>> have a good one, guys. so this is the bill right here, we're very proud of it. >> he initially wanted to have a press conference. his aides prevailed on him not to have one. >> i could have started with infrastructure. i wanted to save the easy one for the one down the road. >> if he wants democratic votes i want to see his taxes. i want to make sure that whatever we're doing is not designed to line his pockets and the pockets of all his friends. >> president trump's long time secretary is the latest member of his inner circle to face questions from lawmakers in the russia investigation. >> the fbi has stopped a plot that targeted san francisco around the holidays. >> the life of isis is going to live beyond the demise of isis in syria and iraq. good morning, everyone. i'm renee marsh in for christie

paul. >> president trump starts his christmas vacation and he's celebrating his first major legislative win. >> he headed out to his florida resort after he signed the tax bill into law. cheered what he called the largest tax cuts in history. but despite his excitement, aides told the president to avoid the presidential year end news conference out of fears that there could be a lot of questions about russia. >> and those concerns come as investigators interview the long time personal assistant as part of the russia probe. and democrats warn republican leaders against shutting down the investigation. >> more on that in just a moment, but let's start with dan near the president's resort there in florida. no doubt that the tax bill, big win for the president as he wraps up 2017. >> reporter: it really is a huge win and the president is not somebody who likes muted

celebrations. he's kind of a larger than life figure even before he was president so it was surprising when he signed this bill in the oval office with a few reporters and aides there, talked to reporters for about 20 minutes it seemed but really didn't do that traditional full press conference and as you said correctly, he wanted to do a press conference, he wanted to tout this as a win, but aides said no it's probably not a good idea. you're going to get a lot of questions about russia and other things. the president then flew down here to florida where he is spending the holiday at his private club in palm beach. this is an area he's comfortable with. he's surrounded by people who know him very well, but as that year turns to 2018, the focus is going to turn on really selling this tax bill. yesterday the president was asked about that and he actually said the tax bill will sell itself. take a listen to what he said. >> i don't think i'm going to

have to travel too much to sell it. it's become very popular, but i think it will really -- you'll see something on february 1st when they open up the paycheck. >> republicans are hopeful that, you know, paychecks and possibly more jobs will sell this tax bill, but what we have seen in polls is that it's an unpopular bill. 45% of americans disapproved of it last month. that number is up to 55%. so as much as republicans and the president think the bill will sell itself they will have to do some leg work to sell this bill and that matters in 2018 because it's a midterm year and if republicans want to keep their majority in the house taxes will be a big part of that. the president also intends to push infrastructure next year. he said it would be the easy one, an easy issue that he could have done. it's not really clear that democrats will work with the president.

>> all right. got a little audio issue there. hopefully we'll figure that out. thank you so much. and kelly jane torrance and a commentary writer and editor at the washington examiner. thank you both for joining us this morning. i want to start with you first, kelly jane, a little bit about this no press conference, the year ender. this is the first time in 15 years that a president has done this. what do you make of it? is it a sign that perhaps the white house doesn't quite have their messaging pinned down for all the tough questions that they would have faced from reporters or are they just simply afraid that the president was going to go off the rails or b perhaps a little bit of both? >> i think a little bit of both and haven't we seen that this entire year. messaging is not this president's strong point. wherever he does something that most people would see as a win, he seems to manage to go back

and talk about the things that are negative. he starts complaining about russia and the investigation and of course that's one of the worst negatives against him. i'm not sure why he wants to keep reminding everybody about it, but it was a pretty surreal scene and i was watching it from the green room and you can see that the camera people weren't sure what to do. they weren't sure, is the president going to take questions, is he not going to take questions. i thought jeff wrote a great piece online that described it and it seemed just surreal. he wanted to talk to reporters but his aides were trying to make sure he didn't. it was bizarre. >> i mean, even as he's on vacation, the president's on vacation here now, the russia investigation continues to loom. we know that the house intelligence committee, they interviewed his long time personal assistant. talk a little bit about, you know, her and just what sort of information they may be actually to get from her.

>> well, if you recall, the e-mail that was sent between rob gold stone who is the film producer and he messaged basically donald trump jr. about some very sensitive information that he wanted to give the trump campaign during the 2016 election, that is something that they're pinning on, because she was actually mentioned in that e-mail as possibly the vehicle in which they would, you know, transmit this information. so rona who has been a long time secretary of donald trump before he was president, this obviously could mean big implications. i don't think this will be a really big deal in terms of what she knew, but of course, the house intelligence committee figuring this whole thing out and getting those answers is very important. >> i want to talk a little bit more about this investigation. we certainly see a change in strategy or a very profound strategy from both the white house and republicans and it is

to discredit mueller as well as this investigation, but the latest cnn poll shows and we have those numbers there that the majority of americans approve of the mueller investigation. so here's my question. as republicans in the white house continue to try to delegitimize the mueller investigation, is this a losing strategy? >> it's an excellent question, renee. and i'm sure donald trump is wondering what the problem is. i mean vladimir putin told him they didn't meddle in the election. luckily republicans in congress are taking this a lot more seriously and i -- you know, it's an interesting sort of play by play with the republicans in the white house versus republicans in congress because the ones in congress, they are concerned about is russia trying to harm american democracy and i think that, you know, the -- >> but even though that the republicans are concerned about that, you do see this shift where it's very partisan and now

the focus for a lot of republicans on the hill now is investigating fbi officials and investigating the institution as far as doj and the fbi. >> it is a huge shift because you remember when mueller was appointed you heard people on both sides, democrats and republicans saying great choice, this is a great man. he's a serious honest professional. we can trust him and there has certainly been a shift and i find it interesting because republicans often complain that tax on law enforcement and such undermine those institutions and i wonder how much damage are they doing right now to institutions like the fbi by implying that the place is full of unprofessional hacks who aren't doing their jobs. now, you might have one or two people who made some bad judgments of course but the vast majority of people working in that institution are doing their job and doing it well. >> what do you make of republicans in the white house strategy here to really go on attack as it relates to the

mueller investigation and this fbi probe? >> well, some of the attacks have merit. i mean, peter strass conversation in the doj and their romantic relationship using the mueller investigation or any investigation against president trump. >> but he was fired. as soon as those texts came out he was fired. >> he was fired rightfully so. but basically using the -- possibly the investigation kind of check his presidency should he get out of control, that's the part that's concerning. it's not the fact that peter has political leanings of his own. it's the fact that he's willing to act on those leanings to check on the presidency. >> i want to talk a little bit about this whole idea of firing mueller. it keeps on coming up. you saw senator warner raising concerns about this, however, the white house has continually said that the president does not

plan on doing this. so why do we keep on hearing this? >> you would think that president trump would have learned his lesson after firing james comey. that's why you have robert mueller there in the first place and that's why you have an investigation that everyone in washington is, you know, wondering what's happening every day and leaks are coming out all the time. i think the fact that you know, president trump has been asked, are you thinking of firing mueller? he said no, but the fact we're still talking about this is because president trump is always talking about firing people. he's, you know, it's not just because of the apprentice. he thinks that everyone in the executive branch works for him personally and it's a dangerous view of the presidency and i think that, you know, people are trying to do a good job of laying the ground work to make sure that either he doesn't get fired or if he does, that people are ready to be up in arms and very concerned about it and do something about it. >> that's right. stick around. we have a lot more coming up. >> thanks, renee. including our conversation about the midterms.

there's one senior gop congressman who says that it's going to feel like a hurricane for republicans. that after a huge victory on tax reform, why are republicans so nervous heading into the 2018 elections. >> plus, the fbi has stopped a terror plot in san francisco. plus, the winter is -- what's the line from game of thrones, winter is here, winter is coming? >> something like that. >> i only watched the first season. >> i only watch cnn. >> okay. heavy rain and snow may hamper thousands of holiday travelers. we'll talk about that in a moment. ♪ silent night

♪ holy night ♪ sleep in heavenly peace ♪ sleep in heavenly peace for you, it's always now over later. and pause. not even in your vocabulary. so when a cold sore tingle strikes you act on it. only abreva can heal a cold sore in as little as two and a half days when used at the first sign. it starts to work immediately

to block the virus and protect healthy cells. nothing heals a cold sore faster. and because abreva acts on it... you can too. act on it, with abreva. if yor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough, it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed

and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. this condition has not been reported with entyvio. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. if your uc or crohn's treatment isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. entyvio. relief and remission within reach. oh, it's actually...s your sfx: (short balloon squeal)

it's ver... sfx: (balloon squeals) ok can we... sfx: (balloon squeals) i'm being so serious right now... i really want to know how your coffee is. it's... sfx: (balloon squeals) hahahaha, i had a 2nd balloon goodbye! oof, that milk in your coffee was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah. happens to more people than you think. try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. mmm. good right? yeah. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is calling for a course correction next year. he's signaling a new strategy.

the strategy is republicans working with democrats. watch. >> one thing i can say about this year, it was pretty partisan. it's not much you can do on a partisan basis in the senate at 51-49 which would be the number for us next year. i don't think most of our democratic colleagues want to do nothing, and there are areas i think where we can get a partisan agreement. >> all right. our panel back with me right now. let me start with you and specifically on the effort going into 2018 midterms, legislatively, republican said running with the wind if their face and it's not a normal breeze. it's a hurricane force wind. are democrats willing to gifz a win or cooperate with republicans heading into

midterms? >> well, if we saw anything from 2017 it's that democrats are looking to obstruct president trump's agenda and the gop congress as much as they can. with this win on gop tax reform, i think this is probably the momentum that the republicans need moving forward on entitlement reform, on infrastructure, i mean, those small bills that they can actually get bipartisan support on, those will be the things that probably move the needle nor ward and probably lessen the pressure on republicans at this time. >> kelly jane, the suggestion that infrastructure might be easier is going to be challenged by democrats of course and the president talked back in the joint session of congress that it would be a trillion dollar plan. where is that money coming from? >> that's a great question, victor. normally i would say infrastructure would be a great bipartisan issue and democrats

would loabove to spend a trilli dollars on projects like this but you've got somebody in the white house who they consider toxic and i don't think they're interested in giving him a win at all and you can -- you know, you can argue about their strategy, but given the resistance to trump throughout a lot of the country and given what he eve seen in the special elections since he was elected president i think there's a lot of people who are coming out to vote against the president and the democrats may not be willing to give him a win and as you point out, a trillion dollars. we just had a tax bill passed that's going to cost a trillion and a half and so where is this money going to come from? and admittedly this is not a question democrats always ask, but maybe this time they are going to ask it and it's a great question as the debt and deficit continue to go up and who's going to be paying for that of course? the young people and the young people are a big part of the base of the democratic party right now. >> kelly just mentioned the special election. let's talk specifically about alabama and the loss of roy

moore there to doug jones who will be turning the numbers 51-49 in january. here is the swipe that majority leader mitch mcconnell took during his end of the year news conference at bannon and homicide as he called it the political genius. >> the political genius on display, throwing a seat away in the red state of america is hard to ignore. >> so let's remember though, that president trump backed mitch mcconnell's chosen candidate luther strange in the primary and he lost nearly ten points to roy moore who went on to lose against the general, but i imagine this tax win has to help mitch mcconnell as he tries to keep the president backing his slate of candidates over those of steve bannon who's going to be challenging an entire state of republicans. >> i think the only thing that could have made that clip of

mitch mcconnell sound better is if he threw on a pair of shades after. had to deal with it right there because right now mitch connell and steve bannon are the most enemies, and the better their chances are of holding the edge against that type of democratic wave that we saw this year because with bannon trying to back people like roy moore, you know, you saw the moral depravity of some of these individuals who are running for office and right now, trump and bannon, they need some people who have some better character and better morals who can actually run for office and have a chance. >> so let me come to you about this meeting that happened at the white house this week. white house staff including or added to rather the staff that's typically there, a former campaign manager was in on this meeting, had a really intense

back and forth with the political director there at the white house. and he expressed disappoint in white house strategy. first of all, before we talk about what he said, how much influence does he still have over this administration as it relates to strategy? >> it's kind of mixed. i mean, he is dying to get a job in this administration. he wants to be in the white house, but he hasn't been able to do it so far and he's still trying and i understand that donald trump has been talking him up a bit amongst the staff and they're talking about who trump might bring in in 2018. so he's certainly angling. he's certainly trying and it was a big help to him of course when donald trump tweeted about his book. that's got to help sales so you know, maybe he made a little money from the book. now he's hoping to get to the white house and have a more influential position. >> let me stay with you of what he talked about. the rnc isn't raising nearly enough money although it has

$40 million and breaking records with its fund raising. they're not getting the president's message out through this political director. how broadly are those concerns shared throughout the party? >> they're not and it's really -- it's almost like they're -- the party is at war amongst itself when you think of the party as a whole and the president. now, i understand that the trump's team has interviewed over 100 possibly candidates for the elections in the midterms that are pro trump and they're trying to figure out what they believe, if they're with the president's agenda and i actually -- if i were in the republican party i'd be a little bit concerned that the quality of candidates is really going to be going down because you see people who are -- who are very good conservatives like bob corker at least until recently, jeff flake are leaving and they want to replace them with people who support the trump agenda which is not really a consistent thing and that's going to be

hard to campaign on. >> the last several special elections, let me wrap up with you here. there's a -- a senior white house official who says that there is some discrepancy between, you know, the white house and congressional campaign officials. is that the only discrepancy we're seeing here or is the white house still divided about where they go? >> i think right now the white house is looking for wins in any way they can get it and if that comes through congress, then so be it. but right now they're looking for more pro trump candidates right now and president trump is going to have to distance himself from a few races at least in the house and senate just because his brand brings such toxicity to the republican brand. i mean, you're looking at arizona where there's an open seat with jeff flake and you're looking at nevada. those two seats are viable for republicans maintaining control of the senate and if trump has anything to do with those races

it's possible we can see a flip to the democrats. >> thank you both. >> thank you. >> all right. well, coming up as many people are packed into airports for holiday travel, nearly 30 million people are under a winter weather alert. and potentially dangerous travel conditions could hamper their travel plans. details ahead. and it's the season for giving but police say it's also the season for taking. holiday packages right off of doorsteps. we'll tell you what police are doing to catch these thieves in the act. that's coming up. let's get the one with the candy canes. well, you know, the wrapping paper doesn't make the holidays. it's what's inside that counts. it's a phone for mom. okay, well, it's also what's inside the phone that counts, too.

circuits? no, the network. so the network is inside the phone? well, no, the network's around the phone. and verizon is the most awarded network ever. that's why more people count on it. here you go. (announcer) a gift is only as good as the network it's on. so give any google pixel 2 and get $300 off with no trade-in required.

it's the final days of the ford year end sales event. ♪ i'm on top of the world, hey. ♪ it's your last chance of the year to get our best offer of the year: zero percent financing for seventy-two months, plus an extra one-thousand cash back across a full lineup of ford cars, trucks and suvs. so hurry and save big on america's best-selling brand. it's the final days of the ford year end sales event with zero percent financing for seventy-two months

plus an extra one-thousand cash back! see your ford dealer before jan 2nd and save.

welcome back. i'm renee marsh in for christie paul. thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> i'm victor paul. >> the president is celebrating after christmas came early in the form of his first major legislative win. tax reform. >> yes, but his end of the year high could be overshadowed by new developmentes in the looming russia investigation. the president wanted to celebrate the win with an end of the year news conference. it's traditional for the president, but his aides told him not to. that comes of course after the house intelligence committee started questioning his long time assistant over that infamous meeting between donald trump jr. and some russians. >> making republicans very nervous as they head into the midterm elections. mitch mcconnell is reportedly concerned about losing both the

house and the senate to democrats. >> we'll get back to washington in a moment, but let's go out to california where the thomas fire is now the largest wildfire since the 1930s. it began on december 4th. the fire has burned an area larger than new york, washington, san francisco combined combined. it's about 65% contained and 3,000 firefighters we know are fighting these flames. you can see some of the buildings that have been ruined. although weather conditions have improved over the past few days, no rain is expected to help put out that fire. >> and a headache for people trying to get to their destinations this holiday. the holiday weekend for millions of americans, potentially dangerous. i want to bring in our meteorologist. what are they going to be facing out there. >> we've got some that are going to be dealing with potentially flooding rains and others that are going to have to contend with snow and ice. you can see the majority of it is heavy rain as of right now.

snow on the backside. but look off to the north. this purple color indicates that mixing. freezing rain and some ice and that's the last thing you want to have especially when you're driving on the roads. now, as this system continues to push off to the east throughout the day it's going to impact cities like cleveland, pittsburgh, new york, even boston. those are going to be some of our main focused areas for today but the question then becomes what does that mean in terms of your travel forecast. >> because we are going to end up hitting a lot of these big cities. new york, boston, philadelphia stretching all the way south towards even charlotte and atlanta. those are the big concern areas for today. not just for air travel, but also for roads. tomorrow, it begins to shift. that first system begins to exit off the east coast, but now we have the next system and that's going to bring some travel problems to areas of the midwest. we're talking detroit, chicago as well as cincinnati. but the bigger picture becomes what happens when we get a little bit closer in to the christmas forecast?

when we take a look at the extended forecast, you'll start to notice that we have the chance for some much cooler temperatures. take new york for example. look at this going from 54 today down to only 39 for the high temperature on christmas day. but it's not just the northeast. other regions of the country are also going to be feeling that cool blast of air. take for example minneapolis. high today of only 21 degrees but take a look at the high christmas day. a high of only 2 degrees in minneapolis on monday. the only bright thing is a lot of folks in the midwest will end up having a white christmas because of those cooler temperatures. >> that's nice. that's a bright spot. >> yeah. >> if you're going to have snow any day of the year i feel like christmas is the one that nobody's really going to complain about. >> let's get it out of here by about 11:30 that night. >> so demanding. >> i apologize. well, the holidays usually mean giving or getting gifts and these days with more people shopping online, the gifts are

often left on people's doorsteps making them easy targets for thieves. >> yes, but police are working hard now to try to stop that problem. cnn digital correspondent has details for us. >> victor, renee, it's happening all over the country. package thieves are snatching away people's holiday gifts. so the days leading up to christmas, i spent time with one police department that's using a clever tactic to try and stop the grinch. >> as you can see he's thinking about it and he walks right up to the front there and then goes ahead and takes the package. >> it's something that's happening all across the country, some of it caught on camera. >> are you seeing more packages being stolen this year? >> absolute liz. >> one survey found 23 million americans have had a package stolen. in this holiday season, may be

the biggest heist yet with more than a billion packages being delivered as more people do their shopping online. >> that one as well. >> we're going to be running two teams. make sure everybody is vested up. >> this police unit is trying to catch package thieves in the act. >> a flat screen tv. >> we have what's made to look like a blue ray player over here. >> someone trying to steal this, they'll be disappointed when they open it up. >> absolutely. >> there's nothing in here. >> as you see someone trying to steal this you'll jump out and arrest them? >> correct. we have two surveillance teams on packages that are placed at people's doorsteps. the chances of one of them being stolen is possible. >> he says it's all too easy for thieves to snatch up these packages. >> this is a prime example of how easy it is to commit one of these thefts. the package is clearly visible from the road on high traveled street. >> so far, his department's

recovered more than a hundred items this season that they hope to return to the rightful owners. >> we have blenders, we have makeup, sneakers, you know, we have some higher end items. >> packages have already been returned but a lot of people are still missing their gifts. >> we all have families and we want to put smiles on our children's faces on christmas morning and just to find out that, you know, an individual stole a package is really, you know, it's heart breaking. >> we talked to some of the big shippers out there and they say if something is stolen, to contact them and the police and they'll try to make it right. >> all right. well, a former marine is accused of planning to attack san francisco during the holidays. we have the details on how the alleged plot was stopped. plus an investigation right now in colorado after an explosion at an oil well site. one person was hurt. we'll tell you what happened here.

our recent online sales success seems a little... strange?nk na. ever since we switched to fedex ground business has been great. they're affordable and fast... maybe "too affordable and fast." what if... "people" aren't buying these books online, but "they" are buying them to protect their secrets?!?! hi bill. if that is your real name. it's william actually. hmph! affordable, fast fedex ground.

a shift without a disaster. to get through my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. it was mostly water. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent. #1 trusted. #1 awarded it's got to be tide. and for a plant-based clean, try tide purclean

mortgage rates have moved up this week. have a look.

are you done yet? does it look like i'm done? shouldn't you be at work?

[ mockingly ] "shouldn't you be at work?" todd. hold on. [ engine revs ] arcade game: fist pump! your real bike's all fixed. man, you guys are good! well, we are the number-one motorcycle insurer in the country. -wait. you have a real motorcycle? and real insurance, with 24-hour customer support. arcade game: wipeout! oh! well... i retire as champion. game hog! champion. >> well, the fbi says they were able to stop a terror attack that was planned for san francisco. here's the story. a former u.s. marine is accused of plotting this attack at pier 39 during the holiday season. >> he told an undercover fbi investigator that he wanted to show his support for isis. jessica snyder has the details. >> the fbi has stopped a plot

that targeted san francisco around the holidays. authorities say everitt aaron jameson was plotting to stage an attack in san francisco sometime over this christmas holiday and the fbi agents who were tracking him online saying he was modelling his planned attack on those over the past few years including the one in new york city. in fact, jameson voiced his support for that truck attack in new york city on october 31st. that was when eight people were killed on a bike path and then the complaint says jameson recently became a tow truck driver in his hometown of modesto, california leading to concerns that he could attempt that same type of attack that we saw in new york city. the criminal complaint also details the letter that authorities found inside his home under a search warrant this week. the letter said things like you all brought this upon yourselves and you've allowed donald trump to give away things to the jews. that's a receive vens to

jerusal jerusalem. top officials here in the u.s. have been warning as recently as last month about this danger of a possible uptick in isis inspired attacks right here in the u.s. especially with the collapse of the islamic state's cal fate. the fbi did a search of jameson's home in modesto, california. that's just 90 miles from san francisco and they found fire arms, empty magazines, ammunition and fireworks. jameson is now in custody. cnn, washington. and california's modesto says that jameson's attorney has denied the allegations contained in that affidavit. one worker has been hurt this morning at an oil well site in colorado. people in the area say they felt and heard this loud boom and you look at these pictures, you can imagine how they feel this. the worker was taken to a local hospital. we don't know his condition just

yet. >> and it's still unclear how many workers were on site at the time of the explosion. authorities are investigating the cause of the blast, but they say preliminary information suggests that this was an industrial accident. >> all right. wrapping up 2017, we'll take a look back at the major moments and there have been many since president trump took office. this i can do, easily. i try hard to get a great shape. benefiber® healthy shape is a clear, taste-free, 100% natural daily fiber... that's clinically proven to help me feel fuller longer. benefiber® healthy shape. this i can do! and her new mobile wedding business.tte at first, getting paid was tough... until she got quickbooks. now she sends invoices, sees when they've been viewed and-ta-dah-paid twice as fast for free. visit quickbooks-dot-com. it's the final days of the ford year end sales event. ♪ i'm on top of the world, hey. ♪ it's your last chance of the year to get our best offer of the year: zero percent financing for seventy-two months,

plus an extra one-thousand cash back across a full lineup of ford cars, trucks and suvs. so hurry and save big on america's best-selling brand. it's the final days of the ford year end sales event with zero percent financing for seventy-two months plus an extra one-thousand cash back! see your ford dealer before jan 2nd and save.

directv has been rated number one in customer satisfaction over cable for 17 years running. but some people still like cable. just like some people like pre-shaken sodas. having their seat kicked on an airplane. being rammed by a shopping cart. sitting in gum. and walking into a glass door. but for everyone else, there's directv. for #1 rated customer satisfaction over cable, switch to directv and for a limited time get a $100 reward card. call 1-800-directv.

it's been nearly one year since president trump took office and by any measure it's been a whirlwind of events on everything from the appointment of justice neil gorsuch to

passing tax reform. >> some of his most memorable moments of 2017. >> let's be honest, the first year of the trump presidency feels more like a decade because of the relentless stream of news. here's a look at some of the key moments of president trump's first year in office. for candidate tramump, large campaign crowds were the norm. but at his inauguration this was a sore subject. the new president grew angry watching reports his inaugural crowd size was smaller than president obama's. >> this was the largest audience to witness an inauguration period. >> we had a massive field of

people. you saw that. i looked out, the field was -- it looked like a million, million and a half people. >> but the numbers didn't lie. and the episode set an early trump administration tone. government regulation. it sure doesn't sound exciting so it's no surprise the trump administration effort on this was not splashy 2017 news. but the president with drew hundreds of regulations. a real world impact from the safety of the products you use to the air you breathe. >> we have reduced unnecessary regulations to a point that this country hasn't seen in years. >> it was a promise kept to republicans who argue excess regulation >> reporter: the most blasting 2017 trump accomplishment is arguably the nomination and

confirmation of neil gorsuch to the supreme court. >> i will do all my power s permit to be a favor servant of the law. >> reporter: since the death of anton ton scalia and republicans' refusal of judge merritt garland. >> will you go down as truly one of the great justices in the history of the united states supreme court. >> judges can disagree without being disagreeable. >> reporter: getting gorsuch was not only for the legacy but process. >> it's an extraordinary resume. >> reporter: this conventional nomination was the most traditional trump undertaking of the year. after months of back and forth between donald trump and north korea's dictator words like "rocket man" and "fire" and "fury" the first speech to the

united nations. >> it's to defend against its allies we will have no choice but to destroy north korea. >> reporter: with the statements. >> rock man is on a suicide mission for himself. >> reporter: by year's end, the escalation reached new height. north korea tested it's most powerful missile yet, with the capacity to reach the u.s. mainland. no discussion about donald trump's first year in the white house would be complete without talking about his favorite little birdie. he sent more than 2,000 tweets in 2017 alone from the mystery of covfefe. or unprecedented attacks on his own leadership. and head-scratching retweets. this anti-muslim video sent by brits carved a diplomatic rift with the prime minister.

plus his claim that president obama wiretapped trump tower. but the one that may come back to haunt him the most, taunting james comey, better hope there are no tapes of our conversations. the hands-down biggest 2017 trump defeat failure to repeal and replace obamacare. john mccain's dramatic no vote sealed its fate but republicans were split on how to fulfill the obamacare repeal process one that helped the control of government. that loss helped president trump's quest for tax reform a political life or death situation. >> tax cuts jobs act is amended. >> reporter: and it worked. >> people are going to be very, very happy. they're going to get tremendous tax cuts. >> reporter: whether most americans see that as a win, to

be determined. and finally, the most important trump moment of 2017, firing fbi director james comey. sacking comey while he was investigating 2016 russian collusion caused a political earthquake with aftershacks still rattling the president. >> let's see what happens. >> reporter: not the least of which comey's resignation detailing meetings with the president which comey asked leak to the press. >> i asked a friend of mine to share with a reporter. i asked him because i thought that might prompt the appointment of special counsel. >> reporter: and that's exactly what happened with robert mueller which so far produced indictments of two trump campaign officials and the guilty plea of former national security adviser of lying to the

fbi. what a year. what will 2018 bring? buckle up. it's the final days of the ford year end sales event. ♪ i'm on top of the world, hey. ♪ it's your last chance of the year to get our best offer of the year: zero percent financing for seventy-two months, plus an extra one-thousand cash back across a full lineup of ford cars, trucks and suvs. so hurry and save big on america's best-selling brand. it's the final days of the ford year end sales event with zero percent financing for seventy-two months plus an extra one-thousand cash back! see your ford dealer before jan 2nd and save.

(laughter on tv) when it's finally sunday and you've got no plans but with your comfy pants... (alert chime on phone) keep it simple with marie callender's roasted turkey & stuffing. tender turkey with stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, and made from scratch gravy. spoiler alert, things are about to get good. (click, laughter on tv) because me time calls for marie callender's. (click, laughter on tv) the markets change... at t. rowe price... our disciplined approach remains. global markets may be uncertain... but you can feel confident in our investment experience around the world. call us or your advisor... t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

all right. so, victor, i know you still have more shopping to do, so, this next story's for you. if you're looking for that unique gift this holiday season, you way mamay want to consider special bear. >> he has world class memory and an american flag he carries orlando. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: prepare to be blown away by this christmas gift. just by the fact that it exists. >> the wind whispered through the forest. i come when the trumpet sounds. introducing the original trumpy bear. >> reporter: is this really a thing? reading a typical comment. >> just find the secrets zipper and pull out the flag blanket.

>> reporter: this looks like a bad "snl" skit. >> everyone knows that trumpy loves to go to the golf course. >> thank you, trumpy bear. >> reporter: is this crap for real? >> simply style his trademark hair. >> reporter: you betcha. >> only two payments of $19.95. >> reporter: i can specifically vouch for trumpy bear, he exists. we have one. as seen on tv ads is doing the marketing for a woman who created trumpy bear. nothing partisan the ad says, we'd love everyone to buy it. >> trumpy bear is proudly made in america. i'm kidding, it's made in china. [ laughter ] >> the most fearless bear anywhere. >> he will kick the pooh's ass. >> reporter: interesting with the combable hair.

they're making jokes i'm disappointed with the size of his paws. one thing that trumpy bear cannot do, can't tweet, no fingers. >> i'm proud to have trumpy bear riding by my side. >> reporter: its maker is planning new design changes in the new year but it will still come with -- >> the special certificate of authenticity. >> reporter: so you know who can't say -- >> why doesn't he show his birth certificate? >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. ♪ so, this is the bill right here. we're very proud of it. >> he initially wanted to have a press conference. his aides prevailed on him not to have one. >> i could have started with infrastructure. i actually wanted to save the easy one for the one down the road. >> if he wants democratic votes then i want to see his taxes. i want to