During an appearance on Fox News Wednesday night, President Trump blasted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the statement of support he delivered for Black Lives Matter last week.
Trump said he was “surprised” by Goodell’s statement and that no one was “even asking for it.”
“When the national anthem plays and our flag, the great American flag, is raised, you should not be kneeling,” Trump told Hannity. “You should be standing, ideally with your hand on your heart or saluting. But they should not be kneeling. They can protest enough, and I saw the NFL get very weak. I saw — Drew Brees is a warrior, a great, great quarterback. A fan of his, I’m a fan of his. I saw him make this beautiful statement and the next day he retracted the statement. He talked about his father and his grandfather fighting in the war for our country, our flag and then the next day he retracted it. I just don’t get that. But you have to stand when the flag goes up. And I think they’ll lose a lot of fans and a lot of support in the NFL. That already happened before. I thought they learned their lesson. But I think it’s gonna happen again.
“And I was surprised at Roger, Roger Goodell, that he would have done what he did and made the statement that he made. Nobody was even asking for it.”
Of course, that last part is incorrect. Goodell made the statement at the request of more than a dozen NFL players who specifically asked the league to endorse Black Lives Matter.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump made told reporters that Colin Kaepernick should get a job in the league, “if he deserves it.”
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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