the tweak drew sharp criticism. many accused the company of riding the fence and not picking sides. curry has been a huge boom for under armor. interesting. right? politics, business, sports, all one big ball of wax. thanks for joining us. i'm christine romans. >> "new day" starts right i'm pissed the off. i supported donald trump. it's appalling to me. >> when somebody disrespects our flag, get him off the field. >> right now they don't have my vote. >> i want to get there. >> gop leaders hoping to win over holdouts with a new version of the health care bill. >> republicans have campaigned on repeal and replace. it is going to be very close.

>> this is the biggest catastrophe in modern history for puerto rico. >> 70,000 people at risk for another life threatening situation. >> it is a resilient community. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alyson camerota. >> this is "new day", monday, september 25th, 6:00. john berman joins me. let's get right to it. a sweeping wave of protests and solidarity at football games across the condition in defiance of president trump's repeated calls to fire players who kneel during the national anthem. the president insisting it has nothing to do with race. now even some of his staunchest supporters in the nfl are coming out against his rhetoric. meanwhile, new developments on the president's travel ban. the white house issuing a new order imposing new restrictions on travelers from three new

countries. and the battle to repeal obamacare is on the brink of failing. one more no vote would sink this last-ditch effort. the war of words continues to escalate between president trump and north korea. north korean leaders saying firing rockets at the u.s. main land is inevitable as president trump warns north koreans they won't be around much longer. a very busy morning. joe johns live at the white house. joe? >> reporter: good morning, john. the president condemn nfl athletes. critics questioning why he had harsher words for nfl players involved in peaceful pro tests than he did for white supremacists was implicated in violence in charlottesville. the president insisting his remarks have is nothing to do with race. >> i think is very

srespectful to our country. >> reporter: president trump exacerbating a culture war with this rapt friday night. >> wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners when somebody disrespects our flag say get that son of a pitch off the field. >> reporter: the president calling again for an nfl boycott and for players who kneel during the national anthem to be fired or suspended. >> you're the leader of the free world. this is what you're talking about? >> our leader of this country is acting like a jerk. >> i think it is very unbecoming of the office of the president of the united states to talk about that. >> to degrade people like that. >> dozens taking a knee or sitting during the national anthem sunday. other teammates and coaches standing shoulder to shoulder on the sideline interlocking arms. >> there's no disrespect to the anthem. we locked arms in unity.

>> reporter: the majority of steelers players choosing to stau in t stay in the locker room until the anthem was over. even some singers taking a knee along with players. the president responding saying, standing with locked arms is good. kneeling, not acceptable. nfl commissioner roger goodell saying divisive comments demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the league and the players. even prominent trump backers finding it hard to defen the president. >> i'm pissed off, i'll be nest with you. because i supported donald trump. i'm reading these comments, and it's appalling to me. >> new england patriots robert kraft, the president's friend who gave $1 million to the inaugur inaugural campaign.

>> president trump adding fuel to the fire by publicly rescinding a white house invitation to the golden state warriors stephen curry after he said he wouldn't go. >> i don't know why he feels to target certain individuals. that's not what leaders do. >> his long-time rival lebron james criticizing. >> for him to use this platform to divide us even more is not something i can stand for. >> reporter: fans pinning it against each other at sunday's game. >> meanwhile, there are big issues hanging in the balance in washington, d.c. the administration continues to hold its breath over the current condition of the latest health care revamp effort on capitol hill. the president holds a jobs event here today in washington. back to you, john and alyson. >> thank you very much. we have a lot to talk about. we have cnn political analyst

gregory, wesley lauery and host of smerconish, michael smerconish. great to have you all here. gregory, where do you want to begin with this? what's happening and why is this happening? >> well, i think the why is everything we have come to know about donald trump as a political figure and as president. t"the wall street journal" this morning described this issue with the nfl as cultural catnip for donald trump. i think there was little doubt that he would seize on this issue to wrap himself in the american flag, to take a stand against we call the sobs who are leading protests in the name of civil rights and against police misconduct and using the forum they have as part of the nfl to make that statement when there is a lot of people watching. it is a big platform, indeed. and i think what he lacks as a

president, what you saw in the response, is a softer touch, a more deft touch to understand how sensitive this issue is all around and that this is a really contentious issue. you know, the reality is if your players are doing this, asserting your right to make this kind of statement, it's not going to be celebrated all the way around. fans will boo you. people against that statement. you have to understand that if you're going to do it. but if you're the president who inserts yourself in this way, you see what the outcome is, which is why go out of your way to be more divisive instead of trying to find a way to bring some of the heat out of this issue. >> the outcome, last week there were fewer than0 players. this week, more than 250 did something, including whole teams who refused to take the field. the president claims overnight this is not about race. listen to what the president says. >> there was great solidarity.

i watched a little bit. i was not watching the games today. believe me, i'm doing other things. but i watched pwhrut. and i will say there was tremendous solidarity for our flag our country. this has nothing to do with race. i've never said anything to do with race. this has nothing to do with race or anything else. this has to do with respect for our country and our flag. >> there was solidarity. teams standing together against what the president has said. do you buy what he says, that it is not about race? >> of course not. there is unquestionably about race. if you don't say these black players should be punished die race doesn't exist. dynamic. this is an instance in which you have players protesting after

american players for the last year have been protesting specifically what what they to believe police use of force and police killings and social disparities. you have majority african-american league with the majority of white owners. here you have a president who time and time again both on the campaign and here as the united states has infme racial tensions calling to take measures against their back players for speaking out. the racial dynamics are clear. i think we have to accept that race is obviously a factor here. >> michael, of course it has been pointed out that the president is speaking more critically about these players taking a knee than he did about the neo-nazis in charlottesville who he called some of them very fine people. >> true. but the same token, i don't think you can say all criticism that's directed at colin

kaepernick and other athletes is racially driven. there is a legitimate debate about the pro bright of protesting for the national anthem. here's a barometer how much the country has moved in this regard. george h.b. bush made an issue of bill clinton. it was a bona fide point of contention, a legitimate debate. yesterday the first game, which was 11:00 a.m. our time east coast was the jaguars and the ravens at wembley overseas. 27 players, according to "the guardian" in the uk, protested. and i've not heard any controversy here in the united states to say, huh, it is one thing to protest in our cotr but what about overseas in the a

little bit sizization. >> the debate about the appropriateness of this kind of protest is totally legitimate. but i think there is a willful disregard on the part of the president for what is a racially charged issue. these are not players who are doing this for no reason this they are largely african-americans who are using their platform as other people do in our society. these are powerful young boom who make a lot of money to play an incredibly popular sport seizing the platform to take a stand. and they use their platforms, whether it's owning teams, running the government, running corporations, which is largely white man. in this case it is to willfully disregard the racial charge that is part of this protest. and by willfully disregarding at

the same time the president is out there talking about people on all sides of the charlottesville business. he knows what he's doing. he knows exactly what he's doing, just like he did during the campaign. and that's why he's more destructive, tuckly as the president who has an ability to bring people together, to try to hear people and not stoke this thing. >> the league inside and out clearl thought tha a line was crossed there. you had owners who donated to the in gnawing ral committee of the president standing on the field. bob kraft writing that letter. rbgs ryan introduced him at a rally had a blistering comment about him. and terry bradshaw went out of his way to criticize the president. these people, white people involved with the nfl thought the president crossed the line.

>> of course. what you saw was the president repeatedly calling for the firing of people for expressing political views he does not agree with. removed from the context of these specific context or football, we can't lose sight how suggest that is. here you have the president of the united states to call on private businesses and corporations are fire their employees for expressing political speech he disagrees with. that is a breakdown of a normal norm. again, i think we can't forget, it is unsurprising to me there is a show of solidarity for these players, from their owners and coaches, because you have to remember what he said. two nights ago he goes to alabama to an almost all white crowd and says, you know, i'm upset when people like you have to watch people like them doing this thing and disrespecting our flag calling these players sobs. look, if you said that about one of my colleagues i certainly,

whether i agreed with my would not be happy about that. >> michael, it's interesting to see what the president said before he was president. here's a tweet from 2013 that is relevant about the redskins. he tweeted when he was just donald trump. presidents should not be telling the washington redskins to change their name. our country has far bigger problems! focus them, not nonsense. so, i mean, then you have to say, well, why now? why is he throwing a grenade into the culture wars. a lot say it is the heart of distraction. if health care spbtd going well. time for a culture war. >> consistency has never been his strong suit, alyson. it is is a pattern we have seen over the course of the last nine months. there is no effort to build bridges. it has been politically speaking

all about reinforcing the 46% who gave him his victory. the jury is out in my mind as to how this plays with his hard-core supporters. conventional wisdom is that the athletes might be lined up against him as well as the owners and certainly the media but that husband fan base will support his endeavors to be upholding of the flag. i'm not sure. i think it will cutmore divisively than that. i'm eager to see the polling data. >> let's put this in a larger historical frame. if you have been watching this amazing film on pbs about vietnam. you're taken back to a time when there was dissent in this country around the policy in vietnam. and people reacted to those protesters, including the president of the united states who said they were being infiltrated by the communists, anti-war left in this country. and counter protesters saying love it or leave it.

so this is consistent with that, about the idea of, you know, kneeling during the national anthem that creates these kind of divisions. the solidarity picture on the part of the nfl doesn't dismiss that as a legitimate debate but says something to the president about how he wants to weigh in on a matter that is tough and whether he wants to try to heal some of it or just lock in some of these divisions. >> gentlemen, thank you very much e for all of your perspectives. coming up on "new day", we will be talking with nfl legendary sportscaster bob costas will be with us. all right. we have breaking news this morning. trump administration revealing new restrictions for north korea and venezuela for the so-called travel ban. >> reporter: john, this ban will be a permanent replacement to what we saw over the summer.

beginning october 18th, there will be new restrictions, and in some cases an all-out ban from chad, iran, libya, north korea, somalia, syria, venezuela, and yemen. new notable nations on this list. in particular you heard north korea. chad and venezuela have been ordered. this is not a muslim ban as the past orders have been criticized as. they are taking effect after the department of home listenland s vet travelers and those who don't have sufficient screening are now on this list. the president weighed in overnight. he tweeted that we willot admit those into our country that we cannot safely vet. civil rights groups are crying foul saying this is part of the ugly white supremacist agenda.

the legality of this latest travel ban could take center stage october 10th when the supreme court is hearing arguments about the temporary travel ban that took effect over the summer. the justice department filed papers last night. they are urging parties to file additional briefs that address this latest travel ban. important to note it does not take effect until mid-october. the restrictions vary country by country. people with valid visas or green cars from the eight affected countries will still be allowed into this country. still a big change. >> jessica, thanks so much for all that reporting. now to health care. republican leaders sweetening the deal on their health care position trying to get gop holdouts on board. who is taking the bait? all that, next. ♪

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senate republicans revising their health care bill. happening five days before the deadline and before a cvo score, limited partial which is expected today. will this win the votes they need? seiche ra, let's talk abosarah, this not not for alaska. >> this really is a bill trying to win on of the senators who suppressed reservations about the health care bill. you see more money going to places like alaska, maine, arizona where senator mccain, who is currently a no vote, is from. and you also see things to one on over conservatives. one of the things that is quite different about this bill than the last version we saw, it

makes it easr for states to charge higher rates to sicker people, to cut out essential benefits that we heard a lot about in this debate. those are changes trying to change over rand paul who is a no or ted cruz said he's not quite there on the bill. i look at this as an attempt to bring on those who suppressed reservations. we will see the next week whether it is successful. >> gregory, here's our visual representation of those who have reservations. here's our graphic. and you see it is six people, who is a tough, you know, hill to climb. so you have rand paul, mccain, collins, murkowski, ted cruz, and mike lee. so how is all of this going to work before september 30th? >> well, i don't know is the answer. and i think what we've seen is kind of handicappers on how much momentum it has and how much has been lost. i think this will be very difficult, as it was before. and i don't think politically

they have overcome i think one of the big tests which this has the, you know, every appearance, and not just appearance but substance, of trying to do this on a party line vote in the way that democrats did it. and that's the danger. i think for people who care about it for john mccain who says i may agree with certain points of this but i don't think we ought to be doing it this way. the reality from a policy perspective is that the impact of obamacare took a long time to really understand. and understanding what the impact of some of these alternatives would be is also going to take a long time. that is what is is making it so difficult to cherry pick the senators off in the end by sweetening the deal. but i don't think you can count it out yet because of how much pressure there is on mitch muck connell and the republicans. >> let's hear from susan collins yesterday. >> it is very difficult for me to envision a scenario where i would end up voting for this

bill. >> she talks about medicaid, michael smerconish, pre-existing conditions. it's hard for me to see how you ve susan collins more of what she wants if you give rand paul less of what he wants. >> she referenced pre-existing conditions and the fundamental obstacle that i think republicans face is this. how do you cover those with pre-existing conditions if you get rid of the individual mandate? the only way in a macro sense that the economic model works is if you say everybody get in the pool. as this the in the insurance pool. especially all of you young invincibles. if you give them the ability to opt out, you have no sourcing left for the most vulnerable among us. they have never had an answer for that and frankly i don't know how they will come up with one. >> ted cruz has part of an answer for one. more choice. more choice is going to be the

answer. if you have more choice, he thinks, that is sort of the market decides. let me just play this for you, sarah, and you can tell us your analysis. listen to this. >> right now they don't have my vote and i don't think they have mike lee's either. now, i want to be a yes. i want to get there. i think obamacare is awe disaster. >> but there's work to be done. >> but the price to getting there is using on consumer freedom. you want prices to go down. eco 101. you want more choices, more options, competition, and prices fall. obamacare has fewer choices, less competition, prices rise. >> it is very simple. econ 101, he says. >> yeah. as our president has said, who knew health care could be so complicated. it is not a normal market. a lot of pple aren't really shopping who have a condition like cancer or something serious this don't have much choice

about their health care. the young and the healthy could see their premiums go down if they could buy a plan that didn't cover something like cancer treatment. but some need the robust coverage if you have that market like the one senator cruz lays out, they will be at a disadvantage. they will often say no. obamacare requires insurance companies to cover a robust set of benefits. we go back to a market similar like the one we had before the affordable care act where it was hard for people with costly conditions to get coverage. >> this is market intervention on the part of the government in a way that is not praou. insurance companies always have to get taken care of. that was the deal with prescription drugs. and it was also guaranteeing if

you cover more people you're going to make more money to offset the fact that you have to cover people with pre-existing conditions. when younger healthier people -- this is how insurance works. if you don't buy-in, people need insurance. they pay more and make less. that continues to be out of balance. >> what i learned the last couple years, michael smerconish, using a private e-mail account if you're a government worker if you're a government worker. >> who are you referring to? >> hillary clinton had done that. jared kushner has been using one. shouldn't jared kushner know better, michael? >> i can see how it would happen. he comes into the government. obviously had an e-mail address,

maybe multiple he mail addresses at the time of his arrival. somebody corresponds with him "veep" ya old e-mail address. here's the mistake. he replies to them. you would think the day he got his government e-mail address he would not have had a private one. or should never have continued. >> this is a private account, not a private serve isser, and he didn't accepted any classified information. hillary clinton's, we can get into that. do you see this as a big stipulation? >> it is being hypothetical. his father-in-law talked about jailing her. this e-mail issue on the part of hillary clinton was so overdone and overwrought. there are distinctions between them. i think the hipocracy is what stands out. he didn't destroy any e-mails,

as clinton did, that she claimed were private e-mails to have some zone of privacy she has argued in her book. but it highlights the fact that there is difficulties with these communications in that the reaction has been overrun. >> david, michael, sarah, thank you very much for being with us. be sure to tune in tonight for a special cnn production. senators sand sers and klobucha will debate lindsey graham. hurricane maria's effects still being felt. a large dam is beginning to fail forcing 70,000 people to evacuate. a live report next. it's all pop-culture trivia, but it gets pretty intense.

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the misery continues in puerto rico. the entire island is still without power. and the governor is warning that a large dam is beginning to fail, norforcing thousands to evacuate. leyla santiago has been live for days. what's happening, leyla? >> reporter: alyson, that dam is the concern and a priority for the government there. we actually flew over that area yesterday. we could see the dam. we could see the amount of water. the governor himself saying it's a concern because it is releasing water. erosion is starting to take a toll. and it could break. they are evacuating, or attempting to evacuate more than 70,000 residents. we were able to land right near the dam to talk to some of the residents. many of them have no communication, weren't even aware they were supposed to be

evacuated. and very stressed out about the situation. they had water. they don't have power. they vice president been able to communicate with loved ones around the island. we were able to get to several remote areas yesterday as we traveled. remember, the government said they haven't been able to reach many of the places on the island. and 6th single place we stopped, many had said we were one of the first people to arrive. the government aid has not arrived. help has not arrived. neighbors themselves have had to clear off roads because people haven't been able to get to them. the good news is, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. thankful they're alive. buteally wondering when they will get some sort of hurricane relief. john? leyla santiago in puerto rico for us. it iseing son o of a pitches. excuse me his french not mine. >> the president obviously says

it is not about being black. it is about the respect of the flag. >> the way he characterized it, i have a problem with also. he said this is an assault on our flag and our country a if we are outside transient indigents. we can have previously protests. i take exception on that as well. >> dave, where are you? >> first of all, it is an honor to be on the show with mr. martin. i'm humbled just to be here. >> thank you. >> second of all, i think donald trump overplayed his hand dramatically. i think he was in front of his base in huntsville, alabama and the lizard brain that knows how to speak to the worst impulses thought spontaneously i am going after black dissenters in the national football league and they will love it.

i will be on the side of my base. it is red meat they will chew up and love. what what he did not expect, what he did not understand, is that there is a brotherhood that exists in the locker room. maybe it was only a small minority of nfl players who were willing to take a knee with colin kaepernick to protest in equitities in the criminal justice system but there is a majority who will stand together against the idea that they don't have freedom of speech, against the idea that the president of the united states should somehow call for them jobs and call for them fired, one of the most gross things i have seen. and the thing that george mentioned, that use of the language to speak about players's mothers. you've got to understand that the mother in the nfl locker room holds an esteemed place. it is like a team mother. when you go after people's moers it will be like what josh norman said last night. he said donald trump is not my president.

and what it felt like to me is he came up to my house and he used different language, but he said it was like somebody urinating on my house. at some point you have to stand up and say stop doing that. if you let someone do that, you are less of a human being. yesterday was players standing up for their humanity and a day i think that will go down in sports history. >> george, something to poignant about all the players locking arms, even if they didn't take a knee, with their owners. and just, people who -- like this shot right here. there's something that just is sort of powerful about all of this. and, you know, even owners that are friends of donald trump's. i am thinking of bob kraft. let me read what roger goodell told "sports illustrated". he said i think we have to be focused on what the nfl is doing, tpaoupb feig people, continuing an effort to understand and how improve our communities. people love coming together

around football. we saw nothing but exciting football today. i think the public loves our game and recognizes the efforts we are making with it. do you think the public will be for diagnos forgiving of these displays? >> absolutely. he did something that hasn't been done in a long time. he galvanized the entire national football league. the owners, the league itself, and the players association. they came together on this one issue. there is no dissent. and it is crossing other sports boundaries which is important. >> meaning the steph curry stuff. >> the steph curry and the nba. and he disinvited the members of the college championship as well. it is taking on a life of its own he did not expect. >> philadelphia eagles fans. i don't know if they remember represent most americans. what about the fact that the manifestation is divisiveness among the fans. >> first a quick shoutout to the

wnba and their finals. both teams exercise said their rights to protest. the wnba has been standing up for racial justice and black and white players for years now. let's not forget them. second of all, about the fans, what i thought was one of the things that was astounding yesterday when you think about who goes to an nfl game in 2017, the tickets are very expensive. the fans are overwhelmingly, i would argue, white and middle aged. this is a demographic that you would think being very pro trump looking at election returns. but i was intrigued by the pausity of booing. it wasn't widespread condemnation from fans. in tennessee, this brave young woman took a knee for the last note of the anthem. or in detroit when the young man did the same and raised his fist. the crowd overwhelmingly saw it

for what it was, which was a statement of actually exercising your values that are protected in this country. and we have a president in the face of that who is clearly trying to curb those values, calling on a private company to fire and discipline players for their speech. and so of course this is going to be a divisive issue because the president has thoroughly divided this country. but the difference, though, right now is that nfl players are actually showcasing an alternative kind of unity, not just lining up in the state of division. >> dave, thank you for all of your thoughts. george, great to have you here in the studio. greato talk to you. john? they're not the only ones getting political. can the president win the k culture war that he is fueling? understanding your options? or, if you're getting the care you need? at aarpadvantages.com, you can find

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nfl players not the only one taking a knee. during a concert for charlottesville, there was a strong message for the commander in chief. >> i'm in virginia right now. i'm home. can't nobody tell me what to do. if i want to get on my knees right now -- if you want to get on my knees right now for the people in my city, for the people in my state, that's what that flag is for. >> stevie wonder also did the same during the global citizen festiv festival. eddie vedder did as well in nashville. this is popular culture. right now taking a side against the president.

>> certainly the idea that hollywood, celebrities lean to the left is not new. what is new is this is more pronounced than ever. we are seeing more and more of these political statements than we did, for example, even during the bush years. the line between what we saw with these athletes or ceos quitting business counsels or celebrities speaking out against trump, all of these a-listers in various fields, industries, kept having to make these choices. increasingly, they are staying as far away as possible. whether putting out statements. we are seeing people take stands. and the kennedy center honors later this year. normally the president goes. some of the best known cultural icons. trump decided not to even go. that is not until december but another choice people are making. >> we're used to hollywood

elites defying the president. but the nfl feels different. what about what president trump about what he will pay for this. bad ratings! do you think this will have some erosion in ratings. >> we saw some of the best games of several years yesterday. i was going to say this season, but this season is new. we saw some incredible news in the 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. hours yesterday. that is what is most important for the nfl. i know the front office was thrilled. they wanted the focus to be about. will the ratings suffer? there has been fraying around it. >> because of this or in general? >> in the past year they were wondering is it because of cable news or other factors. it is a little bit of all of those.

you can't pick one cause. when the president said they're way down, that is not accurate. numbers go up from yesterday, go up for monday night football because there is so much interest. >> you know what the president will do? >> what's that? >> he will take credit for it. this is a president that likes talking about these things, likes talking entertainment and culture instead of talking about north korea. he could be talking about north korea, the health care bill. he could be talking about puerto rico. there is an entire island without power. you think you could talk about that over the weekend instead of talking about the nfl. >> this is the change the subject presidency. we have seen this playbook time and time again where the president hoepbs in on culture war issues. this is just the latest one.

>> was this a determined distraction? >> this is the debate of the year. is it strategic or impulsive? i usually side with the idea that it is euimpulsive. he's in alabama. he's supporting a candidate that may well lose up there. he is admitting that on stage and recognizing that. he is suffering bad headlines due to the gop's latest attempt to get health care through. the health care bill is on life support. the president would want to talk anything but these bad news stories. and the russian investigation looms over everything. that's the most important story of all. that is the one he tried to avoid. he called it a hoax friday night. there are many reasons why he tries to change the subject. i'm grateful because the real trump comes out in these moments. we learn more about our president when he speaks out in

this case against black athletes. >> it's also just amazing to see everybody locking arms and taking a stand for what they say is free speech. brian, thank you. >> republican leaders tweaking the latest plan to give them a reason to vote yes. will this third attempt fail or pass? much more ahead on "new day". brian, thank you.

right now they don't have my vote. i want to get there. >> gop leaders hoping to win over holdout witness stand a new version of a health care bill. >> republicans have campaigned on repeal and replace. it's going to be very close. >> this is the biggest catastrophe in modern history for puerto rico. >> 70,000 at risk for another

life threatening situation. >> puerto rico is a resilient community. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alyson camerota. good morning, everyone. welcome to your "new day". chris is off today. john berman joins me. we have a lot to talk about. of course president trump facing a wave of protests across the nfl after calling for the firing of players who kneel during the national anthem dozens office