Julián Castro and Beto O’Rourke are both trying to boost their 2020 chances by jumping on the new leftist bandwagon of trashing the early American flag designed by Betsy Ross.

While the flag was not previously thought to be controversial — it could be found at Barack Obama’s inauguration — a decision by Nike to pull a shoe from production that sported the flag has kicked off a new debate about whether the early American symbol is hateful or not.

Castro told CBS News on Wednesday that he was “glad to see” Nike remove the product from shelves after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick reportedly complained. The Democrat called the symbol “painful” and even compared it to the Confederate flag.

“There are a lot of things in our history that are still very painful,” Castro said. One example of a “painful” thing from American history, according to Castro, is “the Confederate flag that still flies in some places and is used as a symbol.”

O’Rourke went a step further in his comments claiming that the Betsy Ross American flag has been “appropriated” by “white nationalist groups.”

“I think its really important to take into account the impression that kind of symbol would have for many of our fellow Americans,” the former Texas congressman said.

Nike had put their American flag shoe into production in celebration of the Fourth of July. The plan was for the shoe to go on sale this week, but the company reportedly asked for all shoes already delivered to stores to be returned without explanation.

Rumors have it that Kaepernick — who has worked on advertising campaigns for Nike — complained to the company about the shoe design and that led Nike to pull the design from production.

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a spokeswoman for the company said about pulling the shoe.

That explanation from Nike obviously makes no sense. If they put the shoe into production then they knew the design was of an old American flag, so there would be no reason to abruptly pull it later. This leads weight to the theory that Kaepernick was behind the shoe being pulled.

Nike pulling the shoe from production has led many to call for boycotts of the company. Fox News host Laura Ingraham and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have both called for people to shun the athletic gear-making company.

While it’s not a surprise to see 2020 Dem hopefuls join in on the latest “woke” trend, it is a surprise to see Castro have such animosity toward the Betsy Ross flag since he served in Obama’s administration. If he really has such an objection to the flag design then why is he only mentioning it now when it clearly appeared at Obama’s inauguration?

This is not the first time Kaepernick has stood against the flag. He is most famous for kicking off the infamous national anthem protests in the National Football League.

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Zachary Leeman

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Zachary Leeman is originally from Maine, he served in the United States Army Reserve for six years. He currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

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