it was about the velocity of the year and the events. >> lock him up! >> alternative facts. >> no. russia did not help me. >> yeah. that's him. >> mr. rosenstein is your testimony today that you believe bob mueller is a person of high integrity. is that right? >> yes. >> and i think that bob mueller ended up at number one with us because he's already indicted or put out for former trump campaign officials one, a form other national security adviser and he heads into 2018 with the fate of the presidency in his hands. >> just been told we've had cameras on us while having this conversation the whole time. thanks very much for joining us. >> good night. this sunday looking back at 2017 and ahead to 2018.

president trump. did he keep his promises? >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god has ever created. >> the tax relief will be concentrated on the working and middle class. >> i will be president for all america. >> we'll look at promises made, promises kept and promises broken. plus, the 2018 political landscape. democrats aimed to take back congress. >> you can smell a wave coming. our republican friends better look out. >> but republicans hope to hang on to power. >> very optimistic about 2018. >> also, 2020. potential candidates are already visiting early primary and caucus states, and dreaming of challenging the president. >> i may very well do that. i'm being as honest as i can. >> where do you stand? are you likely to run? >> this is not what i'm doing. >> how many democrats will jump in? and will any republicans primary president trump? and the ways the president has influenced culture, from the words we use, to race.

>> very fine people on both sides. >> welcome to new year's eve sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: for nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. good sunday morning and a happy new year's eve to everyone. almost from the moment he put his left hand on the bible at his inauguration, president trump signaled to the country that his presidency would be different. different in ways that would thrill millions and different in ways that would appall millions more. it began with a jarring comment about the state of the country. >> this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. >> within a day, press secretary sean spicer lectured white house reporters, arguing implausibly that more people witnessed donald trump's inauguration than president obama's and a day latereer op "meet the press," the president's counsel kellyanne conway oefrd this

explanation. >> sean spicer our press secretary gave alternative facts. >> that inauguration weekend kicked off a year of friction between the white house and press. between the president's supporters and detractors, between liberals and conservatives helping feed an uneasy sense we as a country are more divided than we've been for decades if not longer. over the next hour we'll look back at the past year and ahead to the next. our panel this new year's eve morning, charlie cook and patti kaye, showed beyond 1700 days will begin appearing on pbs starting tuesday and rich lauer. editor of "the national review." start things off looking at some of the promisals made by candidate donald trump and talk about whether he's been able to make good on them or not. let's watch. >> dornld j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> $1 trillion in infrastructure investment. >> the tax relief will be

concentrated on the working and middle class. >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god has ever created. >> repealing and replacing obamacare. a disaster. >> save medicare, medicaid and social security without cuts. have to do it. >> i pledge to every citizen of our land that i will be president for all americans. >> we will build a great, great wall -- [ cheers ] -- and mexico -- >> mexico. >> mexico. >> mexico will pay for the wall. >> all right, guys. what's been the single most important promise he made and the single most important promise he's kept? rich, start with you, because i think the wall is probably the single most important promise connected to him as a candidate. >> yes. his signature promise and the most flagrantly unrealizable

promise. the idea mexico would pay for this wall. >> let alone build the wall. but the other country paying for it. >> immigration is a success story for him. he doesn't have a wall, but reestablishing a certain baseline of enforcement it sent an important message and you have illegal border crossings down to i think the lowest level since 1971. kind of surprised he doesn't boast about that more. >> what's the most important one he's kept? >> the most important one i think that he's kept is that he would be the president for the people who voted for him, and he would carry on the culture wars in their favor. carry on talking in ways that white working class voters felt neglected before, they feel they have somebody who is their president. they don't have to be p.r. ac. more. can say things he e they wanted to say for years and president trump emboldened them to do

that. >> what's the one he missed? >> repeal and replace obamacare. that didn't happen. he's tinkered with it around the edges, but where's the replacement? he also said he was going to prevent north korea from advancing its nuclear program. that hasn't happened and has proven to be one of "the" biggest foreign policy crises, and to pick up on what caty is saying, he has been a president for his base, but he's failed to be a president for all people. i think that in many ways the country's more divided. you have the nfl. you have charlottesville and that's a problem. >> charlie, i left you with the topic that is sort of interesting here. that's the economy. in that it's been a great year. and that has not translated or as john reese my e.p. said, maybe it has or he'd be at 25% if it weren't for the economy? >> it's funny. polls show so many people dislike him, disapprove of him, embarrassed by him, think he's a bull in a china closet on

foreign policy, all of these things and yet the economy is doing really well. either, a., something he's done is right, or he's just really, really lucky. and i just kind of wonder whether the fact that maybe it's the absence of president obama, or just sort of the idea of a president that's less adversarial towards business, whether it's released animal spirits in the economy, or maybe it's just lucky. >> let's debate this. luck or has he done something? >> go to 50,000 feet. you can see there is a disconnect between political dysfunction aarround the world. certainly in europe, too, not just in the united states, and national security issues looming, crises in ways we haven't seen for a very long time, and yet every single investor will tell you this is a great time to economically -- at what point does that disconnect come back to haunt us or doesn't it? can we carry on operating where stock markets keep rising,

unemployment keeps falling and have political insecurity, not just american insecurity but global political insecurity? >> rich, used hear, lost two years of the obama administration. everything is poised to take off. but it wouldn't. trump's election, and whatever the animal spirit is, boom, it's here. >> so it's luck in that he inheritsed an economy that was in pretty good shape. not like obama inheriting an economy cratering after a financial crisis but more than luck and that policy matters. the expectation of the market in the business community, at least no new regulations or taxes. no additional burdens on the economy and seen better than that from the business perspective, because you've seen a major deregulation roll back and now a tax bill that is a generational change on the corporate side and will, all things being equal, be pro-grow. >> the white house would argue

the fact they have cut so many regulations is really what has burned this economy. look at the way president trump dealt with health care versus taxes. he got read in on the details, went out, sold the tax package. ran as the jobs president and you have investors who feel good about that. the market obviously reflecting it, and we're starting to see that in his policies. >> all right. let's pivot a little to foreign policy. year in. do we know what a trump doctrine is? >> in ways it's a continuity of what we've had in the past. he has not reneged on article 5 of nato, a company campai-- key campaign, and still have american troops in afghanistan in iraq, in syria. in way things are the same. what's different is that in the foreign policy, the big security strategy review that the president gave at the end of the year. no mention of climate change as a national security threat and no mention of american human

rights and values. for me the single biggest change with the president, we are not seeing america leading the world through principle. america hasn't always got it right but has some sort of principle and high-moral standing. >> rich, you're nodding a lot there. >> the basic structure, a center-right realism. you see what the actual policy is even on north korea. rhetorically he's been aggressive, it's a status quo of policy. ve cautious in asia and more emphasis on ideals. the crusade, president bush fought for those but important against our adversaries and in favor of our interests. >> seem, get tough on china and then goes to china. they're pals and you're going, what? >> you soo e that disconnect with his rhetoric around north korea as well. he talked about fire and fury. and that made a lot of people

very nervous, that he was on the bring of taking some type of action, and he didn't. we won't really know what the trump doctrine is until we see how north korea plays out. will he take some type of limited military action? based on my conversations with senior officials, his military options are very few and very far between. so it doesn't look like that's likely. i do think, though, chuck, we're seeing a retreat from multi-nationalism. he did pull out of tpp. pulled out of paris. that's the beginning, at least, of a shift. >> a legacy there. >> that national security policy, that report that was referred to released just before christmas in. when i read it, it actually did provide some coherence to what through the past year looked like complete random ricocheting around, and i couldn't tell whether, is this thing actually more coherent than i thought, or is there just a heck of a speak writer onboard? i tend to think the latter. >> let me ask you this.

i feel like that the issue we don't cover enough in foreign policy is, how close are we to war? a hot war? whether we're involved or not? a hot war that involves iran and say, saudi arabia? it feels it a tinderbox between those two? >> described to me like this. we have in yemen iranian proxies fighting saudi regulars. we have in syria, saudis proxies fighting iranian regulars. we are one step away. pi the yemeni houthi rebel, that's a hot area in the world. >> and one foreign policy that seems to congeal with our domestic politics and it's russia. the best of russia from this year. >> i have nothing to do with russia, folks. okay? >> why would there be any contacts between the campaign? >> i can't think of a bigger lie. >> russia is a ruse. i have nothing to do with russia there is no connection. you've got russia. if the president puts russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a

russian connection. >> we have no dealings in russia. no projects in russia. we have nothing to do with russia. >> this conversation's never happened. >> there's no collusion between me and my campaign and the russians. >> we have been going on this russia trump hoax for the better part of a year now, with no evidence of anything. >> there is absolutely no collusion. that has been proven. >> rich lowry, he's not getting the benefit of doubt on all this, seems to me, for one big reason. he seems to want nothing more than to cozy up to vladimir putin. if he were willing to be tough on vladimir putin? >> just say meddles in the election was an outrage, won't stand for it and it will never happen again on my watch. he won't say it. it's a bit of a mystery. my theory, can't prove, considers the russian story a personal affront that undermines his victory. it's a psychological reaction

rather than a deeper conspiracy he's trying to hide. >> one of the things so striking. look at his tweets. he's lashed out at just about everyone on twitter including china, who he says needs to wshg with north korea and yet never harsh words for russia. never convened a meeting with his national security team to address that issue. people are hungry for that and he begrudginglypproved more sanctions. >> people around him time and again seem to forget meetings they had with russians. why the secrecy? why have these meetings and then have to reveal them later? why say things that possibly were true at the time and happens too often to seem like just coincidence. >> final word? >> nobody wants to think they won illegitimately. you want to believe i won on my merits. but i think rich is right.

why can't he just say, you know, they were meddling. i don't think it had an impact on the outcome of the election, but we need to make sure this never happens again. that's pretty painless. what's wrong with that? >> you're doing something donald trump's never done before. be humble. when we come back, a look ahead to the year that starts tomorrow. it's an even numbered year. you know what that means? elections. are we looking at a democratic wave or can republicans somehow maintain their hold on congress and, of course, that means on all of the power that comes with it. how do you chase what you love with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis? do what i did. ask your doctor about humira. it's proven to help relieve pain and protect joints from further irreversible damage in many adults. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms.

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they can win the 24 seats needed to take back the house and the party's unexpected upset win in alabama this month means democrats only need to net two seats to achieve a longer goal of taking back the senate. >> in 2005, you could smell a wave coming. the results last night smell exactly the same way. our republicans friends better look out. >> we think we'll produce results. results we'll be able to talk to the american people about in the fall of 2018 and in 2020 as well. >> can you win back the house this year? >> the door is certainly open for us. >> suggesting a wave election is coming your way that your majority is at risk. what do you make of that? >> blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, is what i say about that stuff. >> i think we're going to win the senate and house. >> i feel very optimistic about 2018. >> we're going to do the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. let's talk about that in 2018. welcome. got to love 1350ekspeaker ryan.

>> this is my wife's work and the he's blah, blah, blahhing over it! >> quickly do this. senate makeup after doug jones, essentially 51-49. talk about the democrats, blah, blah, blaye, house, 231-93. charlie cook you do this for a living. you saw the 11-point advantage at the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll 50-39 suggesting the wave is building. the question, how big, and will it crest at the right time and right moment for democrats? >> this is what waves look like when you're standing on a beach looking out. we've seen this before. >> you see it from afar. wow! look at thanks can't tell precisely how tall it is but you can tell it's a big one. you know, could things change? you know, if we had a couple more quarters. three more quarters of. >> economic growth. could it dissipate? i guess it could, but i don't think it will. we're looking at the senate. it's now plausible that democrats could take the senate back. i think it's not likely, but

it's plausible in the house. if you had to bet today i think you'd bet the house would turn. >> one of the reasons, why, rich, doesn't look like it will shift. look at the demographic breakdowns on the generic ballot. among millennials, nearly a 50-point advantage for democrats. among women, 20 points. independents, 12 points. senior s essentially a base boa, the democrats, and among white voters only down two. that's why it doesn't look like a couple of good economic quarters change things. >> that's the best republicans could have going for them. robust growth to take the edge off this. my fear, that this isn't a conditions-based reaction. it's not an agenda-based reaction so much. it is a profound personal reaction to trump himself. and there is no way to change that. >> the white house says the opposite. they say that-- that candidates are knocking down their doors to get in the door with president trump and

he's eager to -- >> by the way, there probably are some candidates knocking on their doors for endorsement. they just are not -- their door is not being answered. >> exactly right. look at ed gillespie. he tried to walk a fine line and it backfired. the white house saying, embrace trump. we saw that doesn't always work. obviously, roy moore deeply flawed candidate in his own right, but he did run based on a trump playbook. i spoke with a democratic strategist who says we're looking at the tidal wave. wait. don't you run the risk of overplaying your hand? going into 2018 with that type of thinking? that's the concern. the economy is a big unknown nap could i think shift the outlook. >> what's interesting is that you look historically and the there's a very clear pattern. all but three mid-term elections since the civil war, but we're now seeing a more explosiveness. i mean, the last six midterm electio elections, either the house senate or both flippeds.

>> that's -- hasn't happened in 100 years. >> yeah, yeah. no. i mean -- so it's -- it's people are voting. it's not more parliamentary but it's more biparty and we're seeing big, big explosive results, and that's got to be scary for republicans. >> and the challenge for the democrats, though, is on the senate side, at least, red state democrats. you could argue, how they handle red state america in order to win the majority will say everything. put up the senate map here. these are just democratic seats that are in states in 2018 up where president trump carried that state, and you can see montana, not a surprise. floridas, ohios, wisconsins and mish is in there. here's how a few red state democrats we've talked to in the last year have been walking the line of trump. take a listen. >> one thing that we don't have and you see that out in public polling and when i'm out and

about. what do you stand for? what are you about? the overarching discussion for the democratic party isn't there. >> my job is to fight for missourians. i get up every day. my feet hit the ground trying to figure out how to get things done for them. not how can i criticize the president. >> because i'm up for re-election in 2018, i guess people think in washington i'm going to vote differently or be different here. i'll have to cowell tail if you will to what they think may be popular. i don't think impeachment is something we should talk about. >> and interesting this year. i think we ale expected at least some of these red state democrats to somehow forge a partnership with trump and none did. i think some wanted to. i don't know -- joe manchin blames mitch mcconnell, not president trump, which sigh think is convenient. what say you? >> we came out of alabama with democrats saying, look, we can win in true red states. just done it in alabama. people, exactly those people you

chose, north dakota, missouri, west virginia. they took some heart from that, but have very different populations. they don't have 30% african-american makeup in those states and know that. they have to be more careful how they run and can't expect to run up against a roy moore again. it's not going to happen and claire mccaskill told me many times. donald trump is above water in my state, approval ratings parallel to mine and won my state. i cannot totally isolate myself from him but is not going to go there and actually sign up. sheriff brown is interesting. he has. not out. but a democrat that will try and work with the president. >> i'm curious. if impeachment becomes part of the conversation in the fall, i assume it's thesedemocrats that most nervous about that? >> i think you're right. this is so implausible. >> if democrats won every single senate race next year, every one, they would still need ten

republicans to vote for impeachment. that's not going to happen. so just shut up. they're not helping themselves. >> these democrats hate the conversation. they really don't want those up onhinted at the republican side. the reason they have a longer shot. look at the senate map. this is a rosy scenario of senate targets for democrats, and i throw in a texas and a nebraska on there. texas for demographic reasons, but thrown in nebraska because of what steve bannon promised, rich lor lowry. primary republicans like a dead fisherman in nebraska. little bannon versus the gop comp pew lation and talk about it on the other side. >> right now a season of war against a gop establishment. >> i think what steve bannon is trying to do is completely inappropriate. >> because they think you're a pack of morons. >> you need good candidates to

win senate races. >> mitch mcconnell in this permanent political class is the most corrupt and incompetent group of individuals in this country! >> what he's a specialist in is nominating people who lose. >> i like mr. bannon. he's a friend of mine, but mr. bannon came on very late. you know that. >> look, steve bannon isn't, he right now is the face of that sort of anti-establishment crowd, but before there was a steve bannon there was still an anti-establishment crowd that cost them, put it up here, at least five senate seats. now blame i guess bannon for the sixth. right? three in 2010, colorado, nevada, and 2012, two, indiana, missouri and of course, roy moore. bannon, when he cost them another state? mississippi, for instance, i could put up there. >> i hope alabama was a blow to steve bannon's theory you can run any loathsome kook and win a general election. it's not a new phenomenal, began before steve ban and in part because of republicans against,

they're not the blue blazers tie types anymore. they are the anti-establishment party, which involves oftentimes not just rejecting the establishment's judgment about candidates but rejecting conventional norms. >> this is important. mk connell and ryan are no more in touch with the base of the party than trump with the establishment? >> right. and who did president trump speak to after the roy moore loss? he spoke to steve bannon that week. so he still sees him as a touchstone to his base. and to your point. does bannon take a look at that race and say hey it was the candidate? no. we need to work harder. we'll emboldened, energized and know what to do in the next race. the challenge, obviously divides resources and messaging and continues to van internal war. >> go back to 2008 when barack obama won. this so radicalized -- the conservative republicans despised him so much it effectively radicalized a large

element of the republican party, led to the tea party movement and the election of donald trump, but it led to a nomination or this attraction of these exotic candidates that are just more exotic than can win general elections. and i think republicans are paying a price. if i were democrats i would worry about the loathing that they have for president trump, whether it radicalizes an element of the democratic party and we start seeing that happen in coming years. >> well -- that's scuactually a nice segue. the left subject, the list of candidates running for president. easier tore make the list not jun the next debate. once we're done with 2018, it is "20/20" vision time. a look ahead to the many, many, many democrats who may decide to run for president and a handful of republicans as well. i wanted to know who i am and where i came from.

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welcome back. from the moment a candidate is declared a winner, people in my business ask, who's going to run in four years?

this is no different. many democrats and perhaps a handful of republicans are viewing a run as a real possibility. one sign someone is considering a run at this stage, they write a book. seen as a sign the author is serious about becoming a candidate. so far, we have seen books from senator bernie sanders of vermts. former vice president joe biden. senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts. and senator corey booker of new jersey. those are the democrats. now you have senator john kasich and senator flake. all republicans. and get on a list to run for president, say you're not going to run. take a look. >> where should we be about that? 50/50, 80/20? are you likely to run? >> no. this is not what i'm doing. >> other people make lists. i'm not running for president. >> sure, i just might that is

not on my radar screen. >> i don't know what i'm going to do tomorrow. >> if a year from now i'm ready and no one has moved in i think can do it, then i may very well. >> obviously, the most significant person in that list to say, yes, i'm thinking about it is the former vice president. he decided to say, hey, i'm sending a message to national doan others, i want in. >> it was probably joe biden, right. the concern for democrats, the two white guys, most likely to run, you'd have to give a reasonable shot at giving the nomination to joe biden, bernie sanders. they're going to be 78 and 79 on inauguration day of 2021. that's problem for the democrats. go through the whole list. problems with all of the candidates, but two -- you know, old, white guys is that where the party needs to position itself? >> and chris, before you chime in, we put this together. all the travels in the early states. another way to let us know you're thinking of running for

president. show up in iowa. sanders, mark zuckerberg. talk about that in a minute. and cotton, iowa trips. new hampshire, kasich, biden, sanders and o'malley. so common denominators. book tourish but biden and sanders among the busiest ones. >> absolutely. and a surprised bien walked up to the line of running during the last election cycle. the one person not on the list, kirsten gillibrand. not doing a lot of traveling but putting a marker down for herself around the issue of sexual harassment. one she has obviously championed in the part but is really i think out front on that issue, taking the lead in terms calling for al franken to resign, angering a lot of folks in her own party saying former president bill clinton should have resigned and eyeing a potential run seriously. >> charlie in that vein, is it

gillibra gillibrand? has she had the break out'17 to carve out the space? who else had breakout, to start carving out -- looks they're doing more than i want in. they're carving out space. >> gillibrand, asterisk. people up for election in 2018 have to be more discreet. pamela harris in california. that she's poised to do that. the way i've sort of looked at it. i have a list of like 25 people here and the thing is, some of these i think are laughable, but you know what? three years ago today, donald trump was. and bernie sanders was, too. i'm being -- a lot more humbled than i used to be, but the way i'm looking at it is, there will be at least one woman. >> yep. >> there will be at least one. and -- >> when you say one woman, multiple women that one. you mean one in the final -- >> talking about the final four. there will be a woman. there will be an african-american. there will be one white guy, and then there's an at-large. some of these, like charris to e

one of these. look for categories because of powerful constituencies within the party that will gravitate behind -- >> just a bigger point. we can all do this on paper, but the lesson from the last two people elected president, donald trump and barack obama, is a personalities, they matter so much. both in their own way completely dominated the media. figures of fascination support others couldn't get enough of. crowd size really adds up. >> actually, a great segue. my 13-year-old, literally, said to me, hey, dad, you know that dwayne johnson's thinking about running for ped. i said, why do you say that? he said so on "ellen." i went, he did? here's the evidence. >> would you run? i mean -- would you, seriously, would you run? >> i'm seriously considering it. yes. >> okay. >> look, i've actually been

following him for the last six months on instagram and social media. this guy is very good at his own public relations. very good. see, hear many about a sick fan who many a kid. the rock is there with a ticket. somebody in this space will break out. is 2it a cuban? is it a rock? somebody's messing around with it. >> live an era to run for the president of the united states you need to be a celebrity and have a television following and instagram following and be able to reach we'll through charisma and through your backgrounds, from having been on television screens for years and years, donald trump's way of doing it, then somebody like the rock has a chance. donald trump may have been an exception. i don't know. >> three years ago -- >> there are presidents rolling in their graves. >> yes. >> and as they should. >> what i don't get, though,

kristen. actually, i think when you try to do -- the other party does something and you try to do what that party does, it always fails. try to do the exact opposite. where is the boring -- who is the least charismatic boring, lowest crowd guy or gal out there? because i have a theory that that's the person we'll turn to next. >> i think whoever can give president trump a real run for his money has to be his counterpoint. no doubt about that. what does that look like? does that mean that the person is unifying, though? is that sort of the aspect people are looking for? one thing in addition to all of the charismatic all of those things you laid out, i think the person needs to come off as being authentic. even if a little boring. >> charlie? go ahead. >> i would say -- ralph northam, doug jones, go down the list. the good democratic candidates this year were boring guys. >> yeah. no offense. to your point, our friend mark shields has a theory that say you're in a subway car and it stops between stations.

the lights go out. panic. chaos. then a reassuring voice, a firm, reassuring voice comes on to make you feel comfortable. things are under control. and will people be looking for someone that -- that would be reassuring, calm a good bedside manner? that sort of thing. >> the rock played tooth fairy! >> boring, boring never in presidential politics. could be opposite. george w. bush on toughness. barack obama emphasis on thoughtfulness. not boring, though. >> let me close with this. we all think trump will get a primary challenge for the sport of it. question, who could be the most effective primary challenger to a trump? rich, start with you. this is "national review" may cover a lot of this. >> it's hard to see how this would work unless trump totally craters. otherwise, you'll get some sort of symbolic challenge from

someone like john cakasich, 25% 30%. this juncture, he wouldn't even win ohio. >> what about a ben sasse? mitt romney? >> the two names that come up. mitt romney, the better chance. done it before. more name recognition but a tough poll. >> somebody's going to do it just for the coverage. >> jeff flake ro be interesting. >> president trump runs, he will be the nominee. the question, if he doesn't, it's pence versus the field. >> free for all. when we come back, oh, how the political world has changed in just one pleyear.

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what kind of year has 2017 been? look at our new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, end of the year, answers are mixed. ahead of president trump's inauguration january, 37% of americans felt the country was going in the right direction. 52% felt on the wrong track. an inprovement at that time from the months before the 2016 election. but in our year-end poll, 29% now say right direction. an eight-point drop from january. while 63% say wrong track. that's up 11 points. no surprise, how you view the year depends a lot on who you are. republicans thought it was a pretty good year. for example, 79% say 2017 was the best year for the united states, above average or average. only 20% thought it was the worse year or below average. independents, evenly split. hardly any democrat thought it was a good year. have a majority saw 2017 as

worst year for the country or below average. majority of men thought good, women thought, bad. a similar breakdown across racial demographics. a slip majority of white americans. 52%, thought this year was the best, above average or average. majorities of hispanics and african-americans thought the worst year or below average. finally, what did americans view as the most significant events of 2017? events like, the mass shooting in las vegas, and natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires were on folks minds the most. third on the list, president trump's inauguration followed by terrorist attacks, the tax plan in congress and sexual harassment revelations and, of course, the #metoo movement. when we come back, words that came into being, and new words that gain new meaning in 2017. president trump's impact on american culture is next. remember our special night? abdominal pain... ...and diarrhea.

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welcome back. we're going to look at some of the cull cheer changes that took place this year. for some people, inspired in part by donald trump's presidency. guys, i think the biggest one in sports, has to do with his involvement in the nfl. sort of with race. take a look what sort of instigated this. >> wouldn't you love to see one of these nfl owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, get that son of a bitch

off the field right now? out! he's fired. he's fired! >> and had you some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people. on both sides. >> now, are we going to take down his statue? you know what? it's fine. you are changing history. you're changing culture. >> was sheriff joe convicted for doing his job? i'll make a prediction. i think he's going to be just fine. okay? >> you know what's interesting, kristin. especially the first one. many times when he dabbles into sort of culture wars it's at a moment of political weakness for him. he did the nfl ref, embarrassed to endorse luther strange at a time he knew that candidate would get in that runoff and it wasn't about luther strange about him and the nfl? >> right. a great way to energize his base to rally supporters around him. it was similar during charlottesville when he made those remarks, by the way,

enraged some people within his own administration. you're seeing a backlash at polls. you saw that with how energized african-american voters were to come oubt t in 2018. i think the white house knows they have a problem with diversity and need more diversity, particularly to senior staff. just reported on ohm rosesa leaving for example, only african-american senior staffer he had in the west wing. i think possibly a focus fwh the new year. >> would have guessed beginning of the year, unorthodox president stoking controversies with unorthodox agenda. instead orthodox republican agenda, doesn't have anything for the signature trump voter but still unorthodox president and stoking controversies is what his voters are getting. >> weird backlash, not from

voters per se but corporate america and nfl is part of this. struggled with how to handle this. don't know how, especially nfl has struggled with it. >> they sort of don't approve of the behavior. but meeting with ceo recently who said the tax bill will probably save about $350 million. so they're torn. good things, less regulation, laxer enforcement, things they like. but they don't like the tone and where this is going. really torn. >> and watch out for customers, shareholders, brand and all of that. when the president says something, why we've had advisory councils disbanded, corporate leaders feel then the can't be aligned with the positions. >> some is strategic but lot of it, he enjoys stirring the pot,

everyone freaking out. remote control goes and watches on his 90 inch tv screen and enjoys every minute of it. >> as he said to me, it's trump show and it's been sold out for years. >> i think that's part of the job he wanted, head of state and pot stirrer. and all this other stuff, gosh do i have to do this too? >> i think 2017, "times" person of the year, feminism is word of the year, understatement to say culturally -- i think many people think that women are speaking out more because of the election of donald trump but here's highlight of the year. >> hollywood titan harvey weinstein fired from his own company. >> kevin spacey. >> louis c.k. >> matt lauer. >> sexual harassment has no place in any workplace, let alone united states congress. >> in midst of cultural

revolution. >> one revelation or two? john conyers is icon in our country, however congressman conyers should resign. >> he's not going to be pressured by nancy pelosi or anyone else to step down. >> in the coming weeks, i will be resigning as member of the united states senate. >> the president has firsthand knowledge of what he did and didn't do. he can speak directly to those and he has and addressed them. i don't have anything further to add. >> i think everyone should be held accountable, starting from the president of the united states. >> quite the moment this has been. and politics is struggling with it more than any other sector. >> and happening really fast. snowballing effect. sexual harassment doesn't seem to be tolerated. concern among women that there will be backlash, revolution eat its own. but everyone agrees if we can

make safer workplaces and bring men on board in that, don't feel victimized or objects of revenge, we'll be better off. number of women running for office is stratospheric levels. >> week before franken allegations, you said there's going to be some that wonder is that resignation worthy, do you throw him out? but ultimately that's what happens in moments of revolutions, not sure moments but larger things. >> bizarre speech he gave. if he's innocent, owes it to himself and voters who gave him the seat to stay and fight. doesn't surprise me there's been back and forth. but initial "new york times" story, harvey weinstein is single bhoeft influential piece of journalism that instantly changed this country. >> not bill o'reilly, the fox

firings, canaries in the coal mine. >> it's what requires death penalty and standard has gotten slim on what ends a career. but i think this is going to provide a lot of opportunities for women, younger men who behave themselves, this is a society changing event, set of circumstances. >> november 2018, i think when we're looking at new faces of congress, going to see what house bank scandal did in 1992, wiped out people on both sides of the aisle. this moment on women and sexual assault may wipe out 50 members left and right. >> i think that's right and i think they're bracing for the possibility. lot of people both sides of the aisle think this is going to be year of the woman had it comes to 2018. democrats have tried to seize the moral high ground on this,

stress tried to because it's complicated. and white house knows it has work to do. lot of the president's accusers came forward, didn't feel like heard during the campaign and they are now. white house is infuriated. say the voters have had their say. >> new words from merriam webster. troll as verb. dog whistle. surprised hadn't been there before, and alt-right. what does that say about america? >> wow, you know, i'm 64 years old and sitting here -- whole world is changing and i'm just sort of astonished by it all. >> one thing i'm going to tell viewers to do -- >> you have to start trolling people charlie. >> it's really a lot of fun. when charlie starts trolling stu rothenburg, we'll know the world has changed. that's all for today. thanks to our viewers for being

part of the broadcast. we take your critiques seriously. continue to send them in. on behalf of everyone at msnbc, wish everybody a safe, happy, healthy, politically less stressful year. be back next week. if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." nooooooo! yes! amazing speed, coverage and control. all with an xfi gateway. pepsoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear.

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good evening. 2017 is wrapping up. this is our final edition "the beat" for the year. what a year it's been. cue the music. not that music. although we have a fallback friday tonight with nominations for the whole year. but begin with a special report on the one force that's boxed in donald trump's first year in office unlike any administration in history. report on bob mueller's russia