Last fall, Donald Trump had a lot on his plate. There was the devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico (which he explained to residents of the island wasn’t “a real catastrophe like Katrina”). There were his pending tax cuts. There was the ongoing Russia investigation, and a new special counsel to undermine. There was the general matter of having an entire country to run. So swamped was he that his lawyers claimed a defamation lawsuit filed by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who’s accused Trump of sexual harassment (“totally fake news,” he says), should be thrown out to “show deference to the president and his schedule.” Yet despite how busy he was, despite how important a job he had to do, the president made sure to carve out time for one of his top priorities: attacking N.F.L. players for kneeling during the national anthem.

What seemed like every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday during the season, Trump logged onto Twitter to rant about how supposedly shameful it was for players protesting racial inequality not to stand during the anthem. “If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED,” he wrote in late September. “Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!” he tweeted a day later, followed by a pronouncement that “the issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” He continued the attacks offline, telling supporters at an Alabama rally that owners should say, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!” So when the league announced on Wednesday that it had essentially bowed to his ridiculous tantrums and would require anyone on the field to stand for the anthem, or risk being fined, Trump, who during his time in office has treated the Constitution like a roll of toilet paper, was moderately pleased. Still, he believes there’s room for improvement!

“The N.F.L. owners did the right thing if that’s what they’ve done,” he told Fox & Friends’s Brian Kilmeade during an exclusive interview Thursday morning. “I think that’s good, I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms. . . . You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing, you shouldn’t be there—maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”

To reiterate: the president of the United States believes law-abiding citizens exercising their Constitutional rights should be kicked out of the country—which pretty much squares with the rest of his views on immigration.