Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Took a Knee on the Floor of the House to Protest Donald Trump
PHOTO: Bill Clark/Getty Images
After Donald Trump spent the weekend insulting NFL players who protest racial injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, anger and frustration over the President’s remarks rocketed throughout the country—even reaching the floors of Congress.
Yes, on Monday evening Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee stood before the House of Representatives and criticized Trump for his recent comments. In case you missed it, the controversy started last Friday when Trump brought up the NFL player protests during a campaign rally in Alabama. ” “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now—out, he’s fired,” he told the crowd before spending the weekend (and well into Monday) tweeting about this issue.
“There is no basis in the First Amendment that says you cannot kneel on the national anthem or in front of the flag,” Jackson Lee said. “There is no regulation that says that these young men cannot stand against the dishonoring of their mothers by you calling them, ‘fire the son of a b,’ You tell me which of those children’s mothers are a son of a b. That is racism. You cannot deny it, you cannot run for it, and I kneel in honor of them.”
https://twitter.com/JacksonLeeTX18/status/912484062341865472
The Texas Democrat then dropped down on one knee to show solidarity with the NFL players—and forcefully reproach the President.
“I kneel in front of the flag and on this floor. I kneel in honor of the First Amendment,” Jackson Lee continued. “I kneel because the flag is a symbol for freedom. I kneel because I’m going to stand against racism. I kneel because I will stand with those young men, and I’ll stand with our soldiers, and I’ll stand with America because I kneel.”
Jackson Lee is not the only member of Congress to speak out against Trump’s recent outburst. Fellow Congressional Black Caucus member John Lewis (D-Ga.) shared a similar sentiment on Twitter, saying that the NFL players are following “a long tradition.”
Related: MLK’s Daughter Had the Perfect Response to Critics of the NFL National Anthem Protests