of course. happy new year. all you guys, good to be back. it is wednesday, january 3rd. 6:00 here in new york. we have breaking news on our starting line. north and south korea talking for the first time in nearly two years. this border hotline between the koreas has been reopened. the diplomatic development came after kim jong-un offered an olive branch saying he might send a delegation to the olympics next month. as the talks begin, president trump is taking his war of words with kim jong-un to a dangerous new level. responding to kim's threat about having the nuclear button on his desk, the president tweeted that his nuclear button is much bigger, more powerful, and his button works. >> the president tweeting up a storm. in 16 tweets, he lashed out at the justice department, calling it a deep state government conspiracy against him. he threatened to cut off funding

for palestinians. this twitter tirade raising new questions in some corners about the president's mental state. one of the president's biggest supporters calling it quits. utah's orrin hatch announcing he will not run for reelection in november. it opens the door for former presidential candidate and trump critic mitt romney to jump in. we have it all covered for you. cnn's paula hancocks live in seoul. what do we know, paula? >> reporter: well, alisyn, this was a very short phone call apparently. it did last 20 minutes. but the redact we had was extremely short. it is significant. the fact that north korea and south korea are finally communicating with each other. this phone call originated from north korea, starting 1:30 a.m. eastern. it lasted about 20 minutes. not necessarily that there were conversation the whole way

through. it was really to test the technical issues of this hotline. it is known as the panmujon communications channel. it is a line that hasn't been used since february 2016. we know that from the south korean government. they have been phoning twice a day every day since february 2016 but north korea has not picked up. but now north korea has made its phone call. the readout we have, the names have been blotted out for security reasons. the south korean officials said this is x. the north korean officials said x. all. they didn't mention pyeongchang or the winter olympics or anything about whether or not north korea was going to driveway to next tuesday that south korea has suggested for high-level talks at the dmz. there are a lot of questions still up in the air. we have just learned in the past couple minutes, there was a second phone call 6:07 and north

korea said let's call it a day. the reason we believe is the south koreans said call us back. we'll wait for you. we will wait to hear your next phone call. there is not a lot in there. it is just the very fact that they are talking to each other. >> i think that really is the headline. it is okay to have xs. the fact that they are communicating at all is a major development from our perspective. my question for you, paula, is what about from the south korean perspective. do they see this as a potential first step or a tactic? >> reporter: they see it as a first step. we have had positive statements from the government here. it is well-known that the president wants to have more dialogue with north korea. it is what he was elected on. he wants north korea to be part of the olympics. he's billed it as the peace olympics. he is staking an awful lot on north korea being part of the

winter olympics next month. and the fact that he said he would send a delegation, there must have been cheering in the corridors of power in sseoul. of course there will be caution. they have signed on to a lot before and certainly hasn't kept to it all. >> okay. paula, thank you very much for all of that reporting. we will check back in with you throughout the program. that diplomatic announcement coming hours after president trump bragged that his nuclear button is bigger than kim jong- jong-un's. that is just one peck tweet. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. it would have been a lot more shocking perhaps in another era, but today not so much. the nuke-slinging war of words between the president of the united states and the leader getting off to a robust start in the new year with some of the toughest rhetoric we have heard

from the president since last summer. president trump taunting north korean dictator kim jong-un over the size of america's nuclear arsenal, asserting his is much bigger and more powerful than north korea's, before threatening that the u.s. button works. mr. trump lash be out after kim jong-un bragged that the u.s. is in range of a north korea strike. the ratcheting up of tensions raising alarm. >> there are potentially millions of lives at stake, untold death and destruction here. to me it is very disturbing. >> no one in the white house knows what is un's ugg admission point where one of these tweets is going to set him off and he will hit the button. >> rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself. >> reporter: the president responding after south korea

showed is an eagerness to opening up talks with its north korean neighbor. >> north korea can talk with anyone they want. but the u.s. is not going to recognize it or acknowledge it until they agree to ban the nuclear weapons. >> reporter: the tweets about north korea, 2 of 16 messages the president sent on a range of on unrelated topics during his first day back in the oval office after the holiday break. mr. trump began the day attacking his own justice department as a deep state referencing a conspiracy theory. >> obviously he doesn't believe the entire justice department is part of that. >> reporter: the president going after top hillary clinton aide huma abedin, saying she should be jailed over her handling of e-mails despite the fact that after an fbi investigation she has not been charged with a crime. and president trump urging the justice department to act. >> when i decide to just do it i said, you know, this russia

thing with trump and russia is a made-up story. >> reporter: other parts of the president's twitter attacks, "new york times", former president barack obama, pakistan, iran and the palestinians, who mr. trump threatened not to give future funding if they do not rejoin peace talks. president trump taking record for a record year of safety and commercial aviation without citing any measures his administration has implemented. >> it really doesn't matter what the president of the united states says anymore. it is so bizarre, strange, not true, infantile. >> reporter: today the president will get his regularly scheduled intelligence briefing. he's also expected to have lunch with the secretaries of state and defense. a couple meetings made all the more interesting, in fact, by the developments with north korea. chris and alisyn. >> all right, joe. it is one thing for a democrat to say what the president of the united states doesn't say

anymore but it does. richard haass, author of "a world in disarray" the crisis of the old order. perfect title for a pivot for the state of affairs. thank you. happy new year to you. good to have you on the show. this the world in disarray when you look at north korea and soerbg oh, communicating, the battle of the buttons with kim jong-un and trump, and what's going on with iran. how do you see it? >> the world has been in disarray for some time. the rise of the missile program. the middle east is a mess by any and every measure. you have a rising china. so much of the machinery is 75 years old. it goes back to world war ii. what's a problem is we're making it worse. what we have seen in the last 24 hours is a president who wields

enormous power over the fate of not just 320 million american lives but over 7 billion people. he has raised questions about how reliable america is, what kind of judgment we have. mixed signals on the palestinians in israel. mixed signals on north korea. so, yes, there is disarray out there structurally. and right now the united states is arguably adding to it. >> let's just drill down on some of these issues. north korea, isn't it a good thing if they are communicating for the first time with south korea? >> it is good that they are communicating. but, but, but, it is a real challenge for us. south korea's agenda has traditionally been stability on the peninsula. what happens if the north says to south korea, we will do some of the things we have been wanting you to do. by the way, this whole american concern with nuclear missiles and weapons, we'll put that to the side. is a south korea is and is south korea alliance so tight that we

can depend on south korea to basically do our bidding and coordinate with us, or has this administration, by asking south korea to break up the trade agreement by some of our language, how do we distance ourselves from south korea? >> what's the answer? >> we're going to find out. what nikki haley said yesterday was not helpful. when she said we can't have negotiations that we will support unless north korea says in advance that they are going to give up all their nuclear weapons. there is zero chance. not 1% chance, but zero chance north korea will accept that condition. diplomacy is where you get. it's not where you begin. we should not set preconditions like that. >> the counter argument is this. trump starts talking to kim jong-un in a way that a lot like you don't like in a condescending way. iran, you don't like the way he likes about them bashing obama. but look at them now. people are in the streets

fighting for their freedom. he is speaking out in a way obama did not. you know the history of pakistan better than either of us will. but there is discontent. there are still terrorist havens. trump calls it out. his strength through leadership is a plus not a minus. >> calling it out with pakistan is legitimate on the merits. by calling it out publicly, will that get them to give up their support of terrorism, stop providing a sanctuary to the taliban? to me, unlikely. what it does, just like donald trump is motivated by a populist nationalist pressure, the other countries are too. pakistanis have domestic politics. look, what's going on in the streets is self generated. it shows deep and broad iranian discontent with their leadership and how they haven't delivered. it is useful if this administration had not said you're not welcome in this

country and would have been a lot more useful if the united states said we're against oppression wherever it happens, russia, be turkey, philippines. this selective support raises questions about how sincere we are. >> does depriving them of $250 billion -- >> i'm sorry? >> if we don't give the money we're promised. >> they can turn and get it from china and other places. we want to say we're willing to work with you but only conditionally. sopbgs as. i would say quietly, look, we will give you this $20 billion worth of aid but only if you do these sorts of things. have a transactional relationship with them. the president is right. they're not an ally. it has to be transactional. they're not a friend. to expect they are going to act like one automatically is like lucy and the football. they have pulled it too many times.

>> look, there is no question it's all complicated. american politics always boils down to what's simple. that's why foreign policy doesn't loom that large in american elections. it becomes more domestic. people in the election said, yeah, we look kind of weak. wasn't obama too much of an a poll gist. and trump was certainly trumpeting that message. how does all of these situations that are emerging, how do they not favor to a president who said i'm going to be strong and things will happen. he's talking tough and things are happening. >> well, again, i think you're right. certain people did perceive obama was too weak. when he didn't act on the red line in syria, a lot of people in this country and around the line said that's. >> but that was an untruth. he ought to have been criticized for what he didn't do on that occasion. again, any time the president tweets or speaks, it's the use

of american power. so i don't judge him auto a day-to-day, hour-by-hour basis. does this get us to where we want or not? does it make negotiations more or less likely? same with pakistan. does he stop providing a sanctuary to the taliban. we will kill americans over the world. do we move israelis and palestinians closer or farther away. this is the second inning or third inning of the trump -- of this term of the trump presidency. it is more populist. more assertive of the united states. the question is, are we going to get closer to where we want to go in ways to defend or promote america's interests. >> let's talk about whose button is bigger. you know how the state department works. the spokesperson heather nauer is unflappable.

she does a great job. she had to explain to reporters why the president would engage in this kind of rhetoric. here she is trying to do that. >> as you have seen, when america speaks about a matter, it is taken very seriously. >> i know. >> that is why it is important for the united states to be careful with its words. and you may not get all the words you were hoping to get, but i'm going to be careful with the words. >> does that include tweeting stuff about little rock et man, be careful with your words. or fire and fury will rain down on north korea. >> i'm not even going to go there, matt. >> wise choice. >> interesting he she doesn't want to go there. >> because it is is hard to defend. here's what they're trying to do. >> the president's style is offensive to the media but embraced by the real americans. that's their play. when asked about his words, they say, in these positions of

power, accountability to the american people besides the point, i'm not going to talk about his words. that's for him to explain. so that's right out of the textbook she is supposed to be following. is it the right rule? >> no. foreign policy is about the united states's relationship with the rest of the world. we are 4%, 5% of the world's people. they don't just have a domestic audience but international. does this make north korea more or less likely to maybe agree to some restraint. does it make south korea more or less comfortable that they are dependent on us as a ally? does it make other countries more or less likely to work with us? that's the criteria. i'm all in favor of potentially tough language if i think it is going to advance us. when president bush the father said this will not stand on the south lawn of the white house, those were tough words. it sent a message to the rest of the world of just that. saddam hussein was not going to get away with violating kauwaits

sovereignty. it can on occasion be the right thing. supporting the iranian people now exactly the right thing. tweets are white house statements. let's not kid ourselves. john kelly, chief of staff, say he can't control white house tweets. these are white house statements of the 21st century. we have to take them seriously. >> our book is out in paeuperbo this week. >> it is quite critical. my argument is we have decided in many ways not that we are going to be isolationist but we are no longer going to lead the world when it comes to forging international relationships and institutions in a way we have since world war ii. we will play a much more narrow role, transactional role.

i think what we're doing is contributing, pardon the expression, the disarray in the world. and i think the danger for donald trump is the united states cannot be great in a world that is unraveling. and i think that is the contradiction of his foreign policy. >> richard haass, always great to have you with us. president trump's bizarre tweets raising new questions about his state of mind. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

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president trump unleashing a twitter tirade. some of the tweets are so unusual they are making some question his mental state. joining us is john avlon and chris cillizza. here is one of the tweets, exhibit a. i will read it drama lick. >> north korean leader kim jong-un stated a nuclear button is on his desk at all the times. will someone from his deleted and food starved regime please tell him i have a nuclear button but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his and mine works. john avlon, first of all, i don't think you should refer to your body parts as a button, number one. >> fair point. >> number two, i don't know what

to do with it. >> this is language that would have been rejected from the script from doctors of strange love. this is the president of the united states doing a measuring test about nuclear weapons. we can't begin to normalize this. this is dangerous. this is childish. this is unpresidential. it is not befitting the leader of the free world. inside the white house, as well as the administration, there are two responses. one is a full face palm and silent scream. the other is sycophants saying great job is, boss. you got it. both are unacceptable. somehow we have reached a pathetic new low. >> with the new page out of the sarah sanders playbook of, well, i'm not going to go there. i'm not going to talk about his tweet. that's too bad because she represents the administration. >> and the presidential statements. >> chris, the other side of the coin. they are completely usual. this is what he does.

he's hyperbolic, incendiary. people like that about him. and if you look at north korea, the biggest development from this back and forth is opening, reopening a challenge of communication with south korea is that has been closed for years. who cares if you like it. it seems to be something positive. do you buy that? >> i don't. it is 6:23 in the morning. >> good job. >> thank you. i do what i can. it is possible by 6:30 or 7:00 a.m., donald trump is claiming credit for reopening of the channel. i think it is probably more likely than not. but, again, just because a happens and b happens it doesn't mean that a made b happen. look, his presidency is not normal. it never has been. his candidacy was not normal. the people who like him like that. the people who don't like him don't like that. it is not going to change. i would say to people if an aoe

lee yes or no land odd earth and you had to explain donald trump's presidency, you could show him a number of tweets and say this is it. this is pretty much all you need to see. i think to echo john's point, however, you're dealing with high stakes here. we have always known size matters. everything is the biggest, the best. >> yeah. >> but we're talking about nuclear arsenals. kim jong-un is demonstrably not stable. it takes on a different cast, i think, given the stakes. >> yeah. and just to add two things to this. we have the precedent on of 44 other presidents to judge by what is presidential in an american context. this is not in that same universe because there's no assumption of responsibility for power. and the administration can take credit for being aggressive and

much tougher with north korea and maybe challenging the calculus putting aside at traffic miss can calculation. even and especially without those tweets, they are simply pull back the veneer of toughness and show petulance. >> this line of communication between south korea is, the shifting sands on the korean peninsula were happening before this went out. so you could argue unnecessary. >> remember, alisyn, going back to his tweets yesterday when he claimed credit for no deaths on commercial airlines. it has been eight straight years. congratulations the moon rose last night. to chris's point, this is not new. we know he is a credit hog. he takes credit for everything. he will likely take credit for

this. >> i think the guy who says you have to look at the proof of performance and you have to go lighter on the style points only because of this. i will never win awe debate that john avlon is teeing up, which is is this presidential or not. >> it's not. that's clear. >> but presidential will be in the form of the current president. i think a ferrer line of criticism of him. you can criticize style all day. it's subjective. is this who he has always been? stylistically it may be. put up the tweet from 2013. this was donald trump, concerned citizen. be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into world war iii. >> he didn't like what president obama was saying about syria. >> yeah. context is everything. here's why i am bringing this up this morning. president obama was fairly criticized for going back and forth about the red line. we did one of the first

interviews with him after he had drawn the red line. they crossed the red line, and he did nothing. his doing nothing was still too much for donald trump. still too dangerous. he said leave them alone. stay out of it. this is not what we need. john avlon, is what we are doing with here, putting style aside, disingenuous on the substance because trump is doing things he thinks may play to advantage that he didn't believe when he was just worried about the world at large. >> there is no constancy. it is is pure opportunism. and to criticize presidents not named trump, particularly obama. i think there is a virtue to being tough on the world stage. i understand that world view as it is expressed in great character with mattis and mcmaster. but this kind of opportunistic tweeting that doesn't reflect

administration policies. he's not that cynical. he he issism per impetuous. we are in a level of surrealism and nonstability that should trouble folks. but i want to make this point. the administration can be tough without, and more effectively tough, without these types of tweets. we are caught in a limbo where we have to take it seriously. it is fundamentally not serious. >> chris's point, which is important for us to remember, actions do speak louder than words. >> he yeah. >> we do spend a lot of time trying to parse and analyze, what does this mean, all of these latest tweets. buff we is should be focused on the actions that comes out of it or that he takes. chris cillizza, last question. >> sure.

>> is it too much when people are saying a tweet like that, some sort of mind-set shift or mental stability shift. >> let me take them separately. mind-set is a useless debate, to hearken back to john's point. fungability. all politicians do that to some extent. he does it to a large extent. >> mental stability. >> the thing that i struggle with here is what is different about his erratic behavior, his wildly swinging from -- congratulations the "new york times" publisher. he's always done this. there is not a change, it doesn't seem to me, in terms of his mental approach. it is hugely an form as it relates to the presidency. it is not as it relates to donald trump and his life. >> okay.

there you have it. we will continue to talk about this obviously throughout the program. chris sew is liz swra, jocilliz avlon, thank you very much. >> it is cold. subzero windchills. we have the east coast getting ready to be battered by a powerful winter storms. invasive treatment options than before. like advanced genomic testing and immunotherapy. see how we're fighting to outsmart cancer at cancercenter.com/outsmart on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates. maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™.

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powerful nor'easter. what does it look like, jennifer? >> reporter: alisyn, this comes on the heels of record-breaking temperatures. winter has a firm grip across the country. one-third of the united states gripped by dangerous subzero temperatures. more than 100 million americans under windchill advisories. the deep freeze killing 11 people, including a 27-year-old woman in wisconsin who wandered from a new year's eve celebration with her friends. >> it looks to be a very tragic accident. >> in texas, four people have died of exposure. the red cross setting up additional warming centers. >> we are offering a place for people who need to get on out of the weather. >> the windchill colder than on the surface of mars. waterways, from rivers, lakes, waterfalls, frozen solid. even niagara falls surrounded by sheets of ice. the wintery mix wreaking havoc

on roadways, including a massive 75-car pileup on interstate 90, buffalo new york. in massachusetts, firefighters struggle to go work in the bitter cold. >> it is freezing our equipment, our air packs, our masks. >> the punishing chill hitting as far as alabama and florida. >> extra blankets, heaters, whatever it takes. >> officials preparing shelters. >> if you don't have a reason to be out, don't be out. >> that's good advice. we are already seeing icing conditions across north florida and georgia. it's going to turn into snow by the time it gets to the carolinas. so as this develops, it is going to get stronger with time. we will see snowfall along the coast. new york, boston, portland. hurricane force winds possible.

the big problem is temperatures will be in the teens and single digits by friday and saturday. you will have to find a way to keep warm. >> all right fighting the cold. newborn baby at home. welcome to our life as parents. it will end in about five years. thank you for the information. we'll check back in later. the firm behind the infamous donald trump dossier is defending its research and accusing republicans of conducting fake russia investigations. what do they mean? what do they want? next. ♪ dad promised he would teach me how to surf on our trip.

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the co-founders of fusion gps, the firm that paid for the dossier on candidate trump with

a new op ed in the "new york times". all right. they're pushing back on republican criticism of this dossier saying it wasn't what prompted the investigation into trump and his colleagues. let's bring back john avlon and chris cillizza. let's get right to it. >> this is why i think this is so important, guys. as you know, there are all sorts of republican, you know, lawmakers who come on our show, namely jim jordan, who says he has a hunch that it was the dossier that was the trigger to go to the fisa court to get the warrant to then wiretap some people on the trump campaign, carter page. so this shows the timeline doesn't work. so the two guys just to remind everybody, by the way, fusion gps, these were the guys who were paid. they were former wall street journal journalists. here's what they say in the "new york times". we don't believe the steele dossier was the trigger for the

fbi's investigation into russian meddling. as we told the senate judiciary committee in august, in other words they were interviewed. they spoke to them. the dossier was taken so seriously because it crop rated reports that the bureau had received from other sources, including one inside the trump camp. as we know from the "new york times", it is george papadopoul papadopoulos. he was the one who was speaking drunkenly in april to an australian diplomat who had the same information that the dossier had. these two dovetailed, john. that is how the launch of the fbi's investigation into the trump campaign. >> that's right. among other things, it means there are two concurrent fbi investigations at least only one of which was made public at the time. the timeline is what is key here. what they are saying is, look, release our 21 hours of testimony. make that public. we have been transparent about who paid us. first it was a republican organization. then a democratic campaign.

chris steele came back with information that stunned us about the degree of attempts to influence the campaign and possible compromise. >> here's how they put it. we told congress that from manhattan to sunny isles beach, florida and from toronto to panama, we found widespread evidence that mr. trump worked with a wide array of dubious russians in arrangements that often raised questions about money laundering. likewise, those deals don't seem to interest congress. chris cillizza? >> look, it is their view, obviously. we should take it as such. as they note in the op ed, they testified under oath for 21 hours in front of congress. they are calling on congress to release those transcripts. so it's not just peeling saying things in an op ed. >> right. >> that's important. number two, i think the origin of this investigation is very important for both sides. republicans are heavily invested in the idea all the way

certainly led by donald trump. and to the idea that this dossier, khwhich was secretly funded, we did not know this at the time, funded by the dnc and hillary clinton. >> a republican conservative organization. >> true. was the reason that this russian investigation began. they're the only people saying that, however. multiple intelligence officials, multiple intelligence agencies have said the fbi, and they write this in the op ed. the fbi already had information about this potential russia ties, russian interference in the election. >> right. >> the dossier confirmed in part and that's why incident was taken so seriously. so the origin of the investigation matters. it seems to me pinning it on this dossier is inaccurate based on what we know. >> you also know it is

inaccurate based on process. because one of the difficult points for jordan and the people on the right to deal with on this particular salvo, they had to get the warrants from the judge. they had to make a proofeffer. people will say it is a rubber stamp. yes, they usually get the warrants. they usually have good reason for wanting the warrants. >> such a great point. quickly, chris. >> the other thing is i know the genesis of the investigation, the origin matters. but we now have two trump aides having pled guilty to lying to the fbi, including mike flynn, the national security adviser, two s and two others facing multiple charges. this is not a democrat say, republicans say at this point. this is a criminal proceeding. >> that's right. look, the other reason this matters is in the op ed they are saying not only release our testimony.

that is significant because it's under oath. we have asked the committee to take a look at, for example, the deutsch bank funding and the sources of that. it is about larger questions of why does president trump refuse to criticize vladimir putin. is there history that predated his presidency, certainly and possibly the campaign. follow the money. these things fundamentally matter. >> there is so much in this op ed we didn't know. sit helpful these two fusion gps research people, former journalists, are spelling it out. one last thing i want to read to everybody. in terms of what chris steele found out, what came back shocked us. mr. steele's sources in russia, who were not paid. we did not know that. who were not paid report odd an extensive and now confirmed effort by the kremlin to help elect mr. trump president. mr. steele saw this as a crime in progress and decided he needed to report it to the fbi. yes, chris officer steele was a

hired hand who then reported what he found to the fbi. this is all really helpful information, john. >> it is is vitally important as well. take a look at those sentences. if they don't give you chills, you are being a partisan. >> it's a witch-hunt. >> some things have been proven. some things have is not. some things have been discredited. we should see that testimony. let's release the testimony. and look at it all. this is about our country. it is about our election. it will resonate enormously today. >> you have to look at how they rebut. it is is one thing to say, yeah, he didn't pay his sources in russia, but he was getting played by people who wanted to be opportunistic. maybe, maybe not. then you have to look at the other levels that are way more pernicious. they're wicked. they're dangerous on. the president of the united states saying the department of

justice is part of a deep state conspiracy against him. >> yeah. >> in the last segment i said this is his style. some like it, some don't. this isn't about style. this is interest irresponsibility. this is about putting yourself before everybody else. donald trump believes it is good for him to blame the department of justice. it has to be for the rest of us, chris. >> yeah. okay. so every past president has done everything they can to build up the american people's faith in their institutions, particularly in their government. okay. >> yes. >> that goes double when it comes to law enforcement because it is so critical that we believe that you get a fair shake. if you commit a crime, you get penalized for it. if you don't, you don't. this president is undermining. and let me remind people this is the trump justice department. eric holder is not the attorney general. >> yeah. >> jeff sessions is. donald trump put these folks

there to undermine his own people. i mean, it's remarkable. >> okay. on that note, thank you chris cillizza, john avlon. lebron james has a new wingman. they were on the court together last night for the new season. how does it go? the "bleacher report" next. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. which means everyone has access to our real reviews that we actually verify.

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oh, it was a big night.

isaiah thomas gets a hero's welcome for his long-awaited debut in cleveland. coy wire has this morning's "bleacher report". this was good to see no matter which team you like. >> it was kind of like when we welcomed chris cuomo back after a nice holiday break. this "bleacher report" presented by the new 2018 ford f-150. listen to this. >> welcome number 3, isaiah thomas! >> there it was. after an emotional departure from the celtics, as part of this season's biggest blockbuster trade and missing the first few games of this season with a hip injury, isaiah thomas comes to cleveland for the first time with 17 points in 19 minutes of play. nba fans finally caught a glimpse how good the new super team may be. just 36 days until the winter

olympics in pyeongchang. a lifelong dream coming true and being able to say, dad, i made it. >> yeah! that is bobby butler. he called his father over during practice to let him know he will be representing the usa hockey team in south korea. bobby was coached by his father in high school. now the father/son journey continues on one of the biggest stages in sports. >> that's beautiful, coy. thank you very much. 2017 was the safest year on record for commercial airline passengers. is president trump to thank for that? he claims he is. that's next. with best in-class towing 2018 ford f-150. best in-class payload and best in-class torque the f-150 lineup has the capability to get

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the best and safest on record. and it was his very strict aviation policies that were responsible. let's find out if that's true. joining us now is former faa associate administrator for aviation safety, peggy gilligan. peggy, thank you so much for being here. this is remarkable. i mean, correct me if i'm wrong, it's not just in the u.s., last year was the safest year for airplane travel since it became

popular. it was worldwide. no person died in a jet crash anywhere in the world in 2017. so what do you attribute that? >> it has always been a team sport really. the last 20 years here in the united states, everyone involved in aviation from aircraft manufacturers to the a line operators, to those folks who work in the industry, aviation labor representatives and the government, both the federal aviation, nasa, and the department of defense have been working to try to understand how can we continue to reduce the risk in aviation. the statistics you just quoted show how successful that team has been. >> you all have cracked the code. it's just remarkable. so can the president take credit for this? >> well, i think actions in any given year aren't all we have accomplished the long haul. it is important that we have

strong leadership. at the faa, we had an administration the last five years, michael huerta. the secretary of transportation, elaine chou, who served as deputy secretary, has a strong commitment to aviation safety and transportation safety generally. that leadership is certainly part of why we were so successful. >> has the president, president trump, who has been in office for a year, done anything in particular? >> well, i think again but the payoff is long, hard steps all along the way. there wasn't a particular accomplishment. it was the payoff and staying the path if you will, letting this industry work with the aviation regulators. >> understood. >> to make sure we are maintaining this record. >> a couple things i want to run by you. the faa administrator that you

talked about, michael huerta, his term expires this coming weekend. president trump has yet to nominate anyone to replace him. do we need an faa administrator? is this important? >> of course we need an faa administrator? >> is are you concerned that president trump has not nominated anybody? >> a deputy administrator in the meantime will step in and maintain the leadership. there are a number of career senior leadership at the faa who have been there a long time and keep the aviation safety machine moving forward. >> you think it will still be as safe even if there isn't an faa administration in place? >> i think the system is extremely robust. i think you are seeing the

commitment pay off. >> absolutely. whatever you have done is working. peggy gilligan, thank you. it is truly a success story. thank you very much for being here with us. >> thank you. >> thanks to our international viewers for watching. for you cnn now is next. for the rest of you, cnn "new day" continues right now. a line of communication back open between north korea and south korea. >> we are skeptical of kim jong-un's sincerity in having talks. >> the president of the united states said my nuclear button is bigger than yours. >> it would be an insult to children. >> if he is speaking to american people, i think he is scaring is the crap out of them. >> does he believe the entire justice department and employees are in this deep state? >> obviously he doesn't believe the entire justice department is part of that. >> this is a really troubling attempt by our president to undermine the rule of