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Trump is thrilled NFL players can’t kneel during the anthem anymore

But he doesn't think the NFL rule goes far enough: "Maybe they shouldn't be in the country."

President Donald Trump was thrilled to hear that NFL owners finally “did the right thing” and mandated that all players must stand for the national anthem or their teams will face a fine.

“You have to stand proudly for the national anthem and the NFL owners did the right thing with that if that's what they've done,” Trump told “Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade in an interview Thursday.

The NFL policy announcement, which came the day after the league finalized a $90 million social activism pact stemming from the 2017 player protests, demands that players “show respect” and stand during the national anthem. If they choose not to stand, they can stay off the field.

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Trump told Fox that while he appreciates the policy, he doesn’t think players should be allowed to stay off the field in protest at all. He even suggested that players who don’t want to respect the anthem shouldn't be in the country.

“I don’t think people should be staying in the locker rooms, but still I think it’s good,” Trump told Fox News. “You have to stand proudly for the national anthem. You shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there. Maybe they shouldn’t be in the country.”

The president added that he doesn’t take credit for the decision, though he’s been tweeting about it for months.

“I think the people pushed it forward; this was not me. I brought it out. I think the people pushed it forward,” Trump told Fox News. “This country is very smart. We have very smart people and that's something ideally could have been taken care of when it first started. It would have been a lot easier.”

Vice President Mike Pence also applauded the decision, tweeting a screenshot from a CNN article with the hashtag “#Winning” accompanied by the American flag emoji.

Most team owners have stayed quiet about the policy, according to CBS Sports, save for the New York Jets' Chairman Christopher Johnson who said he'd gladly pay the fine if his players feel the need to kneel.

“I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players,” Johnson said. “Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest. There are some big, complicated issues that we're all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don't want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won't. If the team gets fined, that's just something I'll have to bear.”

Other players, including Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long, were furious about the new policy.

“This is fear of a diminished bottom line,” Long wrote on Twitter. “It’s also fear of a president turning his base against a corporation. This is not patriotism. Don’t get it confused. These owners don’t love American more than the players demonstrating and taking real action to improve it. It also lets you, the fan, know where our league stands. I will continue to be committed to affecting change with my platform. I’m someone who’s always looked at the anthem as a declaration of ideals, including the right to peaceful protest. Our league continues to fall short on the issue.”

Cover image: President Donald Trump talks to journalists before departing the White House May 23, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)