Trump says flying Confederate flag is ‘freedom of speech’ and AGAIN rips Nascar for banning it
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has again defended the Confederate flag as freedom of speech, and suggested that NASCAR made a mistake in banning the symbol.
In an interview with Nexstar DC, Trump reiterated his stance on the flag’s place in American society, saying that people are free to feel however they want about the flag and what it symbolizes.
“My stance is very simple – it’s freedom of speech,” Trump said.
“NASCAR can do whatever they want. They’ve chosen to go a certain way, other people choose to go a different route, but it’s freedom of speech,” he added.
The comments come a day after Trump slammed NASCAR for banning the flag on Twitter, and accused the association’s only Black driver, Bubba Wallace, of publicizing a “hoax” after he found a rope that appeared to be tied into a noose in a garage he’d been assigned to.
“Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?” Trump tweeted on Monday morning. “That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!”
Wallace responded by sharing a note to his own Twitter where he encouraged his young fans to let love triumph over hate.
“Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate,” Wallace wrote. “Even when it’s HATE from the POTUS.”
The alleged noose was found in a garage Wallace was assigned to before a race in Alabama. It appeared days after he helped to get Confederate flags – which were once quite popular at NASCAR events – banned last month.
He suspected it was a retaliatory hate crime.
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However, the FBI investigated the incident and determined that the rope had been in Wallace’s garage for months before he was assigned to it – and it was not a hate crime.
Still, the driver was met with incredible support from fans and fellow drivers alike after the incident and during the investigation.
Trump’s comments about NASCAR’s poor ratings also appear to be misguided – NASCAR’s ratings are actually up 8 percent since the Confederate flag ban on June 10, according to Yahoo Finance.