Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20181231

New years eve somewhere. Where is our champagne. Good morning, everyone. Its monday, december 31st. We are now in the 10th day of a partial Government Shutdown. President trump does not appear willing to budge at all. Mixed signals from the white house pointing to a president thats really dug in for a lengthy political standoff with trump fearful of losing core supporters if he does not make progress on the southern border wall. California democrat, nancy pelosi, the House Speaker designate is aiming to pass a bill that fully reopens the government as soon as possible on thursday. Thats when democrats retake the house. Trump has not reached out to pelosi as of sunday. The last conversation took place 20 days ago in that oval office. The Trump Reelection Campaign sent out an email blasting pelosi for being on vacation in hawaii while President Trump remained at the white house. However, pelosis aides tells nbc news she was back in her district on saturday night and will be in washington later today. The white house has been erratic in thefting blame for the shutdown after the president told Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer im not going to blame you for it. 48 hours earlier trumps choice for acting white house chief of staff was directing the blame away from schumer and towards the top democrat in the house, nancy pelosi. The Vice President and i met with leader schumer last saturday. And my gut was that he was really interested in doing a deal and coming to some sort of compromise. But were hearing its nancy pelosi preventing that from happening. Yesterday one of the most Senior Republicans in the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said pointing fingers not going to lead to a solution. Its a question when do we get off the blame game and we get to serious negotiations. At the end of the day this will all end, we dont know when in new york stock exchan negotiations. Nobody wins this kind of a game. We all lose. We kind of look silly. So white house chief of staff john kelly will be leaving the Trump Administration this week. At the same time hes opening up what he did and did not do for the president during his time in the white house. Nbc News White House correspondent jeff been nept has the details. Reporter john kelly talking cab diddley about his rocky tenure as white house chief of staff. In an interview general kelly said President Trumps long promise to southern border wall is not what hes portrayed. To be honest its not a wall general kelly admits and blame former attorney general Jeff Sessions for the policy separating undocumented immigrants from their children at the border. Kelly saying the move took him by surprise. It was just one of the many controversies he weathered during his 17 months in the white house, something he called a bone crushing hard job. The last thing i wanted to do was to walk away from one of the great honors in my life. But i did something wrong and god punished me. Reporter hired to instill order in a free wheeling west wing kelly was dogged by constant rumors of his firing. Im not quitting today. I dont believe and i just talked to the president i dont think im being fired today. Reporter the retired marine general said while mr. Trump pressed the boundaries of his Legal Authority the president never ordered him to do anything illegal. Kelly argues his legacy is best measured by what the president did not do such as wulg u. S. Forces out of south korea or withdrawing from nato. When asked why he stayed on the job despite personality clashes and policy differences kelly told the paper military people dont walk away. Our thanks to jeff bennett for that reporting. Kellyanne conway defended the president s tweets. Conway said yesterday that trump had stayed in washington during the Government Shutdown, waiting for democrats to make a deal on Border Security. The white house adviser also hit nancy pelosi for leaving d. C. During the shutdown. First the democrats have to come back, nancy pelosi needs to come back from hawaii, less hula more moolah for funding our Border Security. A fully functioning democracy demand both parties come together and the congress and executive branch work together. A spokesman for nancy pelosi told the hill no congressional leaders from either party are currently in washington. Since taking office, President Trump has spent 218 of his 710 days in office visiting properties that bear his name according to nbc news tracking visits to his properties. Of those 218 days trump has spent 166 at golf properties. The president most frequently visits Trump National bedminster, new jersey, Trump International West Palm Beach in florida and one in virginia. President trump has been trying to sell the border wall to the americans. Trump tweeted yesterday afternoon president and mrs. Obama built has a 10foot wall around their d. C. Mansion compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The u. S. Needs the same thing, slightly larger version. The obamas built the fencelike wall after they bought their overwhelm in 2017. Recent photos of the obamas home appears to show a metal gate, brick columns and guard boats. A spokesperson for the obamas declined to comment to nbc news on the construction. In her reason lie published memoir Michele Obama wrote she would never forgive trump for putting her familys safety at risk by pushing the birth er issue. Joining us now, john harwood. Good to see you. I feel like i cant get rid of you. Ive been seeing a lot of you in the last 24 hours. I think thats what my friend was trying to says we appreciate you. Reporter im looking around my desk and theres not a single doughnut in sight. In case people were watching reporter those doughnuts had as much traditional value as less hula and more moolah from Kellyanne Conway. I like the line but it doesnt get us anywhere. Three doughnuts in a one hour show. Two. Might be a new record. While we have you, john, because its not just about doughnuts here, lets talk about this Government Shutdown, the third weve seen this year under the Trump Administration. Whats your take, first of all on the stalemate and how long this thing could actually last because come january 3rd which is the earlest time this could reopen the government, at that point it would be the fourth longest Government Shutdown in history. Reporter my guess is that this thing is done by the 15th of january. You know the first week, maybe give or take a couple of days of the new congress. I think the democrats are going to pass the bill that was passed out of the senate at the end of last year, continuing funding for the government, with some money for Border Security thats not the wall. Senate may tweak it a little bit, send it back and i think trump will have to take it. I think the relevant negotiations here are not between nancy pelosi and donald trump, the relevant negotiations are between donald trump and Rush Limbaugh and ann coulter because trump was ready to okay a deal a couple of weeks ago with democrats and republicans in congress until he got flack from his right, from the sort of rightwing members of congress and media commentators and they started screaming he betrayed them. Thats when he backed off. He ultimately is losing this showdown. Hes already lost it. And, you know, the way we talk about it is a little bit misleading because we talk about his border wall. There is no border wall and there will be no border wall. Ever. The question is what is trump telling his base, how does he explain to them that there isnt going to be one, or is he just going to maintain this sort of fantasy that yeah im building a border wall, and, you know, it may look like a fence but its really a wall. You teed up my question perfectly how he sells this to his base. Over the weekend we got glimpses of it from people like Kellyanne Conway, Lindsey Graham. They are saying hey everyone is getting hung up on the word the wall. Its a metaphor for Border Security. How do you think that will play with his base if they are like, you know, brand testing this. Hey its not a wall per se its more about Border Security. Who is under more pressure to make a deal when they use that kind of terminology. The pressure ultimately is on the president. Its his government that hes the chief executive of. And in the end, i dont think democrats win very much in a shutdown. But i dont think it benefits the president either to have this go on. Ultimately hell have to figure out a way to say yes i got what i wanted. Remember hes been doing that, guys, since before shutdown even happened. Before the shutdown happened he said when he was guesting ready to take that deal that he ultimately walked away from, he said whether or not i get this money from congress ill still build the wall. The military will build a wall. We already built a lot of the wall. This is a make believe conversation. He enjoys those kind of conversations and may do it again and tell people that the wall success built when it actually isnt. The thing that i think is so interesting if the president had explained the wall the way in which Kellyanne Conway did yesterday, the way in which john kelly incident the l. A. Times yesterday, we may not be in the middle of a Government Shutdown. Reporter definitely not. John kelly said this when he was Homeland Security secretary. He said its not a wall from sea to shining sea. The hang up is President Trump keeps calling it a wall and recalling the imagery from his campaign which was big high concrete wall that nobody can climb over. As long as hes stuck on that, thats what democrats are not going to affirm. They dont mind border fencing or technology or all of the things that Kellyanne Conway was talking about. They are not going to affirm the notion of a border wall. Let me switch gears here for a moment and talk to you about the other side of the aisle. Plenty much democrats have been talking about running for president. We expect a lot of announcements in 2019. One has launched their 20 campaign and i know you recently sat down with Democrat John delaney who is now leaving congress after declaring his candidacy for president back in july of 2017. Tell us about that conversation the fact that he announced so early. That unfortunate be very interesting in its own right. Reporter hes a fascinating guy. He built two different finance companies. He got rich. Went to congress. Hes somebody who had been a clinton style democrat in his own personal philosophy. And now hes the only guy who has stepped out there. Nobody knows him. Hes trying to build a reputation. Hes gotten a little bit of notoriety in iowa. His argument now is that unlike donald trump hes somebody who really does have business skills and that donald trump really came to Office Without those skills. Take a listen. I was an entrepreneur, started these businesses from scratch. You know my dad didnt give me any money. They didnt have any. I think its incredibly important we have a president that understands how the private economy really works and knows how to position the country to be successful. Do you think we have a president now who understands how the economy works . I dont think President Trump, i dont think hes a Business Leader. Avenues business promoter. What i did as a Business Leader i created jobs, i paid my bills, i innovated, i hired the best and the brightest. I made sure every relationship i had was good as possible. I dont think he did any of those things. We need a president who understands the economy but i rolled up my sleeves and i went to congress. I served six years in the house of representatives. I know how the government works. We shouldnt be electing information lead our country who have never done Public Service and, again, thats an issue with this president. I dont think he had any idea what he was getting into. What john delaney is arguing is is that the notion of donald trump as master business executive, this equivalent of border wall discussion it was make believe and hes trying to see if he can break through with that argument. Hell have a lot of company in that democratic president ial race very soon in the next couple of weeks. You actually i know you asked a pretty important question. A lot of people dont know about delaney. That is why are you running. Doesnt necessarily you can feasibly win at this point considering the other names out there like bernie sanders, the bidens. Why not throw your money behind somebody who can win. Reporter when you make yourself rich in business, you get yourself elected to congress, you develop a pretty good opinion of your skills and yourself. And so i think he believes that hes got something to offer. He wants to make a set of arguments. Hes got the money to pay for it. He doesnt need anybody elses money. He wants to give it a try. He must be realistic about the prospects which are not great, but there are a lot of people who run for president who dont win who then later end up serving in government, cabinet member or whatever. So i think for what john delaney told me this will be a good experience win or lose as long as i advance the principles i believe in which is progressivism. Ill take my chances and feel good about the effort. Thank you. Happy new year to you. Reporter have fun tonight. I hope you can stay up tomonth because i probably cant. We wake up way too early for that. Still ahead, everybody, today marks defense secretary jim mattis last day on the job. Well see how the search is going for his permanent replacement. Take a live look over times square right now. More than a Million People expected to ring in the new year tonight. Well have an update on security, preparations, weather. Well see if that even holds up next. But allstate helps you. With drivewise. Feedback that helps you drive safer. And that can lower your cost now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . Brushing only reaches 25 of your mouth. Listerine® cleans virtually 100 . Helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. Never settle for 25 . Always go for 100. Bring out the bold™ Amazon Prime Video so when you say words like. Show me best of prime video into this. Youll see awesome stuff like this. Discover prime originals like the emmywinning the marvelous mrs. Maisel. Tom clancys jack ryan. And the man in the high castle. All in the same place as your live tv. Its all included with your amazon prime membership. Thats how xfinity makes tv. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Welcome back, everybody. For the First Time Ever the nypd plans to use a drone to watch over times square during tonights new years eve celebration with the help of more than 1,200 fixed cameras, Police Helicopters and new technology to detect and stop anyone authorized drones. All the festivities will take place under the watchful eye of the 7,000 Police Officers on duty for the festivities. Thats a lot. In addition to the fbi, new york state police, mta police and bomb sniffing dogs. Another 200 police cars and sand filled sanitation trucks will be filled to close off to cars since 4 00 a. M. Dont try to drive through times square. Mayor de blasio said there could be as many as 2 Million People to celebrate. But the actual crowd size will be smaller than that. City officials are reminding everyone no backpacks or umbrella or alcohol will be allowed in. Security will be in place. The crowds will be there. Big question now is the weather going to hold up. Lets get a quick check on that with meteorologist michele grossman. Did you say it was colder last year . Yes. 20 degrees. Wind chills below zero. So different. If youre out and about tonight youll be nice and mild but the tradeoff will be heavy, heavy rain. If youre with your outfit, you want to wear layers, dry layers. Tonight 49 degrees. Typically we come in at 39. Midnight it will be ten degrees warmer than where its supposed to be. This heavy rain along the eastern part of the nation, well see this all day long. It will pick up in the afternoon. See it into new years day before it takes off later. Back to the west were looking at intense chill. Frigid temperatures. Some temperatures below zero with wind chills feeling like minus 20 in some spots. Not good there. Back to the four corners, mountain snow, arizona, utah, new mexico. Then by midnight i mentioned heavy rain still in the eastern part of the nation. If youre out and about you want to plan for this. You want to bring the umbrella. I know youre not allowed to in times square. Wear something with a hood at least and then back to the west you want to dress in layer. Look at the temperature. Minus 16. 16 degrees below zero. Have you guys been to times square . Like during the day where you tanned there for 24 hours . I know you go to times square on new years eve. Ive not done the times square new years eve ball drop. Have you been to new york city . Yes. Is that where we are now . Just joking. I havent started drinking yet, i promise. Thank you. So 2018 was a record breaking year for President Trumps lies, false statements and misleading claims according to the Washington Post fact checker database. The site found in total President Trump lied at least 5,656 times this year. That accumulates to more than 7645 untruths since he took office. His average falsehood tallied up to more than 15 per day. Almost trip tell rate from last year. Heres a breakdown of President Trumps lies by month from january through may. He generally averaged about 200 to 250 false claims but that rate suddenly speck in june when he topped at 500. Trump uttered almost 500 more lies in july and august, 600 in september, more than 1,200 in october and almost 900 in november and december he drifted back to lying in the mid200s. More than a quarter of the president s claims were made during Campaign Rallies while 17 were actually shared on twitter. Thats a lot of numbers. All on the public record. Coming up when President Trump first announced he was pulling troops from syria, senator graham said it was a stain on america. But that was before meeting with the president over lunch yesterday. Well get a live report from the white house next. 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New aveeno® maxglow™ infusion drops with kiwi to lock moisture. And soy to even skin tone. Unleash dewy, glowing skin from within. New aveeno® maxglow™. One Top Republican says President Trump remains committed to defeating isis despite his decision to withdraw American Force from the country. After the initial announcement senator Lindsey Graham blasted the president and his decision to pull out those troops. In fact, he said it was quota disaster and a stain on the honor of the United States. Heres the interesting twist. Speaking outside the white house yesterday, graham was reassured of trumps commitment to defeating isis and left it at that. We talked about syria. And he told me some things i didnt know. That made me feel a lot better where were headed in syria. The president is thinking long and hard about syria, how to withdraw our forces but at the same time achieve our National Security interest, which are to make sure that isis is destroyed. They never come back. That our allies, the kurds are protected. And that iran doesnt become the big winner by our leaving. Joining us now from the white house, hans nicole. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Lets talk about that meeting yesterday between the president and Lindsey Graham. Obviously a really big shift for Lindsey Graham with regard to syria. I think a lot of people asking okay you seem reassured about whats taking place with regard to syria because the president told you so. But how, in fact, is he reassuring you . Reporter its one thing for Lindsey Graham to be assured. Another for the kurds u. S. The Partner Forces in syria. To have the french and british also be reassured. Weve seen this with Lindsey Graham in the past. He can be critical of the president. Then comes out and tries to play interpreter to the president. At least from Lindsey Grahams perspective the president on that trip came away and said it was a learning experience. The president s trip to iraq was eyeopening. The commanders there told him isis was in a world of hurt. Not completely destroyed but well on their way. I think operations to completely destroy and decimate isis are going to be ongoing and are going to be accelerated. Reporter two points on that. Number one commanders have been talking about how isis isnt defeated. That talked about that really for the last 16, 18 months. Also in term of what were hearing from lindsay graham, this is just Lindsey Grahams perspective. We still need to hear from the president of the United States that withdrawal from syria is more orderly than the precipitous one he suggested. People make the point that the president is impressed or left impressionable by the last person in that meeting. Yesterday it was Lindsey Graham. Hans, let me get your thought on a beat you cover for us and you certainly know the outgoing defense secretary, today his last day on the job for jim mattis. The short list to replace him much shorter than President Trump has been leaning on. Few people outside the administration are pushing to get in line to replace mattis. Politico cites the president s decision to pull u. S. Troops from syria among other reasons for the reason why theres a lack of willing hopefuls. Trump ally republican senator and iraq war veteran tom cotton has no desire to run the pentagon. Even refired four star general keen is off the list. Politico says soontobe acing secretary of defense Patrick Shanahan may be running the department indefinitely unless someone catchs President Trumps eye. Hans, curious to get your thoughts. What are you hearing on who the administration is looking at to replace mattis and how much do you think mattis outgoing Resignation Letter really put a damper on anyone else wanting that position Going Forward. Reporter mattis has set a bar. We know what mattis triggers were. All the signalling on this is that Patrick Shanahan could be there for a long time. We heard that from the president himself in iraq when he talked long term he could be there. The interesting thing about Patrick Shanahan is we dont know that much about him. He doesnt have any obvious policy preferences. He did learn at mattis feet for two years. But hes a blank slate in term of how he thinks power should be projected and crucially the importance ever allies. I mention all that because likely shanahan will be in place when nato has summits in february in brussels. Whats shanahan going to do . How will he convince allies they are, indeed, the u. S. Is committed to the nato alliance. Jim mattis wanted to stay in place for. Obviously leaving early. As the year comes to a close we want to reflect on those who served, including those who lost their lives on the front lines, serving every single day. How does 2018 compare in terms of u. S. Troops lost in combat . Reporter slightly more than 2017, so in total there were 23 americans who died in combat from somalia, afghanistan, iraq and syria. 13 in afghanistan which is slightly up from last year. Nowhere near the numbers we saw in 2010, 2011 at the height of the obama surge. The deadliest single event ended up being that Helicopter Crash in iraq, the helicopter went down. But in all this, like 2017, in 2018 there were more deaths in the military from training accidents than actually in combat. That seems to be a theme the last full years. Were thankful for their service and their families. Thanks, hans. On the immigration front the president is blaming democrats for the deaths of two Migrant Children who died in u. S. Custody on saturday. He tweeted quote this. Any deaths of children or others at the border are strictly fault of the democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek, thinking they can enter our country illegally. They cant. If we had a wall they wouldnt even try. The two children in question were very sick before given to border patrol. The father said it wasnt their fault, he hadnt given her water in days. The familys attorney disputes that. Saying 7yearold girl was healthy. As for the zerotolerance policy john kelly is speaking out on that telling the Los Angeles Times that former attorney general Jeff Sessions instituted the policy that resulted in both people being detained and the family separation. Kelly said sessions surprised the white house when he announced the policy back in may. All right. Still ahead investigation that democrats claim was intended to undermine the special counsel investigation comes to an end. Well go through the most talked about sports stories of the year and the intersection of politics and sports. Politics and sports. Mrs. Tyler reach her health goals im in but first. Shelfie the greattasting nutrition of ensure. 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With a range of sizes for all body types, depend fitflex underwear is guaranteed to be your best fit. Systematically burying reports about sexual assaults in a file cabinet instead of reporting them. Creating cultures where predators in the organization, up to the highest level coaches were able to sexually abuse children without any fear of being caught. My misplaced trust in my physician and misplaced trust in adults around me were wielded like a weapon and it cost me dearly and follows me every where. That was a hero. One of the 23 heroes. Giving a final victim impact statement as more than 150 women and girls confronted former Michigan State u. S. Gymnastic counselor, larry nassar. She was the first to publicly accuse larry nassar of sexual abuse. And one of the women who helped expose the culture. Joining us now is Sports Editor at the nation. In a recent column calling it the story of the year. He credits her with taking down a cartel, writing in part this. What she did was nothing less than take on usa gymnastics and the usoc. Through the power of her truth she defeated a cartel. Theres nothing more difficult in sports not to mention society. Cartel runs sports whether ncaa, fifa or oca. She took one down because she dared shine light in a house ever lies she told the truth and shamed the devil. It was cartharsis, and silencing of resistors all hall marks of the trump era. That was unbelievable words you wrote there, dave, speaking out about this hero really in this movement. Yes. Theres so much about it we can say. First and foremost, i mean it shows the impact of the me too movement on Broader Society and how its become now a part of the world of sports. This is part of the me too movement. Second of all it shows that athletes are not content to be silent in the face of injustice and myself in speaking to some of these athletes and reporting on it its stunning how many were not only influenced by the me too movement, not only influenced by each other and their own courage but influenced by other athletes like Colin Kaepernick, for example and seeing themselves in a different light as athletes in society and seeing a broader responsibility. Also something has to be said about the work of simone biles in all of this. This is the most prominent gymnast in the United States. Shes a hero to millions of people throughout this country and the world through her exploits on the mat and now also taking a leading role in trying to literally tear down usa gymnastics and rebuild it as something more just. Its a remarkable story. And ally has been very outspoken. Lets talk a little bit about the nfl and what has happened this year with everything that has continued with the protests around kneeling during the National Anthem to protests of Police Brutality and injustice on that front. But also what is still happening to kaepernick, still one of the biggest stories of the year that often does not get the attention it deserves. This is a remarkable narrative throughout the year. In the spring it looked like nfl would have heavy penalties for any player who dared protest during the anthem and then there was this huge backlash among players saying no youre not going to tell me to stay in the locker room, youre not going to fine me, youre not going to suspend me. This won happen. Then there was a backlash to the backlash where nfl owners then said okay, i guess were just not going to do anything. Once they decided not to do anything that actually tamped down the number of players who were protesting. In the middle of all that donald trump again trying to make this an Election Year issue, trying to make it something to pull out his base. Something remarkable happened. Thats nike made Colin Kaepernick the spokesperson for their products. And this became something that people thought would absolutely sink nike. Donald trump called for boycotts. He had country western singers cutting off the nike swoosh from their socks. Something remark able happened, nikes profits went up. In the huge stock market rush of a week ago they were the only Top Corporation that gained leverage during that week. Oddly enough after that happened thats when President Trump stopped talking about the nfl players. It was an interesting i dont know how much of a causal relationship there is in that regard. Once nike used its resilience, the use of kaepernick and nfl players dried up as well. He has a lawsuit coming up against the nfl that he was essentially colluded against to be kept out of the nfl. Theres a lot of questionable quarterbacks out there. Give us an update on the status of that on the legal front. On the legal front its moving forward at a steady pace. One of the stories of 2019 will be how it all shakes out. Youre right. Every time a quarterback of shall we say questionable merit gets signed by an nfl team it just becomes exhibit triple z in the ongoing case where Colin Kaepernick is saying hey in my last season i threw for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions and you brought a guy on your team who has no resume whatsoever. Its another thing that looks like the nfl made a decision to say were not going to hire and pay the political quarterback. You know you talked about you shaped u. S. Gymnastics as this cartel. But with the nfl it obviously is much more complicated and especially with regards to Colin Kaepernick as you were just talking about. Do people look at a situation like that and say the nfl is not as penetrable as usa gymnastics was. The interesting thing is what the usa gymnastics had was witnesses. Witness after witness after witness who was able to come forward and people who were harmed by usa gymnastics. What you have in this particular case in the nfl is that the burden of proof is on the other side. You have nfl owners who have to come forward and say they were pressured to collude against Colin Kaepernick. The burden of proof is very high. You have to find some sort of connection whether through a whistle blower or through some sort of email or written anything. Written documentation that said they wanted Colin Kaepernick out of their league. It becomes a tougher thing to prove but with the cartel situation where you have these closed societies that thrive on secrecy thats a point ever connection between all of these sports organizations. They need light to be a disinfectant. I want to talk about one more thing here. We cant forget about Serena Williams on center court. You spoke about that and how she battled sexism on center court at the u. S. Open. Talk to us about that. Stunning against naomi osaka. Serena respond with so much anger how she was treated by the judges. It wasnt just anger about the calls that were being made, it was anger about the way her anger was being treated. And this idea there was a double standard between the emotions that male players are allowed to display on center court and the way women are allowed to present themselves on center court. I think that raised a whole host of other issues whether youre going from pay disparity, Media Coverage or whether youre going from how Serena Williams is treated generally as a woman who also is the number one athlete male or female in the United States. I remember at that Award Ceremony with naomi fans were booing and she was so graceful, dont take this moment away from her. It was a moment. One that we wont forget. Thank you very much. Happy new year to you. Stimulus ahead, everybody, the big new years eve barb at maralago. Plus much more from chief of staff john kellys exit interview. What he couldnt or wouldnt say before. Were back with more on that. N t pour on the lactaid, 100 real milk, just without that annoying lactose. Mmm, thats good. With my bladder leakage, the products ive tried just didnt fit right. They were too loose. Its getting in the way of our camping trips. But with a range of sizes, depend fitflex is made for me. With a range of sizes for all body types, depend fitflex underwear is guaranteed to be your best fit. Welcome back. White house chief of staff john kelly will depart the administration on wednesday. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times kelly looks back on his 17 months in the job, arguing it is best measured by what President Trump did not do. Kelly said, when i first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from afghanistan. He was frustrated. Frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons, palace inintrigue a intrigue and the rest of it when i got there. Its never been. The president just wants to make a decision based on no knowledge and ignorance. You may not like his decision, but at least he was fully informed on the impact. Kelly was known to tell aides that he had the worst job in the world and frequently told people that donald trump was not up to the role of president. General kelly talked about President Trumps plan to build a wall along the u. S. mexico border. He told the paper, quote, to be honest its not a wall. The president still says wall. Oftentimes hell say barrier or fencing. We left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it. Lindsey graham met with the president for lunch yesterday. Afterwards he told reporters that the wall has become a metaphor for Border Security. The president didnt commit, but i think hes very open minded. I know theres some democrats out there who would be willing to provide money for wall Border Security if we could deal with the daca population and tps people. What were talking about is a physical barrier where it makes sense. In the past every democrat has voted for these physical barriers. The writer of that article with john kelly is going to be joining us in the next hour. House republicans quietly ended their congressional investigation into alleged Justice Department bias against donald trump during the 2016 election. It came in the form of a letter to the Justice Department and Mitch Mcconnell written over the weekend by Bob Goodlatte and trey gowdy. The letter asks the senate and acting attorney general to continue to identify the bias and leaned heavily on an Inspector General report which identified personal biases among officers. It wraps a yearlong mostly closed door inquiry that democrats have blasted as an at terchl attempt to undermine Robert Muellers investigation. They are expected to formally end the investigation when their party takes control of the white house. Mick mulvaney says President Trump will spend new years eve in washington amid the Government Shutdown. According to the huffington post, taxpayers are picking up the cost of party tents for the new years eve bash that will take place at trumps maralago resort in palm beach tonight even as federal workers go without pay. According to spending records an Events Company out of delray beach, florida, was paid 54,000 for tent rentals earlier this month. The secret service also paid 41,000 to another company for generators and light tower rentals. But it wasnt clear if the expenditure was just for the party. Tickets for tonights event at maralago are 650 for members of the club and 1,000 for nonmembers. The very latest on the Government Shutdown as both sides appear to be digging in. And countdown to 2019 as the first cities prepare to ring in the new year. This is a live look at sydney, australia. A live look at sydney, australia. [ dog snoring ] baxter. Its bedtime. Peace of mind should never be out of reach. [ voice command beep ] xfinity home. Xfinity home connects you to total Home Security you can control from anywhere on any device. And it protects you with 24 7 professional monitoring. I guess were sleeping here tonight. Xfinity home. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Call, go online or demo in an xfinity store today. Weve got to move way from the blame game, blaming the president , blaming the democrats, pelosi and schumer and others and get back to doing what were sent there to do, to fund the government. This morning the shutdown stalemate continues on capitol hill with just days to go before the start of a new congress. Neither side appears to be budging on the president s border wall. White house chief of staff john kelly is getting candid about his time in the Trump Administration. He says his tenure may be best measured by what the president did not do. It is new years eve. Were taking a life look right now at sydney harbor in australia where it is just about to turn midnight. Live pictures, turning midnight. Happy new years, everybody. Were going to be tracking things here in new york. Weve got our countdown underway as well. Exciting, right . Very exciting. Good morning, everyone. Its monday, december 31st. Im Ayman Mohyeldin alongside yasmin vossoughian. We are in the tenth day of a partial Government Shutdown. President trump does not appear willing to budge. Mixed signals for the white house are pointing to a president that is dug in for a lengthy standoff. California democrat nancy pelosi is aiming to pass a bill that fully reopens the government as soon as possible on thursday when democrats take control of the house. According to politico, President Trump still had not reached out to pelosi as of sunday with their last conversation taking place almost 20 days ago in the oval office. Yesterday evening the Trump Reelection Campaign sent out an email blasting pelosi for being on vacation in hawaii while President Trump remained at the white house. However, pelosis aides say she was back in her district saturday night and will be in washington later today. The white house has been erratic in shifting blame for the shutdown after the president explicitly told Chuck Schumer, im not going to blame you for it. Just 48 hours earlier trumps choice for acting white house chief of staff was directing the blame away from schumer and towards the top democrat in the house nancy pelosi. The Vice President i met with leader schumer last saturday the last time we sat down face to face. My gut was that he was really interested in doing a deal. The more were hearing this week is that its nancy pelosi whos preventing that from happening. Yesterday one of the most Senior Republicans in the Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby said pointing fingers will not lead to a solution. Its a question when do we get off the blame game and we get to serious negotiations. At the end of the day, all of this will end, we dont know when, in negotiations. Its not a question of who wins or loses. Nobodys going to win this kind of game. Nobody wins in a shutdown. We all lose and we kind of look silly. Joining us now msnbc correspondent Garrett Haake for us. Good to see you. It seems like the president is already up and tweeting this morning about the shutdown and maybe responding to john kelly and the l. A. Times interview yesterday. Yeah. Once again, a lot of smoke here but very little fire in terms of the discussions and negotiations to actually reopen the government. Over the weekend, essentially nothing moved and none of the Major Players were talking to each other. Pelosi and schumer were talking amongst themselves but not talking with the white house. And white house using a fairly standard tactic for republican administrations which is when in trouble, break glass and blame nancy pelosi. The fact of the matter is the negotiations remain stalled. This mornings tweet from the president is a pretty good indication of why. The president tweeted says all concrete ball was never abandoned as has been reported by the media quoting john kelly. Some areas will be all concrete. The experts at the border wall prefer a wall that is seethrough. Democrats say since this shutdown showdown got started that they dont really know where the president stands. And its very difficult to negotiate with this white house because they dont think anyone actually speaks for the president. This is an example of that, the president moving back and forth between a wall, steel slats. And the outgoing chief of staff who does not accurately reflect the president s view on the matter. Democrats have been telling me for the last week or so that they need to hear directly from trump not what he opposes, but what it is he will actually accept before democrats are willing to walk the plank on anything. They felt burned by the Vice President. They felt burned along the way that the president has not been just explicit in what he wants. Until he is, theyre not going to offer an olive branch. Who speaks on behalf of the president or at least who articulates his positions, yesterday we got a little bit of glimpse into the thinking of the president when senator linld ds graham came out and said its not about the wall per se, the wall is a metaphor for Border Security. It seems the tweets this morning are refuting that because he is doubling down on the word wall at least. Im curious to get your thoughts as to Lindsey Graham yesterday at the white house, in what capacity was he there to speak . Was he kind of like back channelling this in some capacity or was he just there for lunch with the president . Lindsey graham can be a bit of a free agent on things like this. Hes been talking about that with reporters on capitol hill for at least the last week and a half or so. Its clear he went to the white house to try to see if he could get President Trump to buy in on it. Again, you had Lindsey Graham coming out to the micro phone saying this is a plan and the president seemed interested. Not the president saying im interested in this plan. Its just another example of democrats Lindsey Graham has these fights, but he is somebody who likes to maybe deals. If he cant speak for the president either, democrats arent going to deal with him. Similarly with Kellyanne Conway, shes going to defend the president ea president s position, which may during the course of time which shes doing the interview. Speaking of Kellyanne Conway, she defended President Trumps tweets over the weekend that blamed democrats for the recent deaths of two Migrant Children at the border. Conway said yesterday that trump had stayed in washington during the Government Shutdown waiting for democrats to make a deal on Border Security. The white house advisor also hit nancy pelosi for leaving d. C. During the shutdown. First the democrats have to come back. Nancy pelosi needs to come back from hawaii, less hula more mula for the dhs and funding our Border Security. They need to come to our table ond do their jo and do their job. A spokesman for pelosi told the hill that no congressional leaders from either party are currently in washington. Meanwhile, since taking office, President Trump has spent 218 of his 710 days in office visiting properties that bear his name. And of those 218 days trump has spent 166 days at his golf properties. The president most frequently visits new jersey, West Palm Beach, florida and virginia. Melania truPresident Trump s southern border wall to the one former president obama built around his washington, d. C. Home. President obama has a ten foot wall around their compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The u. S. Needs the same thing, slightly larger version. Tmz reported they built the wall after they bought their home. Recent photos appears to show a metal gate, brick columns and a guard booth. Now in her recently published memoir Michelle Obama wrote that she would never forgive trump for putting her familys safety at risk by purchasing bue ining theories about her husband. We were speaking yesterday. Lets continue that conversation about the President Trump and the democratic leadership really seem to be at a stalemate over the border wall funding. Could the shutdown showdown be just the beginning of this . Where would you say we are in the process . So im thinking about the Lindsey Graham presser from yesterday. After listening to that, i started feeling cautiously optimistic. We heard Lindsey Graham saying that President Trump was very up beat, that he wanted to get things done. Lindsey graham also pointed out that it wasnt necessarily about a border wall, it was more Border Security wall fencing. Were hearing a lot of room for deal making. That being said, i think about the larger track record of the Trump Administration and whereas one minute they may be ready to make a deal, the next minute theyre going to say let me listen to the mark meadows, the peter kings, the more conservative elements in the party and let me backtrack. Even though i had a moment of optimism yesterday, i think were still in it for the long haul. Lets talk about Kirstjen Nielsens trip to the border over the weekend after the death of two young Migrant Children. What has been the reaction really to her visit . Some people ask was this a political visit for her or was this an effort on her part to really figure out what changes need to be made to the system to ensure that no more children die at the border . Right. I think its probably a little bit of both. The one take home is that its too little, too late. You know, the death of one child, that is too many. And this being said, i think that in terms of the politics and the optics of it and were seeing that President Trump trying to blame the kids families for not having taken sufficient care of them. When im seeing this, im reading some political strategy here. If we think back to the summer and to the political blowback that the president experienced with family separations when we were seeing those pictures of the children being taken away from their families, i think President Trump and his team are smart enough to knowdren in har got to do something. Thats why we see secretary nielsen going down there. Thats why we see President Trump trying to play distracter and blaming the families. If theres one thing the American Public does not like, its seeing children in harms way. The possibility for wiggle room to be talked about with Immigration Reform. But im curious to get your thoughts on the lasting implications of the shutdown on the broader debate of u. S. Immigration reform. Has the big picture discussion been derailed and hampered by the Government Shutdown . I think the big picture discussion of the comprehensive Immigration Reform that most everybody would like to see has been derailed. I think just the hyper partisan nature of our system and the divisions within our parties point to the anything is going to get done especially in coming out of this shutdown, its going to be very small. Yesterday Lindsey Graham talked about lets get the 5 billion for the border wall and we can talk about the bridge act and maybe some tps reform. The days of thinking about lets reform the whole system is gone. I think this is just going to be about small steps in getting us to where we ultimately would like to be. Up next, the new system the new York Police Department plans to deploy. What Washington Post Fact Checkers call unprecedented deception. Were going to track what the paper says is a year of falsehoods from the president. S falsehoods from the president. When you have a cold, pain from a headache can make this. Feel like this. Allinone cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the 1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. Tylenol®. This holiday season, families near you need your help. Visit redcross. Org now to donate. Amazon prime video so when you say words like. Show me best of prime video into this. Youll see awesome stuff like this. Discover prime originals like the emmywinning the marvelous mrs. Maisel. Tom clancys jack ryan. And the man in the high castle. All in the same place as your live tv. Its all included with your amazon prime membership. Thats how xfinity makes tv. Simple. Easy. Awesome. Welcome back, everybody. For the First Time Ever the nypd plans to use a drone to watch over times square during tonights new years eve celebration. With the help of more than 1200 fixed cameras, Police Helicopters and new technology to detect and stop any authorized drones, all the festivities will take place under the watchful eye of the 7,000 Police Officers that will be on duty in addition to the fbi, new york state police, mta police and bomb sniffing dogs. Another 200 police cars and sand filled sanitation trucks will be positioned to stop vehicles from e entering the area which has been closed to cars since 4 00 a. M. City officials reminding everyone that no backpacks, umbrellas or alcohol will be allowed in. I believe that is a live look at time square right now. That leads to the question will they get some cooperation from weather. Will Mother Nature will be helping out tonight . Not one bit. By midnight those people do not even feel the rain, right . Thats true. I wonder why. Last year it was 9 degrees. And the windchills were like well below zero. Everything can be better. You want to wear layers. Protective rain gear. You can have no umbrellas. Lets look at the rainfall. Were already seeing lots of rain, the yellows, the oranges. Thats where youre seeing the heavier rainfall. So the rainfall forecast this is through new years day. Were looking for anywhere 12 inches. As we go throughout the next two days well finally really clear out on wednesday. Unfortunately we have the threat of severe weather. Were looking at nashville, jackson, columbus under the gun for some severe weather. Very gusty storms, 6 million at risk. If you hear any thunder, head indoors, especially if you are celebrating outdoors. Were looking at the possibility for some isolated tornados. We think the biggest threats are the damaging winds and heavy rainfall. In chicago, st. Louis, memphis, tennessee, cleveland, you may have some slow goes there. We have all that warm air in the east. We have that cold air bottled up in the west. Were talking very frigid air. Were looking at 1 below zero in bismarck. Very frigid. Thank you, michelle. Still ahead, john kelly is on his way out of the Trump Administration, but before his exit, he gave a candid interview to the Los Angeles Times. We are going to talk to the reporter who spoke with him. Reporter who spoke with him. My experience with usaa has been excellent. They really appreciate the military family and it really shows. With all that usaa offers why go with anybody else . We know their rates are good, we know that theyre always going to take care of us. It was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. It was funny because when we would call another insurance company, hey would say oh we cant beat usaa were the webber family. Were the tenneys were the hayles, and were usaa members for life. Get your usaa Auto Insurance quote today. But one blows them all out of the water. Hydro boost from neutrogena®. With hyaluronic acid to plump skin cells so it bounces back. Neutrogena® so it bounces back. 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On saturday he tweeted, any deaths of children or others at the border are strictly the fault of the democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally. They cant. If we had a wall, they wouldnt even try. The two children in question were very sick before they were even given to border patrol. The father of the young girl said it was not their fault, he hadnt given her water in days. The attorney of the family disputed that, saying the 7yearold was healthy before she arrived to the u. S. She died of dehydration, exhaustion and shock two days after she crossed the border. John kelly is speaking out on that, telling the Los Angeles Times that former attorney general Jeff Sessions substituted the policy that resulted in both people being detained and the family separations. Kelly said that sessions, quote, surprised the white house when he announced the policy back in may. In his interview with the Los Angeles Times, outgoing chief of staff john kelly talked about President Trumps plan to build a wall along the u. S. mexico border. He told the paper, quote, to be honest its not a wall. Kelly added the president still says wall. Oftentimes hell say barrier or fencing. Now hes tended toward steel slats. We left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration when we asked people what they needed and where they needed. Lindsey graham met with the president for lunch yesterday. Afterwards he told reporters that the wall has become a metaphor for Border Security. Watch this. The president didnt commit, but i think hes very open minded. I know theres some democrats out there who would be willing to provide money for wall Border Security if we could deal with the daca population and tps people. What were talking about is a physical barrier where it makes sense. In the past every democrat has voted for these physical barriers. Joining us White House Correspondent jeff bennett. Lets talk a little bit about john kellys open rebuke there to the president s border wall, comes just before his last day on the job. If his comments were made earlier, would that have potentially changed the course of the shutdown . Would it have added ammunition to one side or the other . And how is the president reacting to that this morning . Its a good question. I think if kellys comments had come out earlier, it might have provided democrats more fodder to undercut President Trumps argument. Yes, john kelly told the times that the administration had pro moved away from this notion of a concrete wall early into the trump era. And you have Lindsey Graham saying that the border wall is a metaphor for Border Security. But weve seen President Trump just within the last hour saying he never abandoned this concrete wall. Even as the president s friends and allies have been doing their level best to give this president something of an acceptable off ramp, some way to end this Government Shutdown without having to make it look as if hes caving in on his border wall demand, the president is actually putting us back at square one saying, no, i want this concrete wall. Heres why. This border wall is an existential issue for President Trump. This wall really provided the core connection to his base. That was the call and response all during the 2016 rallies. That was why two weeks ago when President Trump was about to sign the spending bill that would have reopened the government, when he heard from the conservative class that they were all upset that he was caving in on this border wall he promised, he said he wouldnt sign it. Thats why we find ourselves ten days into this Government Shutdown. Whoever it is trying to fudge the line between Border Security and a border wall to give the president something of an escape route, only President Trump can speak for President Trump. Thats certainly something that lawmakers on capitol hill learned a long time ago. Let me get your thoughts on john kellys departure. This white house is often described as a white house in turmoil. John kelly was supposed to bring some order. Im curious to get your thoughts in terms of what does john kellys departure change about the way the wing wing is going to be run Going Forward . I can tell you that the acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, people close to him tell me hes going to take an approach of letting trump be trump. He believes john kelly did something of a disservice to President Trump by saying no so often. Mulvaney is going to have more of a public messaging role. Hell probably take more of a casual approach to things like the president calls his friends and allies as he chooses to seek advice. That will probably happen more under mulvaney than under kel hi. What i think is interesting about kellys departure, he said his time as chief of staff is best judged by what the president did not do while kelly was serving at his side, things like pulling u. S. Troops from south korea or the u. S. Withdrawing from nato completely. I thought that was a fairly damaging comment. Joining us now immigration and security reporter for the Los Angeles Times molly otoole. Molly had a twohour interview with john kelly just this past friday. Molly, good to have you with us. Thanks for joining us. Let me begin, first of all, with what was your biggest take away from your conversation with the outgoing chief of staff . I think the big question of not only john kellys tenure but also President Trumps administration has been what does he know, does he know what hes doing. If its yes or know, i mean, people find that answer to be troubling based on some of the kroef controversies that weve seen. The way kelly answered that question is once kelly got into the white house, donald trump has been given the best information possible. Even if he came to a decision people didnt necessarily like, he was given that information. He described a chaotic situation in the white house when he first arrives. He maintains that donald trump was given all the best information. I thought that was a very interesting perspective on that key question. Did you get a sense at all from john kelly what the personal relationship between him and the president was . Was this one that was fraught with any kind of negativity or was this someone who the president relied on and respected and listened to his counsel . He did describe a very personal relationship, that they spent a lot of time together. I think thats natural for a chief of staff, of course. With john kelly it makes a lot of sense. Hes a military man. He served in the marine corps before he retired in january 2016 for more than 45 years. He emphasized it was less about personality, more also policy and not about whether or not they liked each other or whether or not john kelly himself had a particular opinion about a policy, but more about giving him the best information he could and once he made a decision, implementing it from there. Certainly interesting conversations that they had in terms of process. Im curious to get your thoughts on whether you felt from speaking to the out going chief of staff, a, was he forthcoming in what he was talking about given the fact that he himself has been at the center of some of the more controversial aspects of this white house, including some of the comments hes made about members of congress . Did he show any remorse for that or the comments about imgamigras being lazy or the way he handled the rob porter issue, where he is believe ed to have covered f rob porter or at least defended him when he was accused of domestic violence. If you read the story from the interview, we discuss some of the most controversial aspects of what he presided over and also some of the key policy differences there seemed to be with the president , whether he expressed in his confirmation hearings or later about the wall, about immigrants, about how to solve immigration issues. We did discuss some of the most controversial aspects. Clearly he pushed back and defended his tenure, i think as can be expected, essentially saying he did the best he could to manage a very chaotic white house, giving the example with the family separation policy, for example, pretty squarely placing the blame on attorney general Jeff Sessions, saying that he and others were surprised when that announcement was made. Cheerily both kelly and other members of the administration said they had been considering a policy that would effectively result in the separation of families before and there was clear evidence that families had already begun to be separated and children potentially in the hundreds even before that announcement was made in may. Also with the travel ban that was early on, about a week after kelly joins the administration at Homeland Security. There was a lot of reporting that kelly was blindsided by that announcement. In the days after the ban came out, he defended it. He said he really didnt get a chance to see it beforehand. We did discuss a lot of these seeming gaps, whether policy differences or what was publicly reported or commented on at the time. What do you think his mindset is now that hes leaving the white house in such a public rebuke to the president . How does that compare to the way john kelly is leaving and more importantly did he express to you any concerns about the future of this white house now that he is out of the picture . Certainly i think its clear from our interview that he felt a duty or an obligation to not only take this job but stay in this job because he felt that the president needed someone who could institute some order from chaos, understand how the government works, how the branches interact. So i think that is the same sense with which he is leaving, that he stayed as long as he did because of this sense of duty and commitment. So its clear that he and others are concerned about what comes next. If he felt that he potentially was the best person for this job to try and serve the president and bring some order out of chaos, i think many people are concerned about what comes next. If someone without that same sense or without that same force of personality is not coming to the white house also obviously john kelly brings security, a resume, portfolio with him. The next chief of staff is unlike hi to do that. Theres been reporting that the white house wanted someone whos maybe more politically savvy in the runup to 2020. As the president keeps issues on Border Security front and center, it will be interesting to see how the potential next chief of staff is going to handle that real emphasis on security and focusing more on the moypolitical optics. Now to some breaking news. Just a few moments ago democratic senator Elizabeth Warren formally took the first step in launching a president ial campaign. She says she is forming an exmoe Exploratory Committee as she decide whether to challenge President Trump in 2020. Today im launching an Exploratory Committee for president. But the outcome of this election will depend on you. If we organize together, if we fight together, if we persist together, we can win. We can and we will. Up next, the leaders pulling their names out of consideration for defense secretary. Plus, President Trump is ringing in the new year in washington, but taxpayers will still be on the hook for some of the costs of his party at maralago. Thes of his party amat ralago how much horse power does this thing got . Doing great dad looking good babe are you filming. At booking. Com, we cant guarantee youll be any good at that water jet thingy. But we can guarantee the best price on a hotel, like this one. Or any home, boat, treehouse, yurt, whatever. Get the best price on homes, hotels and so much more. Booking. Com, booking. Yeah youll make my morning, buty the price ruin my day. Ou . Complicated relationship with milk . Pour on the lactaid, 100 real milk, just without that annoying lactose. Mmm, thats good. One Top Republican says President Trump remeains committed to defeating isis despite his decision to withdraw American Forces from the country. Republican senator Lindsey Graham blasted the plan as a disaster and a stain on the honor of the United States. But speaking outside the white house yesterday after meeting the president for lunch, graham said he was reassured of trumps commitment to defeating isis. We talked about syria and he told me some things i didnt know that made me feel a lot better about where were headed in syria. He promised to destroy isis. Hes going to keep that promise. Were not there yet, but as i said today, were inside the 10 yard line and the president understands the need to finish the job. And President Trump is defending his decision earlier this month to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria, tweeting just moments ago, quote, if anybody but donald trump did what i did in syria, which was an ice losi loaded mess when i became president , they would be a national hero. Trump added this. I campaigned on getting out of syria and other places. Now when i start getting out, the Fake News Media or some failed generals who were unable to do the job before i arrived like to complain about me and my tactics which are working, just doing what i said i was going to do. Zbh today marks the last day on the job for outgoing defense secretary jim mattis. A few people outside of the administration are pushing to get in line to replace mattis. Politico cites the president s decision to pull out u. S. Troops from syria among other reasons for why there is a lack of willing hopefuls to be the next defense secretary. Sources tell politico that trump ally, republican senator tom cotton has no desire to run the pentagon. Retired four star general jack keen is also apparently off the list of potential candidates. Politico says that Patrick Shanahan may be running the department indefinitely unless dan coates or someone else catches trumps eye. Incoming chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says President Trump will spend new years eve in washington amid the Government Shutdown. According to the huffington post, taxpayers are picking up the cost of party tents for the new years eve bash in palm beach tonight. According to spending record an Events Company out of delray bea beach, florida, was paid just over 54,000 for tent rentals earlier this month. The secret service also paid 41,000 to another company for generators and light tower rentals. The tickets for it wetonights at mearalago are 650 for members of the club and 1,000 for nonmembers. Up next, New York Times is out with its tribute to icons lost in 2018. Its tribute to ic lost in 2018 i dont keep track of regrets. I never count the wrinkles. 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Ive been really tryin, baby tryin to hold back this feeling for so long and if you feel, like i feel baby then come on, oh come on lets get it on applebees all you can eat is here. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. You better think about what youre saying. You better think about the consequences of your options. Shut up, woman. You pett erbetter think, thin what youre trying to do to me you better think aretha franklin. So much talent. One of the many people who passed away this year remembered in the the New York Times magazine the lives they lived issue. Jake, we were talking about this in the kmebcommercial break. It seems every year we are thinking of how much we are losing, this year no exception, lewandows losing a lot of heavyweights in both arenas. Shes one of those people who at the time of her death her influence and cultural pervas e pervasiveness was so great she had already obtained a kind of mythical status. So when they pass, you think this person has actually left their human form and become a myth. Its easy to forget now because theres so many big voices in american pop music. Its hard to remember she was like a Freight Train hitting American Music with that voice when she burst onto the scene. If viewers havent gone back at the time of her death and listened to some of those early songs we are fortunate enough to have her music with us, always to stay with us. I think there are so many out there that say she inspired them. Shes that type of person in the industry. Talk about Anthony Bourdain and kate spade both dying so garagically really jugarage ically tragically a week apart. I feel like their deaths are going to have a lasting impression on the Younger Generation and the conversation surrounding suicide. There were a lot of suicides this year. Mack miller theimportant. Max the rapper who died who was 24, overdosed on fentanyl. But spade and bourdain, those are the two most viewed obituaries at nypd. Com this year. I think this helped drive the conversation about suicide. Another one, margot kidder. Just an indelible character in a lot of peoples memories, what a wonderful actress, something i think a lot of people didnt know about killeder is she suffered profoundly from depression and Mental Illness throughout her life, was an alcoholic, eventually drank herself to death, died on mothers day this year. It was reported after her death it had been a suicide. A really moving story in our magazine about that. As it is with so many of these were just talking about, their deaths often spark a National Conversation of sorts. Lets talk a little about some of the political figures weve lost this year, senator john mccain, the bushes, president bush 41 and the late barbara bush. Their absence, what does that mean for our National Discourse in politics and the lives they lived . Well, the bushes of course, both barbara and george, h. W. , they just loomed so large. Mccain even more because he was still active at the time of his death. It takes a lot of time to assess what it means for them to depart the stage. Weve had a little bit of that at the time of their deaths. So the memories. I think people talked at the time of bushs death about the decline of civility in american politics and how he was a symbol of that, an earlier era. We chose to focus in terms of our magazine on slightly less well known figures. Someone is the prankster would essentially devoted himself to following around Richard Nixon during his campaigns and his presidency and trying to disrupt him and disrupt his rally and speeches and do anything he could. What did he do . Its a long story. Theres lots of great details. We got time. He would follow him around and kind of hold up protest signs. Hire people to hold up protest signs at his rallies that were sort of coded special messages that would really get under his skin. Nixon was particularly susceptible to being annoyed. He was very focused on order and control. He was irked to no end. What was it different this year compared to years past about the losses that weve experienced . Its interesting. We do this issue every year. Its a little bit random because we reach out to writers who we love and say who died this year you have some special feeling for. Its not like we picked famous people. So many of those died this year. Burt reynolds. Stan lee. But we like to reach out to writers and ask for people who are going to be unique and whose stories our readers maybe havent heard. So youve got people who are semifamous. The wide receive for the 49ers. It was pie team grmy team growi. Immortalized in this famous catch. Every Sports Writer in the bay area. He was in the back corner, in the fourth quarter, catching the ball that won the game against the dallas cowboys. He just had an interesting life. Something i didnt know until we did this. He was claustrophobic. Every time he ended up in the bottom of the pile, it was a terrible experience for him. Just a famous moment that he was part of. We have some really interesting fill loss of philosophers and s. Remarkable list when you look at it and see these remarkable people and the impact on people in our society. And lesser known individuals. Jake silverstein, thank you. New york times magazine, the lives they lived issue, is out and Available Online right now. Jake silverstein, thank you. Happy new year. Up next, we look ahead to 2019 with celebrations already under way around the world. 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And last year, i earned 36,000 in cash back. Which i used to offer Health Insurance to my employees. Whats in your wallet . 2019 is officially under way in some parts of the world. A large part of australiaustral including melbourne and sydney, rang in the new year. In the u. S. , preparations under way in new york city for a safe start to the new year. In times square. For the First Time Ever, the nypd planning to use a drone to watch over the area. I believe were going to bring up right now. 7,000 Police Officers are on duty for the festivities alongside the fbi and new york state police, mta police and bomb sniffing dogs. City officials are expecting very big crowds. It definitely takes a brave person to weather the kind of crowds, weather does that mean were not brave . Probably lazy. Lazy, tired. Lots of work. Its been a remarkable year. Kind of thinking where everything is in terms of the countrys politics. So many of the big issues. For me, one of the things i always look at, at the end of the year is where the state of the world is, what has happened over the course of the year. Theres been highlights with a lot of the me too movements and National Conversation, interNational Conversation. I think of things like the war in yemen and how a lot of these issues and the refugee crisis still continues in places like myanmar. So many lives lost in all of that. I think this was very much a year, so pivotal, for women. Right . We had that conversation about Serena Williams and usa gymnastics. All the seats gained in the midterm elections. Me too and times up as well. In a year where p when so many people were trying to find their voice. As we look ahead to 2019. Hopefully it carries on into 2019. So that does it for us this morning. Our colleague Chris Jansing picks up the coverage. Speaking of women. Im just saying. Hopefully carries on. Happy new year to you. Ill see you guys down in times square. Yes, well be there. Ill be back here in an hour so ill see you in 60 minutes. Hello, i am chris janicing in for stephanie ruhle. We start with the breaking news. One of the names everyone has been talking about for 2020 announces her Exploratory Committee. We organize target. If we fight together, if we persist together, we can win. We can and we will. Today is the 365th day of the year and the 10th day of the Government Shutdown with no end in sight. President trump is digging in, blasting democrats publicly while the deal maker in chief has yet to reach out for an agreement. But the thing that got us here, the wall, well, hes fighting back as his allies try to walk back his concrete position. The wall has become a metaphor for