Donald Trump says he is ‘OK’ being criticized by Robert Kraft
President Donald Trump was asked Sunday evening about critical comments from his close friend Robert Kraft, in which the New England Patriots owner said he was disappointed by “the tone” of the president’s calls for NFL players to be fired for kneeling during the national anthem.
“Look, that’s OK,” Trump told reporters on a New Jersey tarmac. “He has to take his ideas and go with what he wants. I think it’s very disrespectful to our country. I think it’s very, very disrespectful to our flag.”
Trump said he believed protesting during the anthem was disrespectful to the country and to the American flag.
“I like Bob very much, were friends — I mean, he gave me a Super Bowl ring a month ago, right? — so he’s a good friend of mine, but — and I want him to do what he wants to do — but we have a great country, we have great people representing our country, especially our soldiers, our first responders, and they should be treated with respect,” Trump said.
During a rally Friday, the president said NFL owners should fire any player who kneels during the anthem and continued to hammer away at the subject over social media Saturday through Sunday night — stoking increased criticism and protests Sunday throughout the NFL
Kraft said in a statement Sunday morning that he was “deeply disappointed with the tone” of Trump’s comments and supported his players right to “peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.”
More than a dozen Patriots players knelt during the national anthem before Sunday’s game against the Texans.
Trump was asked Sunday night if he felt that — as some have suggested — he was inflaming racial tension with his attacks on NFL players, as well as NBA star Stephen Curry, over the weekend.
“This has nothing to do with race,” he replied. “I never said anything about race. This has nothing to do with race or anything else. This has to do with respect for our country and respect for our flag.”
