Morning Joe - Morning Joe 12/26/23

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

Trump tells rivals to ‘rot in hell’ in Christmas post

Still so beautiful the next day. That is a look live at 6 a.m. at the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree just outside here. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Tuesday, December 26th. I'm Jonathan Lemire. Alongside me, former aide to the George W. Bush White House and State Departments, Elise Jordan, and the host of MSNBC's Politics Nation, Reverend Al Sharpton, Joe Mika, and Willie have the day off. We hope everyone had a merry, merry Christmas. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden spent their Christmas Eve fielding phone calls for the NORAD Santa tracker.

The president posted this photo on social media, Biden spent their Christmas Eve fielding phone calls for the NORAD Santa tracker. The president posted this photo on social media, writing that he spoke to excited young Americans who were curious about Santa's whereabouts. Then on Christmas Day, the president and first lady called units from each branch of the military to wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them for their service. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, on the other hand, spent the holiday weekend in a very different fashion, taking on his political enemies. The former president posted several, shall we say, unusual Christmas messages on Truth Social that criticized people like Joe Biden and Jack Smith. In one post that channeled Home Alone's Kevin McAllister.

Merry Christmas, you filthy animal. Yep, that was pretty much it, because Trump wrote, there are no world leaders who are as, quote, evil and sick as the thugs we have inside our country who are looking to destroy our once great USA, may they rot in hell before ending with Merry Christmas. Elise Jordan, we saw a president wish the nation a Merry Christmas in a conventional manner. Jolly Christmas. And a rather unconventional, but true to form, I suppose, manner from Donald Trump.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and you were not quite as angry as the 45th president. I did. My daughter got a rainbow frog and that was all she wanted from Santa. So all was good in our world. And the Rev, though, actually did something good for humanity. And you served a000 people lunch yesterday. Yeah, we, every year, National Action Network serves hot meals to a lot of the elderly and homeless and migrants this year. And we gave away about 1,500 hot meals.

We gave away around 500 toys. For people that don't have that at home, you know, I grew up with some Christmases that things were missing. So we do it. It's our 32nd year. I grew up doing service on Christmas. I grew up in Operation Breadbasket under Jesse Jackson, and he used to take us to the jails every year. And I talked to him last night and he went to the jail, even though he's suffering with Parkinson's, can't walk, he wouldn't visit the people in prison. So it's a day of service, not a day of anger and all kind of strife that our former president. So that is certainly what Christmas is supposed to be about. My house, Santa was very good to

the boys. My wife cooked up a wonderful meal. But but Rev, I mean, the anger from from Donald Trump, the the the bad faith attacks about his political opponents. What does that say to you just about where he is right now, mentally and emotionally, as this year draws to a close and we barrel in to an election year? his pretense otherwise has gotten to him because he's reacting and responding in a way of no one projecting self-confidence or like this is nothing. I also think it shows that an inner kind of anger and displacement that he has because who spends the holiday with this kind of venom, particularly when he's a guy that claims to be this self-confident, self-made guy with this kind of darkness, unless you're just that kind of dark person.

And we've certainly gotten used to Trump's unorthodox holiday messages sometimes to the haters and the losers. But this one, even for him, hit a new low. We're going to turn now to some news, some breaking news that happened overnight. The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes against the Iran-backed terrorist group in Iraq. The U.S. Central Command says early assessments indicate that last night's strikes destroyed the targeted facilities and most likely killed a number of militants. Now, this was in retaliation for a series of assaults on an American airbase, including a drone attack that happened Christmas

morning and injured three American service members, one of whom right now is in critical condition. In a statement, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin explained that while the White House does not want to escalate conflict in the Middle East, he and the president will, quote, not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops and our interests. Joining us now with more on this breaking news is NBC News national security and military correspondent Courtney Kuby. Courtney, good to see you this morning. Give us the latest. Fill us in as to what we know about the initial attacks and then the United States response. So the initial attack was what the military calls a one-way attack drone. And

generally, that's a drone that is packed with explosives that is targeted in one specific place, generally a building, goes in, and the idea is it blows up. That's what hit Erbil Air Base early yesterday morning here, Eastern time. It was about 4 p.m. local time on Christmas Day yesterday. And as you mentioned, Jonathan, at least three U.S. personnel were injured, and one U.S. service member was critically injured here. So soon after that happened, the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command down in Tampa presented some options for some responses to first to the

Pentagon and then on to the White House. Of course, President Biden is at Camp David right now. President Biden accepted these these response options and the U.S. military got moving. Now, according to our colleague Aaron Gilchrist, who did some great reporting late last night, there was a series of phone calls, including Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, other national security officials throughout the day and late last night, about 8 p.m. here, local time. Of course, that would be early Tuesday morning in Iraq. President Biden gave Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin the go ahead in the U.S. military carried out these strikes. Now, what's important to point out here, this would have been, there's been more than 100 attacks against bases housing U.S. service members in Iraq and Syria since October 17th.

More than 100. We're about at 103. This so far, we have had traumatic brain injuries, minor injuries. A U.S. service member in critical condition. This seems to be the most effective attack to date of these attacks here so far. And the U.S. military took these targeted strikes afterwards. You also mentioned in the statement that we got out of the Pentagon and statement out of U.S. Central Command late last night, they acknowledged that they believe multiple Qatayb Hezbollah militants, that's the Iranian-backed militia group that operates there in Iraq and into Syria a little bit, they believe that multiple of those militant members of that group may have been killed

in this strike. Now, why I point that out, Jonathan, is the past retaliatory strikes that we've seen out of the military, they are very specific about saying that they are proportional in nature. So let's say there's an attack on a base, there's infrastructure damage, the military will respond with hitting a warehouse, maybe hitting a location where they put together these drones or these components for these missiles that they're striking on the bases with. The fact that they killed, they believe that they killed a number of these militia members, that is generally intended to send a message. The message here being there were U.S. military members injured, and again, one critically injured in this attack,

and that they struck with what they would consider to be proportion, which is not only going after facilities where they make these, where they house their drones or their missile parts, but to actually go after some of these fighters, Jonathan. Courtney, Elise here. When I think of Erbil, I think of an area of Iraq that normally is fairly safe. Can you talk about, have more attacks been happening there at that airbase in particular? And what is the U.S. presence these days in Iraq? Yeah, you're absolutely right. Erbil is beautiful. You can wander around on a Sunday afternoon up at the squares. There's kids playing. It is generally seen and has been seen as one of the safer areas. But the airbase up there has been one of the major targets of these

attacks since October 17th. They've seen a number of attacks. In fact, there was one about two months ago where one of these explosive laden drones actually landed on one of the barracks at the airbase there. And fortunately, it didn't explode or else we may have had a number of casualties there because there were U.S. service members inside. So Erbil has not been, unfortunately, has not been able to escape these attacks. And I will say, you know, I keep pointing out October 17th was the day that these all started. That was when we saw this uptick in attacks by militia groups that are supported by Iran. So Qatayip Hezbollah in Iraq and into Syria.

We've heard a lot about the Houthi attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb. They all really picked up on October 17th. And as I mentioned, more than 100 have now occurred since then, and they have occurred in Erbil. There have also been a number. They've been about half and half in Iraq and Syria, just a few more in Syria than in Iraq since the 17th, at least. NBC's Courtney Kuby, thank you so much for your reporting. And we move now from the hostilities in the Middle East to the war in Europe. Russia's defense ministry has confirmed that at least one person was killed in a strike on a Russian warship this morning on the eastern coast of Crimea. The commander of Ukraine's air force said his pilots carried out the attack.

Russia has already withdrawn a significant amount of its Black Sea forces from its main base in Crimea due to attacks on its ship. Unverified footage shows a massive explosion there, likely from that vessel. That comes as the Ukrainian government announced yesterday that it had also shot down five Russian fighter jets over the weekend. Now, these claims have yet to be independently verified, but several Ukrainian officials and military analysts suggest that Western-supplied Patriot missile systems were used to target the Russian aircraft. This as Russia claims it seized full control of the town of Marinka on the Eastern Front. This claim has also not been independently verified. NBC News foreign correspondent Molly Hunter has the latest on Ukraine spending another Christmas trying to fend off Russian attacks. For the second Christmas, Ukrainians are spending the holiday hunkered down as Russian drone strikes continue to menace the capital.

Russian strikes are raining down on cities across the country. Fadir Shmudur in Odessa said, I woke up my daughter and we went to the corridor. The window flew right over there. The house burnt down completely. The fierce winter conditions already entrenched as Russia hits critical infrastructure like last Christmas. Millions across the country struggle to meet basic needs and troops on the icy battlefield remain stalled. The attention in Western capitals President Volodymyr Zelensky commanded in 2022 has given way to budget concerns and political infighting in 2023. Zelensky swept into Washington earlier this month in a bid to secure a pledge for more aid,

but returned home empty-handed. Despite President Biden's support, Congress has kicked any vote on an estimated $64 billion in aid into the new year, and Republicans have tied it to domestic immigration policies. Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must prove him wrong. Ukraine is running low on Western weapons and soldiers. In the new year, Western officials, former U.S. intelligence officers and regional analysts expect that Ukraine will likely ramp up its drone strikes and sabotage missions, as Russian troops hold positions in the South and East. But Zelensky remains defiant. And remarkably, Ukrainian resilience still shines through at Christmas. For people here, there's no other option but to keep fighting.

Molly Hunter, NBC News. Our thanks to Molly Hunter for that report. And meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting that Russian President Vladimir, has been privately signaling since September that he is open to a ceasefire in Ukraine that would freeze the fighting at the current boundary lines. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media on Friday that Putin is ready for negotiations, but only to achieve his goals in Ukraine. Joining us now, one of the authors of that reporting, Anton Troianovsky. He is the Moscow bureau chief for The New York Times. It was a must-read piece over the weekend. Anton, thank you so much for joining us. So tell us, if you will, more about the evolution in Putin's

thinking about his war aims, where at first we know he wanted to topple Kiev and rout Zelensky, force him out of the country or kill him and seize control of all of Ukraine. He's had to dial that back because of the defeats he suffered on the battlefield. What might bring him to the negotiating table now? Well, that's a great point that his aims have changed throughout the war. Remember, he started this war back in February of last year, thinking it would last a few days or maximum a few weeks. And ever since, he's essentially been improvising, continuing to fight, continuing to try to push,

but also, as we report in our piece, trying to continue to keep his options open and reduce his risks. Because, you know, he's got his imperialist mindset. He denies Ukrainian nationhood. He believes it should be part of Russia. But he's also looking to manage his risks domestically. And what we see is that he does see risks for himself the longer this war goes on. Excuse me. Both political risks and economic risks.

And so that is one reason we report that he's been signaling quietly over the last few months that he's open to a ceasefire. Anton Sharpton here. As you report that he is beginning, he being Putin, beginning to look at possibly a ceasefire, possibly a way out of this, do you think, therefore, that would encourage the Congress in the United States that's been playing a kind of game in whether or not they're going to pass Ukraine aid and whether they're going to move forward. And really over the holiday recess did not vote that. Does this put more pressure on U.S. legislators to say we must in many ways give more support to Zelensky because we may have Putin on the brink of making a real deal here and a breakthrough. And we cannot be the missing force that would support the Ukrainians

in this battle that we've supported them thus far. Well, I mean, hard for me to speak to, you know, that that U.S. side, but certainly in Ukraine, as we heard in the prior report, this is not seen as an acceptable deal. And our American sources we spoke to also underscore that this does not show Putin is ready to compromise in any way. He is going to insist on holding on to what he has. And even as he's sending these signals, he's putting his nation on a war footing, getting Russia ready and in position to potentially keep fighting for years. So again, this is we're seeing how he's trying to keep his options open, improvise and sort of be prepared for a variety of scenarios. Anton, Elise Jordan here. In a Christmas miracle of sorts, Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was located. And he's in a gulag in the Arctic Circle, far from Moscow and in freezing temperatures, but he released a series of tweets,

if they are indeed from him, if this is his one hour of internet. He's allowed a week. What can you tell us about his condition and the circumstances around his disappearance? Well, this has been a really remarkable few weeks in that saga of Alexei Navalny. He disappeared December 5th. Since December 5th, his team hadn't heard from him. Until then, his lawyers had been able to visit him in prison regularly, and we heard from Navalny regularly on social media. What ended up happening was that he was transferred from a prison outside Moscow

to a much harsher prison, as you point out, in the Russian Arctic, more than a thousand miles from Moscow. And his team says he is doing well, quote unquote. His message today that you mentioned on Twitter was sort of that characteristic humor and defiance that we have grown used to hearing from Navalny over these last almost three years that he's been in prison. But, you know, he's going to clearly have an even more extraordinarily difficult time up there in that prison camp. Moscow Bureau Chief for The New York Times, Anton Troianovsky, thank you for your reporting, and we will speak to you again soon. Coming up here in just one minute, former President Trump is asking a federal appeals court to dismiss his 2020 election interference case, claiming he has presidential immunity.

We'll break down his strategy and the possible timing of the case. Plus, Israel's former ambassador to the United States will be our guest. We'll discuss the state of the war as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to keep fighting Hamas and, if needed, escalate the conflict. We're back here on Morning Joe in just 60 seconds. Welcome back to Morning Joe as we now turn to Donald Trump's new demand over the weekend after the Supreme Court declined to fast track a decision on the key question of whether Trump has broad immunity for actions he took as president while challenging his 2020 election loss. In a 71 page filing, lawyers for the former president urged a federal appeals court to throw out his 2020 election interference case, arguing that Trump possesses presidential immunity. His lawyers

also warned that if the case is taken to trial, it will, quote, launch cycles of recrimination and politically motivated prosecution that will plague our nation for many decades to come. But federal prosecutors and most notably special counsel Jack Smith, they disagree, saying the former president broke the law after the election by scheming to disrupt the counting of electoral votes. On election eve, Trump railed against Smith. On Christmas Eve, Trump railed against Smith, claiming he was fully entitled to total presidential immunity from the charges and says that Smith is serving President Biden's wishes and prosecuting him. Meanwhile, here's how Biden responded to Trump's repeated immunity claims. Couldn't hear that over the war of the helicopter. President Biden did not think any president would be immune from criminal prosecution. And joining us now is another

opinion, MSNBC legal analyst Danny Savalas. So, Danny, good to see you this morning. Thanks for being here. Let's start with the merits of this, that Trump's team suggests that his presidential immunity, in their words, should pertain to everything he did in office, including what was clearly some campaigning and efforts to overturn the election. Do you think their case has any merits? What's interesting is the Trump team doesn't really exactly argue for absolute presidential immunity. They argue for the immunity discussed in a 1982 case called Fitzgerald,

which is that the president is immune for acts, civilly immune for acts, within the outer perimeter of his official duties. So they're essentially conceding that there has to be some official conduct. And where I think their brief falls a little short, they do discuss it. But the real issue then becomes, was what Donald Trump did within his official duties? More specifically, was it within the outer perimeter of being a president? And they argue, they say, well, there can be a blended act that is both presidential and that of a campaign president. And they argue, they say, well, there can be a blended act that is both presidential and that of a campaigner. But Judge Chuck can address this in detail in her district

court opinion. And I think that's where the weakness lies. How can Donald Trump argue that this was something undertaken as the president, what he did in trying to subvert the election? And then we get into sort of the twilight zone, which is probably, at least to me, the most egregious part of what Donald Trump did was attempting to use the DOJ to serve his campaign needs. And wouldn't it be interesting if actually using the DOJ or trying to use the DOJ made it more within presidential official conduct? What if that attempt services his argument that as the head of the DOJ,

I was trying to save this country, not subvert the election? And that would be more so using the Department of Justice against the norm, breaking an, you know, it's a norm that presidents don't use the Department of Justice to conduct their bidding

and that they stay separate. That's interesting, an interesting theory. But so it's now going to D.C. Court of Appeals. It still could go to the Supreme Court, right? Absolutely. And in fact, that's what all the discussion was this last week. This is really just about delay, at least the drama of the last week. This will go through the normal process, which is for most appellants, you go to the Court of Appeals, you normally get a panel, three judges at the Court of Appeals,

and then if you don't like your result, you can appeal to the entire court. And then from there, you go up to the Supreme Court. And each time, those have to be briefed. Everyone has to have responsive briefs. You have to have oral argument. Presumably, you'd have oral argument here. And while that oral argument day would be a date set in stone, there's absolutely no timeline for when the court gets together and drafts an opinion. And look, this is not something they can just spit out quickly. It's arguably the most important opinion of each of these judges careers. So they're going to run spellcheck on it, to say the least. It's going to take a little time. Now, if you look at history, sometimes the Supreme Court and Bush v. Gore has moved at breakneck speed.

So we know appellate courts can do it. But on the other hand, these are some pretty weighty issues. I think they're the most important criminal law issues in American history. So they have to decide these. And obviously, speed is of the essence. But it's more important for them to get it right. So very significant. I don't want to say victory for the Trump team in this last week, but delay for the Trump team is a win. Danny, going back to this argument that he was operating in maybe the outside perimeters of being president, but still as president. Wouldn't the recent tapes of him personally talking to electors

in Michigan and his personal involvement kind of make that almost laughable? Because it was not like some people were coming to him as president claiming voter fraud or claiming some kinds of injustice. He was the one pursuing this, including his direct in the DOJ. So the argument would probably have more weight if he was saying as president, I was protecting voters. The opposite happened. He was the one that was the one making the accusation and trying to get people to make these statements. Doesn't that undermine their argument? Yes. And Judge Chuck in the district court judge already addressed a lot of this, that what Donald Trump was doing was as a campaigner, not as a president. And so this

is the kind of evidence that will come in. And another thing about that Michigan evidence that I think is really interesting. There was a lot of talk this last week about, well, could this expose him to liability in a Michigan court? Maybe. But far more interesting to me, having defended federal criminal cases. And I can tell you, federal court's not a fun place to be for a criminal defense attorney because the government's very good at what they do. If I'm the government, I'm thinking they're looking at this Michigan evidence as what we call 404B. But all it is is prior bad act evidence that sometimes under certain circumstances can come into a prosecution. So if I'm Jack Smith, maybe you look at that

Michigan evidence or any evidence from any other state and bring that in as evidence in your D.C. court case and say, look, this is what he was doing elsewhere. This was not a mistake. This is his modus operandi. This all should come in. And it can be devastating evidence. I can tell you personally, that bad act evidence that somebody did something else bad somewhere else is devastating. And juries, they eat it up. So, Danny, I know you said the timeline is going to be a little bit uncertain, but there have been on the federal election interference case, the January 6th case, there had been that's with a March trial date, at least for now, hope that that would be the one that would happen and conclude before the election. Do you still think that's possible?

OK, Jonathan, you know, you're baiting me because, you know, every single time I'm asked this question, I bet the odds and the odds are take every trial date at this point, crumpled up, throw it out the window and save the tape on that. But as I've said, don't really save the tape because I don't want it to come back and bite me. But the March date is not likely to go forward. More so now than ever. Now that we have to go through the normal appeals process through the D.C. Court of Appeals and then arguably up to the Supreme Court, it's just not likely. I'm not being a naysayer. I'm not being negative. I just know that in the ordinary case with a defendant you've never heard of, trial dates, they're set, but they're not set in stone, even in federal court, which moves much, much quicker than state court.

And as you know, I've said on the state court cases, look for a trial date in Georgia of 2025, at least when first witnesses are called because they got to go through jury selection. I don't see that trial starting until 2025. As far as timeline here, briefing as fast as these courts move, it still takes time. These are very important decisions. And I think the lesson there is that Democrats hoping that any criminal verdict would upend the Trump campaign shouldn't be banking on it. That happening in time. MSNBC legal analyst Danny Savalas, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Coming up next on Morning Joe, the divided states of America. We'll look back at 2023 and the controversial issues, both at home and abroad, that drove us further apart this year. We'll be right back. Pretty shot there before the sun comes up in Dallas. It's 5.34 a.m. in the Metroplex.

Worried about their Cowboys, but Texas Rangers, World Series champions. The divides between Americans grew even sharper in 2023 with political clashes over reproductive health care, education, and American involvement in numerous wars overseas. MSNBC correspondent Tremaine Lee takes a look back at the year where America seemed to be at war with itself. In 2023, America seemed to be at war with itself. With battle lines drawn over hard-fought legal gains, long protected by precedent, now facing a fresh round of conservative attacks, court challenges, and state-level restrictions.

New York is wrong! 36 states have introduced 137 bills to restrict teaching on race, gender, and history, according to a PEN America report. On the front lines, public school classrooms, libraries. Organizations like the American Library Association are tracking more book bans than ever, and many of them are aimed at books with the LGBTQ plus themes. Amanda Gorman says she was gutted to learn that a Florida school had restricted some of its youngest students from reading the poem that she famously recited at President Biden's inauguration. From a fight over whose history is taught and how. Who we are! Floridians rallying against Governor Ron DeSantis' Stop Woke Act

and his rejection of an advanced placement African-American studies class. We want education, not indoctrination. There's no way to teach history without having the emotional aspect of it included. To a history-making decision by the nation's highest court, effectively banning race-based college admissions. A sharply divided court scrapping decades of precedent. Igniting frenzied debate over whether America's pledge to make good its promises of equality for all has been fully extended to its most marginalized citizens. Justice Jackson writing, with let them eat cake obliviousness, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces colorblindness for all by legal fiat. Just off campus, a clash

between pro-Israel students and a pro-Palestinian group. As war raged in the Middle East, college campuses in America became battlegrounds as well, where the boundaries between free speech and hate speech became trench lines. So, the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard Code of Conduct, correct? It depends on the context. It does not depend on the context. The answer is yes, and this is why you should resign.

University professors were tested before Congress and the nation. University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth McGill resigned over the weekend. The embattled president of Harvard is staying, at least for now. Outrage tonight in Nashville in reaction to Republican-led efforts to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the state legislature. The fury spread to the floors of America's state houses, where civil rights, like free speech, would be heat checked, with the ouster of rising political stars

accused of breaking decorum while fighting for gun reform. Do you feel this is a dangerous precedent? This is a very dangerous precedent for the nation that other states will follow. The conservative clampdown wouldn't just tighten its grip on those who represent the progressive body politic, but those whose bodies and how they're presented have themselves become political.

Tennessee will become the first state to implement a law restricting drag performances in public or anywhere a child might see them. At least 14 other states have similar bills in progress. And mounting restrictions on women's access to reproductive health care. I think forcing me to continue the pregnancy and the pain and suffering, I think it's cruel. As long as I am governor of the great state of Texas, Texas will always protect the unborn.

But this war over America's political ideals, where people power is flexed in the streets and at the polls, where in the courts, ground is lost and ground is gained. The LGBTQ community wins a court battle. A U.S. district judge in Tennessee deeming the state's Adult Entertainment Act, a law that would criminalize some drag performances, an unconstitutional restriction. As the high court today reaffirmed the key part of the Voting Rights Act aimed at preventing race discrimination. People standing up, shouting back, marching, voting.

Abortion access is the law of the land in Ohio. Fighting for freedom, for power, for respect. No justice, no peace. With former Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones back to the statehouse just days after his expulsion. This is what justice looks like. This is what democracy looks like. MSNBC's Tremaine Lee with that powerful report. And Reverend Sharpton, I mean, you go down the line of a number of things that seem to divide us this past year. And my fear is that those gaps,

those divides, those tension, that will all only grow as we head into 2024 and what will be perhaps the ugliest and most consequential election year we've ever seen. No, I think you're right. I don't see how it does not become that. When you look at the fact that you have women's right to choose voting rights, DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion programs are just about suspended because of a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. All of the things the last half century that have been the pillars of this country in terms of its social interaction has now been in many ways undermined or undercut and the rise of hate crimes. I mean, when you look at the data of the rise of anti-Semitic hate crimes, hate crimes against blacks.

I'll never forget in August of this year when we had the large civil rights demonstration, Martin Luther King III and Andrea King and I commemorating the 60th anniversary. While we were marching, three blacks were killed at Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida, by a self-described white supremacist. We're not talking about in the 50s. We're talking about this year. All of that brings us into the 24 election and how we deal with the fact that not only do you have these supremacists or vigilantes or whatever lone figures or collective groups in the bushes, but you have those on the Supreme Court that have dialed back voting rights, affirmative actions, women's right to choose, things we took for granted just a couple of years ago. I'm just really concerned about the tenor in this country

of dehumanizing political enemies and how Americans just can't even talk to each other anymore. And on different polls, you see where someone on one side will say that opposite political beliefs, that's their enemy. And the way we're speaking now going into this election year, it doesn't bode well to have a free and fair election that voters are going to accept. And certainly just in recent days, we have heard Donald Trump use the language of Adolf Hitler when it describes others, when it describes immigrants. And I've said this a lot on this show, but officials I speak to all the time say they deeply or deeply concerned about the possibility of political violence

as election day approaches. 2024 promises to be a tough one for this nation. Still ahead here, we'll make the turn and we'll bring you some sports, including some highlights of all the NFL action on Christmas Day, including a truly brutal outing for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who had been the MVP favorite. Safe to say that is no longer the case. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. Don't do me like that. What do I need you, baby? Don't do me like that. You see the Zamboni. Hard at work there on the rink outside here at Rockefeller Plaza. The Christmas tree all lit up. The skaters will be here soon. The NFL was in action yesterday on Christmas,

and the Kansas City Chiefs got off to a rough start against the Las Vegas Raiders, first with this fumble that was returned for a touchdown. And then on the very next offensive play, quarterback Patrick Mahomes would throw a pick six. The Raiders scored two touchdowns in about 20 seconds. The Chiefs would score late TD, but it wouldn't be enough. The Raiders' win keeps their playoffs hopes technically alive. The Chiefs were really struggling, missed a chance to lock up the division, and now also cannot finish as the number one seed in the AFC.

The Taylor Swift curse? At least Jordan said it, not me. The second game now of the holiday featured the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the New York Giants. We're going to pick things up here in the fourth quarter where Giants receiver Darius Slayton hauled in a deep pass, taking it all the way to bring Big Blue to within five points. But the Eagles tacked on this field goal,

and a final Giants Hail Mary is picked off to seal the victory for the Eagles. This is their 12th consecutive win over the Giants. And sadly, Tommy DeVito, the love figure around here, well, he wasn't very good, and he was benched. And the final game of Christmas Day was a really tough one for Niners quarterback Brock Purdy, who through four interceptions was later knocked out of the game. His MVP chances took a real hit. The Ravens pull ahead with a big third quarter, go on to win 33-19 and continues a theme this year of, frankly,

no one's that good. The 49ers had been the hot topic in recent weeks that maybe they're the best team in the NFL. The ladies got flattened at home. We've seen the same things happen. The Eagles who are scuffling, the Cowboys have lost a couple in a row. Right now, clearly, the Baltimore Ravens are the NFL's best team. But for now, two weeks to go in the regular season, then we get the playoffs. Still out here on Morning Joe, we've got some new evidence that American consumers are feeling better about the economy after weathering a year and a half of high inflation and rising interest rates. NBC's Christine Romans will tell us what to expect as we head in to the new year. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. 2023 is ending on an economic high note as prices fall and markets soar. But much remains uncertain in the year ahead. NBC News senior correspondent Christine Romans has more.

Instead of the lump of coal, many expected, some Christmas cheer. Prices actually fell in November from October. That hasn't happened in three years. And the persistent gloom about the economy that gripped many Americans this year may have broken at least a bit. Consumer confidence now the highest in months. When we ask consumers, what do you think about interest rates for next year? They believe that they will be lower. The mortgage rate is falling. And certainly for anyone looking to buy a home, that's really great news. And then finally, we believe that consumers are much happier about the fact that inflation is not as intense as it used to be.

That survey found consumers' expectations for a recession in the next 12 months the lowest it's been all year. What's your letter grade for the U.S. economy as we head into 2024? Oh, it's a solid B. I would even give it a B plus. On Main Street, mortgage rates have been falling after topping 8 percent in October, now well below 7. Prices have been falling on some critical holiday spending items, airfares, car rentals, gasoline, toys, TVs and sporting goods. President Biden touting that wages are now growing faster than inflation. On Wall Street, all three major indexes are up dramatically for the year. Still, the national mood has been fragile. Home affordability is the worst in a generation.

And inflation, though improving, has left a deep scar on Americans' psyche. People don't have short memories. They remember losing their jobs in 2020. They remember how hard it was to find new ground. In the new year, the challenges for many will be student loan payments and those holiday credit card bills coming due. And the biggest risk, the unexpected that could affect the economy in ways we don't foresee. Christine Romans, NBC News, New York.