Ryan Clark Calls Trump Admin 'Illegitimate' And Iran Video of NFL Highlights 'Disgusting'

Ryan Clark says the White House including NFL highlights in a social media post about its military operation in Iran "tells you the difference between a public servant and a reality star."

"I’m disappointed because, for one, to have ‘Tropic Thunder’ and football highlights on a video about war is one of the more insensitive things that I’ve ever seen. There are families here in our country whose loved ones have decided to give their life to fight for our rights and our freedoms, who don’t see war as a sport. War doesn’t deserve a highlight film, for ‘Tropic Thunder’ to be a part of it. War is not a comedy," Clark said on his "Pivot" podcast.

"And for these people to be risking their lives, not for our safety as much as for someone else’s agenda, for our regime to be as unserious, as unprofessional, as laughable, and as illegitimate as our leadership is right now, is embarrassing."

Ryan Clark is seen during the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Then he focused on President Trump.

"Because the reality star needs everybody to know at all times, ‘Oh, look at me, look at the attention I’m garnering, we’re doing this for me,’" he continued. "The public servant stands at attention for 45 minutes in a salute because he understands what those soldiers who gave their lives have done for our country. And I think we’ve lost 100% any credibility. We’ve lost all decorum. We’ve lost all integrity. We’ve lost all character. And I believe that the latest White House post, or the White House post involving myself and other NFL players, is absolutely disgusting and despicable."

Admittedly, Clark was off to a good start. He’s right that war is not a comedy, and there’s a valid argument that the U.S. soldiers who lost their lives were fighting for an agenda rather than for the safety of Americans.

But he loses us when he calls the current regime "illegitimate" and "unserious." Based on the results so far, the administration is quite legitimate and serious.

Speaking of "serious," Clark is taking the highlight package of himself and other players a bit too seriously. The White House account attempted to promote the success and toughness of our military in the clip, using hard-hitting football footage to underscore it. Whether the optics are ideal or not, calling the post "absolutely disgusting and despicable" feels like Clark is trying too hard, as he so often does.

There’s also the question of how much weight to put on anything Clark says about foreign affairs. Any time he ventures beyond breaking down Cover 2 defenses, he often has to follow up with an apology and a correction. 

Clark’s hard conversion to racial idolatry has cost him mountains of credibility and respect. His comments read more like a personal attack on the current administration than an informed critique of the events in Iran.

Nonetheless, the strikes on Iran do warrant skepticism and criticism. In 2024, Trump ran on ending wars and bringing peace to the Middle East. Circumstances change. However, the administration has done a poor job explaining this attack to the American people.

Seven U.S. servicemen have already died in response to the operation. So we must ask why the attacks were launched in the first place. Was it for our own benefit? Was it to weaken a Chinese ally? Was it solely to help Israel? Was it for control of future oil distribution? Ego? Something else?

Those are some of the theories and narratives. Until the Trump administration explains its rationale more clearly, the American people should continue to ask those questions. 

It is our people who are dying, after all.

We would just prefer that the people asking those questions are a bit more, well, "serious" than Ryan Clark.