Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin hit back at President Trump for saying that NFL players who protest during the national anthem “maybe … shouldn’t be in the country.”
“He’s an idiot, plain and simple,” Baldwin said at a news conference Thursday, according to USA Today. “I mean, listen, I respect the man because he’s a human being, first and foremost. But he’s being more divisive, which is not surprising. It is what it is.”
“But for him to say anybody who doesn’t follow his viewpoints, or his constituent’s viewpoints should be kicked out of the country, it’s just not very empathetic,” Baldwin continued. “It’s not very American-like, to me. It’s not very patriotic. It’s not what this country was founded upon.”
{mosads}
“So it’s kind of ironic to me that the president of the United States is contradicting what our country is really built on,” he added.
Trump made the comments as he praised the NFL for a new policy requiring players on the field to stand for the national anthem.
He has previously attacked NFL players who protest over social issues by kneeling during the anthem.
“I think that’s good. I don’t think people should be staying in the locker rooms, but still, I think it’s good. You have to stand proudly for the national anthem,” Trump said of the new policy during an interview with “Fox & Friends” broadcast Thursday.
“You shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country,” he added.