memeorandum: Collins: ‘Very difficult for me to envision a scenario’ where she backs GOP health care bill (Lauren Fox/CNN)

2:20 PM ET, September 24, 2017

Top Items:

Steelers will remain in locker room for national anthem in Chicago, Mike Tomlin says — As part of a wave of protests throughout the NFL in the wake of President Donald Trump's NFL-related comments, the Steelers will not be on the field for the playing of the national anthem before their game against the Bears on Sunday.

Discussion: Washington Post, MichelleMalkin.com, Mediaite, USA Today, Business Insider, The Ringer - All and TMZ.com

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:

Trump demands NFL teams ‘fire or suspend’ players or risk fan boycott — SOMERSET, N.J. — President Trump on Sunday morning renewed his demand that NFL owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest, again urging that fans should boycott the sport to force change.

Discussion: Shareblue, ThinkProgress, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, ABC News, Hit & Run, The Hill, Deadspin, Political Wire, BBC, NBC News, The Atlantic, CBS Miami, USA Today, Mediaite, Axios and FOX6Now.com

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Mnuchin: NFL players ‘can do free speech on their own time’ … Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Sunday defended President Trump's attacks on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, saying members of the league “can do free speech on their own time.”

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, AOL, FOX6Now.com, Balloon Juice, IJR, Mediaite and Common Dreams

Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:

A's Bruce Maxwell first MLB player to kneel for anthem — A's rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell, who earlier in the day profanely bashed President Trump on Instagram, became the first major-league player to kneel during the national anthem on Saturday before Oakland's 1-0 win at the Coliseum.

Discussion: ESPN, Mother Jones, TheBlaze, Deadspin, USA Today, FOX6Now.com, CNN and New York Times

Mike Allen / Axios:

What Trump, the NFL are thinking — White House director of social media Dan Scavino last evening cc'd Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of communications (@NFLprguy), on a Trump tweet criticizing Commissioner Roger Goodell. — The taunt reflects the fact that far from being sheepish …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Instapundit, Washington Free Beacon and The Hill

New York Times:

Tom Brady Joins Anthem Demonstration as N.F.L. Protests Trump Comments — N.F.L. players across the country demonstrated during the national anthem on Sunday in a show of defiance against President Trump, who scolded the league and players on Twitter this weekend.

Discussion: New York Magazine, USA Today, IJR, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and CNNMoney

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
The dark racial sentiment in Trump's NBA and NFL criticism

Justin Coleman / ABC News:
NFL players can have the ‘First Amendment off the field’: Treasury chief Mnuchin says

Discussion: Fox News Insider

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
Trump Calls for Boycott if N.F.L. Doesn't Crack Down on Anthem Protests

Discussion: ABC News, Althouse, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Post, ProFootballTalk, Raw Story, The Last Tradition, Mediaite, Mashable, IJR, The Daily Caller and AOL

Marissa Payne / Washington Post:
'To single out NFL players for doing this isn't something we should be doing': A's player takes up anthem protest

Discussion: JustOneMinute, USA Today, Daily Wire, Mediaite, FOX6Now.com, Associated Press, Raw Story, TheBlaze, ProFootballTalk, The Hill and The Last Tradition

Sally Jenkins / Washington Post: What President Trump doesn't get about the NFL

David Remnick / New Yorker:
The Racial Demagoguery of Trump's Assaults on Colin Kaepernick and Steph Curry

Discussion: SI.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post and CNN

Mark Osborne / ABC News:
Patriots' owner Robert Kraft criticizes friend Trump over his ‘disappointing’ NFL remarks

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, The Ringer - All, USA Today, Common Dreams, Mashable, IJR, CBS New York, ThinkProgress, CBS Boston, Talking Points Memo and ProFootballTalk

Politico:

Cruz opposes latest Obamacare repeal — AUSTIN, Texas — Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that he doesn't support the latest Obamacare repeal plan drafted by Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham and suggested that the proposal also lacks the vote of Sen. Mike Lee.

Discussion: RedState

Lauren Fox / CNN:

Collins: ‘Very difficult for me to envision a scenario’ where she backs GOP health care bill — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Watch Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, speak with CNN's Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” at 9 a.m. ET and noon ET. — (CNN)Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday morning …

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine and NBC News

Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Graham: 'We're going to get the votes next week'

Discussion: Political Wire

Nicki Zink / ABC News:
GOP health care act sponsor to a Republican opponent: The bill will ‘save a lot of money’

Discussion: Axios and Politico

Caroline Orr / Shareblue:

White House blows off constitution, declares new limits on free speech for private enterprise — Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin defended Donald Trump's recent attacks on free speech with his own galling sentiment. — In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Mnuchin declared that NFL players only …

Discussion: USA Today

Andrew Carter / The Charlotte Observer:
UNC national championship team not visiting White House

Discussion: Mediaite

ESPN:
Warriors get shunned by president before there could be a dialogue

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Raw Story, The Hill, IJR, NBC News, Hullabaloo, Axios, Associated Press, USA Today, CBS Miami, CBS New York, AOL, ABC News, The Guardian and The Daily Caller

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Steph Curry: It's ‘beneath’ Trump's position to target me

Discussion: Power Line, USA Today, Associated Press, Raw Story and Mediaite

Gary Langer / ABC News:

Trump seen by most Americans as doing more to divide than unite country (POLL) — President Donald Trump faces deep challenges on international and domestic issues alike, with a job approval rating mired in historic lows, a broad sense he's done more to divide than unite the country …

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Politico, The Daily Caller and Opinion Today

William Cummings / USA Today:
Trump threatens ‘Little Rocket Man,’ says Kim may ‘not be around much longer’

Discussion: Business Insider, IJR and NBC News

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Trump on NK nuclear threats: 'They won't be around much longer'

Discussion: NPR, RedState, CNBC, Axios, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and Reuters

Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Poll: Far more trust generals than Trump on N. Korea, while two-thirds oppose preemptive strike

Discussion: Axios, Outside the Beltway and Politico

Ben Jacobs / The Guardian:

Nigel Farage to support controversial judge Roy Moore in Alabama election … Nigel Farage will speak in Fairhope, Alabama on Monday night, in support of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. — ‘Fire or suspend’: Trump attacks NFL protesters as players kneel in London — Read more

Jonathan Martin / New York Times: Trump's Big Gamble: Can He Pull Alabama Senator to Victory?

CNN:

CNN Poll: Opinion of the Republican Party falls to all-time low — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — WASHINGTON (CNN)There are fresh signs the Republican Party's brand is in trouble. — Fewer than three in 10 Americans — 29% — hold a favorable view of the Republican Party according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Exclusive: NFL airing unity ad in prime time on Sunday — With President Trump taking aim at the NFL and its players who protest during the national anthem, the league is broadcasting a message of unity. — The NFL is dusting off a one-minute ad that it produced for the Super Bowl earlier this year.

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR and USA Today