President Donald Trump is singing a different tune about Colin Kaepernick.
In an interview with WJLA’s Scott Thuman on Wednesday, Trump said that he would “absolutely” support Kaepernick’s return to the NFL.
“If he deserves it, he should,” Trump said of Kaepernick’s possible return to the NFL. “If he has the playing ability. He started off great, and then he didn’t end up very great in terms of a player. He was terrific in his rookie year. I think he was very good in his second year. And then something happened. So his playing wasn’t up to snuff.”
Trump continued, “As far as kneeling, I would love to see him get another shot. But obviously he has to be able to play well. If he can’t play well, I think it would be very unfair.”
President Trump felt differently about Kaepernick three years ago. During a 2017 rally in Alabama, Trump decried Kaepernick’s silent protests and resorted to name-calling.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired!’,” Trump said at the time.
“You know, some owner is gonna do that. He’s gonna say, ‘That guy disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it. They don’t know it. They’re friends of mine, many of them. They don’t know it. They’ll be the most popular person, for a week. They’ll be the most popular person in this country.”
Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. Kaepernick believed the league blackballed him, a point that holds some truth.
According to former NFL executive Joe Lockhart, the controversy surrounding Kaepernick made him a pariah.
“No teams wanted to sign a player — even one as talented as Kaepernick — whom they saw as controversial, and, therefore, bad for business,” Lockhart wrote in a column for CNN.
Kaepernick, 32, still wants to play in the NFL. Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said on Wednesday that Kaepernick is on the team’s workout list.