President Donald Trump endorsed the idea of Colin Kaepernick playing again in the NFL as long as the former quarterback was “good enough” to play.
“Only if he’s good enough,” Trump said when asked if he supported the idea.
Trump commented to reporters on the issue as he left the White House for a series of fundraisers in New York.
“Frankly I’d love to see Kaepernick come in if he’s good enough, but I don’t want to see him come in because someone thinks it would be a good P.R. move,” he said.
Trump said he knew many NFL owners such as New England Patriots Owner Bob Kraft.
“If he’s good enough, then sign him,” Trump said about Kaepernick. “I know these people, they would sign him in a heartbeat, they will do anything that they can to win games.”
Kaepernick has not played an NFL game since 2016 but posted a video on social media to show him working out.
The video noted that Kaepernick had been “denied work” for 889 days.
After becoming a lightning rod of controversy for taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial disparity in the United States, Kaepernick remains unsigned by the NFL.
In 2017, Kaepernick opted out of his San Francisco 49ers contract that was originally supposed to keep him on the team in 2020 to become a free agent.
Kaepernick also turned down a proposed $7 million deal with the Denver Broncos.