It's been a banner week already for the imperial presidency, as the president and his allies declared Monday that Donald J. Trump is above the law and his power cannot be checked by the other institutions of our democracy. But no authoritarian worth his salt would push his claims of "absolute" power without offering his hungry supporters some red meat to help it all go down smooth. And nothing quite meets the appetite like a nice cut of nationalism seasoned with some racist demagoguery.

Few things get The Base going like the president's attacks on the group of primarily black and brown NFL players who dare protest during the national anthem. There's just something about this celebration of American Greatness before The Big Game being interrupted by, in the president's words, "ungrateful" millionaires suggesting that America is not all great, all the time, for everyone. It seems to get people of a certain complexion very, very mad.

And the president got so very mad Monday night that he canceled the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles' customary White House celebration:

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President Trump on Eagles now not coming to White House. Not sure I’ve seen a presidential statement like this before... pic.twitter.com/cH3AOLlcPm — Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) June 4, 2018

It may shock you to learn that this statement, clearly dictated in The Presidential Voice, contains some egregious falsehoods. As one Eagles beat writer soon reminded us in response to an accompanying tweet from our large, adult president, nobody on the Eagles kneeled or stayed in the locker room during the anthem last season:

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No Eagles stayed in the locker room for the national anthem, nor did they kneel. https://t.co/428I29sbdb — Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) June 5, 2018

Never let the truth get in the way of a racialized attack your supporters will vibe with. Also, we should never accept the idea that the President of the United States of America—a democratic republic founded on the essential principle of free expression—has the right to force any citizen to stand when they choose to kneel, or to deny them access to the White House on that basis. The White House is our house, and the president serves us. We are his employers—we do not answer to him. That seems to have been lost in a maelstrom of deranged narcissism over the last year and a half.

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The reality here is that fewer than ten Eagles players planned to attend the ceremony, largely in response to the league's recent decision to essentially ban anthem protests. (The NFL made that decision after sustained pressure from the president.) To have so few people there would have profoundly wounded Trump's ego, so he canceled the event. It was reminiscent of his Mean Girl un-invitation to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, which he explicitly said was because they dared "hesitate" to accept. This prompted on-court rival LeBron James to ride to Curry's defense with one of the great all-time chirps:

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U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up! — LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017

While the 1,000 Philly fans invited to Tuesday's event would have probably liked to see more players there, Trump can't claim he canceled for them. In fact, he just disinvited the few players who wanted to come. The event is still on, in the form of some bizarre jingoistic display that seems to have very little to do with the Philadelphia Eagles winning a Super Bowl:



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We will proudly be playing the National Anthem and other wonderful music celebrating our Country today at 3 P.M., The White House, with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus. Honoring America! NFL, no escaping to Locker Rooms! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

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We have had many Championship teams recently at the White House including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Patriots, Alabama and Clemson National Champions, and many others. National Anthem & more great music today at 3:00 P.M. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018

Meanwhile, the propaganda arm of this presidency has already gotten to work spinning this as a Major Win for Our Big, Strong President against those ungrateful NFL players, who insist on trying to bring attention to racial injustice in policing and the criminal justice system. Fox News, for instance, reported on the un-invitation over photos of Eagles players kneeling on the field. Except, as we discussed, no Eagles players knelt during the anthem last season.

As the Eagles' Zach Ertz pointed out on Twitter, these images depicted players praying before or after the anthem.

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This can’t be serious.... Praying before games with my teammates, well before the anthem, is being used for your propaganda?! Just sad, I feel like you guys should have to be better than this... https://t.co/kYeyH2zXdK — Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) June 5, 2018

Could you ask for a better microcosm of conservatism's decay in this political era? An ideology—and its foremost media dispenser, Fox News—that once prided itself (however performatively) as representing America's religious moral majority engages in outright propaganda in its attempts to shame players by using photos of them praying. A network which once routinely threw hissy fits over the internet needling Tim Tebow for his somewhat dramatic prayer traditions had to smear praying players to support a president who proudly said he's never asked God for forgiveness, declared himself a C+E guy, and once presented a Bible verse as, "Two Corinthians, 3:17—that's the whole ballgame," then added: "Is that the one you like? I think that's the one you like."



(Fox has since issued an apology.)

Of course, this somewhat mirrors some of the nation's Evangelical leaders, who gave Trump—who bragged about grabbing women "by the pussy" and OK'd calling his own daughter a "piece of ass"—a "mulligan" for cheating on his wife with a porn star shortly after the birth of their child, then paying her off to cover it up.

The list of people and institutions who have debased themselves out of fear or fealty to a president completely devoid of scruples or shame is long, and getting longer by the day. Or perhaps they just revealed who they really are. You can now add the NFL to the list, which banned its players from protesting on the field to cater to the president and protect its bottom line, but allowed them to stay in the locker room to avoid a fully punitive decision. With the statement un-inviting the Eagles, Trump signaled that he will slam the players and the league even if players stay in the locker room, a reminder that if you give him an inch, Trump will always take your dignity—and probably your last nickel, too.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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