While conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh hasn’t been the biggest Trump supporter, for the most part, he’s had the president’s back. He understands what conservatives are up against and that Trump is one of the last lines of defense the nation has against liberal tyranny.
However, in light of Trump’s latest comments about the ongoing NFL protests, and Commissioner Roger Goodell’s subsequent response to them, Limbaugh has become a little uneasy.
As reported at the Daily Caller, on Wednesday Limbaugh said that he is starting to get “nervous” that Trump is able to dictate what NFL players can and cannot do, and said orders like that should come directly from league owners.
“I am very uncomfortable with the president of the United States being able to dictate the behavior of anybody. That’s not where this should be coming from,” Limbaugh said. “His motives are pure, don’t misunderstand. But I don’t think that it is useful or helpful for any employee anywhere to be forced to do something because the government says they must.”
“That scares the hell out of me,” Limbaugh added. “The commissioner should be demanding this. Not the president. We don’t want the president being able to demand anybody that he’s unhappy with…behave in a way that he requires. That’s scary to me, even if the president is somebody I happen to like.”
It’s an interesting perspective coming from Limbaugh. He’s referencing the president’s power of persuasion, how he can simply tweet about something and inspire the action he wants out of people. With the NFL, he tacitly threatened to go after all the tax subsidies they receive, and the next day the commissioner released a memo saying all players should stand for the anthem.
He’s not wrong to suggest that any rules should be inspired and created by the NFL itself, but he may be pearl-clutching a little bit to act like Trump is the one responsible. Remember, all the rage right now is to do the opposite of what Trump says. So much so, that companies across the nation signal against anything the president says and earn all sorts of good-boy points from the Left when they do. So to suggest that the NFL is bowing to presidential Twitter rants is a bit much.
It’s more like the NFL understands that the majority of its fanbase is composed of conservatives or rather middle of the road liberals. And so they’re taking the proper steps to prevent further disaster in their viewership and to quell the seething anger being expressed by fans.
It’s less about being intimidated into action by the president and more about them protecting their bottom line. And it just so happens that doing so coincides with what Trump wants. The president shouldn’t be dictating what private businesses do, but it’s not wrong for him to have an opinion and express it, especially when trashing him and taking the opposite stance is so popular.
Source: Daily Caller