Donald Trump was talking about the fight to protect religious freedom in America when a man who embodies that fight came up — to his surprise.

Speaking at a campaign stop in northern Virginia on Monday, the Republican presidential nominee mentioned Joe Kennedy, the suspended Christian football coach of Bremerton, Washington school district, saying he fully supports his fight for religious freedom in America, Mail Online reports.

It turned out Kennedy was in the audience to Trump's surprise.

"The other day ... I was watching one of the news programmes, and they had a, I think, high school football coach. You know, they're going into battle," Trump said.

Somebody then told him Kennedy was there in the audience.

"Oh, is he here? Oh! Stand up!" Trump urged amid applause.

"Wow. They really went after you, for saying a prayer before the – that is just – I didn't know you'd be here," he said.

"The world is changing, isn't it? So you're not allowed to pray before a football game. I thought it was horrible. I thought it was horrible," Trump continued.

Kennedy then spoke, saying, "They just really slammed me on it, and said what a horrible person I was. And ended up just not renewing my contract, so ultimately firing me."

Kennedy gained fame for dropping to one knee on the 50-yard line and praying by himself for less than a minute at the end of each game he coached.

Last September the school district ordered him to stop praying. He refused. Education administrators benched him.

Trump said what the school authorities did to Kennedy was "absolutely outrageous," citing their lack of respect for "religious liberty."

Trump said the schools should strike a compromise that protects the freedom of religious expression while also ensuring students aren't pressured into participating in religious events.

"We're living in a time where you have to have a melding of both. But it's very unfair what they're doing to religion in this country," he said.