From a recent story in Philadelphia Inquirer:

The Eagles will visit the White House on April 28 to celebrate their Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to reporters Tuesday.

I filled in the background details for my friend Swamp Rabbit. Back in 2018, Donald Trump “uninvited” the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to a White House ceremony that had been scheduled in their honor. Trump, at the time, was publicly badmouthing Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who had protested against systemic racism. His cancelation of the Eagles’ visit was his childish way of retaliating against players who supported the protestors.

“Maybe you can explain this to me, Swamp Rabbit,” I said. “Most of the players in the NFL are Black. Why would Black players — or white players, for that matter — appear at an event hosted by the most racist U.S. president since Woodrow Wilson?”

“Maybe they think it’s an honor to be invited to the White House, it don’t matter who’s president,” he replied. “It’s easy to call someone a racist but where’s the smoking gun?”

I reminded him that Trump was sued by the DOJ for discrimination against Black renters. He took out an ad calling for the return of the death penalty when the “Central Park Five” were falsely accused of rape. He said “I don’t want Black guys counting my money” when he was a casino owner. He said that “both sides” were to blame for the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, VA. He complained that America has become a destination for immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa. He said Mexican immigrants were rapists and murderers.

“I could show you a hundred more smoking guns,” I said. “The Eagles should snub Trump, if only to bond with the players who protested racism.”

He looked at me as if I were a Martian. “There are bonds and there are bonds. Trump is a multimillionaire and so are some of them Eagles. The millionaires club is a much stronger bond than skin color, in case you ain’t noticed.”

True enough, I conceded, but that doesn’t excuse the footballers, black or white, who are helping normalize America’s ongoing transition from democracy to authoritarian rule. Trump has installed hacks and loonies in top government posts. He’s appointed an unelected, Nazi-sympathizing billionaire to dismantle federal agencies. He’s sided with dictators, betrayed foreign allies, pardoned rightwing terrorists and taken steps to muzzle political opponents and shred the social safety net.

“There is no guaranteed safety for anyone in a dictatorship,” I said, “even for members of the millionaires club.”

Footnote: One thing for sure is that the Democratic Party won’t save us, not so long as it’s led by old geldings like Chuck Schumer.