Topic: CNSNews.com
CNSNews.com treated the controversy over the Super Bowl winner Philadelphia Eagles not visiting the White House the way it treats everything regarding President Trump: with a heavy pro-Trump spin that fudges or completely ignores inconvenient facts.
A June 4 article by Craig Bannister noted how the "planned White House reception for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles has been canceled and replaced with an event design to celebrate America and honor its heroes" after several Eagles players planned to boycott it "in protest of President Donald Trump’s comments denouncing player protests during the playing of the National Anthem before games." Bannister added that "During the 2017 season, some Eagles players, led by safety Malcolm Jenkins, protested during the playing of the National Anthem."
Bannister is suggesting that Eagles players took a knee, but all he offers as evidence is a blog post he wrote last fall compiling one week of protests, in which he noted that "Safety Malcolm Jenkins and Safety Rodney McLeod raised a fist. Defensive end Chris Long placed an arm around Jenkins." (In fact, no Eagles players kneeled last season.)
The next day, a "news" article by Susan Jones had more information on the revised event, though she did concede that "Press reports noted that none of the Eagles kneeled when the anthem played last season, although Safetys Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod raised a fist."
Bannister touted the event itself in a June 5 post:
President Donald Trump hosted a “Celebration of America” at the White House Tuesday, replacing the originally-scheduled reception honoring the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles after team told the White House at the last minute that most of the players would not attend.
In place of the reception, Trump delivered remarks to the one thousand fans, who had been invited to the original reception. Military bands and choirs offered renditions of patriotic songs, such as The National Anthem and “God Bless America” as the crowd joined Trump in singing along.
Unmentioned by Bannister: Trump had trouble singing "God Bless America" and simply gave up on it at one point.
Melanie Arter, meanwhile, dutifully transcribed White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accusing the Eagles of pulling a "political stunt." Arter also dutifully transcribed Trump's blather at the event while also noting that a man attending it kneeled during the National Anthem.
