Conservative talking head Tomi Lahren had a contentious recent interview with former NFL running back Arian Foster about athletes who kneel in protest during the National Anthem

Conservative talking head Tomi Lahren is rarely at a loss for words, but the Fox News firebrand appeared to struggle as she quizzed former NFL running back Arian Foster about kneeling in protest during the National Anthem.

Foster agreed to appear on the latest episode of Lahren's Fox News web show 'No Interruption,' which was released on Wednesday, after she appeared on his new podcast 'Now What?'

In an almost 25-minute discussion, Lahren questioned Foster, a retired All-Pro running back, about the now-infamous symbolic gesture started by Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 NFL pre-season after a string of high-profile police shootings of black men across America.

Foster, who played seven seasons with the Houston Texans before ending his career with the Miami Dolphins in 2017, was among those to take a knee. Lahren explained why the protest angered her and other conservatives.

'It is showing disrespect to a National Anthem and a flag that means a lot to people, whether they are black, white, Christian, Jewish, atheist, it doesn't matter,' she said.

'That flag and that anthem means something because when your fellow soldier comes home underneath a flag and then you see someone during the National Anthem kneeling, it's an emotional trigger.'

Foster explained to Lahren that the kneeling protest for him and other players intended to show deference to military veterans while calling attention to the cause the players were trying to highlight.

'If you're in a football game and somebody breaks their leg and the game stops, what do the players do? They take a knee. It's a sign of respect,' Foster told Lahren.

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On the latest episode of her Fox News web show ' No Interruption ,' Lahren questioned Foster, a retired All-Pro running back, about Colin Kaepernick's now-infamous symbolic gesture, which the Kaepernick started exercising during the 2016 NFL pre-season after a string of high-profile police shootings of black men across America

From left, Arian Foster #29, Kenny Stills #10 and Michael Thomas #31 of the Miami Dolphins kneel during the national anthem before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 18, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts

'Every single Sunday at church, what do people do? They get on both of their knees and they praise their deity... It's actually, it's a submissive sign. It means you're honoring whatever it is you're honoring. ... It's not disrespectful in nature, the gesture.

'But it was done to send a message of, "I don't agree with this country. I'm not going to stand for this flag and this anthem," Lahren countered. 'When you're doing it, you're saying, "I am not going to respect this flag, this moment, this anthem."'

'Why should we respect the anthem?' Foster asked.

'Well that anthem, it's a symbol of patriotism,' Lahren replied.

'You hit the nail on the head. It's a symbol,' Foster said.

'And that symbol, and the beautiful thing about America, is it's not a place. It's not a people. It's an idea. And that symbol means something to you. And it also means something to me. And you don't get to dictate what that symbol means to me and you don't get to dictate what that symbol means to somebody else.'

Foster said Lahren and others were being 'logically inconsistent' with their purported conservative views when it came to the kneeling protests

'Well that anthem, it's a symbol of patriotism,' Lahren said during the interview

Colin Kaepernick's started kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 NFL pre-season after a string of high-profile police shootings of black men across America

The take-a-knee protest started a movement among athletes in different sports across America, including kids in high school and college as well as MLB player Bruce Maxwell and women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe.

The demonstrations outraged conservatives and energized progressives while dividing Americans further along racial lines.

A January 2018 Washington Post poll found that 69 percent of African Americans said the protests were acceptable while 58 percent of white Americans said the opposite.

President Donald Trump targeted Kaepernick and others who protested during and after his 2016 campaign, referring to them 'son of a b****' players during a September 2017 speech in Alabama.

Kenny Stills #10 and Albert Wilson #15 of the Miami Dolphins kneel during the National Anthem prior to their game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts

Members of the Indianapolis Colts stand and kneel for the National Anthem prior to the start of the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland Browns at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 24, 2017 in Indianapolis

(From l to r) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace, former player Ray Lewis and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley lock arms and kneel during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem before an NFL game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, on September 24, 2017

The controversy coincided with 17 percent ratings downtick over the 2017 and 2018 seasons, which many blamed on Kaepernick. None of the 32 NFL teams would sign the 2013 Super Bowl starter after he became a free agent in March of 2017.

He and former teammate Eric Reid went on to file a lawsuit against the NFL accusing the league's owners and administrators of colluding to keep both players from being signed to teams.

Reid has since been signed by the Carolina Panthers. Kaepernick, meanwhile, was the face of Nike's latest 'Just Do It' campaign, which prompted police officers and conservatives across the country to burn their Nike shoes and threaten boycotts. The company's stock surged in spite of the uproar, but Kaepernick hasn't played a down of football in more than two seasons.

Even Lahren, an ardent Trump supporter, refused to support the president referring to NFL players as the male offspring of female dogs.

'I'm not saying that was the best choice of words. I'm not defending that,' she told Foster.

'It's not about being the best choice of words. It's demonstrably divisive to a nation that is already racially infused,' he replied.

'I would also argue that kneeling for the National Anthem is divisive,' Lahren responded.

'I would agree,' Foster conceded. 'One is directed towards something and one is directed for something. It's a false equivalency. The president of the United States is calling an American citizen a son of a b***h for exercising his First Amendment right. And there's a citizen protesting how he sees fit to protest whatever issue is important to him. ... Those are two entirely different things.'

The two also sparred over Trump's brash style as commander-in-chief, which Lahren said she and other conservatives find appealing.

'What I like about Donald Trump is he says what he thinks and he means what he says. And he really has a forthright dialogue with the American people,' she said. 'It's not, "I'm gonna say this one thing and then I'm going to turn around and say another thing behind closed doors." I feel like he's very transparent in that way. That's what a lot of people do love about Donald Trump. He's not your typical politician.'

'I agree and disagree,' Foster replied. 'I think he is very accessible and I think he's too accessible. I think he doesn't 100 percent think out what he says. I think he's been caught in multiple lies. I'm not saying that every politician doesn't lie, but some of the lies, it's like pathological lies. You don't even need to lie about the stuff you're lying about. It's just weird.'

President Donald Trump was criticized in 2017 for referring to NFL athletes who kneel in protest during the National Anthem as 'son of a b***h' players

'There's a difference between exaggeration and lying,' Lahren replied. 'He exaggerates when he says, "My crowds were the biggest crowds." I think that's an exaggeration.'

'That's a lie though,' Foster said.

'But when you say, "You're lying," lying about that or I'm lying about under-the-table ransom payments to Iran, I think there's a difference,' Lahren responded.

'There's a difference in degree to which your lying, but the underlying theme is distrust. So that's what he's giving the american people in my opinion, is distrust,' Foster fired back.

Foster went on to praise Lahren for being vocally pro-choice, which he said is consistent with her conservative values despite what many conservatives believe. But he took issue with Lahren and other conservatives' stance on the kneeling protests, which he characterized as 'logically inconsistent.'

'I have never said that Colin Kaepernick or you don't have the right to kneel. You absolutely do. I will stick up and stand up for that right all day long,' Lahren told Foster during their exchange. 'Now the NFL has a right to say, "We're you're employer and you're not doing that during your work time," so I believe in that as well.'

'Which is ridiculous as well,' Foster responded.

'Well I mean it's an employer,' replied Lahren, 'So if my employer says, "Tomi you can't do this or you can't do that," I mean it's an employer.'

'It's a logically inconsistent stance on their part,' Foster said.

'If you want to say, "Don't make political statements on the field," then don't have the military fly over at the beginning or don't have a deal with them that the Department of (Defense), that has millions of dollars, advertising the military. It's a logically inconsistent stance.'

'That might be,' Lahren conceded, 'but as your employer they get to make that.'

Foster told Lahren her remarks often 'hurt people' and criticized her for 'inciting' and triggering rhetoric, saying some of her viewers may not understand how to cope with things she says

'Sure,' Foster replied. 'I can appreciate your stance on abortion because it's logically consistent with being a conservative. That's my issue with people who take issue with the protest is it's not logically consistent and the NFL, they're emotionally driven. They're reactionary and not proactive.... You're always kind of proselytizing diversity of thought. This is the crux of diversity of thought. And that is that that American flag doesn't mean the same thing to some people that it does to you.'

The dueling duo also discussed why Lahren has trouble getting progressives to discuss politics with her on her show.

'I understand where they're coming from,' Foster said of Lahren's critics. 'They're coming from a place of frustration. Right now you're very civil. You're very diplomatic and your tone is very nice and kind. That's not how you're marketed from your network or yourself. That's not the picture in which people perceive you.'

Foster went on to constructively criticize Lahren for knowingly or unknowingly 'inciting' people with her rhetoric.

'You've been very selective about the language you use and the language you use hurts people,' he said. 'The language you use, it can incite, I don't want to say violence because I know that's a trigger word, but it can incite emotions and triggers in people that may not understand how to cope with those things. It'll fuel their irrationality, OK? And so, why people don't want to sit across from you is because you're the antithesis of what they stand for.'

African Americans Delrawn Small, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile were all shot dead on camera by police in a span of less than a week during the month of July in 2016 ahead of Kaepernick's first protest during a pre-season game in August.

None of the officers who killed the men were found guilty in a court of law.

NFL long snapper and military veteran Nate Boyer was the one who convinced Kaepernick to kneel instead of sitting during the anthem - which Boyer said soldiers do during funeral services to show reverence for their fallen brethren - so that the message behind Kaepernick's protest wouldn't be misconstrued.

A series of Thursday afternoon tweets from Tomi Lahren's Twitter account where she discusses her interview with Arian Foster

Lahren retweeted a tweet crediting Foster for his civility Thursday afternoon.

'We don't have to agree. We don't have to try to prove each other wrong. Listening is key,' she said.