The interview: O.J. Simpson has a lot to say about Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick

By Faith Karimi, CNN 

Updated 5:45 AM EDT, Sat March 17, 2018

 

(CNN)O.J. Simpson is sharing his thoughts on some of the nation's most controversial figures.

In a rare interview after his release from prison in October, Simpson spoke to The Buffalo News, the hometown paper of the NFL team he once played for.

Simpson addressed several topics in the story published Friday, including his opinion on football player Colin Kaepernick and on his onetime buddy and now president, Donald Trump.

On Kaepernick, Simpson said he's not a fan of his continuous kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.

"I think Colin made a mistake," Simpson told the paper. "I really appreciate what he was trying to say. I thought he made a bad choice in attacking the flag."

Kaepernick's decision to kneel has become a political flashpoint nationwide. So much so, Trump criticized the NFL last year, saying athletes who kneel during the national anthem should be fired. Simpson said such players disrespect the flag.

O.J. Simpson and Donald Trump were once gold buddies.

"I grew up at a time when deacons were in the KKK. I don't disrespect the Bible because of those guys," Simpson said. "The flag shouldn't be disrespected because of what cops do. The flag represents what we want America to be."

Simpson was in prison during the 2016 presidential election, but he said Trump was not his preferred candidate.

"Somebody asked me if I'd have voted for him," Simpson said. "Probably not, but I only know two of my friends I'd vote to be president. Some of my best, best besties I would not vote to be president."

Simpson did, however, offer another kind of endorsement.

"The one thing I can say about The Donald is The Donald is fun," Simpson said. "Well, for a dude — and I consider myself a dude — Donald is a man's man."

Trump has said he was once friends with Simpson, but ditched the former running back when he was accused of murder. Simpson spent a lifetime in the limelight -- first for his athletic prowess, then as a suspect in the 1994 killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. He was acquitted in 1995, but his trial sparked years of debate over race and justice.

In October, he was released from prisonafter serving nine years for kidnapping and armed robbery in Las Vegas.