Donald Trump: Nike's Colin Kaepernick Campaign Sends 'Terrible' Message

President Donald Trump believes Nike is sending a "terrible message" by using Colin Kaepernick as the spokesman for the 30th anniversary of its "Just Do It" ad campaign. 

"I think it's a terrible message. Nike is a tenant of mine. They pay a lot of rent," Trump told The Daily Caller's Vince Coglianese and Saagar Enjeti on Tuesday.

"I think it’s a terrible message that they're sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there's a reason for them doing it, but I think as far as sending a message, I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent," Trump added. "There's no reason for it."

Nike previously leased a five-floor Manhattan NikeTown storefront on East 57th Street in a building managed by Trump's organization. However, the Swoosh announced last December it was leaving that location for a new space on 5th Avenue in 2019. The East 57th Street location has been closed since March. 

Trump added that while he isn't a fan of Nike's decision, he accepts the company is entitled to make whatever call it sees fit. 

"As much as I disagree with the Colin Kaepernick endorsement, in another way—I mean, I wouldn't have done it," he said. "In another way, it is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn't do, but I personally am on a different side of it."

In August 2016, Trump—then a candidate for the presidency—said Kaepernick "should find a country that works better for him" after he kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality in America. 

Trump later referred to a player who kneels during the anthem as a "son of a bitch" and advocated for them to lose their jobs.