President Donald Trump is famous for going after Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement. Now he’s got Bubba Wallace and NASCAR in his sights.
Trump rips Bubba Wallace and NASCAR
On Monday morning, Trump sent out a tweet that is sure to stir up controversy. In it, he asked if Wallace has “apologized to all 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?”
He also ripped NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag and said those two things “caused the lowest ratings EVER!”
NASCAR released image of noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall
The FBI did an investigation into the noose that was found in Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega. It determined that no federal hate crime had been committed because the rope that was fashioned like a noose had been in the stall since last October.
However, NASCAR shared the image of what was found in the stall. Clearly, it was a noose.
Before the investigation had taken place, NASCAR’s drivers backed Wallace in a big way before the GEICO 500 at Talladega. In a huge show of support, his No. 43 car was escorted to the front of the starting line before that race (watch here).
That’s what President Trump is referring to when he mentioned the incident in his controversial tweet Monday morning.
NASCAR banned the Confederate flag
Prior to the noose incident at Talladega, NASCAR took a strong stand against a symbol of hate. It banned the Confederate flag, which caused one of its drivers to announce he would quit after the 2020 season.
President Trump attacking this decision is not surprising given his recent rhetoric about Confederate monuments that are being taken down across the nation.
It’s worth noting that NASCAR saw a huge boost in television ratings after banning the Confederate flag.