memeorandum: Trump seen by most Americans as doing more to divide than unite country (POLL) (Gary Langer/ABC News)

1:50 PM ET, September 24, 2017

Top Items:

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, Balloon Juice, IJR, Mediaite and Common Dreams

Sporting News:

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: ThinkProgress, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Taylor Marsh, Hit & Run, FOX6Now.com, The Hill, Deadspin, Political Wire, NBC News, BBC, The Atlantic, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and CNN

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 and CNN

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 and The Hill

New York Times:
N.F.L.: Steelers Stay in Locker Room During Anthem; Live Updates

Discussion: New York Magazine and IJR

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, Shareblue, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, IJR, ProFootballTalk, Raw Story, The Last Tradition, Mediaite, Mashable and The Daily Caller

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, TheBlaze and The Last Tradition

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

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Post

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

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

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

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Oakland A's catcher becomes first MLB player to kneel for national anthem

Discussion: Mashable, Raw Story and ProFootballTalk

New York Times:
Trump Attacks Warriors' Curry. LeBron James's Retort: ‘U Bum.’

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: 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 — CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina's 2017 national championship men's basketball team will not visit the White House, a team spokesman said on Saturday, though the Tar Heels were invited to visit, as is the custom for teams …

Discussion: Mediaite

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

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Raw Story, NBC News, CBS Miami, Axios, Associated Press, USA Today, AOL, ABC News, IJR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, ProFootballTalk, Mashable and Vox

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

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?

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, The Daily Caller, Politico and Opinion Today

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

Discussion: USA Today, NPR, RedState, Axios, CNBC, The Daily Caller and Business Insider

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

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: Associated Press, Raw Story, IJR and USA Today

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.