Donald Trump renews bizarre 'son of a b****' rant against NFL players after Stevie Wonder takes a knee

Taking a knee: Stevie Wonder at the Global Citizens Festival in New York
REUTERS
Eleanor Rose24 September 2017

Donald Trump renewed his rant against protests by NFL players in fresh comments posted to Twitter on Sunday as the backlash grew against his three-day tirade.

Celebrities including Stevie Wonder have hit back at the president's accusations this weekend that players who kneel during the national anthem are disrespecting America.

The singer-songwriter took a knee in solidarity at a music festival in New York on Saturday night.

However the US president wrote on Sunday morning that fans should boycott games with players "disrespecting our Flag & Country" and blasted NFL games as "boring".

He wrote: "If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!"

In a second tweet, he added: "NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S."

Mr Trump's bizarre weekend-long rant began a speech at a rally in Alabama on Friday night, when the US president said NFL team owners should "fire" players who make protests during the national anthem.

Players across the league have taken a stand by kneeling or raising their fist during The Star-Spangled Banner since the start of last season, including high-profile figures such as Colin Kaepernick, Michael Bennett and Marshawn Lynch.

The gesture is meant to protest police brutality against black people.

During the Friday speech Mr Trump said: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b**ch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired'. Wouldn't you love it?

"Some owner's going to do that. He's going to say, 'That guy who disrespects our flag, he's fired'. And that owner, they don't know it - they're friends of mine, many of them - they'll be the most popular person for a week in this country."

The comments were followed up in a series of Saturday tweets.

They drew sharp responses from some of the nation's top athletes, with basketball star LeBron James calling the president a "bum" on Twitter.

As the hashtag #TakeAKnee trended on Twitter, Stevie Wonder then showed his solidarity with NFL stars at the Global Citizens Festival in New York's Central Park.

Wonder told the music festival: "Whenever you need to interrupt hate, stand down bigotry, condemn sexism and find love for all of our global brothers and sisters every day.

"Tonight, I'm taking a knee for America. But not just one knee, I'm taking both knees, both knees in prayer for our planet, our future, our leaders of the world and our globe - amen."

With the help of his son Kwame Morris, the 67-year-old pop star dropped to one knee, and then the other in front of the cheering crowd.

Wonder then went on to entertain festival-goers with performances of his hits including Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours and Sir Duke - and a cover of John Lennon's Imagine.

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