yamiche alcindor, eugene robinson, glenda bear, thank you for being with us. >>> and telling troops inraq, we are no longer suckers of the world. is this the president's policy in a nutshell? is it working? >>> plus, a stark image of a divided america. is there any room left for big-picture bipartisanship? and michael bloomberg, how about his quip that the president is not an entry-level position? was that aimed at trump? was that an opening against democratic primary opponents? >>> finally, we finish tonight with a government shutdown that feels a whole lot different than shutdowns we have been through before. this is "hardball," where the action is. re this is "hardball," where the action is. i'm ken jacobus and i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back. which i used to offer health insurance to my employees. what's in your wallet? take your razor, yup. up and down, never side to side, shaquem, you got it? come on stay focused. hard work baby, it gonna pay off. why go with anybod

eugene robinson, tim o'brien. thanks, guys. yesterday's oval office event gave us sound and fury but at least one still life resulted from it. also con andy a couple big plipz we'll look at all of it when we come back. so this christmas, take care of the hands that take care of you. that's me in back in 1987, when i gave isotoner gloves to all my teammates. now i have a different set of teammates. my family. and they all want isotoner gloves for christmas because they keep getting better. there's smartouch. for selfies whenever, wherever. then there's four way stretch for flexibility. they even have smartdri. see? stays dry. so get isotoner gloves for the whole family. take care of the hands that take care of you. >>> last thing before we go tonight, takes us back inside the oval office where yesterday, most of the coverage dealt with the president's pledge to take personal responsibility for a government shutdown, and the still life of vice president pence sitting there in the middle of it all. today some of the attention turn

eugene robinson, tim o'brien, thank you. really appreciate it, guys. >>> coming up, yesterday's oval office event gave us sound and fury, as gene was saying, but at least one still life resulted from it. also contained a couple big lies. we'll look at all of it when we come back. >>> last thing before we go tonight, takes us back inside the oval office, where yesterday, most of the coverage dealt with the president's pledge to take personal responsibility for a government shutdown and the still life of vice president pence sitting there in the middle of it all. today, some of the attention turned to the claims the president made about the border and his nonexistent border wall. professional fact checkers in our business disproved his assertions about diseases and terrorists coming over the border. the people of tucson were surprised to learn that illegal traffic was down in their city because of the wall, that's because there's no wall around tucson, that's because they're just under 70 miles away from the mexican border. th

winning columnist and associate editor for the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson, washington bureau chief for "usa today" susan paige, and republican communications strategist and msnbc political contributor rick tyler. so, david ignatius, let's keep score. i mean, this is not exactly the sort of show we can pre tape for christmas eve in the middle of july. too much going on. >> you couldn't really plan this one. >> no, couldn't plan this one out. so i thank all of you so much for being with us this christmas eve morning, it certainly means a lot to us and i know it means a lot to our viewers. so there is a "washington post" article entitled "a rogue presidency" that stated where we are pretty well. the federal government is shut down, the stock markets are in free-fall, foreign allies are alarmed and foreign adversaries like russia are cheering. so, david, where are we? >> joe, we have used language to try to explain to viewers the chaos, disorientation in washington, the sense of disruption to traditional policies so many times over the last 18 months, it may se

we have eugene robinson and nbc news correspondent katy tur and david brody, analyst.e is what donald trump, president trump tweeted out after the ruling, as i predicted all along, obamacare has been struck down as an unconstitutional disaster. now congress must pass a strong law that provides great health care and protecting preexisting conditions. mitch and nancy, get it done. it's the visual of mcconnell and pelosi somehow rewriting the health care law with donald trump as president. what does that look like? >> i think that's a vision that nobody in this town can conjure right now and donald trump may be the only republican cheering this decision, which is somewhat fascinating. looking at conservative legal scholars and conservatives at large, there is nobody who seems to be happy about this ruling and to think it's reasoning makes much sense, which is really that you can't have a tax of zero dollars, which republicans in the house, they did away with the individual mandate by just saying the tax on it is zero dollars but before october went into law, you heard con

eugene robinson, tim o'brien, thank you.preciate it, guys. >>> coming up, yesterday's oval office event gave us sound and fury, as gene was saying, but at least one still life resulted from it. also contained a couple big lies. we'll look at all of it when we come back. ♪ be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. and the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief and many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain f

in our conversation by pulitzer prize winner, columnist of "the washington post," our friend eugene robinson>> good to see you, brian. >> your thoughts on what we're watching. >> i've been thinking about what an experience this must be for the family, first. the pageantry, the moment, the certificaemony that's involved memorializing and laying to rest a former president is in american public life a unique spectacle and a grand spectacle. we are here on a rooftop across from the cathedral on this bitterly cold day. it just got a little more bitter. but what a sight. and what a panorama. the entire city participants, in a way. avenues are closed off for motorcades which are criss-crossing washington, d.c. offices are closed, no mail delivery. there's really a sense that this is a day that everyone should pay attention to and remember. so in that sense it's an honor to participate in it. >> i feel the same way. our children are watching, my friend dana bash at cnn took her young 7-year-old son to the capitol to pay respects, to sort of teach the next generation what this looks like, how we mark

associate editor of the "washington post" eugene robinson. analyst and former republican strategist steve schmidt. and presidential historian doris kerns goodwin. how do americans feel how the president handled the russia probe which is now at an all time low. a new cnn poll shows since october approval of trump's handling of the russian investigation has fallen from 33% to 29%. support among republicans has dropped 17%. down to 51%. it's dropped among independents. approval rating among democrats has more than doubled to 15%. overall 39% of americans approve trump compared to 52% who disapprove. almost exactly matching pre-election levels. steve schmidt, at what point are republicans going to be worried about their party as it pertains to this president? >> at no point, mika. republicans have already paid a heavy cost for trump and trumpism. when you look at this mid-term election the president showed up the morning after the election to claim victory. it was in fact a massive reyou d -- repudiation of trump and trumpism. we'll see more of t

eugene robinson joins our table and we've been talking about how this is the quint essentially americant. we're saying goodbye to a former president. >> it is quintessentially american. the ceremony, the precision, the ritual that has gone through. it is the way we mark important events and important individuals in our story. and george h.w.hi bush was b an measure an important american of his time. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> so many moments. the is former president george w. bush, wife laura, the family standing at the top of the capitol steps, greeting the remains, the ag-draped remains of the family patriarch. george h.w. bush. >> and no poker face there. a son who adored his dfather. s much as they knew he was ready to go, it is hard to let him go in this moment to. se his flag draped casket coming up the steps of the rotunda. the music clearly moving him. there is governor jeb bush. you may have also seen at the to of the stairs, members of president bush's cabinet. some family faces that wrote a lot of history. >> james baker, a close friend at the president's bedside when he passed. wiping

in addition to our guests already we have been joined by eugene robinson. >> we're seeing the family. that's what i kept thinking of. this is a family's funeral for its patriarch. i buried both my parents. i remember those days intensely. i remember the feelings of loss and the ache and the bewilderment that they're no longer with us. i feel for that family too. old washington, old america in way. a realignment, a political realignment. the value we saw today. they were coming in and were veterans. i'm very optimistic about those values. the presidency is a symptom of that, not a cause. a result of that, not a cause. i think we're in for some rough political times. this is a reminder that there's a foundation there that i think will persist. >> chris matthews as you walk up the air stairs on this aircraft, if you turn the left there's a bedroom reserved for the use of first family. a remember cabin portion after the president's office begins as you go to the right. i'm told the first section seats have been removed and that's where the casket is mounted for this flight. i know that s

editor of the "washington post," eugene robinson.for "the washington post" and moderator of washington week on pbs, robert costa. and white house reporter for the associated press jonathan lameer is with us. >> jonathan lameer, was suggesting that nick sabin be fired in the third or fourth quarter of last week's game but then he said at least he gets to hold on for another week. >> he celebrated with a new hair cut, i don't know if you notice. he has an entirely new look. >> there's a lot of good hair on this show. >> oh, so cute. i like it. >> bob costa, we showed a picture of nancy pelosi earlier and was talking about her relationship with george h.w. bush. a tough, tough speaker from 2006 to 2010. most neutral observers would say one of the most effective, one of the most powerful, one of the most disciplined speakers in recent modern american political history. how does she stand? any concerns going in to the floor vote or does it seem like the democrats and i will just say it, are the democrats going to do the smart thing, are t

. >> eugene robinson, it struck you, you were on the news side of "the post" for quite a bit of the bush presidency. >> yeah. >> one of the things that struck me the most yesterday was how we were talking about how shocking it was that he worked across the i' aisle, or how extraordinary it was he had a relationship with sonny montgomery, a long-time democrat from the south, and you say, you know why -- back then, that wasn't extraordinary, that was just washington. >> yeah, it was -- nothing extraordinary about it at all. you know, at that point, people certainly had fresh in their memory the friendship between ronald reagan and tip o'neill. and the way washington had worked, really, for our entire lifetimes until recently. it just wasn't the case that washington was so tribal that there were not relationships across the aisle. it wasn't until fairly recently that all republicans were very conservative and all democrats were liberal. it was -- there were liberals and moderates and conservatives in both parties when i was growing up, and, really, to the -- through the reagan years. it --

eugene robinson is pulitzer prizewinner for "the washington post," and all msnbc analysts. gene, you see the numbers there. some movements obs -- on the numbers and others saying until hell literally freezes over. >> right. so i think you're analysis is correct that nancy pelosi will be speaker, will come in with her own agenda and her own priorities and her own sense of what's important and it won't be the same as donald trump's. and why would she at this point take anything mick mulvaney says as holy writ or indeed any deal that gets negotiated as holy writ given donald trump's record of simply going back on deals that everybody else thinks are made deals? and so i don't quite -- to me that is the huge stumbling point to anything. there's no incentive for democrats to move knowing that trump is going to pull the rug out from under the whole thing at the last minute as soon as anne colter has indigestion. >> it makes it sound like he's not a good negotiator. >> i think you ought to read the art of the deal and some guy named trump got his name on it, too. >> there's someth

but with willie and me, we have mike barnacle, noah rothman, susan dellpercio, richard haass, eugene robinsons, if you could speak to them, are they one offs or are are they worldwide populism still burning? >> i wish they were one offs, but at the risk of starting

eugene robinson, thanks to each of you. >>> up next, trump reportedly believes the shutdown could somehow interfere with congressional investigations. that's not exactly true. a democratic lawmaker on the key investigative committee who may have a better view. >>> and later the remarkable story of one grieving mother's quiet resistance to what donald trump has been pushing. quiet re trump has been pushing voice-command navigation with waze wifi wireless charging 104 cubic feet of cargo room and seating for 8. now that's a sleigh. ford expedition. built for the holidays. (hurry!) it's the final days to get zero percent financing plus twelve hundred and fifty dollars ford credit bonus cash on ford expedition the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only $1299. plus, 24-month financing on all beds. ends new year's day. >>>ads we've been reporting president trump does seem perfectly at ease with keeping the government shutdown. and now it seems this could be part of a

eugene robinson, thanks to each of you. >>> up next, trump reportedly believes the shutdown could somehow interfere with congressional investigations. that's not exactly true. a democratic lawmaker on the key investigative committee who may have a better view. >>> and later the remarkable story of one grieving mother's quiet resistance to what donald trump has been pushing. ♪ what a year. your home improvement "to-do list" still isn't "to-done". but hey, at least you still have time to get the ford vehicle you've always wanted. just get to the final days of our holiday sales event. see you sometime between now and january 2nd. so you can end your year on a high note. ford. built for the holidays. it's time to get our best offers of the season. from capital one.nd i switched to the spark cash card i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy. and last year, i earned $36,000 in cash back. which i used to offer health insurance to my employees. what's in your wallet? and then, more jobs robegan to appear.. what started with one job spread all around. because each job in energy creates m

i'm joined byia meech alcindor for the pbs "newshour" it, eugene robinson, wall street post and glenda blair, thanks to all of you for being with us. ya meech, trying to get to the bottom line. the key players in this. you've got the president, you've got the republicans on capitol hill. and you got the democrats on capitol hill. who has the appetite to the extend this the longest? and who the shortest right now would you say? >> i just got off the phone with a democratic aide who says that democrats are not going to budge on what the senate already passed, which is this idea that essentially there will be no border funding in this cr. so democrats are saying they're not going to do this. president trump has already signaled the white house is willing to come down on the initial $58 billion ask but the president himself has not fully endorsed that. the key thing here is the house is going to turn into democratically controlled house and nancy pelosi will likely become speaker. that will make it even harder for trump to get what he wants. >> eugene, there is a school of thought that fro

. >> joining us is presidential historian michael beschloss, eugene robinson, who was my wing man on the cold rooftop and peter baker. peter baker, you've been writing incredible stories, but incredible stories about the bush family since the 41st president's death friday night. take us through what you reported this afternoon. >> well, it was a moving ceremony. it was a celebration of an extraordinary life. it was a celebration of a time that seems past, right? a time of -- as you point out, bipartisan legislation on the environment, on civil rights, on disabilitied, protections. and it was a celebration of a style of leadership. very human in its orientation. a style of friends rather than enemies. a style of conciliation, not anger. and it was, i think, a moment for washington to pause and reflect on the way things have gone. you saw the president of the united states, president trump, sitting there watching all of this. not given a role to speak. unusual for an incumbent president. at times seem to be defiant. held his hands up, arms up like this as if he wasn't quite happy with

joining me for insight and analysis are washington post columnist eugene robinson, katy tur, host of msnbc live, david brody, chief political analyst for cbn news, and eliana johnson, national political reporter for politico. welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning, as if we needed another reminder. this week illustrated again just how not normal the trump presidency has become. president trump's lawyer sentenced to prison. his chief of staff, his second one, mind you, is out. a routine -- less than two years into mr. trump's term and take a look at the investigations. among the targets, the trump campaign, the trump transition team, the trump inauguration committee, the trump family, the trump organization and the trump char table foundation, trump associates, and president trump himself. all of this may be taking a toll on the president. we have a "wall street journal" poll out this morning. 62% say president trump has not bee

. >> pulitzer prize winner eugene robinson joking about him rolling with fat joe through manhattan andomething. well tonight for the first time we can show you that is no joke. here is some homemade footage of yes, fat joe, you see right there and bill kristol cruising the streets of manhattan. i asked him about the public interest in their relationship and what it might mean for america. >> i'm struck how much people overly are like excited or value someone talking across the aisle or different people getting together to show that you can have a civilized discussion. >> when we come on your show, you're like, you broke the ice and like people love to seat it like because -- i don't nobody ever seen a pairing like this talking about political issues and stuff. >> trump's brought us together. a tribute to trump. >> and there's actually a larger truth there. trump brought them together. his attempts at division have actually united many americans who might not have imagined themselves ever agreeing and working together. here was bill kristol in the early 2000s advocating for an iraq war

historians of our time, destiny of power, the odyssey of george herbert walker bush, great book, and eugene robinson start with you, john. i loved your book. i wasn't as thrilled by his progeny as i was by him. but there are people in that new class of bushes which are very impressive. not the ones you would think. people like marvin i think are great people. your thoughts. >> it's a significant family, some have chosen politics, some have chosen -- they all serve in some capacity. and i think they do it because the reverence they have for their dad is an ambient reality. i like to say that if my kids end up having 10% of the affection for me that the bush children have for george h.w. bush and barbara bush, i'll be way ahead of the game. >> what's the difference between joseph kennedy and how he influenced his kids and george herbert walker bush? this is a big divide. explain. >> such a great question. i think this is something you think about a lot, too, and have written about. i think to some extent it's the immigrant story versus the patrician story. the bushes were from columbus, ohio. s.p. bus

look at this, "the washington post," columnist eugene robinson writes today, that trump is quote utterlyone has time for trump's foolishness. that is what he writes today. in "the new york times," paul krugman, he writes today, about trump's depravity of climate denial. that is really nasty stuff. i don't propose to debate the issue in this editorial but i do think the greens should wake up to their failure. they have got an endless scare going on. they're demanding radical and wildly expensive changes. just look at this, from the u.n. climate chief this week, quote, we require deep transformations of our economies and societies. okay. but the greens have to come to terms with political reality. they have to get voters on their side. so far, they have not. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ stuart: this is breaking as we speak. president trump still tweeting about china. now here's the first tweet, this is from the last hour, quote, the negotiations with china have already started and unless extended they will end 90 days from our wonderful and very warm dinner wi

also with us chief national correspondent for "the new york times" magazine, katty kay and eugene robinsonmise of your column. >> the economy is slowing down. we had 3.5 in the third. it expects to be lower -- or forecasts expect it to be lower in the fourth quarter and lower next year. the stimulus is going to wind down. it is not certain we're going to have a recession in 2020 but a recent survey of business economists found two-thirds of them expect it by the end of 2020. an analyst we use a lot on cnbc is now accelerating her free dix. that is very rare. presidents usually time it so the economy is growing when they're seeking re-election. the last one who didn't have it work out that way was jimmy carter. >> the other premise is that donald trump will run for re-election. i don't know about that. >> i agree with you. between the threats from the economy and the mueller report and the other political difficulties that he is about to face with the house in control of the other party, i think the chances are quite good that he does not run for re-election. >> i don't think he will run an

. >> we have john heilemann, donny deutsch, katty kay and eugene robinson, columnist at the "washingtoneporter for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst robert costa and former assistant united states attorney in the southern district of new york. a distinguished fellow in criminal justice at pace school of law and msnbc legal analyst. mika will be back tomorrow. we have a lot to talk about as it pertains to michael cohen but this new element to the conversation and a new piece to the puzzle when we talk about american media, the parent company of the nation"national enquirer" coming out and prosecutors saying they helped protect the president of the united states by suppressing stories right before the 2016 election. >> yep. and we want to get to that in a second. willie, of course, mika is off today for a planned family event. as we said before. this is our chance to go a little free form, talk baseball, talk music. but i want to go to something mika would want to talk about quickly. you've written an article about jeffrey epstein. i'm still shocked by the miscarriage of j

winning columnist and associate editor of the "washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robins robinsonation white house bureau chief at the "washington post" phillip rucker, cnbc's brian sullivan, we have former dod official and former executive director. graham talent wmd commission dr. evelyn marcus, she is also a senior resident fellow at the marshall fund, and also with us we have former democratic representative from california, now the director, president and ceo of the woodrow wilson international center for scholars, jane harman. let's start this discussion with you, phillip. you wrote a piece about the president alone in the white house. how ironic that many of us this weekend with young kids were watching "home alone 2" and seeing that scene where donald trump waves to kevin as he's entering the old plaza, and here it's the president this week yeend complaining i am all alone. it was -- it seemed at a distance a bit of a bleak christmas inside the white house. tell us about it. >> it was, joe, this was on christmas eve about lunchtime and the president had already fired off t