Trump tees off on NASCAR, Bubba Wallace for flag removal, noose ‘hoax’

President Donald Trump speaks before the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Donald Trump turned his attention to NASCAR on Monday morning, calling out driver Bubba Wallace and saying that the sport is suffering in ratings after its decision to pull the Confederate flag from its properties.

Trump’s first target was Wallace, who became at the center of a controversy after a team member found a rope garage door pull in the shape of a noose before a race at Talladega last month. An FBI investigation was launched into a possible hate crime, but found that the pull-rope had been in that garage stall and tied like that since as early as fall of last year.

Recommended Videos



NASCAR announced on June 10 that it was banning all Confederate flags at its events and on its properties, a major move that Wallace had called for days earlier.

Trump called the noose incident a “hoax” and said that NASCAR’s ratings have plummeted since the sport issued a ban on Confederate flags at its events.

On Twitter, Trump wrote: “Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!”


About the Author

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

Recommended Videos