Mr. Tracinski argues that the symbolism of Colin Kaepernick’s mode of protest — kneeling during the national anthem — was bound to “backfire.” Most Americans, he writes, didn’t see his gesture as a protest against police brutality but, instead, “as a protest against America.” Moreover, Mr. Tracinski thinks that the “the problem of police shootings and excessive use of force [which] has been overhyped, but it is real” will not be resolved if protests are conflated with “blind, unthinking opposition” to President Trump. Read more »

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Jonathan V. Last in The Weekly Standard:



“The point is: Changing this culture of institutional indifference to police misconduct is hard and kneeling down during the national anthem isn’t going to get the job done.”

According to Mr. Last, there are no “winners” in this latest presidential skirmish. Mr. Last argues that “anyone who looks around the country and believes that black folks don’t have a totally different experience with the police than white folks is simply kidding himself.” That being said, he wonders about the aims of the protests: “Once you start protesting open-ended societal problems there’s no obvious endpoint.” For Mr. Last, the only thing this weekend has confirmed is that “the culture war has eaten America.” Read more »

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Rich Lowry in National Review:

“He takes a commonly held sentiment — most people don’t like the N.F.L. protests — and states it in an inflammatory way guaranteed to get everyone’s attention and generate outrage among his critics. When those critics lash back at him, Trump is put in the position of getting attacked for a fairly commonsensical view.”

This weekend proved that President Trump took the White House, in part, because of his “gut-level, political savvy.” His remarks on the N.F.L., writes Mr. Lowry, work as a forceful message for his supporters, who take him “seriously, not literally.” Read more »