Trump warns NFL protesters that citizenship is conditional: 'Maybe you shouldn't be in the country'

President Donald Trump praised NFL owners for banning sideline protests of racism and police brutality -- and suggested players who kneel should be removed from the country.

The president spoke one-on-one with "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade during an interview that aired Wednesday morning that mostly focused on immigration and border security, but Trump said owners had not gone far enough by allowing players to remain in the locker room during the national anthem.

"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," Trump said.

He went even further, and suggested that citizenship was conditional.

"Maybe you shouldn't be in the country," Trump said. "You have to stand proudly for the national anthem, and the NFL owners have done the right thing, if that's what they've done."

Trump used similar language during the interview when he defended his description of immigrants who may be MS-13 gang members as "animals."

"These are vicious killers and they shouldn't be allowed into the country," he told Kilmeade.