Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin on President Trump: ‘He’s an idiot, plain and simple’
May 24, 2018, 2:37 PM | Updated: 3:00 pm
Doug Baldwin made pointed comments about President Trump on Thursday. (Matt Pitman photo)
(Matt Pitman photo)
Seahawks Pro Bowler Doug Baldwin already made news Wednesday on Bob, Groz and Tom, taking a stance against the NFL’s new policy for national anthem protocol. On Thursday after the team’s OTA practice, he upped the ante.
Asked about President Donald Trump, who said the NFL did the ‘right thing’ with its new policy, Baldwin didn’t mince words.
“He’s an idiot, plain and simple,” Baldwin said. “I respect the man because he’s a human being, first and foremost. He’s just being divisive, which is not surprising. It is what it is. But for him to say anybody who doesn’t follow his viewpoints or his constituents’ viewpoints should be kicked out of the country, it’s just not very empathetic, it’s not very American-like actually to me. It’s not very patriotic. It’s not what this country was founded upon.
“It’s kind of ironic to me that the President of the United States is contradicting what our country is really built on.”
That statement, no doubt, will surround Baldwin with plenty of controversy in the coming days.
In an appearance Thursday on FOX News, Trump applauded the NFL’s new rule that teams will be fined if any players that are on the field during the national anthem don’t stand.
“I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms but still I think it’s good, you have to stand proudly for the national anthem,” Trump said. “Or you shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country. You have to stand proudly for the national anthem and the NFL owners did the right thing if that’s what they’ve done.”
As for Baldwin, he also expanded on his and his teammates’ opinions on the new anthem policy after having a day to think about it.
“We’re still processing it, to be honest with you. It’s a little traumatizing so it’s gonna take us a while to process it,” Baldwin said. “Absolutely (the new policy has the potential to be more divisive). I think that the NFL really missed it this time.”
Salk: How the NFL got the national anthem policy right and wrong
