primaries? and what about his political standing? it's been remarkably steady since he was elected two years ago, an approval rating somewhere between the high 30s and the low 40s and that never budges outside of that. is that going to change at all in either direction in 2019? the economy may have something to do with that. will unemployment remain low? will it fall even lower? will it get even higher? will the market volatility at the end of the year turn into something worse in 2019 or will the bulls being running again soon enough? i think of the year we're about to enter as the setup year, over the next 12 months, the basic conditions that will define 2020 will begin to take shape, and harden into place, what those conditions end up being, well, your guess is as good as mine. but i can't wait to see. happy new year to all of you. that is "hardball" for now. thank you for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. good evening from new york.