Just days after President Trump issued an executive order that banned immigrants from several countries from entering the United States, one of the most public figures in NASCAR has made his feelings about immigration clear…again.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been in the media a lot since the end of the year. He got married to his longtime girlfriend, Amy Reimann, on New Year’s Eve, he released a new series detailing his road to recovery, and he announced his plans for racing during this upcoming season along with some other team/car news. One thing he hasn’t spoken much about in the last few months is the election, or the new President.
The famed driver isn’t taking a stance on President Trump or expressing his political views, but his message does come at a most opportune time – and is in response to someone who has been very vocal about President Donald Trump’s newest executive order.
Dale Jr. isn’t holding back when it comes to addressing the concept of immigration and took to Twitter in response to a NASCAR fan from Indonesia who had tweeted at the racing star about immigration. While the contents of the original tweet are unclear as it has been deleted, the context of the messages and the fans’ other tweets at the same time imply that the tweet was politically-charged and addressed Trump’s new immigration ban.
In response to a tweet from Gelar Budidarma, Dale Jr. explained how close the issue of immigration was to him, saying, “My [family] immigrated from Germany in 1700s escaping religious persecution. America is created by immigrants.”
my fam immigrated from Germany in 1700s escaping religious persecution. America is created by immigrants.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 29, 2017
Budidarma later apologized for the (now deleted) first tweet that Dale Jr. had responded to, adding that he felt “uncomfortable” in the current political atmosphere created by the executive order and the far-reaching publicity regarding it.
I would too! I can't imagine how that feels.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 29, 2017
While Dale Jr. isn’t shy about explaining his heritage or standing up for immigration, he also isn’t specifically addressing the current immigration situation (at least not directly) and hasn’t spoken a word about his opinion on Trump’s new orders that have been issued in the past week.
This isn’t the first time Dale Jr.’s opened up about the topic of immigration either. During 2004, the racing star took his entire team out to see Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore. It was during this same time that he had publicly voiced his support of President George W. Bush.
In response to that, he told CBS News, “I like hearing both sides of the argument.”
Later, he announced his support in the decision to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol, NASCAR races, and other buildings. He solidified his position by stating that he believes it is “offensive to an entire race” and said that “it belongs in the history books and that’s about it.”
Dale Jr. has a long and deep history with learning about his family’s immigration, too. Before proposing to his now wife, Amy Reimann, he spent a great amount of time digging through his ancestry and unearthing everything he could about his family’s heritage. When he proposed to Reimann, he chose to do so on a trip to Germany where he and Reimann explored the village that his ancestors once lived, prayed, and worked in for hundreds of years. Needless to say, Dale Jr. is proud of his heritage.
What do you think about Dale Jr’s statement on immigration? Do you agree with him?