Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped answering directly whether she believes athletes should stand for the national anthem during an unearthed 2016 interview, instead delivering a rambling response that is currently receiving backlash on social media ahead of the general election.
While serving as attorney general of California, Harris joined PBS reporter David Nazar to discuss her Senate run and campaign platforms on issues such as criminal justice reform, the Black Lives Matter movement and the economy in California. During the discussion, Nazar pressed Harris if she believes athletes should stand for the national anthem.
“Should folks stand for the national anthem?” Nazar asked in the interview, which was published in October 2016.
Harris’ response focused on Americans’ rights protected in the Constitution, and did not include a direct answer on whether athletes should stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“We are all, and should be, treated as equals. We articulated those principles in our Constitution. And part of what we decided is what makes a fair and just and noble society in a democracy, a true democracy, is freedom of religion, freedom, right, of association, freedom to organize, First Amendment,” she responded.
“So, that is part of who we are as a country, and I will defend it to the core, which is that we give people, certain choices in this country.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign event at the Philip Chosky Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick became the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism. The form of protest, which began in Harris’ backyard of San Francisco, soon spread to other sports leagues and athletes.
Athletes such as Megan Rapinoe knelt for the anthem ahead of soccer games in 2016, while Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball athlete to kneel during the national anthem in 2017.
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The form of protest hit a fever pitch in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis during an interaction with police. Scores of athletes knelt ahead of games that year during the anthem, while the NBA unveiled a court painted with “Black Lives Matter” amid social justice protests that year, and some Olympians took a knee during the Tokyo Games.
San Francisco 49ers, from left, Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneel on the sideline during the national anthem before the Dallas Cowboys game at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The protests were slammed by conservatives in the U.S., including former President Trump, who ripped the athletes for politicizing games.
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“I think it’s been horrible for basketball. Look at the basketball ratings. They’re down to very low numbers. People are angry about it. They don’t realize.… They have enough politics with guys like me. They don’t need more as they’re driving down… going up for the shot. They don’t need it. There’s a nastiness about the NBA about the way it was done too. So I think the NBA is in trouble. It’s in big trouble. Bigger trouble than they understand,” Trump said in 2020.
Former President Trump listens at a town hall campaign event at Macomb Community College, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Michigan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump also posted to X, then Twitter, that kneeling for the national anthem is “a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag,” saying the “game is over” for him when he spots an athlete kneeling.
Harris’ unearthed interview was criticized on social media this week, with OutKick founder Clay Travis saying Harris delivered a “long jumble of nothingness.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the 2016 interview, but did not immediately receive a response.
Harris defended athletes who knelt during the anthem in 2017, after she was elected senator, saying they should not be “threatened or bullied” for the protest.
“Let’s speak the truth that when Americans demand recognition that their lives matter, or kneel to call attention to injustice, that that is an expression of free speech, protected by our Constitution, and they should not be threatened or bullied,” Harris said during an event in Atlanta, the Hill reported at the time.
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“When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we rightly think about the brave men and women from all backgrounds who proudly defend the freedom of those they may never meet and people who will never know their names. When we sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ we also think about those marching in the streets who demand that the ideals of that flag represent them too,” she added.