great being with you this morning. i'm frances rivera. it is 9:00 a.m. in the east. 6:00 a.m. out west. and here's what's happening. >> we have done everything else the opposite. >> the opposite, donald trump at his latest rally talking about how he might approach the presidency. we'll get reaction and newoll numbers on how america views his transition moves so far. co the final word on the 2016 election comes tomorrow, that's when the electoral college votes. but could anything change the expected outcome? and big chill, large parts of

the country gripped by a bitter dangerous and deadly cold. we'll have the latest forecast ahead. first to politics, on saturday, donald trump wrapped up his post election thank you tour with a stop in mobile, alabama. before an enthusiastic crowd in the 40,000 seat lad pebble stadium, the president-elect reflected on his campaign. >> i should have given up in this campaign five times. i should have given up, according to then, ten times. i can take you over ten different things that happened where people would have given up. but i never gave up. never gave up. i should have given up, but i never gave up, right? >> but in his more than hour long speech, trump never mentioned one of the day's biggest topics, russia, and according to former defense secretary robert gates, that's a mistake. >> you think there has been enough sense -- enough of a

sense of urgency about this from the obama administration, from congressional leaders, democratic and republican, from donald trump? >> no, i think that given the unprecedented nature of it, and the magnitude of the effort, i think people seem to have been somewhat laid back about it. >> and a new nbc wall street journal poll out just this hour finds that more than half of americans are significantly bothered by russia's interference in the u.s. election and 37% believe it helped trump win. that victory is expecteded toxp finalized tomorrow. want to o'donnell. good morning. talk about what is on the president-elect's agenda today and really is it more about what he didn't say at last night's rally that stood out to you? >> well, no public events for

him, he's at his home in palm beach, florida, this morning. a number of things did stick out. you messengered t mentioned the college. donald trump was calling the founding fathers genius, it is a genius idea, he said to have the electoral college. that's notable. he lost the popular vote. and talked about how he would have campaigned differently if the electoral college were not the path to get to the white house. also striking how much he has enjoyed his rallies in terms of sort of a giant hug with supporters. this was a very pro trump crowd in mobile, alabama. it was also notable that over time we have seen if anyone criticizes trump, he usually hits back much harder. he did not do that with michelle obama and yet he brought up her comments. so that was fascinating. and what we sfraw from trump wa no comment on china, no comment on russia. it seems he's still celebrating his victory and willing to pick

a few fights. from the water canon salute at the airport, to a greeting from southern bells, donald trump relished his last rally of 2016. he also did something unexpected. trump disputed a widely publicized comment from the first lady. >> michelle obama said yesterday that there is no hope. >> referring to this interview with oprah winfrey. >> see, now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. >> the alabama crowd booed, and trump appeared stung by the criticism. >> i'm telling you, we have tremendous hope. >> then claimed mrs. obama just misspoke. >> i honestly believe she meant that statement in a different way than it came out. >> while the obamas vacation in hawaii, the trumps will spend the holidays in palm beach. still unresolved, how the president-elect will separate himself from his business

interests, from spokeswoman hope hicks, said in a statement, under no circumstances has mr. trump requested nor would he participate in briefings regarding the business during his presidency. with his oldest children involved in the transition, and the family empire, trump's team has yet to present a plan to avoid conflicts of interest. but hinted he is not against restriction on speaking with his family regarding the business. still, a month from taking office, but trump tweeted his way into a dustup with china over their seizure of a u.s. navy underwater drone in the south china sea. we should tell china we don't want the drone they stole back. let them keep it. >> and donald trump, of course, commenting on china is notable because he had the phone call with the taiwanese president a couple of weeks ago, a congratulatory call. that was an offense to china in terms of the u.s. relationship with china. any tweets, any comments are

very notable. he's not talking about russia. that is also notable. but at these events, you really get the sense that he is enjoying the being different, he talked about while this was supposed to be the last rally of the thank you tour of the 2016 campaign, taking time off for the holidays, he said he might do more rallies next year as a way to talk about his agenda and to advance some of his ideas. he likes the format, and we might see more of it, even though this was supposed to be the end of the campaign trail. franc frances. >> you never know. so we will see. kelly o'donnell in mobile, alabama, thank you. i want to bring in amy parnes. and also with me, paul singer, washington correspondent for "usa today." i want to start with our latest poll out this morning with these -- with the numbers we have. 50% of americans say they

approve of the way that president-elect trump is handling the transition into the oval office. now, keep in mind that is significantly lower than president obama and president clinton scored when they first made the transition, so, paul, your thoughts on these numbers. >> well, yeah, significantly lower but it is also significantly higher than where donald trump was three months ago. you see the trend of donald trump's favorability ratings is actually trending upward, which is good news for him. i think the fact of the matter is these numbers show he is still an exceptionally divisive figure in american politics, that hasn't changed. but he's making progress in the right direction, i suppose, if you believe polls, which we need to be skeptical of after his election. >> i think we saw a little bit about that. amy, your take on that. should we be comparing with the numbers, donald trump versus donald trump earlier or the past presidents? >> i think both. i think it is significant in that he does have 57%. i think people are willing to give him a chance. i think i've spoken to a lot of people recently who say, okay, he is the president-elect.

maybe we need to see what he's going to do, maybe it is not as bad as we had anticipated on the campaign trail. i think a lot of it is a reflection of that wait and see approach. and we'll see if that number holds or if it climbs or falls. >> we certainly had that wait and see approach when it comes to what he'll say about russia. kelly o'donnell said he didn't mention it yesterday. on the issue of russia, you have 55% who say they're bothered by russia meddling in the u.s. election. 37% believe it helped trump win. so, paul, any sense this attitude could undercut the incoming president's authority when he actually takes office in the white house? >> i don't know that it undercuts his authority, it is an issue he has to be serious about. cybersecurity is the next horizon of our national defense. and the fact that the russians were able to hack the democratic national party -- democratic national committee, and to engage in behavior that may have an impact on our election is a very serious thing for the president of the united states

to care about, whether he is donald trump or barack obama. and i think obama talked about this during the press conference, that we need to focus on the fact that as americans we need to be concerned about any intrusion by any federal -- any foreign government whether it is russia or anybody else. i think trump will have to take this very seriously. >> the argument is beyond politics. this is a matter of democracy in america. you want to talk about michelle obama, you have the words used there, hope and then this comment from donald trump, when responding to it in the last night's rally. >> your husband's administration, everything, the election, was all about hope. do you think that this administration achieved that? >> yes. i do. because we feel the difference now. see, now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. you know. >> so we're hearing from the first lady. do her remarks come as a surprise to you give en the fact

that president obama is efforting a smooth transition of power? >> i think it is different. i think she wants the country to succeed. she wants the transition to be smooth as does her husband. but i think her comments are, you know what she really feels in her core, what she was campaigning on, basically she felt like hillary clinton was -- should be the next president and not donald trump. and i think she still believes that. i think, you know, she didn't misspeak as far as i'm concerned and i know president-elect trump has said as much. i think that that is how she feels and that is who she is. she feels like this is kind of the opposite of, you know, the country going in, believing in her husband, wanting hope, and we saw 75% of the country at this point was behind president -- president-elect obama than in 2008. so i think it is -- i think while she does want a smooth transition, she does feel like hillary clinton would have been the better president and that would have given the country a little morhope. >> we have seen many instances where donald trump, when anybody

counters, anything about him, or what he says or what he does, and how he pounces back, when you heard the president-elect's comments about the first lady earlier, praising her, defending her, saying this is something she said, you know, referring to the past, paul, what do you think his reaction and how he's handling, how do you think he's doing? >> it is interesting, we're seeing a different donald trump in the early parts of his presidency, even though he's not yet the president, than we saw during the campaign trail. he's already said he's willing to talk about dealing with the illegal immigrants who are here, and have been here since children. since they were children. he's being much more accepting of michelle obama's comments than he would have been during the campaign season. we're seeing a sort of moderated tone that intrigues me. he sat down with the president and said he liked the guy. so there is some sort of something going on with donald trump that he may not be what we saw last october, november. >> we'll see. we see more of that coming up in january.

want to talk about the electoral college scheduled to vote tomorrow. tradition, formality, procedural, to elect the next president. the washington post reporting on some intense campaigning for donald trump supporter and electors to go against the voting for the president-elect. what is the likelihood? when we come -- we boil this down, realistically, could this happen? >> i don't think so. i think, you know, these are technicalities and while i'm hearing one representative mights whimight choose to vote against trump, i don't think that this is -- this will make much of a difference at all. and there is another procedure when it goes to congress and vice president biden will proceed over it and lawmakers then can actually, you know, go against this, but i don't -- i think they're both technicalities and this will lead to president-elect trump. >> also with the chances so slim, why so much attention to it? is this more the symbolism here,

we see this happening, where any other time we shouldn't be talking about it really? >> it is interesting. you have a couple of people who said they're going to vote against him and that makes news. the first three letters of news are new, it is new. so we write about it. but i think amy is right, this is not going to amount to much. >> all right, both to you, i appreciate you being with me. thank you. happening now, dangerous conditions across the midwest, gripped by frigid temperatures. harrowing moments to show you at o'hare international airport after a united flight skidded off the runway. dozens of flights canceled there because of the weather. blake mccoy is in arctic, chicago, today. and talk about what it is like and even what it feels like on the ground there where you are. >> miserable, in a word. it is very cold. 8 degrees actual air temperature right now here in chicago. even colder when you put on the windchill. and as this arctic air continues to push down into the region, it is only going to get colder as

the day goes on here. >> round two of the 1-2 polar punch is bringing the coldest temperatures yet this morning for much of the country. >> it is very cold, and we're bracing ourselves for the next four months practically. >> when the chicago bears kick off later today at soldier field, potential to be sub zero, their coldest game ever. the previous record, two degrees. set back in december 2008. >> i'm not sure you ever get used to that kind of weather. but it takes a mentally tough minded people to deal with it. >> the bears will be playing the packers, who hold the record for coldest nfl game ever. the legendary ice bowl, 13 below at lambeau field, in december, 1967. this arctic blast coupled with heavy snow is having a dangerous and deadly impact. three people dead in maryland, two lives lost to when a tractor trailer burst into flames after sliding off an icy bridge and

jumping the barrier. another two killed in north carolina. >> it put the fear of god in me. i'm going to go home. i'm going to stay in today. >> three police officers were injured in crashes in oberland park, kansas. the weather is complicating rescues. fire and tow trucks becoming victims themselves, leading officials to urge residents to stay home. this morning's polar plunge could break records for much of the country. where people also find themselves breaking ice. eight degrees here at soldier field, so we're six degrees away from breaking that record, kickoff at 1:00 today. still time to get there. officials here are warning people who are coming to this game to wear extra layers, bring blankets, bundle up. it is cold. it is dangerous to be out for a long period of time. a lot of hot drinkz hes here at soldier field.

>> blake mccoy, thank you very much. a gop congressman last week introduced a new plan to fix social security. it includes raising the retirement age for some. some say it is at odds with what donald trump promised. reaction from a former republican senator. that's next here. he gets a lot of compliments.

he wears his army hat, walks around with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad.

male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast. they're saying as president he shouldn't be doing rallies. but i think we should, right? we have done everything else the opposite. >> donald trump at his last thank you rally in mobile, alabama, a day of activity for the president-elect marked especially by a fresh round of tweets including this one last night saying we should tell china that we don't want the drone they stole back. let them keep it.

it came after a tweet earlier that said china steals united states navy research drone in international waters, rips it out of water and takes it to china in unprecedented act. joining me now is former texas senator kay bailey hutchison. i want to ask you about the president-elect's tweets including that thursday tweet, a couple of days before the weekend, attacking vanity fair after the magazine gave donald trump a bad review of the restaurant, the trump restaurant. does the mix of personal vendetta tweeting and what could be perceived as inflammatory rhetoric over china, does that concern you at all? >> well, certainly, donald trump has broken the mold in many ways, and i think the tweets are the things that are one of the things that make him so unique. i'm sure he's looking as he becomes president and when he becomes president at the kinds of things that he does in that arena. i think some of his tweets are fun and funny and -- or

congratulatory to people and he might consider doing some of those things. i think when he starts becoming president that he will probably make a decision about exactly what kind of tweets he would make if any, versus the china thing and talking about what actually is going to be his foreign policy. >> exactly. let me ask you about that. when you say he's working the mold when it comes to the tweets, where is the point where the 140 or 160 characters here, 140, when that will be to the point where it could be dangerous. especially when it comes to foreign policy. especially when it comes to diplomacy. >> well, i think that's the decision that he will have to make is where does he draw the line or does he not do tweets at all. i think that is part of his persona, but i think probably there is a line, when you're

talking about real foreign policy with real consequences, i don't know if he going to directly go to the people in that way, but that, you know, part of what he has always said is that he doesn't think he gets a fair shake when the press interprets what he says. so i don't know how much he's going to want to do directly, but that's a decision that he'll make with his advisers, of course. >> i want to ask you, about social security or fellow texan sam johnson introduced a bill to ov overhaul, a bill that would slash social security benefits for all, but very poorest beneficiaries. it would raise the retirement age to 69 and reduce the annual cost of living adjustment while asking nothing in the way of higher taxes to bolster the program. donald trump vowed not to cut social security. does he have to battle fellow republicans over this or is he going to cave when it comes to social security? >> i don't think he -- i think

the promise not to cut social security is the right promise. and i think that what we must do is save social security without raising taxes on any of the recipients and without cutting benefits. i think -- i've looked at a synopsis of representative johnson's proposal and i think it is a good starting place. i think very gradually raising the age of retirement is essential and i think everyone has said that, including all of the actuarial tables pause wh s when it was passed in the 30s, the age that most people lived was the early 60s. so now we're living into the 70s, on average, so that has to be accommodated. but i don't think it should affect anyone that is within five years of retirement, but then i think you very gradually should be looking at raising the

age, but i don't think cutting benefits or raising taxes is an answer at all. >> let me ask you about this, you have the scenario where someone reaches $118,500 in income, they don't pay any social security tax. higher income earners are off the hook. so why not generate revenue by raising the taxable income? >> i think there will be a lot of proposals looked at to bring it in line. most important thing is that social security is a safety net, and it is something that people can count on having because it is the largest part of most people's retirement. i think there will be a lot of issues looked at, what you bring up certainly, and many other things. i think very gradually raising the age is the most important thing to get it into an actuarial soundness and then

look at where you cut people at the higher income levels and the cost of living increases and those kinds of things has to be measured. >> i have to ask you also, because you have the subject of social security, others are asking about medicare. you have donald trump who promised not to touch it. and you have tom price to health and human services. he supported privatizing medicare in the past. here is what senator chuck schumer said about it. >> between this nomination of an avowed medicare opponent, and republicans here in washington threatening to privatize medicare, it is clear that washington republicans are plotting a war on seniors next year. >> and then you also have paul ryan who is all for privatizing it, rather than the federal government giving it to, you know, them, would be given subsidies and then to private insurance as well. so will donald trump have to battle this as well? >> well, i think senator schumer

was getting a little political there, because i don't think representative price is against medicare. no one is against medicare. and i think adjusting medicare so, again, that it stays secure is very important. and as long as people get better health care, health care that they can afford, and that they want to have, i think it is very important that we do-li look at that. >> that is the case when it comes to privatizing. now it would give the subsidies for them to go out and get the private insurance themselves. >> well, that's sort of the basis of obama care too. i don't think that all privatization is bad. i think privatization hopefully would give you choices as long as it is a sound system.

but i do think that having a system where people don't have to go on medicare, if they don't want to, many people would like to keep their private insurance. and i think they ought to be able to do that and that leaves more money for people who do want medicare. but i think medicare needs to stay in the system, nobody is against medicare that i've ever talked to, especially for seniors who are going to need it with their retirement systems. >> i appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. last ditch appeal, some of hollywood's heavy hitters in a role of a lifetime. i love you so much.

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welcome back. at the half hour, here is what we're monitoring. today's new poll shows 55% of americans are concerned about russia's interference in the presidential election.

37% believe the hacking helped donald trump win the election, 57say no, it did not. about trump's relationship with russian president vladimir putin, 31% say it is too friendly. 24% think otherwise. nearly a half or 44% have no opinion on that. overnight, the pentagon confirmed that china will return the u.s. navy drone it seized earlier this week prompting this response from the president-elect. we should tell china that we don't want the drone they stole back, let them keep it. want to bring in steve cortez, republican strategist and former member of trump's national hispanic advisory council. back to that tweet, whi asked ts of senator kay bailey hutchison earlier. do you worry about the consequences. is there a line that can be crossed where this becomes dangerous? >> i don't think so. look this is a new situation. we haven't had a president elect and soon to be president who has

used social media to the degree that donald trump does. i think he used it effectively during the campaign to speak directly to the american people. of course, i hope he's going to be even more cautious with it now that he's president-elect and soon to be president. i think the more important part regarding this tweet is what he's telegraphing to china, and also to the american people and to the whole world is that america has not been feared by its enemies, hasn't been trusted by its friends. he's saying to countries like israel, i'm going to have your back. i'm not going to do deals with iran. he's saying to china, when it comes to security, you have to stop doing what you're doing when is provocation in the south china sea, whether it is direct like this -- >> twitter, knowing how intense -- you have people their entire careers learning how to negotiate with china. why do you believe he can do it in 140 characters effectively and also safely without the misinterpretation that we see. >> sure. it is a good point.

of course it can't be twitter alone. twitter is a small part, i think, of his entire diplomatic and national security arsenal or playbook. twitter is part of it. again, i think twitter has been particularly important to president-elect trump because he used it so effectively when a mainstream media was so biased during the campaign and its coverage against him, he was able to go above and around them and speak directly to voters. >> he's a president-elect, he had an opportunity, he was at his final thank you tour rally yesterday and could have been an opportunity to talk about that, talk about russia, and yet we didn't hear it. >> these rallies too these have been thank you rallies, not policy white paper presentations, we shouldn't expect an academic style presentation. these are rallies. pep rallies. i think that's important. >> he can take advantage of the forum, he can take advantage of those who are there, the cameras who are there as well. supporters being on a podium with a microphone and use that

as a platform. >> sure, of course he could. i think he'll are no lack of opportunities to speak to the people. whether it is via twitter, direct or the more traditional things like press conferences, which he has promised he will do soon after the holidays to address not so much national security issues, the business issues, but there is going to be no lack of opportunities for president-elect trump to address the people. i think it is appropriate there is, again, there is various methods here. one is the in person rallies, he's thrived personally and as a candidate on that, he may do it as president. president-elect trump is an unusual president. he's doing a lost thingt of thi. he threw out the playbook. he can be a very different kind of leader. >> he's juggling these rallies, juggling the tweets, he's got his businesses as well, reportedly not planning to sell off those businesses. do you believe he can keep them separate from his government

duties and do that effectively? >> i think he can. this is an unusual circumstance. we have never elected a person president who had significant private business holdings. we also never elected somebody president who had adult children who were his closest advisers and business executives. it presents challenges to be sure. it is important for team trump that they -- that they get this exactly right and tell the people, that's why they had to delay the press conference, because a team of lawyers are working on an exact plan so there is no appearance of impropriety going forward. >> how does doe that when he do? i want to ask you when it comes to his family, and his daughter evaufrpgi ivanka already out there, calling members of congress as far as child care legislation, and we're also, you know, we heard from the spokesperson for

the president-elect trump saying all this talk about her having an office in the east wing, are false, pushing back on this. who does this sit with you as far as the role we have been seeing with ivanka trump? >> i us is picture where they come down is that -- he's intimated this in tweets. the president-elect has. that his sons are going to continue to run the business and probably remain physically in new york while it looks like his daughter is probably going to be moving to washington an taking a more political role. this is unique circumstance. we haven't had this in a very long time where a president had adult children and ones who were involved in his businesses and campaign and now i think in his administration at least in the case it looks like of ivanka trump. i don't think we should deprive him of that resource. she is, perhaps, his closest adviser. we shouldn't i don't think necessarily -- he doesn't have to be cut off from her if she's not involved in rung the businesses. >> hillary clinton going to the white house and moving there in

january, would chelsea clinton have the same role? >> i don't know she has that relationship with her mother, but i wouldn't object to it as long as she had severed ties from the clinton foundation, just as i think if ivanka takes that role, she shouldn't then have operational control of the trump organization. >> maybe one of the few republicans who would not take issue with that. steven cortez, i appreciate it. bone chilling cold and it is dangerous. a look at today's frigid weather.

a few days before the official start of winter, but a brutal cold front is dropping ten degrees below normal. right now, mike seidel is at u.s. bank stadium where the minnesota vit imin minnesota vikings are playing today.

how cold is it? you have somebody behind you without a hat. >> yeah, incredible. these are minnesota vikings fans. and, look, frances, some of these folks don't have hats on. you got to remember, the game is indoors, not like the seattle seahawks. it is 18 below zero. the windchill is 35 below zero. it is mighty cold, the coldest weather they had in three years. just about the coldest they had in december in 20 years. wint chi windchills, chicago bears are home today at soldier field. right now, running about 8 or 9 on the lakefront. they'll have one of the coldest games on record, but likely not to have the coldest, also against the packers, they play the game there some years ago when it was 2 degrees. back here, the kickoff temperature, 72. out here, 14 below. put it in perspective, the ice flow, the coldest game in nfl

history, was played at lambeau at 67. indoors in the new stadium. the vikings fans are ready for this one. and what is the deal without the hat? just because you're from minnesota? >> yeah, pretty much. you got beautiful hair like this, you don't need to have a hat. >> there you go. get the cream rinse. hey, look who it is. we talked to you last year, you are -- you are bundled up. >> yeah. i put some pants on. >> you had to put some pants on. what are you going to do when you go indoors? >> change into shorts. take some layers off. >> yeah. >> frances, there you go. a cold tailgate, but a warm game inside. back to you. >> got to love it. business in front and party in the back like that guy that you spoke with, can't go wrong. mike, thank you very much. still to come, a fragile cease-fire in aleppo provides life saving moments for the

innocents. we'll have the latest next. at the top of the hour, donald trump's promise to help the people.

a new deal between the government and rebels will allow trapped civilians to evacuate the war torn city. at this point, no sign of any movement. bill neely brings us the latest from the besieged town. >> well, hello from aleppo. really desperate scenes here. these people have been freed from eastern aleppo after being besieged for years. and this vehicle with food inside it has just arrived. and you can see the desperation here, the food is being thrown from the back of the vehicle. and people are fighting to try to get their hands on it. as i say, these people have been unde siege, they haven't had proper food or medical care. they lived in absolutely

miserable conditions. and they only have been out for a matter of a few days. we're in an area near the airport which -- where people are living now, you can see the warehouses and the hangars behind me. that's where people are living in sub zero temperatures and you might be able to say -- see just on the roof there, the russian soldiers, the russians are in charge of securing this place. and we just have seen some russian doctors properating on some children. there are so many people here, in wheelchairs, on crutches, people missi ining limbs becaus they have lived amid a siege, amid a terrible siege. you can see even now when they have been freed from that, the desperation, the hunger, the hopelessness because these people are free from the siege, but what life do they have ahead? they certainly don't know at

this stage. back to you. >> so heart wrenching to watch. thank you very much. hope in america, the views of donald trump and the first lady michelle obama raise the question is hope now divided along political lines? when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. i just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. my insurance company definitely doesn't have that... you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance

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he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one serves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast.

tomorrow the 5838 members of the electoral college will gather across the country to cast their ballots and confirm the election. >> i'm not asking you to vote for hillary clinton. >> as you know, the constitution gives the electors to vote for any eligible person. >> no matter which party they belong to. >> but it should certainly be someone you consider especially competent. >> especially competent to serve of as president of the united states of america. >> bringing in the vice president of bipartisan policy center and jonathan alter,

"daily beast" columnist and both msnbc analysts. thank you both. >> good morning. >> jonathan, let's start with you. is this going to change anything? >> no l.but, you know, it's nice to see them make the effort because it's a reminder to the american people and a lot of people need the reminding that hillary clinton won the vote, the popular vote and in any other country that would mean she would be the leader that have country. we have a different system here, an antiquated system that involves electors so any publicity about that sysm and how it does not provide a mandate for donald trump is useful right before the electoral college meets. >> what about the simplicity. >> it won't change it. what about the simplicity of accepting donald trump as the president-elect as we've >> i don't think that raising constitutional points is the same as not accepting that he is

president. i mean, i certainly accept that he has on monday will be elected president of the united states, but, you know, it's still i think very useful in a country where most people have not yet confronted the fact that he does not have a mandate for them to understand the way the system actually works. >> ten electors asking for a briefing on russia's interference in the election. is this something they deserve, fair to ask them to vote without all the information? >> it's fair for them to ask. i'm not sure they are going to get it or not. the american people have spoken. constitutional system as we know it and as we've been governed by for the past 200 years is in place and the reality, is and i'll take the words from president obama's press conference on friday. look, the reality is we can really rehash the past and, you know, agree or disagree about whether or not the president-elect should be our next president or not. the resalt that he will be our next president come 33 days from

now. the question really becomes as part of the democrats' pivot to a message that's going to resonate with the vast majority of people in the country, particularly those states that voted for donald trump, and what i'm specifically referring to is pennsylvania, ohio, michigan and so forth. i mean, i smoke to a democrat just a few moments ago when i was out in the parking lot here at nbc news from the midwest, and he said, look, i'm a hard core democrat and i'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how the democrats speak to me and speak to my people in the midwest. that's the real issue here. >> i want t talk to you about russia and reaction that we're getting. you have, you know, the situation there on "meet the press" where chuck todd is asking is there a sense of urgency when it comes the incoming administration? given the present nature of the effort people are laid back about it. do we need to hear donald trump and more about russia, robert in the. >> yes, we do. look, donald trump speaks very

declaratively about a lot of things. no doubt you know what he thinks on a wide variety of issues. i'm not sure what the trump doctrine is when it comes to russia. we talk -- we've heard donald trump back in july at his last press conference talk about vladimir putin and not necessarily overly glowing terms but certainly favorable terms, but the question is how are you going to deal with russia and crimea and with aleppo and how are you going to deal with russia when it comes to nuclear proliferation? those are tough nuanced questions that deserve answers, not only from our president-elect but -- i'm sorry, go ahead. >> i'm running out of time here and want to bring jonathan in, what we're not hearing from russia we're hearing china. >> we should tell china that we don't want the drone they stole back. let them keep it. >> already see donald trump upending u.s. relations with china by taking the gral taiwan. you can accept that, fine, take a new lock at that, but what's a

little bit frightening is when you have somebody in charge who don't quite understand, at least hasn't shown any evidence of understanding the nuances of u.s.-chinese relations who is given to taunts and taunts we know are what start military conflicts. it really gives one because what will happen say in the south china sea where there are real tensions and where this drone incident took place so we can look forward to a lot more scuffling and skirmishing in the south china sea, will we have a war with china in the next four years or some kind of military confrontation? a legitimate question. >> when it comes to donald trump and overall realizing the danger and this is how so far we're going about it and where will that line be drawn or crossed? >> that's a good question and i'm not sure i understand the president-elect's tweet here because here's why we want that drone back.

we want that drone back because i suspect the chinese have probably taken it apart. they probably have examined it through and through and we probably have technology in that drone to see exactly what has been tampered with and what now the and by default we know exactly what information they have. we want that back and i would think anyone that's fairly informed would come to that same conclusion. >> thank you for being with me, especially in our limed time, and that is our time. up next on "a.m. joy," is donald trump pulling a bait and switch on medicare? i'll see you again at noon eastern time. picking up for kyle.

here you go. you wouldn't put up with part of a pizza. um. something wrong? so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? you want the whole thing? yes, yes! live whole. not part. aleve. the electoral vote, and i never appreciate it had until now, how genius it was, what they had in mind because at the time they didn't want everybody going to boston and new york and everything else would be forgotten, and now it's the same thing. it's genius, i'm telling you. it's genius. >> good morning and welcome to "a.m. joy."