WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a new message for the NFL: Change or business is “going to go to hell.”

Trump said Wednesday that the NFL is in a “really bad box” over the issue of players kneeling in protest during the national anthem. He said ratings are falling, and the only thing doing well is the NFL pregame show.

Beginning with a rally last Friday in Alabama, Trump has been criticizing players who kneel during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest racial injustice. He has said the NFL should require that players stand during the anthem.

Trump said Wednesday there are other places during a game where players can protest “but they cannot do it during the national anthem.”

“You cannot have people disrespecting our national anthem, our flag, our country,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Indiana. “In my opinion, the NFL has to change. Or you know what’s going to happen. Their business is going to go to hell.”