The Dictatorship
MAGA sees red after NAACP calls for athletes to boycott southern schools
Sports enthusiasts in MAGA world are having a conniption over the NAACP’s call for athletes to boycott a list of major universities in states where Republicans have launched assaults on Black voting rights. The list includes major athletic powerhouses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — all southern states that have gerrymandered districts in ways that dilute Black voter power, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision.
The NAACP announced the call to boycott Tuesdayurging students to consider attending historically Black colleges and universities instead. College sports, and especially college football, are a key source of income and pride for several states. A boycott could pose an obvious threat to this cash cow. One can almost hear the desperation in the responses from some conservatives, like South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Student athletes should not be used by the NAACP for political gain because they disagree with a Supreme Court ruling. That’s wrong, and South Carolina will not be bullied into ignoring the Constitution.
The Supreme Court made clear that race-based gerrymandering is… https://t.co/4Z7iCArdA3
— Alan Wilson (@AGAlanWilson) May 19, 2026
Among some MAGA influencers’ response to the boycott request, there’s an arrogance in their assumption that there’s no chance any athlete would participate — an assumption being made because players can now make money due to current name, image and likeness rules.
Examples below:
LOL
Imagine a football player making 7 figures sitting out for the democrat party.
NAACP is a joke. https://t.co/BRLjkPAHIK
— Marc Lobliner – IFBB Pro (@MarcLobliner) May 19, 2026
NAACP to black athletes: Take an NIL pay cut. Play at UC-Irvine to take a stand against the erosion of Democrat power on Capitol Hill. https://t.co/9g9kFo1bs9
— Jeff Poor (@jeff_poor) May 19, 2026
These influencers may be counting on athletes to overlook the fact that Donald Trump is currently opposed to, and actively working to dismantle, the very NIL system that allows players to make the money.
While some conservatives may prefer to laugh off this boycott, there’s ample evidence that many major college athletic programs are heavily reliant on Black athletes.
And some southern schools are extremely tender about being viewed as breeding grounds for racism. When he was the head football coach at the University of Mississippi, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., the Republican nominee for Alabama governor, admitted that the state’s reverence for the Confederate flag hurt the school’s recruiting, and had a hand in the decision to ban the flag at Ole Miss games.
More recently, Louisiana State University football coach Lane Kiffin spurred a bit of a tantrum among Ole Miss fans when he said potential recruits and their families raised concerns about racism at Ole Miss when he was head coach there, and he said LSU was better by comparison.
Public backlash prompted an apology from Kiffinunderscoring my impression that many white fans of college sports and officials overseeing programs are aware of how racism on campus can potentially undercut the success of the teams they root for.
Some people have questioned whether the NAACP is unfairly pressuring Black athletes to participate in this protest. This argument seems odd to me. Even if the group’s position is that attending one of these schools constitutes acquiescence to a racist movement, the NAACP has no means to force any athlete to boycott the school of their choosing.
And even if players don’t participate in this boycott, as is their right, that won’t end conversations about whether there are moral reasons that they should participate. Civil rights are not determined solely by popular opinion, or what some would have you believe is popular opinion in this case: opposition to players boycotting.
What’s clear is that the schools being targeted by the NAACP still have deep financial and cultural investments in attracting Black athletes (at least, for now), even as conservatives in those states attack Black civil rights.
I spoke last year with Dr. Karida Brown, author of “The Battle for the Black Mind,” which focuses on white conservatives’ historic interest in doling out money for the education of Black people in fields involving menial labor and service, rather than in liberal arts that could enable Black people to gain a stronger sense of self. A similar dynamic exists in conservative-led states that invest in college sports programs so athletes — that is, Black athletes — can entertain them and bring in money, while those same leaders are gutting diversity programs that serve Black students.
It’s a point NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith brought up back in 2024when he urged college athletes to speak out about conservatives’ attacks on diversity programs that serve various groups, including Black students.
The NAACP’s call for a boycott need not be wholly successful in itself to be useful. Already, it is fueling necessary conversations about what it means to support Black people and Black communities, as opposed to capitalizing on Black labor while ignoring tactics that support white supremacy.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
Over the course of June, Donald Trump spent nearly every day focusing attention on assorted construction and beautification projects, emphasizing the unavoidable conclusion that the president takes his renovation crusade very seriously.
His allies aren’t necessarily pleased. The Hill recently reported that Republican officials, worried about the midterm elections and maintaining partisan control, have been “thrown off-balance” by, among other things, Trump’s focus on “pet projects” instead of more meaningful national priorities.
The list of projects keeps growing nevertheless. It includes (but is by no means limited to) the ballroomthe Reflecting Poolthe “triumphal arch,” the fountainsthe horse statuesthe “Trump Promenade,” the “statue garden” and the dozen or so additional renovation projects he’s prioritized in and around the White House complex.
But let’s also not forget the helipad.
A couple of months ago, The Washington PostThe Wall Street Journal and The New York Times separately published similar reports about Trump hoping to build a permanent helicopter landing site on the White House grounds. Evidently, those plans have now advanced to the construction stage. The Post reported this week:
President Donald Trump has begun construction on a new White House helipad, his latest change to the historic grounds, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the project publicly.
Construction crews worked into the night Monday on the White House’s South Lawn, with the project blocked off by a large fence.
The report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, added that the project hasn’t yet been formally announced by the White House, even as construction is apparently underway.
It’s not yet clear how much the project will cost, who will pick the tab and whether this has joined the growing list of no-bid contracts.
Unlike some of the president’s other priorities, there is a legitimate issue here — the latest generation of helicopters really do damage the White House lawn — although this doesn’t answer the other lingering questions or explain why Team Trump hasn’t acknowledged the existence of the project.
What’s more, this almost certainly won’t be the last of the Republican’s projects.
Earlier this week, the president used his social media platform to promote an artificial intelligence-generated image of a gold eagle affixed to the White House exterior. Trump added in his online image, “A Golden Gift to the White House for its 250th Birthday Year!”
The text (which erroneously said the White House is celebrating its semiquincentennial) suggested the president intends to add this gaudy addition to his ambitious renovation agenda.
Recent polling has found two-thirds of Americans are convinced their unpopular president simply has the wrong priorities. Trump could take steps to change their mind, but he apparently doesn’t want to.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
The Dictatorship
Hegseth blasts protesters at ceremony for D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force: ‘Ingrates’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday derided protesters at an event in Washington, D.C., tied to the America 250 celebrationscalling the demonstrators “ingrates” who are “blinded by ideology.”
The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force event in Meridian Hill Park was set to begin at 9 a.m. ET but did not start until roughly 30 minutes later, as members of the National Guard waited for Hegseth’s arrival amid a brutal heat wave. Protesters shouted during his brief address, in which he said he was to blame for the delay and praised the troops for their service.
“In fact, this background noise this morning is perfect,” Hegseth said about the protesters, with White House adviser Stephen Miller and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche standing behind him.
“It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said. “That there’s nothing ideological about this group, there’s nothing political about this exercise.”
Some protesters could be heard shouting “Shame!” and “Guard, go home!”
Pete Hegseth: “This background noise is perfect. It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them.” pic.twitter.com/aWt5ciuRG3
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)”https://x.com/atrupar/status/2072679604184109222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 2, 2026
National Guard troops have been deployed to assist with America 250 celebrations in the capital, though some Democratic governors have warned against their guard members being utilized for a larger federal joint task force to tackle what the Trump administration has called“rampant crime” in Washington.
Many Washington residents are not thrilled with the National Guard’s presence. The controversial America 250 festivities have also sparked criticism from Democrats who accuse President Donald Trump of putting himself at the center of the celebrations.
At the Thursday ceremony, Hegseth suggested the protesters were not from Washington.
“These ingrates will fade away; they’ll go back to wherever they came from,” he said, before asserting that National Guard troops have brought the crime rate down in the capital — a claim that at least one study has found to be inaccurate.
“The crime rate here has dropped in staggering amounts, and the media won’t want to admit it because, of course, they’d have to give credit to President Trump, and then they’d have to give credit to the Department of War or to Stephen Miller,” Hegseth said. “But courageous men like President Trump and Stephen, who said enough is enough, are the reason why this city is a safe and beautiful place.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
Stephanie Ruhle said she was left “almost speechless” after the release of Donald Trump’s new financial disclosureswhich reported he raked in more than $2 billion since returning to the White House. “Man, it looks good to be president,” the “Money, Power, Politics” host said Wednesday.
According to the 927-page document released Tuesday, Trump’s income has only increased since retaking the White House. The president reported almost $575 million in real estate and golf-related income and another $68.6 million in royalties and licensing fees.
But, as Ruhle pointed out, $1.4 billion of Trump’s 2025 total comes directly from one industry: crypto.
Despite having called that industry a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen” in 2021, Trump has in recent years appeared to have a change of heart about digital currency.
“That was just five years ago, but now he is a major crypto industry operator and essentially its top policy maker,” the MS NOW host said. “Remember, he is the one who appointed regulators that changed the rules to hugely benefit the crypto industry, and since he came back to office, he has either completely dropped or settled a whole lot of cases with crypto companies.”
As Trump rakes in more cash, Ruhle said the American people are not experiencing the same kind of prosperity, in part because of the administration’s policies. “[They] are suffering, whether it’s because of tariffs, whether it’s because of inflation, whether it’s because of increased costs, because of the war in Iran,” she said.
While Ruhle noted the president has said he does not choose his investments and has said they are in a “blind account,” she said the American people should not ignore how much Trump has profited since returning to the White House.
“Here’s what you need to know: All of this would be a major conflict of interest — a huge scandal — if it were any other presidency,” she argued.
You can watch Ruhle’s full breakdown in the clip below.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”
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