President Trump says that NASCAR is getting low ratings because it banned the confederate flag. Should NASCAR rescind its ban of the conferate flag on NASCAR events and properties? Since the percentage of minorities in America is growing I think this was a good move by NASCAR and will broaden their fan base.
Also, and not suprisingly, the president’s claim is, so far, incorrect.
But the ban of the Confederate flag and what happened at Talladega have not caused NASCAR’s “lowest ratings EVER!” as Trump claimed. According to FOX Sports, NASCAR viewership on the FOX networks is up 8% since returning from its coronavirus-related hiatus on May 17.
Nascar sucked before all of this. They have changed the rules to make it more interesting but really didn’t do a thing. Nascar died the day Earnhardt did.
It is insane that this is where we are at. The president of the United States has decided that his best shot at reelection is supporting the confederate flag. In 2020. Jesus.
I agree NASCAR is all staged it’s a four wheel version of the WWE. Drivers with a few skills circulating in front of fans with little knowledge of modern race cars
Remember the 2012 post-mortem that the GOP performed after Romney’s loss to Obama? It essentially said that if the party did not perform legitimate outreach to minority segments of the country, then they could potentially be doomed to become a regional party consisting primarily of the southern states that supported secession, and sparsely populated states that have no real power. It seems as if Trump has decided to accelerate this process for some reason.
The party decided to double down on regional white voters. This is the natural outcome for them. Their complicity with Trumpism ensures no tears will be shed by me over their misfortunes.
NASCAR? Time will tell.
Trump? I gives him something to goose his base with.
Americans in general? I’d wager the majority don’t care if any Confederate flag waves outside of a museum ever again.
An even more cynical interpretation: he is just trying to shift focus away from COVID. I don’t believe the man cares a whit about the Confederate flag.
One could argue that NASCAR dug itself an NFL sized hole long before Trump, misunderstanding the moral of the Brer Rabbit story, jumped fupa first into it.
No.
I guarantee that no current (or future) auto manufacturer wants to see a rebel flag flying at an event where they participate. No corporate sponsor (oil, beer, tire, soda, retailer) wants to see that flag return to an event.
Nascar went through a big change when RJ Reynolds (remember Winston Cup) left…I think it was part of the tobacco settlement. Lots of money left the sport.
Surprisingly there were many sponsors on the sidelines who did not want to be associated with a tobacco sanctioned event. They filled some of the void.
Nascar and transportation changed in this country and the racecars are less relevant to road vehicles.
But road vehicles are less relevant in society.
Trump needs a lot of shinny objects now. And he thinks that the social divide works well with his base.
He is on the wrong side of history on this. And I believe that the more social divide he preaches will just further his loss come November.
What was interesting was that NASCAR figured out that women were also watching. Tide led the way sponsoring a car. And there were quite a few more sponsors that catered to women that got involved. And there was a change in the TV commercials that ran during a race. It expanded from mostly tires and razor blade spots.
I keep thinking that there has to be a breaking point for some Republicans who are up for re-election where Trump might take them down. Will all of them go down with the ship? I wonder how many of them are going to be surprised?
There will be no break from Trump. This article explains why as well. It is a good, if not a little long, read. These Republicans are attached to Trump for better or worse. The rabid cult-base has made sure of it. Anyone that dares to cross the Master has no other path to election.
