they know is tallahassee. so they are all nmpoles and big time fans and they were not happy. but what we decided 20, we're setting aside a million dollars for any litigation expenses that may come as a result of the really, really poor decision by the college football playoffs. >> yeah, so the florida legislature would still have to approve any budget items. their annual session begins next month. and i feel bad for those kids at florida state, but i think that the committee made the right decision. >> andy, oh, no. look, let's just say the system is changing next year, but will -- >> yeah, everybody gets in next year with 12 playoff teams so we don't have to worry about it. >> andy scholes, thank you. and thanks to everyone for joining us. i'm

saying are you're going be dictator. i said no, other than day one and that's right, donald trump said he would not be a dictator if he's re-elected except for first day. what he would do in first 4 hours of presidential power. >> president biden acknowledging behind closed doors that he's not sure if he was running for re-election if it wasn't for trump. and senate shouting match, republicans walk out of a classified briefing. what they want in exchange for the support. "cnn this morning" starts right now. good morning, everyone. so glad you're with us. donald trump put on the spot in saying the quiet part out loud.

>> under no circumstances, you're promising america tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. >> except for day one. except for day one. want to close the border and i want to drill, drill, drill. >> that's not retribution -- >> i'm going to be -- i'm going to be -- he keeps -- i love this guy -- you're not going to be a dictator? i said, no, no, no. we're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. >> trump's increasingly violent and authoritarian rhetoric on the campaign trail has created a frenzy of headlines. while he said he's not a dictator his ally is talking about punish ing. a man likely to hold a senior

white house role if trump wins. >> we'll go out and find the conspirators not only in government but in the media, we're going to come after the people in the media who helped joe biden rig presidential elections. >> that's big deal. how will trump's republican rivals respond on the debate stage again. the front-runner skipping the debate again. none of them are close in the polls right now, right now, america's looking at a trump/biden rematch barring some major turn of even. >> reporter: president biden saying his quiet part out loud. with that candid acknowledgment last night that he wasn't sure if he would be in the race if trump hadn't been. this is what joe biden said. >> would you be running for president if trump wasn't

running in. >> i expect so. he's running and i have to run. >> let's start with what trump said in a town hall last night. only be a dictator on day one. >> reporter: to be blunt, it was a very weird answer and clearly, sean hannity was giving donald trump an opening to try and deny some of the reports that have been coming out about seeking retribution and using the government if he's re-elected against his enemies to deny it. and donald trump didn't do that. he deflected. i want to be very clear here, donald trump, we've done a lot of reporting on this as otherout lets, donald trump has a lot of plans for the justice department, not just reports, he said this publicly repeatedly that if he were re-elected he

would want to bring the department of justice under presidential control, give the executive branch far more power with that and he would use the justice department to go after his enemies. i think that's very important. you mentioned there's an intensifying scrutiny on a lot of these second-term plans, i don't think it's his rhetoric that's intensifying this is the same type of language that donald trump has been using since he announced that he was running for re-election last november. donald trump is dominating in the polls, he's not just doing well in the early states, he's doing well in polls nationwide, leading a lot of people to realize, what could a second term look like, what are we actually -- what could the country be facing if he's back in office? >> you talk about his standing within the race right now, very much looks like the general

election will be what we saw in 2020 did the former president talk about the current president at all, any attacks on biden last might. >> there were many and i do think there has been a shift that we've seen from donald trump, you know, moving on from attacking his primary challengers and trying to make this about a general election rematch and he saved a lot of criticism for president biden, going after his mental fitness, his physical fitness and his mental acuity. he also said that he doesn't think joe biden will be the nominee. take a listen. >> personally i don't think he makes it. i'm saving it for this big town hall. i don't think he makes it physically, mentally i'd say he's possibly equally bad maybe worse. i don't know. >> so, phil and poppy, this is language that donald trump is increasingly ramping up as he draws near to the primaries,

trying to make this about joe biden and it's a fight between trump and oweden, even though the iowa caucuses are still six weeks away. >> thank you. joining us now is -- republican strategist lee carter and kate bedingfield, president biden's white house communications director. kate, can i start with you on president biden. at this fund-raiser. and why he said, if trump wasn't running i'm not sure i'd be running. one top campaign adviser said to cnn after that, yikes. >> i'm not sure why, that's exactly what joe biden said in 2019 when he was contemplating getting into the race, he said

that he felt that trump was such an existential threat to the country that he felt an obligation to run to try to defeat him. as he was making the decision to run and that was very much his mindset and if you go back and look he said it then. this comment wasn't a reflection of his view of his own fitness to run, it was a reflection of his view of donald trump as a complete and existential threat to the republic which i think we kind of saw in the clips that you just played. >> is it a reflection of a lack of desire -- anyone running for president would be all-in no matter what, because they think they're the best to lead the country? >> i think he's being honest about the stakes of the campaign, and so, you know, again, i very much heard him say this many, many times in 2019, it doesn't suggest that he's not all-in, it's a suggest that there's threat on the horizon

that's so fundamental that i believe we have to do everything in our power to stop it. again, one thing that people like about joe biden, he's candid and he's honest. i think that's what this comment was. i have heard him say it many, many times and always in the context of the specific threat that donald trump poses. >> yeah, it's an interesting dynamic, kate to your point, this is the feature of his campaign, the first time around through his entire administration until now, i think this is the reality, like, this is the race, anything can happen, obviously there's still a republican primary under way, people are a little slow to grasp this is what it is, to kate's point, when you talked to biden folks, the stakes of a one-on-one matchup and how much this means for the country. >> i think that's right and the

other important issue to think about here is that president biden, i think at this point is really trying to express something, i don't think he did himself any favors the way he expressed it. the problem for the democrats as i see it, they keep on hammering this idea that trump is the problem, but they're really having a lot of difficulty arctic lating before. they're struggling with that message with the country at all. >> lee donald, trump made clear in his comments i'd only be a dictator on day one, exactly what president biden is talking about in preserving democracy. >> to be fair that soundbite, out of context, overall, he was some communicators lean into criticism and say, i'll only be a dictator as much i'm going to close the borders and i'm going

to start drilling for oil again, after that, no. >> you're saying people shouldn't believe him. >> i don't think what that's what he's saying, i'll be a dictator on day one under these two terms. his supports are aren't hearing him as him saying he's going to be a dictator. >> the people who like him that's what they like about him. >> that's how i understood what we saw last night. trump said i'll be a dictator on day one. sean hannity what do you mean trump i'm going to drill. >> close the border. >> hannity said that's not being a dictator.

let's look at what he said. this thing last night was practiced from trump. let's go with the unambiguous he said, i'm going weaponize the doj to go after my political opponents, he said that two weeks ago, he's said that many times before and i'm sure he'll say that. >> what he meant there, 70% of americans right now believe that there's this two-tier system of justice, the system is rigged against them. it's somewhat disturbing, but it's what's happening out there, he very much believes there's two-tier system. it resonates for a large number of population. former prosecutors going further beyond arguing that then-former president trump incouraged violence.

the call for aid to ukraine turns into a shouting match between senators, some even walking out of the meeting. >> this isn't worth it. it's joke. you're not serious. i i'm going. i don't blame them.

proud boys, stand back and stand by. i call them the j6 hostages.

not prisoners. i call them the hostages what's happened and it's a shame. and you know they did it and they asked me whether or not i'd partake and do the beautiful words and i said yes, i would. you saw the spirit. the spirit was incredible. >> those comments from former president trump can be used against him in federal case surrounding his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. >> in a new filing, special counsel writes, evidence of the for is admissible. our panel is back with us. when you read through this filing, new elements in here, that go further on some issues. what does it say about the case that jack smith is laying out. >> he has the prove criminal

intent. this filing, this jack smith is telling the court in advance of the court, this is the evidence that i'm going to try to prove intent. he has to be careful here. i think it's fair game. i think the judge will allow it. jack smith has to be careful, because the indictment doesn't actually alleged that donald trump, quote, sent the rioters. the indictment said he tried to exproit the uncertainty that the rioters created he has to be careful here. you can't prove things that go beyond the actual indictment itself. >> we can play what house speaker mike johnson said yesterday about what he thinks should happen to the footage of the rioters, the video, listen. >> we have to blur some of the faces of persons who

participated in the events of that day because we don't want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the doj. >> i mean, retaliation as ellie points out, it's trying to use evidence to show who committed a crime, but the significance of the house speaker saying that. >> the significance is very clear, i mean, he's taking the side of these rioters in trying to protect their identities and i think it's deeply problematic and it shows that speaker johnson is not acting in a way that's really supportive to the constitution and to the people who are actually worried about this. >> to be clear, federal investigators have the unedited footage already, which is why it makes even more confusing. lee, it threads in with the point that you were making in the last block, this does as well with the soundbite from

former president on al capone. >> he was one of the greatest of all time if you like criminals. mob boss, scarface they call it. he got indicted once, i got indicted four times. >> i just want to use our fact-check on that. we did. al capone was indicted six times. you're still losing if that's the threshold. it all kind of feeds into this idea of the two-tier justice system, the fighting for -- but that idea, you're very right, the base loves these issues, the conservative wing kind of what drove that. does that win in a general election in. >> i don't know. i know that's terrible answer on television. i don't know. >> the truth is, there's

something about his supporters that like his buggishness, he's sort of going to operate differently and i'm not going to say outside the law -- he's a fighter. that's what plays to the base and that's the problem that the republican party has, that's what his opponents who want to have the nomination, they're facing this over and over again that his base is with him. and when he talks like this, they like it. you heard the applause. >> yeah, absolutely. the other thing i'll say, more than 60% of americans say they want a fighter in office and across party lines, republicans, democrats and independent and kate, can you weigh in on this po point? >> i think there are two things here. i think it plays to his base and he's fighter that something that

energizes his base. but that's also part of why he's at his ceiling, right, this is not an argument that appeals to moderate voters to swing voters because it's not about their lives. my second point if you look at the headlines coming out of this town hall there's really nothing about what he would do about his health care, take it away is what he said. no vision for what the country will do for middle class families under donald trump. it's all, you know, it's all these soundbites about al capone and being a dictator on day one which is red meat for his base. >> so, i think the problem here is when you look at polling, donald trump polls very well on the economy for example, this is a very big weak spot for the democrats, so when you hear talk about this, he's actually

addressing two different things. i'm going to fight for you but also he seems like someone who's going to actually make change and many people in this country at the moment want change. >> kate, real quick. >> but they've seen, they saw him for the last four years, he's an incumbent, the other dynamic in this race, that will have an impact, he's also an incumbent, he doesn't get to stride him and make promises. four years he'll be held accountable for. when he had an opportunity like last night and the message is about him and his power that's not an appealing message. i think for him to actually get to place where he can grow his vote total it can't be solely about his own grievance politics and that's what you saw from him last night. >> we got to go. i don't want to go to break.

guys, stay with us. the battle over aid for ukraine turns into a war of words, what does this mean for the future of foreign aid for ukraine in this war.

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the failure to support ukraine is just absolutely crazy. it's against u.s. interests. it's against the interest of the world. it's just wrong. we'll get that. >> that was president biden last night bashing lawmakers for holding up critical aid to ukraine, comments coming after a few hours after a bipartisan classified senate briefing on ukraine devolved into a shouting match over aid. senator chuck schumer. >> it was immediately hijacked by leader mcconnell. when i brought up the idea they could do an amendment and have

the ability to get something done on border, you know they got stuck, they didn't like it and even one of them started -- was disrespectful. >> now republicans in the room blasted the briefing as a waste of time with some shouting and walking out really. the border has been a central sticking point in the negotiations over president biden's $106 billion aid package. republicans warning very clearly they won't vote for it unless it includes tighter border security. >> lot of tension in the room, because nobody talked about the border, in case you don't have a television or living in a cave you would know that most republicans feel like we need to address the broken border. >> now the white house proposal already includes $14 billion in

border funding. but republicans have been very clear, they want significant policy changes along with that funding to secure their support for the overall package. schumer said he'll move ahead with the procedural vote today. also new air strikes and intense fighting in gaza this morning, why the united states now interestingly believes that israel's ground campaign in gaza though could pretty much end in weeks not months. new video, coast guard members rescuing people from streets. the flash flooding has killed two people. meteorologist eric van dam is tracking more rain moving in right now. >> nearly 10 inches of rain has fallen with this atmospheric river event, forcing some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding businesses, some homes

and even farmgs the rainfall accumulation centered across washington and oregon some rivers have been forced to record flood stage. more rain in washington. "cnn this morning" will be right back.

take a look at this just moments ago, a massive explosion in gaza as the war between israel and hamas continues to intensify. israeli military said it's launched more than 250 air strikes targeting hamas cells and terrorists. israel said this video shows a

weapons cache including hundreds of missiles and explosives stock piled near a school and clinic in northern gaza. >> fighting is still raging deeper into southern gaza with house to house battles. many gazans evacuated from there when it first started. >> now u.s. officials tell cnn the current ground offensive in southern gaza could be done by june. >> i was surprised reading this headline that came late yesterday about reporting. that's weeks away talking about january, house to house fighting would change and lower intensity, hyperlocalized strategy that targets hamas militants and leaders. speak to that. >> yeah, poppy, i'll give you

some mill day realities from a soldier's perspectives. three things are always important. number one, you can't pronounce the names of you're fighting in and you never have enough maps and number three, there's always someone telling you that operations are going to end quicker they were. i'm skeptical president at the beginning of january, i don't think so. if the end of operations means israel has reached their strategic objective of destroying hamas no way that will happen by the end of this month. in 2014, in the operation in gaza, israel took three months to complete their mission and then get out. this is a laernl much operation and strategic objective. >> general, can you talk about the fight that's happening right now, to some degree the irk df moved faster in northern gaza

than some u.s. officials expected, but the fight now seems very intense and is growing, what's happening on the ground? >> well, a couple of things, phil. first of all, you're still fighting that sub terraen battle. make sure the enmany iis not in there. but you're also seeing, a displacement of hamas soldersy from the north to the center in khan younis. the urban combat going on in that area below ground the tunnels but above ground in high-rise complexes. when u.s. soldiers fought in iraq or afghanistan the most they had to clear in buildings was one or two-story buildings. you're talking about high-rise complex that a lot of munitions caches, a lot of enemy

terrorists and the fact that there are so many civilians on the battlefield in both of these areas that i think israel is taking it a little bit slower, they're trying to corner off and they're using smaller precision weapons to strike the kind of targets they've been striking since the beginning. >> to the crucial question of, to quote general petraeus, tell me how this ends. tell me how this ends. listen to benjamin netanyahu. >> translator: gaza must be demilitarized and in order for gaza to be demilitarized there's only one force to assure that and that's the israeli forces. >> realistic, possible? is he right? counter to what the u.s. has said, surrounding arab nations

have said. >> what i heard, poppy, he said the israeli defense forces can continue the operation, and i think he's talking about the kinetic battlefield, the war fight if you will, as it was once said, war is politics by other means, there will have to be an eventual time when the fighting stops and some type of politics takes over, whether it's the running of the government, the establishment of water and food and distribution to the citizens, all of that is part of any operation in terms of post-battle requirements. israel is not going to be able to do that. they won't be able to take over this area of operation and care for the 2-plus-million people, palestinians in gaza remaining. if they do have the ability to destroy all of hamas and that's subjective as well, because hamas isn't a thing, it's an ideology with a lot of terrorists fighting on its

behalf. >> really central to how you deal with it. general mark hertling, thanks. breaking overnight in texas x six people are killed in a shooting spree across two cities. we'll tell you the latest. who will break through the noise on the gop debate stage tonight. one candidate gives a glimpse at his game plan, next.

tonight, four presidential candidates will try to paint themselves as the republican alternative to donald trump. just six weeks before the iowa caucuses. >> ron desantis, nikki haley, chris christie and vivek ramaswamy will debate in alabama. donald trump will skip this debate. and vivek ramaswamy is giving his competitors a little glimpse of what he'll likely do on stage

tonight. >> we're in the middle of the race, deep differences in the party, and i don't intend to play with kid gloves. >> with us now is political commentator, michael smerconish. no surprise that vivek ramaswamy is not going to put his gloves on. i'm interested in what you think about tonight writ large, these debates have been great for nikki haley, is this hers tonight, what are you looking at. >> it feels like a battle for number two, i mean, nikki haley is the only one among the four i think is askend ent, maybe desantis got some added visibility from the debate with governor newsome. the ratings have been declined.

it's now the start of the holiday season, this one might be a little bit difficult to find on the television dial tonight. i don't know it's really going to matter and the issue for nikki haley i can see her securing the second position particularly in new hampshire, but can she get to number one? the only she gets to number one is if donald trump comes downa couple notches. poppy, it's that same issue of how do i run against donald trump and not square off against donald trump if. >> michael, you had a clip and save moment where you predicted that neither front-runner would be in the race by the time it's all said and done. who makes the numbers go down, how do the numbers go down for donald trump if that scenario plays out? >> it all depends on the timing. it gets determined not now, not

in january or february, but probably march, i mean the critical question for trump as i see it is whether the january 6th federal case quay pending if front of judge chutkan gets to trial and has some resolution. in march, 75% of the votes will have been determined. so i'm not predicting it, i'm floating the idea, because this is such a crazy cycle. what i said is, it wouldn't surprised if in the end it's neither of the above but it will take a number of factors to occur, i mean, consider the fact that the president just said, president biden said that he wouldn't be running if trump wasn't running. >> okay, let's talk about who it could be. liz cheney, what she said with anderson cooper last night. >> a huge amount of work to be done after this election cycle whether it's rebuilding the

republican party which increasingly looks like maybe an impossible task or helping to begin a new party that's very focused on what the republican used to stand before this cultive personality. i'll do whatever i have to do to make sure that donald trump isn't elected. >> thinking about a mounting a third-party candidacy for the white house. >> pardon my cynicism, what has changed -- here's the brand-new book, what perfect timing to launch a book and talk about a presidential campaign, i don't see a path if she were to do it, the republicans she would need are chris christie republicans and there aren't many of them. democrats they love liz cheney, a member of the january 6th commission, her platform is

amaatta. >> as sean hannity tried to get him to say he wouldn't be a dictator except for one day, what did you make of this. >> phil, he's crazy like a fox, there's so much legitimate concern as to what a second trump presidency would look like, the atlantic dedicating their entire issue as a warning to a trump presidency. when i heard it and replayed it, i said to myself he's just redefined what dictatorship means, to him it means, closing the border and drilling and he gives cover now to his base to say, yeah, they call him a dictator, if dictatorship means no more porous borders and drilling for oil in the united states then i'm for dictatorship. >> thank you, michael. we have new exclusive cnn

reporting on the election interference case in georgia, who prosecutors added to their witness list in the case against donald trump. we go inside the effort to care for the youngest and most defenseless civilians if gaza, dozens of premature babies rescued from a hospital under siege. you'll see how they're doing now. stay with us.

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congresswoman jayapal walking back what she said right here on cnn to dana bash and hamas and its use of sexual violence against women. >> it comes after the progressive caucus chair said this to dana bash on cnn's "state of the union chl". >> sexual assault is horrific. i think it happens in war situations, hamas are using these as tools, however i think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against palestinians. >> it was the balance part that set off a fire storm among her democratic colleagues in the house. >> back with us is lee carter, kate bedingfield, the white house has been explicit in its view on this, but there has been division among especially some

progressive democrats in congress and that was quite a reversal congresswoman jayapal had to do, what is the significance of it and why can't be just clear off the bat to explicitly denounce hamas' rape and sexual attacks on israeli women. >> i'm not sure why to be honest. what congresswoman jayapal did in issuing the statement was smart and good, she should have done it quickly. there's powerful poll to ensure that we're being clear about, about talking about how awful these atrocities are. i think, you know, across -- the fact that there's a split amongst democrats on this i think it's troubling. the politics of this are, you know, first of all, the moral clarity should be clear. and think the politics of this is troubling. . what congresswoman did in

issuing the statement was right and smart. i think she should have done it sooner. the entire thing shows how difficult it is to talk about the awful atrocities that are going on there in a way that doesn't inflame both sides. hard to have a meaningful discourse and that's challenging when there are really difficult and nuanced problems to tackle. that's a very long way to say it. the congresswoman was right and should have issued it quickly. >> to kate's party right now, this is really hard, very complex stuff, based over decades. how long lasting is the political division inside the party, could it last until 2024 in. >> i think so. i think if you talk to young progressives in particular they're feeling very agrieved

and that's what the congresswoman was speaking to, there's a lot of pressure from the progressive left at the moment that's looking at this c conflict and looking at the president biden's position as being very pro-israeli and they're putting a lot of pressure and we're coming into an election and these votes are going to be crucial and you're seeing a lot of pushback. >> one of the issues, though, dana was asking congresswoman jayapal specifically about the rape and sex yaual assault of te women and she pivot zbld you can answer the question and just put a full stop it. i don't know why he chose to then conflate a completely different thing and i think it was disastrous as you have seen and she rightly had blowback, but i think it shows that there's a lots of push within

the democratic progressive base to have their leaders answer to the palestinian cause. >> ukraine funding splits the parties. do you think this gets over the finish line, changing the sentiment shifted the legislative calculus as well? >> i think one of the reasons i think donald trump remains so popular is that he's able to transcend this issue and say, it wouldn't be an issue in office. what's happening with funding, i think it's a really tough one and they're trying to tie it to so many different things. i think that it's a hot potato issue. >> the idea that immigration would be difficult to figure out after the last several decades in just a couple of weeks sh -- >> it's mind-blowing.

>> indeed. this was fun and smart. we really appreciate it. "cnn this morning" continues right now. never abuse power -- >> except for day one. >> anyone who says we can count on the balance of power that's wishful thinking we can't afford. prosecutors plan to use the former president's embrace of january 6th defendants against him in court. >> put mike pence on their witness list in the election interference case. >> prosecutors are trying to establish a pattern. >> he continually talks about democracy being at stake. >> he sees this battle similarly as he sees it four years ago, this is still about donald trump. >> israel says its forces have encircled gaza's secon