To court Trump voters Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie jumps on the debate about NFL players taking a knee
Ed Gillespie
RICHMOND â Republican Ed Gillespie  already capitalizing on Confederate monuments and Latino gangs  has added national anthem protests to the red-meat smorgasbord heâs serving up in the homestretch of the Virginia governorâs race.
A  Gillespie  flier publicized on Twitter Friday bears an image of a kneeling football player  raising an emotionally charged issue on which  Gillespie  and Democrat Ralph Northam essentially agree.
[ Gillespie  rolls out ad that tries to connect Northam to Latino gang violence]
The issue has hardly come up the race  a fairly sleepy contest until  Gillespie  started rolling out ads focused on the fate of Confederate monuments and the violent MS-13 Latino street gang.
[ Ed Gillespie  went from âbig tentâ Republican to culture warrior]
By evoking the anthem protests   Gillespie  appears to be making a play for Trump voters as well as moderates who see the playersâ actions as disrespectful to the flag or the military.
 Gillespie  and Northam  the stateâs lieutenant governor  were both asked about kneeling players shortly after Trump weighed in. Both men supported the playersâ right to free speech. But  Gillespie  made it clear  he  was offended by the protests  while Northam criticized Trumpâs language.
âMy view is that I find it offensive when people donât stand for the national anthem and honor our flag and all that it stands for â said  Gillespie   a former Republican National Committee chairman  Washington lobbyist and counselor to President George W. Bush. âBut one of the things it stands for is freedom  and youâve got a right to be wrong in this country.â
RICHMOND â  [TGT] already capitalizing on Confederate monuments and Latino gangs  has added national anthem protests to the red-meat smorgasbord heâs serving up in the homestretch of the Virginia governorâs race.
A   [TGT] flier publicized on Twitter Friday bears an image of a kneeling football player  raising an emotionally charged issue on which   [TGT] and Democrat Ralph Northam essentially agree.
[  [TGT] rolls out ad that tries to connect Northam to Latino gang violence]
The issue has hardly come up the race  a fairly sleepy contest until   [TGT] started rolling out ads focused on the fate of Confederate monuments and the violent MS-13 Latino street gang.
[  [TGT] went from âbig tentâ Republican to culture warrior]
By evoking the anthem protests    [TGT] appears to be making a play for Trump voters as well as moderates who see the playersâ actions as disrespectful to the flag or the military.
  [TGT] and Northam  the stateâs lieutenant governor  were both asked about kneeling players shortly after Trump weighed in. Both men supported the playersâ right to free speech. But   [TGT] made it clear   [TGT]   was offended by the protests  while Northam criticized Trumpâs language.
âMy view is that I find it offensive when people donât stand for the national anthem and honor our flag and all that it stands for â said  Gillespie   a former Republican National Committee chairman  Washington lobbyist and counselor to President George W. Bush. âBut one of the things it stands for is freedom  and youâve got a right to be wrong in this country.â