President Donald Trump faced an online backlash Friday morning after he posed this question about Nike:
“What was Nike thinking?” asked Trump, apparently doubling down on his criticism of the sports brand for making former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary celebration of its iconic “Just Do It” campaign.
Kaepernick began taking a knee during the national anthem before NFL games in 2016 to protest systemic racial injustice and police brutality. Trump has been heavily critical of the protest.
In a “Fox & Friends” interview recorded Thursday at Trump’s political rally in Montana and shown Friday morning, Trump said he didn’t like “what Nike did.”
“I don’t think it’s appropriate what they did,” he said. “I honor the flag. I honor our national anthem, and most of the people in this country feel the same way.”
Trump’s Twitter question inspired many people to suggest why Nike had recruited Kaepernick for the campaign. And, inevitably, many took the opportunity to offer their thoughts about Trump: