John Oliver lambasts Donald Trump's comments on NFL players taking a knee

John Oliver has lambasted Donald Trump for his comments at a Huntsville, Alabama political rally on the National Football League players taking a knee during the national anthem.

Mr Oliver, a frequent critic of the president, said "putting aside the free speech implications there, how is kneeling in front of a flag more disrespectful to it than grinding it against your gnarled old boner?”

Mr Trump was speaking at a rally for Republican candidate Luther Strange in a special, runoff election for the state's Senate seat commented using his now infamous phrase from his erstwhile reality television show The Apprentice.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b**** off the field right now! Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”

Mr Oliver, showing a picture of Mr Trump awkwardly hugging an American flag during another rally on 24 October in Florida, said that the President "took time out—while, it is worth noting, over three million American citizens in Puerto Rico are without power" due to Hurricane Maria "to call Colin Kaepernick a ‘son of a b****.’”

Mr Kaepernick, currently a free agent without a team, was the first player to kneel during the national anthem ahead of a game while he played for the San Francisco 49ers. He said: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour."

His protest stemmed from a slew of police-involved shooting deaths of several young black men across the US and sparked controversy among fans.

The NFL, team owners, and several players have responded to Mr Trump's shocking comments at the Alabama rally as well.

The league issued a statement that said Mr Trump's "divisive comments...demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities."

Several players took a knee in protest to Mr Trump's comments regarding Mr Kaepernick while teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. Nearly every other team's players locked arms on the field during their respective pre-games.

Even NFL owners who are vocal supporters of the President like the New England Patriots' Bob Kraft disapproved of the President's comments. Mr Kraft said he was "deeply disappointed."