Time Trump spends on ‘take a knee’ tweets doesn’t bother Grassley

CEDAR RAPIDS - Although the American public is rather evenly divided between those who support President Donald Trump's condemnation of professional athletes taking a knee during the national anthem and those who don't, Sen. Chuck Grassley isn't concerned about the amount of time the president is spending on the issue.

Trump has inspired an intense debate whether NFL players should stand when 'The Star Spangled Banner” is played before sporting events - and even whether the song should be played as a regular part of those events.

Some players have chosen to kneel during the national anthem in what began as a protest against racial injustice. Others are now taking a knee to show solidarity over peaceful protest.

Trump launched the firestorm last week at a campaign rally in Alabama, when he suggested NFL owners should fire players who refuse to stand during the anthem and encouraged fans to leave the stadium if players don't show more respect for the flag and anthem.

Since then, Trump has come under criticism for devoting too much time to the kerfuffle - rather than, for instance, focusing on hurricane relief, especially for devastated Puerto Rico, and on other pressing issues.

Grassley, a prolific tweeter himself, suggested Wednesday that Trump's time spent on the flag issue may not be as great as media coverage might make it seem.

'I don't know how much time he spends thinking about it, but if he tweets as fast as I do - and that's not very fast - and he tweets three or four times a day, he's spending three to four minutes on it,” Grassley said during his weekly conference call with Iowa reporters.

However, Grassley acknowledged that Trump's flag tweets are getting more publicity than his actions and comments on other issues on the presidential agenda. If that's the case, 'then the media is leaving a false impression,” Grassley said.

The Iowa Republican declined to take a position on whether players should stand during the anthem but did share his thoughts on taking a knee.

'I would rather not comment on what individuals do that they call freedom of speech,” Grassley said. 'But when a knee is involved, I figure that the only time you get on your knees is when you pray.”

According to a Firehouse Strategies poll released Tuesday, about 38 percent of Americans surveyed agree with Trump's contention that players who kneel should be fired, while 39 percent disagree.

Overall, however, 64 percent say that the president should focus on other issues.

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