Mike Ditka blasts Republicans, declines invitation by Donald Trump to speak at GOP National Convention.
Legendary football Hall of Famer and television commentator Mike Ditka has said he would back presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, but “has declined an invitation to speak at the Republican National Convention in July” according to Bleacher Report.
Kim Janssen of The Chicago Tribune reports that “the 76-year-old Chicago Bears legend politely declined the offer.”
“I can help him, but I don’t know if I can give a speech at the convention,” Ditka told The Tribune, adding: “I don’t travel much anymore except between Chicago and Florida, and giving a speech at a convention isn’t really my style.”
Janssen continues, reporting that:
Ditka has made no secret of his support for Trump. And Trump has publicly returned the love. But the leak to Bloomberg reporters Tuesday that the Trump camp was hoping Ditka would appear alongside the candidate in Cleveland next month before securing his attendance now looks like an embarrassing oversight.
Ditka told The Chicago Tribune Wednesday morning that he had not been invited to speak at the Convention,
“No one’s ever talked to me about it. I have no idea where it’s coming from,” he said, telling the Tribune that he had first learned of the suggestion via text messages from friends who had read the Bloomberg article.
Ditka said he first learned of the suggestion that he might appear at the July 18-21 convention in text messages from pals who’d read the Bloomberg story.
However, later on Wednesday, Ditka told The Tribune that: “I spoke with Mr. Trump this afternoon and he invited me. But I don’t think I’m going to go.”
He went on to blast the GOP for not getting behind Trump’s campaign:
The Republican Party has its head up its ass — if he’s the candidate, you’ve got to get behind him. It does the party no good. They’re a bunch of assholes.
He went on to say that the country would survive either way, and taking an apparent snipe at President Barack Obama – he added that:
America’s pretty resilient. We’ve survived the last seven years, haven’t we?
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