thank you for watching this hour of "velshi & ruhle." right now andrea mitchell of "andrea mitchell reports." >> right now, andrea mitchell reports hot spots. crises are heating up for the president around the world. iran's largest anti-government demonstrations in years, pakistan's war of words with president trump over support for terror groups. and north korea's diplomatic overture to south korea amidst nuclear threats to the u.s. >> he says he has a nuclear missile on his desk. >> we'll see.

we'll see. how the russian investigation got started, with george papadopoulos' wine-soaked night in a london bar. >> in that conversation he let slip that he's aware the russian government has political dirt on hillary clinton. when the e-mails started to come out a few months later, the australians' very close ally of intelligence to the united states, they come to the fbi and say, hey, we have something you should note. and jam -packed january. congress getting back to work facing deadlines on dreamers, health care and a whole lot more. >> we clearly have to get a budget passed in january and make it long-term, but there are so many subjects that have to worry about pensions, health care. >> the next thing we need to worry about is health for workers. we need to make those welfare programs not trapping people in a welfare state. >> and good day, everyone.

i'm andrea mitchell in washington. it's good to be back. happy new year to all of you. meanwhile, tensions are rising in iran where nine people were killed overnight and protests continue to rock the country for a sixth day. according to iranian tv, this brings the amount up to 26 people now killed in the largest demonstration in years. it started with frustration over the country's economy, including rising food and gas prices. president trump tweeting his support for the protesters today. the people of iran, he wrote, are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt iranian regime. all of the money that president obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their pockets. the people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. the u.s. is watching! can i say t kristen welker at the white house, aman in new york.

kristen, reacting to the protests, and we're hearing from the eiyatollah who is striking back to the u.s. >> reporter: that's right, he had some very firm words for the president. i asked if this would deter the president in terms of using some of this tough talk we have heard. the administration official said no, but at the same time the president does understand that he needs to walk a somewhat fine line here. i am told he wanted to stand with the protesters, wanted to make it very clear that yet again the united states denoun ces what it perceives to be bad reaction by iran. administration officials said, look, this is essentially echoing what we have heard from the white house, from this president before, but again, in the wake of these protests, andrea, the president giving those frustrations new voice.

i am told that there are discussions here behind the scenes about potentially imposing new sanctions, again, just discussions that the point -- at this point this time, but this comes as president trump dangles that possibility of pulling out of the iran nuclear group, something he has not yet done, but something he campaigned on, andrea, so this tough talk not entirely a surprise. he's meeting with the vice president right now, having lunch with him as the new year kicks off, and undoubtedly this crisis in iran will be one of their big topics of conversation at lunch, andrea. >> and, in fact, there had been a game plan to deal with tougher sanctions, hoping to get some congressional support, they've been talking to european ambassadors without any success getting europe on board. tougher sanctions against iran in the next couple weeks as they face new deadlines on that iran nuclear deal, and also deadlines on whether to continue waiving new sanctions that were imposed

as part of that nuclear deal. aiman, as you're talking to people around the world, the world is really gripped with what's happening in iran. what do we think really began all this? >> reporter: getting information from iran is always a little difficult, relying on different sources. some of the german sources on the ground, our own team that is there. it seems these protests that started on thursday, mostly grievances in the eastern part of the country, and micchaud calls for the retraction of the president, talking about corruption. it was for the most part targeted against the government of president rouhani. there was some indication it was encouraged or spurred on by some religious leadership in the country, but what seems to have happened is the demonstrations

have grown both in the scope of what the grievances are about, but they have also spread geographically in other parts of the country and reaching the capital of tehran. for the most part, the protests have not just focused on economic issues, they have also taken a political bent with reports of the chants and grievances of the demonstrators against the president but also against the religious leadership of the country. so it is going to be a very interesting dynamic to see over the next several days as to whether or not these demonstrators have the durability, have the stamina to continue. i think these are some of the things the protests are going to be measured against, and it's going to be interesting to see whether or not the more hard-line elements of the iranian government, including the security services, respond. we've gotten some indication already, according to the semi-official news agency that was attributing a quote to one of the deputy commanders of the islamic revolutionary guard, the

irgc, in which they said they were watching the situation and if they were to get involved, they would be decisive in putting this protest down. i think that is going to be a cause of concern for a lot of iran experts as well as analysts that are monitoring the situation there, andrea. >> of course, the president's response, kristen welker, has sort of been in sharp contrast to what we saw under president obama back in '09 when we had the green movement and there was the election. the protesters felt by many accounts that they were not well enough supported by the united states, that president obama hung back, and the critics would say was too eager to make some sort of accommodation with tehran and did not support those who were in the streets. >> that's right. and that is a point that we are hearing the trump administration stress today, the fact that this response stands in sharp contrast to what we saw during former president obama. the fact that they have other international leaders from the

u.k., from canada, joining in this very strong support of the protesters. i thought it was notable, andrea, that the president, in one of his tweets, said time for change. we've been trying to drill down on what specifically he meant by that. does he mean a change in leadership, a change in policy? at this point in time, administration officials will only say that he's trying to indicate a change in policy, but we will certainly try to drill down on that more when we hear from sarah huckabee sanders, the press secretary, later today, andrea. >> in her first briefing of the new year. thank you so much, kristen welker. aiman, thank you. that is the issue. what did the president mean when he tweeted, time for change? msnbc contributor and a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment and professor at georgetown university. i have to figure out how to get my mouth moving with the new year as well. great to have you here. what is your read of the origin of the protests and how they me

have morphed or changed in the past six days? >> i think aiman is right, they started with economic grievances and then expanded to political protests. they began in red states, cities that are deeply religious and thought to be kind of strongholds of the islamic republic, and they've since spread. i think in contrast to 2009, they're not as large, they're not millions of people, it's tens of thousands, but the slogans have been much more strident, calling for an end to the islamic republic. >> and the khamenei tweets today, in recent events, enemies of iran have allied and used the various means they possess, including money, weps, politics and intelligence services, to trouble the islamic republic. the enemy is always looking for an opportunity and any crevice to infiltrate and strike the

iran nation. the administration is on the hill as well as with our allies in europe trying to get answers. where do you see the protests, or how do you see the protests influencing administration decisions? >> one really fascinating thing about what's happening in iran is that this is spontaneous. it's broad. it's diffuse. unlike 2009, it's not centered in tehran and other big cities. it's, by my count, in maybe three dozen cities around the country, cities as small as 50,000, i'm told, have had people in the streets. it's included a tax on police stations, on symbols of the regime. i think what kareem said earlier is right, it began with basic anger about the iranian economy. this is a revolution, if you will, of rising expectations. people had believed hassan rouhani would bring a more

dynamic economy. iran is a country that's hungry for growth, for living in the modern world. people can almost feel it on their fingertips. what happened to it? where is it? that anger is very combustible. whether the regime cracks down hard remains to be seen. i think the regime would like to get a common statement from the u.s. and allied countries, britain, france, germany, saying we're watching. iran should not use violence against its own people. any violation of iran in human rights will be watched by the international community. try to put some limits on the regime's behavior. beyond that, andrea, i think we're all going to watch, people in the administration, people around the world, what's happening in the streets. >> this comes at a time when the administration had been working, they had been meeting with european ambassadors. you've seen what nikki haley did in bringing out a really unusual

display, a missile that they said was of iranian origin that had been fired from iranian-backed rebels, as you know, in yemen, at american allies and rihad in saudi arabia. so a lot of rhetoric from the president and little support from congress of actually doing something, and no support in europe for any kind of further crackdown coming. but these protests now interrupt that policy review. >> you know, andrea, this is a regime whose official slogan is "death to america." so any american politician is going to want to support these protests, and i think the big question is what is the most constructive way to do so. this administration thought that in 2009 president obama didn't offer sufficient support to the green movement, so they want to do more. i think instead of kind of freewheeling tweets, what's more important is carefully crafted

statements of solidarity. but even more important than that is what they do. one of the things they're thinking about now is to make it clear to any company or country around the world that if they aid the iranian regime in preparation or providing iran the means to pressure people, they'll face sanctions in the united states. another person i spoke to in the white house was using facial recognition technology to identify perhaps some of the agents of repression in tehran and perhaps expose them. >> i want to play a little bit of lindsey graham on "face the nation" saying that what the president has been doing on tweets does not amount to policy. this is from a senator who has been a golf partner of the president's and getting closer and closer to president trump lately, so it's significant. >> president trump is tweeting very sympathetically to the iranian people. but you just can't tweet here. you have to lay out a plan. and if i were president trump, i would lay out a plan as to how i

would engage the regime. i would tell the europeans and the congress and the world that america is going to withdraw from this agreement unless it's a better deal, and i would lay out what a better deal would look like, and i would stand with the iranian people the entire time. >> and we now understand that nikki haley at 1:00 is going to be briefing the press at the u.n. security council outside there at the stakeout position in the corridors at the u.n. so we're going to hear something, presumably a coordinated policy, david, from the administration from nikki haley. >> well, let's hope it's coordinated. often we get little slices of policy that don't all add up. i think the danger for the administration is mixed messaging. there has been an ongoing series of messages about iranian weapons programs. nikki haley is going to keep talking about missile development. that doesn't really speak to the protesters in the streets. i think somehow there's going to

have to be an effort to say, we are going to hold iran accountable. yes, missile testing and all the same issues we talked about, but right now we're going to hold them accountable for any violence against their own people. as said a moment ago, taking names, finding identities of people who were involved until oppression and perhaps attacks on the iranian people. that's going to be job one. >> kareem, before we let you go, does this frustration with the economy undercut rouhani and other supporters of the foreign minister, supporters of the iran deal which was supposed to be the panacea and has not worked out that way for the iranian people? >> it does undercut rouhani. many who are protesting probably voted for rouhani. this is a society who i say

wants to be south korean and not north korean. it's important that we be on the other side of the aspirations of the iranian people. undoing the nuclear deal, i think, would be more a gift to iran's hardliners rather than helping iranian society. >> kareem and david ignatius, thank you for kicking us off in the new year. how a night of heavy drinking reportedly led to the launch of the russian probe. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. stay with us. (amanda) he was totally freaked out, digging and pawing at me. and when i woke up i realized that i was in anaphylaxis and went to the emergency room. i don't know what i would do if he wasn't there. he's the best boy. (vo) through the subaru share the love event, we've helped the aspca save nearly forty thousand animals so far. get zero percent financing for 63 months on select models, plus we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity.

president trump kicking off the new year with another swipe at his former fbi director. writing at the end of a tweet this morning, deep state justice department must finally act also on comey and others. that followed a new year's eve tweet from comey. quote, here's hoping 2018 brings more ethical leadership, focused on the truth and lasting values. trump prompted a long-time interview with michael schmidt, saying, it makes the country look bad, it make the country look very bad, and it puts the country in a very bad position. as soon as it's worked out the better it is for the country. chuck rosenberg, former federal prosecutor and former chief of staff to james comey, and

national security reporter julia ainsley. welcome both. happy new year. first, the president holding back on attacks of mueller for the last week or two, but really going after comey and deep state of justice is sort of a new iteration, isn't it? >> yeah, we've been hearing about the deep state in the last year. i guess i was a member of the deep state for the last 25 years of my life, but i never thought about it that way. >> i think this is the first time the president has used the steve bannon term. >> i imagine so, but this is the first time i've seen men and women try to get it right. maybe they've been there a long time so it's an institutional knowledge, but i see that as a plus, not a minus. >> julia, what do we know about the president's approach now to mueller, the russia probe and comey? he's now today been going after comey and raising all sorts of

issues of his past opponent. >> it seems like that anxiety has almost been channelled in a different direction. i think leading up to the holidays, to christmas and new year's, we saw president trump be pretty antagonistic toward the mueller investigation, and now he seems to be reining that in. that could be coming from the advice hifz lawyeof his lawyers he's sort of focusing on the justice department in general. he said in his "time" interview he has control of the justice department. there should be a disconnect, a wall between these two, especially when it comes to law enforcement. >> literally he is correct. he has control over everything. but there has been the norm, the practice has been that there is a separation, that presidents don't comment on pending investigations. >> that's exactly right. and julia understands that as well as anyone, andrea. you don't comment on pending investigations because you don't want to influence pending

investigations. traditionally and typically, our chief executives have stayed away from this. they haven't talked about it, they haven't tried to guide investigations or opine on who and who should not be prosecuted. i think that's a danger. and so if you're talking about professional investigators and prosecutors, and you trust their judgment, and we should, they should be left alone to do their jobs. >> let me ask both of you whether all of the words coming on twitter out of the president and his advisers that the mueller investigation is going to be wrapped up quickly, whether that pace makes any sense. were they trying to set the stage for going after him again if it's not wrapped up quickly? >> i think the idea here -- it's two things. one, it's a strategy of trump's legal team trying to keep their client at ease, telling him it's going to be wrapped up quickly. also they have republicans saying this needs to be wrapped up quickly so the president can move on and move out from under this cloud.

but everything we've seen from the mueller investigation and the timing shows they're not anywhere near that. we know the manafort trial will not begin until the spring, and there are a lot of threads that mueller will continue to pull. although he is working faster than we thought he would at first. >> yes and yes. it seems to be faster than it might otherwise go because he has a very good and fairly large teamworki iworking on it. on the other hand, these things take time. you can't rush investigations just because somebody wants to rushed. you have to pull the threads, you have to follow the leads, you have to get the documents, you have to talk to the witnesses. by the way, sometimes you have to do it again. you talk to a witness, she gives you some information that leads you back to things you thought you knew, and so i don't see this ending any time soon. >> and the papadopoulos issue. the report from the "new york times" over the last week which suggested that george papadopoulos talking to the australian ambassador to the u.k. had first hinted in may of

2016 that there was a russia connection, and then when wikileaks, which as we know is russian connected, came out with the dnc e-mails, that was the tip that the australians then realized was significant. they went to the cia and fbi and, voila, we had a probe. >> and we had a probe. >> is that a credible timeline? >> it's a credible timeline. there's different categories of stuff. there's stuff that's interesting but not all that important. there's stuff that's important but not all that interesting. it's interesting if that is, in fact, how the probe started, but it's not that important. what do i mean? investigations start all different ways. it could be from a tip to a dea agent from a source. it could be an l.a. district attorney in new york reading a "wall street journal" about a stock drop and opening up a case because of it.

so how it started is interesting, but it doesn't matter. >> it's interesting, though, in that very briefly, julia, it fights the argument of the president's that it all started with the very controversial dossier. >> right, with the dossier. of course, this sort of will undermine that republican argument that this started from something that is uncredible. but what's even, i think, more important here is the fact he was having these conversations, george papadopoulos, in may. this comes after that march meeting that we've all seen the picture of where we've been told he was told by now attorney general jeff sessions not to move forward. it seems that was how to get this dirt on hillary clinton continued. >> we'll have to leave it there. thank you so much. now some wonderful news. i want to congratulate my friend ho hoda kotb announced as the new

co-anchor of the "today" show. this sparks a new era, an all-women team on the "today" sh show. >> hoda is officially the co-anchor of "today." let's give her a round of applause. this has to be the most popular decision nbc news has ever made, and i am so thrilled. >> i'm pinching myself. i think we should send some medics to alexandria, virginia where my mom has likely fainted. >> i just want to congratulate hoda and her mom and the whole "today" show family. it is a family for all. coming up, the olympics relationship between north and south korea. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. hi, i'm joan lunden with a place for mom

every day we hear from families who partnered

with a senior living advisor from a place for mom to help find the perfect place for their mom or dad thank you so much for your assistance in helping us find a place. mom feels safe and comfortable and has met many wonderful residence and staffers. thank you for helping our family find our father a new home. we especially appreciate the information about the va aid and attendance program. i feel i found the right place. a perfect fit. you were my angel and helped guide me every step of the way thank you. the senior living advisors at a place for mom partner with thousands of families every month, listening and offering local knowledge and advice to help find the best senior living communities across the country and it won't cost you a cent. this is a free service. call today. a place for mom. you know your family. we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. that goes beyond assuming beingredients are safe...ood

to knowing they are. going beyond expectations... because our pets deserve it. beyond. natural pet food. no one burns on heartburn. my watch! try alka seltzer ultra strength heartburn relief chews. with more acid-fighting power than tums chewy bites. mmmmm...amazing. i have heartburn. ultra strength from alka seltzer. enjoy the relief.

today south korea's president moon says he welcomes the winter olympics in seoul. this after kim jong-un's new year's day speech suggesting talks with the south, a clear ploy to divide south korea from the united states. south korea suggested the meeting could take place as soon as this weekend in what would be the first substantive talks between the neighboring countries in years.

president trump reverting to his insult mode today on twitter, calling kim jong-un rocket man. james is nbc's chief security analyst. admiral, nice to see you. happy new year to you. thanks for joining us today. let's talk about north korea and the rocket man claim from the president again on twitter. is that the right way to approach what could be a possible opening? i don't know how you read kim jong-un's speech, but i thought in some part it at least was suggesting talks and perhaps a pause in the nuclear testing. >> yeah, kim jong-un's speech really is all about compared to what, andrea, and compared to a speech in which he announces he's going to do an aboveground nuclear test which many analysts have been predicting and instead says, effectively, you know, i'm

satisfied with where my program is. i've got a big red button on my desk. now i'm ready to have talks. compared to a nuclear detonation and a belligerent statement out of him, this is not bad. i think president trump would be wise to let this one play out a little bit and see if there is a legitimate opening here for diplomacy. >> it just seemed to me coming up with rocket man now is not the best timing because there has been talk of some diplomacy. it seemed that rex tillerson in his op-ed in the "new york times" for new year's was laying out some diplomatic options. we certainly know that general mattis would prefer to pursue the diplomatic track. so to hear that from the president right now, the last thing we need is another war of words between these two leaders. >> exactly right. the only positive, i guess, is that kim jong-un has been promot promoted, i guess, from being little rocket man to now just being rocket man. maybe he'll look at that in a

positive way. i doubt it. what this is doing is counterproductive not only to diplomacy but also to our relations with south korea, andrea. we spend too much time yelling at north korea and too little time listening to south korea. this is a time quietly to be talking to our allies, the south koreans, and seeing if there is something real here that can possibly keep us on a diplomatic path. i hope that's the message the president is getting from his cabinet today. >> and one of the possible opportunities is the olympics, because we know that the koreans, north and south, love sport. they march together, they actually share the interest in sport, and in competing. and that the olympics right there in the korean peninsula could be a moment. >> indeed, they could. and, of course, that's the general theory of the olympics, is that it's at least one moment in the international calendar

when nations can come together. we should not dismiss that entirely. on the other hand, we shouldn't think that a simple set of olympic games is going to change everything, but it might create an opening whi. while we pursue that opening, andrea, we ought to also be preparing cyber options, maritime operations, continuing to press on sanctions with china, gathering intelligence. we need to be ready for high power, but here at least is an opening for soft power. we ought to seize it. >> as we talk about trying to prevent more in the korean peninsula, which would be catastrophic by all measure, there is the ongoing longest war, america's longest war in afghanistan. we've lost another service member. there was an incident involving four other service members being wounded. we know there is a resurgence of not only the taliban but isis as well. i'm not sure what we attribute

this to. it's an early report. >> indeed. i think what you're going to see, unfortunately, as the year goes on, andrea, is more casualties from the united states. we should keep this in perspective. when i was the supreme allied commander of nato and had responsibility for that operation, we were losing well over 100 servicemen a month. thus far, in 2017, as the year ended, we had lost less than a dozen. so casualties have gone down, but now we're sending more troops, another 5,000 troops, who are going to be used mo more aggressively. i think we are going to see casualties rise. we ought to be prepared for that. >> thank you for being with us, admiral stavridis today. president trump without precedent in the first year in the white house. what does that mean for the future of the office? we'll have more scoop coming up

next on "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. whoooo.

looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest

price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor.

president trump is back in washington, chilly washington, from florida, and facing some big new year's challenges after a year of shattering political norms. how will he continue to redefine the presidency in the face of

resurgent democrats, a potential showdown with robert mueller over the russia investigation, and a host of policy changes? let's get the scoop from keef correspondent and garrett haake. peter, first to you, you wrote your extraordinary piece looking back over this past year and how president trump has been doing. what do you think he brought to the table to put his own stamp on the white house? >> i think we spent a lot of time talking about how the presidency might change him or had changed him or might change him. we didn't talk about how he changed the office, how he changed the institution. i think he brought a completely different way of looking at things to his predecessors. for his supporters he's willing to say things and do things that

go out of bounds from the normal boundaries that presidents tend to behave, from the institutionalists, from a lot of democrats and even a lot of republicans, it's very worrisome. he's willing to do things that most presidents would never do in terms of using the power of his office to threaten his opponents, to brandishing the nuclear sabre in a bombastic way with north korea as we've just been talking about. in all sorts of ways, he's transgressed the normal boundaries we've seen most presidents adhere to. does it change the institution forever or is it just unique to him? >> twitter is clearly one of the big issues. a tweet storm today talking about so many things. he's bashing president obama and the iran nuclear deal, calling for rahim abedeen to be jailed, calling kim jong-un rocket man,

taking credit for the fact that people have not died on airlines, attacking the "new york times," saying the hispanics will start falling in love with republicans. where do you start, peter, on what he does on twitter? and these are presidential records, they're official records, they are policy. >> they absolutely are, and there's something no president would do. no president would come out with multiple messages with so many different topics on the same day. they try to concentrate america's attention on what they want to talk about. if the priority of the day is tax cuts, let's say, they would focus on tax cuts and try to ignore or downplay other issues. if they're high priority was north korea, fine, they would talk about north korea. this president is all over the map on certain issues. if it's in his head, he puts it out, something a lot of presidents wouldn't do. and his tone is something a lot of presidents wouldn't do. they wouldn't attack anyone willy-nilly without being a

plant and part of a strategy. he is the only president that would call for someone to be jailed. that's very, very different than his predecessors would do. his supporters like that, but a lot of traditionalists in washington find it disturbing. they see traces of authoritarianism or other unnutritional methods that they consider to be out of bounds. >> and garrett, the year ended with this love fest on the south grounds of the white house, with the speaker of the house praising the president's exquisite leadership on the tax package being passed. so it was a big victory for them. is that the tone we're going to see from the republican leadership on the hill going forward, or are they going to start worrying about their midterm challenges and the fact that democrats have been doing rather well in these closing weeks and months? >> reporter: i think that will be the tone to start, andrea. republicans on the hill left a

bunch of items over from their 2017 to-do list that they have got to get done in the early part of 2018 before they can even look at doing these other big ticket items that they would like to have completed this year that they can run on. first they've got to fund the government in a long-term way, they have to extend funding for chip, they have to fund disaster relief and all these areas that are needed. these are all bread and butter functions of the u.s. government that will be more challenging than not because of how divided republicans are in the house and how narrow their majority is in the senate. until those things get done, we're not necessarily going to see progress on the things the president has been using his twitter feed to talk about, like a deal on daca and immigration. like a big infrastructure package. those things are tough in an election year, and they're especially tough with such a narrow majority in the senate, which i think is the other thing to keep an eye on this year with republicans having just that one-vote edge. that's hardly an edge at all. >> and peter, another way this

president is different, is i can't imagine another president sitting at a golf club in the grill room and doing an interview, an extended 31-minute interview with michael schmidt of the "new york times" with no aides around and the white house staff completely blindsided. >> absolutely. his staff knew the interview was taking place. none of us at the "new york times" knew it was taking place. it happened very quickly, very spontaneously in that sense. but look, that's, again, one of the things that makes him different. he is willing to sort of play it by his own gut, by his own instinct. if he sees someone there he wants to talk to, he's going to talk to them whether the staff wants him to or not. in the middle of that interview, michael schmidt is interviewing the president. suddenly the phone rings and is handed to him. it's his communications director trying to figure out what's going on in the middle of the interview. you're right, this is a president that does things other presidents wouldn't do.

>> we'll leave it there. thank you, garrett haake. why a record number of women are setting their sights on elective office. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us. we use the most advanced teeth straightening technology to help you find the next amazing version of yourself. it's time to unleash your secret weapon. it's there, right under your nose. get to your best smile up to 50% faster. visit invisalign.com to get started today. well, thomas, you've got prediabetes. but with more exercise and a change in diet, it can be reversed. but i've tried exercising, and it just makes me hungry for bacon. i love bacon, too. and who really likes to exercise? not me. me neither. nobody! [both laughing] mmm! so we're good?

what? oh, you still have prediabetes... big time. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans,

you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel - and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans

that will be here for you now - and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

in 2017, a surge of activism led in large part by women and minorities began to change the political landscape in key races around the country. the question now is what effect this will have on 2018 on the midterms and statehouses around the country. according to the center for american women in politics at rutgers university, a record 79 women, 49 democrats and 30 republicans are running or seriously considering running for governor as filing deadlines a proech. join ming me now is ruth marcus. karen temelty, "washington post" political correspondent, who just wrote a piece on this topic, really drilling down on michigan. welcome both. happy new year to you. karen, take us to michigan and what you're seeing on the democratic party possible primary races there. >> well, it is interesting how many women across the country are running for particularly

governorships which executive offices always been a particularly heavy lift for a female candidate. so i spent some time over december with gretchen witmer who is leading the democratic primary in a state that donald trump really surprised a lot of people when he won it in the 2016 election. in michigan, you may -- there's the possibility that the democrats may be putting up women candidates for every single statewide office this time. so it really does sort of give an indication of the degree to which, as you said, this activism, this energy in the democratic base that we are seeing is really being driven by women. >> and ruth if you look back, the rear began, you know, just at the beginning in january right after the inaugural with the largest march, largest political march, women

participating across the country. we've seen women getting involved in politics before we thought frankly 1992 was going to be the year of the woman and that didn't work out so well for women. you and i both covered the hill and various administrations. is this finally going to be the time when women in both political parties get better footing and maybe fueled by the me too movement as well. actually win races? >> sure, think so. i think, you know, i never correct you, andrea, but i'm going to differ with you this time because i think 1992 really was an important watershed moment. you and i sat there and covered the clarence thomas/anita hill hearings with an entirely male, all white male senate judiciary committee. that is unthinkable now. it was the year of the woman as many women were elected to the senate in the aftermath of that and more to the house that really helped fuel that change.

but the piece is really important because we talked about hillary clinton of course talk add lot about the glass ceiling. there is this interesting and really important lucite ceiling, if you don't mind my using a corny phrase. it's actually relatively easy for women to get elected to legislative bodies from school boards to congress. but those executive roles are the ones they've had a much harder time cracking. and those are of course really big stepping stones to higher office including the presidency. so that's going to be i think the real significance of the 2018 elections. and just as with 1992, really fuel to leap forward in elected office. i think we'll see the result this year. >> a lot of people felt with hillary clinton's failed presidential race that that would stymie women.

we're also seeing in 2020 early sweepstakes that there's a lot of women being talked about, karen, women from the senate and women from around the country who are even being talked about as potential contenders in the democratic primaries. >> one of the problems for hillary clinton was a lot of times when a woman runs for office, cease seen as a change agent. because it's so unusual to see a woman doing this. hillary clinton did not enjoy that advantage in part because she was running against such an unconventional opponent but also because she had been on the national scene for decades by the time we decided to do it. a lot of the women you hear being talked about for 2020 are, in fact, kind of fresh faces on the scene and getting i think a different kind of look perhaps than hillary clinton may have gotten from voters. >> karen, ruth marcus from "the washington post," thank you both so much. more ahead. stay with us.

and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a medication, this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further irreversible damage. this is humira helping me reach for more. humira has been clinically studied for over 20 years. humira works for many adults. it targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com. this is humira at work.

that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember, follow online on facebook and on twi twit @mitchellreports. craig melvin is up next. happy new year, craig. >> happy new year, my friend, good to see you. craig melvin at msnbc news headquarters in new york. new year same president trump.

he's back at the white house and he's back on twitter. he's targeting his justice department, james comey and calling for a member of hk illa clinton campaign staff to be jailed. plus, a war of words. protests erupt in iran. north korea makes nuclear threats. trump has new messages for both countries. and high hopes. the new year brings major changes in marijuana industry in california. how that state and business owners are hoping to cash in on the new rules. we start with president trump's latest threat to wield the justice department like a weapon against perceived enmips. tod enemies. today, the president took to twitter. and appeared to demand the investigations into comey as well as abedin. the remarks just days after the president told "the new york times" he has a, quote, absolute right to do what he wants to with the doj. also comes as the president sometimes criticized for pushing personal vendettas o