How Donald Trump is making sports activities group visits ‘approximately meals and about himself’

Meanwhile, no standalone lady championship group has attended a party like this on the Trump White House, The Washington Post suggested Monday. (The White House did now not respond to CNN’s request for touch upon The Washington Post file and did not respond to questions about whether woman championship groups had been invited.) I sat down with CNN sports activities analyst and sports activities columnist for USA Today Christine Brennan to discover extra approximately the hanging absence of lady sports groups at celebrations within the Trump White House — and simply how great their Pennsylvania Avenue absence is. Our interview has been gently edited for length and drift.

Lauren Dezenski: Talk approximately what it approach for a crew to come to the White House. Why is it a huge deal, and why could groups necessarily want to do this? Christine Brennan: You stated it best. The words “White House.” It’s no longer a lot you are touring the President. They’ll all say — and I’ve covered those because the ’80s, Olympic teams, NFL groups — I’ve protected at the least dozen, maybe 30 of these visits over time. And every single time you communicate to an athlete who is going, you talk to the teaching, … It’s not approximately the President; it is about going to the White House, the awesome honor of going to the White House. It’s been Democrats; it’s been Republicans; it doesn’t count. It’s approximately going to the White House to celebrate your victory. You get the trophy, you get the birthday celebration, and the final — you go to the White House.

LD: Is this a ruin from lifestyle?

CB: Absolutely. The query is, wherein are the girls’ teams? When you bear in mind that these days are the finest day in girls’ sports … Till the next day, and then the next day and tomorrow, ladies’ sports activities on this we of a Title IX, the state has fallen in love with this regulation. And to assume this is a President who appears to be actively no longer inviting ladies’ groups, it’s just remarkable. And it’s definitely out of contact from what the nation thinks approximately women’s and women’s sports. And I could make a case that red states care more about women’s and girl’s sports than blue states. So it is not a political advantage for the President to be doing this. Because we ought to go to a city in Alabama, or Tennessee, or Mississippi, or Ohio — any pink kingdom — and locate parents, in particular, dads, over the moon approximately their daughters’ sports activities opportunities and her possibilities to get a university scholarship. That is wherein America was in 2019. The President is acting like he is stuck again inside the ’50s or ’60s when we had no women’s group sports. It is thoughts-boggling that he’s choosing to try this.

LD: Has there been any sense that these women’s groups have not been interested in going to the Trump White House? CB: When you have a person, as President, who has bragged about sexually assaulting ladies, it is comprehensible that women might not want to be around him. I comprehend it truly is quite an announcement, but I don’t mind pronouncing it. It is comprehensible. There are numerous who very strongly help Donald Trump, and there are many people who very strongly do not aid Donald Trump. We understand that. That’s not an information flash. But right here’s the factor. Invite them. For example, the Golden State Warriors, it became out they failed to want to come. It changed into a very public spat. But they were invited.

He’s now not even inviting them. And if they choose to show it down, they flip it down. So now not handiest might I say where the women’s groups, I might say, are the invitations for the women’s groups. And why does he sense cozy inviting guys’ groups and now not ladies teams? Since 2017, a girls’ group has been to the White House, and that turned into 18 groups overall. Men and girls. George W. Bush might do that all the time. He might have risers or bleachers all of the manners across the East Room, after which have women’s song and discipline, guys tune and area, and many others., etc. That became the preferred working process within the Clinton White House, the George W. Bush White House, the Obama White House, after which it’s simply all gone away.

LD: Talk about the spectacle of these team visits, particularly the Trump White House, and how it compares to the opposite administrations. CB: Well, the huge aspect is that there’s food. LD: Really? That’s the large thing? CB: Oh yeah, there has been by no means food before. I don’t keep in mind ever seeing food. Maybe punch and cookies. So Trump has made this a story approximately rapid meals. He’s created that. I’ve covered at the least two dozen of these, and I’ve in no way seen meals. LD: How has that changed the tone? CB: With the President insisting on speedy meals and then making a huge deal about it, if there are football mothers, are there speedy meals, dads? I do not know. LD: …And are they Trump electorate? CB: Right. And of the direction the entire Clemson one that changed into for the shutdown duration, he hustled them to the White House inside per week of them winning the country-wide identity. These things nearly usually take to three months to come back to fruition. So he hustled them there as a picture op. It became all about the usage of Clemson as a prop. We must name it as we see it. He’s made the meals an issue. He’s making it approximately food and approximately himself.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama all made it approximately the team. And Donald Trump is making it approximately food and himself. I do not think any of these different presidents’ ideas approximately it as a picture op. CB: For people who say women’s groups don’t need to head because they do not like Trump, that may well be true; however, how is it viable in 2019 that they’re not invited? That is the question. How are you ignoring half the populace that plays sports activities? And he is were given ND State there. So if you’re pronouncing he’s most effective honoring the great, well, it is a decrease division. But let’s consider you’re falling into that very anti-Title IX Fifties argument that ladies sports don’t need to be on the identical level as guys. If you like the Olympics, you adore girls’ sports because girls are mainly winning gold medals for the USA, so there are lots of motives to like Title IX. But in case you ascribe to this archaic, ridiculous, sexist perception, then how do you guard him bringing in North Dakota State? Because North Dakota State is from a one-of-a-kind division, it’s from a secondary department. You’re not even inviting the teams which are equals to Men’s and Women’s Division 1 team. If you’ve got the antiquated, sexist, awful view that girls’ teams aren’t good enough, then you definitely cannot guard North Dakota State being invited. The fantastic incongruity of this time in which the country is extra in love with women’s sports activities than ever before, you’ve got this White House doing this, it’s lovely.