Imagine the president had begun his comments by saying something along these lines:
To see professional athletes publicly dishonor the flag for which hundreds of thousands of Americans have died, the flag that millions of Americans have seen drape the coffin of their child, their spouse, their sibling, their parent, or other loved one is as morally repulsive as it un-American. Of course, these players have the right of free speech — and so do I, and that is precisely the right I am exercising now.
Had he spoken that way, would the Left not have characterized him as divisive?
Answer: yes
Goes without saying... and it's too formal and carefully constructed of a statement, which makes it sound like it's insincere coming from Trump.
One of the things I really like about Trump is his ability to address the core of an issue with a pithy statement, and without using remote, disembodied, analytical language. He uses zingers instead of flowery syntax, language that telegraphs sincerity and honesty instead of caution. A carefully constructed statement like Prager insists upon would not be Trump's style, and many of these same NRO NeverTrump pundits would likely criticize him for having someone else write his opinions for him.