RUSH: I have been waiting for this next story to happen. And I was wondering where this story was going to be when it did happen. You might remember in the last 10 days or two weeks, the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady publicly said that he thinks it’d be cool if Donald Trump became president. Now, this does not happen much, professional athletes making such high-profile endorsements. But beyond that, the sports media is as far left-wing as the news media is, and maybe even further left wing in some cases.
So what do I have here? I have an outraged Sports Illustrated story. Headline: “Tom Brady Needs to Answer Questions About His Support for Donald Trump.” Really? Why? Why does Brady have to answer any questions about this? It’s by Aaron Leibowitz, and the story starts this way… “For many, that was reason enough to cheer the four-time Super Bowl winning QB. BradyÂ’s reputation, though damaged, was on the mend. Then Brady expressed support for presidential candidate Donald Trump. It started on Sept. 8, when one of TrumpÂ’s ‘Make America Great Again’ trucker hats was spotted in BradyÂ’s locker.”
By the way, that’s another thing, I’m starting to see people make fun of the baseball caps that Trump wears, like this guy, “a trucker hat.” It’s a baseball cap. What is there to make fun about the cap? No, no, it’s not what it says on it. They are making fun of the way it looks. Well, and that it says “Make America Great Again.” That, to people on the left, is kind of banal. That’s cheap theatric patriotism, and they frown on that. But Trump’s baseball caps look different than any other baseball cap you’re gonna buy out there.
Now, the official baseball cap in this country is made by New Era. New Era makes all the baseball caps for all the Major League Baseball teams. They do make the best baseball cap out there. If you want the authentic cap worn by your favorite baseball team, find one made by New Era. And get one that’s sized, not one of those adjustable things in the back with different holes and you can change the size. That’s not what the professionals wear. They wear hats that are personally sized to their noggins.
But Trump’s is a different design. It’s got a crease in the crown and it’s bigger and it’s made for people with big faces. Nothing looks stupider than a big faced guy wearing a tiny cap. Trump is smart in this way. Now, his caps are not New Era. I have one, but I don’t know, I can’t remember the manufacturer. I’m just throwing in the New Era stuff. But this guy calls Trump’s caps “trucker caps.” Anyway, story goes on.
“Brady explained that Trump had given the hat to Patriots owner Robert Kraft to pass along to the quarterback. Trump, Brady said, ‘always gives me a call and different types of motivational speeches at different times.’ He said their friendship dates back to 2002, adding that ‘itÂ’s pretty amazing what heÂ’s been able to accomplish. He obviously appeals to a lot of people, and heÂ’s a hell of a lot of fun to play golf with.’ Then, on Sept. 16, Brady was asked if Trump has a shot at becoming president. ‘I hope so,’? Brady said. ‘That would be great. ThereÂ’d be a putting green on the White House lawn. IÂ’m sure of that.'” This guy adds, “(ThereÂ’s already a putting green on the White House lawn.)” Snark, snark, snark.
Back to the story: “On the one hand, Brady did not say, point blank, that he is voting for Trump, nor did he say he endorses TrumpÂ’s policies. But he had two chances to distance himself from the nationÂ’s most polarizing figure of the moment. He chose not to. ‘That would be great’ is as close to an official endorsement as you can get.
“BradyÂ’s words carry weight. He is one of the most recognizable figures in the country. An entire subsection of New England, young and old, worships him. While he has every right to be friends with Trump, endorsing him for president means endorsing?–?or at least not condemning?–?what Trump stands for. Slapping a golf joke on the end doesnÂ’t change that.”
And here I thought, imagine me, my naivete, I thought it was okay, I thought an American citizen could support whoever he wanted without being derided for it. But apparently to Sports Illustrated it’s not cool, and Brady’s got some explaining to do here.
Back to the story: “Of course, athletes endorsing political candidates is nothing new. In 2012, Barack ObamaÂ’s supporters included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Derek Jeter and Cristiano Ronaldo. … By using their fame to take political stands, athletes open themselves up to scrutiny. That takes courage. But once you express support for a candidate? — whether youÂ’re a public figure or not?–?you need to be prepared to explain yourself.”
Really? Why do you have to explain yourself, and to who? Sportswriters? I don’t think LeBron James is asked to explain himself. I think he was applauded, wasn’t he? And, by the way, this guy leaves out Dan Rooney, the owner of the Steelers, who ran one of Obama’s campaign operations in Pennsylvania in 2008. And nobody made him explain why. Why does Brady have to explain himself here?
It says here, “Perhaps Brady would be perfectly willing to discuss TrumpÂ’s views, and has yet to be asked. So far, though, his praise of the candidate has been surface-level and said with a chuckle. Brady may not want to go any deeper than that, but he should; the implications of Trump as president of the United States are serious.”
Really? I think the implications of Barack Obama as president were damn serious, too, but nobody in Sports Illustrated seemed bothered by that, as I recall. And what is this? “But by aligning with Trump, the candidate, he is by default aligning himself with Trump, the xenophobe; Trump, the Islamophobe; and Trump, the misogynist. If Brady takes issue with those aspects of the man, he should say something. Otherwise, the implication is, on some level, that he condones such views. And that would stand in direct conflict with BradyÂ’s (supposed) character.” It says “supposed” in parentheses, character.
“When he talks, people listen. ThereÂ’s still plenty of time for Brady to distance himself from the ugly side of Trump, but continuing to embrace the candidate, free of qualifiers or disclaimers, should be concerning to those who defend the quarterbackÂ’s legacy.”
Does anybody remember when Sports Illustrated used to be a sports magazine? Does anybody remember that?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I just saw Madeleine Albright on Fox, and it reminds me. There’s a whole stack of great stuff here I’m gonna have to defer to tomorrow. I just didn’t get to it. One of the stories in the Stack is Madeleine Albright says that she was flying over the country recently, looking out the window, and when she looked down, she saw all this empty land that was just perfect for us to absorb more refugees from the Middle East. Honest to God.
Sports Illustrated is worried about Tom Brady liking Trump, and here’s Madeleine Albright looking out the window of an airplane saying, “Wow, look at all that empty space down there! Look at all the room we’ve got for refugees from the Middle East.” Crime in Italy!