Donald Trump has put the NFL in his crosshairs once again ... blasting Roger Goodell for his now-famous apology to players -- and slamming the commish for insinuating he'd allow kneeling protests back in the league.
"I was surprised at Roger, Roger Goodell," POTUS said Wednesday, "that he would have done what he did and made this statement that he made. Nobody was even asking for it.”
The President made the comments on Fox News' "Hannity" ... saying he believes if Goodell does re-allow kneeling during national anthems, it'll cost him fans.
"That already happened before," Trump said. "I thought they learned their lesson. But, I think it's going to happen again."
Trump reiterated he believes everybody should stand for anthems ... and even fired away at Drew Brees for backtracking on his initial beliefs on that topic.
"I saw him make this beautiful statement," Trump said of the Saints QB. "And, then the next day he retracted the statement. He talked about his father and his grandfather fighting in the war for our country, our flag, and then the next day he retracted it. I just don't get that."
But, Trump did say, once again, he believes Colin Kaepernick DOES deserve another shot in the NFL ... if he can still play at a high level.
As we previously reported ... Goodell and the NFL issued an apology video earlier this month, saying sorry for the way they bungled Kaepernick's and other players' kneeling protests in the past.
Several stars around the league resoundingly accepted the video ... and now, guys like Adrian Peterson and Kyler Murray have vowed to take knees during anthems in 2020.