President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended displaying the Confederate flag as “freedom of speech” hours after criticizing NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flag and accusing African American race car driver Bubba Wallace, without evidence, of participating in a “hoax” after a rope shaped like a noose was found in Wallace’s garage at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
“My stance is very simple it’s freedom of speech,” Trump Trump said in an interview with a Nexstar television reporter at the White House when asked his personal stance on the flag in society.
“You do what you do, it’s freedom of speech. NASCAR can do whatever they want, and they’ve chosen to go a certain way other people choose to go a different route, but it’s freedom of speech,” he added.
Trump’s comments about the flag came a day after he chastised the racing circuit on Twitter for banning the flag from its properties and targeted Bubba Wallace, one of the sport’s top Black stars.
Watch the interview below:
President Trump has suggested NASCAR made a mistake in banning the Confederate flag. When I asked him about the flag's place in our society, President Trump reiterated: "It's freedom of speech." #NexstarDC pic.twitter.com/imdRKrNrO0
— Jessi Turnure (@JessiTurnure) July 7, 2020
