People are acting like this is some free speech issue, but claiming that is just one giant strawman as no one is saying they don't have the right to protest during our national anthem. The question is whether or not they should. If some player was saluting Hitler during the national anthem, they'd be fired without question, because that would be a horribly disgraceful and unamerican thing to do. And if some politician said they think outta be fired for that, no one would bat an eye. The difference here is that liberals don't actually consider protesting our national anthem to be a bad thing.

NFL fans have overwhelmingly opposed these protests. In fact, it's been the number one reason given for their decline in ratings. Trump saying that he thinks these players should be fired is not some authoritarian attack on free speech, it's just an opinion. And even if the NFL took his advice, which they clearly won't, it would well within their rights to fire them over this, because they're a private business and employees can't just do and say whatever they want without risking their jobs.