Donald Trump has prompted accusations of racism tweeting praise for a white American footballer who was picked number two in the NFL draft but ignoring the number one pick, a black player.
The NFL draft is an annual event at which teams got the chance to pick from the latest young players who have just become eligible to play in the league.
To be the first picked is an honour in the sport and a general acknowledgment that you’re the brightest young NFL star to enter the league.
This year’s first pick was Kyler Murray, a 21-year-old who now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
But in his only tweet about the draft, Trump on Saturday praised the number two pick, Nick Bosa, a 21-year-old who now plays for the San Francisco 49ers.
So why would the president praise the number two pick over the number one? A number of commentators including the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, simply accused Trump of racism.
But there is a bit more to this story although it still doesn’t paint the president in a great light.
Bosa is a vocal Trump supporter and has tweeted supportive things about the president in the past.
His agents have since been through his social media profiles and deleted anything offensive or about Trump.
Bosa has also previously called Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who began to protest police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, “a clown”.
Trump has been vitriolic in his condemnation of black NFL players who protest racism.
Speaking at a rally in 2017, Trump said team owners should respond to kneeling by saying, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!”