♪ amna: good evening. geoff: on the newshour tonight, on the eve of of the two-year anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine, you speak to a top state department official and a ukrainian soldier about the state of the war. >> we have nothing to lose. if we lose the war, we will lose everything. amna: the boyfriend of the dual russian american citizen speaks out after she was arrested in russia on charges of treason. geoff: with nikki haley

struggling to close the gap with donald trump, a look at tomorrow's south carolina primary. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style. all with cunard's white stars service. announcer: the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy

and the robber and virginia schiller foundation. >> the john s and james l night foundation fostering informed and engaged foundation -- communities. more at kf.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the "newshour." ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. the biden administration unveiled a new set of sanctions against russia to punish it are

there for the full scale invasion of ukraine that began two years ago tomorrow. geoff: the sanctions are also meant to target pressure for the death of alexei navalny who died in an arctic prison one week ago from a cause still unknown. i spoke with the u.s. undersecretary of state for political affairs, victoria nuland about the state of the war two years on welcome back to the newshour. as the world prepares to mark the second anniversary of vladimir putin's ukraine invasion, ukraine's counter intensive -- counteroffensive has stalled. additional funding is stuck in the gop led house and russia is showing no signs of quitting. what is the outlook? >> you are not wrong that these are tough days for ukraine. and as you have said, they had

to come out of the area. there were soldiers on the front line with only 20 bullets per day to defend themselves and this is why the administration is pushing so hard for this additional $60 billion for ukraine. the ukrainians need it if they are going to continue to defend the line and push back the russians. with this money we think they can make serious gains particularly by enhancing some of the asymmetric techniques they have been using but we need to support them just as the europeans have just given them additional funds. geoff: mike johnson has refused to bring up a senate passed package it leaves for a quick vote. is there a way for the administration to get that aid absent action by congress? >> i would start by reminding that this bill passed

overwhelmingly in the senate with 70 senators supporting it. they understand that as much as this is about ukraine's ability to survive as a democratic state , it is also about the larger principles of free and international order that benefits the united states. if we don't stand with ukraine and vladimir putin wins then dictators all over the world will take note and get hungry with their own territorial aspirations. we need to pass this money and the american people broadly understand that. we are hopeful that they will tell their members when they are home during this recess how much they support this money. and we are confident that it will pass. geoff: president biden announced more than 500 sanctions on russia, the largest tranche since the conflict started. is this a tacit agreement that

admission that the previous sanctions have not worked -- is this a tacit admission that the previous sanctions have not worked? . let me start with your premise that the previous sanctions have not worked. russia has become a pariah state around the world thrown out of the international banking system and now so desperate for weapons but it has to go to countries like north korea and iran to get them. but the russians are widely and in the last six months -- are wily and in the last six months they have found other ways. the sanctions look at closing down further russia's access to credit and finance. it also punishes for the death of the leading opposition figure, navalny, at the hands of

vladimir putin and his prison guards and is sanctions those involved in the abduction of ukrainian children into russia. it is a massive package partly because we have to stanch this invasion and we have far more targets now as we understand better how to stanch the russian industrial complex. geoff: why should it take an event like the death of alexei navalny to prompt this type of sanctions? couldn't some of this have happened two years ago at least to stop the flow of technology into russia's village erie complex that go into building the kind of missiles that kill ukrainians? >> we did sentient technology from around the world two years ago just -- we did sentient technology from around the world two years ago. russia has found ways to evade those sanctions by going for

third markets or buying a billion washing machines and then taking out the computer chips that we have denied them in other ways. so this is a tightening of those tensions as russia adjust and we are confident they will have a very profound impact. the other thing that is happening and this is quite worrying is that russia has been willing to intensify its economic and security relationship with china in fact becoming increasingly dependent on china. and that is how it is fueling its war machine. it is also been willing to put the vast majority of its own economic stimulus into the war effort so it is starving russians of investment in education and in their own future all in service of vladimir putin's imperial ambitions. geoff: as we wrap up our conversation, you said you are confident that the a package --

that the aid package will pass congress. there is a question of what good will additional aid do? if the u.s. continues to provide ukraine the same sorts of weapons, why would that not lead to a further stalemate? >> first of all, this aid will allow ukraine to do four things, fight, it will allow them to build a highly deterrent military for the future so they will increasingly be able to stand on their own feet in security terms. it will help them recover and get more of their own people home and rebuild their tax base so that there is less economic support they need from the rest of the world. and it will also help them reform and become a more european and democratic country. with this money on the

battlefield, first and foremost it will ensure ukraine can hold the line but they are getting increasingly proficient at asymmetric weapons and i expect as i said in key have a couple weeks ago that if we can provide this -- in kyiv, a couple weeks ago, that ukraine will really be able to rebuild a 21st-century military. geoff: victoria nuland is the undersecretary of political affairs at the state department. thank you for your insights tonight. >> thank you. ♪ amna: in the days other headlines, chuck schumer made a surprise visit to ukraine to reaffirm america's support for the war effort. the trip came as the bipartisan aid bill for ukraine remain

stalled in the house after passing in the senate. he was joined by four other democratic senators. in the middle east, palestinian leaders are rejecting is really prime minister netanyahu's proposed postwar plan for god's out. it was presented late yesterday and it open and a control for security on the strip. gaza officials say idf airstrikes have killed at least 100 palestinians since yesterday. a survivor described one horrifying overnight attack in rafah. >> we were sleeping. we woke up to the sound of the bombardment. we rushed to find the remains of people scattered in the street. it was terrifying. amna: u.s. secretary of state antony blinken condemned the

expansion of israeli settlements within palestinian territories. his comments marked a return to the stance that the u.s. has held for decades but had shifted under the trump administration. >> new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace and they are inconsistent with international law. our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion. and this only weakens and does not strengthen israeli security. amna: the u.s. military said they destroyed several houthi attack drones and anti-ship crews missiles in the sea near yemen. back in this country, alabama governor kay ivey says she will support legislation to protect in vitro fertilization treatment in the wake of her states controversial soaking court ruling. last week's decision maintained frozen embryos could be considered children under state

law. several clinics have caused their treatments. the state attorney general says she does -- they do not -- a jury in new york has found that the national rifle association mismanaged its finances and engaged in lavish spending. it also said the group's former leader violated his duties and cost the nra more than $5 million. a new report from the u.n. human rights office is warning sexual violence committed during the ongoing conflict in sudan may amount to war crimes. it cites at least 118 cases of sexual violence over an eight month. . at least 19 of the victims are children. the turmoil began last april when clashes broke out between rival forces in khartoum. the u.s. and south korea staged a show of -- it was an apparent response to north korea's speech

of weapons tests. advanced of 35 fighter jets many deployed by the u.s. maneuvered through the sky for missile interception drills. the north has launched six rounds of missile tests this year. in kenya -- hundreds of mourners turned out for the 24-year-old's burial near his home town including the president. he died in a car crash earlier this month. he broke the world marathon record last october in the chicago marathon. and trading was light on wall street today. the dow jones gained 62 points. the nasdaq fell 45 points. the s&p 500 added two. still to come on the newshour, a look at the dangerous of parents promoting their children's content on social media.

abide in campaign works to regain the support of disillusioned democratic voters. david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: ukraine finds itself in a bloody stalemate on the frozen plains of the country's east and south. two years and of the full-scale invasion, russian and ukrainian forces have taken immense losses throughout the war and now there are calls in kyiv for a mass mobilization. many people are answering their own calls to protect their nation and joining up. nick schifrin and amanda bailey introduce us to one of them. reporter: on the stage of war, one man plays many parts and on the streets of ukraine's capital

he is recasting himself. >> at some point you accept your fate. and you believe. if you should live, you will believe -- you will live and if not you will die. reporter: before the full-scale invasion the 28-year-old was a snowboard instructor. a tour guide. an i.t. specialist and model. after the invasion he stopped the suit best for one that stopped bullets. he translated to document russia's crimes. war forever transforms its victims and witnesses. >> i can remember the smell of rotten bodies. it was like a horror movie. i remember screams of mothers recognizing their children.

it was something that you cannot forget. reporter: nothing about this war will be forgotten. in the center of kyiv, the carcasses of russian armor are witnesses to ukrainian courage. >> somebody from a distance of 100 meters had enough bravery and skill to shoot the rocker. -- the rocket. reporter: he says he needs to find his own bravery. he says russia has momentum. >> a lot of my friends have been away for two years in this hell . i need to start training. reporter: in january he started basic training. it was the first time he held a gun. >> i never expected at some

point in my life i would know how to clean a gun and shoot a gun. i want to protect my country. reporter: his country needs him. ukraine's army is struggling to find recruits. some 15,000 have paid to leave the country illegally. russia has more than that deployed inside ukraine. >> from our side, they are the best people of our country. and from their side, there are criminals, people with no future and we are losing our best people. reporter: sometimes you can forget that at night in kyiv. the city's bars are dark and filled with dark humor. it is an escape from the pain. >> i hope he will [inaudible]

[laughter] but actually, you know, -- i'm just tired of losing my friends and family. that is why i am making a film about this. i don't think i can say anything more about this. reporter: loss is a terror that his mother hopes to never know. her husband was drafted. it is hard to bear her son's choice. >> when he told me he was going too, it was very hard for me to accept it because i understand that anything can happen. every mother probably feels that when she sends her children. it is scary to send your husband but there is nothing worse than sending your child. >> i am afraid that i could die.

i could become disabled. a lot of guys younger than me, it is giving me goosebumps that i am still living. reporter: before he leaves for the front he visits the wall of heroes. >> like, 23 years old. look at that, 20 years old. 24. we are not afraid anymore because it is kind of that we have nothing to lose. if we lose the war, we will lose

everything. our freedom, our country and our lives. reporter: for him that means there is no longer fear but only reverence for those who sacrifice preceded his own. ♪ geoff: a russian-american dual citizen living and working in los angeles has been detained in russia accused of treason and of fundraising for ukraine. a 33 old was in russia visiting her family when she was arrested and now her boyfriend is pleading for help. chris joins us now. first, tell us about her. what do you want the world to know about her? reporter: that she is a normal person. she is kind, loving, loved by all her friends. everyone that meets her wants more of her. she is the light that walks into

the room. she is happy and who has so much life in her. geoff: why did she decide to travel to russia? was she at all concerned that something like this might happen given moscow's practice of detaining foreign citizens? >> the reason she wanted was to go and see her family especially her grandparents. she has not been home since pre-covid. she told me that -- i'm afraid i might lose my grandparents and i want to see them. she was not concerned at all. not a little bit. i was. i told her that i did not think it was a good idea for her to go but she convinced me that she is ok. she is a russian and there are no bombs dropping in russia and that she is safe. and she honestly had -- she did

not look like she had fear. but then again, she does not watch the news. i know she does not follow the news. i don't think she knew what she was doing. geoff: i'd first heard the tension was brief. russian authorities two herself own and then released her. what happened? >> she went home and was home for three weeks. two days before the 27th, january 27 when i spoke to her again i said, what is happening? are you flying back to me? and she said, it is all over. they phoned me and said i could pick up my phone in an hour. i just need to sign some stuff. she honestly seemed so relieved that she could just breathe. and that was the last i spoke to her and have not heard from her since. geoff: she faces up to 20 years

in russian prison for the alleged crime of donating $50 to a charity that supports ukraine. when you think about that potential sentence, what goes through your mind? >> i'm trying not to think about it. but, knowing her and how much life she lives day to day, i can honestly not imagine -- i cannot believe it. geoff: i'm sure you have seen this video released by the fsb purportedly showing her blindfolded with cuffs on her. what do you know of her well-being right now? >> um -- she wrote me a letter to day's ago. -- she wrote me a letter two days ago. she is safe.

she is locked up with two women. and crying people. that is what she says about everyone. she was a little sick, apparently, and she had a bad cough but it is going away. one moment she is in good spirits and she believes she will come out and see me soon and one moment she tells herself that she might be in there for life. um, i just know she is safe. she told me, i'm safe. geoff: have you or her family heard from u.s. officials? >> i spoke with the u.s. state department. no one can tell me anything because it is confidential and they need to get letters to her to sign in order for them to speak to me. and they said they will do that. i asked when and there was no

answer for me. that is all they said to me. geoff: chris, we certainly wish the best to her and to you and her family. thank you for being with us. >> thank you so much. ♪ amna: a new investigation looks at the disturbing world of so-called kid fluencers and the moms that run their accounts. the reality shows serious risks to underage girls. reporter: instagram does not allow children younger than 13 to have their own accounts so what we are seeing is parents of kids managing these accounts and posting content of girls can be lucrative. instagram makes it possible to have paid monthly subscribers.

and some will pay thousands of dollars. what might seem like innocent photos to a mom might read differently to a man or a pedophile. michael keller analyzed data from 5000 of these mom run accounts as part of a new york times investigation and joins me now. thank you for being here. the headline of your report sums up the rest. a marketplace of girl influencers managed by moms and stalked by men. what did you find about how prolific these accounts are and why so many moms are into this? reporter: my colleague and i wanted to look into this world of child influencers. they often are too young to have accounts of their own so they are run by their parents. they got into them for a variety of reasons. there was a range from dancers and gymnasts that wanted to get free or discounted leotards in

exchange for photos modeling the apparel. a lot of parents said that social media was the way they could assure a good digital resume for their child's future and maybe even help pay for college or gain opportunities working with sought after choreographers. on the more extreme and your aspiring models, some had their own subscriptions both on instagram where they would charge up to $20 a month for more photos or chat sessions with the child or on other platforms where the monthly cost went as high as $250. reporter: your report also found that a lot of the followers of these accounts are men. are they driving these account'' popularity and profits? reporter: we did in analysis looking at the follower assize of these accounts and the

percentage of men in that audience and found a correlation. as the audiences got larger, there were more men in them. some parents and pretty much all the parents we spoke to said that men and following them and posting inappropriately was a big problem. some sai the first thing they did when they woke up in the morning was blocked followers in the last thing they did when they went to bed was blocked followers. they often posed inappropriate or even propositioned the girls in the comments below the photos. they do block them as i said. but a lot of them ran into issues where if they blocked too many come instagram would start limiting their ability to follow new accounts or to block even more. one parent said, i have reached my limit for the day of blocking creepy men. reporter: i want to show our viewers an example of what you

are speaking about. you describe what the post shows. and nine-year-old in a golden bikini lounging on a towel. and then you show the comment section 40 of sexually suggestive remarks. but it does not stop at the comments in every case. you describe a world in which the girls are sucked in to this internet underworld of sexual predation. >> and that was what was truly disturbing and what we found. beyond the suggestive or predatory comments, some parents received threats from some of the individuals. they would reach out and accuse them of exploiting their child and threatening to contact their school or their family and friends and seemingly exposed them. it is worth noting that in photos of children in dance

conventions are normal within that context. but within the context of the internet, people bring to them in some cases their own skewed points of view. these men were trying to seemingly with threats of blackmail because a lot of actual harm to the families. reporter: it occs to me that this is not just an investigation into risks that girls are taking online. a story about parents who are making the decision to put their girls at potential risks, of ogling at the very least. what is the takeaway for moms considering letting their daughters become influencers? . instagram does allow parents to run these accounts for them even when they are below 13. what we found is that it is very hard to do so in a safe way. and it may take hours every day

of blocking creepy or possibly predatory men from interacting with the account. and the real-life threats that this could lead to, maybe, we heard stories of strange packages showing up at peoples doors. it could go from the online world into real life and affect your family and that was a strong takeaway for me. reporter: michael keller with the new york times, thank you for joining the "newshour." ♪ geoff: tomorrow, south carolinians head to the polls and that states primary race. south carolina is often seen as a bellwether in its first in the south contest and nikki haley has spent more money and time on the ground in her home state then president trump. but mr. trump maintains a strong

hold on the electorate there. reporter: on her home turf this week nikki haley said she is america's last chance at normalcy. >> no drama, no vendettas. just results. reporter: and the only candidate that can beat president joe biden. >> as much as we want to turn our country around, we cannot do it if we don't win. and donald trump cannot win a general election. reporter: in sumter, her words resonated with vietnam and gulf war veteran, fred. >> that is not the way a public worker should be. it should be about the whole country. and he is a worker. reporter: and with longtime republican tina martinez. >> the country is in a place where we need stability.

we need a sure thing. i did not think i would ever be voting for a woman for president. especially -- reporter: nikki haley trails donald trump by a chasm of 30 points with donald trump routinely polling at 60% and higher. >> you are not supposed to be losing your home state and she is losing big. reporter: a lot is at stake for nikki haley in this first in the south vote. >> the super tuesday primaries come pretty quickly. reporter: he is a professor for political science at the college of charleston and he says south carolina is a bellwether known for having voted for the parties of eventual nominee nearly every time for the last 40 years. >> we think it is actually

because south carolina is a pretty good predictor based on the representative-ness of the republican voter here. reporter: nikki haley says she is not quitting. >> when the country's future is on the line, you don't drop out. south carolina will vote on saturday. on sunday i will still be running for president. reporter: the independent voters are few and far between in south carolina with the most conservative electorate yet. ♪ reporter: northwest and the states foothills, the pastor says he does not tell his congregation how to vote but they already agree on the candidate and the issues. >> how many of you are retired and go to the grocery store and spend $100? reporter: he says he supports donald trump because the former presidents policy on social issues more closely aligned with

his even if donald trump himself is not perfect. >> if he says he is a christian, that is all i can go by. we are not electing a pastor. we are electing the president of the united states. and the more they come at him with all this stuff, when people say that, they are saying -- you know what? if they are trying to taycan down like this and take away his rights, then they may come after me. reporter: donald trump supporter brian is in church leadership and he is proud of his day job at the bmw manufacturing plant. >> i like the fact that we built in america and i like his position -- if you want to come to our country as a person, than you do at the right way. >> new hampshire is for donald trump and south carolina is also. reporter: and donald trump gained the endorsement of nearly

all the top republican representatives. and nikki haley angered some power players in the state house. >> she really fought against the good old boy network. she made sure that people -- you could not voice vote on something. or had to be a record. she wanted to hold legislators more accountable. the downside to that is she made some enemies. reporter: this shoe store owner, zoe, says the anti-establishment approaches what attracted her to nikki haley years ago. >> it was a new day because here we had a person from the outside, not a political class, coming in shared the state of south carolina, i have so much faith in us. we know nikki haley. and she is going to get rid of the extremism that is in

washington right now. she is going to make us normal again. reporter: on campaign for -- owen then campaigned for her then. >> it was not good for the shoe business. i questioned whether it was good for america. donald trump is a big business guy. he does not have a pulse on what it feels like if you don't sell a shoe, you don't eat spaghetti on monday. you eat beans on monday. reporter: but donald trump's appeal run strong through the state with voters that say he is just like them. >> i want someone to stand in my place. we don't have a voice in washington as much as he does. reporter: the state has its first chance in generations to

see a south carolinian as a presidential nominee but donald trump wants to make history by convincing voters here that he is more like them then one of their own. amna: next week, michigan primary voters may send a warning signal to joe biden from the economy to abortion rights to the war in gaza. the issues animating democratic voters continue to shift and the lead up to the election. our white house correspondent joins me now for the latest. it is very to say that president biden has an enthusiasm gap among some in his based. who is he having the most trouble with? reporter: young voters and voters of color. i spoke with the democratic pollster and she recently conducted focus groups with latino and black voters and moderate republicans. especially among latino voters, she said there was a panicked woman in the group who

questioned the president's message on the economy. they were not happy when the president compared u.s. inflation rates to other countries inflation rates trying to present what they thought was too rosy of a picture. and ultimately, nancy said that what democrats have is a messenger problem. >> this might be reversed coattails kind of election. we see that statewide democrats are carrying the president across the line. statewide democrats were not more popular and exceeding the vote share of the president. reporter: she warned those as a real problem for democrats and it is not something they can wish away. amna: the economy remains a challenging issue but where is the president seeing traction? reporter: nancy spoke with moderate republicans as well and in that focus group they found that when they presented the

contrast between president biden and donald trump, a lot of the moderate republicans moved more towards president biden specifically on issues like democracy and abortion. abortion she said as the second most important issue they are hearing from a lot of voters across the board. the fixes that democrats could have for that is that president biden needs to be clear about his platform for a second term and get more surrogates out there that can boost his message. amna: let me ask you about the ever underway in michigan. there is a movement to encourage people to vote uncommitted. what do we need to understand? reporter: that movement is being led by democratic activists and local electives in michigan. it is born out of frustration with the president's response to gaza get i spoke with the sister of a congresswoman, a democrat in michigan, the only palestinian member of congress.

leila is the campaign manager for this listen to michigan movement. she said muslim and arab voters and michigan feel let down by the president because of his response to the israel-gaza war and the uncommitted movement is about sending a message to president biden. >> we are solely focused on the primary in order to send a message to joe biden that if he does not listen to his core constituency, the 80% of democrats that support a permanent cease-fire, he will be in trouble in november. i don't want to be in another position where i am trying to choose between the lesser of two evils. reporter: she said she thinks right now president biden is taking muslim and arab voters who work he and his win in 2020 for granted. and that same frustration is something that is a big problem for him also with young voters. amna: when it comes to young

voters, how is president biden addressing some of that dissatisfaction? reporter: right now his campaign's theory of the case is that the more they contrast him with former president trump on policy across the board, they think voters will start to come home. the elements of his coalition will ultimately vote for him. some are not paying attention yet. one key example of that was this week when the president announced he would forgive $1.2 billion in student loan debt for 150,000 borrowers. when he was announcing that he said he had to go this route because of the fact that when he was trying to forgive student loan debt for tens of millions of our wars, republicans ended up fighting that and the supreme court which has a conservative majority blocked it. he is trying to strike the

contrast on abortion and student loan debt with republicans written large. amna: the latest on president biden's reelection campaign. thank you. ♪ amna: as ukraine marks two years of war with russia, america's support on aid is wavering along partisan battle lines. we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. david brooks and jonathan capehart. the associate editor for the washington post. let's start with ukraine. russia's war moving into the third year and russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield. lawmakers unable to move through aid. if the ukraine war was supposed to be a test of western

democracies coming together showing their strength against a rising autocracy, are we failing the test? >> we are on the verge of that. if you had told me two years ago that europe would be united and strong and we would be the faltering one, the faltering ones in our country were republicans, i would not believe you. it seemed universally accepted that defending ukraine was in international interest. that was in our national interest -- was in our national interest. and to be fair, in retrospect, we should have been more clear that the russian strategy of war is to go on forever and ever and they are willing to sacrifice casualties that would destroy most nations. we should have been clearer that time was not on our side.

the biden was too slow to give them the weapon systems. it is a small isolationist majority that threatened to send the world into turmoil. they say we need to focus on china and asia. china is worried about ukraine losing. this is the worst step to chaos and a large part of the republican does not care. amna: he is facing a looming government shutdown and trying to oversee one of the smallest house majorities in congressional history. his ukraine on top of his list? >> no, it is remaining speaker. we are back where we were with speaker mccarthy. but speaker johnson -- speaker mccarthy what he was doing. he could govern.

haphazardly and haltingly but he could govern. he kept the government from shutting down. speaker johnson has ukraine aid which is vital to the national interest. he has to get through two funding deadlines. the first and eighth of march. there is an immigration bill of his own after rejecting the hard-fought bipartisan senate immigration bill. this is a person who is woefully unprepared and inadequate for the task that faces him. and when it comes to this battle between democracy and autocracy where it is vital that ukraine win, if they do not win, we will be able to look and point the finger right at speaker johnson because it is speaker johnson who is the one getting in the way of something happening on multiple fronts. amna: do you agree with that,

david? >> i'm a little hopeful that they will get something passed. there is something called a discharge position. amna: you still need a number of republicans. >> if it is saving democracy, you don't have to get a lot of republicans but just a few and then you can evade the speaker. amna: hope springs internal. -- in eternal. we know that president biden is weighing harsh immigration tactics through executive action on the u.s. southern border reminiscent of trump era policies. doesn't it make it harder for him to draw a line between himself and his opponent when he

is coming out with the same policies? >> joe biden does not want to draw a bright line. the country is with donald trump. on who can handle the economy better, donald trump is up. an immigration, he is up. and on the merits, i am as pro-immigration as i think it is possible to be our asylum system is meant for those seeking asylum and escaping repression while a lot of people are coming across the border for other reasons but that is not asylum. the system is broken down and widen his right to do something -- and joe biden is right to do something. amna: do these moves further alienate the biden coalition to the white house? >> it does further alienate but i have to agree with david that immigration is an issue that the

president has to fudge this line. but i also think he has going for him that the republicans made me do this. there was a bipartisan senate immigration bill that never got a vote. i was in on the negotiations. they never gave us a vote. we have to do something. the election of tom swazi on long island almost two weeks ago was a signal of how salient the immigration issue is. amna: from the annual conservative political action conference, there was a moment where the far right conservative commentator took to the stage and was holding up a cross and said this -- >> welcome to the end of democracy. we are here to overthrow it completely. we did not get all the way there january 6 but we will endeavor

to get rid of it and replace it with this. amna: he is holding up a cross saying we will replace it with this and it was met with cheers. >> there is a game, right wing commentators of that sort play. they could say the left hates me and then they got popular in their own crowd so it is a form of performance art to shock the bourgeoisie and i take it with the all -- utmost cynicism h. i think it is crass and stupid. do i think it represents the trump voters that i have interviewed? no. they are all serious people with serious views that i disagree with. but they are not like this right. >> this comes from one that was shocked. i don't think those types of things are funny.

and i don't think they are funny and the context of what we are living through right now. the alabama supreme court and what they did on ivf. the supreme court overturning don's shared a house speaker enthralled with a former president preventing him from doing anything that would help move the country forward on a host of issues. and i have been around washington long enough to know that is the same crowd railing against sharia law coming to the united states. a religious theocracy taking over the american government. it is ok if it is christian nationalism or white christian nationalism. i take what they say they're at cpac though it is a looney tunes café, i take them seriously because their guy is a front runner for the republican nomination for president. and has a 50-50 chance of being the president. so the joke could become

reality. amna: let's look at the context here is a look at the delegate count for former president trump and the loan challenger to him for the republican presidential nomination, nikki haley. mr. trump has 63 delegates to nikki haley's 17. the south carolina primary is tomorrow. what do you believe will happen? >> i will be curious to see if she can climb up to the 40's. her campaign said 42 constitutes success for them. either way, we know how the story will end. amna: how are you looking at this? >> i go back to the great james pendleton who says they don't get out because they lose, they get out because they are broke. as david said she will get crushed on super tuesday but in

the grand scheme of things she is doing a service to the party and the country by finally speaking truth about donald trump and what he means for the republican party but also what he means for the country and democracy writ large. amna: jonathan capehart and david brock, always great to see you both. ♪ geoff: as always, there is more online including a look at the last two years of the ukraine war and its wider repercussions on politics, global stability and stability in the region. that is on our new show pbs weekly on our youtube channel. turn into washington week. the moderator and his panel will discuss the war in ukraine entering a third year as critical u.s. aid is stalled in congress. amna: and tune in tomorrow to pbs news weekend as republican

voters head to the polls in south carolina. and i does the newshour for tonight. geoff: have a good evening and a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪

and friends of the newshour. ♪ ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company" in ukraine. here's what's coming up. >> i wish america remains the symbol o freedom and the country which set up the standards of democracy in the world. >> the beloved ukrainian novelist andre krukov shows me the quiet acts of resistance here in war-torn kyiv, and sends a message to america. i'll put this to under secretary of state victoria nuland. then, the death of alexei navalny shakes russia. where does putin