President Trump said Thursday night that Nike’s decision to use unemployed NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick as a spokesperson for their 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign is inappropriate.
“I don’t like what Nike did. I don’t think it’s appropriate what they did. I honor the flag. I honor our national anthem. And most of the people in this country feel the same way,” Trump told Fox News in an interview conducted in front of a Montana rally crowd Thursday.
Trump’s comments were met with applause and agreement from the crowd.
[Opinion: Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad was cold and calculated — that says something about America]
EXCLUSIVE: @POTUS shares his message with @PeteHegseth ahead of his rally in Montana pic.twitter.com/wKXbJloWWH
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) September 7, 2018
Nike chose Kaepernick to be the face of a campaign that read, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #Justdoit.”
“What was Nike thinking?” the president questioned on Twitter Friday morning.
What was Nike thinking?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2018
The Nike campaign was met with backlash, especially on social media. Many people posted photos and videos of them burning or destroying their Nike gear, and others vowed to boycott Nike.
Kaepernick started the trend of NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem, claiming that he was protesting race inequalities and police brutalities towards black people. Instead, many viewed the move as disrespecting the American flag and those who served in the military.
The NFL reacted to football fan’s opposition to the move by implementing a new rule that allows players to either stand on the field during the anthem or go to the locker room until the anthem concludes.
Trump, however, says that going back into the locker room during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner is “worse than kneeling.”
“That shows you just have no respect for the anthem or the flag,” Trump said.
