An almighty row has broken out in the last few days involving Donald Trump and a man by the name of Lavar Ball. Lavar Ball is the father of LiAngelo Ball, a UCLA basketball player and one of three basketball players who was detained in China on charges of shoplifting. Donald Trump during his 12-day Asia Trip has said that he was responsible for getting the players released, and the players released a statement thanking president Trump for their release.
That should have been the end of it. Lavar Ball was asked by an ESPN newscaster what he thought about Donald Trump's intervention in the situation involving his son, to which Lavar Ball replied "Who?" This blatant act of disrespect has now sparked yet another feud, and President Trump, being no stranger to conflict hit back with some remarks of his own.
Donald Trump has since tweeted that Lavar Ball is an "ungrateful fool" and that he is a "poor man's Don King, but without the hair!" In a strange interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Lavar Ball insisted that he did not need to thank Donald Trump and that he had "done some things" to facilitate the release himself.
President Trump was quick to refute this in another tweet, in which he said that "it wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department or Lavar's so-called people on the ground, IT WAS ME." This feud is just another in a long list of scraps Donald Trump has been involved in with public figures since his momentous and historic presidential win last year, but this whole saga speaks to something bigger.
Donald Trump's biggest success to date
President Trump is carefully picking his battles against figures who no matter what will ever give him credit, even for something he deserves. This unprovoked attack by Lavar Ball on a man who saved his son from a potential 10-year prison stretch in one of the most unforgiving regimes in the world will only add more points to Trump's tally while fighting this Culture War.
Donald Trump has had some successes during his presidential reign, the economy most notably, but one year into Donald Trump's presidency he has not been able to pass a significant piece of legislation as of yet. The reasons for this include obstructionist Republicans and so-called "Never Trumpers" - but that is a different story for another article!
For me, Donald Trump's major success is the way he has waged war against the forces in America which spit in the face of many ordinary American's traditions and beliefs. The move of President Trump attacking NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem was a lot more calculated than many give him credit for. When Donald Trump said the league should "fire the SOBs" who kneel during the anthem, it provoked a response from the league and the left-wing media which has gifted Trump another unwitting victory.
When players from all of the league's teams kneeled in response to the comments, a backlash was inevitable. Almost immediately after the response from the NFL, people began to boycott the league in their droves, and the proceeding weeks after the protest, the NFL has seen their attendances drop dramatically.
Recently a running back for the Oakland Raiders, Marshawn Lynch knelt for the national anthem of America but then proceeded to stand and show respect accordingly for the national anthem of Mexico. Donald Trump was quick to jump on the issue, saying that Marshawn's actions showed "great disrespect." Now I know this whole debacle involving the kneeling during the national anthem does have its roots in protests about the treatment of black Americans, and I do think that is a legitimate conversation we should be all having, but when it comes to this instance there is no way that I could not wholeheartedly agree with Trump.
What Marshawn Lynch did was highly disrespectful to the flag, I sincerely doubt that his treatment would be any better in Mexico as opposed to a nation where he lives a privileged lifestyle as a multi-millionaire athlete.
The far-left want to dismantle everything American
So, what would an action like this lead people to conclude? I think that some people are beginning to think that some of these forces truly hate America. It is the same thing when it comes to the whole debate that is rumbling on about the removal of statues during the summer which saw the awful scenes in Charlottesville, Donald Trump was quick to pounce on that subject as well. Donald Trump said regarding the issue "who's next?
George Washington?" and he was right. First, it began with Robert E Lee, the Confederate General who did have a questionable past, but now it has moved onto Christopher Columbus, there was even a story last week that said that the California NAACP was calling for the NATIONAL ANTHEM to be banned.
There is a section on the left who wish to see the complete dismantling of everything America stands for, and even people that are not that keen on Donald Trump are opposed to some of the things they are seeing. When it comes to this issue, Donald Trump wins every time, because many Americans are fiercely patriotic, and any attempt by these malevolent forces on the left to erode the cultural fabric of America will only make people side with Trump on these issues even more.
The left started this culture war we are seeing, from the flag to the statues, encompassing all areas of our existence from race to identity, but the more they continue to fight this battle, the more people will fight to preserve the traditions that make them uniquely American.