Colin Kaepernick suggests Trump ‘directed’ and ‘reduced’ him to national anthem protests.

Former NFL quarterback and social justice activist Colin Kaepernick spoke out against former President Trump ahead of Tuesday’s election during an interview Friday with the Wall Street Journal podcast, “The Future of It All.”

Kaepnerick protested police brutality by taking a knee during the national anthem at a San Francisco 49ers game in 2016. Trump won the election that year and, in March 2017, took credit for not having a player contract when Kaepernick was no longer with the 49ers. he was not signed by another team.

“See [NFL owners] I don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. Do you believe that?” said Trump at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, March 21, 2017.

Trump took a strong position on the issue during a heated argument in September of that year at a meeting of Republican Senator Luther Strange. At the time, Kaepernick was no longer in the NFL, but other players in the league began to follow his example by kneeling during games.

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“Wouldn’t you like to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now. Get out! He’s fired. He’s fired!'” Trump said.

Trump then repeated his position less than a week later in an interview with “FOX & Friends” host Pete Hegseth.

“The NFL cannot disrespect our country. They cannot disrespect our flag or our national anthem,” Trump said.

Kaepernick reflected on the incident Friday during an interview, saying it’s “easier for him to analyze it” now than it was seven years ago.

“I think one of the important things that we have to think about in relation to that time is what it means that at that time there was a president who was willing to target each citizen and use the power of his office, the power of their influence, to be able to try to reduce the person and their desires, so, I think back to that time, I think, plays a big role in where we are today and the future we decide to build together,” Kaepernick said.

COLIN KAEPERNICK SAYS HE’LL MAKE A GUARANTEE ‘CAUGHT OUT’ IN THE NFL IS A REASON HE’S NOT IN.

Colin Kaepernick participates in a throwing demonstration during halftime of Michigan’s spring football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)

The former quarterback also explained in detail how he views the George Floyd riots in 2020.

“I think the main part of it is should people be able to live a better life, and should people be able to live without the threat of death? I think that’s basically the basis of this, too, if we take it up a notch. In addition, should people be discriminated against because of the color of their skin or because of their religion or because of where they live or because of their social and economic status?” Kaepernick said.

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Colin Kaepernick interacts with fans during Michigan’s spring football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)

Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since the 49ers released him after the 2016 season. Several coaches represented Kaepernick to join the team, and he had workouts with teams in 2019, but no team signed him.

Kaepernick also settled a 2019 complaint against the NFL that team owners allegedly conspired to delist him.

In the summer of 2020, Trump encouraged teams to sign Kaepernick multiple times, but with the caveat of doing so only if the former quarterback is “talented.”

In an interview Friday, Kaepernick said he follows a schedule where he, at age 36, wakes up at 3:30 a.m. every day so he can keep NFL practices in case a team wants to sign him. Kaepernick says he’s doing all of this while serving as CEO of tech startup Lumi Story AI.

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