President Trump’s comments Thursday that NFLers who don’t stand for the national anthem “maybe … shouldn’t be in the country” drew sharp retorts from a couple of players — while, on a wider level, reaction began drifting in Friday about how the league will grapple with its new mandate on the kneeling controversy.

In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Trump said of the NFL’s new policy requiring players to stand for the anthem, or allowing them to remain in the locker room: “I think that’s good. I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms, but still I think it’s good. 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.”

The Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin had the most striking reaction, saying of Trump, “He’s an idiot. Plain and simple.”

“I respect the man because he’s a human being first and foremost, but he’s just being divisive, which is not surprising,” Baldwin said at a news conference after practice on Thursday.

“It is what it is. But for him to say anybody who doesn’t follow his viewpoints or his constituents’ viewpoints should be kicked out of the country is not very empathetic. It’s not very American-like, actually, to me. It’s not very patriotic. It’s not what this country was founded upon. It’s kind of ironic to me the president of the United States is contradicting what our country is really built on.”

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall also went public on Trump’s comments, calling them “disgusting,” as reported by ESPN.

“I say ‘disgusting’ because of our First Amendment rights,” said Marshall, who followed former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lead and took a knee at times during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

“We have freedom of speech, right? Freedom to protest? Because somebody decides to protest something, now have to be kicked out of the country? That’s not how things should work, in my opinion. … Just because somebody disagrees with something, or if I didn’t stand for the anthem, or if I don’t like what’s going on, that’s basically him saying I should be kicked out the country.

“We’re supposed to have a conversation about things, talk about things, work things through. Everybody is not gonna agree on things, everybody is not gonna have the same opinion on things. So just because somebody disagrees or has an issue with something that’s going on in this country, it doesn’t mean that they should pack up and leave. That’s absurd, in my opinion.”

Meanwhile, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the wider question of how the league’s new policy will play out is something “we’re going to have to deal with.”

“I was kind of liking the way it was going, and so now it’s kind of taken out of the control from the coach and the players and the locker room to a certain extent, so we’re going to have to deal with that,” he said. “In time, we’ll figure it out.”

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson indicated he was uncomfortable with the NFL’s new policy because, essentially, the owners’ decision was a message to players to keep quiet.

“Pretty much,” Wilson said. “I think that’s part of it. It seems that way. But I think a policy right or wrong is not going to fix our problems.”

Steelers cornerback Artie Burns said he didn’t like that the new NFL policy isolates players wishing to protest.

“That’s just another topic to get everybody against each other,” he said, according to ESPN.

“I hate that we have to go down this route, but it is what it is. It makes [the protesters] look bad. Your whole team is out there, and you come running out like, ‘Oh, he’s the guy.’ Who wants to go through that? That’s humiliating us as a person, because we’re trying to stand for something, to single us out in front of everybody.”

The new policy also allows teams to adopt their own workplace rules, which many players interpreted as a backhanded way of subjecting them to fines, suspensions or loss of jobs should they carry on with the protests.

Players are also frustrated the league didn’t consult with the players’ association before announcing the policy.

“I mean, they weren’t ever going to engage us anyway,” Marshall said. “When you really think about it, why would we have a say-so? I think they should have, right, but I guess they don’t look at us like that, to have a say-so or input in this policy.”

Others around the league didn’t see the policy as a potential issue.

“I’m really not too worried about it,” New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said. “I would expect that everybody’s gonna be out there with their hand over their heart, showing respect to the flag and to the country.”

But teammate Demario Davis had mixed emotions about the policy. His father served in the military, but he also understands why players have been protesting.

“I think that’s the difference between patriotism and nationalism,” he said. “Nationalism is loving your country just to love it, you know, even when it’s right or wrong, you’re going to take the side of your country. Patriotism is loving it enough to sacrifice for it, but also to call it (out) when it’s wrong.

“The people who are speaking up for the people who are hurting have a deep love and devotion for our country. That’s kind of gotten misconstrued at times. But it’s important for people to understand that.”

With AP