White House says Trump’s stance on kneeling NFL players is ‘pretty black and white’

by Jordan Fabian - 09/28/17 4:13 PM ET

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday defended President Trump’s stance on athlete protests during the national anthem as “pretty black and white.”

“I don’t think there’s much to clarify,” Sanders said. “It’s pretty black and white there.”

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The spokeswoman engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan over Trump’s criticism of the protesting players, most of whom are African-American.

Trump has accused the players of disrespecting the military and the U.S. flag by choosing to not stand during the anthem and has called on the NFL to ban the practice.

Ryan said the controversy “is a racial issue for some people” and suggested the president is papering over the purpose of the protests by accusing the players of bringing in the issue of the military.

“This isn’t an us-versus-them, this would be something that brings our country together,” Sanders responded. “These are symbols of what our country stands for so that’s the opposite of what that is. 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.”

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