america, a debate that continues today because on the eve of the anniversary of that deadly clash, where is the president's ire? it's focused on nfl players protesting racial injustice in america. the president tweeted be happy, be cool, and instructed the players to stand proudly for your national anthem or be suspended without pay. this as the city of charlottesville prepares to go under a state of emergency just hours from now. joining me is nbc news kelly o'donnell in new jersey where the president is on his, quote, working vacation. kelly, why have we not heard anything from the white house other than tweeting about the nfl? >> reporter: well, there's no easy answer for that, katy. the white house has not put out a statement about this, the president has not. he did do an event on prison reform, which was covered by the tv pool and journalists in the pool. that was yesterday. that's part of the working part of working vacation.