Donald Trump: It's 'About Time' NFL Is 'Demanding' Players Stand for Anthem

United States President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to praise the NFL's new stance on protests during the national anthem.

Trump expressed approval regarding the idea that players may now be required to stand as the anthem plays:

The NFL later responded in a statement, via Adam Schefter of ESPN, clarifying the league's stance:

“Commentary this morning about the Commissioner’s position on the Anthem is not accurate. As we said yesterday, there will be a discussion of these issues at the owners meeting next week. The NFL is doing the hard work of trying to move from protest to progress, working to bring people together. Commissioner Goodell spent yesterday with Miami Dolphins players, law enforcement and community leaders witnessing first-hand the outstanding work our players and clubs are doing to strengthen their communities. Players from around the league will be in New York next week to meet with owners to continue our work together. “

On Tuesday, Goodell sent a letter to the NFL's 32 teams and mentioned his desire for all players to stand during the anthem "to honor our flag and our country," per ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert.

In the letter, Goodell also expressed support for the players and the message they are trying to get across through demonstration:

"Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.

"We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players."

On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that any of his players who don't stand for the anthem will be benched, according to ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen.

That prompted a tweet of support from Trump:

Trump has taken to social media on several occasions to express his dismay with the NFL and its players' protests.

There was a significant increase in demonstrations across the league in Week 3 after Trump said at a rally 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!'"

Prior to Goodell's letter, the NFL's policy was that players "should" stand for the anthem.

Per Seifert, the league could have a new policy in place after discussing it at the fall meetings on Oct. 17 and 18.