>> absolutely. it is just challenge after challenge after challenge for city officials here. let's first talk about the migrants who are at the landing zone here in the city. as of yesterday there were 239 migrants living at this landing zone. when the weather turns like this at night, chicago transit authority offers up warming buses for migrants to shelter overnight. it is certainly not ideal. but regardless there are dozens of chicago transit authority buses here to try to give these migrants some reprieve from this winter storm that has been rolling in. this is the second wave of that storm, erica. the expectation here in the city there will be at least today between three and four inches of snow. that's because the lake here has been unseasonably warm. the city of chicago has also been unseasonably warm. they have not had a high below freezing since november 28th. so that's the good news keeping a little bit warmer here in the

city. different story out in the suburbs, erica, where they could see up to a foot of snow. this winter weather advisory from here until saturday, at 1:00, the illinois department of transportation says they have up to 1800 vehicles and pieces of equipment or more to try to mitigate the storm for drivers and residents, erica. this is discuss the prelude because next week our weather team is reporting that it could get shockingly cold. we are talking 30 below with a windchill this some areas of illinois, erica. >> whitney wild, thank you. cnn this morning continues right now. >> i know it's going to be negative 15 on monday. i don't even know what that is. i've been campaigning here for 11 months now. and back in october, in november and december, i'm like, it is so cold and everybody kept saying it's mild. i totally get it now. >> i know it's going to be cold but here's the thing, you're never going to have an opportunity to have your vote

pack more of a punch than you will on monday. things will be cold. >> i hear it's rather cold in iowa this time of year. i know it's winter. >> it is a cold reality of the campaign that is smacking candidates in the face literally, figuratively, we'll see. 84 hours to go before the first votes are cast in the 2024 republican primary. how life-threatening weather could impact turnout on caucus night. we have some breaking new information when it comes that that u.s.-led coalition strike in yemen. overnight fighter jets, tomahawk missiles hitting dozens of targets, retaliation for months of attacks against commercial ships in the red sea. this is, of course, raising wider fears now of a wider involvement in the region for the united states. >> 2024, what's happening in the middle east, what's happening on capitol hill. we'll discuss it with nancy pelosi live and also ask her about the blowback current house speaker mike johnson faces over the deal to keep the government open, this hour on "cnn this morning" starts right now.

it's the top of the hour, i'm phil matlingly with erica hill. poppy is off and iowa is facing dangerous weather three days out from the republican caucuses in the state. candidates have been canceling or shifting events and some republicans are concerned the temperatures could impact turnout. monday's caucuses could be the coldest in history expected to drop to minus 30 in some areas. >> donald trump returning to iowa this weekend where he'll hold his final campaign events after closing arguments in his $370 million civil fraud trial here in new york, on thursday. the judge did allow him to speak inside the courtroom, but then cut him off at one point as he railed against the hash and rehashed campaign slogans which he repeated outside as well. >> this is a political witch-hunt, the likes of which nobody has seen before. they don't need damages for what

they've done. we had no jury. we had to rights to a jury. >> eva mckend is live in des moines and keep talking about the weather, yes, it's winter. yes, it's cold. it could potentially, though, eva have an impact. what are folks saying? >> well, good morning to you, both, from snowy iowa here. listen, the weather is a real concern. you know, iowans are used to the cold, but monday is on track to be the coldest caucus day in history. nikki haley forced to shift her campaign events, so instead of in-person events she'll have teletown halls. vivek ramaswamy, governor desantis, they say that they are staying the course with their events but that could change in the hours ahead. meanwhile, haley and desantis, they are intensifying their attacks against one other on the campaign trail, take a listen. >> we are a country in disarray

and the world is on fire. and the only way we get out of this is if we elect a new conservative leader to carry us forward and lead the negativity and baggage behind. >> she has not gone to all my counties, doesn't like the voters. think they spend, spend, spend and somehow that's going to do the trick. that's not the way it works. >> reporter: so, iowans are still showing their resolve coming out to hear these gop hop hopefuls. just last night governor desantis fielding questions from voters on everything from the future of social security in this country to his position on foreign policy, on ukraine. but the weather conditions this morning treacherous. the roads are bad, and it is very, very windy here this morning, erica, and phil. >> all right, eva, appreciate it. stay safe on those roads. joining us now to discuss the 2024 campaigns and a lot

more former speaker of the house democratic congresswoman nancy pelosi. we have a lot to get to. i want to start the 2024 landscape. you have been at the center of democratic messaging and strategy for so many years and i'm interested. you've made the point to my colleague, dana bash, this is the moment where the president and his team need to get out more. they have a message and they have a resume. they need to start talking about it more. he's going to be in pennsylvania today. have you seen a shift in the message that you think is effective over the course of the last couple of weeks? >> yes, well, now, we are in the election year, and the president has been working very hard over the past three years to do what is necessary to meet the needs of the american people, now he can go talk about it. and he has a lot to say. the kitchen table needs are what are the most important to families, but also make the biggest difference in elections. look at the votes.

look at the job numbers. over 14 million jobs created while he was president, set unemployment reduced, inflation on the downturn, and i'm very proud of what's happening with health care. he has worked to reduce the cost of health care. whether through the affordable care act or the cost of prescription drugs. people have to know because their kitchen table needs are what are important to them, and the democracy message relates to the kitchen table. democracy is a personal issue. freedom of choice to have, when and if you have a family, freedom to enjoy your work knowing you have a pension so that your family will be secure. the education of your children, the safety of the environment in which they live. he scores very high on all of those points, and many people are appreciating and enjoying it. think just are not giving him credit for it.

and this is what we have to do now is to make sure that not only the president, but other validators come forward to say what he's done, but what's really important to people is what he is going to do, nobody votes for you for what you've done. they want to know what comes next. >> when you say other validators, what do you mean? there's been criticism there aren't enough surrogates, not enough people within specific constituencies or generally that are getting the message out in an effective way. >> well, they will. i don't find that to be a problem. they will. governors, elected officials, yes, but also community act visits, as well. for example, you give me the opportunity to talk about our outside mobilization. this is neighbor to neighbor. we have in 2018 you may recall people said weren't you lucky that health care became the

issue in the campaign? i said, no, we weren't lucky. we made our own luck, we had 10,000 events where people told their stories about what the affordable care act meant to them. now you have the former president saying obamacare sucks. no, it doesn't suck. it cures. and as you see, record number 20 million signed up and we still have a couple of more days to go with that, but it won't be -- the sur galts are the people telling their stories across the country, and that mobilization to own the ground to get out the vote, to win the election for joe biden and kamala harris, that the united states senate and the house of representatives -- >> it's critical every cycle, no question about that, and you guys have certainly demonstrated success on it when you won back the house and when president biden won in 2020. the question, though, you raise a lot of things that drive the frustration. if you look at the record you were detailing that the

president had in the first years, individual basis every single piece that you laid out there polls quite well. you lay out what the former president said he wants to do in terms of repealing obamacare and being proud of roe versus wade being struck down, in terms of more tax cuts along the lines of what you saw in 2017, that also polls much better for democrats than it would for him and yet this is a neck and neck race and no one feels very comfortable in the democratic side of things that donald trump isn't going to be the next president. >> well, i don't think that nobody feels -- i think many of us know that it is impossible for him to be the president again. >> why do you say that? >> with what he's proposing. when you're talking about what he's talking about now, more tax cuts for corporate americans, taking them down so low to the detriment of our budget, and meeting the needs of people. but people have to know, i have said over and over again, president lincoln said public

sentiment is everything. >> right. >> with it you can accomplish almost anything. without it practically nothing, but public sentiment has to be informed. people have to know, so we can talk more about what he has done, what it means at the kitchen table for people to have lower costs for prescription drugs, lower costs for health care because it's not just about their good health, it's about their financial health and security as well. and instead of just talking about why aren't they doing more, we are and we will and, again, the outside -- our inside maneuvering to get the job done, the president's vision for our country, his knowledge of the issues, his strategic thinking as a legislator are so important, but so is his emotional connection, the empathy he has for working families in our country. he springs from that background, and he understands it and he cares. he cares about it. so, that's what you will see and, again, the president and

millions of people mobilizing outside to get the message out, neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend. >> right. >> person to person. >> do you wish -- you know, you make the point of kind of who he is or how democrats see him and why he's been effective as a politician, particularly within the party over the course of five decades now. do you wish he was not -- i don't mean out giving more campaign speeches but out more talking in interviews, talking on the ground, doing rope lines. we haven't seen as much of that. >> the president has the weight of the world on his shoulders. he's the president of the united states. very challenging job. there are only so many hours in the day, and i trust his judgment that when -- now people are starting to pay attention. you know, again, you can be saying things and people are busy living their lives, raising their families, doing their jobs, it's a tough time. so you want to spend the time talking to them when they are

ready to listen and now that the campaign year has started and you talked about the weather in iowa for next week, i'm so sad for the voters there, even though it's just largely a republican caucus that they have the opportunity to cast their votes in a safe way and healthwide too because it's so cold but also the danger of snow, but it is an election time is -- it's exciting and we respect people's views, respect their concerns. but i've always said you can tell them everything you've done but nobody gets elected because they deserve it. they get elect the because of what they're going to do next and what he is going to do next is, again, to continue the work he's done for america's working families, whether it's the child tax credit, continuing to save

affordable care act, save the reduction in prescription drugs, continue to grow the economy, but, again, in a way that is -- gives confidence to people that they and their families have a role to play. people are concerned about innovation and how it affects them. globalization, how it affects them, immigration, how it affects them. and we want them to know that in all of his policies, it's about making sure that people have the opportunity, whether it's through education or job creation and the rest that has the beautiful diversity of america but also, but also includes everyone. >> right, no, it will certainly be a central piece of what he lays out in the weeks ahead including heading toward the state of the union. speaker pelosi, stay with us. we'll be back to you in a moment including a group of republicans now threatening to derail a deal

to avoid a possible government shutdown and we'll ask former speaker how this could imperial the current speaker's tenure. happening right now, huge pro-houthi protests in yemen's capital after the u.s./uk strikes overnight coming after weeks of attacks by iran-backed militants on commercial ships in the red sea. the new warnings this morning amid the growing violence in the region. stay with us.

that's not what we want to see out of other speaker. otherwise, what's the difference from nancy pelosi having the gavel and us havings majority. >> i didn't come up here to spend more money than nancy pelosi as a republican and i'm not going to be part of it. >> invoking former house speaker nancy pelosi to ramp up pressure against current house speaker mike johnson threatening to derail bipartisan negotiations, i deal he struck with them to keep the government open. back with us the aforementioned former house speaker nancy pelosi. what do you think when you hear you are still very much in the minds of the rank and file republicans in the house? >> well, i haven't paid too much attention to what they're saying, but what i do know after 20 years as i'm leader or speaker, when you're dealing with the budget bill, it's a negotiation. nobody ever gets everything they want, but you have to pass it

because you cannot shut down government, and so when a few people decide they have an objection and want to hold up the works, that's a disservice to their leader, to their speaker. they have won the majority. they have a major responsibility, but we also have a president of the united states who will sign the bill, a majority in the senate that has to pass it, so there has to be a negotiation and a compromise and it's hard. it's not an easy thing. it's hard, but you have to get it done. >> yeah, there's no question. much harder now to some degree which has something to do with the leader. do you have advice to give the current speaker of the house. >> well, respect, respect is a word that i always use for my own members along the way. there are different, shall we say, equities to be weighed when you're doing a budget, but there

are different bills in the course of the year and they'll prevail on some and won't prevail on others, but as long as they know that their views are recognized they should be able to come to the table but this is -- there's a difference between democrats and republicans in this regard. we believe in governance. and we want to get the job done. all the shutdowns of government have come under republican leadership, whether it was starting with newt gingrich in the '90s then to the republicans when president obama was president, but the republicans shut government down and then under president trump, when he took pride in shutting down because they don't believe in governance so not having a budget shutting down government is a plus for them. that's what they like. they don't like governance. they also don't like science so if science says we have to have certain protectioned for our climate, for our people, for the this, for that that and

governments have protections to offer those two noes do not make a yes. >> there's no question there are sharp ideological differences between the two parties, certainly seem to be exacerbated now. the current speaker did put out a statement of support for president biden's order to have the coalition strike in yemen. you were talking about the weight of the world on the president's shoulder. that is certainly the case right now. do you support this decision? there have been some in your caucus or in the democratic caucus that have raised concerns that this is not within the presidential authority? >> no, there are a few, but it is within the president's authority. this is -- they were making strikes on ships that affect commerce and the rest. it's a multilateral decision to go forward. it was not a declaration of war that has to come from congress. i respect those would have that view but i don't agree with them and i think the president made the right decision. >> are you concerned more broadly given the conflict in the middle east and the

president's efforts to try and navigate that, how your party will react going forward as in you talk to debbie dingell in michigan, very real concerns about how voters there will react, young voters in particular. >> well, our president has acted with great values-based principles to what is happening there. what happened on october 7th was horrible. the hostages are still not freed. but we don't like the aerial bombing of civilians in gaza to the extent that that has happened, so there has to be a path out of that, the two-state solution is one that the president has supported, that many of us have supported with him for a very long time. and i think that what the president is trying to do for

humanitarian assistance over $10 billion into gaza has not been taken up by the republicans. so, when people say, well, these people need help and the rest and the president should make it happen, well, it is an expenditure, a fiscal bill that has to come from the congress of the united states. so i think that when the election as we go through this and it's a terrible situation, it's heartbreaking in every way, whether it's about -- >> do you have concerns -- >> -- whether about the assault or consequences of that. >> do you have concern about how the president has operated is trying to work behind the scenes as he's always done on foreign policy reeled issues. do you have concerns about netanyahu's leadership? how his government operates right now and the path forward? >> yeah, i've never been a particular fan of netanyahu. he hasn't been a particular fan of the two-state solution, which

is an answer to so much of this, again, i come back to the word "respect," but our president has great foreign policy experience as a former chair of the foreign relations committee in the senate, as the vice president of the united states and now as president, so i respect his judgment and feel sad that the turn of events has caused so much heartbreak for the people of gaza and that's really at the doorstep of netanyahu. >> former house speaker nancy pelosi, we always appreciate your time and thoughts and expertise. thank you very much. >> thank you. thank you, phil. nice to be with you. thank you. happening now we are monitoring some massive protests in yemen's capital, this as we're getting new details about the retaliatory strikes in yemen by the u.s. and its allies overnight. what this could mean for u.s.

involvement in a potentially growing conflict. and the key places to watch in the iowa caucuses with three days to go and we'll examine the strategy behind where someme ar cacampaigning and where e they'o next.

bold. daring. expressive.

contra costa college allows me to be whoever and whatever i want to be, providing the stage, the canvas, the tools to use my voice and write my story. find your passion and create your future at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu live pictures of massive protests in yemen's capital of saada after the u.s. and uk strikes overnight saying their forces will not hesitate to target, targets on land and sea to defend yemen. now, the u.s. for its part is downplaying fears that these

strikes overnight against the iran-backed militias in yemen could lead to a wider war. a houthi spokesperson said it killed five people and six others. it hit 16 locations among them weapons depots and launching systems. he called the unprecedented attacks on vessels in the red sea by the houthis which caused major shipping delays and directly impacted the global economy. a short time ago i spoke with pat ryder who said that the action itself is not part of the gaza war and that the u.s. plans to keep it that way. the conflict between israel and hamas does remain contained to gaza and really that's a major focus for us is to deter that conflict from broadening into a wider, regional conflict. and so what you have in the red

sea is the houthis indiscriminately attacking mariners, transiting this vital waterway. and so over 50 countries have been affected by this, so this is an international problem that required an international response. >> jim sciutto is with me. when we take a look at this, we hear the words and to that the goal is no further escalation. the reality, though, this morning, there is a heigighly increased concern. >> reporter: no question. i think we have to remember what happened prior. these attacks by the houthi rebels threatening to paralyze what is one of the most vital waterways in the world, the red sea leading on to the suez canal, so much trade goes through there and that, by the way, is deliberate. the houthi rebels know they have a sensitive chokepoint here and they've been deliberately targeting commercial vessels in that chokepoint to exact a price, in effect and from the u.s. perspective, the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were, were a series of attacks on tuesday this week when houthi

rebels launched some 20 drones specifically targeting u.s. ships in that chapel and the u.s. took particular notice to one of those ships, what they say was carrying jet fuel and they said if had one of those drones hit it it was in danger of sinking. not an accident that the houthis are targeting shipping in the red sea and u.s. does not believe it was an accident that they specifically targeted u.s. ships on tuesday, that for the u.s. president was enough and that then led to this coalition strike yesterday led by the u.s. and uk, bahrain, an arab partner, canada and the netherlands and they have priced in the danger of escalation. a senior u.s. official said yesterday he wouldn't be surprised to see some houthi response and this morning we're seeing a houthi statement here saying, our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack.

american and britain, america and britain will undoubtedly prepare to have to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences, so the u.s. is prepared for them to fire back in effect but i will say this, erica, the u.s. is also setting up the possibility of follow-on strikes to these strikes, a senior administration official saying this may not be the last word. they basically ran out of patience, it seems, with these attacks on shipping. >> it's interesting too that the administration is really trying to separate, right, what is happening here and these strikes overnight from the israel-hamas war, and, yet, it is actually quite difficult to spate the two especially when you look at who is involved when we talk about the houthis here. >> reporter: no question. listen, the u.s. attacked the houthis yesterday but they say in very clear terms that iran is pulling the strings, in effect, behind it, not just subtly and with direction or encouragement but with specific operational involvement. the u.s. says that iran provided

intelligence and information also provided many of the weapons that they used to attack shipping so they see iran behind this and, of course, what is iran have in common with the houthis, they back hamas as well and back hezbollah which is firing on israel from the northern border, so they are connected, but where the u.s. is trying to draw a line here is to say that the attacks on shipping by houthi rebels are not connected to the gaza war, but because they're saying, you know, they're claiming to fire on ships headed for israel, the fact is they're firing at all ships. you heard patrick ryder word that word indiscriminately shooting at everyone. they want -- even as you look at the map you see all those strikes. that creates a chokepoint in the red sea, so the u.s. effort here, they don't want this to expand, and they want to take away the claim that the houthis are making that they're somehow punishing israel, right, with these strikes and make it clear that they are punishing the

world, that world trade goes through here and everybody will pay a price if this doesn't stop. >> we will all watch it closely. i know you especially as you continue to talk to your sources, i appreciate it, thanks. >> reporter: 2456ks. israel concluded its oral arguments at the international court of justice after south africa accused israel of genocide against palestinians in gaza. israel rejected the claims arguing that if genocidal acts have been committed they were perpetrated against israel by hamas. israel arguing its military was taking actions to minimize civilian casualties stressing that it complied with international humanitarian law. south africa is calling on the court to issue an emergency order for israel to halt their military campaign. a decision could take days or even weeks. the decision on genocide accusations could take years. no country has ever been found directly responsible for genocide by the court before. all eyes on iowa, which could face the coldest caucus night in history on monday. how that could impact the

turnout and the victor.

three days now until iowa, and those roads as we're told by our teams on the ground, they're not great right now. everybody watching this weather and how it could impact the caucuses monday night. this is a live look. this is in cedar rapids, it's snowing, it's 27 degrees. the feels like, though, it's a balmy 13. nikki haley is shifting her planned in-person campaign events because of blizzard warnings which are in effect shifting them to virtual. the national weather service says monday caucus day could be the coldest caucus night ever.

cnn's derek van dam is tracking it. this is life-threatening cold. >> yeah, in fact, here comes the arctic invasion that the brunt will be felt this weekend across iowa and into the today monday being caucus day and the national weather service not mincing their words when discussing this dangerous cold like erica mentioned saying that we are entering into one of the most prolonged and coldest periods in recent memory for central iowa. and what you're looking at here is the state of iowa, various cities, here's des moines, for instance, this is the projected windchill, negative 34 on monday and below it is the time to take for exposed skin to reach frostbite so you can go as little as 20 minutes with exposed skin and have frostbite conditions with that type of windchill. this will be the coldest caucus day ever recorded. this is des moines, for instance, the actual forecast high temperature, negative 4,

statewide, the coldest air in the month of january in the past five years will struggle to reach above the 0 degree mark across the entire state amongst a larger storm system that brings blizzard conditions as we speak and will add to one of the snowiest stretches that iowa has ever experienced over the past five days. there's the blizzard warnings that stretch across iowa and into the midwest. part of a larger storm system and, erica, rwe are extremely busy here in the weather center, every single u.s. state has some sort of weather alert happening right now including alaska and hawaii. >> derek, thank you. >> for sure. well, nikki haley, ron desantis, donald trump will all be there on the ground in iowa grinding out these last couple of days before everyone gathers to caucus on monday night. phil is over at the magic wall with a look at this final campaign sprint in iowa. the chilly sprint, what can we see this weekend? >> so interesting over the

course of the last couple days, campaigns are paying attention to the weather. desantis' team saying it might help them because of their ground operation, the haley team having made changes and trump doesn't go to iowa much so we have to see. this is what matters. the map. you'll get used to seeing this. currently it is gray. the best time of year starts to happen on monday evening when this will start to fill in as voters vote. if you look over here and getting confused it's in alphabetical order. everybody is still there. why are we showing you this? what do the candidates need? to start with let's track back to 2016. this is the primary in 2016. ted cruz narrowly defeating donald trump. and the why here is what's important and also how everybody did because ted cruz's upset was in large part because of his ground operation that resonated, got people out and particularly had an impact with the evangelical voters. if you're talking about evangelical voters, this area here below des moines as well

where ted cruz did very well, donald trump obviously kept it very close throughout, but the other thing to pay attention to, given nikki haley's momentum over the last several weeks, her presence in iowa is right in here. these are the suburban areas that marco rubio won and kept the race tight, haley endorsed rubio back in 2016. why does that matter? it's not a direct analog and there have been shifts in population but those will be the key areas everybody is watching come monday night. and want to get a sense of why? you can pay attention to where the candidates have been going over the course of just the last couple of weeks, it tells you what you need to know. if desantis pitches himself as somebody who can reach out to evangelical voters but started to bridge the gap with republicans who are more suburblike, he's been the purple in des moines several times and over here in suburb areas as well, but also up here in the evangelical strongholds. trump's two visits had been in the more rural, evangelical part

of the state. that's his base. he needs turnout. his operation expects it to happen. that's where it will come from. so much focus on new hampshire over the course of the last several months showing up in iowa as well. if you want to know where suburban counties are in this area right now, can't turn it on at this moment but what we're talking about is similar to what we saw with marco rubio over the course of the last couple of months heading into the caucus time line. looking at des moines and davenport as well. where nikki haley is going is where her voters are expected to be and where her turnout will have to come from looking for a stronger second place, some ability to surpass ron desantis, nobody is expecting anyone in this race to catch donald trump. but if you want to know where their targets are and where you should watch monday night look at where the candidates have been over the course of the last couple of weeks. >> phil, appreciate it. this is your go time. >> i love this. >> i can tell how excited you are. no, it's good.

it's working and helpful to the rest of us. just ahead, sinking suv, a race to save a family including a toddler trapped inside. the morning moment highlighting the bravery in the facace of dangerer.

with chris christie out of the race the remaining candidates hope his supporters can boost their bid for president. even christie supporters, though, don't know who to spoke.

we spoke to them in the primary state of new hampshire. >> reporter: chris christie hasn't endorsed anyone yet, but there's one candidate most likely to benefit from his exit. a cnn poll from new hampshire showed 65% of christie voters surveyed said they would pick nikki haley as their second choice. you're ssentially 1 of those 65% who supported christie before but now you're leaning to haley? >> yep. >> why is that? >> because she's the best to help the country move forward from trump. >> reporter: it was a dynamic he raised at a christie campaign event last month. >> would it not be better -- to better serve the anti-trump vote for you to suspend but for nikki to have you as her vp declared before the january -- >> yeah, i don't think so. [ laughter ] >> i was particularly pleased yesterday when we had the

christie announcement because the timing was right, the next best candidate is clearly haley, now she has an opportunity to gather and to speak with and to speak to that 65% of christie supporters like myself, her needle has just moved by a big jump now in new hampshire. >> reporter: other christie supporters like tom barton were ready to go all in for christie. now he isn't sure what comes next. >> i'm very saddened by this. >> reporter: he says he's open but needs to see more. >> if there's one candidate that i would like if she would stand up to trump more, it would be haley. >> reporter: katherine johnson, a democrat, who supported christie doesn't see it the same way with haley. >> i'm a new hampshire democrat volunteering for a republican because he believes in the idea of working across the aisle. i'm going to go work for the democrats starting tomorrow

because, no, i respect her, but, no, i will not vote for her. >> reporter: others as young as 10 years old liked christie. >> let's say you weren't running and you had no idea that this could even happen, who would you vote for? >> reporter: but hannah and her parents thought this was the right time for him to go. they attended many campaign events and hannah helped encourage her parents to see more of the candidates. it even changed their minds. >> i'll give chris christie the credit for telling me the truth about trump and helping me to see that it was time for somebody else to take the reins. i was a trump supporter two months ago, and i would have said that trump's going to win the nomination. now i feel like there's enough momentum behind nikki haley she's going to win new hampshire. >> i wasn't really a full-on trump supporter. i knew if i was at the general election if that's what was on the ticket i'd probably vote for him but was kind of undecided going in. hannah encouraging us to go to the town halls opened my eyes

and made me decide who i wanted to throw my vote behind. >> reporter: but for some of christie's now former supporters, this goes beyond the primary. >> you want to choose that voice that a portion of the country will resonate then, then this pocket. >> and to you it's nikki haley? >> absolutely. a new movie probes the origin of power, race and hierarchy in history. the groundbreaking director mind "origin" ava duvernay is here to explain her project.

>> i don't like questions. i like answers >> that's ava duvernay's new film "origin" based on "caste" and tells the story of isabel wilkinson as she writes this book and writes those answers. joining us is filmmaker, writer, director and producer, ava duvernay. such an honor to have you here in the studio. this film is beautiful and it is powerful and it has such a message that it leaves you with at the end. you read this book three times. why was it so important to bring "caste" to the screen as "origin"? >> you know, it's a beautiful book, but it's meaty. it's long and while it's a best-seller, it is within the pages of something that i'm not sure as many people would read

as i feel need to know the message, the idea that we organize ourselves as human beings into hierarchies that we need to pay attention to because they create all the isms we dwell within and that we struggle against, and so i think it's an important conversation to have especially now at this time in our country. >> and speaking of this time in our country, you made this film fairly quickly. you wanted to make it on your own terms but shot it in 37 days and as i understand it part of that is you wanted it to come out prior to the 2024 election. >> yes, yes, three continents and 37 days, went the independent route because it was faster and feel like it is an urgent matter that all we should be talking about around the dinner table and thinking about raising our voices and asserting our opinions as it relates to the transition of power that is possibly happening in november and our freedoms that i truly feel are at rick. this film asks us to examine the roots of a lot of our discord

and differences and divisions. >> we talk about the root, a lot of times -- actually i should say we don't talk about in this country racism. >> that's right. >> but there's this sense that that's at the root of all of this. this is not about racism. this is about caste and you hear that and think, but this is the united states. we have's heard of the caste system in india. what does it have to do with us? what is the difference? >> you know, there's a whole book about it and isabel wilkinson is a brilliant woman but really it's the idea that underneath racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, all the isms. there's the idea someone is better than another person based on a random set of traits. you're not getting to the root, the disease, just the wound, you know, is all of these pieces at the top but until you understand what it's all coming from, this idea that we can organize ourselves according to power and status and subjugate or press,

or deny freedoms, rights, dignity to a certain kind of person based on anything then you're not really solving for the problems and that's what the core of my understanding of it is. >> there's some history in here. the way the nazis looked to jim crow laws in the u.s. it's fascinating the way martin luther king jr. in india in the late '50s realized he was part of the lowest caste in the united states of america and look at this assault and whitewashing of history happening in this country, you want to make sure more kids to see it. what is seat 16? >> not sweet 16. for 16 bucks you can buy a ticket and get a one-year subscription to master class and it's an idea, let's educate, let's talk, let's inspire one another and not just be in our corners pointing to one another, perhaps the film allows us an entry point to communicate and hold hands. >> also leaves you with hope,