if he suspects to be the coach today. he said, i don't know. just been a nightmare season for the chargers. not what they were expecting. >> you left out the most important part of that story, that is just what happened when you go up against the minnesota vikings, andy. >> oh, the vikings scored three points last sunday. not like -- >> what is more? what is more? >> three is more than zero. that is correct. great defensive effort. we'll see how the vikings do sunday. >> praying. >> saturday, saturday. >> thank you, andy. >> all right. "cnn this morning" continues right now. >> israel has right to go after hamas. and also has the responsibility to do so in a way that comports with our values. >> the million dollar question is what israel sees as its time frame. >> there is no point finishing this. it is not over. there is no point finishing this with hamas still alive. >> the $48 million question to rudy giuliani as a jury now

deliberates the cost of his election lies. >> if he had taken the stand, imagine what a catastrophe that would have been. >> this is an attempt to square people and rudy giuliani should pay a huge sum. >> the only republican woman in the presidential race, are women voters behind what nikki haley is selling? >> she has the demeanor and life experience. >> donald trump is still the commanding leader, but there is no doubt the enthusiasm is there. >> the debates don't make a big difference, but they did this time. >> the suburbs are trump's kryptonite. do enough people turn out in the suburbs to vote against donald trump? good morning. breaking overnight, ukraine's fight against russia, the european union agreeing to officially open negotiations for ukraine to join. it is a historic decision. one president zelenskyy is calling a victory for ukraine. a victory for all of europe, one that motivates, inspires and strengthens. but in a setback, hungary did block the eu from approving more

than $50 billion in financial aid. here in the united states, funding for ukraine also very much stalled on capitol hill. we have new cnn reporting on just how crucial that funding is. western intelligence agencies calculating just how long ukraine could hold out against russia without u.s. and nato help. it is not long. one senior u.s. military official warning, quote, there is no guarantee of success with us. but they are certain to fail without us. >> jim sciutto joining us now with more on this new reporting. so, give us a sense, there is this grim timeline. what is that timeline at this point? >> listen, i've been speaking to u.s. and european officials, numerous officials over the last several days. and their outlook without this aid is dire for ukraine. and not just the effect on the current counteroffensive against russian forces, but really on their chances to win this war over time. genuine fear they would lose this war and the timeline for

that has been described to me as the possibility of months. in a worst case scenario, perhaps by summer that they might fall to russian forces without u.s. and european aid. and we should note those two things are tied, that the u.s. has been the leader here and the concern is that if the u.s. doesn't stand up, its european allies might not stand up either. congressman mike quigley who is a member of the ukraine caucus, he said to me, if we go south, speaking of the u.s., our allies will too. that speaks to the decision you just highlighted there, which is that the eu overnight, their continued aid blocked by hungary, often an ally of putin. and already, erica and poppy, ukrainian forces have been forced to ration ammunition, they have already been outfired, outgunned by russian forces there, by ratio as high as 5 to 1, 7 to 1, as they ration their

ammunition, a senior ukrainian military official told me that the casualties, that's having the effect on the battlefield, leading to more ukrainian casualties. >> you know this so well, you were there when the war broke out, been back multiple times since. what is your assessment on what happened in brucessels this morning. hungary blocks $50 billion in more aid. at the same time, there is talk of potential entry of ukraine into the eu. that takes time, right? >> the accession talks to begin, that's significant. i talked about this yesterday, that's a significant show of support for ukraine, but as you say, that process takes years. and there is another step early next year where they lay out kind of the negotiating framework and that's another opportunity for hungary to block that. the more immediate needs for ukraine, though, are not membership in the eu. it is important to them. zelenskyy was celebrating that,

the more immediate need is military assistance. with the u.s. delaying that, not going there and ukraine overnight not being able to come to an agreement either, that means they're in trouble here. they need something, they hoped before the holidays, maybe by january the u.s. and europe come through. but it is already a very tough winter, russia is stepping up attacks on civilian targets in ukraine. it is a dire moment, a moment of truth for ukraine right now in terms of its allies, i'm told. >> appreciate it. thank you. and any minute, president biden's national security adviser set to meet with the leader of the palestinian authority. mahmoud abbas. this meeting is set to happen in the west bank. the white house wants the palestinian authority to be involved with governing gaza after the war ends. israel certainly doesn't want abbas involved. this morning, after meeting with israeli leaders, jake sullivan downplayed the rift between the u.s. and israel over how this war should proceed.

>> a senior u.s. official telling cnn the white house wants israel to transition to a more targeted phase of the war this week, by the end of the year. israel's defense minister noting the fighting will last in his words more than several months. alex marquardt did ask jake sullivan this morning about that timeline specifically, asking him that this morning. here's that response. >> we're not here to tell anybody you must do x, you must do y. we're here to say, this is our perspective. as your partner, as your friend, this is what we believe is the best way to achieve both your tactical and strategic goals. we expect that that will occur in the future. when exactly that happens and under exactly what conditions will be a continuing intensive discussion between the united states and israel. >> alex marquardt joins us now from ramallah in the west bank. we just talked about the timeline and we'll get there in a moment. right now, you're outside the palestinian authority headquarters in ramallah, sullivan is going to meet with mahmoud abbas. the u.s. and israel see things

quite differently when it comes to who rules gaza when this is over. what does this meaning do to that end? >> reporter: well, poppy, this could be a tough meeting for jake sullivan. there are several contentious issues for the two men to get through. sullivan wants to emphasize to abbas that the u.s. is trying to pressure israel on the question of violence in the west bank since october 7th. while all the focus has been on gaza, there has been a spike in violence that has seen some almost 300 palestinians killed at the hands of extremist israeli settlers as well as israeli forces. but then there is the much bigger question about who will govern both the west bank and gaza following this war. israel has made clear they do not want abbas. they do not want the palestinian authority. they haven't said clearly what it is that, you know, what kind of government they actually want, but at the same time, the u.s. is saying it has to be a palestinian authority that is revamped and revitalized.

does that mean president abbas is still at the head of it? that remains unclear. we don't expect sullivan to come here and say president abbas you need to step down. he is wildly unpopular among palestinians. he is seen as corrupt. and at the same time, the israeli -- the american support for israel means that the palestinian leader is certainly going to have some very strong words for jake sullivan, abbas accused the u.s. of being complicit with war crimes because of american support for israel in gaza. >> and let's touch back on the timeline if we could, the back and forth that we're seeing publicly. where do things stand this morning, how much push, how much influence does the administration have behind the scenes? >> reporter: they certainly have a lot of influence. the u.s. is israel's biggest ally. they're the only country that israel is going to listen to. we heard the israeli defense minister saying very clearly this war could take more than just several more months. and so that got people asking, does that mean the timelines are out of sync.

jake sullivan says no, they're not contradictory. there is an expectation that at some point in the future that the war will transition from what they're calling a high intensity phase to a low intensity phase. the white house made clear they hope that happens in the near future, conditions-based without laying out exactly what the conditions are. we have reported that u.s. officials are hoping that that is going to be in the next few weeks. not in the next few months. and so we could see these heavy operations continuing now for several more weeks until the end of the year and then that lower intensity phase starting next year. but israel making clear they are not putting a public timeline on it, their ultimate goal is to eradicate hamas. u.s. officials are not clear on what exactly that means. guys? >> that is an important point. alex, appreciate it. thank you. joining us now former defense secretary for the trump administration mark esper. secretary esper, good to have you this morning. let's start where alex left off ahead of the key meeting between

jake sullivan and mahmoud abbas in ramallah, talking to the palestinian authority. when it comes to what is happening now in terms of however israel chooses to conduct this next phase, i want your reaction to what jake sullivan said this morning. listen. >> there will be a transition to another phase of this war, one that is focused in more precise ways on targeting the leadership and on intelligence driven operations that continues to deal with the ongoing threat that hamas poses. >> what he's essentially saying is do it without killing so many civilians, over 18,000 now is what the hamas-controlled palestinian health ministry is saying in terms of palestinian deaths. my question to you is, why wouldn't israel have used that more precise approach from the jump? is it because they lacked -- they lacked the intelligence to know that this attack was

coming. have they gained much more intelligence being in gaza over the last month and a half. and now they can do this? why wouldn't you take that approach from the beginning? >> well, i think the challenge is, poppy, that given what happened october 7th and the need to move in and clear out hamas, they need to go in heavy with tanks and fighting vehicles and those things that you would need to conduct urban warfare because you want to protect your troops as you go in. given the nature of the density of gaza, the buildings, and more importantly the underground network, you need to have enough troops to go in there and go through all those tunnels to clean out hamas, to go building by building, room by room to do that. the phase of the operation that jake sullivan is talking about, in my mind, is way later. it is almost what you would recall that we did in afghanistan and iraq once things were stabilized, where special operators go in and out in the night raid using helicopters. i don't think they're anywhere

near that right now with regard to operations. that said, i think they are -- should be transitioning to more use of infantry and less dropping of high explosive bombs from the air. and that's what it is going to take. >> to that -- your last point, let's talk about that, notable that earlier this week president biden chose to use the words indiscriminate bombing, talking about some of what israel is doing here. that is intentional in those words mean a lot. what we have also learned from intelligence assessments is that nearly half of the bombs israel is using in gaza are unguided. right? so, they don't have that precision. can you speak to what these, i guess called dumb bombs, don't think a lot of people know who they are, what they are, and can you speak to, if you cut out the use of those, does that result in many fewer civilian deaths? >> sure, well, look, a dumb bomb is an unguided explosive that is dropped from an aircraft, right? it is less precise than a guided weapon.

a guided weapon is guided by laser or gps or other means. so, you do have less accuracy. but just because you're using dumb bombs doesn't necessarily mean that you will cause more casualties. it depends how they're applied and what situations. i was surprised by the number they're using. what was interesting is you're right on one hand president biden came out and said indiscriminate bombing which was not helpful, but then jake sullivan came out later and described what i believe is the process by which they go through the israelis, the idf, the intent to limit casualties, how they factor in the targets, the proport proportionality, the use of the appropriate munitions. the fact that the fact that jake described it shows it is not indiscriminate. there is a difference there. i think better use of not just smart bombs but bombs with smaller explosives and increased use of infantry to go into these buildings, room by room, clear it out, and they can make -- they can use more discrimination when it comes to lessening

civilian casualties. that's the way forward. hundreds of miles of tunnel underneath gaza that is going to need to be cleared at the end of the day. >> let's turn to ukraine and what just happened in brussels this morning. the significance of the eu not being able to get hungary on board to approve funding for ukraine right now as it is totally stalled in the united states. but the accession talks formal now for ukraine essentially into the eu and that will take years. what is the net net effect of that for ukraine? >> interesting contrasts here. accession to the eu, the european union is important, strategically and politically. it signals the european union wants to welcome ukraine into that body, into that block, which cuts against the grain of what putin wants. putin wants to bring ukraine back into its fold. so you have that. but that process as you reported takes years and there will be multiple opportunities for that to be blocked later.

the more immediate thing was the blocking of 50 plus billion dollars in military aid to ukraine. now, the eu is saying we'll have -- there are other ways we can work this, if orban continues to stand in the way. he's citing other reasons for doing this. but i think the bigger impact is the immediate one, given the fact that the debate over the united states funding is still up in the air here in washington, d.c. >> the fact that a senior u.s. military official tells cnn without more aid from the u.s., or from europe, that ukraine and the worst case scenario could be defeated by the summer. do you agree with that assessment? >> i don't know about that timeline, but certainly i would put it many months. ukraine doesn't have the defense industrial base or the stockpiling of arms and ammunition to continue the offensive. russia in contrast has been building it up. they have doubled their defense budget. they're clearly still able to produce artillery rounds and missiles and rockets. and they have the manpower, which ukraine cannot sustain as

long as russia can. so, those factors all get calculated into it. that's why i think it is important that lawmakers here in d.c. quickly pass this supplemental with whatever restrictions they want on border security and get that money moving and that will send a positive signal to europe to do likewise. >> we appreciate it very much. former defense secretary mark esper, thank you. >> thank you. this morning, we're on verdict watch in the defamation case against rudy giuliani. just how many millions of dollars could he be forced to pay to former georgia election workers and can he afford to pay it? a court ruling prince harry was the victim of phone hacking by a uk tabloid. the breaking details ahead.

breaking news this morning out of england. britain's high court just ruled in favor of prince harry in a phone hacking case, awarding him nearly $180,000 in damages. max foster joining us now live from london. talk to us more about this ruling and i believe we're also hearing now from prince harry. >> yes, so clear victory for

prince harry in this ongoing battle with the british tabloid press. 15 cases upheld involving phone hacking, which is tapping into prince harry's voice mail and those of his friends, or using deception to get inside very private information. harry saying this blighted his teenage years and made him paranoid at the time. so, $180,000 awarded to him in damages. a widespread hacking within this group, the judge said. prince harry in response saying today's ruling is vindicating and affirming i've been told that slaying dragons will get you burned, but in light of today's victory, and the importance of doing what is needed for free and honest press, this is a worthwhile price to pay. the mission continues, he said, referring to the fact that he now wants charges pressed against this group and he's got other cases that he's also pursuing with other papers. i should probably also give you

the response from mirror group newspapers, saying we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation. >> potentially as you point out there, many more cases to come perhaps. max, appreciate it, thank you. >> thank you. less than two hours from now, the jury will resume their deliberations in the defamation case against rudy giuliani. they're set to decide how much money he must pay to two former georgia election workers. ruby freeman and shaye moss who are suing him for spreading conspiracy theories about them after the 2020 election, lies they said led to a torrent of violent racist threats. he didn't testify in his own defense. let's go to katelyn polantz. do we know why he didn't take the stand? >> his lawyer stood up before the jury yesterday in his closing argument and said these women have been through enough, we chose not to call rudy giuliani, they have -- you should be listening to what they

say about the distress they have been through, the harassment they have been through. and rudy giuliani's lawyer told the jury that they should think about the leadership and the things that rudy giuliani had done in his past as the mayor of new york and have compassion on him and send a message, one of the things he said was, january 6th was so divisive and we had such a divided country since then, perhaps this jury in washington, d.c. could send a message that we can come together with compassion as a country. now, if that works, that remains to be seen. we're going to have to see what the jury decides to do in this case. they're looking at some really hefty questions and they're also sitting with this testimony that they heard from ruby freeman and shaye moss, just gripping, heart wrenching testimony where both of the women talked about fearing for their lives, fearing for their safety, how they now are afraid to give their names even to strangers to show their

i.d.s, to wear lanyards with their names on it, how they had to flee from their homes and the amount of horrible calls they received and the reactions. so all of that is what the jury is thinking of now as they deliberate. >> as they're weighing that, and the judge already ruled that giuliani is liable, is there a sense of what the number could be? >> well, that is going to be a big question. the number could be quite staggering. it could be nothing, it could be very small, but ruby freeman and shaye moss, they are asking for $48 million at least. so $24 million to each of them, for the reputational damage that they have suffered. so they're attorneys are arguing that $24 million each is what it would take to repair this sustained viral campaign that has smeared them over the course of years after the 2020 election and made them pariahs in the country in many different ways. so, they want to be able to repair their reputations, but

they're also asking the jury for emotional distress awards, and punishment for giuliani, those numbers could really skyrocket into the millions. >> thank you so much for staying on this and your reporting. a new warning this morning from the cdc as hospitalization rates for flu, covid and rsv skyrocket. dr. sanjay gupta joins us live next. . the iowa caucus is exactly a month away, of course. that is where we find our john king. he returned to the state to speak with voters who could deliver an iowa surprise, suburban women. >> i think they're underestimating the people who don't want the c chaos anymomor.

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health alert this morning. the cdc says there is a, quote, urgent need to get more people vaccinated against covid, flu and rsv to stop this recent spike. with us now, dr. sanjay gupta. good morning. it is not just one thing. it is not just flu. it is all three of the things together. where are we on vaccinations for all of them? >> yeah. yes, so, sort of this triple

threat. as the former cdc director said, we're sort of sleepwalking into this. people are sort of paying attention a little bit, but clearly not enough. take a look at flu, first of all, just compare this year's vaccination rates, compared to last year's vaccination rates. as you look at the numbers, we never have been great about getting a lot of people vaccinated for flu. always been well below 50%. but it dropped off even more this year as compared to last year. that's for kids and for adults. if you look at covid specifically, and we made this graph to show you from the beginning of vaccinations to where we are now, what you find is that initially people were pretty good about getting their initial -- that's the red line at the top, getting the first shot and then even completing the first booster at that point, the first sort of primary series of shots. but the bottom right corner, that is the updated vaccine. and fewer than 20% of the country really across the board has gotten that. and then rsv as you mentioned, this is a new vaccine,

recommended for people 60 and older, and less than 16% have gotten that. that's concerning as we're going into the season where these viruses are continuing to spread more and more. the cdc is issuing this health alert, because we want to get more people vaccinated. >> there is also -- i was struck by the number of hospitalizations, the spikes that we're seeing in hospitalizations from each one of these illnesses. >> right. yeah. so the question is what does that mean now? when you have lower vaccination rates, what is the price that is being paid overall. and take a look. this is month to month. beginning of last month, compared to now beginning of december. those are some pretty significant increases. so, people who have been saying, look, it is in the back of my mind, i haven't gotten my vaccination yet, i should go ahead and do that, you can still do it because these numbers continue to increase pretty significantly. it is not too late.

and, you know, there is good evidence of the protection against severe illness and disease. >> so, how should we think about -- i'm seeing more people, not a lot, but more people in new york wearing masks or events and things inside. how should people think about approaching the holidays given those rates? >> yeah. look, i think about this all the time. one thing to put in the back of your mind, what we do have now versus before are good antivirals for covid as well. so, for people who are at high risk, because of age or because of some sort of pre-existing condition, and when you look at that group of people, it is close to 70% of the country will fall into the high risk category. think about having those antivirals access to those. take a look at this map. remember that map we said, think of respiratory disease like you would think of a weather map, there is certain areas of the country that are going to be harder hit, the south is harder hit right now versus the north. but there will be these increases in the north.

think about that as you may be traveling for the holidays, things like that. if you're having gatherings, in addition to the obvious things, ventilation and air circulation really important. make sure you're doing that. i'm going to be visiting my parents. i'll tell you real quick over the holidays, i'm going to test ahead of time, wear a mask on the plane, they're vulnerable. i don't want to get them sick. make sure they have antivirals as well. >> very good idea. i bet they're also very happy to have you home. thank you so much. have a great holiday. for the very first time, top financial regulators are raising a red flag when it comes to artificial intelligence. what has them so concerned? plus, how a medical student from minnesota used his skill and courage to save lives on the front lilines in ukrkraine . .

for the first time, top federal regulators are saying artificial intelligence poses a risk to the financial system. the financial stability oversight council classifying a.i. as an emerging vulnerability, warning that using a.i. requires thoughtful implementation and supervision to manage potential risks. cnn's matt egan joining us now with more on this reporting. give us a sense what are these risks specifically that they're talking about that they're so concerned about. >> a.i. is pretty incredible. when you play around with some of the tools, like chatgpt, it is kind of mesmerizing what they can do. lightning fast ability to craft song lyrics or write stories or conjure up images out of nowhere. so there is a lot of good that

can be done but there are dangers and there are risks of a.i. in the real world, including financial market s at the heart of this economy. sometimes a.i. can make biased decisions. some is something that melinda gates told poppy she's worried about. think about that in the banking scenario. imagine getting denied for a mortgage or a car loan by a robot because of the color of your skin or your gender. another issue is cyber. there is a risk some of these a.i. tools that banks use could get tricked by hackers, letting the bad guys into the banks. maybe you wouldn't be able to get access to your bank account. that's another issue. i'll leave you with one more. have you heard of hallucinations? someone uses a.i. tools, they have this weird tendency to make stuff up. kind of like a toddler just way more believable. give you one example, recently in new york, a lawyer filed a lawsuit, with the legal brief, citing four cases that turned

out to be bogus. the source for those bogus cases was chatgpt. so, you can see how put all this into the banking scenario, it could get a little bit tricky. regulators were putting the industry on high alert, saying that they're on the case, they're going to be looking at how these a.i. models work, telling banks they have to make sure they're not using models that are flawed. but, it is a tough balance here. if they regulate too much, they could stifle innovation. >> they're counting on self-policing there is what it sounds like. >> they are. regulators are watching closely. >> thank you. >> interesting stuff. okay, a university of minnesota medical student and emt is giving back to the country where he was born. ukraine. the 24-year-old spent two months this year as a combat medic near the front lines. he's now gathering medical supplies to help ukraine in this war. whitney wild reports. >> all this is donated medical supplies from local hospitals. >> reporter: a look around this room offers a stark reminder,

nearly two years after russia's invasion, the desperation of ukrainians still echoes around the world. >> it is hard to say if it is enough. >> reporter: the painful reality is personal for university of minnesota medical student sergi. he was born in ukraine and moved to minnesota at 6 years old. >> we always had some sense of pride of where we were from. it really recently park sparked up with the conflict. >> reporter: he says the calls for help from his homeland were impossible to ignore. >> i remember seeing watching videos of volunteers going over to help. i said i'm going to do something about this. i'm not going to sit home. >> reporter: over the summer, he left the u.s. for six weeks to serve as a combat medic on the front lines during his medical school break. his cell phone video shows moments both harrowing and heart breaking. he spent much of his time near the battlefields outside bakhmut. >> the first day i was there, i was thinking, did i make a

mistake? do i need to get out of here? first day was one of the worst, like, shellings there were. >> reporter: as the fighting raged on, he says he served alongside plumbers and construction workers turned medics by the demands of war. >> the medicine ways doing in ukraine was straightforward, it was trauma. trauma, the first responder level, you know, we see a gunshot, we pack the gunshot, amputation, tourniquet, stop the bleed. there would be gunshots, artillery, you hear everything. sometimes jets would be flying so low, the ground would shudder. that's something that was lard to get used to. >> reporter: back on american soil, he works as an emt and hopes to become an emergency room physician after medical school. while he saves lives here, he says his heart remains with the soldiers in ukraine. whitney wild, cnn, minnesota. >> quite a story.

the white house this morning is working to downplay differences with israel when it comes to the timeline of the war. what is happening behind the scenes, though, to address civilian casualties? we'll have more on that. and john king checking back in with iowa republicans he first spoke with earlier in the year. some of them have changed their minds. but what do those changes mean, who is gaining and losing support with just one month to go until the caucuses? you will just have to stick around to find out.

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact. so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this, it restores a lot of faith in humanity. just one month from today, but who's counting, iowa caucusgoers will -- cast the very first votes of the 2024 election cycle and despite donald trump leading the field

by more than 30 points in the latest iowa poll, some are hoping for something new. >> john king recently traveled back to iowa to check in with some of the voters he met earlier in the year to see whether anyone has changed their minds. take a look. >> reporter: low rolling hills of southwest iowa, shannon's happy place. >> i'll sit out here with my cows and take a breath and everything goes back to the way that it should be. >> reporter: a family cattle farmer for 25 years, a two-time donald trump voter. >> i love what he did for small businesses. i love what he did for agriculture. i wish he could have done it a little bit quieter. >> reporter: the loud part is why she is shopping. >> he wasn't as respectful as i think our president should be. because he didn't bring us together. >> reporter: shopping for a conservative who doesn't scare her liberal friends. >> i would lean toward haley. i think that in the face of

people calling names, in the face of people yelling and screaming in front of her, she held her composure. i think that she has the demeanor and the life experience that is more connected to actual americans. >> reporter: trump's support is deep here, especially in rural counties like ringold. if there is to be an iowa surprise, republican women w will power it. this is priscilla making christmas crafts with friends in sioux city, five months ago when we first spoke, she was leading vivek ramaswamy. >> he's brilliant, he has energy, he's young. >> reporter: now she urges friends to vote haley. she caucused for trump when he won sioux city in 2016. now she sees something else taking shape. >> i think they're underestimating the people who don't want the chaos anymore. >> reporter: there is a lot of that in the des moines suburbs. >> we want to turn a chapter. we want to go to something new. >> reporter: betsy hopes iowa

uses its first in the nation vote to elevate one strong trump alternative. this is what she told us back in august. >> i do find -- i am pulled toward desantis. >> reporter: and this is now. >> i am likely a nikki haley caucuser. >> reporter: she said her brother and parents are also leaning haley, but she's not final just yet. >> if people were going to consolidate, i would go with desantis. that's not what i'm seeing so far. the suburbs out here, you're likely going to see a lot of it is going to be desantis, haley. >> reporter: but then trump wins, doesn't he? >> he does. that's the question, right? how do you get people to consolidate? >> reporter: jocelyn is another mom and entrepreneur who hope the suburbs send a message. >> i see nikki haley helping us identify back with what our culture is, what our vision is, and what our mission is as a united states, not a divided states. >> reporter: as taylor tries to recruit friends, there is a lesson about trump's resilience.

>> they said, i really like nikki haley or i really like ron desantis, but when it comes down to the voting and the primary i'll probably just vote for trump because he's going to get it anyways. and that just really frustrated me. the influence of the louder voices is having an impact on people. >> reporter: this is chris mudd's big change, midwest solar is growing and needed a new office. same candidate, though, same confidence. >> you got to have thick skin to be for trump today. and so i think those people that say they're for him are going to show up. >> reporter: when you hear desantis say, you know, we got to stop losing or haley say, no drama, no chaos, time for a new generation of leadership, you say -- >> there are 35, 40 points behind trump, i say they're the chaos and. >> he should stand down and support trump. >> he doesn't care about polls showing haley runs stronger against president biden. doesn't care trump could be the

republican nominee and a convicted felon by summer. >> trump has been pushed into a corner. he's got lots of targets on him and he is doing a great job of deflecting them. >> reporter: dozens see january 6th as disqualifying to the contrary. >> why did nancy pelosi have the national guard there? >> reporter: a separate question, isn't it? >> it's a legitimate question. >> reporter: but just because there weren't enough cops there does that give people the right to blow through the barricades, in some cases beat those officers? >> no. but the people there were negligent from stopping it from happening. they wanted it to happen because they wanted trump to not be eligible to run again. i think it was set up to end trump. >> reporter: there is zero evidence to support that. and it is talk like that that is a big reason shannon ebersol says enough. >> inflammatory acts did not happen by president trump but he inflamed a lot of people to do a lot of crazy things.

i don't think americans -- i don't think that's what we are. >> reporter: the cows are still here because the freeze is late. they will soon have to move. time is running shot for republicans who hope iowa sends a message. it is time to move on. >> john king joins us now. i love these pieces. you take us into their homes and their minds and real feelings. how many folks did you talk to in iowa think there could be an iowa surprise, meaning a not trump? >> it's a fascinating question. we will know in a month, right? think about this. iowa in a month. new hampshire eight days after that. 40 days, we will have the answer to the question can trump be stopped. about half of the party doesn't want him. you see a lot of the -- shannon voted for trump twice. she just can't take the drama, the toxic. she has liberal friends. she is in rural, conservative

county. liberal friends were scared. she is just a decent, hard working, great american. sh she has debates with her husband about this. a lot of families debate this. all the data shows you trump is ahead not just in iowa, everywhere. go back to the obama election, hilary can't lose, trump can't win, biden was dead after the early primaries in 2020. vetoes sometimes surprise us which is why we keep doing the trips. >> how many caucusgoers at this point is there a sense have immedmade up their mind? >> especially among the women we talked to, they are not likely not to like trump. they don't like the tone. they want someone who brings people together. and part of the question there is you're for desantis, you're for haley, somebody else for ramaswamy or christie. then trump wins, right? so there is almost a strategic chess game in conversations with friends where voters say i am for haley. if i find out you are for desantis, i will come you to

because i want one trump. they know. they know if trump gets a big win out of the iowa, he will probably steamroll the nomination. there is some strategic chess going on in the conversations where people who want one candidate are willing to go to somebody else if they think that person would rise up at jump. 30 days. a lot of fun. >> john, thank you, as always. he was one of the most o sought after endorse ms of the republican primary season. chris sununu on why nikki haley is his choice. also, the colors of christmas may usually be red and green but this year apparently pink is making a statement. i do not have a pink christmas tree but it's pretty. who is behind it next. >> there is stilill time, popop.

your house tonight? >> sure, i don't think anything planned. just a big party. you should stop by. >> so cool. >> that sounds like the christmas party at my house. >> why have i not participated in that? >> it's just starting this year and you will be there in pink sequins. if you missed it in theater, the wait is finally over.

as of today, you can stream "barbie" on max. the blockbuster from our parent company warner bros. discovery the highest movie of 2023 raking in $1.4 billion globally. also driving a very barbie christmas shopping season referred to by some as pinkness. rachelle solomon is joining us in her beautiful barbie pink this morning. >> i try to understand the assignment. so this is five months after "barbie" was released in theaters, the gift that continues to keep on giving for the companies and the businesses that are associated or trying to cash in on the pink trend. pink christmas tree is not something typical. this year if you are looking for one, go online. you will see plenty of options. we should say that the commercial success of "barbie" is by design. mattel locked in 160 partnerships, everything from pasta to burgers to candles, you

can find pink if you are into that sort of thing. now, broadly speak for the holiday shopping season the national retail federation expects sales to be strong, 3 to 4% higher than 2022, expects barbie to be a popular toy for boys and girls. yeah, this is a wave, this pink wave that mattel is trying to keep riding even into the holiday shopping season and 2024. >> we may or may not have purchased a holiday barbie in our household. they were onboard with this movie and they have ridden it, the retail part of it? >> yeah, a significant success for them. i went to the last earnings report and you see in their north american segment and international segment a strong growth between 9 and 10 texas rangers. they mention barbie, the strength of the dolls. i should say yesterday their stock popped 2.5% because they announced they are developing an american girl doll movie. >> trying to recapture the