Below is the tweet the President of the United States released in response to the most recent Nike campaign, which prominently former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick:
Trump tweets about recent Nike campaign
This past week, in honor of the 30 years of Nike's "Just Do It" slogan, Nike released an image of Kaepernick with the saying "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" as the face of the new campaign. Nike knew this would spark controversy, just as Kaepernick's movement of kneeling during the pledge did. In 2016, the well-known quarterback began kneeling during the National Anthem in protest against the ongoing police brutality and social injustice in the country that was built on freedom. Everything Kaepernick did was within his rights, and although there are many other ways he could have taken this stance, he chose to use the biggest platform that he was involved in to stand up (or kneel) for what he believes in.
This, of course, started a ripple effect within the NFL as multiple teams and players started kneeling during the National Anthem. This had negative effects on not only Kaepernick's personal career but the NFL as a whole when many people boycotted the league and said they would not watch until people started "respecting the flag." However, whether it was right or wrong, Kaepernick took the consequences he was given and continued to stand behind his beliefs, and that is the premise behind which Nike is launching their campaign.
Of course, Trump runs to Twitter to express how wrong he believes Nike is and how bad this is going to be for their company. Directly attacking one of the strongest companies, as well as their campaign, is an immature move and honestly just brings more attention to the campaign just as Nike had hoped. The strategy this company used is conflict, and the President of the United States was naive enough to immediately buy into the movement by, again, letting his emotions control his actions.
Citizens of a country simply do not care what their President thinks of the NFL and whether or not he will be watching this season, because they believe he should have things just a little more important to focus on. By participating in the recently established #NikeBoycott, Trump believes he is reaching the majority of the population, but in reality, the people angered by this campaign are in the large minority. Taking a minute to scroll through social media, and read through recent news stories regarding the issue, would show Trump that Nike has many more supporters than they do protesters, as well does Kaepernick. Trump's actions are childish and do with lack of knowledge on the subject, which rightfully causes much frustration and anger towards the leader of this country.