new aarrests in connection with the deadly truck attack in berlin. a relative of the accused terrorist. details in a live report. heightened security. new threats from isis on public places in the u.s. see what officials are doing to secure the homeland. at odds? the president-elect and the obama white house taking two different approaches on big issues. the latest on israel and a dramatic way. and christmas day blizzard. see where the worst of the weather is expected to hit as we move through the holiday weekend. we begin with breaking news in tunisia. new arrests in the aftermath of the attacks in berlin. officials say they arrested three people suspected of belonging to the same extremist group as anri, including his nephew. it claimed the lives of 12 people. he was killed in a shootout with police in italy friday morning.

lu lu lu lucy cavanov is with the story. >> reporter: they may have uncovered a ring of sorts. three suspects arrested. the interior ministry saying his 18-year-old nephew was nabbed in their hometown. he was suspected of driving that truck into the berlin christmas market. he apparently wired his nephew cash, sending money so he could join his uncle in europe. the nephew admitted during interrogation he had been in touch via the telegram messaging app. he allegedly urging his nephew asking him to pledge allegiance to isis. the nephew said his uncle was a quote, prince, kno. the other two suspects we don't know much about, except they were also arrested in tunis.

sheinelle. >> any further word on how he managed to get to italy? he had to go through two countries' borders, right? >> oh, yeah. a lot of tough questions. knifing through borders from germany to france. through the town. and 9:00 p.m. on thursday, he apparently crossed yet another border, arriving in italy. and then milan four hours later. all with authorities on high alert. so sheinelle, a lot of tough questions being asked right now about how he was able to get away so easily. especially since that high alert was in place. >> still more questions than answers at this point. nbc's lucy cavanaugh thank you. now to politics. president obama sharing his christmas address. take a listen. >> the idea that we are our brothers' keeper and our sisters' keeper. that we should treat others as we would want to be treated. that we care for the sick, feed

the hungry, welcome the stranger, no matter where they come from, or how they practice their faith. >> those are values that help guide not just my family's christian faith but that of jewish americans and muslim americans, none believers and americans of all backgrounds. and no one better embodies that spirit of service than the men and women who wear our country's uniform and their families. >> meanwhile, president obama is facingacklash after the u.s. decision to absta from a u.n. vote, demanding israel put an end to jewish settlements. the move by the u.s. allowed the measure to pass. israel had reportedly lobbied the trump camp to push the obama white house to veto the measure. in a statement, republican senator lindsey graham said, quote, any nation which backs this resolution and receives assistance from the united states will put that assistance in jeopardy. chuck schumer called the move quote extremely frustrating and confounding. the president-elect tweeted as

to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. the unprecedented diplomatic snub in what the "new york times" is call a turf war between president obama. and as the trump transition team deals with fallout with the rockettes performing at the inauguration, the archl bishop of new york will participate in the events. the transition team isn't commenting on the cardinal's involvement. the president-elect is on a working vacation. kelly, mr. trump found time to tweet in the wake of a u.n. vote on israel. catch us up. >> reporter: well, he did a couple of tweets. one, he wanted to make known that he opposed that resolution before the vote was taken. so he was on the record saying the u.s. should intervene to veto the measure so that would effectively kill it at the united nations security council. that did not happen. so after the actions by the

ambassador to the u.n. for the united states, trump tweeted again, saying things will be different after january 20th and that gave us a sense of how he was laying the ground work on the front end and then critical, although in a muted sense, after the events at the united nations. now, the obama white house says that the fact that they took this position is because the settlements that are for jewish families in the west bank are actually kind of an obstacle to a peace deal that would represent a two-state solution, and that in many other ways, financially and politicly, the united states supports israel. but we know there has been a tense relationship between president obama and prime minister netanyahu. so donald trump, before he even takes the oath, is setting some of his policy ideas, he's weighing in on issues where typically, only the sitting president would have a voice. and that's what makes this unusual. no tweets yet today on christmas eve. we do not expect any public activities this afternoon from

the president-elect. we'll be watching the twitter feed, which, as you know, sheinelle, is the most -- it seems the most common way he likes to weigh in on the day's events. >> almost as if you just never know when one is going to come. kelly o'donnell. and i'm heading to chicago after this. it looks beautiful in west palm beach. i don't know if you're going to be there tomorrow, but my goodness. >> did this fall? oh, okay. >> she can't hear me. it looks beautiful there. anyway -- speaking of the weather, happening now, a snowstorm hitting the country's mid section is threatening to hamper travel plans for millions this holiday weekend. both on the road and in the air. nbc's kerry sanders at miami international airport. kerry, any delays where you are right now? >> i've got a little information for you. just note this, okay? the day before christmas, be on christmas eve, at 12:06:00 p.m., the time you want to come to miami international airport is now. it's empty.

everybody has apparently gone through security. everybody is going. but i have a little bad news. did i hear you saying you're going to head to chicago? >> don't give me bad news, please? >> reporter: i'm sorry to tell you this. there are 279 flights delayed. which airport is currently really with the most delayed flights? yep, it's chicago. so if you're going to chicago o'hare right now or at the airport right now, you know what that's like. you're delayed. 279 flights across the nation delayed. eight flight cancellations. you know, think about the number of people who are traveling today. we have it from aaa. there are 103 million people traveling. 93.6 million actually doing it in their cars. one thing i thought was interesting, at least earlier today. and this is really a phenomenon going on, sheinelle, at airports across the country now. everybody used to get in the car, drive to the airport, park in the parking garage and on a day like today, circling and circling, looking for a parking spot because there are so many people. that's not the case in so many airports now, because people are

using ubers and lyfts to get to the airport. but there are a lot more cars coming into the airport and so sometimes getting to the airport can be a 30, 40-minute traffic jam getting out to check in. so a little piece of advice if you're traveling today. although here at miami international airport, not an issue. getting to the airport could be a little bit slower than you're used to, because of so many people going on those ride-sharing services. >> good piece of advice. something i hadn't thought of with uber there. kerry sanders, as always, thank you. and merry christmas, by the way. >> reporter: sure. more now on the weather. northern california is battling icy roads and heavy snow. some of that white stuff is even set to make its way south for christmas day. joining me now for a look at weather across the country, msnbc meteorologist, bonnie schneider. bonnie, who is getting hit hardest? >> you mentioned california. definitely seeing a lot of rain there, and mountain snow, certainly, along the sierra. look at all of the rain sweeping across the southern part of the state, well into arizona and las vegas getting rain at this hour. so this storm is on the move as

it passes the four corners. it will really ramp up the snow across the rockies. we could see heavy amounts of snow into utah. wyoming and certainly western colorado. then we're looking at a rough christmas day for the northern plains. a blizzard. these winds will gust to 55 miles per hour, blowing and drifting heavy snow, making travel just unadvisable in this area. minneapolis, you look for freezing rain to start off your morning and then eventually changing over to rain. severe storms also to the south of the system. but snow -- a white christmas, i guess that's good news for many locations off to the west. here's where we have the blizzard warnings we're watching so closely, and keep in mind, much of minnesota will be facing wintry weather, 20 million americans under some sort of winter weather advisory. for severe weather, lightning, thunderstorms. this is all possible through nebraska and into kansas, down through oklahoma. the biggest threat likely, gusty winds as we go through christmas day and into christmas night. driving right now into tennessee, heavy rain.

that's just been continuous since the morning hours from jackson to nashville, all the way into the western piedmont of north carolina. rain through the mid atlantic, new jersey, and then across long island, still seeing plenty of wet weather. to the north, we are seeing light snow, and that is falling into up state new york and northern new england. if you're flying out today, you heard about the misery map. this is what we can expect for the weekend. nor delays possible. and even in i think a better likelihood, sunday and monday as we continue to watch this storm. sheinelle? >> look at all of that. it's a mess. it's a challenge. bonnie schneider, thank you. breaking news. more arrests in the terror attack on the christmas market in berlin. next, some answers about how difficult it is to track these potential attackers.

we've got to rely on law enforcement in the intelligence services to utilize intelligence to try and identify and mitigate these attackers before they can bring harm to innocent civilians. >> former fbi agent, sean henry, talking about heightened security here in the u.s. this holiday season. meanwhile, today we are getting breaking word of new arrests in the attack on a christmas market in berlin. tunisia's interior ministry says officials there have arrested three suspects, what they're calling a terror cell, in connection with that truck attack earlier this week. a nephew of attack suspect, anis amri, and two others are now in custody in tunisia. officials said amri sent his 18-year-old nephew money to join him in europe. amri himself now dead after a police shootout in milan. joining me, former state department spokesperson and former white house senior director. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's start with berlin. so many countries involved in this case.

the suspect caught in milan, crossing two borders. now this connection to a cell in tunisia. how difficult is it, obviously, to track these potential attacker, especially in europe? >> well, you're looking at sovereign states in different countries with different systems that now in the post 9/11 era, are trying to share information. so in the example of this attacker, he actually started -- he arrived from tunisia to italy as a refugee. and was quickly arrested by police and spent four years in and out of prison. and he was actually alarming enough to the italian authorities that they put him in this international database they have in europe for terrorists and people who are radicalized. what's particularly interesting, italy only has 100 people on that list, whereas a place like france has thousands. so you would think and hope that when germany saw that there was only 100 people on the list and somebody in their country was on that list, they would take it very seriously. now we know they were monitoring this guy, but unfortunately,

they weren't able to foil the attack in time. >> that's what i wanted to ask you. so you mentioned amri, on the surveillance list in germany, but also on a no-fly list here in the u.s. even set for deportation. talk about how, you know, he was able to slip through the cracks and commit such a major terrorist attack. it seems like, especially if you're already identified as a potential attacker, or is it just too, frankly, hard to track all of these different guys, you know, men and women, at different points in time? so much of this relies on human intelligence, which is what we call the information you get from people and your networks on the ground, working with communities to track individuals. and that's part of the challenge here as we look at particularly going forward, how is this going to change how we deal with the communities at large, are we making friends of them, and will they be willing to get information or are we making them feel threatened so they won't share information we know. in this circumstance, the -- in particular with him, that the

italians were looking at him for quite some time, had shared the information, and the germans for whatever reason didn't pick it up. that's part of the human factor in this, is that it really does require for individual law enforcement officials who are in the states of jurisdiction to be keeping track and being vigilant about the threat in their local areas. >> really quickly, i don't want to dwell on this for too long and get in the weeds here. but when you say they're looking at him. for someone at home to doesn't understand how it works, if you're dealing with thousands or hundreds of people, obviously there are more of them than people watching them. how does it work? are you waiting for something to tip you off? you can't juggle 100 people at the same time. or obviously, you have to. >> you're not going to go ahead and arrest people in advance of committing a crime, either. but you're also at the same time trying to prevent a crime. so it's really a matter of judgment. and it's -- there's a human element in that, that can be -- the germans did to give them credit foil two other attacks that were being planned by a similar terror cell. this is the one they just happened to miss. so now that's what the aftermath is going to be, is looking at

what decisions could they have made, and where were their mistakes made and how much of this can help improve the system. is it you're monitoring somebody on the phone, seeing where they go and who they're following, who their friends are, that's a lot of manpower and work and you have to be judicious in how you spread that around. put this in pkd. is this a big deal, does this mean a lot, or it's not going to prevent israel from building anyway. can you put in this context for us? >> sure. well, there is so much that happens at the u.n., that is done symbolically and to set a standard of norms throughout the world. the u.n. itself can't take much action. they can impose sanctions on some countries, but even then individual countries have to enforce it. so this -- this is a series of votes, and routinely we see at the u.n. efforts made to marginalize israel and to blame

israel for in a one-sided way for what's been happening in the middle east. and so the u.s. has for -- really since the obsession of israel, been the defender of israel at the u.n., to try to present the other perspective. so this vote about the settlements is interesting in particular, because settlements have been recognized by international law and almost all communities, including previous presidents of the united states that building in palestinian areas is considered problematic. and that it gets in the way of the two communities coming up with what we call the two-state solution. so, again, this is a symbolic vote, and by not vetoing it, the united states is perceived as giving a sharp rebuke to the current administration in israel for continuing to build these settlements. again, it's not enforceable. but it does show where the obama administration is with the netanyahu administration. and that's not -- has not been a great relationship the last eight years. >> let's talk about president-elect trump's response, weighing in. not only on the vote, which he

wanted president obama to veto, but on how he'll handle the u.n. he says, as to the u.n., things will be different after january 20th. with what message do you think he wants to send to the world with that? >> well, i think he wants the world to know that the united states is an ally with israel and the united states in particularly in the u.n., will continue to defend israel and israeli actions. what is interesting, he has done this at a time that is he's not president yet. so this really goes against the one president at a time tradition we have in this country to allow for peaceful transfer of power. >> does it complicate things when there are multiple messages? i mentioned earlier today, new york senator, chuck schumer, a democrat, sided trump on this one. >> there are multiple messages in israel as well. netanyahu is considered a far right leader in the country and in israel, you have the same kind of demographic and political breakdown we have here in the u.s. where not everybody necessarily agrees with their president all

of the time. so there is a discussion in israel about what is the best way to pursue a two-state solution. so it will be interesting to see how that plays out in israel. and how it plays out here in the united states, particularly as you have a what we consider a right wing president-elect and a right wing siisrael leader, wha that does to the region. >> excellent conversation this morning. thank you for talking with me today. >> good to see you. why you may see extra security around churches and synagogues this holiday season. and at progressive, we let you compare

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take a look at this. take it in for a moment. a picture-perfect view in the west bank in the town of bethlehem right now. thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world are gathering there right now to celebrate christmas eve. the faithful gathering to sing carols and see the lights. the tourism minister says hotels are at a full occupiescy. the church at the nativity

attracts about 2 million every year. still ahead, with less than a month left in office, what president obama wants to do with the short time he has left. [ cough ] shh. i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. better take something. dayquil liquid gels doesn't treat a runny nose. it doesn't? alka-seltzer plus cold and cough liquid gels fight your worst cold symptoms including your runny nose. oh, what a relief it is!

welcome back. i'm sheinelle jones here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. at the half hour, here's what we're monitoring. in tunisia, new arrests after the attacks in berlin. officials say they arrested three people suspected of belonging to the same extremist group as anis amri, including his nephew. amri is the main suspect behind the attacks on a christmas market in berlin that claimed the lives of 12 people. he was killed in a shootout with police in italy friday morning after four days on the run. new word from president obama today as he, the first lady, and their girls are spending the holidays in hawaii. the obamas departed for their final holiday vacation as the first family last week. they're expected to stay in hawaii through new year's day. the president now with less than a month left in office, is

reflecting about the past eight years in his final christmas address to the nation. together we fought our way back from the worst recession in 80 years and got unemployment to a nine-year low. we secured health insurance for another 20 million americans, and new protections for folks who already had insurance. we made america more respected aroundhe world. >> joining me now to talk about the president's final days and his legacy, rick wade, former senior adviser to president obama. good morning to you. >> good morning. thank you. >> all right. i'm going to toss you a big one here. the president, he listed several accomplishments. what do you think, rick, is his biggest accomplishment? >> well, listen. there's no doubt that his biggest accomplishment is taking us from a economic recession into an economic recovery and creating jobs and needless to say, providing health care for millions of people whoidn't have access to health care in america. and i think at the end of the

day, sheinelle, when the history books are written, in totality, this would be one of the greatest presidents in modern history. >> i want to show you this "new york times" op-ed who says it is, quote, the political cannage of the democratic part and includes the more than 1,000 democrats who lost their elections during his two terms. republicans now have total control and half of america's states. what's your take on this part of it? how does this fit into his legacy? is that a fair assessment? >> well, i'm not sure that we can lay the blame for the carnage at the feet of president obama alone. i mean, this has been about a change in america that's deeply rooted. and i think it's obviously required the democratic party in general to reevaluate who we are as democrats, and ihink you're going to see that change. so to some extent, i think, you know, the casualty that we just

experienced in the last election has been good for the party. because we have to reevaluate not only who we are as a party, but who we intend to be as a country. what kind of country this will be. >> you said you think it's been good. what about for his legacy? i guess in the final days of his term, we talked about the fact the president has been really taking action to prevent potential legislation that might be signed by the president-elect and both houses of congress. what's your take on that? >> well, there's no question about that. i mean, i think these last few days of his administration, he's doing what i call weather-proofing or trump-proofing, making sure that whether it's through executive order or regulations or a lot of pending regulations that still need to be approved, that he's going to do everything possible to make sure that his legacy is protected, whether it's affordable health care. he just last weeked the drilling of federal land in the

antarctic. there is a lot he can do. but i don't think we can expect any major executive orders and issues to be taken up in the last several days of the administration. >> rick, what about the so-called turf war with trump? the two have spoken kindly about each other since meeting at the white house. all eyes were on them for the first meeting and it seemed as cordial as it would be. but just this week, of course, the tweet heard round the world about blacking israel settlements in the west bank, do you think behind the scenes the president is annoyed by this, or how do you think he's taking this? >> well, i think president obama has made it very clear that he intends to stay engaged and be engaged when there are issues that have to deal with the core values of america's democracy. so i don't expect him to be just sitting on the sidelines in the next several weeks. and even beyond his presidency. so he'll be engaged. and i think that -- i think that is the nature of who president barack obama is.

it's not been about he or michelle obama. it's been about what's good for america in our positioning in the world. so i think we'll expect -- we will see him continue to use the white house as a voice, as a megaphone to espouse the kinds of values and beliefs that we as americans believe in. >> what about the situation in syria, kind of seemed to play out with the president, understandably, not having a lot of options. should he have done more tory to stop the ongoing tragedy? >> well, i mean, we can all, you know, look back and reflect that he could have done more. but i think he did -- he did what he could do with regard to syria. and i think, you know, again, you know, the measure that president obama did put forth did get the kind of support from congress that other presidents in american history have gotten. so i think his best efforts in syria, he gave his best efforts. but going forward, i still think that president obama will still be involved in world affairs, and use the bully pulpit of his

voice, the megaphone in the white house, and his post presidency to be very, very vocal on issues in syria, as well as issues domestically in america going forward. >> put this in perspective for me. a lot of people, you know, thought that hillary clinton being elected president would be his third term. i'll put that loosely. i remember when he was in philadelphia, i used to live in philadelphia, so i talked to so many people there and he constantly would say and people would say, you know, we have to protect obama's legacy and we have to show him and support him and show we believe in what he was trying to get done. and the fact that hillary clinton didn't win. what should we take from that, especially when it comes to his legacy? >> well, there's no doubt that i think had there been a hillary clinton presidency, the expectation that she would have been the protector, and continue his legacy to work yet to be done. again, you know, president obama, again, relatively

speaking, compared to other presidents is young. and he'll stay engaged and he'll stay engaged in terms of working to protect his legacy. particularly in areas like environmental justice, criminal justice reform, his my brother's keeper alliance. he has a lot of runway still to stay involved in extending his legacy in years to come. >> i heard him make the comment he would do speeches and what have you. rick, can you imagine, you know, the president giving a speech, let's say in chicago or in philadelphia? i mean, the crowds? i just have a feeling, we haven't seen anything like what we're going to see. does that make sense? i mean, he is still young. >> absolutely. he's young. and so is the first lady. and i think, you know -- saying about the best is yet to come, it's still to come with them. and i'm excited. i think, you know -- they've got to be doing a lot of reflecting right now. measuring their progress thus far. this amazing theme that we started out in 2007/2008 on

hoping change in america. and that wasn't going to take place in eight years. so i think the future is amazing. and i'm excited about what a post president obama legacy and america and the world would look like, as young as it is. >> 50 years from now we'll be here and talk about it, rick wade. thank you. >> thank you. all right. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you too. coming up next, donald trump inauguration? who is showing up and who said, thanks but no thanks? we'll talk about that. also in our next hour, the best movies to see this holiday season and why space is such a popular theme. stay with us.

major cities across the country have seen an uptick in security presence as a precaution, normally the case for the holidays. but they're also keeping a close watch on churches and amid calls from isis supporters to attack them. let's go to nbc's morgan radford in new york city's times square. i'm sure security is tight.

>> reporter: security is tight, sheinelle, and it's all about prevention as well as response this year. white barricades set up around new york city and the nypd has set up to keep any cars from plowing on to sidewalks and potentially hurting pedestrians. meantime, there are also armed people with an elite unit and have long-range sniper guns and a lot of these things are to prevent and respond to any potential active shooter. amidst this, there are also a lot of tourists coming to new york city. we have a family here who has come to visit new york. have you noticed the increase in security? you said you have been to new york before. have you ever seen this much security? >> no, we feel very safe, though. we always do. but this is really special that we know there is an elite force out for us, and they have made all these extra precautions. >> reporter: and do you feel more or less safe? when you see these men out here with these heavy guns? >> i feel very safe all of the time but now even more safe. >> reporter: that's what we hear. people trying to enjoy the holiday spirit but the present

reminder of the attacks that happened in germany, the foiled terrorist plot that happened in australia when seven people were arrested. so amidst these things happening, people here and heavily packed tourist areas being advised to be extremely cautious. >> sheinelle? >> certainly hasn't stopped the tourists. it is packed. you can hardly move. thank you, morgan. back to politics now and the countdown to inauguration day. now with less than one month until trump is sworn into office, it's unclear who will be on the performance roster. beyond the confirmed, mormon tabernacle choir, but sources now telling kelly o'donnell new york's cardinal timothy dolan will also be participating. joining me now is boris epstein, the communication director. good morning to you. >> good morning, sheinelle. how are you? merry christmas. happy holidays to everyone. >> good morning, and good afternoon, depending on where you live.

>> i'm visiting beautiful minnesota today. >> there you go. all right. tell us what information -- at least what you can tell us about the performance roster and then can you confirm cardinal dolan's involvement? >> this event -- apolitical event is not the performance, enter containers, it's about the people. this is an event that shows donald trump is president for all americans and we welcome americans from all walks of life, all backgrounds, to come. and that's represented in the information we have already put out there. the mormon tabernacle choir, a choir that's performed at five naurgs, this will be their sixth. they were the next inaugural reagan, h.w. bush, and performing beautiful songs that celebrate america at this inauguration. we have the rockettes -- radio city rockettes, a group that is represented throughout history. they have already been to two inaugura inaugurals, and represent women throughout the country.

and the national anthem. we're putting more information out there, but not about the performers, not about the entertainers, it's about the people. >> you mentioned the rockettes. i have to ask you, because so many people are asking us, the union representing the rockettes agreed yesterday that participation will be voluntary. there is a deleted instagram post and i'm sure you know by one of the rockettes, phoebe and said the decision of performing for a man who stands for everything we are against is something she doesn't want to get involved with. so a lot of people, you know, felt like it was appalling she said it. other people were supporting her. what do you make of all of that? >> you know, all aricans have rights. we will represent those first amendment rights, absolutely. so as -- i believe the radio city rockettes, madison square garden put out a statement and said more women signed up to participate than the slots they had. so we're very honored to have the radio city rockettes.

they're a wonderful group, a group, again, that says everything we want to hear about america. women who are so beautiful, women so strong, and so talented, from all over this country, who will come andoin in the celebration of unity. celebration of a new day in america. and america being a city on a hill once again. >> let's talk about some of our living presidents, the carter center confirmed yesterday that former president jimmy carter has made plans to attend the inauguration. "time" magazine saying george w. bush and clinton are putting off the decision whether to attend. are you reading into that or trying not to read into that decision yet? >> i am not. i'm planning -- helping plan an inaugural that is a celebration of freedom and democracy. and an event that is going to be speaking to all americans. and we welcome, of course, all living presidents at that event and hope for their participation. but it's, again, just like for any american, up for them to decide. >> obviously, if they choose to attend, or choose not to attend,

would it be a personal slight? i have a feeling they'll come around but -- >> what we're concentrated on are the americans all over this country who voted for donald j. trump on november 8th and also those who didn't. and we are bringing the country together. we're uniting america around hope, around stronger economy, around obviously strong security as to your previous segment here. so that's what we're focused on. and the inaugural planning is going great. we have such an outpouring of support that has been truly humbling. >> the president-elect trump addressed the performance roster on thursday, saying exactly what you said, boris. it says the so-called "a-list" celebrities are all wanting tickets to the inauguration. look what they did for hillary, nothing. are you guys at least still trying to get some big names? it's one of those things where, granted, you want the people. but let's face it, people remember with barack obama beyonce singing. this is part of it. >> what i remember about president obama is lack of 3% gdp growth in eight years.

that's what i'm concentrated on as an america. we're not putting on wood stock or summer jam or a concert. we're putting on an inauguration, an event that speaks to the peaceful transfer of power. and this is going to be a workman like event. we have instead of ten inaugural balls that barack obama went to in 2009, we'll have three. two official inaugural balls and one ball saluting the armed forces and first responders. so this is an event that's necessary, that's important, that's historic. but donald trump is here to work. he's excited to get to work. and once that 12:01 hits, once noon hits on the 20th, he'll be ready to get to work right away as he has already shown throughout the transition. >> i remember when he met with president obama for the first time, and people were waiting to see if they could read into the picture or what have you. and it seemed, you know what, about as good as it would be, right? so people said that's not so bad, it's going to be okay. or another time, i remember, when he sat down with mitt romney and we saw those pictures, people saying, you know what, maybe this is a sign

he will be open. so fast forward to the inauguration. are there things he will do or maybe people he can bring it to show, look, this is everybody's america, especially considering this was such a divisive time? and i ask that because there are all these talks about having this counter celebration and trying to get celebrities to go to another event. if that happens, the visual of that, frankly, around the world, is not good. it's not what we want. so is there something that he will do, to speak to that? to the unity aspect of this? >> if the celebrities choose to go to another event, and, again, as americans, god bless. that's their decision. but america will be represented in washington, d.c., all of america. as far as unity and peaceful transfer of power, of course, there will be those traditional hallmarks that you always look to. and then the key of those being the outgoing president, being, you know, taking off from the east side of the capitol and being waved off by the incoming president. that's the impact peaceful transfer of power we're talking about. so you'll have -- you'll have

those. president obama and the first lady, michelle obama, obviously, will be there at the swearing in. again, another absolute key part of the peaceful transfer of power. but throughout the inaugural week, we will have events and representations of the fact that donald j. trump and governor pence, vice president elect and vice president after noon on january 20th will be president and vice president for all americans. and even those that disagree with us. >> so it will be diverse. >> it's going to be a diverse event and uniting event. >> boris epstein, thank you for your time, merry christmas. >> thank you very much. making policy announcements on twitter. how will this strategy could play out over donald trump's administration. body's hurt, but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do? drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement™, you'd get your whole car back.

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we made america more respected around the world. took on the mantle of leadership and the fight to protect our plan and much more. by so many measures, our country

is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we first got here. and i'm hopeful we'll build on the progress we have made together in the years to come. >> that's president and mrs. obama reflecting today on the past eight years in their final holiday weekly address. with the obamas still in the white house, president-elect donald trump is already making moves on some crucial policy issues. let's bring in elise jordan, "time" columnist and msnbc political analyst. and huffington post contributor, involved in two presidential transitions. according to politico today, trump set to be the least popular incoming president since the beginning of modern polling. peter, does that gives democrats an opening to maybe push back despite the majority in congress? >> no, i don't think it does at all. i think democrats are really going to have to step back and figure out how do we take back the country? it's great that hillary clinton got 2.whatever additional

million votes than donald trump. we only have 11 governor attentis and that could go single digits in two years. so i don't think trump's favorability -- unfavorability at this point have anything for democrats to cheer about. >> we have been talking a lot today about the apparent turf war going on here. how unprecedented is this? have you seen an incoming president get this involved in policy before he even takes office? >> well, of course, twitter is a new phenomenon. obama won the election, and governed for a long period of time with the new emerging social media. so we're in an intense period of change. every presidential incoming president, by the nominees that he chooses, is making an ideological and policy statement. so whether it's overt or more polite and quiet, it's all

relatively the same. the fact that donald trump is using twitter just as he did during the election to win, suggests to me he's going to dwochb govern with twitter which would make perfect sense. >> let me bring in -- >> he can bypass the media. >> let me bring you in, elise on your take with trump's -- his popularity numbers not being as high. do you think that matters as he starts here? >> i think that why it matters is donald trump's own displays of insecurity when he feels that he isn't being properly appreciated. so i wonder if in some sense some of these outbursts he's had in recent days in twitter over a nuclear arms race is somewhat related to his dissatisfaction with the lineup of performers he's getting for the inauguration. i really hope that he knows that he's the elected president. we really can move beyond and focus on governing and less than

owes petty issues. >> with trump weighing in on policy issues, what dynamic does this set up when trump does get into the white house? and both of you can weigh in on this one. we all thought perhaps someone would take the phone, frankly, and say when you're president, you can't tweet. but i don't know if that's going to happen. elise and peter, i want to hear from both of you. >> the big question -- >> i agree with elise. >> whether these -- thanks. these tweets are related to a larger strategy or if they're just one-off spur of the moment inspiration. that's the big question that people are wondering. when he's tweeting about these major issues, if it is, in fact, related to a broader grant straerg strategy. and right now they're keeping everyone around the world on pins and needles, and that possibly could be effective if it is followed in tandem with a broader strategy for how he's going to execute a foreign

policy that keeps america safe and helps us prosper economically. >> peter, what's your take on this? never before have we had a president who makes policy pronouncements. president obama used social media very well. but policy announcements? the risks are high here. >> absolutely. democracy is very, very messy. and so i think we have more of an appreciation here in america than we do the fact that overseas, people could find this at best very uncomfortable and confusing, and at worse, perhaps a bit dangerous to be tweeting policy about an arms race. however, donald trump has accomplished what every politician since the beginning of time has dreamed about. he's bypassing the media. and when i said i agreed with elise, the other most important aspect of it is, we know from the campaign, all of us do, that tweeting, putting the focus back on donald trump, is as important to him as breathing.

for survival. >> elise, i'll leave you with the last word. trump has suggested even people are concerned he'll bring his own private security. what do you think? >> i think it's a recipe for disaster if he does bring in his own private security, the secret service are quite adept at protecting the president and i think it's creating unnecessary battles. but this is what trump is best at. he's creating a show. he's making us watch his every move and wonder what he's going to do next and he's keeping the suspense high. so i expect that to be par for the course going into 2017 and when he gets inaugurated and on to his presidency. >> may i add? >> go ahead, peter, very quickly. >> democrats are making a huge mistake. they're feeding the fear that donald trump needs to govern. he used it effectively to win and the democrats are giving him the fear he needs to govern.

the sky is falling, the russians have stolen the election. there's no reason to live. and i would caution the democrats to downplay that and start thinking more creatively about how to you take back what is now basically a red country. >> something to think about. thank you for joining me on this christmas eve. >> thank you very much. that will do it for me this hour. i'm sheinelle jones. my colleague takes over at the top of the hour with the latest on the heightened security at places of worship this holiday weekend and whether it's a matter of routine. with my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare was almost always on my mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go... and how to deal with my uc. to me, that was normal. until i talked to my doctor. she told me that humira helps people like me get uc under control and keep it under control when certain medications

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