figure out the damage to american politics. and in both kiess, they decided not to, probably because they didn't have a conclusive proof that the opposing candidate was involved. certainly that was the case with johnson that was a meeting the night before the election where he and aids talked about it. the factor that was they just couldn't prove nixon personally was involved. >> the book is richard nixon the life. i am looking forward to reading it. thank you for joining. mtp daily starts right now. if it's wednesday, the new chapter of the obamacare fight begins. >> the first order of business is to repeal and replace obamacare. >> tonight, who do americans trust with the future of health care? we'll hear from both sides of the fight on what's ahead. >> we don't to want pull the rug out from people while we're replacing this law. >> our republican colleagues don't quite know what to do. they're like the dog who caught the bus.

>> plus the president-elect hits the intelligence community again. is this a fight donald trump really wants? and altered states. the north and south carolina state lines have moved. and it's really hitting home for some. literally. >> this side of the master bed, south carolina. this side of the master bed, north carolina. no joke. this is mtp daily, and it starts right now. good evening, welcome to mtp daily and welcome to the jungle inside this new congress beginning the year with a block buster brawl over president obama's signature legislative achievement. to rally their troops in a show down over the future of your health care. on one side, obama and democrats fighting to protect the

president's health care law. on the other, trump, pence, and republicans vowing to kill it and replace it. but house republicans are far from unified over how to do that. leadership is floating a two-step plan, repeal it now, figure out the replacement later. of course, that poses serious complications and it has some republicans threatening to abandon ship on the whole thing. the lack of unity inside the republican caucus was apparent at their news conference today with vice president-elect mike pence. there were virtually no specifics given to reporters on the critically important issue of replacing the law if it gets repealed. instead the news conference was at least at times a bit of a therapy session about how much republicans don't like obamacare. >> everything president obama promised about health care has failed. >> he came here and said if you like what you have, you can keep it. i hope he comes here to apologize for those broken promises, but i don't think that's what's going to be the case. >> this law has failed. things are only getting worse under obamacare. the health care system has been

ruined, dismantled under obamacare. >> obamacare has failed. and it has been rejected by the american people. >> meanwhile, democrats who've been swept out of power since obamacare was signed sloo law aren't exactly signaling an entirely constructive approach either. at their news conference on capitol hill today, the senate's top democrat, chuck schumer, seemed to wash his hands of the whole mess telling republican ps they won't have democrats to blame anymore if the whole thing goes sour. >> our biggest problem was that once aca passed, people attributed every problem they had with the health care system, whether they were part of aca or not to aca in our republican colleagues and their message machine did. it. now they're going to own it. and all the problems in the health care system -- and there have been many throughout the years. no one has solved all of them. they want to repeal it and then try to thank on us. not going to happen.

it's their responsibility, plain and simple. >> president-elect trump fired a preempive shot at schumer's strategy warning republicans not to let democrats turn the tables on them. in a series of tweets this morning, trump told them, quote, don't let the schumer clowns out of this web, demes are to blame for the mess. to which schumer replied -- >> i think republicans should stop clowning around with the people's medicare, medicaid, and health care. >> okay. so it appears that seriously koens kwens shl debate has turned into a blame game over a plan that doesn't yet exist because republicans aren't sure what to do when democrats aren't about to help them figure it out. before republican leadership puts together a plan to repeal and replace the affordable care act, they're probably going to need to get in guy on board.

congressman jim jordan ox pressed serious concerns about rhode island ryan's two-step strategy and this caucus z hatd the numbers certainly to make noise. congressman jordan, appreciate you being with us. >> good to be with you today, peter. >> let's talk about the house freedom caucus wants. will it kill the current two-step plan propoeds by leadership that basically says repeal obamacare now then figure out a replacement later? >> no, we're not saying that. we need to get rid of obamacare. look, i think health care will be better and less expensive when obamacare is completely repealed. that's what the voters expect us to do. that's what they sent us here to do. and then let's put in place a model that is market-oriented, patient-focussed, consumer-focussed, family-focussed, doctor-focussed, not washington-focussed as is obamacare. that's what our plan is. that's what we think needs to happen and should happen as quickly as possible. >> so the bottom line is over the course of six years, the republican party held 60-plus votes to repeal obamacare. there was no plan to replace it at any point?

does that still not exist? >> there've been a number of plans put forward. dr. price whose likely to be the next health and human services secretary. good man a colleague and a good conservative member of congress. there's the plan put out the doctors caucus that phil row put out today that is a good plan that focuses bhoon i talked about. focussing a model on patient-centered, doctor-centered, family-centered, not what obamacare is. and never forget, this was a plan that every promise we were told turned out to be false. everything they said, like your plan, premiums go down -- >> let's break down sop of those things. but to be very clear. you would vote in support of repeal, even if there isn't a replacement yet said? >> we need to repeal it. we make this job way to cloi conflicted. so we told them we were going to repeal it, let's repeal every single bit of it, and then let's

put in place a model that's going to make health care better and le expensive. that's what we are focussed on. >> so i tha the problem is there could be a period of time right there where as many as 20 million americans are without health care then? >> i mean, you married the speaker today. we don't want to quote, in his terms, pull the rug out -- >> basically repeal and delay is what you're saying. >> you repeal, but there's going to be a phase in time. we're saying make that as short as possible. it shouldn't be two, three, four year phase in time. it should have quickly. this congress, this year. that's what makes sense to us. the american people understand that. i think anyone understands it, you have to have some time for the market to adjust. so you can put in kind of the plans and the policies that make sense that actually help families. that's what we're focussed on doing. but it shouldn't stretch out for years and years, it should be done relatively quickly. >> understood, the head of the dau kus saying to happen during this congress. some of the broken promises, also parts of obamacare that are

popular. these are the most recent poll. 85% of americans favor the provision, law allowing young adults to stay on their parents plan. 80% like the laws option for states to expand medicaid. nearly 70% like preexisting conditions and 60 like for businesses with more than 50 workers. are you going to get rid of all of that? >> i think you've repeal the whole thing. take the 26-year-old for example, don't fung there's that kind of support if amongst the american people, don't you think the marketplace will say, let's make sure we have policies in a allow that to happen? if that's what families want, and if there are young people who want to remain -- >> that stuff didn't preexist. those preexisting conditions, they weren't covered before obamacare. >> i was talking about the 26-year-old issue. >> they weren't covered before. >> and don't you think there'll be something in the marketplace -- and that is something -- when you think about health care, the one thing that concerns families is something like that where there

is a major illness, maybe to one of their children and they may have to change jobs. they want to have coverage for that serious illness if in their family. of course we can work through that. what we're saying is repeal it. that's what we told the viewers and deal with some of the somethings you just raised, the 26-year-old, but let's do it in a market-centered, family-centered, patient-centered way. not what obamacare is. remember, this law passed with not one single republican vote. they rammed it through, everyone knows it's been a disaster for our health care market, and, i think impediment to economic groout as well. everyone knows it's a disaster. so let'set rid of it, but we -- >> but just ainal point on this, to be clear over the course of six years, there is still no plan that everyone's agreed on so you're saying within two years, your confident you can come together, have the plan implemented? >> we have to, that's what we told the voters we'll do. what i also know is there are good plans out there, some i've

supported in the past, have been co-sponsors of in the past. good plans that do what i said. you have to start from the premise. health care will be better and less expensive when obamacare is gone. let's make sure it's patient-focussed and family-focussed. not focussed on washington. >> congressman jim jordan joining us from capitol hill, thank you for your time. >> thank you. let's turn to a member of the democratic leadership. senator debbie of michigan who was the chair of the democratic policy and communications center. senator, nice to see you. just want to first get your response to congressman jim jordan. this is basically what democrats are up against right now. >> sure. well peter, it's great to be with you. and secondly, i would say i'm not surprised that republicans didn't support health reforms sna took power away from insurance companies and gave it to people that have health insurance coverage across the country or added insurance. they didn't support medicare either. they've been trying since 1967

to rip apart medicare. and part of the dr. price's plan that was just touted would cut a trillion dollars out of medicare and turn it into a voucher. so, i'm not surprised that there's not a commitment to make sure there's a affordable health care for everyone. let me say, couple of things just on the process. first of all, right now today, peter, if folks wanted and i sat out on the floor today, we would be happy to sit down and talk about ways to make the system better. right now. you don't have to repeal what everyo has, a the protections, the ability for women not to be discriminated against this rates, maternity care now covered -- mental health now covered. you don't have to do any of that. we just sit down and we work together. but what they're doing is, like, burning down the house because they want a new house. making their family, you know, homeless and then saysing, well now we've got to figure out where we're going live. >> what significant changes of the law are you willing to make?

>> well, first of all, we're not going to support repealing this. it's outrageous. to put the entire economy, one sixth of the economy, which is health care, into chaos and instability. rip medicare, medicaid apart, take away health insurance for poem and every protection and put it all back in the control of the insurance companies. we're not going to support that. if you wanted to talk about how do we support small business? how do we make the system more affordable for folks, absolutely. count us in. but this is not the way to do it. >> let me play for you a little bit. we spoke earlier to one of your colleagues, chris murphy of connecticut today. and it appears that democrats may be rooting in effect for failure. listen to what he said. >> republicans right now, a lot of them think that they can repeal it and then work with democrats later to fix it. >> is that not a possibility? >> no, they own this.

if they want to break this, they own it. >> didn't democrats criticize the republicans for taking that same kind of approach before? how is that constructive? >> peter, first of all, you're suggesting that we agreed to repeal something that has brought solvency to medicare, brought down prescription drug costs -- helped everybody -- what you're saying is we shou should -- >> how do rebuild it? >> we should accept their premise that expanding health care and strengthening medicare and medicaid is a bad thing we should vote to repeal it in order to fix provisions. that's ridiculous. and so of course, we're willing to sit down and do that, but not to create a situation where all the power goes back to the insurance companies. they can drop you if you get sick. if you have diabetes, cancer, alzheimer's, they don't have to give you insurance. >> understood. >> you're a woman, they can discriminate, mental health, on and on and on. >> senator -- >> we're not going to take that

away. >> one last question, why should voters trust democrats on this issue? they've had six years to convince them that this law is great as you indicate, but as a plurality don't like it. 45% view it unfavorable. 43% unfavorably. >> what people want is to make things better. not to take away health care for their family or their 22-year-old or their mother with alzheimer's or cut back on their medicine. and so, if you ask folks do they think it's a good idea to repeal the whole system and pull the thread and unravel medicare, medicaid, and the private insurance system, people will look at you and say, are you crazy? you know, of course not. we would like to work on the parts that need to be fixed. that's not what they're suggesting. so they own this process. they own the process of doing it this way which is going to hurt millions of people. >> senator of michigan, we

appreciate your time and comments. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> let's bring in our panel right now. ben ginsburg, republican elections lawyer and nbc news political analyst, michael is an nbc news presidential historian and cover vin a senior advisor with movon.org. thank you for being with us right now. ben, to you off the bat, let's talk about the divides within the republican party. can donald trump secure a victory on this one right now. kpst clear they can get the repeal, but do they have the replace to make that successful? >> i think there is a path to do this. it will be repealed. in short order and republicans have the vote to do that. it probably will stay in effect for a period of time. and then, as you heard from the interviews, there are a series of things in which the democrats and republicans agree should be part of the health care system. and it will be built back up, and that will be the victory. >> that seems like an optimistic approach. it only takes 51 votes to knock it down, 60 to succeed in the

senate. isn't there a good nooblt we repeal it and sit in this limbo for a period of time and we're kind of back where we started? >> i think that's exactly right. i think the repeal sl just that. a repeal with nothing in place. we haven't really heard anything from the republicans as to what are they going to put in place? i think the obamacare aca if you will needs tweaks, not a wrecking ball, right? last month we saw a surge in obamacare. sign-ups, and -- >> because people saw the writing on the wall that it was going away. >> tense of million was people are counting on obamacare. and what do you do? you can't be a limbo stable. that's not what the american people want. they do want it to be fixed, but they don't want their obamacare or health care to be gone. >> chl, i was trying to pin the senator down on is, what is the role of democrats in this process then going forward as the minority party? in effect, some would criticize and say they're doing to the republicans what the republicans did to them that americans were furious about. >> might well do. and i think the fascinating

thing is going to be see what a difference there is between this and 2009 when you had a president with both houses of congress, but of a different party. but, this is so dangerous. and this is so interesting because, for instance, 1953, dwight eisenhower run on a promise to repeal social security. didn't do it a because social security was a lot more popular in many quarters than obamacare is, but the other thing is, that people were worried that if that was done and if there was a replacement that did not work, that republicans would suffer in the next election. the parallel was pretty close right here. >> ben, there was a lot of people that benefit by obamacare that have no idea they're benefitting. by medicaid expansion or in states like kentucky that has it's own exchange. they don't call it obamacare, but that's how they got it. there are a lot of people who widely voted for donald trump, but benefit by some of the things that obamacare provides them. >> and that's the healthy part of this debate.

in that people will actually focus more on the parts they do like and don't like. and that's part of the process. what the democrats are saying they do like, the law gets repealed, you're going to have to vote for it to come back. so you can build a better, stronger health care system in this country. and there are noticeable failures in the current way the obamacare is being implemented. just the premiums, the way they've gone up, the exchanges that have failed. it's a problem. >> corinne, the democrats we heard chris murphy and the senator said the same thing. you own it. if you break it it's in your hand. >> you break it, you tone. >> does that solve the problem or perpetual state which means we're waiting until the next election. >> for six years the democrats have tried to work with the republicans on tweaking the obamacare. trying to make it better. and when did they get? continuous roadblocks. >> republicans say it was stuffed down their throats in

president obama's term. >> yeah, but this is not about them. this is about the country. at the end of the day, they didn't vote for it originally back in 2009, but tens of millions of people are on health care. do they not care about tens of millions of people who are a lot of them are constituents. >> our system does a lot of things well. this is not one of them. this is a very delicate process. this is going to have huge impacts on millions of americans. and to have this happen in this very politicized, angry atmosphere and have it done, it doesn't look great. >> one of the real challenges. a lot of people may not be as familiar as how they got their health care, but they know who took it away from them. thank you very much. we're going to take a pause. up next, donald trump's war with what in a few weeks will be his own intelligence agencies. you're watching mtp daily. stay tuned. ng so good, you get hungry just thinking about it? at red lobster's big festival of shrimp, get your perfect pair for just $15.99.

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welcome back.

the biggest jobs still open and the incoming trump cabinet is the director of national intelligence and we can now tell you that former senator dn coates of indiana is the leading candidate for that job according to multiple sources. senator coates who did not run for reelection was a member of the senate intelligence committee. he served in the house and then senate in the 1980s and '90s, left the senate and then was elected again in 2010. he served on the senate intelligence committee in the '90s as well. coates met with president-elect donald trump at end of november, but he dodged questions about what position to in a trump administration he might be considered for. as we wait to find out who will be the next director of national intelligence, trump is picking a fight with the current one. and we'll be back in one minute with that. ic toothbrush really cleans... ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for... ...one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round... ...brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to...

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russia's interference in the u.s. election. but the meeting could be a little bit awkward. trump began the morning tweeting the intelligence briefing on so-called russian hacking was delayed until friday. perhaps more time needed to build a case. very strange. intelligence officials tell nbc news they're coming increasingly disturbed by trumps rejection of their agency's findings. many say they assume he would come around or find a way to at least walk the line. and tomorrow, one day before he briefs trump, the outgoing drervegt national intelligence james clapper will be testifying on capitol hill before the armed services committee at a hearing called by chairman john mccain. the topic, foreign cyber threats and russia's hacking interference in the election. joining me now is andrea mitchell, she's nbc news's cheer foreign correspondent. the host of "andrea mitchell reports" right her msnbc andr andrea, trump tweeted it was delayed. there seems to be consion over that. so set us straight.

what can you tell us? >> well, i can tell you that the intelligence community says that that there was no confusion at all. he was told his people were at least told in the transition that it was going to be on friday that it was set last thursday or friday and it involves not just clapper, but also the heads of all t other intelligence agencies, including the cia and nsa. d j comey from the fbi. so they were all on the same page. they say that it was donald trump's transition or maybe trump himself were weren't. although i knew there was at least one official tagging one of my colleagues that there may have been confusion on the intelligence end. they knew they all had to appear tomorrow before john mccain. if they had to brief the president on this russian hacking report which is just now being turned over to the white house. if it hasn't already been, it'll be turned over tomorrow. then briefed the gang of eight. the eight leaders in both houses, both parties on the intelligence community committees rather, and then, brief the president-elect on friday.

that was the schedule. >> one senior intelligence official describing some of the recent donald trump tweets adversarial. what about trump's national security advisors, michael flynn, james mattis, mike povrp owe. what do we understand they believe right now is as they head into these new positions. >> nas difficult to ascertain. prior to a confirmation hear, they're not talking. mike sflen believed to be the source of a lot of the hostility to the intelligence communities which of course fired him. basically clapper first appointed him, lifted him up to be the head of the defense intelligence and then was involved in firing him. so there can't be a lot of good feeling there. but the fact is that the intelligence agency chiefs are universally upset, i've been told, by very good sources, that they just feel that the community itself, the men and women who work every day, men of them putting their lives on the line here and abroad, are really being dissed by the flkt a way

that is unprecedented. there was tension between richard nixon and the cia. he didn't like the cia, he didn't read that. he returned them the seals unbroken when he was actually sworn into office. but since then, we've had much different relationship and even points of tension, never anything this public by twitter, taking policy positions that are so different. and today, siding with julian assange, who is the founder of wikileaks who was considered public enemy by most of the people in the intelligence community and many republicans on the hill. so i think what you've heard already today from leading republicans, not of course the vice president who spoke out trying to explain what donald trump's saying been but other republicans led by, you know, john mccain, lindsey graham, and others, are deeply upset about this and they are prepared to be somewhat public about it. >> andrea mitchell, you leave us where i want to pick up with the panel again.

trump praised the wikileaks founder on twitter. assange's appearance on "hannity" and said julian assange could have hacked john podesta. why was the dnc o careless? also said, russians did not give him the info. ben, i'm going to put you on the spot here. how do you feel about donald trump siding with joule young assange over his own intelligence community? >> well, what it's done is create great rifts within republicans as andrea reported. and this is now going to come down to very much a contest on the hill to get legislation passed. this is going to be a distraction among core republicans from being able to achieve. >> we've been hearing republicans not afraid to speak out on this. michael lind say graham spoke about donald trump's tweet about assange, here's part what have he said. >> mr. assange is a fugitive

from the law, hiding in an embassy who has a history of undermining american interest. you shouldn't give him any credibility. >> is donald trump getting duped by julian assange? >> i'd prefer not to get into motives, but it is sort of mind blowing because -- >> talk about the unprecedented nature of this moment. >> some of the things released have been said to lead to the deaths of many americans who are -- or at least some americans who are working for intelligence services. and, you know, this can't go on forever. you can't have a president saying, i just don't believe what my intelligence services tell me. what if you were john kennedy 1962, cia comes in with pictures of something on the ground in cuba and says that we think these are soviet offensive missiles and the president says, i don't believe you, i'm not going to do anything. soon we'll have donald trump in charge of these people, making his own appointments, we can't be in a position where he goes from four years and says i'm just not going to believe much

of what they tell me. >> let me put up the poll numbers. asked about the favorability of the cia right now. we've been asking since 2002. and this year, it's the first time that democrats view it more positively than republicans. you can see the numbers there for yourself. democrats, plus 32% republicans, plus 4%. that's just a kazism all the sudden that interests in the way that view the institutions. what position does that put republicans in right now? >> i have to say peter, it is stunning that the person whose about to get the nuclear codes is siding with assange and has more faith in russian government than the intelligence community. and it should send a chill down the spines of americans that we are in such an unprecedented times. i mean, we're basically in a place right now where donald trump's twitter feet feed is a national security risk. and that's what the republicans are going to have to deal with. how they deal with their leader of their party tweeting constantly, you kn, and going

against the intelligence >> so ben, what is the risk here and how do they smooth this thing over? you've still got 15, 16 days to play with, then all the sudden, he's president. >> you kind of hope this is the preseason and once the regular season starts, then there's more -- >> some people thought the election was the preseason, this would be the regular season. >> you get the blue passes on january 20th. >> that's correct. >> that's when it starts. so, the smoothing over of it, i think comes by the reality of the situation which is, these are serious matters, you do have have intelligence, you do have to trust your own people. and i suspect that's thousand gets smoothed over. >> what impact does the weight of the office, the oval office when he steps in there barely two weeks from now have on someone like a donald trump in terms of tone and rhetoric based on our past experiences. >> oh, i think that we will see at least something of a change. and that's why i've been sort of mystified, why he wanted to get started basically three hours after he was elected with these tweets and seemingly making policy on taiwan and all sorts

of other, you know, departures from tradition. why not wait until the inauguration do that in the white house with your staff there, with the platform or rt presidency. i still can't understand why he did not win it. >> and there could be fallout here, rex tillerson, lindsey graham says if he doesn't agree behind the interference, lds graham says he'llose his vote. >> it'll be a tough confirmation hearing because of his relationship with poout enand what donald trump has been doing by not agreeing with the unanimous decision of the intelligence community. and he can't continue to tweet. he has to -- he has to stop tweeting. he's moving the markets, right. whether it's the economy and also he' putting us -- >> the markets right now. >> yeah, well, we'll see about that. but also it's a national security troisk us. by doing what he's doing. >> last bit on defense. >> once he's president, he will talk about why is doing this -- why he is dhoing at length. he could be pretty persuasive,

and when you do it in a 30 minute speech rather than a one tweet, you're not forcing people to guess. >> reporter: he needs to have a press conference. >> next one. >> we'll see. >> thank you. this sunday on "meet the press" chuck todd will have an exclusive interview with senators john mccain and lindsey graham. they're going to discuss the push for hearings on russia macing. and the recent trip to the baltic states. still ahead right here, emu did democrats win back what was once their base? the middle class? you're watching mtp daily. has, you learn a lot about people's tastes. honey, what do you want for dinner tonight? oh, whatever you're making. cheesy chipotle pork quesadillas? mmmm... ravioli lasagna ke? yeah, i don't know... grilled white chicken... grab something rich, sharp and creamy. triple cheddar stuffed sliders. sold! we aim to cheese! kraft natural cheese:

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what's needed from we democrats is a bigger, bolder, sharper edged economic program that addresses how those

struggling to stay in the middle class can stay there. and those struggling to make it into the middle class can get there more easily. >> welcome back, that was senator chuck schumer and his first floor speech as the senate minority leader. he laid out a path forward for his party saying democrats need to do better about reaching out to middle class americans. top democrats are divided on how to frame that economic message. some like bernie sanders think demes need to adopt a populist message like the one he used during his presidential bid. here's what he told rachel maddow last night. >> and what democrats increasingly understand, you can't just go to fundraisers are wealthy people. you have to get out in the real world. you have to mobilize people. educate people. you've got to listen to people. and that is the transformation they need. >> others like democratic leadership council founder al from and saying democrats need to stick to the core prince. s that worked during the bill clinton era. reactionary populism continues

to tap into the frustration of many voters, anger won't improve our nation. a constructive way forward for the democratic party and the country is achievable if we can remember our first principles of opportunity, responsibility, and community, and further them with bold ideas and modern means. founder of the democratic leadership council and a proud graduate of the school of journalism like me is joining me now. nice to see you in person, i appreciate it. the democrats haven't won an electoral college victory without barack obama involved at the top of the ticket, dating back, what, for two decades now. the bottom line is why isn't it time to try something different? >> well, first of all, president clinton won two electoral college victories. >> it's been a while since president clinton. >> it has been a while. the real problem is the modernize. there are two keys for democrats. one, we've got to have an agenda

that produces results and grows the economy. and then we can deal with inequality. but, paul many years ago told me one of the problems with democrats is we get so interested in passing out the golden eggs we forget to worry about the health of the goose. a growing economy gives us the opportunity to do a lot of things to help people and to become a party of upward mobility again. the second thing we need it make sure government works. we are the party that believes in government. but if government doesn't work, people blame us. >> what's the bottom line? the bottom line is what's the harm in trying to incorporate populism. it seemed to work well for bernie sanders. 43% voted for sanders in if the primary. beat clinton in states like michigan and washington. hillary clinton couldn't win the state of michigan, why is that the wrong strategy? >> because, we have -- first of all, we have to reach voters that we haven't done a very good job of reaching. president clinton called them the forgotten middle class.

and we have to talk to them. but we have to be honest with them. we can't just promise that we're going to deliver all these goodies to them. we have to have a sensible program for growing the economy and for making sure that everybody has a chance to take advantage of those opportunities. and so -- the reason that -- i mean, the truth is we've never elected a populist president until donald trump. and it wasn't exactly the kind of populism i like. >> let many ask you about donald trump if i can quickly, what should the democrat strategy be? should they work with trump or should they pick up mitch mcconnell's strategy versus barack obama eight years ago which is defy him at every corner? >> i thought chuck schumer laid it out the best way. they should not -- they should oppose things that trump does that they think are wrong and that along with some programs that they think could help the

country. they ought to help him -- >> the white house and republicans control both houses right now. aren't there places they should work together. >> this isn't just about politics. the next election for presidents is four years away. a lot of people can be hurt in the next four years. we have to make sure that we do what's best for the country. not just what we think -- today, will help us four years from now. >> whaeshd barack obama and hillary clinton's role be over the course of these next four years? >> well, i think -- look, i think barack obama has an important role in trying to keep his coalition alive for the democrats. even though -- proved very hard to replicate without him on the top of the ticket. hillary clinton's one of the smartest people in america. she has a lot to say and she can give the democratic party good advice. >> it's nice to see you in person. >> good seeing you. still ahead, democrats will get an early task of the challenges facing them next week when some of donald trump's

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welcome back. donald trump still has a few cabinet picks to make. but some of his nominees already have hearing dates now on the calendar. jeff sessions is up first with a hearing that starts on january 10th. then the 11th, man, that day is loaded. that's the second day that senators will meet with the attorney general nominee. also hearings for five other cabinet picks, begin, at the

very same time as all of those hearings, we could have the much promised and long delayed news conference from president-elect trump. his team, said to be eyeing the 11th or the 12th. we'll be right back.

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"she's single." ...and high levels of humiliation in her daughter. in just 7 days, your joint comfort can be your kid's discomfort. osteo bi-flex. made to move. time forthe lid. senator chuck schumer says democrats are prepared to totally block a trump supreme court nominee that was republican stance for nearly a year. now senator mitch mcconnell changed his own tune. here's what he said. >> apparently, there's yet a new standard now, which is to not confirm a supreme court nominee at all. i think that's something the american people simply will not tolerate, and we'll be looking forward to receiving a supreme court nomination and moving forward on it. >> back right now, ben ginsburg, michael, karine jean-pierre. michael, to you with perspective

on this, do democrats have a serious chance of blocking a trump supreme court nominee? >> hard to see how that threat is going to actually become a promise, but shows how politicized things have become for most of american history, would have been unheard of to see a situation such as this past year where, you know, that vacancy was kept that way, or even the suggestion that this would go on for four years. >> karine, one of the challenges for democrats, when it was merrick garland who's up, you have to fill the ninth seat, chuck schumer comes out today and basically says we can't support any trump nominee. if it's not in our hands, we're not playing ball. >> i'm in the camp of democrats need to resist at every turn especially when it comes to these far right-wing kind of policy on the table now that both mitch mcconnell and paul ryan have been trying to push for many, many years. now they have the opportunity, and so, yes, we should be blocking the way as much as possible. >> donald trump's strategy on the other hand is going to be --

>> well. >> -- real forward. >> sure. the real politics of this is that there are any number of democratic senators up in 2018 from red states that supported donald trump. so this is not really a 52-48 count. this is much more the real politics of the situation. >> let me ask you a little bit, if i can quickly, about this news conference, for the first time in months donald trump is set to hold a news conference, supposed to take place either the 11th or 12th, middle of ends of next week which happens to be overlapping with the confirmation hearings with rex tillerson and among others, jeff sessions. these are going to be contentious hearings. s some people reading into this saying this is a good way for donald trump to trump the controversial coverage, as it may be, of them, and focus the attention on him. >> oh, yeah. absolutely. i think when donald trump's -- if he has this -- if he actually has this press conference, because we know he canceled the last one, if he does this, all eyes will be on donald trump. that's what we're going to be focused on because we -- the last press conference he had --

>> does that really give a free pass to rex tillerson or these -- ben, to you, to rex tillerson, jeff sessions here? they're still going to face tough questioning, whether or not it's a split screen. >> sure, but this is donald trump rallying the troops to support them as the spotlight is focused on those cabinet appointees. and they're all articulate people who will do actually much better than the picture the democrats are trying to paint of them. >> let me ask you right now, there's a liberal group right now trying to sink the treasury secretary nominee, steve mnuchin right now. they put an ad out. here's what it looks like. >> former goldman sachs banker mnuchin, trump picked him to be aen to firm, even though mnuchin made millions after his bank foreclosed on homeowners and discriminated against latinos. tell senator flake to vote no on mnuchin. >> is that an effective strat y

strategy, go after a vulnerable republican senator? >> democrats are going to try to resist. fascinating thing about that commercial, you remember the last major commercial that the trump people put out before the election, which went on about goldman sachs bankers and so on. little bit of similarity here. i mean, this is just getting mind-boggling. >> last word, how do you see this playing out tonight? >> i think we need to stop focusing on d.c. i think the resistance is actually going to happen outside of d.c. naacp did an amazing job yesterday in alabama when -- you know, with their fight against jeff sessions, speaking of a hearing, and we're going to see a lot more of that. >> bottom line, let me ask you, john mccain, the "houston chronicle" asked if he could support rex tillerson's nomination, he responded, "sure. tla there's also a realistic scenario that pigs fly." >> i think he's letting the trump administration know he's out there.

rex tillerson is going to get confirmed. so will i think all the other nominees unless there's -- >> there's only so much room for error on russia and things like that, only a couple votes to flay with there. >> yeah, true, but rex tillerson will go in and show a command of the world and command of affairs that will, i think, be very effective. >> we'll see middle of next week. ben ginsburg, michael, karine jean-pierre, thanks for being with us tonight. after this break, drawing the line in carolinas. you'll like this. stay tuned.

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all right. in case you mised it the map of the united states has just changed. all right. we'll walk you through this. the line between north carolina and south carolina literally moved. the border battle goes back so long that to this day, both states claim to be the birthplace of president andrew jackson because the land surveys of that day were literally a mess. more than 20 years ago, the states decided to try to clarify the 334-mile area that's in question here. finally, this week at the stroke of midnight on january 1st, the border officially shifted. a little bit. and moved up about 100 feet. mainly in north carolina's gaston county and south carolina's york county. 19 homes started the new year in a new carolina. some people woke up with and foot in both as it turns out. border literally cuts right through some properties even through the middle of some homes. at least one resident has already received tax bills from both states. and the biggest legal fireworks

were over actual fireworks, which are against the law in the north, and allowed to be sold in the south. so a minimart that has a new north carolina address had to get special attention to sell fireworks. all of it confusing. don't worry. iconic south of the border stop on i-95 remains south of the border. that's all for tonight. we'll be back with more "mtp daily." ayman mohyeldin begins the coverage now. a fired up president obama meeting with democrats behind closed doors. we're going to talk to a lawmaker who sat in on that meeting. vice president-elect pence also on the hill today vowing to repeal obamacare on day one. so why was donald trump warning congress? also tonight, a six-year-old video emerged after donald trump mocks intelligence officials, and sides with wikileaks founder julian assange on the issue of russia's hacking of the elections. and an emotional