New on Sports Illustrated: Donald Trump Says Colin Kaepernick Should Get Another Chance to Play in NFL

President Trump appeared to reverse his stance on whether Colin Kaepernick should get another shot at playing in the NFL: "If he deserves it, he should."

Less than three years after saying he'd like to see NFL players who kneel for the anthem

be "fired," President Donald Trump now says he'd like to see the leader of the anthem protest get another chance at playing.

Speaking to Sinclair reporter Scott Thurman on Wednesday, Trump said he'd love to see Colin Kaepernick get a shot at playing in the NFL again.

""If he deserves it, he should. If he has the playing ability. His playing wasn't up to snuff," Trump said. "The answer is absolutely I would, as far as kneeling, I would love to see him get another shot but obviously he has to be able to play well," he continued. "If he can't play well, I think that would be very unfair."

Trump has been very outspoken on the subject of kneeling during the national anthem since Kaepernick began his movement. 

Last week, in response to the news that U.S. Soccer would repeal a policy that required its players to stand during the anthem, Trump Tweeted he "won't be watching much" anymore as a result.

Two days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement admitting the league was wrong to ignore players who knelt in protest during the national anthem, Trump again responded via Twitter by questioning whether Goodell was encouraging players to kneel, "thereby disrespecting our country and our flag."

After Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting" the flag, he issued an apology, saying his comments were "insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country."

The next day, Trump said he was a big fan of Brees' and that Brees "should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high. We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!"