>> before we go on this sunday, an important programming note. we are back at 4:00 tomorrow to kick off the special election coverage of the iowa caucuses.

jon king with the magic wall and stay with cnn tonight with the special edition of acc 360 beginning now. >> tonight done 360. new endorsements and fresh pulling and subzer o temperatures. were out across iowa with the opening contest of primary 2024 just underway. also tonight, the role that evangelical voters are expected to play in iowa and beyond. and later, the rising discontent in israel 100 days since hamas took hostages with the conflict widening. we are not 24 hours away from the first vote of the first presidential race and the start of the iowa caucuses.

most of which convene at this time tomorrow night. just getting started at what is normally poll closing time and most other states. one of the many things we will talk about tonight including the blizzard in the final days of the campaign and record cold temperatures expected tomorrow night, a number of significant endorsements tonight. marco rubio announced he's back. former candidate and north dakota governor today's doing the same in the former maryland governor is endorsing her. new polling from the des moines register shows her head of governor desantis. the polling also shows some of the significant and how enthusiastic his supporters said they were. 88% they are extremely or very enthusiastic compared to 62% to 39% for desantis and nikki haley respectively. we will go first to a town in the south of des moines

>> donald trump and his only event of the weekend three of four of its counsel because of the weather. he spoke for nearly 2 hours and he had a very long and multilayered message. one was airing of grievances and two was attacking nikki haley and three was stressing how important it is to show up on caucus on monday. listen to some of what he chose said. >> if you want to save america from cricket joe biden, you must caucus tomorrow. you cannot sit home. if you are sick as a dog, even if you vote and did not pass away, it's worth it. if you are so sick, get up. you get up and you vote. yes, darling. because we know who ultimately calls the shots, right? >> anderson, one thing to note

is that trump is joking there. however, he is concerned about what will happen when it comes to turn out. his team's ground game has been people supporting donald trump but they have never caucused before. will the weather deter them? it will be a new experience for them and will that be is determined to show up as they need him to be? even though he is winning by 40 points, they are concerned that the margin is actually smaller. they need a big margin to win and not just to win the delegates but because also the want to set the tone for the primary season and stop any momentum they are seeing from the gop rivals, namely nikki haley in new hampshire.

>> what do you think about the campaign and where the former president's head is that? >> is asking his senior advisers about turnout and he has been talking about the weather nonstop and wondering if people will still show up. we know donald trump is not someone who likes the cold, which he has made very clear. but a lot of this is about the poll numbers and the biggest margin possible. the other thing is when they see the huge poll margins showing up to caucus on monday, they may decide between the weather and donald trump's big leave that they don't need to show up and that he has enough support. that's a big concern that people will think he already has the backing and won't show up on monday. a big push right now to get people out the door and to caucus them. >> you see this new poll in which nikki haley has taken over taken desantis for second place and what is the haley campaign thinking about that tonight? >> they say it demonstrates that she continues momentum.

but when it comes to nikki haley in iowa, expectations are not as hard and high as the have been for ron desantis. and nikki haley's team is essentially trying to keep it that way. they said they want her to have a strong showing tomorrow is the results of the iowa caucus determine how she does out of the state going into new hampshire. but they are not defining what a strong showing will actually look like. for nikki haley for her part, making her final pitch a few moments ago on the eve of the iowa caucuses and hitting similar themes that we heard throughout the entire campaign. the need for school choice and the need to defend america's borders with more resources. the need to defend ukraine in order to prevent wider wars from occurring. and also reminding voters in the room here of the electability argument that she has been making. reminding them that in the last seven out of the last eight

presidential elections, republicans have lost the popular vote. she says, that is not a good thing. and she is telling them that she is in the position and the best poised to be able to change that. citing the theoretical poles we have seen with her up against president biden. saying that she is the one the can win and that trump and desantis just don't do that. her team is looking ahead to tomorrow to figure out what her schedule will look like. but they still think there are iowans who have not made up their mind. nikki haley asking the room this evening if there is anyone that had seen her for the first time. and there were at least a dozen folks who raised their hands. that is significant. because it even though it looks like she could be gaining steam but there still folks they

could convince to come to her side as she battles it out with ron desantis to, number two here in iowa. >> desantis put a lot into the ground operation and how is haley's ground operation? >> nikki haley has a more nimble ground operation here. we know that there is that super pack fact by the koch family that has been operating on her behalf here in iowa as well. their goal have been to knock on 250,000 doors of iowans here before the caucus tomorrow. and you also have the desantis super pack that will hit 1 million doors for tomorrow. so even though they both have the super-pac out but nikki haley's super-pac is not quite as resourced as desantis has. but the campaign feels like there is momentum and this is what the have going for them and the more voters that haley meets, the more they come to her side. and particularly heading into

new hampshire where they feel she will do incredibly well. >> this is where the desantis event is getting underway shortly and what has been the closing message? >> ron desantis has been all across the state of iowa today going to his supporters and saying, it is time to turn out. they're very confident with him and his team and the enthusiasm with their supporters that it will come through tomorrow. the des moines register poll that came out last night and showed him slipping to third place. if they showed him talking to his team, they don't believe it will be how it was shake out tomorrow. here is what desantis said to his supporters just a little bit ago . >> we built a great army here. tomorrow will be fun for us and i love when the media and staff. i would much rather be an

underdog. that's how i have done every race that i have ever been in. >> so we are waiting for the governor on the stage right now. she has been out with some of the other candidates and you can see it is a pretty packed room here. one of the reason they're optimistic is they believe that their supporters are enthusiastic. even with this weather, that they can count on them to turn out. when there is this unpredictable factor of extremely cold weather, that it could make a battle for them if you trust that holes, likely for second place. >> so what is the desantis plan? >> it's a combination of that and i am told by super pac that they have knocked on 940,000 doors here in iowa alone over the last several months. never back down.

super pac aligned with desantis has millions of dollars and a lot of time in the state. desantis and his family support a lot of time into here. he made a big point of visiting all 99 counties . with a nod to the state senator in iowa that he spent time with his family and had gone to all corners of the state. i believe he is coming on. we're just waiting for him to come on. he spent so much time here and they think that will make a difference that they have so many touch points with the precinct captains and all 99 counties. the question is, will it work tomorrow for ron desantis to emerge as a potential alternative? he has really put all his eggs in the iowa basket so we will see how it shakes out tomorrow. >> with the winter chill approaching minus 30s and dangerous weather advisories up across the state. how cold is it in iowa right now and what will it be like on caucus day tomorrow? >> it will be the coldest day

for caucus by 25 degrees that we have seen lately. 2004 we were 16. tomorrow afternoon it will be minus nine at polling time. even right now it is 12 below zero. that is the thermometer. i know we focus on windchill because it flows across your skin. except for just a couple of counties now under wind chill warnings. take you to 8:00 tomorrow night. 9 degrees below zero and windchill 31 below in des moines and 28 below and sheldon. this is a widespread cold event. a lot of the rural farmers have to take care of livestock. the have a lot of things to do to keep livestock alive and not just drive around to town in 25 minutes in des moines you will get frostbite if you have exposed skin.

now talk about the high temperature in 2004 when 16 degrees did affect turnout. and we're talking around 20 degrees colder than that for the high temperature tomorrow. other things going on here and probably not seeing the departure from normal. if you look at twitter and they states iowa and it's winter. 30 degrees below winter will be the high temperature about tomorrow. it's not normal. it will be warmer in fairbanks than in des moines. one last thing i have to talk about. this entire winter has been above normal by large margin for iowa. are the animals ready and are the people and pipes acclimated? there were a lot of things that go bump in the night when you see the thermometer at 10 below zero. >> with more on the latest polling and what to look for tomorrow night. with local professionals also weighing in and did deepening anger and frustration in israel wiwith the hostatages inin g ga

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>> across iowa this time tomorrow night, people will be picking their republican presidential nominee. as we mentioned at the top there are new clues to how it may go. we have been digging deeper. talk about where the race seems to stand in iowa according to the polls.

>> a little more than 24 hours from now we will be counting the first votes of the 2024 cycle with 99 counties in iowa filling in. let's take a look at the last iowa poll. very reliable poll. not necessarily picking the winner. but never have had a lead like this. trump at 48 in the polls. he has not spent as much money as the other candidates but yet he goes from 42 to 48 over the course of five months. desantis flatline and down a little bit. nikki haley has some up at the end. do callup momentum? that's the debate. there is still a 28 point gap between the two of them. we talk about how trump supporters tend to be more

locked-in and more dedicated. 88% said there extremely are very enthusiastic about their candidate. if it will be as cold as this it will be, you want your people to be enthusiastic. but this is a problem sign for nikki haley but some of her voters are more moderate republicans and some of them are democrats or independents. they are not usual caucus goers. if they're not the enthusiastic and it's cold out, do they show up? will find out tomorrow. >> how do you define success? dispute >> trump wants to be above 50 and if trump wins, what is the gap between first and second? and to the question of who will show up and vote. there are no votes in here yet so it's a little hard to understand but the bigger circles of the population centers. the bigger the circle than the more people. where the circles are big, those your urban areas and suburbs. this is where nikki haley must do well if she's going to surprises . and those people

tend to have less of a drive to the polling place. the smaller dots, not only does trump want to win big, but we will know if this is a 2016 with donald trump and ted cruz splitting the vote or if desantis will be competitive. he better be like ted cruz . if it's all red for trump, big night . >> thank you so much. as a pollster, what stands out to you in the numbers? >> donald trump is so far ahead that his leader so large and has only gotten bigger as we have gotten closer and more voters have tuned in. a big problem that both ron desantis and nikki haley have is that as voters get closer and closer to the caucuses and have learned more about them,

they have not gained enough momentum to put a dent in trump's lead. if the gap is 20 is it really a win? for most voters, the win is the win coming close to 50%. with a double-digit margin they will come together. >> and responding to criticism that she is not tough enough and play what they said. >> he is saying this because now he knows he is in trouble and it's becoming a two person race. i know he knows the truth and it does not bother me at all. >> the fact that he is spending time attacking her. >> trump is going to attack everybody. he is still in the race. so i would not put too much and it. and to the point that the lead was continuing to grow, there's a lot of academic research. but people want to be with the winner and you see the polls at 60 or 65 and they see their

candidate trailing away. the des moines register had in this category if you could be persuaded to vote for somebody else. and they were almost 40% persuaded to vote for somebody else. it's superstrong but trump is crushing it and will run up the numbers. >> with the weather, who benefits? >> there are two schools of thought. you look at the enthusiasm between trump and the other candidates. it's hard to believe that someone fulfills this only 20% level of enthusiasm for the candidate nikki haley, that the person will go out and negative 24 degree weather and stand in the gym and go through it all. conversely, trump has had such a massive lead throughout the race that i think there's a risk of complacency.

even voters that feel incredibly motivated to go and vote for him would reasonably look at the 30 point lead and say, do i have to stand in the gym with 30 degree weather when he will clearly run away with this? we will see. in the end it's most likely to hurt haley and desantis but you could certainly see that argument the other way. >> nikki haley has the lowest numbers and perhaps the worst ground game. >> but she has momentum and if anyone in the race has one thing that is somewhat of an intangible , nikki haley has that. which is momentum riding into iowa. she's we want to be outside of any other candidate outside of donald trump of the 30 point lead over whatever. at the end of the day, iowa has done the job. they have called the field and you no longer have chris christie or mike pence. and if there is any hope there cannot not be three tickets out of iowa but really only two.

so i'm looking at who comes in third place and how far that comes down. if nikki haley makes it down into this territory, then they need to skip new hampshire and go straight back to tallahassee. >> that would be a concern with the trump operation in the desantis operation, the have a lot of people on the ground and the same people that did it in 2016. there knocking and dragging foods folks. the couch will not win in the desantis campaign. they have the governor's operation on them. >> the have knocked on doors and they have the governor's people. i don't think complacency will be the issue but for the haley campaign perhaps a little worse

and that enthusiasm is just going to be bolstered by also people calling and their neighbors calling. do need a ride? i will take you in my suv. both in the desantis in the trump world. >> nearly 50% of the people voting for nikki haley said they would vote for joe biden over donald trump. so those are not through and through true republicans. frankly i don't see independents and democrats with joe biden hats. we are not coming out in 20 degree weather. >> or if there cowboys fans, they will be depressed tomorrow. >> in our industry would have to do a lot of things to make an educated guess about the future. including in the cnn postdebate town hall from earlier this week. they had voters watching all five debates and one guy said i will wake up and see how i feel on monday morning. political pundits say they taken all the information making calculated decisions and sometimes they wake up and they

feel how they will feel. for pollsters, what about the guy who wakes up on monday morning and that is how he will figure it out. and number two, how the weather factor in? if you are trump supporter if you can have the complacency. and without a competitive democratic contest, it's not just in iowa issue but a new hampshire issue. does it actually make it more possible for nikki haley to do something to be possible in the year with competitive democratic primary? >> if desantis stays in third, does he stay in? >> you would have to say that until you are in it until you are not in it. it's hard to see how he stays in given where he is a new hampshire and south carolina. unless he is able to capitalize on momentum and turbocharge coming out of iowa, we just don't see numbers that suggest that he has a path to the nomination.

he has not carved out an effective argument and has not created space for himself. it's hard to see how he would move forward and the question is there are traditionally two tickets or two narratives. it is who wins and who unexpectedly over performs. you can certainly make the argument that if the over performances desantis and he comes out of iowa with more momentum and it's only good for donald trump. at the end of the day, it's only good for donald trump . >> there's the argument with vivek ramaswamy and even some desantis people now that over vote for vivek ramaswamy or desantis is actually a vote for trump and a way to protect the former president . does that make any sense? >> it makes no sense. it's like when you're pulling 8%. the campaign has a shelf life with a carton of milk stamped

on it and it's tomorrow. 115 it expires because on one 16 at 4% in iowa, he's done. today he has as much power as he will ever have and i realize i will not win and i urge my followers to support donald trump. and then he's a big hero and he goes and runs for governor in ohio and a very successful story. on the 16th he's just going to be better and he wasted all the time. >> that requires self-awareness. >> i wonder if that's not what ron desantis ultimately does a couple of days from now. if things don't go as hoped in iowa, he's very young and could easily run for the republican nomination in 2028 if he plays his cards right. if this is not the or for him but if he exits the race gracefully and make smart choices then that would be a. >> first of all i think will over perform by 8%.

i think he has been there and flooded the market and flooded the zone. the only problem with vivek ramaswamy as he has galvanized young voters but i don't think young voters will show up tomorrow night and that weather and some good football and a lot of variables. we will see what happens but it i got fact checked on tv the other night. but you cannot have a president and vice president from the same state. so there is no way for ron desantis to have a future as donald trump's vice president so he needs to figure out quickly. for ron desantis the race is probably over for him if he underperforms. >> more to come on iowa tonight with the i important block of voters andnd evangelicicals sid with the f former president t r desantis a and nikki h haley. joining g us next.t.

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please wait patiently or go to loveshriners.org right way. >> with the former president lead in the iowa polls and evangelical voters as something he played up recently with the video made by a group of supporters. it appears to use a i to mimic the voice of the deceased broadcaster paul harvey. here are the messages, god made trump. here you go.

>> on june 14th, 1946, did god looked down and said, i need a caretaker. so god gave us trump. god set up i need someone willing to get up before dawn an d eat supper and then go to the oval office and stayed past midnight for a meeting of the heads of state. so god made trump. i need someone with arms strong enough to wrestle the deep state. >> i'm joined by one of the most influential evangelical leaders in iowa and he endorsed ron desantis back in november. the latest poll has the president support of evangelical islands at 51% and you have a great read of what is going on in iowa. do you believe the polls? >> no and i don't believe it.

the pulse does not match the polls because if it's right, everyone in my basement, there voting for trump. that's not the case. that's not the case. they're very appreciative of what he did but they always followed up with the but. and i believe we need to win and 2024 and we need to turn the page and that's where i believe there will be a break for desantis tomorrow night. >> what indications do see of the break? it's something we see based on your interactions with evangelical voters. >> this is not my first rodeo. i was there with mike huckabee and. santorum but i would say that ron desantis has by far built the best organization that i have seen in the iowa caucuses. >> wow. because ted cruz had a really good organizations. >> and now i would say that

desantis is light years ahead . and they have this thing dialed in and the people are turning it out. the people that committed the run for the desantis turnout that it will be a very good night for desantis and i think it was shocked the country. >> in terms of the operation that you have seen, they have done a lot of doorknocking . and do they have a big turnout operation for tomorrow and the weather? >> they have an incredible turnout operation to make sure they remind people to get out to caucus and getting them rides if they need to have rights. it's an incredible organization and we compared one time with ted cruz is a great organization but there fred flintstones and ron desantis is like the jetsons.

and we had a poll up about the enthusiasm of various candidates with trump is 88% enthusiasm and 32% for nikki haley. some had pointed to what they believe to be the late surge of momentum by nikki haley. it seems that a lot of these people may be independents or people who may not necessarily vote for either desantis or trump if nikki haley is not in the race. what do you think of her support? >> i see her as the modern-day mitt romney. she may galvanized the support but the key thing is they would turn around tomorrow night. with the des moines register poll i saw the enthusiasm of her supporters low and a lot of them are democrats and independents. i'm not so sure they want to got on a cold and icy and snowy night for someone who will not win the iowa caucuses and most likely not play second either. >> and they made the case that the stronger supporters and

cultural issues may not attend church services themselves and i wonder if that tracks with what you had been seeing and what that would mean politically. >> it is similar to what we were tracking and it is self identified evangelicals. have not seen a drop in attendance some of the evangelical saying they support trump. and politics does not become our religion. make sure you look higher as david said where the hope comes from it comes from the lord and not washington, d.c. also tell them to think bigger. hopefully people can keep focus where the focus needs to be and understand that politics is part of it but not all of it. >> going back to the recent poll, does it surprise you that the former president is doing so well among former voters

even though he is critical of certain state-level abortion bands with the six weeks been in florida called a terrible thing and a terrible mistake. >> i tried to read into that and president trump now has a record with three supreme court justices. he did a lot of good things. when the indictment started to come out and they started removing it from the belt and peoples hundred galvanized that it up a nice against them. they had his back as he had our back. he is not with us on the life issue right now are the gender issue. but what are you for? it's not just winning the white house but what you will do when

you win and who you will surround yourself with. we have a once-in-a-lifetime candidate with ron desantis. who has actually led on all of these things after taking the tossup state and dominating it to deep red in the mid-turn elections. i think is our best shot to win in 2024 if this is the most important election in our lifetime, we need to win. this is why i am proud to back ron desantis. >> thank you. just ahead, the ambitions to make or break presidential ambitions and will take a look at that.

>> iowa's importance does not in after monday night. every four years, key moments of the contest become embedded in the history lessons for future political candidates. >> when vermont governor howard dean came in third place 20 years ago, this was his response. >> then we go to washington, d.c. to take down the white house. >> that screen put the brakes on his bid for nomination. then there was the wildlife from florida governor ron desantis which went viral last fall. iowa has a long history of memorable moments when it comes to presidential hopefuls. at the iowa state fair, iowans devour just about anything on a stick. porkchops our winner. warehouse but iowa can candidates ride bumper cars. desantis did with his daughter while nikki haley bopped it

opted for ski ball. vivek ramaswamy launched to the iconic rap song by eminem called lose yourself. former president donald trump did not wrap but instead he danced at an iowa rally. despite his wife's request, he stopped doing that. >> she said, darling i love you. i love you but this is not presidential. you don't dance off. >> there have been other only in iowa moments like this one. in 2015 when marco rubio tried to have a from the game of football with kids but instead bonked one little boy on the head. if iowa candidates teach them anything it's that voters are listening and what they say can get them in trouble. like when mitt romney told them that corporations are people too. corporations are people.

everything that corporations are ultimately goes to people. where do you think it goes? >> and in 2020, pleading with the silent crowd for applause. >> a look free to spread the sense of hope to those that you know. come on. >> in 2007, former president barack obama also had a line that fell flat with caicos goers. on an iowa farm he noted rising supermarket prices and asked the crowd, anyone gone into whole foods and see what they charge for arugula? turns out the state of iowa did not have a whole foods at the time. obama quickly moved onto another topic although he also won the state.

>> just ahead, another major story today. it has now been 100 days since hamas launched attacks. in tel aviv they gathered w wi more t than 100 pepeople still hostage. the liveve report frfrom telel next. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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it has been 100 days since the october 7th terror attack in israel and those kidnapped from hamas were taken. 100 days of suffering for so many in gaza and in israel. in israel today, crowds out in large numbers remembering the 1200 murdered and those still hostage. hamas has not given confirmation of those that they kidnapped that their loved ones are being held or still alive. some kidnapped had severe wounds, one,s who left hand and arm was blown off while he hid in a shelter. others suffering from cancer and diabetes. not getting medicine, requiring high-level talks that are still unresolved. today, israel's defense minister said in a statement that the war will not stop, quote, until hamas is defeated. we go to tel aviv with the latest. what is the status of any

hostage negotiation, is it unknown? >> reporter: well, certainly appear to be discussions, movement towards trying to find a new deal to free some more hostages. no clear signs of progress. the only sign of progress that we have, perhaps, seen us bringing us closer is the agreement to have medication flown by qatar then to e quipt and handed over to palestinian health officials inside of gaza to give 40 hostages that israel estimates need medication to get that badly needed medication. but still, hamas will still not allow the red cross to visit those hostages. but as we hit the 100 day mark today it has been incredibly emotional time here in israel and in particular for the families of those hundred plus hostages that remain captive in gaza, a toll that these 100

days brings and also the opportunity they see at this 100 day mark to call attention to the fight for their relatives, we have seen people try to go to the border to deliver messages to their loved one over loudspeakers and here in tel aviv we have seen tens of thousands of people flocking to what has become known as hostages square across the defense ministry here in tel aviv. a 24-hour rally to call attention to the plight and we have heard emotional testimony from family members, all of this with a goal trying to raise awareness and trying to bring more pressure to benjamin netanyahu government and on the international community to get that next deal for the release of more hostages >> what is the status of the relationship between the u.s.

and benjamin netanyahu's government? >> well, publicly we still see firm affirmation or support from the united states towards israel. we watched as the secretary of state was here recently. they are in regular contact. no question that over the last month or so there has been a fraying of the ties in particular between biden and benjamin netanyahu. frustrations about the ways in which israel conducted this war, particularly as you look at us nearing the 24,000 death mark according to the palestinian ministry. and tonight, our own analyst has a report according to a u.s. official saying that the president is losing patience with benjamin netanyahu. i can tell you that i have heard those same comments from u.s. officials over the last month or so. so, the question now is, will it lead to anything different in the relationship? so far, the only sign that we have seen of fraying from a public standpoint is the fact

that these two leaders have not spoken since december 23rd and when blinken was here last week all he got out of that visit was an agreement by the israelis to send a u.n. team to conduct an assessment. little else of the biden administration acts have come through in terms of the israeli government. >> thank you very much. next, remembering the iowa principal who died today more than a week after acting heroically to save students during a mass shooting.

. iowa prepares for tomorrow's caucuses, the city of perry is mourning the loss of a principal who acted selflessly during a school shooting when put himself in harm's way when he was shot multiple times, his daughter said he tried to talk to the shooter that gave students time to escape the cafeteria. he worked for the school district for two decades, he wife wrote, he fought hard and gave us 10 days that we will treasure forever. also killed in the january 4th shooting