USMNT Captain Michael Bradley ‘Embarrassed’ By Trump’s Muslim Ban

Michael Bradley has spoken out against the 45th President of the United States.

USMNT Captain Michael Bradley ‘Embarrassed’ By Trump’s Muslim Ban

The U.S. Men’s National Team captain slammed President Donald Trump who, in just his first week in office, has signed several controversial executive orders. On Friday, Trump banned citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The travel ban even included citizens from these nations who have green cards and visas on a case-by-case basis.

When refugees and immigrants were detained at airports, including New York’s JFK, on Saturday, protests began all across the country.

Bradley gave an interview with Sports Illustrated senior writer and FOX Sports correspondent Grant Wahl to state his thoughts on the executive order. Bradley clarified in an Instagram post that he believes his initial response was “too soft,” and went on to more harshly criticize President Trump for his action. The American captain said he was “sad and embarrassed” by the ban, and stated Trump “couldn’t be more out of touch with our country and the right way to move forward.”

Here is the full post:

After Trump’s election in November, Bradley initially called for unity:

“My general feeling is that we as Americans, we trust our system, we respect our democracy,” he said. “Regardless of your beliefs, regardless of how you voted, we have an obligation to come together and get behind our new president and to have faith and trust that he will do what’s best for the entire country.

“In moments like this it is easy to question things. But this is what makes our country great, that we have a system where every American can go and vote. The results may not be what every person wanted. Some are happy, others aren’t, but the way forward is to come together, give our president support, rally behind him. He will continue what I believe every president has done – make decisions for the good of the country.”

Bradley has played 126 total games for the U.S., and has been the Americans’ captain since 2015. The New Jersey native has played throughout Europe– in the Netherlands, Germany, England and Italy– before signing with Toronto FC, where he has played for the last three years.

The USMNT tied Serbia 0-0 in a friendly game on Sunday. They next face Jamaica in another friendly on Friday.

The Americans’ next 2018 World Cup Qualifying matches are on June 8 against Trinidad and Tobago and then on June 11 against Mexico.