first puck to start the game. >> i'm telling you, kelley is with me. and i have a very strong faith. i hear her days, saying, get up. let's go. we have got to do this. and i do. i have her beautiful babies and my own. you know, you have to keep on keeping on. >> that's all for this edition of dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> good morning, and welcome to morning joe. let's look at times square, with just a matter of hours from now the ball will drop and we will turn the page to 2024. good morning, i'm willie geist, joe has the morning off.

a lot to get to this morning, including another state removing donald trump from the 2024 republican presidential primary ballot. we will have expert legal and political analysis all not big decision from maine secretary of state. plus we will show you nikki haley attempt at cleaning up her highly criticized answer on the cause of the civil war. , also ahead, the latest from gaza. israeli forces continue to strike refugee camps where it believes hamas terrorists are hiding. this comes as the biden administration is putting more pressure on israel to protect civilians inside gaza. plus we'll take a look at the stories that dominated 2023, from two wars overseas to chaos on capitol hill, as well as the former presidents many legal battles as he enters a presidential election. a lot to go through. witness for all of it, nbc news national affairs analyst john heilemann, president of the national action network and host of msnbc's politicsnation the reverend al sharpton,

washington chief for usa today -- senior coldness for the daily beast met luis, and former u.s. attorney and msnbc contributor chuck rosenberg, a great group assembled. let's get right into it. maine is now the second state to remove former president trump on the 2024 ballot. -- announced the decision yesterday, after receiving three separate challenges to trump's eligibility. under main state law, voters first style -- not to the court, like they do in many other states. the ruling can be appealed, and the case would then go before a judge. she has stayed her decision until the state superior court rules on a future appeal. pelosi use the same 14th amendment argument cited by the colorado supreme court in its decision to remove trump f the ballot. in her 34-page opinion, she called out trump's actions leing up to and on january 6th writing, quote, the way of the evidence makes it clear that mr. trump was aware of the

tender laid by his multi moh effort to delegitimized a democratic election, and then chose to light a mah. io not reach this conclusion lightly. be wrote. democracy is sacred, i am mindful that no secretary of ate has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section three of the 14th amendment. i am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection, and quote. the trump legal team tried to head off this decision earlier this week by filing a request after secretary of state recused herself. the campaign has promised to file appeal responding in part, we are witnessing in realtime the attempted theft of an election and the disinterest franchise meant of the american voter. trump super pac also issued a statement calling maine secretary of state a quote, anti trump partisan democrat. so let's start with the legal side of this before we get into the politics of it. for that, chuck rosenberg, i

will turn to you. what do you make of the legal standing of the decision made by the secretary of state in maine? >> really, it's an interesting one. it's like the one in colorado, but it's unlike others that we've seen in michigan and minnesota. this is sort of the paradigm attic example of why you need the supreme court to address the issue, and to issue a rule so that all 50 states are doing the same thing. whether you loathe mr. trump or you love mr. trump, i think everyone would agree it's best to have one set of rules. and so it may be the case that colorado and maine have it right, as a matter of law. it may be the case that they have it wrong, as a matter of law. i think we ought to love in this conversation with a dose of humility. i may be completely wrong, but i think colorado and maine have it right. i think the president did engage in an insurrection. i think the disqualification provision of the 14th amendment applies to the office of

president. that's just my opinion. i don't have a vote. i literally don't have a vote. there are nine votes that will ultimately matter, and we do need the supreme court to step in and to announce a rule for all 50 states. because we need clarity here. >> so chuck, the counter argument you've heard, not just from trump's campaign but for many people actually running against him is this is a question for voters to decide, that the former president has not yet been convicted of insurrection, that should be settled by the courts. that would be the opinion of one secretary of state in the state of maine. what do you say to that? >> historically and literally, willie, the 14th amendment does not require a conviction for insurrection in order to be disqualified. so i think that argument fails. and they succeed politically, but as a legal matter, i think that argument fails. there's another thread that runs through your question, this notion that removing someone from the ballot is anti-democratic.

but that the provision comes directly from the constitution, and it's the foundation of our democracy. so i don't know that following the constitution, adhering to the constitution can really ever be construed as an anti-democratic in this case. we may differ about what those terms mean and whether they apply here, again, the supreme court will resolve that issue for all of us. but there is also an irony here, for a person, a president, mr. trump, who does not accept the outcome of an election. it's hard to say that his voters will agree that if he loses, it was fair and free. and so if this result ultimately by the courts, so be it. it's resolved by the courts in adherence to the constitution. that is anything but anti-democratic. >> so chuck, let's talk about timing here, which i know a lot of people are thinking about as they look to the calendar.

we are just a few days away now from a new year, that means primaries, the iowa caucus is just a couple of weeks away. as these decisions come down, there obviously is -- it's a pressing matter to decide these things, whether at the supreme court level or the united states supreme court level, as you say. will he or will he not be on the ballots that are going to be printed very soon? how fast do you think these cases can move through? >> they have to move quickly, and we know the supreme court is capable of it. now, you go back in history almost half a century, when the supreme court decided the u.s. in the nixon case, and they did that in a matter of three or three and a half weeks. so can the supreme court move quickly? absolutely. do they need to do so here? absolutely. so i hope they take this case and hear it fast, because to your point, willie, ballots are being printed and soon people will be going to the polls, and we need a single rule. and we can only get that from the united states supreme court. >> so as we saw after that

colorado ruling, former president trump's 2024 primary opponents quickly came to his defense following the maine decision yesterday. in a statement to nbc news nikki haley's campaign said she feels the same about this ruling that she does about the colorado one, that she will beat trump at the polls. you ramaswamy will -- from any stapled that did not also include trump's. and here's how governor ron desantis of florida responded in an interview last night. >> the idea that one bureaucrat and an executive position can simply unilaterally disqualify someone from office, that turns on its head every notion of constitutional due process that this country is always abided by for over 200 years. it opens up pandora's box. >> so we've heard this matt lewis from just about anybody in the primary. chris christie said the same after colorado, he said i don't think donald trump should ever

see the white house again. we should do it with votes and let the voters decide, not have secretaries of state or supreme court's one by one deciding this question. where are you on this? did maine make the right call here? >> look, here's my take, and i'm a simple country planned it, not even a country lawyer. just a country political writer. i think it's entirely plausible that donald trump did incite a riot, and that this statute would prevent him, disqualify him from running. i just don't think it's patently obvious. i think it is debatable, i think that the verbiage is vague enough that you could argue it either way. i think smart people, people in good faith, or arguing it either way. and so i think it's going to go, obviously, to the supreme court. and i think a tie goes to the runner, and this case the person running for president. i just can't imagine the supreme court keeping the guy

who is now poised to be the republican nominee off of ballots. i could be wrong. in a way, i think it becomes political. so nikki haley, ron desantis, i would love to go back and see what a race would look like if they had actually attacked donald trump and run against him the whole time. at this point, i think that they are probably saying the politically astute thing, let's beat him at the ballot box. and if by some stroke of luck the supreme court actually agrees with maine and colorado, i'm sure they will quietly celebrate that. >> john heilemann, as you know, talking to people around the trump campaign, they think two things. number one that the supreme court will in fact rule in favor and say we're not going to be the people to take a leading candidate off the ballot and make that decision instead of the voters, and they also believe that at least in the primary and with his base, this only helps further his argument that everyone's out to

get him. that the deep state and secretaries of state and the supreme court at the state level and people in washington don't want him to be president again. they're trying to take your vote away from him, at least that's the argument from trump. >> yeah, it's a good argument from a political standpoint, willie. so long as the united states supreme court, which trump and his team boast about having as one of the great legacies of his first term, the trump court. we talk about it all the time. and one of the many people appointed to many ironies this morning, but the other great irony here is that if the supreme court takes this case, and again, i'm worse than a simple country lawyer or a simple country pundit, i'm just someone sitting here watching these guys on the supreme court, men and women on the supreme court who do things often that we find confounding and befuddling. but in this case, it seems hard to imagine that they're not going to take this case of the states. but if this court does follow originalism, does follow

textualism, the conservative core principles that have driven a lot of jurisprudence on the court, there's a possible case to make that this court will side with the colorado court. and if it does, the great irony here will be that a court that liberals largely think of as being partisan and compromised by conservative ideology, if that court rules against donald trump, what will, rev, what will the trump campaign say then? this is a court that donald trump stands up every day out there, one of the main things he has going for him is he says, you know, the supreme court, i've got these three justices on here. this is my court now. it's now a conservative court. it's a maga court. if that court were to decide that the colorado and now the main secretaries of state have it right, the constitution bars it from being on the ballot, then it seems like a huge problem for the trump campaign. and one that is very difficult to rebut politically, given the nature of the court. >> we'll, if that were to happen, are -- >> speculating this morning, so we're in the realm of

speculation. so please indulge. >> i'm not a country punted also, i'm just a preacher from brooklyn. let me just speculate with you. if they were to do that, i would clearly think the trump people would have a hard time responding, but knowing donald trump, he'll come up with something ludicrous in response. i think the real issue that we are facing here is that if donald trump does not qualify, whether it's litigated all the way or not, to have incited an insurrection, and on top of that, has made it clear no matter what the results are of this election, even if he's in it, he will not accept it, then what is the supreme court ever going to set the bar of who is qualified to run or not? you not only have a person that has, in clear day, inspired an insurrection and participated in it, he says i don't care what happens in november, i'm not going to accept the outcome unless i'm the winner.

no one could be more qualified in my judgment to be put off the ballot to protect the electoral process in this country. that's what the supreme court has to look at. what precedent are they setting? >> susan page, i would add in here that the state of california sort of quietly yesterday kept donald trump on the ballot. the secretary of state there was under some pressure from lieutenant governor to remove donald trump from the ballot, california secretary of state at least saying this is not a question for me to resolve, this is something for the courts. so it is fascinating that this now, because of colorado, because of the success from the point of view of democrats there, of getting donald trump off the ballot, it is now open this up across the country, state by state, and why many view it as so critical for the supreme court to act quickly to have a national standard here. >> yeah, globally, the legal questions are surely complicated, i'll leave that to a lawyer. i think the political issues are not so complicated. i think to people greatly

benefited from maine's decision. one is nikki haley, because we're not talking about what caused the civil war as the first act this morning. and the second is donald trump. i think this is clearly, in my mind, his political advantage, it forces his rivals two weeks before the iowa caucuses start the primary process, to come to his defense. and it gives him another talking point with his general argument that the establishment, political establishment, is against him. but check rosenberg, let's ensure the lawyer, perhaps the sole lawyer in this panel, let's ask a question about the political effect on the supreme court. of course, the court will decide based off of the law of the constitution, but it's not like they live on mars. they're aware of the political implications. how big a role do you think that is likely to play in the consideration of this issue of ballot access? >> yes, that's a great question,

susan. you're right, they don't live on mars. although if you lead some of their opinions, it sometimes seems that way. but here they were very directly, if they sustain what the colorado supreme court did, be in some ways deciding a presidential election. that happened in 2000, when the supreme court halted the recount in florida, and mr. bush won the presidency over mr. gore. the follow-up from that politically, as you well know, susan, was tremendous. what other side you were on, it's clear that the supreme court took an action and made a decision that determine the outcome of an election. that could very well happen here again. i think, and maybe this is the perfect world in which we do not live, that the supreme court has to put the politics aside. there is a constitution that has a text, there is an amendment, there's a section three to that amendment, it's the disqualification provision. it either applies or it doesn't

apply. and while the legal questions are hard, that's what they get paid to do. to rent a hard legal judgments. and so at the end of the day, they're going to make a determination. i have an opinion, but it doesn't matter. and their determination may very well affect the outcome of this election. it's happened before, and it was tumultuous. it could happen again. >> chuck, i think one of the things people, the next question a lot of people are asking, particularly supporters of joe biden, democrats, are what would this mean for the general election? because what we're talking about right now, to be clear, is just the primary, republican primary ballots in colorado, maine, and across the country. is there a chance, depending on what the supreme court rules, that donald trump could miss the general election ballot in some of these states? >> yeah, it's a great question, willie. it depends in part on how broadly or how narrowly the supreme court rules. hypothetically, the supreme court could simply overturn the colorado decision, but not give guidance to all the other

states about whether or not the 14th amendment applies. and under what circumstances it would apply. or they could probably. that the provision is requires an act of congress to execute it. so it really turns on how broadly or how narrowly the supreme court rules. into your point, right now we are talking about access to the primary ballot. some states have already said that the president, the former president, mr. trump, can appear on the primary ballot, but whether or not he can appear on the general election ballot is a separate question for another day. we need all of these questions answered by the supreme court, and we need them answered quickly, and we need them answered at one time. and so we are asking a lot of the supreme court, but again, that's their job. that's what they get paid to do. >> this is a historic decision coming from the supreme court, which as you say, could change the way this election goes. could change history, even as we get more evidence by the day

of the ways in which donald trump and his campaign sought to overturn the 2020 election. chuck rosenberg, indeed, the sole lawyer on this panel, we are grateful for you this morning. and always, i appreciate it. coming up next here, nikki haley is trying to clarify her comments after omitting slavery from her explanation of the civil war. we will show you that and how her 2024 presidential rivals are responding. and matt lewis will explain why he says nikki haley's slavery gaffe shows how scared she is of maga republicans. we are back in one minute.

republican presidential candidate nikki haley spent the day yesterday trying to clarify comments she made after facing widespread backlash for not including slavery as a driving force behind the civil war. here's the exchange she had with a voter, in new hampshire, back on wednesday. >> what was the cause of the

united states civil war? >> well don't come with an easy question, or anything. i think the cause of the civil war was basically how government was going to run. the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do. what do you think the cause of the civil war was? >> i'm sorry? >> i'm not the president. i want to see your opinion on the calls of the civil war. >> i think it always comes down to the role of government. and what the rights of the people are. and we, i, will always stand by the fact that i think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. it was never meant to be all things to all people. government doesn't need to tell you how to live your life. they don't need to tell you what you can and can't do. they don't need to be a part of your life. they need to make sure that you have freedom. we need to have capitalism, we need to have economic freedom, we need to make sure that we do

all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way. >> thank you. and in the year 2023, it's astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery. >> what do you want me to say about slavery? >> i want you to answer my question, thank you. >> next question. >> what do you want me to say about slavery? so yesterday, governor healey spent a lot of time trying to clarify what she said. >> yes, i know it was about slavery. i'm from the south, of course you know it's about slavery. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's unquestioned, always the case. we know the civil war was about slavery. but it was also more than that. it was about the freedoms of every individual. >> if it required clarification of saying yes, the civil war

was about slavery, i'm happy to do that. >> two of haley's republican primary rivals, florida governor ron desantis and former new jersey governor chris christie had some thoughts on this yesterday. >> you know, i noticed that nikki haley has had some problems with some basic american history. she's asked a very simple question and responded with just a really incomprehensible word salad about this and that and she asked the voter, what do you want her to say about this or that? and now is taking different positions, and this. and so i just think that this shows this is not a candidate that's ready for primetime. >> if someone asked me what the cause of the civil war was, [laughter] [applause] it's easy.

it's slavery. and by the way, you have to take my word for that. when south carolina passed its resolution to secede from the union, the first reason they gave was the other states resistance to allowing slavery to spread to the western territories. so, even if you are from the south, so you know these things, you should also know why your own home state succeeded from the union. >> so, rev., nikki haley spent the entire day yesterday trying to deal with her comment. a couple of days ago, in new hampshire, what we didn't hear there at the beginning of the day yesterday, she said it was a democratic plant that somebody from the biden campaign or somewhere had pushed a plant into the audience to ask that question.

well, that's a town hall, your asked questions from all kinds of people, all different ways. and let's stipulate that that shouldn't be a real hard one to answer. and there's something about the way she then sort of asked almost mockingly, but what do you want me to say about slavery? maybe that was an abomination and a blight on our history, whose impacts are still being felt today. there are a lot of easy answers to that question. but what does it say first about nikki haley, but also about the republican party today? that she felt compelled to sort of pull back thinking about who she might offend, if she criticized slaves every, for god sake. if there was someone there that helped the democrats, it was nikki haley. it wasn't whoever was in the audience. because if you look at her answer, she talked to two things that were most troubling, was one, she said freedom to do what they want to do. well, in the days of the civil war, that's what they were arguing. we have the freedom to maintain or slaves, there are property, so what do you mean freedom to

do what they want to do? the civil war was to say you are not free to own other people and to enslaved people. and secondly, when she said what do you want me to say about slavery? like, even then she is, as you asked the question, playing to a crowd that she either is with that crowd, or she is afraid of that crowd. either one, it makes her unfit to be president, because she's saying i'll ask you what you want me to say about slavery. i'm not gonna take an affirmative here, saying, oh wow, i should've said slavery was the center. so given the opportunity to correct herself, she threw it back to the questioner, because she's either again, afraid of the maga crowd, or that's her feeling. let's not forget, we -- to even take the confederate flag down, and she didn't do that until nine people were massacred in a south carolina church. you and i spent time in south

carolina, and the whole atmosphere in the last couple of weeks around this campaign has kind of abated the fact that there is been a war on dei, and there's been affirmative action. and now this has brought race right back central in the campaign for the republican nomination. i find it ironic that ron desantis, who's banning black history in florida, is raising the question about nikki haley and her not answering a simple question. do you think this, though politically, helps her or any of the other republican candidates if race becomes the issue going into this new years weekend? >> so much to say here, rev. and one thing to say is the most a musing to watch ron desantis standing in the dark, stammering and stuttering and saying that the kayleigh is not ready for primetime. i would say or suggest rhonda scent is even attacking nikki

haley demonstrates yet again that he is not ready or even fit for prime time. i think the one thing you should dispense with, it does not matter who was in the audience or what they asked the question. or attacking the motives of the questions are totally irrelevant. it's an easy question that she should have been able to dispense with quickly, and would've caused her actually, no damage either with the maga right, simply to say, of course slavery was the cause of the civil war. next question. nor they would've paid attention to it. they would've moved on. and i think it speaks to something that chris christie has been saying most forcefully on the campaign trail. i'm not saying this stupid christie up, but he's been pointing out over over again that making haley has been in fact very timid in the way that she's gone after donald trump. she is the hot republican rival to trump right now, the one person people say has a chance of maybe beating donald trump in new hampshire, and then being a viable alternative to him. but this shows something that has come up yet again and again with nikki haley, is that she is timid, politically. she doesn't have her footing. she has had a hard time

navigating this position. is she -- hallie she keeping enough of the maga part of the party on her side? she doesn't want to offend them, it's clear that she was worried about that here, even when i think she was wrong. i think she easily could've said it dispensed with this quickly. i'll ask matt lewis whether he reads without in a second, but this is the core weakness of nikki haley. she is on paper, and a lot of this very prospective pulling, the strongest general election candidate republicans have against joe biden. but she does not have not lewis, she has not ever exhibited, throughout her whole career, she's exhibited a lot of talent. a lot of promise, a lot within the republican party as a newcomer republican. but she's also exhibited often in key moments a kind of lack of political guts that you can trace over her whole biography that she's had. the way she started out, how she became kind of a trump supplicant, then sort of a trump critic, then sort of a supplicant again, and now trying to weave between those things. that's what's got her in trouble here, is that she doesn't really know who she is or where she stands in the

modern republican party. what say you? >> i think that's exactly right. and look, a lot of us, never trump conservatives, were skeptical of nikki haley because she has wavered over important moral questions, including donald trump. but i would say once the debates began, john, the very first republican primary debate, nikki haley came out swinging against donald trump, attacked him for raising the debt and i think at that point i thought, wow, okay, nikki haley finally maybe has figured out what her brand is, who she is, what her message is going to be, and more importantly, who her constituents are. and she has done a pretty good job within the context of the last few months of the campaign, of actually being that person. if you think about what nikki haley needs to do, we are now two weeks away from the iowa caucuses, three weeks away from

new hampshire. nikki haley doesn't need to be worried about -- by the way, i think this is the fundamental mistake that nikki haley and ron desantis both have made. they think they can win maga voters. they can't. if you love donald trump, you are not going to vote for somebody else, certainly not nikki haley. so nikki haley shouldn't even be worried about appeasing someone who cared, who wants to re-litigate the civil war. those are not nikki haley voters. nikki haley was in berlin, new hampshire, running to try to win new hampshire, not alabama, not mississippi. new hampshire. her core constituency are not trump voters. she needs to win independents in new hampshire, and non-trump center right voters in new hampshire. that should be her top priority. and what does she need to do for that to happen? she needs to get chris christie

to drop out of the race. i think it is much less likely today that chris christie will drop out of the race, then it was two or three days ago. so i think this was a big, potentially a big deal. again with the caveat that news cycles move quickly. as john was saying, this reinforces a negative stereotype about nikki haley and not being ready for primetime. and it speaks not just to her bad political strategy, i think it speaks a little bit to character as well. >> you know, susan, we heard from chris christie, appoint others have made to, that nikki haley looks like somebody who wants to be secretary of state or whatever the job is in a trump administration. so tiptoeing very lightly around donald trump, one sensibly she is trying to defeat him. but what kind of a statement do you think that moment was, again, about the republican party today, that someone who knows better, who knows why the

civil war was waged over slavery, had to stop and pull back from saying that of loud? >> yeah, you know, candidates make gaffes that we all make, i've made any number of gaps. and the reason that they matter or don't matter is that they go to something more fundamental about your character, about questions about where you stand or who you are. and i do think that is the big problem here for nikki haley. her brand has been negotiating, threading the needle. threading the needle on criticism of trump, threading the needle riddle on the issue of abortion. but the issue of abortion raises an issue that has really threatened the republican party, because in america 2023, 2024, not being able to say that slavery caused the civil war is -- that is a pretty fundamental question on which there is not really much room to maneuver. so i do think this is bad for

nikki haley, and as you say, it's spotlights one of the issues that is going to be most perilous for the republican party. maybe not so much in the primary, but in a general election for sure. >> so matt lewis, before we let you go this morning, this is our last show of the year. let's turn the page and look ahead to 2024. just give, us from your point of view, a snapshot of this race. obviously donald trump is a 20, 30 point, depending on what the state you look at. nikki haley has close some ground in the state of new hampshire, but is there any reason to believe at this moment that anyone other than donald trump will be the nominee? >> no. you have to really squint and imagine, and i've said that the only way that you could even conceive -- barring donald trump being kicked off ballots, and that could happen. that's not an impossible idea.

but assuming that the race goes forward with the candidates that we have, the only sort of conceivable away that donald trump isn't the nominee, i think, is if someone else wins iowa, nikki haley winds new hampshire, she is able to parlay the new hampshire victory into south carolina, and all the stars would have to align. so it was always going to be highly unlikely. but within the realm of possibility. i think that this gaffe, and again, there is a danger of course, being a country pundit of overplaying anyone knew story or anyone gaffe. but i actually do think this one is a very damaging, because it comes at just the moment when nikki haley needed to be consolidating support, galvanizing independents and non-trump republicans behind her, and getting chris christie to drop out of the race. i mean, that's now a little bit less likely. and so are you saying there's a

chance? yes, there's a chance. but i think there's less of a chance today actually, then there was a few days ago. >> well, the good news is, just over two weeks from now the voters get to have their voice of speculation, and we will learn a lot more about where this race is. the daily beast matt lewis, matt, thanks so much and happy new year to you. coming up, we're taking a look at the stories that the fine 2023. straight ahead, on morning joe. straight ahead, on morning joe. every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. with the freestyle libre 2 system, know your glucose level and where it's headed. no fingersticks needed. manage your diabetes with more confidence. freestyle libre 2. try it for free at freestylelibre.us

i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. >> it has been almost a year now since kevin mccarthy waited 15 long votes to finally land his dream job as speaker of the house. as we close 2023, mccarthy is out of congress altogether. symbolic of a wild year in news. nbc's joe fire has a recap.

>> how do you define a year like 2023? was it the year of the strike? or year of the swift? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> did it offer a glimpse of the future, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and the weight loss drug ozempic, or a blast from the past? >> hi barbie! hi can! >> with the pink coated resurgence of a classic doll. was it the year a speaker was muted, or simply a political prelude to 2024, the campaign trail lined with pit stops in the courtroom. 2023 can be defined in so many ways, much of the world, it was a year headlined by war in the middle east. >> major breaking news tonight. war erupts in the middle east. the stunning surprise attack by palestinian middleton's. >> it started on october 7th, a day many now call israel's

9/11. a surprise attack hamas and militants stormed into israeli towns and military bases. >> they were just all around, me and they were going three by three and shooting. >> israel's foreign ministry says about 1200 people were killed, more than 200 taken hostage, including young children. >> it's something that no parent can ever imagine. to see a child in the hands of terrorists. >> israel's response was swift and relentless, but with thousands of palestinians killed and a humanitarian crisis growing dismal, faced mounting criticism. those tensions seen on american streets and college campuses, with reports of both antisemitism and islamophobia, spiking across the country. as the middle east war waged on, the one between ukraine and russia trudged on. ukraine's long awaited

counteroffensive stalling in american support waning, as one of many issues highlighted americas stark divisions. in january, it took 15 ballots. >> a speaker has not been elected. has not been elected. has not been elected. >> to elect kevin mccarthy as speaker, a position he held just nine months before he was ousted. >> i fought for what i believe in, and i believe in this country of america. >> like a reality tv show, new contenders came and went. >> we are shifted -- >> for louisiana's mike johnson got that gavel. >> the house will be in order. >> an election, followed by an expulsion. scandal plagued representative george santos became only the third congressman since the civil war to be ejected from the chamber. but no controversy it seemed could shape the gop's support for former president donald trump, who in april, made

history to. >> it was a legal spectacle never seen before in america. the former president being fingerprinted and being charged with 34 felonies. >> mr. trump's appearance in a new york courtroom created a media circus that was repeated with indictments in florida, then washington, then georgia. where he mugged for this shot. >> we did nothing wrong, i did nothing wrong. >> he has pleaded not guilty to all charges, while preserving a vast lead for his party's presidential nomination. skipping debates -- >> donald trump's a lot different guy than he was in 2016. he owes it to you to be on this stage. >> leading the rest of the field to squabble for a second. >> do you want a leader from a different generation who's going to put this country first? or do you want dick cheney in three inch heels? >> they're five inch heels, and i don't wear them unless you can run in them. >> on the democratic side, president joe biden announced his reelection bid in april. >> are you saying that you would be taking part in the

upcoming election? >> i am planning on running now. >> while inflation dropped in 2023, so did the president's approval rating, hitting an all-time low. now, voters are bracing for a potential 2020 rematch, that's leaving many disenchanted. >> we are the future! >> a wave of labor discontent swept the 28th in 2023, pushing millions to the picket line. united auto workers went on strike against detroit's big three, eventually winning record pay hikes, well hollywood was effectively shut down with rioters striking, then actors, before reaching deals with studios. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> amid the strikes, the box office got a boost from an unlikely couple. barbie and oppenheimer.

both movies opened at the same time, inspiring a cultural phenomenon garbed barbenheimer. now the phones are hoping to follow in the footsteps of this year's big oscar winner everything everywhere all at once. so i find flick won best picture, and star michelle yeoh became the first asian woman to win the academy award for best actress. there were firsts that were far less desirable in 2023. the united nations declared in late november this was virtually certain to be the plainest warmest year on record. a year with the most billion dollar disasters in u.s. history, including hurricane adalja -- >> there's some wind gusts starting to pound us. we actually just lost power here right now. >> the fire storm that ravaged the island of maui. >> local people have lost everything. they've lost their house, they've lost their animals, and

it's devastating. >> was the deadliest u.s. wildfire in more than a century, with more than 100 people killed. gun violence plagued the country again, with cities like lewiston, maine, joining the long list of committees linked to mass shootings. >> why would he do this? why in lewiston, maine? >> 18 people were killed there, while six were gunned down at a private elementary school in nashville, three of them children. >> how are our children still dying, and why are we failing them? >> tragedy also reached the depths of the ocean. >> let's get right to the story the whole world is watching. the urgent search for a missing submersible. >> in june, ocean gate's titan submersible vanished on a sightseeing tour the titanic wreckage. a desperate search -- but crews eventually determined a catastrophic implosion killed everyone on the ill-fated voyage. in the sky, the u.s. military shot down a chinese spy balloon flying over american airspace,

heightening tensions between the two countries. the crisis at the border widened in 2023, with places like new york and chicago running out of room to house migrants, who were bussed to their cities. in january, protesters took to the streets following the death of tyre nichols. the 29-year-old black man was kicked and punched during a traffic stop in memphis, dying three days later. five police officers were fired and charged with state and federal crimes, one has since pleaded guilty. the others, not guilty. in the courts, the supreme court handed down a historic decision in june, gutting affirmative action, effectively ending race conscious college admissions. >> this is a really disappointing decision. >> perhaps no court case generated more attention in 2023 than the trial of alec murdaugh, the disgraced

attorney from south carolina, accused of killing his wife and son, who took the stand in his own defense. >> you take this gun or any gun like it, and blow your son's brains out? >> no, i did not. >> the jury deliberated only three hours, before finding murdaugh guilty. king charles iii was officially coronated in may, prince harry was there for the event. his wife, meghan markle, was notably not, in a year where the royal rift between the couple and palace spared no one. harry's memoir are -- >> we want privacy. >> the south park parity. >> thanks for having us on the show. >> and for many, the year 2023 was the one we lost a friend. >> hi, it's chandler. >> actor matthew perry died in october at the age of 54. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the music world said goodbye

to an icon, tina turner, ♪ ♪ ♪ and the mayor of margaritaville, jimmy buffett. tributes also poured in for tray blazing woman in politics, senator diane feinstein, the first female supreme court justice sandra day o'connor, the former first lady rosalynn carter. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was a huge year for women in entertainment. stadiums were ruled by queen bee, beyond, say who also won a 32nd grammy, and by taylor swift, who became a billionaire, and times person of the year. the artist even crossed over into football, showing up at chiefs games to support her new beau, travis kelce. speaking of sports, simone biles returned to gymnastics, bolting to her sixth world title.

the come back on the mat, matched by one on the field. buffalo bills safety damar hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, and medics restarted his heart. >> this event was life-changing. but it's not the end of my story. >> hamlin didn't just recover, he returned to the game he loves, a symbol of resilience and strength that might just be the best way to define 2023. >> joe fryer, with a look back at a very busy 12 months. and ahead, we'll be joined by nbc news legal analyst danny cevallos for a look at the year's big courtroom battles, from those murdaugh murders to gwyneth paltrow's skiing child. morning joe is coming right back. back.

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♪ ♪ >> here's amari cooper. so he's insidious tonight, he comes in as the white out to look for and flak oh almost

gets sacked. there he goes, throws it to run. caught. inside the 30, inside the 20, still on his feet. >> al michaels on the call as cleveland browns quarterback joe flak out showing some escapability, get the pass off to jerome ford who broke at least three tackles on the way to the end zone, a 50 yard touchdown reception in the second quarter for the browns. that was flak a second touchdown pass to form the first have, as the browns clinched just their second playoff win since 2002, with a 37 to 20 win over the new york jets. joe flak is going to be 39 years old in a couple of weeks, stepping in as the backup, doing an incredible job. cleveland is in the playoffs, good for those fans there. over in the nba, historic loss last night for the detroit his didn't. and a blown league. the pistons were up 21 points

on the road in boston, the team with the best record in the nba. the celtics though, rallied from 6 down to the final minutes. they forced overtime, boston recovered in ot to win one 2-8 1-22, sending detroit to its 28th consecutive loss. now, tied for the longest losing streak in history. and another big price in college football, we're starting to enjoy these. we showed the -- yesterday at the dukes male bowl. well last, night pop-tarts. kansas state beat north carolina state in last nights pop-tarts bowl. the bulls sponsored by pop-tarts, and you guessed it. if you win that thing, you get a giant edible version of the breakfast favorite. that was proceeded by the pop-tart mascot jumping down into a giant toaster, and then coming out the other end right there for the team to enjoy. congratulations to kate state. coming up next, we'll be joined by a democratic strategist who

says president biden's 2024 chances are much stronger than people realize. he will make that case when morning joe comes right back. morning joe comes right back. give the gift of family heritage with ancestry. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. >> >> welcome back to morning

joe. what a beautiful live picture of the united states capitol. great to have you with us on this final morning show of 2023. a lot to get to this hour, with john -- reverend al sharpton, susan page all still with us. maine, if you're just waking up, is now the 2nd state to remove former president trump from the 2024 primary ballot. secretary of state shenna bellows announced the decision yesterday after receiving 2's a prep -- first 5 completes to the secretary of state, not to the courts like they do in many other states. fellows used that same 14th amendment argument cited by the colorado supreme court in its deve trump from the ballot. in her 34-page opinion, bellows

cult of trump's actions leading up to and on the day of january 6th. writing quote, the weight of the evidence makes clear that mr. trump was aware of the tinder laid by his multi month fort to delegitimized a democratic election, and then chose to light a match. i do not reach this conclusion lightly. democracy is sacred. m mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a president candidate of ballot access based on section through the 14th amendment. i am also mindful, however, she writes, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection. and quote. the trump legal team has promised to file an appeal. meanwhile, as a number of polls have shown donald trump locked in a tight race with president biden in a potential 2024 rematch, our next guest argues biden's 2024 chances are much stronger than people realize. that's coming from democratic strategist simon rosenberg. simon joins us now.

simon, it's great to have you on. i'll be fascinated to hear your case for this, as you, know there is a lot of consternation out there among democrats about the possibility of donald trump returning to the white house. the worry about the strength of joe biden as a candidate this time around. i would point out that you are one of the few people around the 2022 midterm elections who said very clearly in the days and weeks leading up, there is not going to be a red wave. don't listen to the commentary, you are looking at the voting, the way people were voting on abortion referendums across the country, for example. so, what are you seeing in 2024, that tells you that joe biden is a lot stronger than people are giving him credit for? >> i think the case is simple, willie. which is that joe biden has been a good president, the country is better off, the democratic party is strong and winning elections all over the country, and the republicans have trump. and trump, i think, is the most disgraced, degraded, and dangerous presidential candidates in our history. and when i look at all of that

in every way possible, as we head into 2024, i would much rather be us than them. >> and so simon, you point actually back to covid, which i thought was fascinating. we're talking about things like the economy, abortion, immigration, all these front and center issues. why do you think covid actually will be important here? >> i think the central promise of biden in 2020 was that he was going to get us through covid and get us to the other side successfully. that's really what the election was litigated on. when you look back at pulling and look at the election in 2020, and i think on that central promise, joe biden has been successful. he did what he said he was going to do. i, mean our economic recovery here in the united states is stronger than any other g7 country in the world, we have the best job market in almost 60 years, inflation prices are now falling, by every objective measure we are doing really well as a country. and we should be proud of that, by the way. we, together, as a nation, got through a very difficult period on our history. but we are on the other side of it now, and i think joe biden

is going to be able to argue that you gave me one big job to do, i did it, we've come out the other side, and we are much stronger for it. so i feel like we have a very strong case for reelection. i think joe biden has been a good president. i don't know how you settle donald trump and dress him up to be a credible and serious candidate for president, given all that he's done, all that he said, and all the things he said he's going to do. so i feel good as i did in 2022. i feel good about where we are, we have a lot of work to do of course, and this is not a slam dunk in any way. but we should win the election next year, and i'm very optimistic about our chances. >> and then, of course, there is the question of abortion, which has been such an important factor in elections since the dobbs decision a year and a half ago. not just in democratic states, in red states. you look at the referendum in ohio, you look at what happened in nebraska, the virginia state house, and on and on. so how important do you think abortion will be to determine who the next president is? >> it's going to be very

significant. it's one of the most important issues in the country, certainly. and remember, we did really well as democrats in 2018 and 2020, but since dobbs in the spring of 2022, when we were supposed to be performing poorly, as parties in power in the off year elections and the midterm elections usually faith, and the other party gains, the exact opposite has happened. we actually had a great 2022 election. we gain a senate seat, we gained state legislative chambers. we improved our standing in many of the important battleground states in the country, and that strong performance has carried over all 2023. we had a blue wave in 2023. we won elections all over the country. and so since dobbs has happened, the democratic party has been winning where we weren't supposed to win, we've been raising tons of money, we have the most powerful and intense grassroots operations we've ever seen, people are rising up. it's why i think that winning streak and that heighten democratic performance i think will carry over to 2024. >> and as we've shown many

times on this show, donald trump on tape again and again taking credit for the dobbs decision, because he put those 3 justices on the supreme court, could back to haunt him. simon, let me ask you gotta question that steve kornieck you showed us yesterday. it really is front and center on voters minds. democrats to, by the way. and that is the age of the sitting president of the united states. it may be uncomfortable to talk about, it may not be something that the biden campaign wants to focus on, but it's there. how significant do you think that will be? >> listen, it's an issue. and we can't run away from it. it's part of the discourse, it's part of what joe biden is going to be talking about. but i think we have to recognize that age is not just a liability. that with age comes experience and wisdom and capability, and it's possible that at a time of insurrection and covid and global inflation, and supply chain challenges, the war in ukraine, that having the most experienced president to ever enter the oval office was a blessing for this country, rather than a problem. i mean, we are in a choppy time. wouldn't you rather have the

guy that's been there for 50 years, who isn't learning on the job? who's the most experienced guy we've had? and i think at the end of the day, we've got to sell his age not just as a liability, but also as an asset. i think joe biden has been a successful president because of his age, and his experience. not in spite of it. and we shouldn't run away with him as democrats. we've gotta lean into it, i think. >> the new pieces up on nbc news dot com, it's titled biden's 2024 chances are much stronger than people realize. a guy who's been right about a lot of these elections over the last several years, democratic strategist simon rosenberg. simon, thank you so much, and happy new year to you. >> thank you, willie. >> so rev, you heard the case there that simon just made. what do you make of it? is joe biden stronger than a lot of people are giving him credit for? >> i would think that simon is right. i think that we are not factoring in that at the end of the day, when people really start tuning in, they're going to vote what their interests

are and who they think will be the one that can really provide for what they are concerned about. and i also think that when we are faced with what is going on in the world, from ukraine to israel, and hamas, to what is going on in the country, with hate crimes and abortion, you do find that a lot of people, and i've talked to people every day nationwide on my radio show. they are concerned and want somebody that has a track record to deal with these commonalities, rather than somebody that doesn't. so i think simon raised an interesting point where they can use joe biden's age and the fact that he has a long-standing track record to his advantage, rather than his detriment. >> you know, rev, you and i were talking off camera before our, and really, i will bring this back to you. everybody here, there are things that it's impossible to

predict. there are so many things that are still unknown about what's going to happen next year. there are cases, things that even simon didn't mention that i think could end up in joe biden's benefit. if it's right now that the fed has stopped raising interest rates and we could see and downturn in interest rates, starting to see rate cuts rather than rate hikes, bring people who are looking to buy new houses making mortgages more affordable. if we see inflation, in particular those 2 factors, go down over the course of the next year, that will take away a lot of some of the economic anger and anxiety that gets pointed at biden fairly or unfairly. but i think, and susan page, i'd like to see what you think about this, but it's a thing that rev and i had talked a lot about, and we've talked on the show a lot. if i'm joe biden, i'm less worried about the issue of age, because donald trump's not a spring chicken either. i'm worried, if i'm joe biden today, about one thing in the white house. i'm worried about the fact that i have seen this precipitous

decline in nonwhite voters support over the course of the last 3 years. i need african american turnout. i need a big chunk of hispanic voters. i need a big chunk of young voters, and for a variety of reasons, sometimes different reasons, sometimes the same reason, those demographic cohorts or making it really clear that they are not -- and many cases don't even like joe biden. am i right to be worried about those things if i'm joe biden, primarily? in your historical experience. and what do you think the white house needs to do about it over the course of the next year? what can joe biden do to get those key demographics back in his corner? >> you know, the situation in the white house worries about is exactly what you mention, problems with energy and enthusiasm among core supporters. not so much that younger voters or african american voters are necessarily going to vote for donald trump, assuming he is the republican nominee. or that they won't bother to vote at all.

you don't want to pay too much attention to polls 10 or 11 months before an election, but you also don't want to dismiss the message that you may be getting from polls. and the conundrum for the white house is they believe, as simon does, that they have a really strong record to espouse. so why is donald trump even ahead of joe biden in national polls and polls and some of the east wings fates that we think will decide this election? and this goes to your final question with this. what does the white house need to do about it, what does the biden campaign need to do about this to make their case to the voters? and i think that is task number one, job number one, for team biden, as they head into this new year. and then there is, of course, donald trump's legal trouble. there is some new polling that shows that if he is convicted, this is the 6th battlegrnd state poll, it hurts him. whether they believe it or not, joe biden enjoys a 10-point margin in battleground states

in this cnn new york times poll, if trump is convicted, and still the nominee, a lot of people say they will walk away from him. all right, coming up, a big year in legal news from those murdaugh murders from ed sheeran's copyright lawsuit, even gwyneth poachers ski trial. -- takes a look at those cases, plus nbc's stephanie gospel join us live from times square, as a new york and those cities across the country prepare for new celebrations. we are watching morning show, we'll be right back.

i got this $1,000 camera for

only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. i did not kill maggie. i did not kill paul. i would never hurt maggie or paul, ever. under any circumstances. >> i feel very sorry for him. it seems like he's had a very difficult life. but i did not cause the

accident, i cannot be at fault for anything that subgroup so quaintly happened to him. >> i'm very happy with the outcome of the case. it looks like i'm not having to retire for my day job after all. at the same time i am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims are allowed to go to court at all. >> from the murdaugh family murders, the trials of celebrities like gwyneth paltrow and ed sheeran, 2023 has been a big year in the law. joining us now, nbc legal analyst, danny sibblis, to look through some of these. danny, it's good to see you. obviously 2024 will be dominated by donald trump's legal trouble. we will put that to the side for a moment and talk about what happened this year. let's start with the murdaugh trial. what was your take away from what really became a pop culture phenomenon as much as it was a legal case? >> with high profile cases like the murdaugh case, we often take what we traditionally know about crime and murder cases and we throw them out the window because if you back off

the high profile nature of this case this was a pretty straightforward tool -- powerful circumstantial murder case. in any courthouse, most prosecutors and defense attorneys will tell you, is an absolute slam dunk for the prosecution. and yet, we were riveted by this case because of all of the issues of privilege and a family that dominated a small area of the south. that's what made this case so fascinating. all the other financial crimes related to. it gave a blackout to the legal profession. attorneys like me who claim to place their trust in, whenever an attorney like this, just flat out steals from this client. of course, kills his family. >> two consecutive life sentences for the murders of his wife and son. much lighter trial, gwyneth paltrow, spent a lot of time in a courtroom in utah this year about a skiing accident that happened seven or eight years ago.

remind our viewers what this was all about and how it was resolved. >> 2023 was a mixed bag for celebrity civil trials. gwyneth paltrow appears to teach us that if you come to trial, if you don't back down from a plaintive suing knew that you think doesn't have a case, if you decide no, i'm not settling, i'm going to trial, if you dress business, like conduct yourself in a professional manner, you as a celebrity can win at a trial. that is the message from the one with cultural case. but then you have the johnny depp civil case. which apparently teaches us that you can go that route or you can dress for court like a pirates and speak it an unrecognizable accent and just be generally hilarious during the trial. and you can win your civil trial to. i think with the johnny depp case and the gwyneth paltrow case, to some degree, johnny depp maybe even like donald trump has been famous for literally decades. for decades at least, in our

lives. so maybe at that level, maybe you just can't get a jury to ignore the fact that, oh my gosh, that's johnny depp setting ten feet away. i have to vote in favor of him. i don't know. 2023 really was a mixed bag for celebrity civil trials. >> johnny depp got 1 million dollars this year from the trial from 2022, splitting it up between cherries. the court of public out $1. symbolic victory for her judgment. let's talk about this edge here in case. we heard him talking there. it actually fascinated not just lawyers but music fans because it was such a fundamental question about music. ed sheeran versus the estate of marvin gaye. >> yes. the take away from this. and i love these cases. whenever there is a copyright infringement case where one artist says hey, your song is too much like my song, i think the takeaway is that you can hire music experts who can talk about the circle of fifths and

sink a patient, and all this technical music stuff, but it really comes down to, ask a jury of regular folks whether or not these two songs are alike. try this out. play these two songs for members of your family. the marvin gaye song in the ed sheeran song. you will get completely different answers. i love these cases since the famous george harrison my sweet lord versus the chauvin's he's so fine dueling do laying. those cases are great. you can play all of them. you will get completely different answers from very reasonable people which proves one immutable fact, that music, like, are really exists in the eye of the beholder. >> danny, what about clearly the trials that have the most political impact, the trials of donald trump? how do you see this happening? as the trials unfold, in terms

of what you think of the weaker cases and stronger cases, and the calendar of how that helps? i frankly feel, if he went and had one trial before the election and got acquitted it would help him. maybe to the democrats favor that he doesn't go to trial. how do you see the calendar? how do you see when a loss in any of the four cases falls in favor of donald trump? >> 2024 is the year of trump trials. i say it with an asterisks in a footnote. i have been pretty consistent in that some of these trials, i don't think that going forward until 2025. i don't think the fulton county atlanta case is going to have its first witness until 2025. i think jury selection will take months and months and months. trump's team is doing a pretty good job of delaying, for example, the d.c. federal case. 2024 will really be about pretrial for donald trump. maybe 2025 will be the actual year of the trials.

you're right, when we're talking about this, it might be a best-case scenario for donald trump for the weakest of his criminal trials to go to trial in 2024 before the election. that, for me, of the four, is unquestionably the new york criminal case. north of new york civil case. we have not been talking much about the new york criminal case in which he has led to essentially falsified business records. that is no strong case. don't take my word for. it a former member of the prosecution team, who has been here on our air, wrote an entire book describing how this case was called the zombie case. that it was died, resurrection, then reanimated. why case like, that even the prosecutors on the team are not sure about, it doesn't seem to be beyond reasonable doubt standard. if donald trump can get one case to go forward in 2024, it would be best for him to go to trial in new york, in the criminal case, and beat it. which i think he has a very good chance of doing if it ever gets to trial. >> there, need the federal case

around the 2020 election that was scheduled for early march with all of these questions around i'm unity and the trump legal team trying to pump the brakes on all the pace on this. do you think that's a chance it gets pushed into 2024 people as well? >> yes, as that is, now since jack smith's team lost their bid to have the supreme court -- certiorari before judgment, basically skipping the d.c. court of appeals, and having the supreme court hear it early, that almost ensures that we are going to be right up against the election. even possibly when the supreme court comes back with a decision on immunity. i am just assuming for the point of the argument that the supreme court will take it up. i think they will. but you know, what folks may not realize, is as fast as the courts work, there are certain things that have to take a lot of time. briefing schedules, oral arguments, you can set that for a date but after the oral argument there is no timeline

on when a circuit court of appeals or the supreme court can put an opinion together. that takes some time. these are no ordinary opinions. these are the most important opinions in criminal law of our time that will be scrutinized for decades to come. you could imagine they will spend some time running style check on some of these opinions before they actually issue them. >> danny cevallos, doing it all from one of paltrow skiing trial to matters of who may be the next president of the knotted states. and by the way, i will say again, yeoman's work as a host on the howard stern wrap up show howard what a one series x and. great to see you, my friend, happy new year. we are taking a look at the top moments that went viral this year. plus, we will be joined by a reporter who spent the last year traveling the country to get a sense of the way american politics is shifting as we turn into a presidential election year. morning joe coming right back. year morning joe coming right back. morning joe coming right back.

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right now in times square as new york city prepares to welcome thousands of people for sunday nights new year's eve celebration. >> i would love to talk about the times square ball. its largest crystal ball in the world. it is six feet diameter. it weighs nearly six tons. it is clad, over 2000 crystal triangles. it is this amazing illuminated ball that not only tells us that feature that 2024 is coming, but brings joy and hope to everyone on new year's eve. >> nbc news correspondent, stephanie goss, is posted up in times square with a report brought to us this morning by the good people of coca-cola. >> that is right. i am expecting my residual check in the mail in just a couple of days. you know it is getting close when the coca-cola truck backs up because people are standing here all day long in times square, they need a little caffeine kick. they will be happy to know it will be here already for them.

they are getting ready here. there's going to be the annual confetti test, 75 pounds of confetti. they do it every year. here is a spoiler, willie, it works every time! on new years eve there is actually the 3000 pounds of confetti dropped. on a more serious note, the people that pile in here, up to 1 million of them, are going to see a pretty heavy security presence like they always do. there will be the security they see, the barricades, the counterterrorism units, sanitation trucks in the street, there will also be security they do not see, including plain clothes officers, cameras and surveillance. police met at police headquarters yesterday. it's all about no credible threats, but the war in gaza raises the threat level. they have concerns about pro palestinian protesters who might try to disrupt the event and more seriously loan wolf actors, willie. >> you know. it's interesting to watch the evolution of this back to where

it was from covid, obviously in 2020, and even 2021 there was hesitation around it as vaccines were just coming in. it looks though, from your point of, you like this is the full time square new year's eve experience as it has always been, back to where it was? >> yes. absolutely. in fact, maybe even more people. one of the things i've noticed around our building with the trees, you have enormous crowds. and people, although we've been talking about security, people are not hesitating to visit new york city. there is still that enthusiasm and enjoy about this time of year that is very infectious, willie. >> yes, it has been, hasn't? it it's been like woodstock outside of rockefeller center. the crowds are certainly back and then some. nbc's, stephanie gause, live for us in times square. steph, happy new year to you. thanks so much. we appreciate. it >> bringing you a coke and a smile this morning, willie.

>> [laughter] thank you. bring went over to 30 rock! thanks, staff. we continue our look back at 2023 with the top viral moments of the year. from beyoncé, breonna, and of course, barbie. nbc news correspondent, savannah seller, shows us what had social media buzzing in 2023. >> it was a year full of unforgettable trends. >> i don't have anything big plant, just a giant blowout party with all the barbies. >> things we loved and things we love to hate. viral moments filled our feeds and one star stood out all year. >> welcome to the renaissance. >> queen bees tour dominated social media. and when her daughter, blue iv, joined her onstage we all cheered. beyoncé end of the year on a high. her coats heard, the resume silence, topped the box office on opening weekend turning $21 million. earlier this, year our group chats blew up during the super

bowl and not because of the game. rihanna rocks the halftime show with a 13-minute performance revealing her second pregnancy on sport's biggest night. months later, country legend, dolly parton, had her moment on social media. when the 77 year old stunned while performing in a dallas cowboys cheerleaders uniform. but dazzled from head to toe, of course. speaking of fashion, these red boots prompted a flood of memes. while boots are made for walking, we were also captivated by creepy dolls dancing. before that movie meghan was even available in theaters, the hashtag meghan dance blew up on tiktok. and from the futuristic to the ancient, how often did you think about the roman empire? and social media spoiled television's biggest shocker, the death of logan roy. but there was one cultural moment that commanded our attention and the big screen.

the long awaited barbenheimer double feature. did not disappoint at the box office, burning over $200 million in just one weekend. the stars of the films joined in on the fun. margot robbie and director graphic or wake supported oppenheimer and the star of the biopic expressed his excitement. >> i'll be going to see barbie. 100%. >> with all the barbie buzz on social, it was like living in barbie's dream house this year. pink outfits and cannot stress -- sweatshirts popped up -- the blockbuster made gregor wait the first female director with a billion dollar film. >> this is the best day ever. >> this is the best day ever. >> 2023 might be the best year ever. when it comes to girl power. >> nbc's savannah cellar, reportedly absent there is taylor swift. she gets her entire own piece coming up a little bit later. coming up later, at the state of american politics as we head into the new year. our next guest writes that the road to 2024 is a bit dreary.

david cider joins us next on morning joe. morning joe. every day, more dog people, and more vets are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. they're quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans.

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you're probably not easily persuaded to switch get 50% off your first box mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. our next guest than the last it's not just possible, it's happening.

year traveling the country to chronicle the ways in which american politics are shifting. politicos politics editor, david ciders, visited 11 cities for his road trip series. his latest split piece and political magazine is titled, what i saw on the tree road to 2024. david joins us now. also with us for the conversation, msnbc contributor, our good friend, mark barnacle. david, let's talk about your ear and why the road was so dreary. tell us about what you are looking for as you undertook this year long journey across 11 cities? >> well, reporters go

everywhere and talk to people. this was not just special in getting out, but what we were trying to do was look at how the parties might be being reshaped at a local level. so going to county board meetings, local party meetings, that kind of thing, just to get a sense of where the parties were and how they were shaping. >> and a couple of words, it looks like jumped out, anxiety, forever, people are worried, but they are engaged. how did that manifest itself in a place like el paso, texas? >> well, first of all, at the broadest level, and you've seen this too, the polling is staggering. americans have not been happy or enthusiastic or satisfied with government. but we have seen the numbers drop off to historic lows right now. not only for government but also about the parties. what is surprising to me is that people are not shutting down. we've had these very high turnout elections in 2020 and

2022. so yeah, people are upset, they are angry, they are fearful and i think they have this sense of loss and they are deeply engaged. there -- when it plays out in a place like el paso, the immigration. i think people are anxious about -- on both republicans and democrats about how the debate is playing out. you see that rising in a place like el paso, which is right on the border. so talking to democrats who are worried about it. >> i was just going to say. in your account of your trip to el paso, you quote one reverend as saying that it's almost like some of the people coming to his church want a dictator. they want somebody who can crack down and form the country that they aspire to be. what did you take out of that conversation? the growing appeal of donald trump? >> it's very scary to this reverent. he's an immigrant himself. he came over from cuba when he

was nine or ten or something like that. so he has lived this experience. he's been at mass a detention centers, worked closely with immigrants. he's deeply afraid of what he feels is -- he sees what donald trump is saying, the mixed headlines, it disturbs him when he says something like, you know, poisoning blood or talks about a dictatorship. what disturbs him more is that it shows trump in a good position. what does he take from that? he sees the public around him, including recent immigrants an ill paso who say, we want trump back. that is what is disturbing him. >> mike, you and i see this in your travels, people are fed up. with both -- we see it in polling. people don't want to see joe biden and donald trump again. maybe the matchup they're going to get is not the one they want. they have to be willing and open to look around. bobby kennedy junior, cornell west, other people may be

running, almost in a way to protest the choices they have been given. >> you know, willie, you're absolutely right. david, in your travels around the country which are a lot different than willie and i traveling to airports or stopping at cast a shuns, on i-95, and i'm wondering if you saw the same sense, this volatile mix of anxiety and frustration amongst so many ordinary americans, working americans. this anxiety about the system, part of the process, the electoral system, this frustration with the perceived lack of results that affect them positively and their families positively. it seems that you hear from the democratic party that they think they have a nation -- running against the republicans this fall in roe v. wade. but in conversations i have had, and i know billy has had the same kind of conversations, the issue of immigration seems to trump roe v. wade talk.

i'm wondering what you hear there. >> that's interesting, i think that the broader assessment, people are deeply anxious about everything, the economy, immigration. i would be a little bit hesitant to talk about the salient of immigration. i think it tends to ebb and flow in some ways. in a place like el paso, which lives with that and has for decades, they have seen -- come and go through republican and democratic -- i think that doesn't typically rise to one of the highest salient issues in the election. i'd be skeptical of that. on the other hand, we have seen those numbers grow, as you point out. that's a concern for democrats. >> i looked at your stock in

columbia, south carolina. you are saying that black voters are drifting away. i've spent a lot of time at south carolina. i cannot about your conclusion. but what, from your vantage point, is the basis that people are exhausted, tired, and just don't want to debate anymore? or they are conceding to the other side? i mean, what is the reasoning behind that if he could assess it that you heard from people who are drifting away? >> first, i don't want to overstate it. the numbers among black americans, as you, know are still very much with the president. but this is some drift. i think one reason surprised me. that is the ford entanglements. talking to people, i was surprised to hear so much of a

bringing together of my frustrations and concerns here in columbia or elsewhere in south carolina, and seeing involvement in ukraine, involvement abroad. that surprised me, of all the ways you could see inequities in the system that were frustrating to you, but the foreign entanglements would be among the higher ones. i think it is a sense of, you know, we have been reliable floating partners with the democratic party for years. and what we have to show for it? there is still a lot of, you know, fallout from covid still. there is some feeling that the economy is not where it should be. that is the basis of their frustration. >> in a matter of weeks but will get some votes to see how it factors in. politics editor, david cider, a fascinating look at your

travels in 2023. thank you for sharing them with us. we appreciate it. as we wrap up this, year nbc nightly news has this tribute to the lives we lost for the past year. ♪ ♪ ♪ my name is -- freeze. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> that was fun. >> you want to marry me? >> yes. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> you know what a loser is? a real close or is someone who is so afraid of not winning they don't even try. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> the way i see it, if something makes you sad when it ends, it must have been pretty wonderful when it was happening. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

>> bob barker! >> jerry! cherry! terry! >> ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i want to say it has been a pleasure to work alongside all of you. these have been the best years of my career. >> yes, he was some guy. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> never forget a martini. >> ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> i hope people think i did the best i could. so i was there, i worked hard, i did the best i could. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ♪ ♪ ♪ there is a lot of

information out there. hamas slaughtered more than 1200 innocent people, holds innocent hostages, and raped countless innocent women. and now hamas is trying to hide

sexual violence against women. they don't want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them stand with palestinians and israelis for basic human rights. stand for all women. good saturday morning.

i'm michael steele, in for katie phang and jonathan capehart this morning. ballot battle. former president, donald, trump voted from the presidential --