Donald Trump Tweets Kneeling Isn't About Race, NFL Must Respect Anthem

For the fourth consecutive day, President Donald Trump has criticized NFL players' right to protest during the playing of the national anthem.

Trump took to Twitter on Monday morning, saying the NFL "must respect" the flag and national anthem while praising fans who booed protestors.

"Many people booed the players who kneeled yesterday (which was a small percentage of total)," Trump tweeted. "These are fans who demand respect for our Flag! The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!"

An unprecedented number of players sat or knelt for the national anthem before Sunday's NFL games. ESPN's Darren Rovell put the number at 180, or about 12 percent of players. Another three full teams (Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans) did not go out on the field for the anthem. Many other players linked arms as a sign of solidarity. 

A vast majority of these actions were done both in protest of racial unrest in America but also of Trump, who has received widespread rebukes of his rhetoric during a campaign rally for senator Luther Strange in Alabama. 

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” Trump told a group of supporters.

“You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it [but] they’ll be the most popular person in this country.”

Trump continued to make similar comments throughout the weekend, often repeating a "fire or suspend" mantra.