New York Times: “Over the course of just 17 hours this weekend, President Trump assailed John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Stephen Curry, the National Football League, Roger Goodell, Iran and Kim Jong-un — the ‘Little Rocket Man.’ And that was on his day off. … While he has restrained himself for brief stretches, his penchant for punching eventually reasserts itself. Never in modern times has an occupant of the Oval Office seemed to reject so thoroughly the nostrum that a president’s duty is to bring the country together. Relentlessly pugnacious, energized by a fight, unwilling to let any slight go unanswered, Mr. Trump has made himself America’s apostle of anger, its deacon of divisiveness.”

“In his brief career as president and a candidate for president, Mr. Trump has attacked virtually every major institution in American life: Congress, the courts, Democrats, Republicans, the news media, the Justice Department, Hollywood, the military, NATO, the intelligence agencies, the cast of ‘Hamilton,’ the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ the pope and now professional sports. He has attacked the Trump administration itself, or at least selected parts of it (see Sessions, Jeff), and even the United States of America (‘you think our country’s so innocent?’).”

James Hohmann: “Trump, who was a developer before he became a reality TV star and then a politician, has long been a builder of straw men. Everyone knows that he trades on controversy, but his chaotic approach to governing also depends on constantly presenting the American people with false binary choices.”

“I don’t know what he’s going to do tomorrow. He changes his statements almost on a daily basis. So for me to spend my time trying to analyze what he says, I don’t know.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an interview on 60 Minutes, on President Trump.

“Less than three hours after President Trump called on NFL owners to suspend or fire players who protest during the national anthem, the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars — the first teams to play on Sunday — linked arms or took a knee during the playing of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before the teams 9:30 a.m. EDT kickoff in London’s Wembley Stadium,” the Washington Post reports.

“Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, linking arms, and Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis took a knee. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who had contributed $1 million to the Trump inauguration, locked arms with his players in what is believed to be the first visible participation in relation to anthem protests by a league owner.”

Mike Allen quoted former Clinton advisor Doug Sosnik on what President Trump is trying to accomplish by attacking professional athletes who protest during the national anthem: “One of Trump’s typical moves is to toss a bomb out of nowhere to deflect what is really bothering him, in the hopes that the press will be distracted.”

He added: “There is a good chance that the candidate he endorsed and campaigned for will lose in the Alabama Senate primary. On top of that, it looks like … another failed Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare. So he figures that the shows on Sunday focusing on his fights with professional athletes is more appealing than a discussion about how he is becoming a loser.”

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds most Americans see President Trump as a divisive figure who has yet to fulfill his campaign promise to positively change the way Washington works.

“More than twice as many Americans say Trump is doing more to divide the country than to unify it, 66% vs. 28%. The margin is significantly more negative than those recorded for Obama and Bush; at most, 55 percent of Americans said Obama or Bush was dividing the country.”

“Trump’s overall job approval rating has stabilized at 39% in the new poll after slipping to 36% in July. The shift is within the poll’s margin of sampling error but is mirrored in the small rise in other recent national polls.”

“President Trump on Sunday morning renewed his demand that NFL owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest, again urging that fans should boycott the sport to force change,” the Washington Post reports.

Tweeted the president:

If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!

NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S.

“I really had such deep doubts about his preparation, his temperament, his character, his experience, but he’s been even worse than I thought he would be.”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by The Hill, on President Trump.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded to President Trump’s excoriation of players who protest during the national anthem, saying the “divisive comments” show a “lack of respect” for the nation’s most popular sport, Politico reports.

Said Goodell: “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”

Washington Post: “The no-task-too-small leadership style — dating to Kelly’s training in the Marine Corps, where he rose to a four-star general — has its benefits for a president who often sows chaos in his wake, implementing a sense of order and discipline in a White House known for lacking both.”

“But it also has prompted grumbling about micromanaging within the West Wing, where some staffers complain that Kelly may be growing his mandate too far and that his strict regimen stifles the creativity and spontaneity that have been hallmarks of Trump’s enterprises. As one of Kelly’s subordinates put it, the chief of staff sometimes becomes ‘a one-man choke point.'”

“The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?”

— President Trump, on Twitter.