this week, with george stephanopoulos starts right now. end aing the year with a bang. >> keeping my promise. i'm signing it before christmas. >> a big win for the president on taxes. his first major legislative victory. >> we're making america great again. you haven't heard that, have you? >> and a rare moment of unity for republicans. >> today we are giving the people of this country their money back. >> the president says the tax cuts will be rocket fuel for the economy. and help the middle class. but who really benefits? and will the new law help or hurt his party in 2018? plus, we talk to

trump's biggest republican critics. >> i rise today to say, enough. >> ahead of their requirements in the senate. >> are you saying the president is a liar? and in the house. >> was the president sfakter in your decision to leave? >> what senator jeff flake and congressman charlie dent are saying about the future of the republican parent and of the country. adds trump's first year in office comes to a close -- >> from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. >> we have come to expect the unexpected. >> hey, i'm president. can you believe it? >> from this unprecedented president. >> we want to start winning again. >> our powerhouse "roundtable" take on the year in politics. what's fact? what's fiction? what matters? "this week." good morning. and merry christmas.

this week, the president's biggest legislative win yet. but behind all the back slaping and self-congratulations, it's an anxious time for republicans and to the white house. several year-end polls show the president's approval rating at or near his all-time low. and historically low for a first-year president. this, as the political landscape is set to change. with over two dozen republicans already saying they won't seek re-election to congress next year. but republicans are holding on to the tax bill as their ticket to success. and at least for this week, they had a lot to celebrate. a bang of the speaker's gavel. a stroke of the president's pen. that, a big tax cut, a big political victory. >> it's going to be a tremendous thing for the american people. it's going to be fantastic for the economy. >> reporter: the president says the middle class will benefit the most. the

corporations and the wealthy. polls show the vast majority of americans don't like the plan. republicans are betting that more jobs and more take-home pay will turn an unpopular bill into a political winner. >> we can't sell this to the american people, we ought to go into another line of work. >> reporter: not a single democrat voted for the trump tax cuts in the house or the senate. they think they've found a defining issue for the 2018 midterm elections. >> don't throw me a crumb and tell me that i'm benefiting when you're robbing the future by increasing the debt, rewarding the rich, as you ransack the middle class. >> reporter: the other big battleground? over obamacare. the president claims he killed it this week by getting rid of the requirement that all americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty. >> i hate to say this, but, we essentially repealed obamacare. >> reporter: in reality, almost all of obamacare remains in

place. and 4ehealthcare.gov shows almo as many signups as last year. >> it's fun when you win. >> reporter: after a year of political infighting. for now, at least, all is forgiven. and the powerhouse "roundtable" joins me to break down the gop's big week. rich lowry. cokie roberts. washington post political writer gene scott. and margaret tower. rich, if this tax bill is all republicans say it is, all the president says it is why is it so unpopular? if you look at the latest cnn poll, the majority of the country opposes it. only a third at this point favors it. >> one, it's associated with president trump. anything associated with president trump is not going to be popular at

t one of the biggest elements are corporate tax cuts. they're worthy. and i think will be proe-growth. they're not an easy sell. one, they would have just -- the voters would have quit on them if they didn't get anything done this year. two, it will allow them to take credit for an economy appearing to be kicking into a hire gear. a third point i would add, most people, bad things are not going to happen to them there this bill. they'll gate tax cut despite the democratic rhetoric. >> it really might come back around for the republicans. it might not be in time. think the combination of the fact that the standard deduction is doubled. and the child care tax credit is so big that some families will not pay taxes at all. and so, i think a couple of those -- things will be popular. but, the democrats running against the republicans as the party of big business works. it has worked

hoover. they're expecting it to happen again. >> the democrats saying the sky is going to fall because of this bill. 91% of middle class earners get a tax cut on average of $1100. once people see that money coming back in pay checks. maybe not so many term things happening in the short term, won't this backfire on the democrats? >> there will be voter who is look t a democrats and say, things were just not as bad as you said they were. i think a big concern for democrats, we're living in a time where there is so many conversations about inequality. most people will get a cut. some get more of a cut than others. a lot of voters are uncomfortable with that idea. >> the tax cuts for individuals are temporary. >> that's right. >> the tax cuts the for corporations are berm innocent.

ten years, will get republicans through the midterms and the next presidential elections. >> they have other concerns. >> was stheng the blue state versus red state factor. it tracks with the president's base. but there are republicans in coastal states, who are a, going to be turned off by this, and b, it may affect re-election prospects in the midterms. the beneficial effects in the near term are not really going to be realized for more than a year. those e lebs are coming up in november. and there are deficit implications, as well. >> most of the media coverage, including, frankly, my own, has portrayed this as the president's sole big legislative achievement so far. the president -- >> fair enough. >> the president seems to have a different message. take a look. >> our country is doing very well. e have tremendously cut regulations.

i'm given no credit the main stream media, we have, i believe, it's 88. which, is number one in the history of our country. second now, is harry truman. >> help me out, rich. somewhat a legislative -- >> it's a new term. we'll have to have a tutorial to learn what a legislative -- is. this tax bill tilted over to a solid year of accomplishments. the tax bill is a big deal. the individual mandate is repealed in it. as a stand-alone matter, that would have been considered a big deal. drilling in anwar. >> a lot beyond taxes. >> deregulation. junls. victory against isis. this is a pretty good year that looked for awhile like it could go wrong. >> some of what he's talking about happened very early in the term, where the republican congress was able to overturn a lot of

and, that's what he's proud of that. whether the american people like that or not is another question. because system of those regulations were things that protect our health and safety. and our water. think that that -- on balance, is probably not a positive. >> on this point of the legislative approval for bills that have passed. facts actually kind of matter here. he said 88. actually, there have been 96 bills he signed into law. so he's short-selling himself. every president going back to eisenhower. he's actually dead last. even on that metric. eugene? >> i think that is something the president is not worried about when he's talking to his base. people that are already on the trump train will stay on board and use this false stat in arguments with other people in holiday season. but the challenge the president hads to remember is that the majority of american voters are not in his base.

you actually did, you did not do. you didn't chandle chip the way we would have liked. you didn't handle daca the way we would have liked. >> this was entirely republican. just like health care. which was entirely democrat. this is entirely republican on this point. if you look next year at what is coming up. you have one fewer -- one less republican seat in the senate. he's going to need to have bipartisan accomplishments. >> good luck on that. >> it just got that much harder. >> he won't be able to do anything more on solely the republicans. >> mitch mcconnell has said, welfare reform, entitlement reform, let's start with something else. i think it's almost impossible to argue that any one bill is more consequential that the tax bill. it will have implications for foreign

there could be trade wars. could be a global cuts rates competition. class implications. partisan implications. i think you could argue that a combination of the regulatory or deregulatory actions. the judicial confirmations. and things he has done through executive are more important than the bills. >> getting legislation next session, the biggest problem will be in his own party. he wants to do infrastructure. >> he wants $1 trillion. >> good luck with that. >> where is the money coming from? >> the same thing with immigration. republicans have been ready to do an immigration bill since george w. bush. they haven't been able to do it. they can't agree inside their own party. >> this is going to be fought out in the midterms.

rich, look at the gentlemen nashs ballot polls. three recent ones. we have cnn showing democrats with an 18-point advantage. 15, 11. rich, those numbers spell dezaster for the republicans next november. >> yeah, it's and hard to see how they get better. maybe there is some black swan event next year. maybe the kicks into a higher gear. the problem is, i think wave that is building is built on people finding donald trump personally repellent. how do you picks that is this especially when the president has no desire to rein in his own conduct or tweeting? >> donald trump says quite openly,ky say whatever i want to say, and people will believe it. so there are some p

will believe whatever he says. a lot of other people say, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. those aren't the facts. that is a big problem for him. >> you have people that won't believe anything he says. and people that won't believe anything -- >> we say. >> we say. >> true. but we saw a poll from quinnipi quinnipiac. people believe the media over trump when they have to choose, but not by much. we have a trust issue. the government has a trust issue. we all have more control in changing this. >> it's what unites all of us is our trust issues. >> you have steve bannon. the president's former chief strategist saying, according to "vanity fair" there is a 30% chance that he'll finish his term. in order, great chance that he won't. >> i don't think that's true. >> steve bannon has been a fire brand and lightning r

coming into the trump campaign. was that only like a year and half ago? he's a provocateur. president trump is going to face a problem gnat president obama faced in the second term of midterms. where do they use pence instead of trump? does trump step back in places where it would hurt the incumbent to have him there? >> do republicans run with trump or away from him in 2018? >> it will be a tough choice. you saw ed gillespie running away from trump. roy moore had his own problems, running toward donald trump. getting swamped by a blue wae. >> in alabama. >> it's been off the year. >> it wasn't a blue wave. >> it wasn't the crimson tide. up next, a

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we're all on the same page. there's great spirit in the republican party like i have never seen before. like a lot of people have said they have never seen before. they have never seen anything like this. the unity. so i think a lot of var good things are going happen. it's going the happen very fast. >> that's arizona senator jeff flake sitting right next to the president three weeks ago. the president presenting a unified front. when in reality, they have been feuding since the campaign. flake works announced this

that he'll retire from the senate next year has been a constant critic of the president. most recently over his support for judge roy moore's failed not campaign. flake wrote a check for the democrat, doug jones, tag it country over party. i sat down with flake to talk about his future and the future of his party. we began with the fallout from alabama. the president was all if at the end for roy moore. the republican national committee supported him financially. is this a permanent stain on the party? >> i hope it's not permanent. it will be lasting. that will be used by the democrats. if we were the democrats, we would do it, too. so it will certainly be used by the other side and it's not -- wasn't our best foot forward, by any means. >> steve bannon was supporting moore from the start. and by all accounts, helped convince the president, though i don't know if he needed much

convincing, to support moore. what is bannon's role in the party now? >> i hope test been marginalized. the last thing we need is to push that -- ultra nationalist -- ethno-nationalist, protectionist element of the party. it's not good for us. >> what is the risk if the party continues in that direction? the bannon direction. the trump direction. could you lose the senate? >> most definitely. you look at the audiences cheering for republicans sometime. you look out there and say, those are the spasms of a dying party. when you look that the lack of diverse si sometimes. and it depends on where you are, obviously. but by and large, we're appealing to older white men. and there are just a limited number of them. and anger and resentmentre

a governing philosophy. so you have to actually govern and do something. sooner or later, the voters will figure out, i think they are and have, that, you know, you have to have something else. >> reporter: senator flake, a life long republican, did not vote for president trump in 2016. so what about the president himself? first of all, do you -- what do you think the odds are that he doesn't seven out all four years? >> i don't know. the talk of impeachment. and what not. i don't get caught up in that. there's a lot of it on the left. so -- we'll see. we'll see what goes forward. i don't -- i look at the last campaign and -- and think, was that campaign even capable of colluding with anybody? it was so chaotic and what not. but the problem is it's always, as they say, the coverup. and the sensitivity that the

white house has to the special counsel and the investigation is troubling. i still cannot figure out the rationale for the timing of the comey firing. and if the president tries to continue to undermine the legitimacy of the investigation. if republicans continue to try to help with that, i think that puts us in peril. we shouldn't participate many the undermining of our institutions that way. >> you look at the firing of comey and what comey said the president said regarding the flynn investigation. the cost of key fig glurs the congress to back off of the investigation, is there already, layman's terms here, already an obstruction of justice to be made? >> no, i would wait for the special counsel, if the he's going to make that case, to make that case. i'm not prepared to make it. >> what if the president fires the special counsel? >> it will be a big problem. i don't think that will

i don't think he'll go there. he should gotten there. >> and if he does? >> we'll cross that when he comes to it. i don't thing it would be received well here. not by me. >> and if he pardons michael flynn. >> that is equally troubling. if it's part of the investigation, as way to circumvent the invest somehow, that would be very troubling. >> reporter: senator flake has called on republicans to serve as a check on president trump. >> it's up so us to stand up and say, this is not acceptable. >> reporter: pu just a few weeks ago, he was there at the white house, sitting next to the president. is there the froup of wonderful republican senators is here to discuss the tax bill. very importantly, we're going to be talking about trade nachbd that. >> there you are. you're with the president face to face. did you use the opportunity to confront him on any of the things you have confronted him on? >> certainly. on nafta. some people expect that if you disagree with the president on some things, i do quite vocifeus

things and some of his behaviors. but, that doesn't mean that i should try to hobble him. there's an op-ed written it was my responsibility. >> well, because you have said -- on so many of the big issues. you supported him on the the obamacare repeal. the tax cuts. you voted with him the overwhelming majority of the time. >> put it this way, before the president came along, on health care reform, repeal and replacement of obamacare, i voted on it some 40 times. should i change just to spite the president? same with regard to tax reform. i have been pushing corporate tax reform for years. should i now turn the other direction just because the president happens to share our view? on the things we disagree on, the muslim ban. during the campaign. later changed to a -- a travel ban. now i do believe i

it's just not wise. i speak up. every dhans i get, against that. nafta. getting out of nafta would be a disaster. tpp, to exit that trade agreement, disaster. those things i'll continue to speak against. >> reporter: now the outspoken senator who already made headlines with his stunning resignation speech -- >> we must stop pretending that the degradation of our politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. they are not normal. >> reporter: he's set to give a series of speeches on the senate floor about the state of the uniyou knowon. the first one you want to do is about trump's relationship with the truth. what do you mean? >> we need, as a democracy, as a country, a shared facts that we can agree on. we need to know and people need to understand that our institutions are

durable. when we undermine them by talking about alternative facts or talking about statements that are just demonstrably false. like i would have won the popular vote, for example. or our institutions are sick. and -- that there's a rigged similar. talking about electoral system. that's just not good. it's not right. >> are you saying the president's a liar? >> i'm not saying that. >> why not? you're saying what he says is not true. isn't that what you're saying? >> we can all choose our own words. >> reporter: he continues to serve in the senate until his term sup, just over a year from now. giving him the opportunity to help push trump a ps agenda through. or stand in the way. does he have presidential ambitions of his own. >> that's not in my plans. i do wonder and i do worry that in the future we'll

for re-election on the one side. drilling down hard on a diminishing base. and on the other side, you might have -- on the other side, you might have somebody like bernie sanders. or elizabeth warren on the far left of the democratic party. that leaves a huge swath of voters. in the middle. that may be looking for something else. >> you're open to running for president in 2020? >> i don't rule anything out but it's not in my plans. >> it's coming up, by the way. >> it is. >> would you be more likely to run for the republican nomination against the president or as an independent candidate? >> i haven't thought that deeply about it. like i said. but i do -- i do believe if the president is running for re-election, if he continues on the path that he's on, at the that's going to leave a huge swath of voters looking for someone else. >> if he's the republican

see an independent candidate. >> he's probably inviting a republican challenge as well. certainly an independent challenge. >> what would it take for you to leave the republican party? you have already been harshly pr critical of your party's president? >> i can say the fact that roy moore lost his election is a good sign that maybe the republican party, maybe we can turn back. if we continue the to go down that path, just to drill down on the base, think you'll have a lot of people realize there is no future for them in this party. i know a lot of them. some are family members. some are -- are -- you know, republicans i have known for a long time. we have been life long republican who is simply say this is not my party. this is not where i want to go. i hope, like i said, with the election results in alabama, that maybe the party's realizing that, we have to change.

arizona. on the other side of the capitol, mar are bruce dropped in on another soon-to-be retiring republican. charlie dent, a republican from pen. he kicked off with an area where he agrees with the president. the gop victory on taxes. >> it's not a popular bill. are you confident this will be a political win for republicans? >> i never felt that legislative success translates into electoral success. ask the democrats. they passed obamacare, dodd frank. the stimulus. and then were wiped out in the election. while the bill is not polling well, there's confusion about what is? it. that's a lot of good policy in the tax bill. we'll see if that translates into any political support. this is going to be a tough year. 2018, for my pa

history. >> on the the deficit. conserve tiff estimates say this bill could add half a trillion dollars to the nation's debt. can republicans still run as the party of fiscal responsibility? >> i don't believe the legislation will pay for it. i think it will partially. think it's important that we start to do more to generate growth in this country. we have had anemic growth for a long time. i think we can do better. >> you're retiring. you never endorsed president trump adds a dntd. you didn't vote for him. was the president factor in your decision to leave? >> yeah, a factor. not the factor. >> how so? >> i have been if elected office now for nearly 28 years. i had 14 year miss the state. 6 years in the house. the senate. i've run for office 13 times. i don't want to poil a perfect record.

i had no serious electoral threat there the left and no credible threat from the right. i felt it was the right time. i'm young enough and healthy to do -- something else. there are personal reasons involved. other issues. the president has been factor. it's -- i have often said this administration, at times, is faking the fun out of dysfunction. i expect a certain amount of dysfunction. sometimes you laugh at it. it's not so funny anymore. to be fair, some of my own frustrations predated president trump. particularly the 2013 shutdown. i felt like folks forgot their responsibilities. that is an important thing we have to do. the simple, basic tasks of government have become herculean ta

saying no the an art form. a lot of people just can't get to yes. >> you're the co-chair of the tuesday group. the group of moderate republicans. you have mourned in the past how i derks ol-- ideologues have th party. >> it was about ideological purt. now the issue is changed. the issue is loyalty to the man. to the president. for some, loyalty is not enough. you have to be angry and agrooefd. i have said to folks, if i set myself on fire for them, they would complain that the temperature of the flame is not hot enough. gn that's what we're dealing with now. it's not about ideology. it's loyalty to the president. the president doesn't always irr

spire loyalty. >> the president has told advisers he wants to get out on the road. be campaigning more spp that a good idea? is that good for republicans? or likely to give democrats more ammunition? >> depends where he's going. some areas of the country, he would not be held helpful. and some, in ruby red republican districts, it would be beneficial. some marginal swing districts in the northeast, i suspect a lot of candidates rather he not visit. >> when you lk at stochl rescent e lebs, perilously in alabama and virginia, are you worried the party may be ail yeb nating younger voters, women, african-americans the immigrants? >> yes. yes. >> without hesitation. >> we can't

appeal to a very narrow base. the roy moore candidacy, before the allegations, this man was unfit. i didn't support him either. i said i never would. the party shouldn't have gotten behind him. the candidacy was a disaster. nominating people who have no appeal outside of a very narrow base, i believe it hurts very much. i think it's -- it absolutely does. does damage to the party. a lot of these people, they're not about expanding the the base. this -- politics and getting elected is about -- about addition, not subtraction. inclusion, not exclusion. you hear people like roy moore and steve bannon and others, they're talking about exclusion. and i think that is -- very unhealthy. >> so looking forward if we can. you have been in the office now for than a decade. what is the biggest difference between the congress you arrived to and the one you'll leave

difference is that not only washington and congress but the country, generally, is much more polarized than when i first arrived. you can make a case it was becoming more and more polarized over several decades. the polarization has reached the point of paralysis. there doesn't seem to be the bipartisan collaboration up front that we need on a lot of big issues. a lot of people have thrown up their hands and said, the two sides are so different. hay can't agree on any of them. so why try? >> is washington worse off or better off? >> think it's worse off. i just don't see how this is sustainable for the long term. but, i believe things will right themselves sooner ore later. >> what is it going to take to bring back that bipartisanship? you sound optimistic but you're not seeing it. >> our primary process leads to -- candidates who

fri fringe. tack to the base. there's too much political reward for attacking really hard to the base. and not enough reward for consensus and agreement or, hech forbid, compromise. i believe most of the the american people are not on the fringes. i have found that. you're not going to get your head shot off if you km out of your fox hole once in awhile. you can stand up and do what you think you have to do and the go sell it. some of the fringe, yeah, they're going to carry on and hyper ventilate. but most everybody else will say thank you. >> do you think that changes in the 2018 midterms? >> it may. it may change. the republican party will experience losses. we have seep that. we're not going to lose the majority. you have to be concern fpd president's approval rating in alabama at

in a state he won by large margins. >> what is next for your permly. there are rumors you may consider becoming a political analyst. any chances you're leaving here early? >> are you telling me you're going to quit your job? i have no definitive plans. i have talked to people in television? yes. do i have definitive plans, no. plans can change. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> our thanks to mary and congressman dent. up next, "the roundtable" is next to tackle an extraordinary year in politics. this is not a cloud. this is a tomato tracked from farm to table on a blockchain, helping keep shoppers safe. this is a financial transaction

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the tax bill signing. when you lock at the president's accomplishments today. putting a conservative on the supreme court. the tax cut bill. unemployment under 5%. the economy growing. isis largely defeated in iraq and syria. the stock market hitting record highs. has the trump presidency done more than critics say? >> the country is in better shape than some people had feared. but, whether we can attribute it to trump is another question. he's changed the nature of the the presidency. i don't know if that is permanent or not. through his tweets, which he feels very strongly is a way to get to the american people directly, without us interferi g interfering, is something we have never seen before. it could change the future of how presidents communicate forever. >> rich, you worked really hard to keep him there getting electioned. >> thanks for reminding me. >> but you

parentheses did i den si to what you said about wagner's music. better than it sounds. >> you have the tweets. they suggest here's this wild-eyed guy with all these resentments. then you have policy and the presidential decisions. it's not been that at all. for the most part, it's been entirely conventional. one of the extraordinary things about this year. steve ban non, on the outside looking in in the white house. whereas paul ryan, mitch mcconnell, at the moment, are warm allies of this white house. so you have seen this the on and off relationship. >> he's not been conventional at all on the question of immigration. and on refugees. he hasn't been conventional on trade. these are two areas that have have a huge impact on the the united states' role in the

>> the trade you have seen a lot of huffing and puffing. no action yet. >> pulling out of tpp. >> immigration, i think, has been a welcome change in the party's orthodoxy. i think if you're running for national office, you are going to have to be restrictionist on immigration. in the republican party. >> that will be a problem in the long run. congress dent and senator flake say you win elections by adding, not subtracting. >> one of the the first things for january is the immigration bill. finding legal status for the dreamers. many republicans and many people in the white house are against it. >> yeah. it will be interesting to see if congress can make progress. mitch mcconnell wants too do it if he can get at least 60 votes to support it. jeff flake has made a promise that he would h

presented to him by january how to move into that direction is not yet clear. something many members of the congressional hispanic caucus in the last week have expressed deep concern about and dreck toward their parties a leadership. >> the democrats are in trouble, as well. all the energy in the democratic party is with the young immigrants. and with the progressive wing. that will be a problem for them in 2018. lots of problems for democrats in 2018 that we haven't talked about. the fact is, that the -- party is -- energized by a wing of the party that will probably have trouble winning general elections. >> and energized in places people don't usually see. i was in alabama covering the senate election. i was surprised by the number of women, the number of lgbt communities. number of latinos. black young voters, from alabama, on the ground, trying to mobilize a

what they consider great as compared to what the president considers great. >> the biggest accomplishment may be drupgs. whether the disruption ultimately helps president trump is not yet clear. we'll see it in the coming year. if you try to judge it on legislation, you see, he's stepping on his own message. can't get anything done. republican party controls both chambers. but i'm not sure that is really the goal. i'm not sure that has ever been the goal. >> not the goal. not where the voters are right now. all the energy is not around economics. >> counting bills passed. >> yeah. and you say it's the economy, stupid. the truth is, it's the economy except when it isn't. all the energy is around

it can have an impact in way that republicans don't know now deal with. >> but this -- think, there's a lot of room for the m ds to move left on exhibition. they can't get their heads and, it will be difficult for them to do, they need to moderate on cultural issues. >> yes. >> that's very hard. >> abortion is the place they need to make a difference. change their tune. because, you saw in alabama, if roy moore had won, it would have been over the issue of abortion. >> and if doug jones had been a pro-life democrat -- >> he would have run away with it. >> there for the taking. >> at least east not not going to run. >> doesn't he make a point. if you have an elizabeth warren or a bernie sanders goes against trump. seems like the last election

independent candidate and it didn't happen. >> is that why we're seeing people like joe biden enjoying such favorability. and mccain is doing better are democrats than republicans. >> it's the youth movement. >> the republican party is completely bonded to donald trump. there are some exceptions. if flake ran in the primary against donald trump, he would be as asterisk. he's not a natural for the independent either. >> you have just said something very key. >> thank you. finally. >> no. >> you just said republican women in the suburbs. there are not going to be any republican women in the sub you ares by the time this is all done. this presidency is offending those women. that's what the base

understand. >> cokie, where does the me too movement go from here? >> think the energy of getting women candidates. the numbers are astounding of women conditioneds running at every level. and the -- >> you're talking about women democrats? >> mostly democrats. some republicans. but mostly democrats. they're running for congress in numbers you have never seen before. and running for state legislatures in numbers you have never seen before. in virginia, 11 women flipped seats from republican to democratic. those were women. and if they really run in the kinds of numbers that they're now talking about, that's where the energy of the movement goes. that's an easy place to go. that's an elected office where you can really change policy. people are saying, jeepers, these guys are screwing up. we need to get some women in there to fix it. >> you could see multiple women in nominating contests for president

in each party's nominating congress. when you look at what president trump signaled all year, fore shadows all year. i go back again and again to day two. standing at the cia wall. just blowing up -- >> first full day in office. >> just blowing up orthodoxy. there is no hallowed ground in american politics or policy where you can't make a political statement. you can't cig nat nal your political intentions. he's very much -- >> with the indian code talkers. >> the pocahontas comment. >> has he blown up the regular rules for everybody else, foo? >> to riches a point. he's been brutally harsh on the press. >> right. >> fake news and all that. these are the people over the top. but he's actually been an incredible le media-friendly president. before he started handing out pens. i mean -- >> did you get a

>> there's a duality there. in the short term, day to day, in terms of coverage and access, chutely. a ton of interaction are the president. in the long terms, if you believe that the free press is a pillar of american democracy. >> or the department of justice. or the fbi, or our intelligence agencies. >> it's been very destructive. short term, lon term, on the surface. >> there's a love-hate relationship on both sides. trump loves to beat up ion the press. but watches it obsessively. changed the date of his signing ceremony because of what he was hearing on the news. >> and pointed to one reporter and said, you were one of the people who said that. >> the press hates him. but loves the spectacle and the ratings. >> how will voters respond to that? will they believe what the press says is a very

that needs their attention and that they should consider at the polls. or if they'll view it at entertainment. like they have done through much of donald trump's time. >> one thing of the war on the press and the fake news, over and over again, it's maetd -- you have people with their own set of facts. it's not just for -- >> and -- >> it's the internet. >> and that's actually very troublesome. because, because you can't make policy without facts. you can disagree about what the policy is. and what the facts imply for the policy, but you can't disagree about facts and make policy. >> we have seen reports on red facebook feed versus blue, that people are getting different news, some from very un-credible news sources. we're seeing partisanship reach levels we haven't seen in recent years. >>

confuse when you confuse. you're not sure what the believe. sflat's all the time we have. >> merry christmas. >> we'll be right back.

as many of us prepare to gather with family, on this christmas eve. i want to close with a personal note. this past week, we lost one of this show's most loyal viewer. a towering inflins on me and man who dedicated his life to helping others. my father, wayne f. karl. he ran an auto body shop. loved nascar, gardening, country music.

anything involving his children and grandchildren. for more than maf shentry. he was a vol. tier firefighter. for the first ten years of my life, he was a fire cheer. some years ago, our hometown named his the citizen of the year. proclaiming a wayne karl day. the official proclamation reading it should be noted it is impossible to acknowledge all that wayne has done for the community. thank you, dad. i love you. and i will never stop thinking about you. and to all of you, a merry christmas.

sharyl: is what you describe what some americans might call "the establishment"? rep. buck: absolutely. the "establishment" are the republican leadership and the democrat leadership getting along and pretending not to. sharyl: he was stunned, he says, to find the nrcc, the national republican congressional committee, just like its counterpart for democrats, requires hefty party dues. i've not heard another sitting member of congress talk about these things. rep. buck: i didn't come here to make friends and so if i'm gone in a couple of years, i did what i came to do and that's hopefully make americans aware that this place is broken. lisa: last september, nisa and kayla went missing. liz alvarado: we were looking so hard and we could not find her.