Piers Morgan challenged President Donald Trump in an open letter published to the Daily Mail to show his solidarity with protesters by publicly taking a knee.
Morgan began his letter by talking about a Griffith, Indiana, protest. The protest was relatively unique in that it received the support of local law enforcement — most notably Police Chief Greg Mance, who protected and even marched alongside the demonstrators.
“We, as officers, aren’t perfect. We come from a flawed society, raised by flawed parents and sent through flawed educational systems. We raise our families in flawed communities, and we work in a flawed judicial system,” he said at the event. “We, as officers, must listen to what the softest voices of our community are trying to tell us before those voices are yells of frustration.”
Mance is one of a growing number of officers, celebrities, politicians — including 2020 presidential challenger Joe Biden — showing their support for racial equality reform. Now, English television personality Piers Morgan is asking Trump to do the same.
Speaking of NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s now-infamous 2016 demonstration, Morgan cited it as evidence that Trump has been wrong from the beginning. “The cold hard truth for the President is that Kaepernick’s been shown by George Floyd’s murder to be on the right side of history,” Morgan wrote, “and Trump’s increasingly showing himself to be on the wrong side.”
Morgan further brought up Trump’s condemnation of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s mea culpa in regard to players’ peaceful demonstrations. On Friday, Goodell admitted that the NFL was “wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier” and asserted that “we, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country.”
There are indications that the POTUS is planning to make some sort of concrete statement, according to Housing Secretary Ben Carson. “I believe you’re going to be hearing from the president this week on this topic in some detail, and I would ask you maybe to reserve judgment until after that time,” he told CNN.
To “spare him the bother” of a speech, Morgan has a different suggestion. “If President Trump really wants to make a statement about race and unity, one that rocks the entire world, then with the American people watching live on TV, he should simply take the knee in the Oval Office.” Morgan continues:
In one stunning moment, Trump could heal so many wounds, unify so much of the country, and quite probably get himself re-elected. Because it would show he finally gets it, and actually cares. Of course, it’s the very last thing anyone would expect him to do. But if Trump’s one thing, he’s constantly surprising.
“Do it, Mr President,” Morgan urged. “Take the knee.”
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