Tuesday, host of Fox Sports 1’s “The Herd,” Colin Cowherd, reasoned that the NFL ratings are down 10 percent so far this season because of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, rather than because of pre-game national anthem protests that were started by the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick.

“Sometimes I look at the American media and I just — I don’t understand how they can’t see the obvious stuff,” Cowherd said. “So NFL ratings are down like 10 percent. I can just see them. They’re all arguing about what it is. ‘Oh, it’s got to be the Kaepernick thing.’ It’s not the Kaepernick thing. It’s the Trump/Hillary thing. That’s why the Olympics were off 15 percent. It’s why ESPN’s most popular shows ‘PTI’ and ‘Around the Horn’ are off 15 percent. It’s why sports programming, especially afternoon, late afternoon and night is off 15 percent. It’s not about Kaepernick, it’s because Trump and Hillary, CNN, up. Fox News, up. NBC, way, way up. Listen, presidential cycles every four years steals some audience.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent