Trump says his Twitter power is why Kaepernick is a free agent

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a campaign stop in Louisville, Kentucky, March 20, 2017. (REUTERS/John Sommers II)

President Trump took a swipe at Colin Kaepernick Monday, taking credit for the controversial NFL quarterback’s free-agent status.

Speaking at a campaign-style rally in Louisville, Kentucky, Trump told the crowd he read an article reporting that NFL owners don't want to pick Kaepernick up "because they don't want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump."

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"Do you believe that?" he asked the enthusiastic crowd.

Kaepernick, who played for the San Francisco 49ers but now is a free agent, hasn't yet been signed to another team.

The quarterback refused to stand during the national anthem at the start of NFL games last season to protest police treatment of minorities.

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This is not the first time that Trump has attacked Kaepernick. “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” he told Seattle radio station KIRO 93.7-FM last year.

During Monday’s rally Trump said of the people of Kentucky, "They like it when people actually stand for the American flag."

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Trump, who has 26.8 million Twitter followers, turned the @realDonaldTrump account into a potent political weapon during his shock run to the White House last year and continues to tweet prolifically from the account.

The president also took over the @POTUS account that had been used by the Obama administration. The @POTUS account has 16.2 million followers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.