A group opposed to President Donald Trump are planning a protest outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday, prior to the national championship game.
Citing a lyric from halftime performer Kendrick Lamar, the activist group Refuse Fascism ATL has issued the call, “Donald Trump is a chump. If you agree, come take a knee.”
In a new release, a Refuse Fascism organizer said, “Trump dissed Atlanta by calling it 'crime infested,' which is code for 'too many black people. He dissed John Lewis for correctly calling him illegitimate; targeted football players of conscience who have spoken out against injustice, as well as women, immigrants, LGBTQ people, Muslims, science, critical thinking, the environment; and he threatens the whole world with nuclear holocaust.”
The organizer was referring to a war of words that broke out between Trump and Lewis almost a year ago, when Lewis said Trump was “not a legitimate president.”
One day before Trump's inauguration, Lewis, still reeling, like many Democrats, from Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, said he would not attend Trump's inauguration.
In an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Lewis cited allegations of Russian hacks during the campaign that lead to the release of internal documents from the Democratic National Committee, and Clinton's campaign co-chairman, John Podesta.
The then-president-elect tweeted Lewis should spend more time on helping his district, which Trump said was in horrible shape and falling apart. The exchange between Trump and Lewis dominated the nation's political headlines for several days.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Kirby Smart of UGA commented about the president's upcoming visit.
