| | | | | Washington Redskins players show solidarity during the national anthem before Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images | | | Taking a Knee: What started as a single NFL player kneeling during the national anthem exploded over the weekend into something bigger
Obama Tried to Warn Zuck: Days after the 2016 election, Obama told Mark Zuckerberg to take fake news seriously or it'd be worse in 2020
"Gaga: Five Foot Two" Skips Politics: Lady Gaga's new Netflix documentary has precious little to say about politics | | | | Kate Bennett is off today. | | What Washington Is Talking About:
Senate Republicans received a revised version of the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill Sunday, and the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today about the bill.
What America Is Talking About:
Sports and politics. We'll get into it more below, but I just want you guys to be prepared for what we could be in for. This is a story that strikes at the heart of politics and patriotism, sports and free speech, race and racism. There will be tweets and hot takes. There will be arguments across the country between friends, family, and even strangers online. We may see more players -- pro athletes, maybe even college or high school athletes -- join in protest. Athletes will be asked about it. They'll offer their opinions. Celebrities may weigh in. People may say stupid things on TV. The President may keep tweeting about it. (He was tweeting on the topic as recently as this morning.) We may see sports highlights on CNN and moments from the White House briefing on ESPN. There's no way of predicting how this will play out, but it has all the makings of a culture-dominating news phenomenon. Stay tuned.
What San Juan Is Talking About:
Millions across Puerto Rico are still without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and about 70,000 people were told to evacuate near a dam damaged in the northwest part of the island.
Poll of the Day:
Public opinion of the Republican Party is at all-time low, with 29% of Americans saying they have a favorable opinion of the party, according to a CNN poll. That's the lowest figure since CNN began asking the question in 1992. The previous low was 30%, hit in 2013 following a government shutdown and in 1998, following the House's approval of articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.
Taking a Knee:
What started as a single player, Colin Kaepernick, kneeling during the national anthem last season exploded this weekend into something bigger. President Donald Trump took a topical detour while campaigning Friday in Alabama for Sen. Luther Strange, saying NFL team owners should fire players who refuse to stand during the anthem.
"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired," the President of the United States of America said.
Then on Saturday, "Fox & Friends" aired a segment about Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry wanting to skip the team's White House visit, and at 8:45 a.m. ET -- 5:45 a.m. in California, where Curry was -- Trump tweeted that the invitation had been withdrawn.
"I don't know why he feels the need to target certain individuals, rather than others," Curry said after practice Saturday in Oakland. "I have an idea of why, but it's kind of beneath a leader of a country to go that route. That's not what leaders do."
LeBron James called Trump a "bum." | | Credit: @KingJames/Twitter
On Sunday came a wave of more than a dozen NFL games. It started in London, where the Jacksonville Jaguars played the Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium. Players and owner Shad Khan stood together, arms locked, during the national anthem. Other players took a knee.
Across the league, more than 100 players sat or kneeled, according to a count by ESPN. The Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers opted not to participate in the anthem. The Steelers' Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger, however, stood just outside the tunnel with his hand on his heart during the national anthem (Villanueva's jersey is Fanatics' best selling over the past 24 hours, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell). | | Credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP
This morning, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that all Americans are granted the right to "peaceful protests," and the Patriots' Tom Brady, whom Trump has called a friend, said the President's comments were "divisive." Brady said he's fine with protests during an interview with Boston's WEEI. "As long as it is done in a peaceful, respectful way, that is what our country has been all about," he said.
This may only be the beginning.
Dolphins Safety Michael Thomas Gets Emotional:
There was one response in particular that caught my attention, because of how raw and human it was. In the locker room after Sunday's game against the Jets, 27-year-old Thomas fought back tears as he explained how he felt about Trump's comments as an NFL player and as an African-American father. Watch here if you haven't seen it. Thomas said:
"It just amazes me with everything going on in this world, especially involving the US, that's what you're concerned with, my man? You're the leader of the free world -- this what you talking about? As a man, as a father, as an African-American man, as someone in the NFL, as one of those sons of bitches in the NFL, yeah I took it personal. But as I said in my Twitter post, it's bigger than me. I got a daughter. She's going to have to live in this world. And I'm gonna do whatever I have to do where she can look at her dad and be like, 'Hey you did something. You tried to make a change.' " | | Credit: @OmarKelly/Twitter
Anthony Weiner Sentenced:
A federal judge in New York sentenced the former congressman today to 21 months in prison for transferring obscene material to a minor. Weiner pleaded guilty to the charge in May.
Obama Tried to Warn Zuckerberg:
Immediately after the 2016 election, Mark Zuckerberg called the notion that fake news on Facebook influenced the election "crazy," a view he seems to have moved away from considering how seriously he now takes the problem. But new reporting from The Washington Post that CNN has confirmed found none other than President Barack Obama tried to give the 33-year-old Facebook CEO a wake-up call over how big the problem was. It was on November 19 in Lima, Peru, where both men were attending a meeting with world leaders. In a private room, Obama made a "personal appeal" to Zuckerberg "to take the threat of fake news and political disinformation seriously" or it would get worse come 2020.
The Absent Politics of "Gaga: Five Foot Two":
Lady Gaga's documentary premiered Friday on Netflix. It follows the pop star during the recording of her album Joanne and the lead-up to her halftime performance at the Super Bowl. I, of course, was watching for the politics, and was surprised by how precious little of that was shown. | | Credit: Netflix
While fellow pop star Katy Perry has been vocal about her continued support for Hillary Clinton since her defeat, Gaga doesn't talk about the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. There's footage of her performing at the "Camden Rising" event held during the Democratic National Convention, but there's none of her performances on the campaign trail for Clinton. In one segment, lying on the couch in pain, Gaga jokes when the TV is set to CNN. "Let's put Trump on. That'll knock me out. That'll traumatize me," she said, but that's about as explicit as she gets talking about politics.
There was anticipation she might make a political statement during her Super Bowl performance, just two weeks after Trump's inauguration. But she famously opted for "God Bless America" before jumping into a medley of her biggest hits, offering a message of unity during a time of division (although I'd say performing "Born This Way" in the middle of the biggest football game on the planet is still a pretty big statement). But how her decision to go for "Stronger Together, Still" rather than "Resist" for her performance isn't explored in depth. Instead, we get a conversation about how she wants to defy expectations of what a Gaga Super Bowl show might look like.
"I basically want to do the opposite of what everyone thinks I'm going to do," she said during a meeting about her performance. "Everybody thinks I'm going to come in a f***ing throne, in a meat dress, with 90 shirtless men and unicorns and ... then at the end I'm going to do something shocking that's going to freak everyone out, but that's not in the neighborhood of what we're going to do."
While the documentary is focused on her art, I found it odd how silent she was on politics, considering how public she's been in the past. She notes "the country is in peril" before her Super Bowl performance and makes the case art is the answer.
"This is when it's most important to be an artist and shine," she says. "Government doesn't have the power to change anything in music or in art. I think everyone's going to read into it what they want to read into it. That's the way this goes."
Clooney Hits Trump on "Elites":
George Clooney had some strong words for the President in a Daily Beast interview about his film "Suburbicon," saying it's Trump, and not the majority of Hollywood, who lives in a bubble. I'll just put this here. | | Credit: The Daily Beast
Rock the Vote:
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson posted video of him in a tank top meeting fans and literally holding a baby after a long day of shooting for the upcoming film "Skyscraper" in Vancouver. Now imagine him doing that in Des Moines, Iowa, in a custom athletic-fit suit after a long day of campaigning. | | Credit: @therock/Instagram
Street Art Sighting:
Kaws, the artist behind Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak album and the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Moonman statue, expressed how he felt about pro athletes taking a knee, posting this photo of his signature skull character. | | Credit: @kaws/Instagram
Send me your pics of political street art to coverlinehunter@cnn.com, tweet me @hunterschwarz or tag @cnncoverline on Instagram. | | | | | | |
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