After criticizing ESPN for planning on not televising the national anthem before “Monday Night Football” games this season, President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on the network Wednesday. He initiated a petition demanding that ESPN, which he described as “spineless,” show pregame performances of the song.
In an email sent out by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee composed of Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, the president said, “I was the first person to sign this petition. Now I need you to follow my lead and be the second.”
“Just after we heard a sitting governor trash America, ESPN has now decided it will no longer play the National Anthem before Monday Night Football,” Trump said.