scene. >> the guy came from the right side of the church and he was just shooting. he was just shooting. he came right to the middle and shoot more. >> could you see his face and what kind of gun did he have? >> he had a mask. he had a mask. so in just the last 30 minutes we have police coming out naming the alleged shooter in all of this, also some of those that were injured. joining us now nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. the details that you've been able to learn about the gunman and those hurt or killed. >> well, thomas, they say this all began this afternoon just as church was letting out and they say this gunman who they identified as 25-year-old emanuel from nearby frooezboro drove his blue suv into the parking lot with the engine still running, he jumped out with a gun, shot a woman who was coming out of the church as the services were ending and then went inside and continued to fire. they say he shot six people

inside the church, all of them adults, four of them in their 60s, two of them in their 80s. they're said to be in stable condition. one is described as stable critical condition and it would have been far worse they say were it not for the actions of the church usher, 22-year-old robert engle who tackled the gunman they say, they say that the gunman whom they identify as samson beat engle with the pistol but the gunman apparently shot himself in the struggle, either he pulled the trigger or inadvertently pulled the trigger and was wounded. that stopped the shooting. the usher meantime ran out to his car, he has a permit to carry a gun, came back in with his own weapon to make sure no further shots were fired until the police could arrive. so the police are describing this church usher robert engle as the hero who prevented things from becoming far worse.

the police haven't said thomas what they believe the motive was but we're told by federal authorities that the fbi is opening an investigation, opening a civil rights investigation to see whether race was a motive. >> all right. keep us posted. thank you, sir. i appreciate it. want to turn to the other big story changing by minute by minute today. it's been a busy weekend and a busy sunday. if you were ready for football, you were also tackled by politics. taking a knee. whether they were locking arms or one knee to the ground, demonstrations in direct defiance to the president's call to the firing of players who protest during playing the national an thems. the steelers tried to take politics off their plate but more pointed responses coming from the seahawks and the titans both teams announced they would not participate in the anthem ahead of their games. they would be staying in their

respective locker rooms but the president decided to take one of the most powerful sports entities in the nation, the national football league head on, calling out nfl players and owners in a morning tweet, if nfl fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our flag and country, you will see change take place fast. fire or suspend. it was on friday with the president tackling this topic of athletes kneeling during the national anthem calling it a blatant show of disrespect for our country and those that have served. >> that son of [ bleep ] off the field right now. he's fired. he's fired! >> so he was at a rally on friday night in alabama. we have players interlocking arms. others like you see there, taking a knee as the playing of the star-spangled banner was held. now some teams like the steelers and the seahawks, the titans as we mentioned, they decided to

not play this game. they weren't going to go out there and have their players pick or choose a side about this in a heated political stage but the show of solidarity as we've been witting from different players around the game, even took place overseas internationally during the jaguars game and the ravens that was held in london. steve mnuchin has emphasized the president's view this morning and also the rights of the owners to fire players. >> the owner should have a rule that players should have to stand and respect for the national anthem. this isn't about democrats, it's not about republicans, it's not about race, it's not about free speech. they can do free speech on their own time. >> so nfl commissioner roger goodell tweeted out, we will air this unity spot in tonight's game. it reflects the unifying force of our great game, our players and our clubs. this was originally a super bowl commercial that began airing in february. the nfl clash coming a day after

nba super stars lebron james and steph curry tangled with the president. >> it's basically at a point where i'm -- just a little frustrated for him to try to use this platform to divide us even more, it's not something i can stand for and it's not something i can be quiet about. >> it's surreal to be honest. i don't know why he feels the need to target certain individuals rather than others. i have an idea of why, but -- >> pretty surreal for a lot of people to figure this out. we have more reaction with the war of words that president trump has expressed toward the player of nfl. mike, the reaction that you've been hearing from players and fans certainly for folks on site has been what? >> reporter: well, it's

interesting, richard because even those that agree with the sentiment that the president was trying to express friday night in alabama, agree with the sentiment but they disagree with the phrasing that the president used calling colin kaepernick the controversial former quarterback of the 49ers, can't find a job, most people attribute that to the fact that he was taking a knee during the national anthem to protest law enforcement brutality and abuse in his view of african-americans throughout the country. even those that say that this sort of political statement has no place, those who might agree with mnuchin and president trump and the treasury secretary, say they don't like the way the president phrased it. i'm here in the parking lot of fedex field here in maryland, the game tonight on nbc is the primetime game that you talked about with roger goodell that his tweet addressed is going to be playing during that game. they just opened -- i guess it was about an hour ago they

opened the parking lot here to tailgating, the partying is full fledged under way here. i've talked to a number of people on both sides of this issue. two car loads of long time redskins fans. says, look, everybody's got a right to express themselves but this is the wrong venue. his friends, that was standing alongside of him, said she's going to stop coming to game. she will heed the president's call to boycott nfl games if this doesn't stop. i talked to a couple of other people about 40 minutes ago on live on our air, three individuals who would come down from philadelphia for some reason they're raiders fans, they say they're going to be expressing their solidarity with those who would kneel by sitting in their seats tonight. so definitely a mixed bag among nfl player -- nfl fans as we approach game time here. we might add, richard, that you were talking about that

pittsburgh steelers game where coach mike tomlin kept his word to keep the players in the locker room during the national anthem. there was one pittsburgh player who did emerge from the tunnel from underneath the stands and stand at attention. he happens to be a veteran of afghanistan, served three tours in u.s. military in afghanistan. he alone came out of the locker room and stood but most players, many players we should say over the course of today have either knelt or joined arms, locked arms and that's one more rank president obama in one of he's tweets today, locking arms that's great, kneeling that's bad. yet another distinction for us to mull over and parse as the days wears on, richard. >> mike, thanks so much. joining us now is chris johnson. chris, you played in the nfl for ten years, a member of five different teams the reaction you have to the president's comments about players that kneel on the field during the national anthem in protest.

do you think that's a fireable offense? >> yes, i do. i believe the president was out of align to just pinpoint the nfl and some of the players for standing and believing what's right. when you're in that arena, whose to tell you what you can and what you can't do at the time -- >> he's saying he feels it's a fireable offense, you agree with that being a fireable offense? >> no, i do not. you can go both ways. i mean, a lot of players that has, you know, veteran uncles and grandfathers that actually fought for this country, i mean, a lot of them does not feel that's sufficient but for him to come out and just pinpoint just the owners in the nfl i think he was out of line. >> and we know he's also taking a shot at, you know, steph curry and the fact that he hesitated about whether or not they were going to go to the white house, saying that he was uninvited, the golden state warriors staying they're not going to go

now. we know that this has a racial component to it as steph curry alluded to. listen to randy moss this morning as he was discussing this on espn. >> reading those tweets, listening to the news, it took me back-to-back when i was 17 years old, you know. when you should be telling the kid to get good grades, stay focused, listen to your parents, live out your dreams, but instead at 17 years old i was being hated on because of the color of my skin. >> being an advocate, say, for cancer research or funding for third world countries or even hurricane relief is okay for players, why can't these same players use high profile platforms of advocates of a racial component is involved? is that just too taboo in the nfl? >> not really. i think that over the last couple of days trump has came out and fired at jameel hill and

also steph curry about, you know, saying what they said, but i mean at the end of the day, i feel that that's what the constitution is for, to freedom of speech. so for him to come out and say it's wrong, i mean, what do we have the constitution for? so i think it's very wrong. >> we know he's come out against this, not just the fact that you have to be a patriot and not exert your right to free speech if you want to use a peaceful protest message like colin kaepernick to highlight social injustice, racial inequality, now it's become a political hot potato, the steelers, coach, mike tomlin decided to unify his team, keep them off the field for the anthem, players had to pick or choose, do you think chris that teams that skip the anthem today did a favor for themselves or disservice? >> it favors themselves. if you go -- if you look at the

history of the nfl before 2009 teams did not take the field for the national anthem because the simple fact that it was so i guess a long period of time to just be standing. when you go into money, the military has paid millions of dollars over the last couple years for the nfl to take place on the nfl fields so i don't think that, you know, you look like -- you go back and look at it, if they'll go back to not having the guys come out, you know, it wouldn't be a bigger issue compared to people standing and some people not standing. so i think mike tomlin did a great job today to have his team unified as one, oyou can't really pinpoint a player on what he did or what he did not do. >> former nfl defensive back chris johnson, great to have you on. i appreciate your perspective. >> thank you very much. we know that the legendary stevie wonder has weighed in on the president's comments with prayer and protest of his own.

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it.. tonight, i'm taking a knee for america. but not just one knee, i'm taking both knees. both knees and prayer for our planet, our future, our leaders of the world and our globe. >> there was stevie wonder as

yesterday's global citizens event. that music festival taking place in central park and that legend taking two knees for america and for the world in support of all people but especially athletes who have come under fire by the president because they have chosen to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem on the gridiron. joining me now entertainment journalist, terrence moore, charlie he savage. it's great to have you all with me. lola, let's start with celebrity action. all over social media people are trying to come down on a side here. there have been people that have been outspoken where the silence has been deafening, what have you seen? >> i've seen a lot on social media particularly on twitter from instagram, rappers and lebron james have not been able to stay silent about this. it's interesting because kaepernick had been protesting for well over a year and hadn't really rallied the type of

support he's seeing now, once donald trump decided to butt into this conversation he lit a spark that essentially turned into dynamite, so he's done more for the take a knee movement than kaepernick could in a year. if his plan was to up end this movement, he of course did not succeed in doing that at all. he's only strengthened this movement. >> so if the intent was to flip the script which i doubt it was, although colin kaepernick and what he's done for social injustice, the website where he's trying to raise a million dollars, he's up to over 900 grand, take a look at what the jaguars, the nfl players in london did. they took a knee as the national anthem was performed. the players, the coaches, the jaguars owner standing right in the middle during this. when you see images like this, is this good pr that the owners have taken a responsibility like this or do you think that they really mean it? that they are out there because

they believe in their players' rights to free speech? >> it's obviously a combination of both but i want to start with this. we've seen this before with donald trump. whenever the russia probe starts getting hot or health care bill is not going his way in congress, it's like follow the shiny object. right now it's a dual shiny object. the nfl and also steph curry. as far as the nfl is concerned, this is one of the best things ever to happen to that league and it's been around since 1920. i say that because i can never remember a time that the players and the coaches were closer together or the owners for that matter for anything and the reason that it's important is because after the 2020 season the collective bargaining agreement goes up and goes away and there's been these rumors out there from the union that it's going to be a contentious situation where they're even talking about the players possibly striking and it's been this back and forth.

this is one of those type things that could unify both sides more than ever before so indirectly you can say from the nfl standpoint, donald trump has done a favor to the national football league. >> trump's friend, new england patriots owner bob kraft had released a statement earlier today saying he was deeply disappointed by the tone of the president's comments and he supports his players' rights to protest. we had tom brady locking arms earlier today before the game. brady's pretty apolitical and also we know has played golf will trump and they're friendly. do you think, though, that the president is going to take this type of fire from say bob kraft, other owners and all of these players and reflect on it, or do you think he's moving on to the next big fire? >> reflect on it. let me say two things quickly. to the extent you're asking when you see owners coming out and showing solidarity with their

players, is that a cynical pr move or is that because they believe in free speech rights of their players. we do have to remember that colin kaepernick who started all this still doesn't have a job. it's clear that he was black balled by the owners including not in the case of the new england team but the patriots, of course have a great quarterback but there are some teams that need quarterback and did not hire him because he was such a controversial player in the eyes of the owners. that seems pretty obvious to everyone. it's a little bit precious now to see we're linking arms and so forth. the other thing that i think is interesting and maybe an emerging takeaway from this, is that it's morphing, the meaning of the taking the knee is morphing. it started out obviously as a protest against black people being shot too often by police in this country without seeming accountability for that but now with trump wading in to it and sucking it into the vortex of his performance art and creating distractions and making every conversation about himself and

some people mad and some people are saying right on. it's becoming, are you with trump or against trump? and the stevie wonder clip that you started this segment with what's interesting in that respect because stevie wonder wasn't saying i'm taking a knee against america, he's saying i'm praying for america, i'm taking a knee for america and that seemed to be a rebuke of trump rather than a rebuke of the idea of america and racism. >> the other thing when we think about trying to watch a football game in peace so we don't have to talk about all this crap, politics, or trump white house, it's everywhere. whether you watch the emmys or a music concert or whether you want to watch sunday football, you're pointing out, you have to pick a side somehow and you got to come down and make your -- reveal your cards so to speak about how you feel but is the silence charlie deafening out of some people that have not come down or taken a side when it comes to how this administration is rolling? >> as a chicago bears fans i

thought it was interesting today that the pittsburgh steelers just didn't come out of the locker room for the most part until after the national anthem was over. so they wouldn't be forced to pick sides and be team a or team b in this hyperpolarized vortex of all things trump. there's a great, you know, probably yearning among a lot of people to have some space in which trump and the politics of trump does not intrude into every waking moment of our lives and increasingly those moments are hard to come by and now sunday afternoon seems to have been infected as well. >> that's a good point. historically the arts and sports have been the great unifiers in this country, they have brought people together and now we're seeing that the world is more divisive as a result of trump speaking off the cuff and throwing red meat at his base and there is no safe space for people to get away from this type of rhetoric. it's important to point out that the language was used was a bridge too far for a number of

people. parents shouldn't have to worry about their children watching the president of the united states speak and worry about the words that are coming out of his mouth. his speeches have to come with a rating now. that was rated r language. that's just too much and we were also speaking about this earlier, thomas. mothers, particularly mothers in the nfl are very close to the team members, they view these players as their sons. so when you speak out against these mothers, you're speaking out against all of the collective mothers of the nfl. they view these players as their sons, so you attacked family when you used the language sobs and it's particularly gulling when you're dealing with an african-american family because the number of african-american families are mat tri archal so to speak out against mothers in that way is highly problematic particularly when you're dealing with sports like the nfl and the nba and the mlb because they view these teams as families. >> especially the chunky camp

soup ads, the moms delivering soups, we all love those moms. terrence, go ahead. >> i think it's a myth when people believe that this is a recent phenomena this fusion between athletes and society. we're actually going back to the future, okay? you go back to the times when ali, we certainly remember that, when he's like the ultimate in that of showing he's at the height of his career and showing injustices. you got jackie robinson, went behind april 15th 1947 breaking the color barrier. you're talking about he was fighting for justice with dr. martin luther king in early 1960s in the south. you've got arthur ashe the things he stood up for, kareem abdul-jabbar. it was only that dead period in the 1990s when charles barkley said i am not a role model. michael jordan didn't want

anything controversial because he was trying to sell sneakers. this is why i love what we're seeing because it's getting athletes back involved in the game, whether we like it or not, they've got a ton of power these athletes. you've got people who are watching them, these youngsters watching them for good or bad, the fact they're treating them this way is good and now you're adding the owner component. this is something that could be a powerful good for society. >> ownership for being a role model is always important whether you believe you're one or not. great to see you. so we've got the palace intrigue from politico. politico now reporting that the president's son-in-law was using a private e-mail to conduct white house business. we'll tell you all about jared kushner. this latest headline right after this. new charmin ultra soft! it's softer than ever. new charmin ultra soft is twice as absorbent

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we believe our business thrives when our communities thrive. which is just one of the reasons we help make college a reality for thousands of students. today, companies need to do more. so john and willie are trying to do just that. thank you for listening. we're listening too. so here are some pictures moments ago, president trump landing at joint base andrews on his way back from new jersey and we are getting new headlines out now with the new week about to begin and the russia investigation intensifying and it could get worse for this

administration with the latest headline from politico, a bomb shell report about president trump's son-in-law using a private e-mail account to discuss white house matters with top administration officials. politico was saying that the private account was first set up during the transition last december but it's continued to be used during jared kushner's time during the administration. he responded with this statement. fewer than 100 e-mails from january to august were either sent to or returned by mr. kushner from his personal e-mail account. again this is by politico. nbc news is not independently confirmed this report. joining me now is democratic strategist jess macintosh and danny and gordon chang is here. and we have a lot of things to talk about. danny, this latest headline from politico about the fact that kushner had used a private e-mail. this is all the stuff that they ran on with hillary clinton,

lock her up, lock her up, because of the private e-mail and server that she used as secretary of state, some more of an indication of do as i say? >> it's different. clinton was the secretary of state and violated state department policy. the next question was whether or not it was a crime and it is a crime if somebody intentionally mishandles classified information so those at least those three elements have to be showing. in this case the mere existence of a personal e-mail account given that kushner has that nebulous identity within the white house, what exactly is his role -- >> everything's his role, yes. he's supposed to be taking care of worldwide crisis and a hand in everything, especially when it comes to how this white house has been operating. so wouldn't it be of a concern that he even communicated in

this way with top other administration officials as politico said. >> is it a concern, yes, just as it was with hillary clinton's e-mails. but the next question is whether or not there was classified information, whether or not it was mishandled and whether or not he did it intentionally. the problem with e-mail is this, if you send it, that's an intentional act. when you receive it, which is something we have no control over and then you have the fact that a private e-mail -- we don't know what it was, was it hotmail or gmail. it's something that could be hacked and then from there have you mishandled it intentionally and knowingly if you let other people get at it. >> we know lawrence, this -- even as danny points out if there aren't laws broken here with the type of content that went back and forth, this is a different type of optic for the white house right now that attacked hillary clinton on this. this other big issue for the president is trying to square how this administration, which

runs a lot like the trump organization family business, is trying to get away with the same things that they might in new york city in this white house? >> i would push back on the hillary clinton thing because it wasn't just that hillary clinton had a private e-mail, it's one that she tried to hide and she did acid wash her computer as well as destroying evidence. so it's not just about that but if the trump administration -- if jared kushner's using a private e-mail and that is, in fact, true and it's breaking the law then he should get in trouble for it. but there's no evidence yet to suggest that. i can only go by what the report is saying and we don't know -- these are just sources. we do know hillary clinton did it and nothing happened so i don't understand why anybody's outraged considering a standard has been set now by a secretary of state, not a senior adviser to the president. >> i know, but lawrence, with all due respect, this is the same city adviser that lied on security clearances because of taking meetings with the russian ambassador, the same person that

took a meeting in trump tower who lied to everybody about that who was promising kpropsing dirt on hillary clinton, why do we even begin to think that we're naive enough to begin the first story that comes out of a white house that provides incremental truth telling at every turn? >> well, if the press believed what happened with hillary clinton when she lied about her e-mails, then the things she did, then they should have no -- >> hillary clinton doesn't matter. stop. >> you guys set a precedence. >> no we didn't. hillary clinton doesn't matter. the president is the trump family. donald trump his family. >> we're talking about senior adviser. we're talking about a senior adviser. >> whose supposed to be in charge of the middle east and china and negotiations -- >> are you going to let me talk? >> stop bringing up hillary clinton. >> you guys set a precedent for hillary clinton who was a secretary of state, not a senior adviser. so if it's okay for her to get away with it, no prosecution. >> how did she get away with it?

she didn't win. >> she was the secretary of state. she did it while she was the secretary of state. and if it was okay for her to do it and destroy evidence, i don't understand why we're bringing up jared kushner. now i did concede that, if any, laws were broken, then he should be punished for it. >> if comey or loretta lynch found evidence that was prosecutable they would have moved forward with it. >> you mean the same jiens -- hold on let me pushback. >> that have applied to all other white houses, are you trying to feed us something that you don't think they should have the same consequences? >> okay. so you mean the same james comey that prepared a statement before all the witnesses were interviewed and went through that process? you think james comey has any credibility right now after leaking information and all of that? >> do you think that the trump white house has any credibility after taking meetings with russia, trying to get dirt on hillary clinton and we're under a major investigation by bob

mueller right now? >> and there's still no evidence of collusion, so you can guys can keep pushing that narrative but there's still no evidence. will you bring me some evidence, then people can make a decision. >> there's no evidence there's not collusion. the only thing that's come afford is incremental truth telling, that they were taking secret meetings with ambassadors and the department of justice had to recuse himself. >> and just like hillary clinton's campaign took meetings with ukraine, we can go around this all over again. >> lawrence, you're just dodging the issue. >> no, i'm not. i'm saying you guys -- you guys -- >> we have other guests. i can't just go round with you. we have another minute. >> i'm enjoying it too. you got to get in reality and not live in the past. >> a secretary of state, you guys set a standard. >> president trump in office let's deal with the facts at hand right now and the fact of

how they got it -- >> these are facts. >> let me ask you, we've got the fact that the return to alabama for the president on friday and now we have the vice president going there tomorrow to go on the campaign trail for luther strange, do you think that the trump administration is on track -- excuse me, the president has taken to the microphones let's go ahead and listen in. is this turn around from when he was on the tarmac? >> well, i think the owners should do something about it. i think it's very disrespectful to our flag and to our country. so i certainly think the owners should do something about it. there was great solidarity. i watched a little bit. i was not watching the games today, believe me i'm doing other things. i watched a little bit and i will say that there was tremendous solidarity for our flag and for our country. >> mr. president, your friend robert kraft said he was disappointed about what you said on friday? >> that's okay.

he's got to -- he has to take his ideas and goes with what he wants. i think it's very disrespectful to our country, i think it's very disrespectful to our flag. i like bob very much. he's my friend, but he gave me a super bowl ring a month ago. he's a good friend of mine. i want him to do what he wants to do. we have a great country. we have great people representing our country, especially our soldiers, our first responders and they should be treated with respect and when you get on your knee and you don't respect the american flag or the anthem, that's not being treated with respect. >> are you -- >> this has nothing to do with race. i've never said anything about race. this has nothing to do with race or anything else. this has to do with respect for our country and respect for our flag. >> it's the big six finalized its tax plan yet. >> we have a tax plan that's totally finalized. i think it's going to go through and it's a very -- it'll be the

largest tax cut in the history of our country. >> to discuss a popular pardon from julian assange. >> i've never heard that mentioned. >> could the corporate rate 25%. >> i hope the corporate rate's 15%. >> do the big six want it 20%? >> i hope it's 15%. it's going to be substantially lower so we bring jobs back into our country. >> big six want the individual rate to be 35. >> we think we're going to bring the individual rate to 10% or 12% much lower than it is right now. this is a plan for the middle class and for companies so they can bring back jobs. >> [ inaudible ]. >> we're looking at the health care. i've been watching for seven years at the republicans have been saying repeal and replace, then you have john mccain voting no for whatever reason and, by the way, arizona's one of the biggest beneficiaries even the governor is totally in favor of it, it's also great for maine.

it's also great for alaska. every state you talking about it happens to be particularly good for, so i don't know what they're doing, but you know what? eventually we'll win whether it's now or later. >> are you willing to work with democrats -- >> we'll see what happens, but the republicans have been saying for seven years repeal and replace and now they have a chance and the funny thing is, in arizona, it's up 116%. in maine it's way up. in maine if you look at what's going on in maine they get a tremendous amount of money with the grants, with the block grants. you look at alaska, one of the biggest beneficiaries would be alaska and these are the people that are against it. eventually we will win on that. my primary focus i must tell you and has been from the beginning as you can imagine is taxes. i believe we will be successful in the largest tax cut in our country's history. thank you all very much. i'll see you later. there we have the president

speaking from the tarmac in new jersey before getting on air force one. back with me is our panel. let me ask you the reaction to all that that the president put out. not only just the nfl controversy, but all the way up to health care, tax reform. a lot of different topics to dissect there. >> yeah, definitely. i think it's remarkable that he's able to stay under there and say this isn't about race when he has been systematically calling for black employees who disagree with him to be fired. not only is that un-american and undemocratic it's racist. but i think that he does this thing where he starts something really incendiary just when he wants to distract from major agenda piece that america isn't going to like or from tightening in the russian investigation. we saw this on the campaign and we're seeing that playout at the trump white house now. so while i think the protests are important and i'm glad that

there's a national conversation around this, i want to make sure that people don't take they're eye off the health care ball. that is a particularly radical bill and the more america pays attention to it and tunes in, the more they reject it. we've seen that happen twice now and i worry on the third one we're going to miss the ball. >> and right now the votes they really don't have those, ted cruz has come out against it, the regular players of murkowski, also collins, rand paul is not for it. we know john mccain came down as a no on friday. the other big issue that we have taking place is the rhetoric and the heated rhetoric with north korea, not only does the white house have domestic issues to take care of but also these international issues with kim jong-un. is the diplomacy really going to solve this crisis that seems to have these two leaders exchanging such high barbs at each other and not lessoning. >> diplomacy can solve this, maybe down the road, not right now. the problem with this rhetoric

and jess talks about distracting, what president trump is doing is distracting from a very good thursday he had with those sanctions on north korea. he needed the world to talk about cutting off the flow of money to kim jong-un and we haven't been doing that. we've been talking about these other issues, understandably because they are so explosive. but president trump doesn't need to step on his message, especially when the north koreans threaten all of us. >> but gordon, when we think about how they're going to follow up with that type of threat, is this something that could escalate to that point? should we be concerned about how this white house is going to use not only the bully pulpit of the president but the entire administration to not only make sure that those sanctions work but to make sure that this type of rhetoric and the type of actions that kim jong-un could immediately take are thwarted? >> yes, well president trump is obviously gotten under the skin of kim jong-un.

we saw that with the u.n. general assembly speech that the north korean foreign minister and that's a very different type of threat that we heard. in the past the north koreans have threatened to incinerate american cities but they always said that that was in response to an american attack on north korea. what we heard from the foreign minister yesterday was essentially a tlelt for a first strike on the united states. we have not heard that before and this is the consequence of this hot rhetoric that the north koreans are now thinking of something which is completely unthinkable. they could take us by surprise. i'm not sure that they really intend to do that, but we know that when rhetoric gets out of control events can follow. >> yeah. whose going to blink first on all of this. thank you all very much. really appreciate your time. also, we have the politics of all these protests and so much taking place on the gridiron but there's other work being done too with nick cannon joining us on set to weigh in on

the nfl controversy and to talk about his latest project taking on his own form of political activism. don't let dust and allergens get between you and life's beautiful moments. flonase outperforms the #1 non-drowsy allergy pill. it helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms. pills block one and 6 is greater than 1. flonase changes everything. it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three.

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so we're back. the continuing reaction of president trump versus the nfl and an important voice in this discussion. we've seen so many different celebrities speak out have ia social media but we know nick cannon who is a friend and a celebrity whose no stranger to taking on social justice and inequality. last weekend nick was in st. louis and now he's weighing in the politics of sports. releasing a video about "the star-spangled banner." take a listen to nick's song. ♪ even though the constitution don't really apply to me, i try to exercise my freedom of speech ♪ ♪ ♪ so you can tell them you heard it from me. and all wars wrong and so is that [ bleep ] song.

it's been way too long. it's time to make a change and acknowledge that you're home of the brave was built on the back of a slave. so bowing down to a true king is the only way to let freedom ring. ♪ stand for what, i ain't standing for [ bleep ], except kaeperni kaepernick ♪ >> is that tough for you to watch your own work especially with the hard fact that you're trying to tell everybody. >> not really because that's my truth. even someone whose considered an activist or on the front lines, every day from last week being in st. louis and hearing the cries and the pain of that community there is just like knowing that we're giving the opportunity to speak at artists and we have to hold that mirror up to society and speak our truth. >> when we think about how the president has for no reason taken on colin kaepernick or taking on steph curry, lebron

james, kicking the ball back at him calling him a bum, is that helping the conversation that we need to have in this country because people get uncomfortable around racial components? >> that's never going to go conversations. >> yeah. that's never going to go away until we deal with it until its core. i think the president uses it as a distraction. i mean, he's a very intelligent and keen man so he knows when to throw things out to take a distraction over. things that people are really on his neck about. but he uses, you know, sports, entertainment, even racial issues to kind of stir up the pot, to get everyone talking and to distract and so i tell everybody, question everything and look deeper into it because it's issues that we all have. elitist mindset. and when you speak down towards people even your own people, when you're the commander of chief, but speak down towards everyone, i mean, that really

isn't a welcoming sense. >> but then when we think about the -- you know, for people that believe in what you're doing for putting a bright spotlight on social injustice, racial inequality, the people feel like i know all this, you're talking down to me. how do you make sure you have the right tone versus the people that you think need a better education. >> right. that's the thing. because i never want to get involved in political discourse. i want to speak any truth as an artist and i feel like that's the way we have to do it. that's my duty. whether people agree with it or not. people personally think about me is none of my business, but if i have a message to deliver sometimes it's not going to be sweet. i try to sleep easy at night. >> we know you know -- everybody knows you. you're a fun loving guy. we grew up with you. we're watching one of your movies. a dad. someone we welcomed into our

homes weeknights and weekends, whether on live tv or via another product. is it hard to get into activist mode than it is to say actor/singer mode? >> yeah. >> when you have to take on a role model kind of like kaepernick or the other guys today and use your platform. >> yeah. colin is a good friend of mine and i stand firm with him. having mentors of people like dick gregory who passed and transitioned or even, you know, harry belafonte. they have used their work to use their light and shine it on things that truly matter. and i have to do it in an unapologetic way. especially when you have others, you know, whether we call it donald trump, they're speaking their minds in a very unapoll jettic way so we have to do the same and we have to protest strong. like we can't walk both sides of the fence. we have to say what we mean. and of course i'm a nice guy. i love everyone. but i'm always going to speak

towards injustice. so that's ultimately it. >> you make a great point because the president speaks his mind. makes no apologies about it. people fire back they're out of line but here's the president from the tarmac earlier. fielding questions from reporters. take a listen. >> [ indiscernible ]. should the players who kneel down today be fired? >> well, i think it's disrespectful to our flag and country so i think the owners should do something about it. 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 a little bit. and i will say that it was tremendous solidarity for our flag and for our country. >> we're giving you a break with the two box. we wanted to get your reaction the entire time listening to that, but there was great solidarity in terms of owners coming out against what he had to say. players taking a knee or locking arms. you're friends with colin kaepernick. have you talked to him since the president's remarks?

>> we have communicated, you know? >> what is he saying? >> i just sent him a text and love and letting him know we continue to support him. he's always supported my statements and stuff, because we kind -- we do come together in solidarity on the issues of injustice. the fact that we here talking about it, i feel like it's a step toward making a change. i don't personally believe the patriotism is defined by symbols. patriotism is when you can stand with your neighbor and kneel with your brother in a time to kneel. that's true patriotism. that's what americans are really standing firm with. and i understand everyone has a very indifferent feeling about whether it's social injustices. when it comes to police officers or whether it comes to the nfl. but i want everyone to focus on the right things and not be distracted. >> and that's the thing. like the patriotism versus free speech angle. how ever we express ourselves that basically symbolizes being

a patriot. that's what this country -- you know, was founded on. >> that's what the human is being founded on. we should have the right to speak our minds and say what we want, no matter what nation we live in. >> we boil it down to the personalization and think of what colin kaepernick tried to do. >> right. >> now he's out of a job. he's a free agent. i mean, like you were saying you're friends with him. is he frustrated by that or is he trying to raise awareness for social injustice not in this country but around the world? >> i think it's both. i think honestly we all see as i believe he's being black balled. he's a super talented player who has a lot more game left in him. and then ultimately he'll go down in history as someone who stood for what he believed in and you know your football career is only so long. but now people will recognize him, you know, for generations. >> his legacy is kind of

cemented right now. >> absolutely. >> we know that trump has urged fans to boycott players or do protest or do something during the national anthem. isn't that kind of just -- the antithesis of what being a patriot is really all about? >> yes. this gentleman was exercising his right to protest. and his freedom of speech in so many different ways. and he's being black balled because of it. especially when ultimately when you think about what the national anthem truly represents from the very beginning and all the way down to how we feel as people have been robbed of their lineage and of their heritage as nondescendants not to be able to have something to ground and even today there's the reason why we're looked at as lesser than to police forces because there's no real weight. there's no roots because we have been robbed of that he was standing for that and really wanting to bring awareness to

that during a song that was written and created during a time where we had less rights. so for him to be punished even more because of that and then for the president to even say him and others should be fired and to use vulgar terms, you know, about getting rid of them it shows the disrespect and that he really believes he's better than a certain class of people. >> all right. so everyone can find your video where? >> facebook, twitter, instagram, all those places. >> only any present as we see z -- omnipresent on the monitors. nick, great to see you. we're back with much more after this. hey grandpa. hey, kid. really good to see you. you too. you tell grandma you were going fishing again? maybe. (vo) the best things in life keep going. that's why i got a subaru, too. introducing the all-new crosstrek.

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after meeting with reporters, let's listen in. >> our country has to be respected. that's plenty of room to do other things but our country has to be respect and i have always felt very strongly about that. by the way, most people agree with me. >> [ indiscernible ]. >> they have rights. we all have rights, but when you're on that field and you know there's a situation going on, this is a great, great country. we have a great flag. and they should respect our flag. they're making a lot of money. i'm not begrudging anything. but i'm saying they have to respect our flag. they have to respect our country. >> mr. president -- calling -- >> the nfl has to work out their own problems. their numbers are way down and i think this is a big reason why their numbers are way down. >> are you calling on your supporters to boycott -- >> not at all.

they can do whatever they want. i'm just telling you from my standpoint, i think it's very disrespectful to our country. thank you all very much. >> [ indiscernible ]. >> all right. so there we hear the president fielding some questions about the nfl controversy that he started by calling players that would protest during the national anthem an s.o.b. that needs to be fired. he is saying that the flag needs to be respected. also about a player's first amendment rights he feels that they deserve the right -- let's listen in. >> but i understand he never took that -- >> flying from new york back to d.c. -- >> you have to ask him about that. now as far as secretary price is concerned, that's different. we're looking into its. >> do you respect the investigation -- >> always. always. thank you very much. >> all right. so the president coming back to take questions on the matter of