President Trump spoke with Fox News shortly after the NFL announced its new policy on players protesting during he national anthem. Now, all players who are on the field when the national anthem is being played must stand and show respect. If they don’t, they will face a fine.
The president praised the new policy, but seemed to indicate that maybe it didn’t go far enough.
“Maybe You Shouldn’t Be In The Country”
“Well, I think that’s good. I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms. But still, I think it’s good. You have to stand proudly for the national anthem, or you shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country,” Trump said.
“You have to stand proudly for the national anthem, and the NFL owners did the right thing,” he added.
Under the new policy, teams will be subject to a fine if a player does not comply.
The NFL had previously suggested that players should stand, but it stopped short of enforcing fines. The new policy says NFL teams can still have their own work rules for players and personnel who don’t stand, but they must be “consistent with the above principles.”
Trump, in the interview with Fox, took credit for creating the issue but said it was “the people” who “pushed it forward.”
“I think the people pushed it forward, not me. I brought it out. it could have been taken care of when it first started,” he said.
In this same interview, the president also discussed immigration and the MS-13 gang. He said he would not consider an immigration bill that did not include provisions to build his border wall.
“Unless it includes a wall, I mean a real wall … there will be no approvals from me,” Trump said.
Trump continued, “it’s time to get the whole package,” referring to his desire that any immigration deal include not only money for his wall and protections people covered by DACA, but also increased border security measures like ending so-called “chain migration.”