Video Shows Trump Disrespecting US Anthem, Fidgets And Pretend-Conducts Band

President Donald Trump is receiving backlash for seemingly disrespecting the U.S. National Anthem during the coverage of Super Bowl LIV on Sunday. Trump is seen fidgeting and pretending to conduct the band as the anthem played.

His disrespecting The Star Spangled Banner was also on full display on Jan. 8, 2018 during the College Football Playoff National Championship between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs where TV cameras caught him attempting -- and failing -- to mouth the anthem and skipping the lyrics he didn't know.

He again repeated this performance five months later when he struggled to sing along to the National Anthem when it was played at his “Celebration of America” ceremony at the White House. This hasty get-together was arranged after the Super Bowl LII champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, boycotted Trump's invitation to visit the White House.

And, on Sunday, Trump again disrespected the National Anthem by clowning around as it was played during the televised coverage of Super Bowl LIV won by the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers.

Videos circulating on social media show Trump fooling around as the National Anthem is sung, instead of standing respectfully at attention with his right hand over his heart.

An Instagram video of Trump's Super Bowl watch party at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach shows Trump raising both his hands in the air, as if conducting an orchestra, and twirling his hands like a conductor.

He then fidgets, straightens his suit jacket, looks around at the other people standing at attention, attempts to stand still before turning from side to side once again. He points to his wife, Melania, standing by his side with her hand over her heart, while his son, Barron, stands with hand over heart on the other side. At no point in this video is Trump seen standing respectfully at attention for any length of time.

The Instagram video published by the Miami Herald was attached to an Instagram story posted by a real estate agent for a Russian-American firm. This man frequents Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties and events.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-CA, assailed Trump for this latest example of unpresidential and un-American behavior. He said Trump disrespected U.S. troops with his antics.

“Our troops are worthy of a commander-in-chief who respects them. Instead, they’re being led by a self-centered man-child,” tweeted Swalwell.

Trump's continuing disrespect for the Anthem stands in glaring contrast to his criticism of NFL players that once knelt when the National Anthem was played before football games. These African-American players, the most famous of whom is Colin Kaepernick, knelt to protest racism and police brutality in America. Trump, instead, chose to criticize these men for allegedly disrespecting the country, the flag and the Anthem.