million dollars to charitable causes.” Continue to brag to your Twitter following about how delightfully controversial your NFL views are.
The rest of us will sit back and mock you for being a sorry excuse for a patriot.