Alright, we have had enough about groups and right vs left wing politics in here. Can we go back to the topic of Auckland FC themselves please.
Unfortunately, Bill Foley getting back on the Trump train keeps bringing these issues up. A friendly journo asked T-AFC for some comment.
https://au.sports.yahoo.com/trump-backlash-auckland-fc-fan-220500152.html
He might be "friendly" but given he's chosen to interview a minority, niche group who he'll know will give a negative perspective to try and drum up outrage, while not offering alternative perspectives*, he's certainly not a "journo".
It’s clear the journo personally supports TAFC. Nonsense journalism.
*the alternative perspective here doesn’t need to endorse Trump, but rather be someone from the majority of ticket holders who don’t care
Ben McKay is the NZ correspondent for the Australian Associated Press. That's about as neutral and reputable as it gets.
Good for him - maybe his other work is fantastic - but based on an this article he's using comments from a fringe minority group (the "half a dozen members" of TAFC have no more or less authority on this subject than me or you), and no one else, to try and drum up controversy.
To be fair as well, it’s not common in NZ for sports owners to express political opinions. With Mr Foley he’s got a foot in both cultures, but if say the Blues chairman or whoever came out in support of Trump or worse a local politician, that would be very strange and worthy of controversy and column inches in its own right. This is a candidate who has attacked the institutions of democracy in the country.
The interesting thing with Mr Foley is we don’t know why he’s publicly supporting Trump. It could be personal gain, it could be useful for a system of patronage links for his businesses, it could be part of his personal religious beliefs tied into nationalism, it could be for specific concessions on specific industries, it could just be his mates are…we don’t know.
There has been speculation for example, especially after so many ‘moderate’ Republicans endorsed Harris, that Sir John Key’s endorsement of Trump has to do with his charges of insider trading in the US.
TBH, it feels to me, strangely enough, like that’s something to do with Mr Foley’s American life and has little to do with his NZ life. I don’t feel like it ties Winston, Tim Brown or Steve Adams into to that political zone for example and though 20 Legend is annoyed, I don’t think it’s really news that a publicly left wing group won’t be pro-Trump. Anymore than some of the Fever’s most left wing listening is Shane Gillis…
Which is to say, maybe I’ve been suckered in with bread and circuses, but I’m looking forward to the start of the football!
Compared to some of the US political billionaires anyone who’s got billions and is enjoying it in wine, football and hospitality and sharing a bit of that around can’t be all bad.