Given that U.S. President Donald Trump has a historically-low approval rating right now, being seen with him in public is certainly not a boost for someone’s popularity — at least in some circles — that it once was.
However, that did not stop four Baltimore Ravens players, including Black veteran defensive back Marlon Humphrey, from accepting an invitation to meet Trump ahead of speech on Tuesday in Sparrow Point, Maryland.
Apparently, ex-Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant wishes he could have been there to meet Trump, too.
“I’m telling the world now..as soon as I see Trump.. I’m taking a photo with him…,” Bryant wrote in a tweet on Thursday. “I hope he’s down to have a margarita.”
That was not the only tweet Bryant sent out on Thursday, as he attempted to defend Humphrey, who has been receiving backlash on social media since he was seen with Trump earlier this week.
Bryant used a series of further tweets to explain why he felt the need to express his desire to meet Trump in the middle of intense criticism directed at Humphrey:
I see agents taking advantage of Black athletes and sports journalists writing fabricated stories about them…yet people are more focused on what Marlon is doing, I see Black people who have harmed other Black people getting mad at Marlon too. I don’t understand the fake outrage… it’s some sh-t…I don’t think I will ever understand..
You can’t claim to stand for what’s right while doing hoe sh-t and then talking about God. That’s the kind of hypocrisy I see in most of the people complaining about Marlon…
Because people are fake. It’s the ones who aren’t right within themselves the ones with the most skeletons in their closets who piss me off. They’re the ones who are really coons..people working jobs they don’t like..then getting on the internet to complain about how someone else is running their show.
Trump has never done anything for me and honestly..that’s not the point. The issue is the fake outrage over Marlon choosing to spend time with the president…
Ravens kicker Tyler Loop, long snapper Nick Moore, and punter Ryan Eckley, who are all white, also attended Trump’s speaking event with Humphrey. The president was in town to announce a $6.6 billion submarine and undersea manufacturing project at Tradepoint Atlantic; Trump claimed that the project is expected to create 3,100 jobs in Maryland.
During his announcement, Trump gave a shoutout to the four Ravens players in attendance and asked for the rest of the crowd to recognize them. The four players also rode in the president’s motorcade.
“That was a little surprising; that’s not how things were supposed to go,” Humphrey said Wednesday during an interview with Ravens reporters about meeting the president. “But President Trump asked us if we wanted to ride with him, and I was not going to turn down a ride with the president.”
Humphrey then claimed that he is completely disengaged when it comes to current political topics.
“To be honest, I did not vote,” Humphrey said. “I don’t think I’ve ever voted. I did try to vote this last time, but my absentee ballot didn’t come in.”
“So, I don’t really have any political beliefs,” Humphrey added. “[But] I do plan on voting the next time around. I am extremely uninformed on what laws are going on to be honest, but this next time the ballots are up I will do my research and try to figure out what I like, what I believe in and try to pick the side that kinda aligns with me.”
After the backlash for his meeting with Trump, will Humphrey tell the public who he votes for in the future?
Time will tell.
