As President Donald Trump stepped onto the field on Monday night for the biggest college football title game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, he was greeted by mixed cheers that include some boos and protests.
Trump arrived at Atlanta at about 6 pm to see the match between the two powerhouses. The president stood near the 40-yard line with his hand on his heart as the national anthem played. Military members flanked him on either side. The crowd roared when he left the field after the national anthem.
His motorcade had caused a huge queue of long lines outside the sold-out stadium. The additional traffic prevented the expected 100,000 people from arriving for the events of the game which caused a lot of trouble to them.
Besides this, just hours before he arrived in Atlanta for the game, Trump spoke to a group of farmers and ranchers living in Nashville and again criticized the athletes who do not stand for the anthem. He told the gathering present at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation’s meet that there is plenty of space for people to express their views and to protest, but “we love our flag and we love our anthem and we want to keep it that way.”
Trump attended the college football game during the ongoing feud with the National Football League where the players protested the National Anthem being played against social injustice. Trump has called the National Football League owners to let go of the players who are protesting against police brutality during the national anthem. The president has also clashed with other professional sports players as well.
Notably, this is the president’s second visit to Atlanta since the time he won the election. A year ago, Trump had described Atlanta on Twitter as a place that is in “horrible shape and falling apart,” after John Lewis, U.S Rep., who represents the heart of the city, announced that he would not attend Trump’s inauguration. Thus, there were many protestors present near the stadium from which few even sought to remind Trump about the harsh words used by him about the city.
