backpacks, big duffel bags. you can't bring big bottles of alcohol. if you're planning to party, check the rules in the city first so you're not turned away. there's going to be a major presence way beyond what you see behind me here. on the fun side of things, that crystal ball that you mentioned is going to weigh almost 12,000 pounds and has 2,600 triangle crystals on it, and the see is going to be celebrating its 400th birthday which is coming in 2025. you can expect musical performances from big names like lenny kravitz, carrie underwood and even the jonas brothers. expect a big party tomorrow, all through the day and well into the night. >> hopefully not too cold. looks like the sun is shining today. thank you. that's going to do it for us today. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern. i'm ana cabrera reporting from new york. alex witt picks up our coverage

right now. >> good day to all of you. i'm alex witt here in new york city. we begin with the nation and world saying good-bye to former president jimmy carter, known across the globe as a peacemaker and a humanitarian icon whose legacy of public service spanned an incredible eight decades. this morning, we learned a state funeral will be held for the former president in washington on january 9th, a week from thursday. carter, who died at age 100 on sunday in the same town where he was born, served a single term in office. his accomplishments as commander in chief largely overshadowed by an economic crisis at home and overseas the iranian hostage crisis which lasted nearly a third of his entire presidency. but more than any other president in modern history, he will be remembered for what he did after leaving office. working with nonprofits and receiving a nobel peace prize

for his diplomatic efforts. the remaining current and former presidents described him as a man to be revered not just for what he did but for who he was. president biden calling carter a, quote, a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism. former president obama cited his life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. former president clinton said carter was guided by his faith and lived to serve others until the very end. while former president bush said he set an example of service that will inspire americans for generations. and president-elect trump posted, quote, he worked hard to make america a better place, and for that i give him my highest respect. he was a truly good man, and of course, will be greatly missed. nbc's kelly o'donnell joins me from the white house, jesse kirs is in plains, georgia, and with me in studio, jonathan alter. jonathan is the author of, hiss

very best. welcome to all three of you. what more are we learning about the memorial and funeral plans for the president? >> reporter: details still coming together, especially in light of the fact we're heading into the new year's day holiday. what we know at this point is the official state funeral if former president jimmy carter will be held on january 9th. that is a week from this upcoming thursday. meanwhile, here in his hometown, as you mentioned, this is where his life began. he was born in plains. this is where his persona as a peanut farmer from georgia was cultivated. this is where he taught sunday school. this is also where he met his wife of more than seven decades, rosalynn carter. we're expecting a vigil at the church where he was very heavily involved in this community. that is 5:00 to 7:00 this evening. we'll be watching for how the community here remembers him as the nation gets ready to mourn him. again, that state funeral is on january 9th. >> okay, thank you so much for those details.

we'll be watching what happens a week from thursday, certainly. let me go to you, kelly o'donnell. i did want to ask you with regard to the personal loss for president biden. it is something that we know he will deeply feel. they were friends. he met him back in 1974, i believe. talk about that. >> reporter: well, it is a long friendship and a very personal one. and joe biden was among the first to endorse jimmy carter in his run for the white house, which was noteworthy at the time. biden, a young senator, this was in the post-watergate era. jimmy carter at that time, a successful governor in georgia, but not as well known on the national scene. so it is a personal connection. both men of faith. certainly we see how president biden goes to church, goes to catholic mass every week. president carter was very involved in his faith. and living his faith. and in many ways, president

biden, there is sort of a professional book end here that it is nearing the end of his one term in office that he is the president sitting in office, able to authorize the state funeral and all of the national acknowledgments of the life and service of jimmy carter, because it is so personal. and that adds to it. he's been in touch with the family, speaking with the grown children and grandchildren of the carters, and of course, that photo you just saw of him with first lady jill biden, rosalynn carter, and jimmy carter, early in this presidency, he went to visit them in plains, as a sense of the honor and relationship. it was also noteworthy from his vacation he nted to gnaw only put out a written statement but to speak publicly. he reflected on the kind of impact jimmy carter has had. here's a portion of what president biden had to say.

>> jimmy carter stands up as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose. life a principle, faith, and humility. he lived in the state of georgia and became president and a beloved statesman all over the world. but to know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a sunday school teacher at that baptist church in plains, georgia. today's world will look at jimmy carter and see a man of a bygone era, with honesty and character and faith and humility that mattered. but i don't believe it's a bygone era. i see a man not only of our times but of all times. >> reporter: you get a sense of the personal and also the importance of how president biden views the role of being president and a life after the presidency. something that is clearly on his mind as the remaining weeks of his own term are in front of us. >> a terribly poignant time for him. thank you, kelly, from the white house for that. jonathan, as i welcome you to

the conversation, so much has been made about carter's post-presidency. so let's talk first about his time in the white house. we had a lot -- we know he had a lot of issues domestically. economically, there were a bunch of problems, gas prices, any number of things that way. but politically, diplomatically, he had some extraordinary accomplishments and something that i think gets overlooked is the fact that he is charged with not having solved the iranian hostage crisis, and yet, those hostages were freed mere minutes into when his successor, president ronald reagan, was inaugurated. it's not like it happened just like that. obviously, the carter administration was working to free them. there's some irony that it didn't happen on his watch technically, but talk about the foreign policy and domestic issues of note in this administration. >> so there are a lot of them. he was very accomplished. he was a political failure, he

lost to reagan. but a substantive and often visionary success. on the iran hostage situation, the ayatollah stuck it to him. carter had stayed up for three nights, pulled three all-nighters, sleeping on the couch in the oval office negotiating through algeria, the release of these hostages. so then, they were on the tarmac, and they held them on the tarmac and didn't let them leave, you know, until reagan had been sworn in. just seconds earlier. so that was obviously not one of the highlights of his presidency, but they came home alive. he sort of was held hostage a little bit himself by the ayatollah. but much of the rest of his foreign policy was extremely successful. and important. the camp david accords was durable treaty since world war ii. imagine if egypt and israel were

now at war. imagine how much worse the middle east would be. they went to war four times in just a few decades before carter made peace between them. the panama canal treaty, which trump is now reopening, if carter hadn't gotten those treaties approved, we would have a feerring vietnam style war in panama for all this time since, because we would have had to have the joint chiefs, 1,000 troops there permanently guarding the canal. huge achievement. normalization of relations with china. huge achievement. the human rights policy which helped undermine communism and move many dictatorships to democracies, huge achievement. on the omestic side, there are several environment achievements. if people listen to him, he wanted solar panels not just on

the white house but all over the place. electric vehicles by the mid-1980s if he had been re-elected. the first leader anywhere to talk about climate change. if he had been re-elected, we would be living in a different country now. >> let's play part of the speech that became famously known as the malaise speech. he delivered it in the summer of 1979. he talked about america's crisis of confidence. listen to part of this. >> we can see this crisis. in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives. and in the loss of a unity, of purpose for our nation. the erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of america. >> i think a lot of folks might look around today and say yeah, pretty much nailed it. >> an extraordinary speech. and i don't think anything like that will ever be given again by

an american president. eve he didn't use the word malaise, by the way, but the speech was very critical of american materialism and it called for sacrifice. and we're a nation of shoppers. we don't really like to be told to sacrifice. and all of his successors realized they had to be positive all the time and not -- and not talk down our country, as both reagan and ted kennedy have challenged in the democrat, primaries charged that jimmy carter was doing. but it was a lot of truth in that speech. hard truth. and it obviously didn't help him politically. but it was one of the more fascinating speeches in all of american history. and he actually got some support for it in the immediate aftermath. i was actually in the white house a couple days after he gave that speech because i had been an intern for carter in the speech writing office in the summer before.

and it looked good. the initial polls were good. but then he did something kind of not smart. he fired half of his cabinet, and this made it seem as if his administration was really in trouble. and then his popularity, which was already on the way down, went even lower in the summer of 1979. so he in some ways was swamped by events. but this was a compelling and often a administration and presidency of real accomplishment. >> he was up against the man who was known as the great communicator, something he could not control. jonathan, thank you so much fo all your time. i'm so glad to have your insights. in 90 seconds, i'll speak to a former top democrat, senator and ambassador who knew the former president well about how he changed america's relationship with china.

first, a tribute to president jimmy carter lit up new york city's skyline last night. the empire state building was shining in red, white, and blue, in remembrance of the former president. you're watching msnbc. ing msnbc. aveeno introduces new daily moisturizing cream. it's clinically proven to moisturize dry skin for 48 hours. and instantly strengthen skin's barrier. for softer, smoother skin. aveeno. the power of oat for sensitive skin.

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forged a peace treaty between egypt and israel. a historic agreement still in place today, another watershed moment in the carter presidency is when the u.s. began opening diplomatic relations with communist china in 1979. joining me now is ambassador max baucus, the former u.s. ambassador to china, he served in gres during jimmy carter's presidency. and ambassador, i welcome you to the conversation here. while president nixon is certainly credited with opening the door to china, president carter was the one who walked through it by helping to normalize relations with china. talk about the significance of this. >> well, first of all, jimmy carter was a terrific person. i mean, whenever i would talk with him, whether i was in the senate, in china, always came across as very decent, very honest, very direct. not condescending, not arrogant.

a very, very hard working person who wanted to do the right thing. and going to china was in the mold. he wanted to do the right thing. partly at that time, the united states saw china as a wedge against russia. we were having difficult times with russia, as you recall. and he, jimmy carter, realized that he followed president nixon, who first visited china. jimmy carter established diplomat relations with china, that would begin a new opening and an opportunity for the united states to push back against russia. >> and you say there that he was one of the most decent people you have ever known. you wrote a very touching, very poignant tribute to him. what is it about him that made you feel like he was your friend? he was the president of the united states. and yet, you two forged quite a friendship. >> well, basically, i like the

guy. i trusted him. he invited me over to the white house a couple times. one sunday morning, he called me up, max, this is jimmy. let's go to sunday school and church. that was great. and did. and over in china, i got to tell you, it was -- he went to china every year after he established diplomatic relations with china. and that agreement between u.s. and china was very noteworthy, included, for example, that mainland china, the prc, would be the permanent member of the u.n. security council, not taiwan, but rather prc. mainland china. that was revolutionary. he would go over every year, and one time, when i was serving, he wanted to come over and the chinese government was not too wild about him coming over. i got together with others and said okay, mr. i, you should

invite the president over. it was so poignant watching him and rosslyn. he got his faith and his religion, but he also got his faith from rosalynn. they were such a team. at the residence, they were holding hands most of the time during dinner and walking around the residence. my wife and i, gosh, just so touched to see the two of them so much together. it was wonderful. >> you know, i had to laugh when you said he called you up and said hey, max, it's jimmy. did you call him jimmy or mr. president during his tenure in the white house? >> no, no. he was the president. mr. president. >> so you also talk about how he worked tirelessly to restore the trust and integrity in our government. how important was that effort to him? >> well, he is unique. i don't think we'll see another jimmy carter. his faith, he's a southern baptist, his virtue, hiss values. it just drove him.

it made him who he was. and he maintained those values while he was president, working on lots of measures. we talked about camp david. he also pushed for climate change. don't forget, he reregulated the airlines, deregulated the drug industry. afterwards, he maintained that faith, those high values throughout the rest of his life. i go back to the marriage. their marriage, 77 years. they were a team. during the entire 77 years, they worked together. i feel very strongly that without rosalynn carter, i don't know that we would have the same jimmy carter. >> well, to be honest, he admitted that. he said without her it was the smartest thing, the best thing he had ever done. and certainly they were side by side for the duration of their lives. but former ambassador and senator max baucus, thank you for joining us and sharing your thoughts of jimmy carter. i know it's a tough day for you, but thank you. coming up next, a live report from south korea where that national is mourning following the deaths of 179

people from that horrific plane crash over the weekend. you're watching msnbc. re watchi. right now across the u.s.,

people are trying to ban books from public schools and public libraries. yes, libraries. we all have a first amendment right to read and learn different viewpoints. that's why every book belongs on the shelf. yet book banning in the u.s. is worse than i've ever seen. it's people in power who want to control everything. well, i say no to censorship. and i say yes to freedom of speech and expression. if you do too, please join us in supporting the american civil liberties union today. for over 100 years, the aclu has fought for your rights and mine. including the right to read all manner of books. so please call or go online to myaclu.org. for just $19 a month, only $0.63 a day. you can become a guardian of liberty and help protect all the rights promised to us by the u.s. constitution.

make no mistake, this move to ban books is a coordinated attack on students right to learn. this is a clear violation of free speech. that's why the aclu is working to fight against censorship in all its forms. it is so important now more than ever. so please call or go to myaclu.org and become an aclu guardian of liberty, for just $19 a month. you're helping to protect the rights of all people. the aclu is in all 50 states, d.c. and puerto rico defending our first amendment right of free speech and all of your constitutional rights. because we the people, means all of us. so please, call or, go online to myaclu.org today.

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and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee, they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. we're back with the latest on that deadly plane crash in south korea. the u.s. is sending a team of investigators to help local officials determine what caused that plane to crash land and kill all but two of the 181 people onboard. joining me now from south korea is thomas morescaw.

thomas, welcome. the plane's two black boxes have been recovered. what more are we learning from this investigation so far? >> reporter: hi, alex. a few small details have emerged today. officials confirm that the pilot did actually report that he had been struck by birds when he was making his mayday call right before he attempted his crash landing. we know a few things about the position of the plane. it actually hit the runway about a third of the way down instead of at the very beginning of it. the pilot had been the one to request to go around for the landing. so a few factors like that, but that's still a long way from really explaining why things developed the way they did and ended so disastrously. otherwise, officials in south korea are focusing more on other factors, maybe systemic factors that may have contributed. the transport ministry is going

to inspect all 101 boeing 737-800s that are occupied or operated by korean airlines just to check on their status, and they're also focusing on jeju air's maintenance, particularly any issues that may have emerged around landing gear, actually today, monday morning, there was another incident with a jeju aircraft where it took off from an airport in seoul and returned due to some problem with the landing gear. we don't know exactly why that was. so that's going to be a focus just on their maintenance practices. issues like that are going to be what officials are focusing on in the immediate term. >> yeah, but there's a long way to go before they have a resolution to what happened specifically. thank you so much, thomas, for giving us what you do know. >> back here at home, the south is recovering from a weekend of severe storms that left four people dead. rare december tornadoes ripped

through five states from texas to georgia causing widespread damage and power outages. joining us from brandon, mississippi, is correspondent kathy park. welcome. so what is the damage and clean-up look like there? >> reporter: alex, good afternoon to you. fortunately, the weather has cleared up. the conditions have improved, so crews are taking advantage of this time right now. you can probably hear the soundtrack in the background. you have a lot of different engines going right now. they're cleaning up all the debris. we have some tree trimmers out here as well. so this is some of the activity we're tracking today. also, yesterday. but keep in mind, the severe weather outbreak, it just didn't happen this weekend. we are been following since thursday. saturday was perhaps one of the more busier weather days with more than three dozen reported tornadoes stretching from texas all the way to georgia. meanwhile, here in mississippi, where we are in brandon, they also saw some extensive damage.

in fact, we're in front of a home right now, i want to show you something. we're told that four massive trees actually fell right onto this home. there's a blue tarp covering up the massive hole underneath it. a homeowner was actually inside at the height of the storm. she was able to get out unharmed, incredibly, but we're also hearing stories unfortunately that didn't go that way. the death toll, as you mentioned, is now at four. there was another person killed here in mississippi, an 18-year-old. and then also outside of houston, a woman was swept away by a tornado, and her partner found her body just yards away. she tried to give her cpr, but it was just too late. the conditions were extreme, and violent. especially on saturday, wind gusts anywhere between 70 miles per hour. we saw an elementary school in alvin, texas, completely torn apart. a lot of cleanup ahead. fortunately, the good news is the weather is finally clearing

up here in the south. >> that is good news. but extraordinary for december, all of this happening. kathy park, thank you. coming up next, andrea mitchell joins me to look back on jimmy carter's life and her many insightful discussions with the former president. this is msnbc. liv es. speaker 2: these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world, and they end up having to go through all of this to survive. speaker 3: is your throat sore? speaker 2: your donation, it means everything. speaker 1: please don't wait until the last minute. make a difference by supporting the children of st. jude. please, donate now. lawmakers are trying to shut down planned parenthood. the health care of more than 2 million people is at stake. our right to basic reproductive health care is being stolen from us. it's a human right. future generations are beginning to lose the rights we fought for.

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jimmy carter's life of public service did not end when he left the white house in 1981. he went on to champion many

public health programs and initiatives around the world through the carter center, as well as work to build homes with habitat for humanity. my colleague andrea mitchell spoke to president carter five years ago while he was at one of those sites. just days in fact after he fell at home leaving him with 14 stitches. let's listen to some of their conversation. >> talk to me about your post-presidency and what you think the service record of former presidents should be. >> after being in the white house, the years have been more gratifying and more fulfilling. i would say in many ways more challenging even than being in the white house. and we have been able to reach out to people that were really in need, which is something that a president often has a chance to do personally. >> and joining me now, we welcome nbc news chief washington correspondent and host of andrea mitchell reports

here on msnbc. in fact, usually at this hour, but good to see you, andrea. thank you for joining us. andrea, you have spent decades covering president carter, his life post-presidency as well. what drove him to a life of service even after leaving the white house? was it perhaps that last bit that he said, that he could really relate to people personally in a way that you can't while in the oval office? >> he really believed, and this is partly his spiritual life, that the life of service and of caring for humanity. he and rosalynn carter as partners, in creating the carter center, they really believed that was their mission. and they did it every day of their working lives. which was well into their 90s. and they did it at home, abroad, in curing diseases in africa, other diseases around the world. in working on climate change, in working on democracies and overseeing elections as election

monitors. and they were so filled with the spirit of, you know, brotherhood, of trying to to things for other people that that's what drove them. and you can see him, he had fallen. he had a black eye. and there he is, they built thousands and thousands of houses. they put habitat for humanity on the map with their mentorship and their involvement. and they did this every year. the two of them, you know, hammering and -- i mean, he was a great craftsman. he built furniture at home. but this was jimmy carter, the man from plains, doing what he knew best, what he did so well. and it was all in the service of humanity. >> in fact, he knew engineering skills, something he put to good use while working at habitat for humanity. do you think part of what he wanted to do also was lead by example? because yes, he and rosalynn

were dedicated to a life of service, but was it all about inspiring others? >> absolutely. and it's also jimmy carter the preacher. he taught sunday school throughout his life, even in the white house, i occasionally was assigned as the pool reporter for the networks to go and listen to his sunday school lessons and report afterwards. there was no video coverage of that, no cameras allowed. but that's what he did, and you know he did that after his brain cancer. his bout with brain cancer. he was back in the church, back in plains teaching sunday school. so it was, that was the example. he lived the life of a deeply spiritual man. religion guided him in so many ways. and it was a religion of purpose and a mission, one of the things he did as a southerner raised in a small town, jim crow south, that the day after or the day he became governor, he declared that segregation should end in

georgia. it was very controversial politically, and he came to that later in life than he had wished to. but he saw that vision and that mission and he followed that purpose. >> yeah. and it's extraordinary that he did that. he had a segregationist for a father. and yet his mother, ms. lillian, warm, funny. she was on the tonight show, she was someone who was a real favorite during those years. but talk about those relationships. how much do you think his father's influence or observing his father's actions and thoughts is what drove him? >> i think a great deal. i think ms. lillian was a huge influence. she was remarkable. she was the spunkiest, most spirited, great lady. i got to know her a little bit. i was filling in as a junior correspondent. i went down there for christmas in 1978 in plains. and we would go to ms. lillian's

house first to the pond house, where she lived. and then to ms. allie's house, his mother-in-law, rosalynn's mom. ms. lillian delivered rosalynn carter, she was the midlife in plains, which is remarkable. then they knew each other through childhood, through kindergarten and ever since. then, after he was president, if my memory serves me correctly, she joined the peace corps and went to india as a senior citizen, so she was just full of service also. and that was a huge influence on him. >> your memories, your insights are absolutely priceless. thank you so much for sharing them with us. we appreciate that. >> great to be with you. and happy holidays to all. i was supposed to be taking days off, and thank you so much for filling in during these hours. >> i'm merely keeping the seat warm. trust me, i can't ever rise to the level of andrea mitchell. thank you so much.

coming up next, a live report from west palm beach as president-elect trump and elon musk spark frustration within the maga base over a popular immigration program, right here on msnbc. immigration program, right here on msnbc

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against trump last year. a jury awarded the sum to carroll after finding trump liable for sexually abusing her and then defaming her after she went public with the allegations. trump's team responded to today's verdict calling it a, quote, democrat funded carroll hoax and saying theyright, 2025a big year in elections. i know, we just had the biggest election year you could have. there are a few races in 2025 though that i'm going to be watching. i think are going to be worth keeping an eye on because of some unanswered questions coming out of this presidential race. here's the three biggies coming up in the new year, 2025. the race for mayor of new york

city. if you don't live around new york city, you're probably wondering why the heck should i care about the race for new york city. what's interesting is obviously it's a big city, a blue city. donald trump still lost in new york city in 2024. he made some big gains within it, though. especially because, and we talk about this nationally, new support he got from non-white voters, hispanic voters in particular. you see it in places like the bronx. he made some pretty dramatic gains there. the question in new york city simply is there's this group of voters who we used to think of as pure democratic voters who have said they're up for grabs a little bit. how are they going to handle the new york city mayor's race? we can learn a little bit aboutthosis voters, those new trump voters in new york city. new jersey, still a blue state. trump lost it in 2024, but he only lost it by about six points. he got blown out four years earlier. this was one of trump's biggest improvements in terms of numbers of any state in the country. trump also improved in virginia.

still lost it, but improved his performance significantly. the big question overhanging american politics coming out of 2024 is that new support that trump attracted, which you can see in all three of these places, especially from non-white voters, was it trump specific? or is it going to work for another republican not named donald trump? that's what the republican party is hoping for because obviously this hints at a new coalition that could be really powerful politically, but it's unknown how much trump is the key ingredient to that. we may find out in these races. take a look at a place like virginia. as we say, trump didn't win it. this was still a blue state, but that was a change. look, this was a double-digit biden win, cut basically in half here. the margin by trump. where did you see it? you saw it particularly loudoun county. big loudoun county, more than 400,000 people. it's sort of the suburbs of washington, d.c., and again, take a look here. harris wins it by 16 points.

you're saying that's a landslide, right? again, biden had won this by 25. from 25 all the way down to 16. what happened in loudoun county? when you look closely, again, a large hispanic population. there's a growing asian american population. these are groups where donald trump took some very big strides in 2024 compared to how republicans and trump himself had been doing in the past. and that's what brings a county like loudoun down like this. loudoun county going to be a big place to look in that governor's race in virginia. again, with that question of can republicans pull this kind of thing off without trump? we'll see a lot of places in new jersey with similar stories as well. so yes, it will still be a big year in elections. we never have anything but big years in elections. >> all right. thank you so much, steve, for that. meanwhile, the post-election honeymoon for republicans might be over before it officially began. president-elect trump aligning with key allies elon musk and vivek ramaswamy coming out in

support of a visa program that allows foreigners with special technical skills to temporarily work in the united states. trump, who was critical of the program during his first administration, sparked a wide range of republican backlash from far right conservatives like steve bannon, to moderate republicans like nikki haley. joining us now, nbc news correspondent gabe gutierrez is covering the trump transition from west palm beach. democratic strategist matt bennett served as a deputy assistant to the president in the office of intergovernmental affairs in the clinton administration. and susan del percio is a republican strategist and msnbc political analyst. welcome, all of you. gabe, you first. walk us through trump's evolution here. how did the president-elect come out on the side of elon musk after opposing this visa program through his first term? >> reporter: well, hi there, alex. it is, it has been quite an evolution, as you mentioned, in his first term, and actually during his presidential

campaign. donald trump sharply criticized h 1-b program. it was seen as cheap labor by maga supporters. even late in his term, he temporarily blocked new visas, he criticized the program quite a bit, but as you said, more recently, since he's been associated more with business leaders like elon musk and vivek ramaswamy, he has changed his mind on this particular visa program, and over the weekend, as you said, he told the new york post he has always liked the visas. so that's questionable as well. it's unclear exactly how many workers on his properties are employed by this h1 hp b visa. on his property, some of his workers are under the h-2a and h-2b visas which is separate. this is indicative of a larger conflict right now within the

republican party, this populist maga wing, which wants to crack down on immigration a whole, and then business leaders and the tech industry should be interesting to see how this plays out as president-elect trump takes office in just a few weeks. >> okay. hey, gabe. well done getting through that with the leaf blower behind you. it didn't rattle you at all. thank you so much. we'll let you go. meantime, susan to you now. this is the second time that post-election trump has sided with elon musk in a trump world feud of sorts. following that shutdown debacle just prior to the holiday. what do you make of the influence musk appears to have with trump and what does it reveal about how trump is going to govern the second time around? >> i think that musk certainly is able to influence the president-elect, but make no mistake about it. i think donald trump is happy to have someone kind of test the waters on certain things and put things out there. i don't think it's about who is

influencing who, as far as the powers of elon musk. although he has a very powerful platform to get his opinions out on. and when it comes to the visas, i think this is a bigger problem, and you alluded to the debt limit fight just a week or two ago, is that when you have no core values as a politician, like donald trump, you tend to go all over the place and are constantly reinventing and rethinking things that you really never had a true understanding of to begin with. >> you know, he's also got a rep, susan, of taking the advice of the last person in his ear. we know elon musk has been a virtual shadow for him, spending so much time at mar-a-lago. so that may indeed have something to do with it as well if he has his ear all the time. matt, from a democratic point of view, what's getting lost in all the back and forth as republicans are squabbling over this visa program issue? are they arguing over one point when there are countless others

relative to immigration that they intend to deal with? >> without question. and this is really a side show in the broader debate about immigration. trump has talked about deporting 9 million people. leaving aside the fact that's basically impossible to do. there's zero chance that he will achieve anything close to that. he will attempt to deport a lot of people. that is going to be incredibly disruptive, leaving aside the human toll that that's going to take on people that have been living in here in some cases for decades, and tearing apart families. the toll it's going to take on the economy is going to be epic. i mean, we're essentially in full employment economy right now. if you start taking workers out of the economy, everything is going to get more expensive and harder to do. the very things he ran against. so i do think that this is just a distraction in the broader question around immigration. i also think that this episode

shows you how trump is going to govern once again. he's always going to side with the guide he thinks is the strong man in the room. in this case, it's the guy with $400 billion. as susan noted, he doesn't care about anything. he has no core values. he'll just lie about past positions. this is classic trump. i think we're going to see this over and over. >> so susan, you have republicans ranging from the far right, like laura loomer, steve bannon, to the moderates like nikki haley. they have strongly come out against this h1b visa. with such an eclectic mix of republican dissent on this issue, how politically damaging could this decision be for trump in the eyes of his maga base and republican moderates on this issue? >> i think trump wins with his base, no matter which side he takes. he'll always win with the base because they follow him pretty much blindly. when we talk about the steve

bannons and the others, they are talking about ending basically a possibility of legal immigration and legal entry into the country. that's not what donald trump talked about on his campaign. yes, he's kind of hinted that he was against it before and now he's for it. and however that turns out. but this is such a stupid fight for them to pick because donald trump will win it, because he will win it by coming out or acting strong on deportation, which i agree with matt, like he's not going to get the job done that he's promised, but with donald trump, all you need is a little and he carries it like a badge of honor. if he gets rid of a certain amount of criminals, for example, he'll say deportations are on the way. and we're going to forget about all the visas. it is important to recognize right now, this is for folks who have a very technical specific background. donald trump's also going to get it for the workers he has, the

type of workers he has working for him at mar-a-lago. from farmers, from fruit processors, from all of these other industries that rely on foreign workers. >> extraordinary. real quickly, let me ask you, matt. he's got to try to maintain the support of both his silicon valley new friends and maga base. how challenging is that going to be? >> super challenging. i mean, running as a republican who is a populist divides the fundamental coalition in a very, very specific way. and you're seeing it play out here in exactly the terms that were obvious. i mean, you have the corporate folks like musk and ramaswamy really feel like they need these foreign workers and the very populist base like bannon and miller, who want this to be america only. >> sounds like a preview of things to come. good to see you both. thank you so much. >> stay with us, we'll be right back with more remembrances for jimmy carter. this is msnbc. remembrances for

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plans are coming into focused on the life and legacy of america's 39th president, jimmy carter who died on sunday at an extraordinary 100 years old. a state funeral will be held in

washington a week from thursday to remember the man whose life began humbly on the georgia farm with no electricity or running water. over the course of decades, he served in the navy, and as georgia governor before becoming president, than later, a global diplomat and a freelance ambassador. he wrote books, fought disease, built houses for the poor, and taught sunday school well into his 90s. this morning, a small memorial has popped up in atlanta with people leaving flowers, candles and peanuts at the carter presidential center. that is the center founded by the president and his wife, roslyn, to alleviate suffering worldwide. one note left for carter simply read, thank you for your example. i want to bring in previous reader who is in atlanta outside the carter center. msnbc presidential historians, as a welcome you here, what are the people telling you? what we know about the amount -- memorial and future plans for the president? >> well, people here in georgia are proud that president carter

came from georgia, you know, before he went to the white house he was relatively unknown outside of georgia, but it was here that he entered his life of public service, of course, he went to the naval academy, went on to serve in the navy, but he kept coming back to planes all the way in between like the compliments that everyone is talking about today. he entered politics in the state senate, went on to the governor's mansion before he went on to the white house. really, what he is remembered by so much now is his legacy through the carter center which is what i'm standing in front of right now. of course, he did decades of work, 43 years of work to eradicate diseases. he went around the world monitoring elections, promoting human rights and alleviating human suffering. i will say a lot of the people we are hearing from today talk more about the characteristics of the man he was, his humility, his authenticity, how down-to-earth he was as the son

of peanut farmers growing up as you mentioned on that farm without electricity or running water. i got a chance to catch up with a woman who walked out here with her dog to leave flowers outside. let's take a look at what she had to say. >> i just think he is very unique. he walked the walk. not many of us can say that. you know? no matter the setting, no matter his responsibility, he saved lives several times. he really gave of himself. i want to honor that. >> reporter: and so, as you can see, a lot of folks are sort of remembering his character more so than any specific confessional compliment, alex. >> okay, priya schrader, thank you for that. to you now, michael, one of the best parts of his long, long life is he got the chance to see historians like yourself

assess and reassess his presidency. so first, taking back to the way the country saw carter right after he left office in 1981, then compare it to the way people see his presidency now. >> well, it's funny that you say that, alex, because you talk about historians reacting to jimmy carter. i was just out of college and graduate school when i went out down to see in the summer after he lost, 1981, his office in atlanta, georgia, we have to remember, you know, he got 49 electoral votes against ronald reagan. he had been trounced in the election, then become president. people were not returning his calls. he was having a hard time raising money for his library, you know? we have seen carter in recent years where, you know, he is appreciated, you know, in a very different situation. but i just remember how forlorn he looked, and how much people were fleeing him. that sort of makes the point,

alex, one way to look at jimmy carter is different from the way many of us do, and that is, you know, people are so locked into in many cases, this idea that carter lost in 1980, and he didn't get the hostages out, and there was high inflation, and he was besieged by forces beyond his control, he was sort of a person who was not able to really get things done. this guy was a piece of work. let me give a couple examples. you, yourself have talked about the 19th century farm atmosphere he was born into. so, he goes from that rural farm, he gets to a naval academy which is not an easy thing to do is a very smart record there, he rises in the navy, comes back, takes the family business, becomes a millionaire which is sometimes ignored in the middle of the 1960s, there he is walking the grounds of planes through the fields, the carter commercial in 1976 that was trying to show

how he was different from richard nixon and ford, look at the outfit and the way he is carrying himself. he gets himself elected of the united states after one term as governor of georgia, but you know, remember i was saying how forlorn and besieged he felt in the summer of 1981 after his defeat. so, he is what is called the best ex-president in history, some people meant it as a slam, but some people were able to get on the street and decide what kinds of things an ex- president can really do, and looking at everything he did. >> it's hard thinking now, the description he could not get people to return his calls, had trouble raising money for his

own presidential library, and even the carter center, it is extraordinary. when you think about what he went on to do, and when you think about what he did accomplish, people talk about the things that were the issues on the problems, but he was a man who accomplished a lot on both domestic and foreign policy fronts during his tenure in the white house, those four years, did he resent, though, that sense of being a better post-presidency than while he was in office? >> i didn't know him well. i saw quite a bit of him, but just as you are saying, if someone said to you, carter, i think you are the best ex- president in history, as you know, alex, a lot of people told him that. you could see him almost tense up, because he felt that was a dismissal of his presidency. he was a large minded person. he knew where he had fallen short, that he felt some of the things he did as president would only be appreciated later on, -- >> so i then want to ask you, the quote from his biography, jonathan, a mutual friend wrote

carter was connected to almost all of the significant events of the 20th century. and the issues he tackled during his post-presidency, global health, democracy promotion and conflict resolution are the cutting-edge challenges of the 21st. but he also championed things like, environmental issues. he talked about global warming. he was a man ahead of his time, some even claim jonathan altered it to call him a renaissance man, given the wide display of things he was involved in and really excelled at. >> he gave a farewell address just before leaving the presidency, just as joe biden is about to do. and as you and i know, joe biden was the first senator to endorse this little-known governor from georgia who was running for president in 1975, 1976. but you take a look at that address, his farewell address,

it meant a lot of these things. but to specific examples don't get enough attention. one is, something we had heard a reference to, which is, he did not on -- bomb iran again, which he might have done, which would have caused 10,000 casualties, innocent iranians, he was told, might've killed the hostages. yet he knew that would keep them from getting reelected. and the other thing is, in the 1980s, he had the head of the guttural reserve who hiked interest rates that were very hard on the country. peoplesoft end, it brought on recession, many people thought he would not get reelected under many scenarios. it crushed inflation to the point where inflation by the second year of the reagan presidency was not 14%, which it had been, but 3%.

so, here's the case of a leader who did some very tough things, cost him reelection, but nowadays, we should honor him for having a tough leader. >> absolutely, a man of principle, and he stuck to his guns on that front. it's always good to speak with you, my friend. thank you so much. >> seen here. alex, be well. coming up next, south korean officials ramp up the investigation to learn more about the tragic plane crash that left 179 people dead. we are back in 90 seconds. you are watching msnbc. watchin go online, call, or scan this code, with your $19 monthly gift. and we'll send you this "care. no matter what" t-shirt. it is your right to have safe health care. that's it. go online, call, or scan right now. narrator: time is running out to give a year-end gift like no other, a gift that can help

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right now, south korea is in a national state of mourning for one of the deadliest plane crashes in the country's history that killed 179 people yesterday. the airplane's final tragic moments were caught on camera, and a warning, this footage is difficult to watch. if you are doing so, you see it. there is the plane, crashing into that wall at the end of the runway, and engulfing into a fireball. the us is sending assistance, and local officials are coming through the wreckage. joining me now, former faa and ntsb investigator, msnbc aviation analyst, welcome, jeff. so, i spoke with our colleague on the ground, and he said, a couple details have come out in

the last 24 hours. i remind you we spoke yesterday as well. first of all, he said the plane landed one third of the way down the runway, second of all, he said there is confirmation that the pilots requested to circle around the runway before landing, so there was that noted. and also, a mayday was issued holding the bird strike, but the timing of which has not been specified. let's talk about those things. with regard to the plane landing a third of the way down the runway, is that normal, or did they overshoot? >> well, he really should have landed like the first 10% of the runway, not the first 33% of the runway, but that may be an artifact of the fact this flight crew could have experienced dual engine failure, and was turned into a glider. at that point, you may not have enough altitude to put the airplane down exactly at the end of the runway, and not only that, to exacerbate the

situation, it is moving very fast as you can see in this video. at first, i thought it was taking off, not landing, because it is traveling well beyond 120 miles per hour. that might be because there were no flats, slats, or landing gear extended which, again, could be an artifact of both engines not having power. >> so, the fly around that date requested, and we don't know that they were able to do it, what would that do? they are surveying the landing area, but that slow them down at all? could they have dumped fuel? was there anything like that they could have done? >> for 737 does not have the capability of dumping fuel. you can only continue to fly to burn the fuel off. but again, both engines failed due to burn strikes or some other reason. at the altitude they were at, they really would not have had a whole lot of time to run emergency checklist or do much.

they may have been thinking, we need to get the airplane down on the runway as soon as possible, and rather than take the time to fly all the way around and land in the same direction, we can turn around and land in the opposite direction, which is what they very well may have done. so, the flight recorders, the voice recorder and other recorders would help tell the tale of exactly what was happening with those engines, and with the systems of the airplane, and how the flight crew handled this emergency. >> and lastly, the new information, confirmation that a mayday was issued by the pilots thanks to a bird strike, it's the last thing before they attempted to land. did timing not matter? if they had more time would there be something they could do to alleviate problems or not? >> yes, i think timing is going to be critical here. what altitude were they at? did they have any engine power? even if one of the engines was operating, it is plenty enough to keep the airplane flying and climbing.

it has the earmarks of both engines of failing. because at that altitude, you don't have time. you can't run emergency checklists like releasing the landing gear or those types of things. so, they really may have been pressed for time, and prioritize flying the airplane rather than writing a lot of checklists. >> give me a quick assessment what you think the first word of business will be for the ntsb given that you have been an ntsb investigator. >> the first order of business will be to ensure the flight recorders are downloaded as soon as possible. and if the south koreans have an issue with that, the ntsb stands ready with its sophisticated lab in washington dc to help. tosee if, in fact, there is evidence of bird strikes in the engine corps, and that could also help determine whether or not both

engines as opposed to one engine was having a problem. so, i think that's the first order of business for the ntsb and the us team. >> okay, just as eddie, i appreciate your insight and expertise. coming up next, i will speak with one of president carter's clovis white house advisors about his legacy. you are watching msnbc. watchin ( ♪♪ ) my name is jaxon, and i have spastic cerebral palsy. it's a mouthful. one of the harder things is the little things that i need help with:

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i believe with all my heart that america must expand basic human rights at home and abroad . that is both our history and our destiny. the fundamental force that unites us is not kinship or place of origin, or religious preference, the love of liberty is a common blood that flows in our american veins. >> as we remember former

president jimmy carter today, a new opinion piece in the washington post written by white house to mystic policy advisor argues, quote, conventional wisdom holds jimmy carter was a failure as a president, redeemed only by his philanthropy and efforts to promote democracy in his postpresidential years. this is probably wrong. joining us now is that advisor, stuart ison staffed. he is author of the book, president carter, the white house years. i know you write that carter's compliments at home and abroad were longer lasting than those of most modern presidents. so, talk to us about that. >> thank you very much. first, i think he was the most impactful one term president we had in modern times. on the domestic scene, the security we enjoy today was based on the foundation of three copperheads of energy bills that he passed which deregulated natural gas and prices, allowing much later production of the biggest

reducer of both in the world, with conservation at the centerpiece, and it started the whole renewable energy effort with stacks of solar, and putting panels on top of the white house. second, all the ethics legislation that is in place today, all of it was passed by president carter. he was the education president who created the department of education, he doubled the size of the national parks system, and something that was really important to consumers, he deregulated all modes of transportation, starting with airlines, democratizing airline travel, he did the same with trucking and rail, one of the reasons we have cable today is because he deregulated telecommunications, and even beer with the craft industries. he was someone from the deep south who grew up in a segregated state and region,

and yet, he supported affirmative action, and he appointed more women and minorities, blacks and hispanics to the federal bench, and to his administration than any of the 38 presidents before him put together. abroad, human rights was embedded in our foreign-policy. it got thousands of political prisonerreput america on the ro democracy for military dictatorships for the same with the soviet union, and all of ro ragan implement it, and he deserves credit for doing so, but every single one of them was started by jimmy carter, the nx missile, the cruise missiles, the stealth bomber, immediate forces in europe, all of those were his. next, was the normalization with

china, lasting to this day in the midst of the gaza fighting as the camp david accords which brought peace between israel and egypt after four different wars, and is a beautiful anecdote to tell this, and it is the 13th day after jimmy carter personally drafted 22 peace agreements and shuttled between presidents and their cabinets, he comes to carter on the last day, the 13th day and says, mister president, i can't make any more compromises, get me a limousine. i have a plane waiting at the air force to take me home. president carter realizes it would be a disaster after jerusalem, and a disaster for zoning administration. he gets his personal secretary to make eight copies of the original photos taken, because he learned and had a great soft spot for them.

he describes them personally, he takes them to david's cabin, and sees david reed each name aloud, jimmy carter with hopes for peace. he has his eyes tear up, his lips quiver, and he says, mister president, for your grandchildren, i will make one last try. he puts his bag down, and that is what led to the camp david accords, and the egyptian peace treaty which holds until this day, even in the midst of the gaza fighting. >> while. stuart, you have just given us every reason to believe every word of what you have written in the washington post. let me ask you about the timing of his presidency, this is a man who rose from humble roots, and all the things he accomplished, we never would have known had he not gone to the oval office. but the timing post-watergate, the fact a big campaign promise of his was, i will never lie to you, and he kept that promise, do you think that is really, in

essence, what elected him? the country was tired of the problems and corruption of watergate, and that's what put him in the white house? >> exactly. when we started, he was jimmy who? he had 1% in the polls, and he went on what's my line, they put him on what's my line, the show, he was the sitting governor of georgia who nobody knew. he hit a nerve spot, and that is central for electing a president. the nerve spot was watergate. it wasn't just the cover up. it was misusing the cia, misusing the fbi, it was all the tricks, all the centralization, the imperial presidency, and coming across as an outsider, i won't lie to you, it is people -- that is the very responsive chord. we

should also remember between 1968 and 1992, he was the only democrat elected as president, so this was a conservative era broken only by jimmy carter. he was a nontraditional democrat . all the things i mentioned, he ended up losing for three reasons, number one, i call it the 3i's, inappropriate warfare, he was not local enough when ted kennedy challenged him, split the party, second was inflation. -- which was running at double- digit levels because -- not of his policies, but the iranian oil cut off and the revolution. here again is his courage. he appoints paul volker as the head of the fed, volker says to him, mister president, if you appoint me, i want you to know i'm going to trump inflation on the economy. it's going to create a very bad situation on the employment front, in your election year, i

want you to know that before you hire me. carter says, i don't want my legacy to the country to be leaving this inflation untamed, you do what you need to do economically. i will take care of the politics . well, inflation dropped like a rock two years after he left office. and third, of course, was the hostage crisis which was so debilitating for 444 days. it even there, he got them out without one hair on their head being harmed, and to rub salt in the wound, only allow those out after the election. >> stuart, what an honor talking with you, what a lesson you have given us, thank you for your time and recollections. thank you. >> thank you for allowing me to do it. >> joining us now, senior political reporter greg bluestein, reporter fromved har.

what a lesson there, right? honestly, that was extraordinary. greg, i have heard -- we have all heard about the legacy of president carter, but the legacy of mister jimmy in his hometown, talk about how residents of plains, georgia remember him, and how his legacy changed the town. >> yeah, well, plains, georgia is a town of 500 people. and everyone seems to have a story about the former president who they call, mister jimmy, someone who is not only this towering figure of dignity and grace, nationally and internationally, but their friend and neighbor. some on the sea at the cafi, at the store who they have stories about at the local pool, they bumped into while hunting on the quail grounds and hunting fields around southwest georgia. this is someone who is not only a towering figure, but is also your friend. we have talked to people who lived there for 20 years who don't feel comfortable calling him mister jimmy, because they

have lived in plains long enough, and plains is the place here to jimmy carter, a place they decided to spend their final years. >> of course. ernie, you are in plains, georgia right now. what are you hearing from folks today? >> well, there is a somber sound as one might imagine, but there's also a moment of celebration. he had a long life. we were prepared for this. media all over the country was prepared for this. i think plains was prepared for this as well. he has been sick for a while, he has been in hospice, which is remarkable, for two years. the town was ready, unfortunately. they knew this day would come. i think the town is resilient. the town -- i was thinking as i was driving in last night, plains -- i'm sorry, did jimmy carter make planes, or did planes make jimmy carter? the town, mister jimmy as he is

known, they were so intertwined, they were so connected. and when you walk around this town, people have ice cream and fried peanuts, they kind of hang out, you see really good people who loved jimmy carter as well as ms. rosie. >> yeah, huge connection greg, the regular involvement jimmy carter had at the baptist church in plains. how did that bring them close to the community? >> well, he taught sunday school lessons there for years. and it became such a standpoint, such a landmark event that local hotels from miles around would be sold out as people wanted to go to the baptist church to just listen to him, and sometimes he would give lessons for stretching into an hour, then he would spend hours afterwards taking pictures of people, that is something, alex, that came out with stories we are hearing from regular georgians about how he spent time with them, the wife of the state

republican party chairman posted a picture of her when she was six years old with jimmy carter showing her how to use a camera, right? everyone seems to have a story about jimmy carter, and that did bring him poster to his roots. remember, he could have gone anywhere. he could have ghost written books, and went on international speaking circuits. instead, he spent his last years, his final decades in plains, georgia, the place where not only he grew up, but his wife, rosalynn. >> he grew up in the segregated south. he lived with his father, but his faith led him to advancing civil rights. he kept that legacy. talk about the effect on plains and the community you are in right now. >> reporter: yeah, i just left his boyhood home, the carter farm, and if you go to that farm, you see where he lived as a child, but you also see where the workers who worked on his

father's farm lived. and you see how they all lived together. it's important to understand jimmy carter was raised around black people. when his parents went out of town, he stayed at the home of the black family who lived on his farm. so, he was always very in touch with what race meant, what humanity meant, if you think about how influential african- americans and black people, black women in particular, because it's a black woman who placed -- played such a large role in his life, his last civic actor, he wanted to live long enough to vote for kamala harris as a black woman to become president of the united states. that's how deep that legacy is. these famous stories greg and i talked about, how he was running for the school board, how the citizens council wanted him to come join because they thought he needed to be in the citizens council to be successful in politics, he told them he wasn't going to do that. when he was elected governor,

he said the age of discrimination is over. so he has always been very, very conscious of ways and what that means -- i think he learned that on the farm i visited this morning. >> all right. thank you both so much for this conversation, very enlightening. thanks, guys. next, we shift focus to capitol hill and the hurdles facing speaker johnson as well as the house majority. here on msnbc. here on msnbc. continuing to educate ourselves and broaden our minds. (vo 2) viking. exploring the world in comfort.

on friday, the next

congress will be sworn in, and that house will vote on whether or not to reelect mike johnson as speaker. earlier today, trump announced his support for johnson writing, quote, mike is my complete and total endorsement. it comes as johnson's candidacy has been in jeopardy following the drama surrounding the government funding bill which narrowly passed the house with more democratic than republican votes. running us now, melanie's and onna, senior reporter for punch bowl news and former republican congressman, david charlie, welcome to you both. melanie, what are you hearing on capitol hill about speaker johnson's chances of reelection, and how much do you think trumps support will help him? because trump took his time endorsing him. do you think it hurt johnson? >> i certainly think that endorsement is better than a non-endorsement or anti- endorsement. mike johnson needed this vow of support from donald trump. is over the past few weeks, there were a lot of questions, a lot of skepticism, a lot of critics, including in trump

world, i am told, about how mike johnson handled the last spending bill debate. i do think that this is going to sway at least some republicans who have been on the fence about mike johnson. but this is not going to seal the deal for mike johnson. number one, the margins are really tight for mike johnson. the math is a little unclear at this point, it kind of depends on who shows up on january third on friday. but he is only going to be able to lose a couple of republicans. and number two, trump has made demands in the past including during the last spending bill debate, and some conservatives defy him anyway. 38 house republicans, most hard- line conservatives voted against a stopgap spending bill that included a suspension of the debt limit as trump has called four. there are some limits to what trump is calling for. i do think the best thing for mike johnson, what is working on his side here is the house can't conduct any legislative

is nice until they have a speaker of the house. that would include certifying trumps election. so, my suspicion is that yes, there might be some republicans who say they are un-swayed, i think thomas massey will vote no no matter what, victoria sparks, biggs, andy harris, the freedom caucus folks, they want to try to get some concessions or demands out of johnson, ultimately will be in his count because they know they can't afford trumps agenda until they have a speaker of the house. but i do think that we are going to be looking out for the next couple days on one type of dealing is going on behind the scenes, and it will take mike johnson to get there. >> this is set for friday, and certification of the election comes monday. so, they have absolutely no time to mess around with. david, congressman mike lawlor voted republicans not to vote against johnson. let's listen to that. >> the fact is, these folks are playing with fire. if they think they are somehow going to get a more

conservative speaker, they are kidding themselves. mike johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that has ever been elected to the office. >> i'm curious for your reaction to this, david. is reelecting johnson a good move for the party? is there anyone else who would have the ability to better unite all factions of the gop? >> well, it's likely the only choice they have. answer part of your question, probably what contributes to mike johnson prevailing, is nobody else can get there either with the margins close as they are. that is now more true after donald trump's endorsement of mike johnson. you know, we can all remember donald trump's endorsement might not be ironclad. he tweeted in real time that republicans went through the carousel of candidates after the mccarthy resignation. trump moving the ball. some say he will stick with them always if johnson doesn't get there. think of the fascinating party. really, the margins are -- by some math, he can't do another

one. there is other map. it gets tricky here depending if somebody votes president or the name an alternative candidate. can mike johnson make sure he doesn't lose two different votes? that is really hard in this environment. i think, at this point, nothing changes the dynamic. this is a coalition government between the efforts on the republican speaker. mike johnson has had a john weiner -like speaker. mccarthy kept the government open twice, raise the debt ceiling, and funded ukraine aid, and that is it. we are entering a time when that might be the beginning even over republicans control all of washington. >> is there any chance, david, the first vote on friday, he gets elected as speaker? >> well, i think to lawlor's point, there is no alternative. do they really want to be architects of chaos? give this to johnson and move on with unity. they can do that by voting

president, a couple of them, probably. but this is very few republicans right now. >> so, what happens if the house does not pick a speaker on friday, or by next monday, january six, as we are saying when congress needs to certify election results? >> we are in completely uncharted territory. i feel like i have said that a lot. at the time i covered multiple speaker battles that happened before. we can be in for another one, certainly. there is a playbook. we know it goes through multiple rounds of votes for johnson to get there. we don't know what would happen if they don't have someone in place on monday. i have heard some people saying, they could elect a temporary speaker to the position to be able to oversee the certification of the election results. we don't know for certain how this will play out. that is something a lot of people on capitol hill are looking at, studying, we have reports trying to figure that out. like i said before, i think

that is johnson's biggest argument and biggest strength, saying, you need to elect me because there is no one else. and if we don't have a speaker, we can't do anything. we can't certify trump as president, we can start working on things like reconciliation, cutting taxes and securing the border. those are the arguments johnson is making to his company. >> you use the word unprecedented many times. both of you will be saying ready, buckle up. i guess that's what we will do on friday. thank you so much. coming up next, president biden announces new aid for ukraine as russia pushes back on the latest puzzle to end conflict from president-elect trump. this is msnbc. speaker 2: these kids, they've done nothing wrong in the world, and they end up having to go through all of this to survive. speaker 3: is your throat sore? speaker 2: your donation, it means everything. speaker 1: please don't wait until the last minute. make a difference by supporting the children of st. jude. please, donate now.

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the white house is rushing military assistance to kiev before donald trump takes office. today, president biden announced nearly $2.5 billion in new aid for ukraine that will include air defense, artillery and other critical weapons systems. ukrainian president zelenskyy is celebrating the aid package writing on twitter, the security assistance is a crucial contribution that will strengthen our defenders on the front lines. joining me now is ellen parkas, executive director of the mccain institute, and former

deputy assistant of secretary of defense for russia and ukraine. really good to see you and talk about the issue with you. so, how concerned are you the trump administration will reduce, or cut off or reduce military aid to ukraine? >> well, alex, i don't know exactly what trump is going to do on military aid. it seems like myself or anyone doesn't have to be concerned in the short run. it looks like with the biden administration is doing is frontloading ukraine so they can hang in there and have at least the munitions that they need. there is another issue with personnel. so, i'm not really worried about that. i think they are in a strong position now. this helps president trump when he gets into office in terms of negotiation strength. >> how much do you think the meeting that zelinski and trump had helped to whether any discontent between them? >> i think it helped, alex, because zelinski has been trying very hard to remind president trump of the fact he was quiet, and he did not get involved when trump was almost impeached over the issue of

faulting assistance to ukraine, and he tried to demonstrate he is a flexible one, he is open to negotiations with russia, in fact, it is vladimir putin who is actually being stubborn and putting all kinds of conditions on any kind of peace. so, i think the meeting probably was good. the optics look good from the outside. >> but donald trump has vowed to end the war in ukraine, quickly, even within 24 hours. he has not said how he will do it. vice president-elect, j. d. vance allowed russia to keep all the territory in ukraine that is already seized. i mean, this may be a silly question, but is this a nonstarter for president zelenskyy? >> i don't know, alex. zelinski might be willing to exchange some of his sovereign territory in exchange for a solid security guarantee from the united states or nato. the president is, president zelenskyy has said, i want to make sure that the part of ukraine that i control is protected, so he was very careful with his words, they

are. so it might be a deal, they are. >> and you would agree that russia, in effect, stole from ukraine just to maintain peace going forward? >> i think he might, alex. look, i was in ukraine in october. the ukrainian people are tired. president zelenskyy has a problem with mobilization, having a number of personnel to feed into the military and relief people at the front line, that has been a persistent problem. it doesn't get better with time. he is not going to send north koreans into the military. -- to address a similar problem. so, i think the ukrainians would really like a compromise, they are willing to compromise, but only if they know russia cannot invade them again. and that is why the security guarantee, either bilateral from the united states or one that involves nato is probably the fundamental requirement for them. >> let me ask you a question

about the middle east, here. israeli prime minister benjamin yahoo said yesterday, there is no hostage deal because hamas does not want one. is there any chance we will see an agreement for president biden leaves office? >> well, that saddens me greatly, alex. because it did look like there was a chance for agreement. certainly iran is weakened. also, it relies on iran for military and financial and other support. the fact that the israeli government is now signaling that a deal is not possible, again, is disturbing. the number one priority of the administration -- because we had americans they are, but also the israeli government -- should be getting these hostages out. and there is precedent -- pressure applied on hamas. so i don't know whether somebody is waiting for the new wood ministration to come in or not, but it seems like the israeli president was willing

to wait -- sorry, willing to make the deal happen now. so it is possible something is happening behind the scenes, you know, and netanyahu had a conversation with the incoming president. unfortunately, in these times, alex, it doesn't seem like we have one president at a time. >> that is true, particularly over the last couple months since the election. donald trump has stepped up something of a shadow presidency. okay, ellen farkas, thank you. i appreciate your insights. and thank all of you for spending part of your day with us. i will see you back here tomorrow at noon, eastern. christina ruffini picks up our coverage after a very short break. betmgm's got your back. get your welcome offer. and play with the sportsbook born in vegas. all these seats. really? get up to a $1500 new customer offer in bonus bets when you sign up now. betmgm. download and bet today. the promise of america is freedom, equality, but right now,

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