In Atlanta, at the national championship college football game on January 8, 2018, cameras showed that President Trump did not know all the words to the national anthem. This is extremely controversial as many people are disappointed that their own president does not know the words to the national anthem, which represents pride in the United States. However, others are indifferent towards this as there is no law specifically stating that the president must partake in singing the national anthem. The only obligation for the president regarding the national anthem is under the Flag Code, which states that the president must stand and present his or her attention towards the flag, and that they must have their right hand over their heart.
While President Trump did not violate any laws, many are disappointed in him as he did not know the anthem, yet he recently tried to suspend NFL players that took a knee during the national anthem. These players were trying to raise awareness and fight against racism. In the Sports Illustrated article, the author states that "Trump made comments about how players should stand during The Star-Spangled Banner as a sign of respect and that NFL owners should fire players who protest."
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think it is necessary for the president to sing the national anthem?
2. Do you think that this event is related to the NFL issue?
3. Is Trump being hypocritical?
Links:
BBC
Sports Illustrated
7 comments:
I don't think it is necessary for the president to sing and know the words to the national anthem. As long as Trump was being respectful, it is nit picky to criticize him for not knowing all the words. It seems as though many people are actively trying to find things to criticize Trump about which diminishes the impact of when they criticize him on substantive topics. I don't think it's related to the NFL issue because it is not really an issue of respect. Trump is not being hypocritical in this particular case, although he is hypocritical in almost every other way.
I disagree with Natalie because Trump os being hypocritical. Yes, it is nit picky to criticize him, however, every citizen should know the national anthem since it is sung at almost every single sporting event and Fourth of July Event in the nation. I myself have known the anthem ever since I was little, my immigrant grandparents even know the anthem so for Trump to not know the anthem is a little odd especially since he is the president of our country.
Although not explicitly stated in a law, I do believe that it is at least a little bit embarrassing that the president does not know his nation's own national anthem. There does not need to be a law because it should be a given, especially for a man in his position. While I personally am not offended by Trump's actions (or inaction) here, it does seem a bit odd that a man like Trump who takes pride in America would forget the national anthem. I doubt it is related to the NFL issue and more likely that Trump simply forgot the lyrics.
I think that although it is not technically necessary for the president to know the words to the national anthem, as the representative of the US, the president should definitely know them. It reflects badly on the US as a country if its own president doesn't know the words to the national anthem as it depicts how little national pride Trump has. I can also see how the president not knowing the words of his own national anthem can be viewed as a sign of disrespect to our country, even if it isn't intended. I agree with Gabby in that Trump is being hypocritical in this case, as with many other instances. And while I understand Natalie's point that criticizing Trump on these topics may diminish the impact of substantial ones, I believe that as the President of the US, he should know that he is always in the spotlight and that everything he does will be publicized and nitpicked.
I agree with Natalie and disagree with Gabby. There is no hypocrisy because Trump never criticized anyone for not knowing the lyrics of the national anthem. If he had sat or kneeled, then he would really be a hypocrite, but that was not that case. There is no reason why every citizen should know the national anthem, and it is unfair to expect that everyone have perfect memory just because you do. I think if anything, this was just a slight embarrassment (as Vincent said), and reasonable people in the public will not think much of it and quickly forget it. Of course very zealous Democrats may bring this up from time to time, but it could happen to anyone and even performers have forgotten lyrics when it was their sole job to remember them for those few minutes, which is even more embarrassing, as they are paid to get it right while spectators, president included, are not.
I think it is more ironic than hypocritical that Trump doesn't know/forgot the lyrics to the National Anthem. What he criticized the NFL players for doing is different from what he did, so I find it purely ironic that both concern the National Anthem. I get how one might be so nervous while singing it that they forget the lyrics, but considering that Trump is president and has considerably more public speaking experience than most of the population, he should have made sure he knew them before singing it.
I agree with Erin, that our own President not knowing the national anthem is more ironic than hypocritical. He is supposed to represent the nation and acts like these may reflect bad on the rest of the country. However, I do not think that it should be a requirement for the president to sing the national anthem. Finally, I don't think it is related to the NFL issue, but it is another ironic situation as Trump gets angry at the players for not participating in the anthem, when he doesn't even do it him self. For a man who takes pride in his country, it is slightly odd that he doesn't know/participate in its anthem.
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