Administration and the president s christmas vacation under way at maralago in west palm, where he successfully beat the traffic today. Hes coming off a big legislative win, heading into his second year in office with midterm elections ahead, but the russia investigation, that traveled with him on vacation. We are now learning that investigators are now themselves focusing on some of the people closest to donald trump. Today his personal assistant, and this is going back decades, rona graph was questioned by staff from the House Intelligence Committee in an undisclosed location here in new york, not washington. This is a move democrats on the panel have objected to. They feel it should have been done in washington. Mike memely is the journalist who broke the news about rona graphs questioning and he spoke with our own Nicolle Wallace earlier today. Anybody who has spoken with trump, has met with trump, has called trump, has gone through her. One of the subjects they were going to bring up, don junior testified before the committee on december 6th. We know that rob goldstone, who arranged that meeting, in the emails between him and don junior setting it up, there was a reference to rona. Because if he wanted to get the incriminating information about Hillary Clinton to donald trump, it was through rona. That had to be one of the areas they focused on today. Also, were learning new details about the meeting with the embattled fbi director Andrew Mccabe who worked directly under james comey for a time. Wednesday mccabe spent nearly eight hours with the intel committee, and the very same mike memely of nbc news reports, quote, a source familiar with mccabes testimony before the committee, told nbc news that mccabe confirmed that then fbi director james comey told him that trump had asked for a loyalty pledge from him. For those who need it, heres a reminder of what comey said about that during his testimony, this is back before the Senate Intelligence panel this past june. He asked specifically of loyalty in the context of asking me to stay. My common sense told me, whats going on here is, hes looking to get something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job. And a new report out today indicates house intelligence may soon question two other key trump associates. Bloomberg news is saying this, quote, President Trumps former chief strategist steve bannon and his former Campaign ManagerCory Lewandowski have been asked to testify to house lawmakers investigating russian interference in the 2016 election. Both men were sent alerts this week by the House Intelligence Committee, asking them to testify in early january, according to an official familiar with the panels schedule. Bloomberg adds, theyre not yet responded, but the invitation to testify was not a subpoena, it was a voluntary interview. Theres also news about jared kushner, the president s soninlaw, also a white house senior adviser. The New York Times says, federal prosecutors in brooklyn have sought bank records about entities associated with the Family Company of jared kushner. President trumps soninlaw and senior adviser, according to four people briefed on the matter. Theres no indication the subpoena is related to the Mueller Investigation, but were going to talk about that timing in just a moment. Also, the locale. So with that, let us turn to our leadoff panel on a friday night the New York Times says, federal prosecutors in brooklyn have sought bank records about entities associated with the Family Company of jared kushner. President trumps soninlaw and senior adviser, according to four people briefed on the matter. Theres no indication the subpoena is related to the Mueller Investigation, but were going to talk about that timing in just a moment. Also, the locale. So with that, let us turn to our leadoff panel on a friday night before christmas. Robert costa, National Political reporter for the Washington Post. Moderator of Washington Week on pbs and msnbc political analyst. Matthew noose balm, White House Reporter for politico. And Nick Ackerman is here with us, Watergate Special prosecutor. I think, robert, id like to begin with rona. Underscore what weve already established, what you already heard about her importance in all things donald trump. Shes a crucial person, brian. Ive known rona graph for years, as a reporter going up to trump tower. She was and has been for decades the gate keeper for donald trump. Shes so close with him personally as a friend. Not so much an adviser politically, but as a confidant and totally trusted by the president and then candidate businessman trump. The flip side of that, if youre an aggressive prosecutor and youre looking to hear who overheard what, were you on air force one, were you obviously she wasnt, but she could have been present at the creation of many a conversation. Not only was she probably present at many conversations, but President Trump does not use email and he relied upon rona graph for years to keep a record of emails that were coming in, letters that were coming in. She was what john kelly is now inside of the white house, the person who controls the paper flow, the door. So documents matter as much as her recollections. Nick, when someone is unable to travel to washington, i guess its not unheard of that investigators would come to you and ask the questions they want to ask, wherever you happen to live. It strikes a lot of us as unusual that this was, in effect, a field investigation, a field hearing, field questioning of rona graph in new york. Why was that courtesy extended and not to other witnesses . I dont think we really know the answer to that. But i dont think it really makes a difference. Because what were looking at here, if we start from the basic premise, there was a crime committed. The crime was the hacking into the Democratic National committee to steal emails. The only question here is whether or not anybody in the Trump Campaign conspired with the russians to release those emails. Rona graph is a key witness in this whole thing. I dont care where they interview her. They could interview her on the moon as far as im concerned. She has Key Information based on that email that was sent on june 3rd by Ron Goldstone, who offered to provide information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton to rona, to give to donald trump, but Ron Goldstone said maybe its better i bring it in person. Its pretty obvious to me that we know back in april of 2016, that the Trump Campaign knew that there were these stolen emails from the dnc. And its also pretty obvious that one could assume that what was being transported to the Trump Campaign at that point in time were these stolen emails. And that the person who would have received that, or who Ron Goldstone offered to provide them to was rona. She would be number one on my list. I dont care where she is. Id be ready to talk to her. Does it ever strike you, the irony that you just mentioned a breakin at the Democratic National committee. Youre talking about electronic thats right. But a breakin nonetheless. Thats right. Its a hightech breakin, just like happened in june of 1972 in may of 1972. Its the same thing. Except in this situation, they were able to take lots more documents, nobody was there to check the tape on the door or catch any of the burglars, and it wasnt until after the fact that we actually learned that the burglars were russian. And that there was a plot to take those emails and use them to throw the election to donald trump. Well putt. Matthew, about mr. Comey, comeys name is back in this because of mr. Mccabe, the former number two at fbi. In many areas of law, it matters after something happens to you, that you come home and mention it to friend or family, contemporaneously, right in the moment. And i guess the comey corroboration is the headline from mccabes hours and hours of testimony, correct . I think thats right. Not that many of us doubted mr. Comey to begin with, with his memos written contemporaneously, but to have Andrew Mccabe backing that up. And that instance of trump asking for loyalty is so incharacter. We know from the Washington Post reporting that he had concerns about gorsuch not being loyal enough. We know donald trump values loyalty above all else. But keep in mind the messenger here, Andrew Mccabe has become something of a punching bag for republicans, especially republicans in the house who are trying to muddy the waters, allege bias at the fbi. Theyve taken aim at mccabe and tried to make him a toxic figure. Im not sure if that will impact sort of the import of him corroborating mr. Comeys story. And mr. Costa, as is our role with you so often, first of all, if it was up to us, youd be chained here and get rid of those other jobs for the post and pbs. But what can investigators learn from lewandowski and bannon . You have to remember, there are many tracks right now. Theres the congressional tracks. What theyre really trying to do is bring in the key figures and paint a broader picture of what happened inside of the campaign. Lewandowski was part of the initial recruitment of some of these Foreign Policy advisers. Thats what carter page and other people like him come into the campaign circle. And bannon has avoided scrutiny on a lot of this russia probe so far. But he was the ceo of the Trump Campaign in the closing months, a close associate of the candidate. Theyre going to want to know on capitol hill, what did he know. But whats more important, what does Robert Mueller want to know from all these figures. Because the congressional investigations can only go so far. They help us learn more, but they dont come forward with indictments in the way that mueller could. And you agree with my iceberg theory of the Mueller Investigation, that at any given time, no more than 5 or 10 is visible to folks like us. Ive staked out the Mueller Investigation. We do not know whats happening with it. Thats yet congressional investigations are helpful. We can follow them and when they talk to people like rona graff or bannon or lewandowski. We went through a story at the top of the broadcast, and i got a legal pad full of news here on the friday night before christmas. Why would feds based in brooklyn be snooping around Jared Kushners finances . Because there are lots of crimes to investigate here. And there are crimes that relate to what occurred here in new york city with respect to possibly 666 fifth avenue, a building thats owned by the kushners. Its under water right now. There are lots of other deals theyve engaged in, that relates to bringing in foreigners as investors in the Eastern District of new york and the Southern District of new york. I think there are lots of potential crimes to be investigated, and theres no reason why its only going to be muellers investigative team. I mean, even during the watergate case, there was a separate case that was tried against the former attorney general mitchell right here in the Southern District of new york. So if you think wrongdoing was committed, its to your advantage to spread or hope that other localities bring their own charges . Oh, i think thats right. I think muellers also relying on state authorities too. Yeah. As a backup in case there are pardons. I think that some of the crimes that are being investigated, are being investigated by the new York State Attorney general. Some of the criminal matters and the crimes involved are probably better than some of the federal crimes that are out there. You see now, matthew, you hear the counsellor put it that way, thats why so many people are perspiring. Ive heard it said that the kinetic atmosphere in the air of the west wing changed so markedly when flynn flipped, that that was a big hike in the anxiety thermostat. And im guessing the west wing this president just vacated for 11 days away is just as filled with anxiety. Thats right. At this point, theres a lot of whispering and waiting and wondering whos next. And i think its going to be interesting to see what happens on new years day when the president and the white house have predicted, you know, this Mueller Investigation will be over. Hell be exonerated by the new year. People inside the white house, people outside the white house, legal observers know thats not so when 2018 rolls around and bob mueller is still investigating and we have some trials coming up, it will be interesting to see how the president reacts to having this investigation thats clouded year one of his presidency continue into year two. Washington is famous for eating its own young. Matthew mentioned the toxicity around mr. Mccabe at the fbi. The new head of the fbi, mr. Ray is trying to swim in his lane. Hes got a president whos described the fbi as being in tatters. Not the way you want to start a new job. Whats the chance that mr. Mccabe could be a sacrificial lamb toward something of a fresh start . Certainly a possibility that the president decides to make changes at the Justice Department. Because so many people within the west wing, they tell me privately that if he doesnt get the letter, that exoneration letter that hes been hoping for, the president could erupt. He has a lot of echoes now on capitol hill, among republicans on the rightwing of the Republican Party, on some conservative news outlets, who are saying, if you go after the fbi or shake up the Justice Department, well stick with you and well fight that fight in 2018. Because theyre already being told, and the president was briefed on this, this week, you could face a wave in 2018 with the democrats coming in, and their main target would be your fbi or shake up the Justice Department, well stick with you and well fight that fight in 2018. Because theyre already being told, and the president was briefed on this, this week, you could face a wave in 2018 with the democrats coming in, and their main target would be your impeachment early in 2019 if you lose the house. So amid that whole atmosphere, thats why you see this new clamor, an increased clamor on the right to fight against the fbi and the Justice Department and diminish their credibility. As we said, more news than we should have on a friday evening, but thanks to our leadoff panel, matthew, nick, and robert. Very much appreciate it. We learned a lot. Coming up after our first break, President Trump signs the tax bill, heads to florida for 11 days at maralago. Notably, his tenth visit as president. But in that city he left behind, back in washington, the city that does, in fact, eat its own young, there are warning signs. Robert just talked about them. Well get to more of those when we continue. And then when i watch the news, as you know, we had the largest tax cuts in our history just approved, and i was going to wait for a formal signing sometime in early january, but then i watched the news this morning and they were all saying, will he keep his promise, will he sign it by christmas. And i called downstairs, i said, get it ready, we have to sign it now. Couple of things here, not the largest tax cuts in history. But notably, President Trump, who remember, wants us to know that he doesnt watch that much television, hes also busy with documents, explaining his lastminute decision today to sign the crowning achievement of his presidency so far. Shortly therefore he departed the white house for his golf resort, maralago, in florida, for the holidays, his tenth visit there to that trump property as president. Hes continuing his tax cut victory lap while bemoaning the medias assessment of his success. Our countrys doing very well. Weve tremendously cut regulations, legislative approvals for which im given no credit in the mainstream media. We have, i believe its 88, which is number one in the history of our country. Second now is harry truman. Per an nbc news count, just in recent history, president s bill clinton, george w. Bush and barack obama have all signed more bills by now than has President Trump. Meanwhile, new reporting today offering further evidence the Republican Party will likely face a tough sled in the new year. Politico is reporting trump aides have openly expressed concern over the midterm elections and that the head of the republican National Committee threw up a red flag that the president is suffering with women voters. Quote, the warning, several people close to the chairwoman said, expressed it goes on to say, quote, the backstage talks provide a window into how those closest to trump are bracing for a possible bloodbath in the 2018 mid terms, which could obliterate the republican congressional majority and paralyze the president s legislative agenda. With us to talk about it all, jonathan allen, nbc news National Political reporter. Coauthor of shattered. Diane superville is with us Darlene Superville is with us, White House Reporter for the associated press. And weve harangued robert costa into sticking around for more of our conversation. Darlene, talk about behind the scenes, what youve been able to gather, even if its through the air. Theres anxiety about 2018, but also the tax bill, theres actual worry that its not going to deliver to the folks to whom it was promised. Thats right. And part of that is because the tax cuts, the cuts for individuals, middle class families in the bill, are a lot smaller than what the bill gives to corporations and wealthy americans. So a big question going into next year is, just how much of a tax cut, how much more money people will see in their paychecks next year, as it gets closer to election, to the election. And whether they feel like theyre actually benefitting from the bill. So thats one big issue thats going to go into the 2018 cycle. Darlene, we also heard the president musing allowed again today. More than once he said, maybe we should have started with infrastructure. Infrastructure is on the edge of the National Conversation right now, because youve got hartsfield airport just lost a weekend to a power outage because of a fire. Youve got this terrible train accident in the pacific northwest. Again, kind of aging infrastructure. The problem is, you need votes from both parties for something big. Thats right. And the president tweeted earlier today about infrastructure and how that issue may be one that he can get some democratic being buyin for. Anyone whos been around washington as long as ive been and whos watched washington as long as you have, youve heard lawmakers say time and time again, that there are no democratic potholes and there are no republican potholes. Potholes belong to everyone. So given that sentiment, theres a belief that Infrastructure Spending is something that both sides can come together on. But it remains to be seen at this point given how toxic things were this year. Robert, youve been around senator mcconnell a lot. We are not used to seeing senator mcconnell as a kind of hunted figure by the bannon wing of the party. Im going to play what he said about steve bannon today. Well talk about it on the other side. Do you blame steve bannon for doug jones being elected in alabama . Well, let me just say this, the political genius on display, throwing away a seat in the reddest state in america, is hard to ignore. Strong words in his way of speaking. For him, that was a strong statement. Softspoken but with a razors edge, to be sure. This is a proxy war. Alabama was a proxy war between mcconnell and bannon. Whos going to control the party, the establishment, the leadership in washington, or steve bannon, this outside agitator, who truly wants to lurch the Republican Party in a more populist direction. This fights not over. Bannon will still be behind some challenges to republican incumbents in 2018. Mcconnell needs to say this sort of thing because he needs to hobble bannons political capital. He doesnt want bannon parading around the Republican Party as a power player. He needs to be diminished in the eyes of mcconnells allies, in order for mcconnell to control the party and lead it in 2018 and beyond. Theres a report in politico backed up by folks in the orbit of mcconnell, that hes worried about losing both houses in 2018. Talk about the nervousness, the multilevel nervousness within the gop. Theres a lot of nervousness, brian, and it goes beyond normally what you would see in the first midterm of a president s tenure, which typically, theyre going to lose seats in congress. Youve got a president whose Approval Rating has been hovering around 40 . Theres nothing he can do that seems to raise it or lower it more than a few points. So thats a problem. Darlene was just talking about the tax cuts. If you look at the places where people are upset about the tax cuts, because theyre losing deductions for state and local taxes, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, california, virginia. You add those up and get to about two dozen, which is what the democrats need to take the house. The republicans shouldnt have a problem in the senate because theres so many more democratic seats up and theyre still fearful because of the environment is that bad. Another issue buried in there is pay stub shock. Youve heard of sticker shock. Folks have now been told, urged, look at your paychecks, youll see this come through. If that doesnt in a meaningful way, boy, do they like taking that out at the polls. Yeah, absolutely. If people dont look at this tax cut as something that really helps them permanently, they could certainly forget about it quickly. You saw in 2010, the democrats were essentially handing out checks under president obama for all sorts of things, cash for clunkers, the stimulus bill was a lot of cash infused into the system. That did not stop his party from getting massacred at the polls. I want to thank our guests. Again, friday night before christmas, so much news were tossing some over the side. Thank you for being with us tonight. As we go to a break, perhaps because our eyes are so often sky ward looking for a sleigh this time of year, folks in california and nevada and arizona saw quite a sight tonight. Its all over social media. Thankfully nothing sinister. It was the launch of a Spacex Falcon rocket from Vandenburg Air force base. Its just that when you dont tell everyone to expect it, people might think were under attack. All of this talk about fire and fury, it kind of looked like both. Elon musk joked about it on twitter. Again, luckily, this time it was a friendly. Were back with more right after this. This is something that republicans wanted for years and democrats wanted for years and yet it never got done. Who would object to trillions of dollars being brought back into our country . Nobody. But it never got done. Now its being done. And the bottom line is, this is the biggest tax cuts and reform in the history of our country. This is bigger than actually president reagans many years ago. Im very honored by it. Couple of facts wrong there, but more on that in a moment. The president speaking from notes today and were going to talk about our current politics. I think theres probably a rule against having more than one pulitzerprize recipient in the same studio. So weve splid up our next guests. Peggy noonan is here with us, former speech writer for president ronald reagan, fortunate to say, also an msnbc political analyst. That gentleman on the right, Pulitzer Prize winner, author, president ial historian, john meachem, also an msnbc contributor. Miss noonan, your column, which i always read with great interest. This tax bill may do some good, says the headline. Ah, but the sub headline says, but a dignified celebration would have been better than the embarrassing white house rally. Yeah. Yeah, that i just found the rally in which the president was surrounded by people whose attitude towards him seemed not collegial, and not even were happy we did a good thing for the country, but more a little cringeinducing, a little obsequious. I thought that was unfortunate. My view on the tax bill itself is, the way to judge it, is this going to make things in america right now a little bit better or a little bit worse . You dont have to do all this, this is the greatest thing since Calvin Coolidges cuts and this is the worst thing in the world. Might it make things a little better or a little worse . Im glad they gambled on the idea that it might make things a little better. Theres a possibility that the little worse is buried past the midterm . Gosh, i think so. This is a highly political document. I think once again politics has broken out in washington. Heres a funny thing. If this bill yields rewards for a lot of people, and i dont mean huge rewards. For some people, it will be very big, some people it wont. Some people will get clobbered. But if this bill produces or can be traceable by people, if they get the impression that it contributes to economic expansion, economic growth, or if the tax bill, plus deregulation has done this, it might be the big thing the republicans have going for them in 2018. I think they put a big bet on this bill. That would make a lot of republicans very happy. A lot of them office holders. To Pulitzer Prize winner number two, john meachem from the great state of tennessee, the president s Approval Rating could use a charge from a car battery right about now. Its been theorized what could improve it, what could drop it further. What do you make of it . Where do you place it in history . Well, hes the lowest, i think, in the history of modern polling. President reagan at the end of a first year, president reagan was at 49 . George h. W. Bush was way up, partly because of the panama military action. Even president clinton and president obama, who had difficulty first years, because of various circumstances, both of their own making, and some inherited, were higher than where President Trump is. To my mind, the big question for 2018 is going to be, can the president reach beyond his own tribe . I think hes governed for that 35 to 40 throughout the year. And the great president s, the ones who have made transformative change, the ones who trip off the tongue when we think about comparing things back and forth, are those who actually invited other people into the campfire to sit there. And the president so far has shown very little inclination to do that. The other question i have, in terms of going to the mid terms, to go to peggys point, is, to what extent will the political marketplace, which discounts everything, political memories are incredibly short. Martin luther king once said, we live in a tenday nation. No one focusing on anything more than ten days. Thats an eternity now. Exactly. Now the Establishment Republicans have gotten the tax bill, theyve gotten the Supreme Court justice, theyre getting the federal judges, will they stand with him in his erratic, daytoday behavior, if there arent big policy issues coming to them beyond where we are right now . Peggy, why does a guy like steve bannon say to a magazine like vanity fair that he puts the chance of the president finishing his term at around 30 . Did he say that . He did say that. Oh, my gosh. Why would he do that . Gee, i dont know. Hes said a number of things over the past year, year and a half, that are surprising and startling. One of the things one of the points john makes, i had to think that its a case of a kind of political malpractice that the president , mr. Trump, hasnt, in this current environment of a good economy, having had some real achievements, in terms of the court, i would argue regulation, the tax bill now, finally a piece of big legislation, the fact that he has not been able to, i think he wants to, but hes not been able to reach beyond his core support, which bubbles at 35 to 40. How about in the inaugural address, for those who didnt vote for me . Yeah, but i dont think it really was the inaugural address that was a problem. His numbers werent so bad then. Its the constant daily barrage of his crazy. I mean, of his tweets, his claims, his attacks, even on his own allies. Hes a kind of destabilizing, daily, cultural presence, and i think that inhibits him and keeps him from growing in terms of his popularity. He seems not to be inviting people in. I think hed like to be inviting people in, but he gets in the way of the success of that endeavor. Were going to take a quick break, both of our guests have agreed to stick around. An assessment of 2017, the year in trump, right after this. Its time for sleep numbers lowest prices of the season on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting. And snoring . Does your bed do that . Its the lowest prices of the season on the queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides. Now only 1199, save 400. Plus, 24 month financing available. Ends monday. Visit sleepnumber. Com for a store near you. Two very patient pulitzer recipients remain with us. Before we continue with both of them, we have a look back at the 12 months of trump, as prepared and commissioned by the producers of deadline white house with Nicolle Wallace. This american carnage stops right here and stops right now. You cant always get what you want i have nothing to do with russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that i deal with. You cant always get what you want but if you try sometimes wiretap covers a lot of different things. I think youre going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks. Weve Just Launched 59 missiles, heading to iraq. Headed to syria . To the demonstration when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. I was elected to represent the citizens of pittsburgh, not paris. I saw him at a cocktail party, and it was very sad, because the hottest people in new york were at this party. North korea best not make any more threats to the united states. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence, on many sides. On many sides. Wouldnt you love to see one of these nfl owners when somebody disrespects our flag, to say get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, hes fired, hes fired puerto rico. We love puerto rico. Traditional way if you look at president obama and other president s, most of them didnt make calls. We dont need a liberal person in there, a democrat. Mr. President , is an accused child molester better than a democrat . Well, he denies it. Look, he denies it. Although we have a representative in congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her pocahontas. Its a shame whats happened with the fbi, but were going to rebuild the fbi. It will be bigger and better than ever. Peggy noonan, john meachem, still with us. John, heres the question, whats been lost by donald trump taking the presidency, and has anything been gained in your view . I think whats been lost is a instinctive reverence for what happens at the center of power. And people can attack that for being sentimental or romantic. But peggy wrote some words for president reagan that will live forever. All the pilgrims hurdling through the darkness towards home. That was peggys words. Hard to imagine those words being spoken by this president and hard to imagine that he can feel our better angels, which i think to some extent is certainly one of the one or two most critical tasks that a president has to undertake, which is how does he call upon us to follow our hopes, as opposed to caving in to our fears. Peggy, johns been accused of being a romantic. Your turn. Oh, i dont think so. Look, there has been i think all of us have lived through a leveling in america, a lowering of standards in various ways, entertainment, news, et cetera, politics, very certainly. I dont think donald trump brought this about. I think he is an emination of it, or a reflection of it. Its something that he made very obvious when he came forward. Look, those tapes are his problem. He has i just wrote down these words. He has been in his first year, in his presentation of the presidency, his presentation of himself, something new. I mean new on a daily basis, bombastic, grudgeholding, immature as a president , a person who has bad judgment. Its completely true. I believe its completely fair to say, as we sum up the year that hes had some real achievements, but it has come at a cost and he is part of the cost. I mean, he just acts in a way that does not leave us with shining eyes as we look at our children and say, you can be like that someday. Wish we could offer a better, happier assessment. Well have to just offer our thanks to peggy and john. Thank you both so very much. Back with more after this. As you may have heard, we are proud of point being out every chance we get to work inside 30 rockefeller plaza. This time of year it famous for the tree we keep out back. The tradition dates back to the workers who worked at the place back in the depression. They pooled their money, bought a tree, decorated it with paper garland and the occasional tin can. Inside this building, just about a honey yards of a the rink, we deal with serious stuff, including tragedy and the daily task of covering policy and this presidency. As we said, serious stuff. But then our concentration as we sit there is broken by a sound. Its very specific, it involves people cheering and it grows to the entire crowd. When we hear that sound, away to the wind open we fly like a flash because we know that particular noise means only one thing Somebody Just got engaged. This time of year it happens every few minutes out there. Some folks just ad lib it and propose right there on the plaza. Others are more clandestine. Proposals on the ice are scheduled and worked out in advance, mostly but not always by nervous young men using a tactic that we wont reveal, the other skaters seem to melt away leaving one couple and then the question to be popped. And for a fee, because this is new york after all, video to be shot and official photos taken. On this fancy patch of ice in these days before christmas, taking a knee has nothing to do with politics here and everything to do with two lives that are about to change forever and perhaps bring even more lives into the world with them. They will always remember where they were, just the sound of it is impossible for us to forget. And in these days of so much darkness in our news, so much tumult in our public life, what happens out back is proof that, to quote a great work, love actually is all around. And were back with more right after this. Prices of the season on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort your sleep number setting. And snoring . Does your bed do that . Its the lowest prices of the season on the queen c4 mattress with adjustable comfort on both sides. Now only 1199, save 400. Plus, 24 month financing available. Ends monday. Visit sleepnumber. Com for a store near you. Last thing before we go here tonight, im get to why in just a second but i want to show you the way saturday night live ended their show last weekend. While Lenny Pickett and the saturday night band played on in the studio, the cast went outside and went skating on that rink we keep out back while they rolled the credits at the end of the show. At snl they do credits real good. And while we dont have a band or skates or control of the rink for that matter, we do have credits. So if you enjoy this broadcast, please take 90 seconds and watch all these names. Our family here on the late shift, the people who produce this hour every week night, along with our expert guests, including the journalists who are writing and recording the history of our times every day, here are the folks who make this go every night. Trust me, they are the very best and accompanied tonight by the music of the ravenettes. That is our broadcast for tonight and this week. Thank you so much for being with us tonight and every night, or so we hope. From nbc news headquarters in new york, happy holidays, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. President trump launches fresh attacks on the fbi this holiday season. Including on the Deputy Director who could be called as a witness. The u. S. Slashes budget for the united nations. Delivering on a promise after the u. N. Rebuke after jerusalem. This as one countrys follows americas lead. As you can see, she said yes again. Reconciliation, something becomes new a second time