former president trump was railing against immigration that some say is the same language at hitler. tensions grow over civilian casualties in gaza. >> and the republican part of florida calling for the resignation of the chairman over allegations of sexual assault. but he's refusing to back down. these are the new stories coming right here on cnn central. we are fewer than 30 days out from the iowa republican

caucuses. there are recent campaign stops in new hampshire and nevada. former president trump stoved fears about the immigration coming across the u.s./mexico border. but the themes and choices his words this weekend are sufficient. the former president again repeating language that echoes white supremacist. he said that the immigration are poisoning the blood of our country. he observed offered no truth to that. the president biden campaign responded to the poisoning comments, debaterring him to adolf hitler.

15 years before he systematically murdered millions of people, people put that phrase n great civilizations died out as a result of the contamination of the blood and affecting public life. hitler was warning about german blood poisons by juice. at his prior event in new hampshire, he also used the word never monday to describe his rivals and said it is language that they have heard in germany. he pounded the idea that the german government was being overrun by mark i. hitler wrote there was time enough at home to exterminate this never

monday. the donald. they shot it down this way. those that try to make that ridiculous assertion are snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from trump dearraignment syndrome. >> trump's interest in hitler and nazi germany is not something new. they wrote in 2018 that he told his then chief of staff and four-star general john kelly, quote, hitler did a lot of good things, praising the fewerrer for economic policies.

trump later denied making comments. in 2022, susan glass and peter baker wrote in their book, trump frustrated bit the leadership, you f'ing generals, why can you not be more like german generals. the generals in world war ii. they tried to kill hitler and and pulled it off. no, no they were royal to him. let's go to 1990 where ivana trump said that donald trump often wrote a become from hitler's speeches, my new order that he supposedly kept in a

cabinet by his bed. a man said that he gave trump the book thinking he would find them interesting. trump has entertained anti-anti- semitic people. he had begin near and he is known as a white national and holocaust denier. he said that west invited him without their knowledge. kayne west, just the month before threatened to go, quote, free on all caps, jewish people. west said according to one of his business executives praised hitler and was a chief for the german people. we're seeing a pattern very clear. the time from recognize of 2024, is it really closing in here. ambassodor nikki haley's bid is

gaining a lot of ground. >> they remain poll trump 50% and now he's 40%. ambassodor nikki haley is up 39%. that is the best anywhere since june. you mentioned christy. he rose a little bit. he's at 10% now. i want you to take a look back

at our last u.n. hcnn poll. the second choice of christy voters in the state of new hampshire. that could be to ambassodor nikki haley. maybe she could close the gap a little more. why is new hampshire a good state for ambassodor nikki haley. one big reason why is this. moderate share the gop electorate. that is a group that trump does worse with that ambassodor nikki haley does well. in iowa, way down at 17%. but i think that the question is, can ambassodor nikki haley just win new hampshire and it looks like she's likely to lose

iowa. let's look at history. national gop front-runners that won in new hampshire but one in iowa, there were only two and they went on to win the nomination. if trump loses in new hampshire, he still has a good portfolio going forward. >> when you look at where she stands in iowa, how does that normally work if you don't do well in iowa but you do well in new hampshire? is there a precedent for that? >> that is a great question k the answer is, it doesn't matter how well you do in iowa. it is how well you do in iowa relative to expectations. think back to 1984. gary came in a distance second place and he went up in the

polls. gary heart had all of this momentum and he came back from a larger deficit than ambassodor nikki haley at this point. there is a pathway to win in new hampshire. gary heart did not win the nomination, but he came very close. that is the parallel that ambassodor nikki haley may be looking forward to. she'll have to do a little better than gary heart did after new hampshire. >> a lot to break down there. thank you very much. let's discuss this primary battle with a pair of comment take commentators. ambassodor nikki haley, can she replicate this elsewhere? >> she can. the first challenge is iowa. a couple things about iowa. if you overperform expectation that's a huge win for any of the candidates. if ambassodor nikki haley were to come out of iowa in the top

two or three with a good showing, it gives her momentum into new hampshire, south carolina and nevada. and that gives her the opportunity widdle down the field. maybe i can put my support behind someone that can pose a real threat to donald trump. as we look at the numbers that we just saw, if the field were to consolidate, which the gop does need to do behind a nontrump candidate to win the primary and general election, after iowa and as we get into new hampshire is the time to start consolodate behind the candidate. >> we have even that before. >> i think ambassodor nikki

haley is one of the talented politicians in the count. pure skill set and the aability to do retail politics. she has it all. the problem with ambassodor nikki haley, however, is that usual lib when the light shines brightest and you have to stand for something, she sways back and forth on her policy positions. that is going to shine a bright light on former president trump. the former candidate has lindsey graham that are supporting him. you could tell his popularity

here. ambassodor nikki haley cannot command that. i think if she does well in iowa and new hampshire, i think she get trumped in south carolina. >> mentioned several lawmakers in south carolina. could senator tim scott gives her a boost now that he's out of the presidential race. could we see that play out in south carolina? >> probably not. a couple things. one, i don't tim scott will do it. he may be one of the vice president candidate. so that is terrible politics for him, one. i love tim. we get along very well. but he doesn't have the popularity of some of the other elected officials in south carolina. donald trump came in south carolina last year and secured all of these endorsements. he's been back. i don't think there is any

hope. tim scott does a great player in south carolina politics. he will not be able to push the state in one direction or the other. it will be awful politicians on his part. >> there is something that we're seeing that is a little different from before. you have ambassodor nikki haley and ron desantis hitting donald trump on january 6th. ambassodor nikki haley said that he refused to stop the attack. she could do more to hit him on that. but this is an interest thing that we're seeing. do you think it will make a difference? >> they could have done more a long time ago. they could have taken the gloves off against donald trump early on in the campaign. but they were caution about that. they didn't want to face the wrath of electricity. maybe some of the former trump supporters will be able to pull off the trump voters.

ambassodor nikki haley it is good that she's going after him on january 6th. she has not been as forceful as chris christie. she pushed back own donald trump for his rhetoric and his talks and economy. she pushed back would be how he has dealt with foreign policy. the most important thing they can do is they are young and fresh and a new generation and they are optimistic leader, potentially for the future, and not someone that is going to go in there and litigate their past give grievances what donald trump is doing and will continue to do. >> i am wondering about him saying poisoning the blood of the country how do you -- what do you think of senators

like lindsey graham saying it doesn't matter. >> his words are disgusting and uncalled for. what is deranged is they're outrageous and they are comparing it of adolf hitler, talking about poisoning the blood of this country. that is right out of hitler's manifesto. let's talk about he can support legal immigration and the influx of people in a country. 21,000 in a single day in the past month. let's talk about the fentanyl coming in the count and human

trafficking. >>i think college educated white women are taken aback by his language. we have seen this before. this is who donald trump is and he has a standard barrel for the republican party. >> we'll have to leave the conversation there. we appreciate your perspective. when we come back on news central, applying pressure. is israel meeting with top israeli leaders on the war's next phase and the urgent need to protect civilians in gaza. >> the republican party in florida is suspending ththeir

chaiairman amid d sexual assaul allegatitions. ststay with usus.

pressure is mounting on

israel to slower the attacks on gaza to lower the civilian deaths there. top israeli officials and the u.s. is pushing for a more targeted approach. >> israeli government shot and killed three israeli soldiers after identifying them as threats. israel is sharing new details about the deaths of those hostages. how did this all go down? these men we are held up in this building gaza. they found scattered leftover food and messages asking for help. about what the men were waving,

they were waving a white cloth that was apparently written, a certain plea of help win left over in food. it says help, three hostages. but the israel soldiers identified them as a third. the third injured retreated back in the building, even after a ceasefire order and the third hostage staggered back out, he was shot and killed. so there is tremendous pressure on prime minister benjamin netanyahu to release the 120 remaining hostages. the israelis take being on

that, they are getting skyrocketing death toll, many civilians included in gaza. the numbers inching closer to 20,000. israeli is trying to show and make the point here on the ground that it is hamas that is civilians as a shield. they released video showing a child's bedroom. and they lifted up a child's bet, a could the that the child was sleeping on and it showed a tunnel entrance. the tunnels that were used to stage attacks. it was a command center to smuggle in supplies from egypt. and they are still hunting down

the undergrown tunnels to flood them with water or other methods. it will continue to escalate. >> is it so sad and it talked to the rules. the biden administration is pushing for the shift in strategy. there are questions about how israel is engaging here. what is the message that the u.s. is hoping to send? >> reporter: secretary of defense austin while in israel today meets with the israeli work cabinet and ingenuity, he was trying to get a good assessment of what the military objectives are and remaining in gaza and if they can move to a more targeted narrow phase in gaza to try to limit the scope of civilian casualties. this is really getting

unsustainable. they believe that four israel in light condemnation and scrutiny and pressure that they move to a more limited phase he tried to emphasize that the u.s. stands behind israel and they have the right to defend themselves and that the u.s. is not going to dictate to israel about their own military operations. it was unclear if the u.s. and israel were on the same page if and when how to transition into the new approach. this is what he said to say earlier today. >> this is israelis operation. and i'm not tier to dictate timelines and forms. we have great thoughts about how to transition from high

intensity operations it to get in the region. there is no clock that is running. >> so austin, neither of them wanted to put a timeline on the transition from this phase to the high intensity and high tempo resolution that is driven by intelligence where the senior hamas leaders are. but this is the public facing message. behind the scenes, we're told that the u.s. has been pressuring israel and urging them to complete this face is of the operation within the next few weeks. and some officials in the administration want to see this done by the end of the month or by early january, at the latest. they have accepted to many israeli officials, that the international condemn station

in growing louder and they're losing international support and they risk losing it entirely if they do not do much to protect them. >> thank you both so much. let's expand the conversation now from the u.s. smoke woman and former director of the u.s. security council. marge you for being here today. we see second loyal island. do you think they are moving the needle. >> you have a flurry of u.s. officials going there and becoming very public in the tougher message. but the thing is while we know that the israelis are somewhat receptive to the message and the u.s. officials are saying

that and the israeli officials are saying that as well. i believe with prime minister benjamin netanyahu there is only so much difference that you're going to see on the ground. the goal in that stage is to defeat hamas completely. they said that they intend to pursue october 7th attacks and they need to prevent this from expanding to a global war. but when it comes to how to pursue them and to lower intensity operations that secretary austin has reenforced, they're saying, publicly that here receptive to the message. you're seeing intention operations and a high number of civilian deaths. >> it teams that the sponsor the sentiment from the israelis

when they talk about the targeted approach is maybe the idea that they cannot achieve the goal by doing that what do you think? >> reporter: i believe that they can and should -- first of all that they should pursue wore with the targeted approach and they would be able to. and the way to look at example for that is the coalition war for isis. the i'd. united continuing kingdom. they took away military capability and it took four years. that is an example that secretary austin himself has pointed to. pointing that is why they wanted it. when they made them the center

of gravity and pushing them into the arms of the enemy. they don't want israel to replace a talk kick call victory by a strategic industry. he believes that they can defeat hamas, as do i, by the way. if you do it this way, you're going hurt israel. the issue is israel will take losses and will risk it physical they pursue this more slowly. if they end up more and hams ends up taking some of it. it should be a loss a hams, and it means that they stand to gain an and in a more secure israel which is the ultimate goal that the u.s. is trying to remind israel of. >> thank you. still ahead, the first woman to

serve on the supreme court, justice sandra day o'connor, her portrait is now in the hall. one said t that she was a wowom that c could t take on anyny challelenge. momore detailsls when we c come

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.

members of the public are lining up outside the supreme court to pay their respects for former justice sandra day o'connor. she was the first woman seated on the nation's eyest court.

she passed away this month at the age of 83. >> so many people oning they are. harris calling o'connor a trailblazer who was guided by a deep respect for federal law. i know you have been there as well to the court to see this. tell us about this. >> reporter: it was moving. there was a ceremony with the nine current justices and retired justice kennedy there as a praileu to the viewion that we just saw on the screen. and justice sotomayor was one of the speakers. they said that sandra day o'connor captured the hearts of america and the supreme court

and moved the law. she all insisted that they had lunch together after oral arguments and said that kind of eases thing, having food are bq or oceanly having a glass of scotch. let me tell you what she said about justice o connor's connection to the american people. i think we have the sound for that. >> she had an extraordinary understanding of the american people just like she had an extraordinary understanding of this court's ruling and its limits. we were well served by the steady hand and intellect of a justice that never lost sight of how the law affect

philadelphia ordinary people. >> justice sotomayor was appointed in 2009, four years after justice o'connor announced her retirement a legacy she leaves her with the law and representation. and tomorrow she will be eulogist by president biden. >> an incredible life that she set for the american people. one day after marking his 87th birthday, we learned that pope francis signed off on a vatican ruling that priests can blessing to same sex couples this is a huge shift on

doctrine.

a sex scandal in florida has the state gop asking the chairman to step down for a rape allegations. >> he is accused of assaulting a woman and said they had a prior conceptual sexual relationship with. this is the latest call for zeigler to resign. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that is right. so the party is going to meet in early january to officially

remove christian zeigler as chairman. yesterday the party officials told me that there is absolutely nothing that zeigler that he could say that is going no change their minds. they simply want him out. he was stripped of his duties and much of his pay at an emergency meeting in orlando yesterday. he is no longer able to speak for the republican party. he cannot hire or fire any staff. he cannot raise money for the gop. he tried to defend himself and tried to apologize for his actions. but they said that his remarks were not welcomed by party members. over the weekend, there had been talk that zeigler was trying to get some payout in exchange for his resignation. is it something that was 100% not true and something party officials say it is not going to take place. he has been under investigation by the sarasota police department since especially

october when a come came forward claiming that she had been raped with christian after a planned sexual encounter between the woman, christian and his wife, bridget zeigler fell through. the woman said that she canceled on the sexual encounter after learning that bringing get was not going to attend. but he still showed up at the woman's house. he contends that the sex was consentual. that is why the top republican officials from across florida from governor desantis and other officials why they believe that zeigler is unfit to serve in office. >> you cannot lead the republican party with the charges that are standing in front him and the admissions that he made in the affidavit,

you cannot morally lead. if he did not do it, we feel bad, but if the victim went through, we fell bad. but he needs to resigned and let his case move forward. as for bridget zeigler, she has not accepted calls. she was asked to accept down from the sarasota school district blast week saying that the details of this sex scandal are disturbing. >> thank you very much. to some of the other headlines that we're watching at this hour. golden state warriors day von green will be out three weeks

after being suspended indefinitely with the nba they said that green has began counseling for his on the court altercations. the owner of some popular apparel companies are scrambling to contain a cyber attack amid the holiday shopping rush. they said that they deducted unauthorized activity last week disrupting their shopping operations. shoppers will get apologies disrupting the delivery dates. the mission was called off because of a ground system issue. the launch would have marked the rocket's return to flight after more than a year. a new launch date set to be announced some time next week. we look forward to watching

that. when we come back, it was one of the largest cooperations in the world. and now us us steel has agreed to be bought by one of japan's largest steel deal. anand some lawawmakers a are pu back on ththe deal. . we'll hahave more e on that nen

a huge deal announced today, the iconic american company u.s. steel has agreed to sell itself to a japanese company. u.s. steel the board of directors, announcing the $14.1 billion agreement this morning on x, formerly known as twitter. >> and mcsally to step in the

long decline of the 122-year- old company, one of the largest companies on the planet at one point. cnn's matt egan joint is now. tell us about this deal. >> u.s. steel really is one of the most iconic u.s. industrial companies. i mean, it helped to actually make america an economic superpower. at one point, it was the first ever company to be valued at more than $1 billion, but as you mentioned, it's been a decline for decades, and now it has reached a deal to be sold to a foreign company. as you can imagine, that's not sitting well with some. some details on the transaction, it values the company at just over $14 billion .the iconic u.s. steel brand is not going away, and the headquarters will stay in pittsburgh, but this must get approved by regulators, shareholders as well. that is no easy task because it's already generating some controversy . the labor union that it steelworkers on, wasting no time to attack the deal, demanding regulators review it, a democratic sen.

john fetterman put out a video blasting the transaction as well while standing on the roof of his home, which is across the street from a u.s. steel factory. isn't what fadiman had to say. >> i just have to say it's absolutely outbred is that they have sold himself to a foreign nation. you can't do that. steel is always about security as well too, and i am committed to do anything i can do for using my platform and position in order to block this, and i'm going to fight for the steelworkers and union way of life you as well too, and we cannot ever allow them to be screwed over or left behind. >> it's not just betterment and the union criticizing the deal. we also heard from republican ohio senator j.d. vance, saying he will interrogate this deal and he wants it to get rejected by regulators. now, we should note u.s. steel, they say this is the best outcome for all parties, including the united states ,

but over in wall street, there is some skepticism whether or not this deal will get done altogether. the deal values u.s. steel at $55 a share, but as you can see, it's trading significantly below the level, just under 50, so that suggested some investors in wall street think this is not a slam dunk and perhaps it won't get done. will have to pay close attention to what the regulators say and some of the other rust belt politicians about whether or not this deal makes sense. >> some rare bipartisan agreement in opposition to this deal. matt egan, thank you so much. minutes from now, the senate will gavel in as negotiations over emergency aid for ukraine, israel, and the u.s. southern border continue kid we'll have a live report for you from the hill, coming up.

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