I have something to explain to you that most of you really are missing. You think Trump made a huge blunder by taking on the players who would not stand. You see the unity of all the players and you hear the commentators being critical of Trump and you think he made a huge political blunder, right?
Well very wrong. His popularity might actually go up. The NFL is black dominated and has a strong sense of team so their unity reaction to this is understandable. Owners can't defy 70% of their team so they walk a tight-rope.
Commentators have great fear of being caste as racist so they will talk the cause.
But here the deal, almost everyone stands and believes that people should respect the country. They are offended when people kneel or sit during the anthem. People quietly agree with Trump on this one. They see highly paid black athletes leading a movement to disrespect the country they love.
Trump called them out on it. In the long run, HE WILL NOT BE HURT BY THIS but might actually gain popularity for his bravery.