Trump fidgets and conducts orchestra during Super Bowl National Anthem
President is accused of taking a hypocritical hard-line stance against those who fail to pay respects during the US National Anthem
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Your support makes all the difference.A new video appears to show Donald Trump failing to pay respect to the US National Anthem during a Super Bowl watch party, fidgeting about and at one point even pretending to conduct an orchestra.
The president had reportedly just entered the party at his golf resort in Florida on Sunday when the National Anthem began. His response to the music was recorded by a real estate agent working for a Russian-American firm.
Mr Trump stands between his son, Barron, and his wife, Melania Trump, both of whom have their hands placed over their hearts throughout the anthem. The president meanwhile points at partygoers and greets attendees, shifting his weight on his legs and moving a chair out of his way.
The video was first reported on by the Miami Herald, and quickly stirred controversy online as critics of the president noted his hard-line stance against athletes who demonstrated for civil rights by taking a knee during the song at NFL games.
Mr Trump has previously suggested those who don’t stand during the national anthem “should not be in the country” and also should not be allowed to play in the league.
Though the president has taken a strict stance for others honouring the national anthem, he has been accused of forgetting the words to the iconic song on multiple occasions, including during a 2018 football game in Atlanta and another event last year in Alabama.
Andrew Weinstein, a former White House appointee under Barack Obama, tweeted a link to the video along with the president’s quote from an interview in which he discussed paying respect during the national anthem, reading: “You have to stand, proudly, for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing. You shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”
The Democratic Coalition also blasted Mr Trump in a tweet mocking him for his seemingly hypocritical view on the issue.
“Trump has repeatedly said all Americans should ‘stand proudly’ during the national anthem, and publicly chastises those who don’t as disrespectful of the troops,” the group wrote, adding the hashtag #DonTheCon.
The real estate agent who recorded the video and posted it to their Instagram page frequents properties owned by the president, including his exclusive membership-only Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, according to the Miami Herald.
Several Twitter users also pointed out an apparent hypocrisy in the way Fox News chose to repeatedly cover Beyonce and Jay-Z for not standing during the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday, while failing to address the clip of the president in its reporting.
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