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bret baier had a chance to interview donald trump last night, and you'll see that exclusive shortly on "mediabuzz." just two days from the new hampshire primary which which the media say could be nikki haley's last chance to stop donald trump, but after trump's land are slide win in monday's iowa caucuses with just over half the vote, a journalistic counterspin is emerging. ah, what's the big deal? it wasn't that great a win. >> an incumbent pulling a 51 in iowa caucuses, not exactly great. 30 of the party, it doesn't feel like voters feel like if he's convicted, they don't want to support him. >> yes, he won in iowa, but he really won with much smaller turnout. and enthusiasm is the way that trump wins. >> the big winner, of course, donald trump. he got over 50% of the vote. the big loser, of course, the republican party who is strapped to the republican loser, seven-time loser e. >> donald trump won the caucuses by historic margins, sorry, joe

scarborough. despite being far outspent in advertising, despite the media onslaught against him -- >> a massive slap in the face, isn't it, to all the obsessive trump haters and washington and the swamp, all the far-left prosecutors that have weaponized and politicized our system of justice. howard: msnbc refused to air one word of trump's victory speech with rachel maddow insisting that wasn't out of spite. >> there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things. and that is a fundamental truth of our business and who we are. howard: on cnn, jake tapper cut away from the speech when trump started attacking illegal immigrants, but to his credit or, talked up the former president's win. >> we have an invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming in to our can country -- >> donald trump declaring victory with a historically strong showing in the iowa caucuses. >> nbc and cnn refuse fused to air my victory speech.

think of it, because they are crooked, they're dishonest and, frankly, they were have their licenses or whatever they have taken away. howard: ron desantis finishing second and nikki haley third, msnbc's joy joy reid called her a victim of racism. >> she's still a brown lady that's got to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant. >> joy reid lives in a different america than i do. we're not a racist country. howard: clearly, many anti-trump pundits unhappy with his iowa triumph while more balanced commentators insisting his coronation is now inevitable. i'm howard kurtz and this is "mediabuzz." ♪ howard: with the white-hot spotlight on new hampshire, abc and cnn were forced to cancel their debates when haley made

clear she wasn't showing up just to trade insults with desantis. >> they are very aware that i have said is donald trump going to be on that stage. they need to be asking him. >> i don't blame her, because the last time she debated ron desantis in iowa, i think it hurt her. >> unless donald trump deals over and dies tomorrow, he's going to be the republican nominee and, quite frankly, given how they behaved even if he were to keel over and die tomorrow, they would weekend at bernie's him and say we want him anyway. howard: joining us now to analyze the coverage, marry katherine hamm, cohost of the podcast getting hammered. and in los angeles, leslie marshall, the radio host and fox news contributor. mary katherine, what do you make of some liberal pundits trying to downgrade a 51% victory for donald trump in iowa and others now saying if nikki haley can't beat him on tuesday in new hampshire, it's all over? >> well, look, sometimes a w's a w, right in and regardless of where you are on trump, you have to admit that,s right? if the margin was big.

i think here's the thing, look, some people say the 50% is not a great number for a guy who's quote-unquote, an incumbent. but the question we've been trying to answer in the analysis is was he going to operate as an incumbent, or was this going to look like a more traditional contested primary. and i think in iowa -- new hampshire may be different, but in the iowa, they treated him like an incumbent. howard: he is a semi incumbent. it was an odd situation. do do media have the old love-hate relationship with trump? he's great for clicks and ratings, they obsess ily covered his courthouse appearances this past week and the week before, and just maybe they think he's the one candidate joe biden can beat. [laughter] >> well, look, when you look at any media with outlet, they're a business with. and to media, the business is about money, and ratings equal money. so they have to know their audience, right? look, i think it's not good journalistically to cut away from, you know, who may be the republican nominee's speech, you

know, which two networks did. but at the same time, maybe that was beneficial if the audience. and like you said, it's love-hate, howie. because if you remember, you know, just a few years ago everybody was carrying everything he said. every rally. and i think some people were like, okay, you know, we're over there, and they're we're -- we're going to do it differently this time around. and you're definitely seeing that. i think you i carry some, and i think it's okay to pull away if you think what anyone is saying is not going to be helpful to your network -- howard: i i disagree with that, but we are going to come back to that in just a moment. mary katherine, look, nikki haley was facing increasingly sharp criticism for not being -- first of all, she canceled the debates. she kind of stuck to the script at these town halls. but the last two, three days she has been, gone a little harder at donald trump. for example, in this had to do with trump mixing up nikki haley as well as -- with nancy pelosi

in talking about january 6th. obviously, he meant pelosi. let's roll it. >> i'm not saying anything derogatory, but when you're dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this. howard: she's also called him unhinged in recent days. >> look, this does seem like a turn for her. here's one of the issues. i think debating is good for voters. i hate that trump didn't do it. but here's the important thing about some of these normal political measures that i look at and that matter to me, they didn't matter to people in iowa. it didn't matter that trump didn't engage as butch. -- as much. it didn't matter that he didn't debate. you have to bring that into this equation. i think the trick for all of these folks running against trump halls always been running too close to him, vivek doesn't help. too far away from him, christie doesn't help.

desantis was kind of in the middle, that didn't help. and now haley's e trying to find her balance, and this is going a little bit more in the christie direction, probably for the folks of new hampshire. but will it matter when she gets to south carolina? [laughter] howard: well, south carolina's a big question because it's, of course, her home state. leslie, your thoughts on this. >> look, i, you know, if -- why debate ron desantis when lee not even in the room numbers wise in new hampshire? that's the case. who is she going after? donald trump. and that's why she's going after donald trump. i'm sorry, with all due respect to nikki haley, she says whatever she needs at the time. when she's running for vp, which is maybe the case, she's not going to say anything negative about donald trump. but now she wants to win new hampshire, otherwise it's other. we know if you written. iowa and new hampshire, you're going to be your party's nominee, and the numbers are very close. so it's donald trump, and she needs to top him in new hampshire or it's over for her. certainly over for desantis. and like my governor said, gavin

newsom, about ron desantis, you're going to be pulling out and supporting donald trump in the race just weeks from now. and that's what's going to happen to her if she doesn't win this. this is the end for her, and she knows it, so she's going after her only point in this state. howard: i'm not as bold as you guys, i'm not going to make a prediction, but i do want to come back to what ray rachel maddow said. she says, well, he's just going to lie. it wasn't like he was lying. and, you know, here he wins the first contest. they cover it obsessively, and suddenly, you know, they criticize trump all day long and he doesn't even get, you know, 10, 20 minutes to make his case after which they certainly could criticize him for the next 23 hours. >> right. i'm with leslie that journal journalistically i don't think this was a good decision. he won if the margin is large, put him on the air for his speech. the other thing is he shows a real trump end tendency here which is indicative of his entire future campaign which is to turn a win into an l when he

makes that comment about their broadcast licenses which he admits he doesn't even know if that's what they have. this is a perfect trump moment, you've won the argument. mad dow in particular is making the argument that putting untrue things are not good for her, he should make a russiagate comment, but instead he goes into their licenses. howard: yeah. i'll just quickly toss it to leslie. and so let me first play something that the former president said this week in new hampshire. >> i'm sure the supreme court is going to say we're not going to take the vote away from the people. now, biden is a threat to democracy. ing he's an absolute threat to democracy. number one, he's grossly incompetent. howard: so, of course, that's the theme of the democratic campaign which is that donald trump is a threat to democracy, things that he's said that have been interpreted as authoritarian in nature. and he was talking in the first part of that sound bite about his appeal to the supreme court. he says it'll be bedlam, leslie,

if he's turned down. i don't think he will be, but he made a mild if prediction. what do you make of him making those comments about cnn which, by the way, doesn't have a license because it's not regulated by the fcc as a cable network, and nbc? do you take that threat seriously? >> no. [laughter] no. i mean, this is -- no. this is donald trump's style, right? you know, if he doesn't like what somebody does whether it's a network, whether it's a person, whether he's running against them or just doesn't like them or they used to work for him and now they don't like him, he just throws them under the bus. that's e what he does. and, honestly, it's working for him, right in not debating and insulting everybody got him elected one time. it didn't get him elected the second time. i'm certainly hoping it won't get him elected the third time, because i do think he'll be the nominee. no, i wouldn't take that seriously at all. i would agree with your tiny bet on the supreme court, and i do agree that there would be bedlam, because, i mean, you

know, there are supporters and then there are -- and i don't want to call it a cult, but, you know, i would say that, you know, it's a cult-like support, you know? there was one time where he said i could shoot somebody on madison avenue, right? if i'm thinking, you know, maybe he's right there. [inaudible conversations] howard: slight, light -- >> this is just his style to just go off on everything and -- howard: slight new york collection, it was fifth avenue, but -- >> i'm sorry. i'm so sorry, one block over. howard: you're in l.a -- [laughter] i'm going to make -- >> i walk across those blocks. howard: i'm going to make it a medium bet now on the supreme court based on what you said. the former president in recent days calling nikki haley by her first name, her indian name. nikki is actually her given name and always has been. but do you think that's fair game? he's even questioned whether she's an american citizen which legal experts say, of course she is.

born in this country. >> i can say that trump's rhetoric is ineffective and shameful and and he shouldn't do it all day. and he's been doing it for many years and, you know what? it doesn't matter. because when people listen to him, that is sometimes when the. they want him to be -- they want to be entertained and using nicknames, or in this case sort of a racial shading. it's what he's doing. he's entertaining folks in his gross way. howard: right. you're saying his loyal supporters that he does have an iron grip on, a large chunk of the party, don't see it the way you and i might see it, oh, why is he doing that? he shouldn't do that, it's out of bounds. >> him being gross is part of the deal. but here's the problem, is that you chase off as you continue to do from the gop for three cycles now suburban, educated mom voters who find this and january 6th and his 2020 talk absolutely radioactive, and they are continue to find it that way. howard: leslie, just briefly with trump seeming to confuse nikki haley with nancy pelosi, are the media now jumping on

every little misstatement he makes to try to kind of even the scales with joe biden? >> i be joe biden for a second? hold my beer. i mean, seriously, every time joe biden blinks or says something or trips over a year e even though he's known to be a stutterer, it's dementia, it's he's too old. so, i'm sorry, i think it's fair game, you know? pot, meet kettle, okay? you know, with regard to people getting older. i'm not as old as them, and sometimes i'll call one kid the other name. i mean, it happens. we all do it. howard: yeah, okay. >> but i want to touch upon -- howard: we're running out of time. ten seconds. >> okay. ten seconds, you got it. barack hussein obama, not born in the united states. it worked for him then, he's trying it again now. and who knows, it could be effective. the numbers show it's effective with his base. howard: all right. ahead, bret baier's exclusive interview with donald trump. but when we come back, did the

network skew things up by -- screw things up by quickly calling iowa for the formerth president? v l ♪ network. (ella) we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (jen) that's enterprise intelligence. (vo) it's your vision, it's your verizon. ♪ ♪ mom! mom! every day can be extraordinary with rich, creamy, delicious fage total yogurt.

howard: it was just about half an hour after the iowa caucuses began that cnn, fox, msnbc and the ap all a projected donald trump the winners, you see there with just 1% of the actual vote in. and ron desantis didn't like that. enter they even called the election before people even got a chance to vote! howard: marie katherine, does ron desantis have a point for cable networks the call the iowa results so soon? it's not just unfair, but he called it electioner interference. >> i think he does have a real complaint here. i thought we had decided many years ago that we don't call while people are voting. i think there was an attempt to make it, okay, the doors are closed, people are in there

doing their business. howard: yeah. >> if it's not a law, you can't call it that early, so the other campaigns -- howard: in other words, the call was correct. >> but the margins matter. the margins matter for a contested primary move manying forward, and when that's the case, you should be very careful about that. and i think it was too soon. howard: leslie, c cbs tonity opening -- dokoupil criticized the networks saying the call did not go over well. what's your take on it? obviously, nobody else could come to the caucuses once the doors closed at about 7:30 eastern. >> i agree with mary katherine. i mean, you know, you have both democrats and republicans agreeing on this. you've got to wait until at least the polls are closed. that's what we have in most elections, and they should do the same at a caucus because, you know, first of all, not just for accuracy, but you have so much distrust of the media, you have distrust of the electoral process, and that that's going to lead e to words like ron

desantis had used and trump used, stolen election, things like that. it's not helpful to the candidates, to the party, even to who ends up being the nominee to the process and certainly not to the voters in that terrible weather who were waiting, and i'm sure some of them walked away and some of those people that a walked away could have been desantis or haley supporters. >> or the people giving speeches. >> and we'll never know really. howard: yeah, yeah. >> people who are getting alerts that somebody already won. howard: a rare moment of consensus, i love it. so the entire media universe said that ron desantis had to finish second in iowa. but -- put all his chips on it, it was sort of a one-state campaign, and when he did, the pundits started saying, well, that's nice, but you should drop can out now. >> look, i mean, i think it's fair to critique the road ahead, right, and to say, welsh where does this pan out both for nikki haley and ron desantis. and because trump the's win was rather strong and the second and the third were underwelling,

yeah, would have -- underwhelming, you have to wonder how long can that momentum last. i think that's a fair recalculation based on the margins. but again, the margins matter. [laughter] howard: so, leslie, ron desantis finally admitted to hugh hewitt on radio that what i've been saying for over six months, he should have made the media rounds as soon as he got into the race. and a couple months ago he changed course and then he went on lots of networks including cnn, including msnbc. but not just to have stayed in a cocoon for so long. he said, you know, i made a mistake, i should have done that earlier. why did he think that he could run for president and just stiff most to have national press? -- stiff most of the national press? >> i don't know, maybe because he was still telling people in florida that he was going to be their governor. i don't know. it could be that the or he could know that -- if you notice, howie, when he made the rounds, his numbers weren't going up,

you know? he just -- there's a likability factor that every candidate, democrat, republican, male or female, and ron desantis clearly does not have that likability factor certainly among his supporters, but, you know, we've seen his numbers go down. he is not the guy that a lot of people thought, you know, months ago that was going to surpass a donald trump. and with regard to iowa, look, he came in second, but nobody remembers who came in second in the long run, and it's the winner who gets the prize. it's that first place. however, you have to make a decision when you're ron desantis. you know you're not going to be the nominee. who do you want to lead your party, nikki haley or donald trump? howard: that is the question. >> many of his supporters will go to nikki haley, so some people might say he's being selfish staying in the race. howard: let me come back to president biden. we talked to leslie about a him. after those two big speeches after he talked about president trump in very harsh personal terms, the past week or so he's

been basically invisible. he goes around and gives speeches about economics, programs he passed. doesn't seem to be helping him. >> i think they're both going to be mostly invisible -- howard: what? >> the fact that trump didn't debate in the primaries, why is he going to debate in the general? i think it's a disservice to voters, but i think it's the press tent that we've set. and, frankly, trump's speaking less and being less visible on the networks. it's served him. he has a magical ability for more exposure to serve him and less exposure to serve him, so i'm not sure why you don't campaign on both sides. howard: whether you're right or not, it seems to me that the media will talk about trump -- >> true. howard: in that sense, he's never invisible. mary katharine ham, leslie marshall, thanks for a lively discussion. just moments away from the donald trump interview is. but up next, the former president dominating the coverage again by stopping at another new york trial. ♪

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howard: right after his iowa victory, donald trump spent two days in a hanna manhattan courtroom for the second defamation suit of writer e. jean carroll. once again, hours and hours of news coverage. >> the man who just won the iowa caucuses spent his day in a courtroom regarding a case in which he was found liable of sexual abuse. howard: trump sparred with judge louis cap lane inside and -- kaplan inside and continued his attack with reporters. >> he's a trump hating guy, and it's obvious to everyone in the court. it's a disgrace, frankly, what's happening. it's a disgrace. howard: joining us now, not a nasty guy, griff jenkins -- [laughter] fox news anchor and correspondent. why did trump voluntarily go to the second event jean carroll deaf nation trial and when the judge was admonishing him from

making comments, he then threatened to kick trump out of the courtroom, and the former president said, i would love that? >> because this is the playbook, howie. there are, step back for a second, four criminal trials, three civil ones. it is clear that the courtroom whether these judges want to accept it or not, the courtroom has now become the campaign trail for donald trump. howard: absolutely. >> and he's painted himself in all of them, facts be damned, as the victim of political persecution. that is why. you look at the civil fraud case, the judge said, well, i'll give you five minutes, but here's the rules, you can't attack me. what's he do? spends five minutes attacking him. this judge, judge kaplan -- and there's two cases -- howard: yeah. i'll explain in a second. >> in this case the judge tried to, you know, restrict him, and what's he do? go right outside and bash the judge. howard: the reason i think he would love it is because that would lay the ground for appeal if the judge did throw him out. trump has are repeatedly denied the allegation that he

harassedcare aal -- carroll in the '90s. she viewed again -- sued again because he kept it up. i'm still not sure how denouncing the judge helps his case, or is it aimed at a broader argument? >> it's aimed at his campaign. this is about getting him elected president again, right? so you have to understand that. what's interesting specifically about the e. jean carroll case is that there's an irony in that what literally got him $5 million liable in the first one, we'll see what this judge -- we may find out come tomorrow what's going to be the civil damages here, what got him in trouble attacking her or is literally what he's continuing to do. and it's going to be fascinating to watch. whether or not at his rallies if he continues to attack e. jean carroll, denying anything which he's already been found liable for in attacking her. howard: meanwhile, the former

president appealing to the supreme court the moves by maine and colorado to kick him off the ballot and saying it would be chaos and bedlam if the court doesn't you hold his bid for -- uphold his bid for presidential immunity. and then on truth social is, any president must have immunity. any mistake would be met almost certainly by indictment. even events that cross the line must father-in-lawed total unity or it'll -- fall under total immunity. he also made the analysis to a rogue cop. how does that play with the public? >> well, the key part of that is a president deserves immunity. he's an ex-president right now, ask and that's why you're going to see him continue to push the envelope that he is afforded immunity that we will soon find out in the case here in washington what happens. i think what's fascinating is in every instance he has turned his cases into a political

advantageous position to be in. and immunity's going to be perhaps the next phase. howard: yeah. and it will actually affect future presidents and not just donald trump. griff jenkins, good to see you. next on "mediabuzz", bret baier reveals more of his interview with the former president, and you'll only see that here. stay witwhh us.gh ♪? ♪ (vo) once-weekly mounjaro could help. mounjaro helps your body regulate blood sugar and can help you eat less food. 3 out of 4 people reached an a1c of less than 7%. plus people lost up to 25 pounds. mounjaro is not for people with type 1 diabetes or children. don't take mounjaro if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop mounjaro and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, vision changes, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. taking mounjaro with sulfonylurea

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howard: donald trump is leading the polls in new hampshire by a lot, as he would say, and we have a brand new interview with him. joining us now from bedford, new hampshire, is bret baier. anchor and editor of "special report." you asked donald trump about his recent criticism of nikki haley, and that led to a couple of fascinating exchanges. >> yeah. howe howie, it was a pull aside at a rally here in new hampshire. he's add -- had a number of them. his rallies seem to be bigger as far as attendance. nikki haley has a lot more events, but it is getting more and more personal between the two of them we've seen in recent

days. nikki haley, the former south carolina governor, saying he he may not be mentally fit after screwing up her name and nancy pelosi's name the other day. and the elbows are a little sharp. i asked specifically the former president about some of that. take a listen to this exchange. when you said yesterday that she was a globbist fool, you know, back when she was your u.n. ambassador, you did praise her quite a bit in that job even when she was leaving that job. so she pushes back and refers to those times. >> well, look, she is a globalist. i've always known that about her. and our country cannot be globalist. we don't even have that choice anymore. we are $35 trillion in debt, and we have to take care of ourselves first. i had no wars going on. we defeated isis, i defeated isis in a matter of months. they said it would take four or five years, i did it in a a few months, and i was taking everybody out. it was the opposite. i rebuilt the military, but the opposite. and we really had peace through

strength in this country. but i got to know everybody, and i got to know nikki very well. she was not a great negotiator. she had certain things that she was good at, but she wouldn't be good for this job, i can tell you that right now. >> so when she points back to your praising her and now she says that you're using a nickname based on her given name, nimrada, why do you do that? >> i do that with a lot of people like hutchinson is. he was polling at zero for one year, and i called him rather than asa, i called him ada hutchinson, and it just felt good to me. with her, a little bit of a takeoff on her name, her name, wherever she may come from -- >> what do you mean by that? >> it's a little bit of a take off. i look at her name, i look at a lot of people -- i do a lot of names for people like pocahontas. my mother said i look like an indian, so i started calling her

pocahontas. some people say i'm very good at that. i can't get into too many because many of those people that i named like that are republicans, and we don't want to bring that up. no, it's a take off. i have fun with it. and sometimes, to tell you the truth, it's a very effective tool. >> and when she says that you feel threatenedded and that's when you do it, you say what? >> she said i'd never run against him, he's a great president and i would never run against him. i just put up a tape. and, you know, just so you know, she's way behind, you know? you're talking like, oh, gee, we're concerned with her. i'm not concerned at all all. i think we're going to win really big here. we won extremely big here in iowa. >> it's so interesting the former president has a lot of confidence here. howard: yes. i think that's a fair observation is. pretty interesting to hear him say, oh, i just make up nicknames, because he's taken a lot of media flak for bringing up her indian name. nikki is her given middle name. he even has questioned e her

american citizenship. >> right. and that's why i said what do you mean by that. howard: yeah. >> and we talked about a number of different elements of this and also he also talked about the mental capacity charge. he went back to his answer about taking a number of tests -- howard: right. >> -- cognitive tests. listen, this is going to get probably uglier as you get closer to tuesday. what's interesting is that he's not talking about governor desantis. he is not talking about a threat from him at all, and there's another part of the interview here where i ask, paint the picture of the rest are of the race. take a listen. so paint this out. how far does this go? where do you see it going? what happens on the trail here? >> well, i hear that ron desanctimonious just canceled "meet the press" tomorrow. that's a big deal, you know. i heard he canceled "face the

nation," he was going to do that over the next short period of time he canceled that. and he's canceling everything. history says that's usually not a good sign for a campaign. so i see probably he's getting out. look, he did very poorly. although he did much better than north carolina key, quite a bit -- nikki, i would think he's getting out. i don't see a path for her either. >> well, he didn't just cancel on "meet the press," he also canceled on cnn and also with me, and i was disappointed. jim acosta on cnn, they went after him. cnn invited him into their house electronically speaking, and the guest and host all ripped him to shreds, boring, terrible campaign and so forth. i thought that was classless after a inviting someone into your home. campaign isn't run are for the benefit of the media. he wants to be able to talk to voters in new hampshire, he'd be able to. but it was interesting that he made that call because he was kind of blowing off new hampshire where he's way down in

the single digits. >> that's right. i think there is an event here today that we're going to make our way to, desantis event, a meet and greet. but these vent ises have dramatically -- events have dramatically slunk as far as the number. there's not a lot of postings about future things on the desantis web site that we can see, and we're talking to the campaign. it's -- i don't know that it's all coming to an end as the former president says, but clearly it is going to be tough with money and momentum as you're looking at five -- 5, 6% here in minnesota -- in new hampshire. howard: you also asked donald trump about his vp pick, and he said there was a 25% chance that he would pick the person he's thinking the of, i'm thinking elise stefanik, he didn't say the name. but he also said this is a good person, not a surprise, but he also a said the running mate doesn't have an impact on the election, and i thought that was fascinating. after january 6th, republicans tried to hold trump accountable for what had happened with the

capitol riot. it was the sense that he wouldn't run again, and now here we are, and he is threatening to run away with this race and getting establishment republicans to support him. what happened? >> well, you know, the party realized his power with the base, and the polls don't lie. we saw what happened in iowa. remember, that's 110,000 people, but you look around the country, support for the president increased, the former president, and support for the current president really weakened. this current president is in a bad spot in approval ratingsing on a number of issues and, arguably, as the former president makes the case especially for immigration, there's been a rallying around his cause. i do think there are still question marks out there inside the republican party when it comes to his legal challenges, when it comes do he really win the general election, and that is what nikki haley is trying to tap into here in new hampshire.

whether there's a path from a win in new hampshire to south carolina to move on, it's an uphill battle for anybody opposing president trump. howard: everybody looking for a path. bret baier, excellent interview. thanks so much for joining us from new hampshire. >> you bet. howard: after the break, growing criticism of nikki haley for being too cautious, at least until now. shannon bream weighs in from new hampshire. ♪ ♪ (vo) explore the world the viking way from the quiet comfort of elegant small ships with no children and no casinos. we actually have reinvented ocean voyages, designing all-inclusive experiences for the thinking person. viking - voted world's best by both travel + leisure and condé nast traveler. learn more at viking.com.

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howard: there is no substitute for being on the ground and covering politics. joins now from bedford, new hampshire, shannon bream, of course, the host of "fox news sunday." shannon, what's the feel on the ground? because it seems to me, it's missing the intensity the of all the new hampshire primaries i have covered despite the massive media buildup. in fact, politico has declared the primary a dud. what do you think? >> you're right. i mean, this isn't even what we felt in iowa and the excitement that was going on there. everything's been waiting and building to these first contests in the country, and there's interesting things going on on both sides of the aisle. today we got new polls this morning that show president trump a clear front-runner here, but there's a secret issue here in new hampshire that could actually upend the polls. it's the fact that there are more undeclared voters for either party. they're the biggest group here in new hampshire. they can vote in the gop or the democratic primary. that could, you know, cook surprises into what we have seen in the polling results. there's also the issue that the

incumbent president is not on his party's ballot, so there's a big push to try to get folks out to do a write-in campaign. they don't want the opt ecs, i think, the white house, of waking up and saying the president lost his own party primary. people don't understand why. howard: which is not really a primary if because he's not form amalie participating. nikki haley, i think, for a lot of days was not making much news. she tended to stick to the script, always say when asked about trump that chaos follows him. but now in just the last few days, the form former governor; i think, has been toughening her stance. let me play for you something that she said the other day. >> what does it say when we've got the media deciding who's a moderate and who's a key, but the fact that donald trump's lying, it's another reason why he won't debate me, because he knows i'll call him out on it. howard: so everybody hates the media. but in addition, has it been frustrating to cover her campaign because she tends to, you know, she kind of presses a

button and has an answer to just about any question you can think of? >> well, you know, the gloves are off with these guys, so it's going to get increasingly heated and nasty. but, yeah, we all want to push the candidates so we get something beyond those initial talking points. i think we are seeing more of their personality now that they know it is crunch time, and they do have to go more directly at their opponents or they're not going to convince anybody. there are some undecideds here. nikki haley has had this critique the entire time that she's played it safe. she's not been super offensive to president trump, but also wanting to appeal to mad rates and others that she -- moderates and others that she thinks the gop should bring into the tent. the governor gloves are off now because it is due or die time. she can't make that straddle, she's going to have to go after the front-runner if she hopes no maker money up any ground. howard: i think that's a good point. and in 2008, hillary clinton teared up in a coffee shop in new hampshire, and it was such a moment that helped her win that

particular primary,s although not the nomination, obviously. ron desantis, i want to clarify, canceling these sunday show interviews including with me kid it -- did it because his campaign decided to go back to new hampshire today. he has an event tonight and through the primary, but i'm so the of puzzled by it because it seemed like he was skipping it, and he's mired in single digits. high why do you think he's coming back? >> you know what, howie e? as far as we know, there's a 5 p.m. event here in new hampshire on the schedule and not anything else yet on sunday. maybe the desantis team can update that. if you want to pick up any delta tates here which is what they say their long-term strategy is, you have to get to 10% in the gop from primary, are finish or you don't get any delegates. maybe there's some part of them that thinks it's worth a last minute push here to try to pick up, you know, another 3 or 4 points because that could mean delegates for them. and they say that has always been the plan.

they want to stick around, they're going to do nevada which not everybody and, obviously, south carolina. but he's got to get to the 10% if he wants any delegates here. howard: right. it's really early in the process despite the pundits saying trump's got this, this is over. i don't understand why because journalists like to cover campaigns. they want the whole thing to have been over in eight days? quick thought. >> well, of course, we like the drama, and i think there will be more to come, yeah, i think so. howard: that was quick. quicker e than i expected. shannon, it's always good talking to you. [laughter] >> good to see you, howie. anytime. howard: still to come, alec baldwin indicted again and "sports illustrated" dumping its entire staff. ♪ i use my freedom unlimited card. earning on my favorite soup. aaaaaah. got it. earn big with chase freedom unlimited. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. feeling ughh from a backed up gut?

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howard: alec are baldwin has been indicted again in that

tragic accidental shooting of his cinematographer on the movie set of rust charged with involuntary manslaughter. you recall baldwin was charged last year, but the case was dropped three months later, and he's seen reached a settlement with the family. prosecutors say new tests show the trigger on the end, which was supposed to have dummy ammo, had to have been pulled which baldwin denies. could it be that local authorities just want to go after a famous movie star? the entire staff of sports illustrated, once such a sophisticated and storied magazine, has been laid off. parent if company authentic brands revoked its publishing license after s.i. missed a payment of nearly $4 million. this was a truly great publication with terrific writers over 70 years, and the foul here was committed by an owner who clearly doesn't care about journalism. i grew up reading it. lloyd austin is out of the hospital but still not back at the pentagon. we wish the defense secretary well in his battle against

prostate cancer e. but we're now learning that the cover-up of his illness from the media and the white house began when his aide called 911. >> i am requesting an ambulance. can i ask can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? we're trying to remain a little subtle. howard: so subtle that president biden wasn't told for many days that the man in the nuclear chain of command was in the hospital. the british press usually learns little to nothing about the british family's health as buckingham palace remains tight-lipped, so the media were stunned when two medical announcements were made on the same day. kate underwent abdominal surgery and will remain in the hospital for two weeks. she asked for privacy to maintain a normal life for her children. and more headlines as king charles will be hospitalized for an enlarged prostate. clearly, the royals wanted to make this a one-day story and bloody well move on.

nbc's streaming service peacock spent $110 million for the rights to an npl playoff game -- f nfl playoff. the catch was it wasn't free. you had to spend $6 to sign up. well, the gamble worked. 23 million people paid to watch the game, clear upset. axios reports this one with football game drew a record 30% of all internet traffic. most streamed vent of all time. event of all time. succession, which i love, almost had a clean sweep at the emmys. the hbo show winning for best actor the, best actress and best supporting actor and best drama series for the third time and yet it was the lowest rated emmy program of all time. just 4.3 million viewers. maybe that's because of the mostly unfinney skits while the winners -- unfunny skits while the winners were rushed off the show because of the acceptance speeches. what people really want to hear, they were cut short.

>> this giant hook comes out and takes you away. i'm going to be so fast. see, it's running out. okay, wrap it up, okay, yes. okay. howard: what's the rush? the program goes for hours. why couldn't they give all the winners, at least the big winners, a chance to talk? that's it for this edition of "mediabuzz." i'm howard kurtz. you can subscribe to media buzz meter. join the conversation with many others, we have a good time in that situation. and as a journalist, i am just really happy that we've been able to cover iowa lastly, new hampshire this week. it kind of gets the blood moving and all the prognosticators say things that we want to process and hold the media accountable for the job that they do. this is the time when i say we're back here next sunday, 11 eastern, with the only media analysis show on national television. ♪ unlimited hotspot data. so, no matter what, i'm running this kitchen.

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