Stephen Colbert has added himself to the list of celebrities who has lambasted Donald Trump over his criticism of NFL players' decision to take a knee during the national anthem in protest of - among other things - police brutality and racial injustice.

While speaking in Alabama at the weekend, the President controversially said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”

The late-night host eviscerated Trump's words in the opening monologue of Monday's Late Show (25 September), saying: “That was unnecessary roughness. There should be a flag on that play. And I’m going to say, a Confederate flag.”

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Following Sunday's games, which saw many more NFL players take a knee in protest, Trump claimed that “...the issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race” - something Colbert isn't buying.

Shape Created with Sketch. American sportspeople kneel in protest Show all 14 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. American sportspeople kneel in protest 1/14 Terrance Smith #48, Eric Fisher #72, Demetrius Harris #84, and Cameron Erving #75 of the Kansas City Chiefs is seen taking a knee before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center on 24 September, 2017 in Carson, California Sean M. Haffey/Getty 2/14 Members of the Dallas Cowboys link arms and kneel during the National Anthem before the start of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on 25 September, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona Christian Petersen/Getty 3/14 Bruce Maxwell of the Oakland Athletics kneels as teammate Mark Canha #20 places his hand on Maxwell's shoulder during the singing of the National Anthem before their MLB American League baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California on 25 September 2017 Reuters/Stephen Lam 4/14 Members of the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band kneel as they perform the national anthem before a MLB American League baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California on 25 September, 2017 Reuters/Stephen Lam 5/14 Samaje Perine #32 and Chris Carter #55 of the Washington Redskins hold hands as they stand and kneel in unison during the national anthem before playing against the Oakland Raiders at FedExField on 24 September, 2017 in Landover, Maryland Patrick Smith/Getty 6/14 Meghan Linsey, a former contestant on "The Voice," kneels after singing the national anthem before the start of the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on 24 September, 2017 Ryan Hermens/The Paducah Sun via AP 7/14 The Los Angeles Chargers are seen during national anthem before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the StubHub Center on 24 September, 2017 in Carson, California Jeff Gross/Getty 8/14 Nick Kyrgios of Team World joined NFL stars from Wembley by dropping his knee before his Laver Cup match with Roger Federer today during his mens singles match against Roger Federer of Team Europe on the final day of the Laver cup on 24 September, 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic Julian Finney/Getty 9/14 Laremy Tunsil #67, Maurice Smith #27 and Julius Thomas #89 kneel with Jarvis Landry #14 of the Miami Dolphins during the National Anthem prior to an NFL game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on 24 September, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey Steven Ryan/Getty 10/14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receivers Mike Evans #13, and DeSean Jackson #11, take a knee during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on 24 September, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota Hannah Foslien/Getty 11/14 Denver Broncos players kneel during the American National Anthem before an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on 24 September, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York Brett Carlsen/Getty 12/14 Buffalo Bills players kneel during the American National anthem before an NFL game against the Denver Broncos on 24 September, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York Brett Carlsen/Getty 13/14 Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams in their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on September 12, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. The kneel began as a protest against police killing people of colour Thearon W. Henderson/Getty 14/14 Megan Rapinoe #15 kneels during the National Anthem prior to the match between the United States and the Netherlands at Georgia Dome on 18 September, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia Kevin C. Cox/Getty 1/14 Terrance Smith #48, Eric Fisher #72, Demetrius Harris #84, and Cameron Erving #75 of the Kansas City Chiefs is seen taking a knee before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center on 24 September, 2017 in Carson, California Sean M. Haffey/Getty 2/14 Members of the Dallas Cowboys link arms and kneel during the National Anthem before the start of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on 25 September, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona Christian Petersen/Getty 3/14 Bruce Maxwell of the Oakland Athletics kneels as teammate Mark Canha #20 places his hand on Maxwell's shoulder during the singing of the National Anthem before their MLB American League baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California on 25 September 2017 Reuters/Stephen Lam 4/14 Members of the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band kneel as they perform the national anthem before a MLB American League baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California on 25 September, 2017 Reuters/Stephen Lam 5/14 Samaje Perine #32 and Chris Carter #55 of the Washington Redskins hold hands as they stand and kneel in unison during the national anthem before playing against the Oakland Raiders at FedExField on 24 September, 2017 in Landover, Maryland Patrick Smith/Getty 6/14 Meghan Linsey, a former contestant on "The Voice," kneels after singing the national anthem before the start of the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on 24 September, 2017 Ryan Hermens/The Paducah Sun via AP 7/14 The Los Angeles Chargers are seen during national anthem before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the StubHub Center on 24 September, 2017 in Carson, California Jeff Gross/Getty 8/14 Nick Kyrgios of Team World joined NFL stars from Wembley by dropping his knee before his Laver Cup match with Roger Federer today during his mens singles match against Roger Federer of Team Europe on the final day of the Laver cup on 24 September, 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic Julian Finney/Getty 9/14 Laremy Tunsil #67, Maurice Smith #27 and Julius Thomas #89 kneel with Jarvis Landry #14 of the Miami Dolphins during the National Anthem prior to an NFL game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on 24 September, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey Steven Ryan/Getty 10/14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receivers Mike Evans #13, and DeSean Jackson #11, take a knee during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on 24 September, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota Hannah Foslien/Getty 11/14 Denver Broncos players kneel during the American National Anthem before an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on 24 September, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York Brett Carlsen/Getty 12/14 Buffalo Bills players kneel during the American National anthem before an NFL game against the Denver Broncos on 24 September, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York Brett Carlsen/Getty 13/14 Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams in their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on September 12, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. The kneel began as a protest against police killing people of colour Thearon W. Henderson/Getty 14/14 Megan Rapinoe #15 kneels during the National Anthem prior to the match between the United States and the Netherlands at Georgia Dome on 18 September, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia Kevin C. Cox/Getty

“Wrong,” he stated. “Kneeling during the national anthem has everything to do with race - just like your presidency.“

Kneeling during the national anthem was popularised by Colin Kaepernick, an American football player, back in 2016. The athlete’s protest was done in support of Black Lives Matter, which campaigns against systematic racism in America.

Numerous celebrities have already criticised the comments, including Stevie Wonder, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Bill Maher, and Emmy Award-winning Last Week Tonight host John Oliver.

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