01/16/24 01/16/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> what might appear to be simply the outcome of a political process is in reality the start of one, transformation that has begun in each and everyone of us. amy: guatemala inaugurates a new president as bernardo arevalo is

sworn in almost nine hours late after conservatives tried to block the transition of power. we will go to guatemala in this epic moment. then to gaza. >> the onslaught on gaza by isaraeli forces, at least destruction and leveled the civilian killings that is unprecedented in my years as secretary-general. and the vast majority of those killed are women and children. nothing can justify the collective punishment the palestinian people. amy: as the u.n. secretary-general and rallies around the world demand a cease-fire, humanitarian leaders issue a joint call to dramatically increase the flow of aid. and with record low turnout and temperature for an iowa caucus,

leading republican presidential candidate donald trump trounces his opponents, now heads to new york for his second trial determining damages for sexually assaulting writer e. jean carroll. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. former president donald trump has won the iowa caucus by a landslide, about 51% of the vote. trump claimed victory in 98 of iowa's 99 counties. florida governor ron desantis narrowly topped former south carolina governor nikki haley to place second in the first caucus of the 2024 election cycle. new hampshire will hold the first primary a week from today. after placing fourth in iowa, vivek ramaswamy suspended his campaign and endorsed trump. just 14% of iowa's registered

republicans participated in the caucus in part due to record low temperatures. trump's victory came despite his mounting legal troubles and the -- and his refusal to debate his challengers. during a victory speech, trump repeated his vow to deport millions of immigrants if he returns to the white house. pres. trump: we are going to drill, baby, drill right away. we're going to seal up the border. because right now we have an invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming into our country. amy: that is donald trump speaking in iowa. today he will back in a new york courtroom for the start of e. jean carroll's second defamation trial against him. the first found trump had sexually assaulted the new york writer in the 1990's and then defamed her. in may, a jury awarded her $5 million. at this new trial come a different jury will determine if

trump owes her more money for other acts of defamation. israel's bombardment and siege on gaza has entered its 102nd day. palestinian health officials say israeli attacks have killed 158 civilians in gaza over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to over 24,000. the dead include more than 10,000 children. on sunday, president biden released a statement marking 100 days since the october 7 hamas attack. in the statement, biden decried hamas for continuing to hold more than 100 hostages but biden made no mention of the tens of thousands of palestinians killed, injured, or displaced during israel's assault. major rallies calling for a ceasefire in gaza were held around the world this weekend. in washington, d.c., organizers said as many as 400,000 people took part in a march on saturday. the rally was held just two days after south africa brought its historic genocide case against israel to the hague. speakers at saturday's rally in

washington included independent presidential candidate cornel west. >> and i say personally to biden and company, you're not just enabling, just facilitating, just coagulating and cooperating with this crime of genocide. that makes you were criminals yourselves -- war criminals yourselves. you ought to be ashamed. who do you think we are? you think you can suppress the love that we have for our palestinian brothers and sisters? no, you got the wrong people. amy: tension is continuing to escalate across the middle east. on monday, houthi forces from yemen fired a missile that hit a u.s.-owned cargo ship in the gulf of aden. the attack came after the u.s. and u.k. bombed houthi sites in yemen on thursday and again on friday. houthi officials have vowed to keep attacking ships linked to israel, as well as u.s. and

british ships, until a ceasefire is reached in gaza. >> in support of the grievances of the palestinian people in the gaza strip, subjected to the most heinous types of massacres by the zionist entity and in response to the american british aggression come the naval forces of the houthi armed forces with the help of alaa, targeting a ship in the gulf of aden and the hit was accurate and direct. amy: in iraq, at least four people were killed earlier today when iran bombed what it described as an israeli spy headquarters near erbil, the capitol of iraqi kurdistan. iraq has denied the building struck was tied to the mossad. masrour barzani, the prime minister of the kurdistan region, described the attack as a "crime against the kurdish people."

iran says it also bombed targets in northern syria linked to isis. the u.s. state department condemned the iranian attacked near erbil, describing it as reckless. this comes less than two weeks after the u.s. assassinated the leader of an iranian-backed militia in baghdad, which the u.s. claimed was done in self-defense. in guatemala, bernardo arevalo was sworn in as president early monday morning after opposition lawmakers delayed the transfer of power by nine hours in the latest effort by guatemala's elite to weaken the anti-corruption crusader. arevalo shocked guatemala's elite in august by winning the presidential election. ever since, then guatemala's attorney general consuelo porras has led a campaign to block him from taking office. bernardo arevalo is the son of former president juan josé arevalo, guatemala's first democratically elected leader. arevalo spoke on monday after he

was finally sworn in. >> guatemala has suffered deep wounds that require healing. these scars are not only indicators of technocratic exercises, they are rooted in the daily experiences of our communities. amy: we'll go to guatemala after headlines. taiwan's ruling democratic progressive party has won its third consecutive presidential victory. taiwan's vice president lai ching-te won saturday's election in a vote closely watched in beijing and washington. china vocally opposed his candidacy and has described the president-elect as a "dangerous separatist." lai ching-te spoke on saturday. >> we hope both sides of the taiwan strait can return to healthy and orderly exchanges in the future. as you have mentioned, the president has continuously

extended goodwill over these eight years. unfortunately, china's not provided an appropriate response. the taiwanese people have taken action to successfully resist the intervention of external forces. this is because we believe in electing our own president. amy: china's foreign minister wang yi responded to the vote in taiwan by issuing a harsh warning to anyone in taiwan who seeks independence. >> taiwan has never been a country, not in the past and not in the future. taiwanese independence has never been possible. it will never be possible. anyone in the isle of taiwan who wants to pursue taiwanese independence or split china's territory, we have severely punished by history and law. amy: and the longtime black liberation activist sekou odinga has died at the age of 79. he helped build the black panther party in new york city and was later involved in the black liberation army.

after spending years underground, he was convicted in 1984 of charges related in part to his alleged involvement in helping assata shakur escape prison. odinga served 33 years in state and federal prison before being released. in 2016, sekou odinga appeared on democracy now! and talked about why he initially joined the black panthers. >> what attracted me more than anything else was the stand against police brutality. like all the other ghettos in this country were black areas of this country, police brutality was running rampant. that was the big attraction for me personally. and many of the comrades i came in with, we were not part of the civil rights movement turn the

other cheek, we were mostly followers of the malcolm x position that if someone smacks you, you smack them back. if someone punches you, you punch them back. your life was the biggest and best thing you had and you had a right to not only protect it but to defend it by any means necessary. amy: black liberation activist sekou odinga speaking in 2016. he has died at the age of 79. go to democracynow.org to see the full interview. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman in a snowy new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: we begin today's show in guatemala, where many say hope

is blooming again after the long-delayed inauguration of the new president bernardo arevalo. he was sworn in, alongside vice president karin herrera, a few minutes past midnight guatemala time on monday. but that was not the time he was supposed to be sworn in. opposition lawmakers delayed the ceremony by more than nine hours as a last-minute attempt by guatemala's corrupt elite to block his transition to power. the move sparked more protest with thousands of people pouring into guatemala city from every corner of the country sunday to witness the historic moment. indigenous leaders held ceremonies and rallies while guatemala city's constitutional plaza and historic center filled with people celebrating. arevalo spoke monday after he was finally sworn in.

>> what might appear to be simply the outcome of a political process and formal changes in institution's reality a starting point for transformation that has begun in each and every one of us. the share to rise in, we are united of a country that we all aspire to see floors and prosper . we cannot become accustomed to the daily pain or look away from the mirror to avoid recognizing our painful realities. we limit ourselves to clinging to the past. we must take responsibility for the present. guatemala presents us with tremendous challenges that we could not a war. amy: following the inauguration, arevalo tweeted, "guatemala is moving forward." in his first remarks as president, arevalo thanked guatemala's youth as well as indigenous communities who've led protests outside the guatemalan attorney general's

office. the business elite has controlled much of guatemala for decades. since his victory in august, the guatemalan attorney general unleashed a campaign to prevent him from taking office, also targeting other semilla party members. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. means --semilla means seed. bernardo arevalo is the son of former president juan josé arevalo, guatemala's first democratically elected leader, who pushed for revolutionary policies when he was in office from 1945 to 1951. three years later in 1954, the cia backed a coup, putting an end to democracy in guatemala. supporters see bernardo arevalo's presidency as a new spring for guatemala.

for more, we're joined by three guests. we begin in guatemala city where we are joined by andrea villagrán, guatemalan congressmember with the political party movimiento semilla, seed movement. welcome to democracy now! congratulations, congressmember. it was a nailbiter right to the end on sunday. i watched hour after hour. i think arevalo tweeted, hold on, it really is going to happen. for us it was after 1:00 in the monday morning. explain the significance of his victory, of all of your victories as the attorney general has gone after all of you for so long. >> good morning. thank you for the invitation. here in guatemala, we're living in a moment of hope and a lot of

joy knowing that finally we have a president that represents us and is fighting corruption and represents the change of what we have seen in the last decade. change from corrupt to a democratic system. people choose semilla because they reject the traditional practices of corruption. the arevalo administration will provide the people what you're expecting and what we are asking from a long time ago. we are going to fight against corruption and focus on rescue the democratic institution, try to rescue the public services in health and education -- basic services that all guatemalans need. juan: could you talk about the

situation in the congress with conservative lawmakers trying to stop the new president's program? what two things look like in congress in terms of semilla's ability to move legislation forward? >> what happened in congress, basically, there's a group of corrupt congress members who still want to maintain their privileges and basically impunity and corruption, the even try everything on january 14 two delay -- to delay by making a lot of illegal actions to avoid the transition of power. we won in congress. we are 160 -- defend democracy.

we were able to make the transition of power by midnight on the 14th. i think the session and congress was really hard and tense. in the end, the people won. the people choose bernardo arevalo and democracy won, so we were able to make the transition of power by midnight january 14. juan: could you tell us something about semilla's history? how it developed and came to this point? >> yes, semilla born in the product test of 2015 when we were -- protests will we're in the middle of corruption cases where we were showing how lawmakers, how the politicians were affecting all of our health

crisis and the huge cost of living here. there was a lot of migration because of lack of opportunity as well. semilla was a political party with people who wanted to make a change. the previous electoral process, we were seven in congress. now we are 23 members in congress. since june 25 was the first round and bernardo arevalo was elected in the second round and then august 20, bernardo arevalo won the tour process. we have been under attack for more than six months. we have received a lot of

attacks try to block him from taking office. we are being defended by people. we have everything against us. we have the justice system against us, congress against us, the former president at that time was also attacking us. who defends us was basically people who went to the streets to protest, defending their vote. there was a lot of indigenous leaders who defend semilla not because we were a political party ideologically, it is more because they defend democracy. what all these attacks in the last five months, what they have done is make a huge unity of

people, and qc indigenous leaders, all sectors, private sectors, a new chapter to move forward for democratic system. some people get united. and that is why we were able to get to this point. that is how we were able to get -- transfer the power january 14. because we have been under a lot of obstacles. we have been able to move forward because we have the support of the people who choose us. amy: andrea villagrán, thank you for being with us, guatemalan congressmember and a member of the seed movement, movimiento semilla. we're going to stay in guatemala city with frank larue, guatemalan human rights activist

and lawyer. and we're joined by lucia ixchiu , an k'iche indigenous leader who was exiled. we want to begin with you. part of arevalo's victory in part is due to the incredible mobilization of indigenous guatemalans. if you can talk about that mobilization? you are one of the student leaders in 2015 helped lead to the seed movement, to semilla, and to what we are witnessing today in guatemala? >> hello, everyone. for me, my indigenous authorities, it is an honor. i never imagined the idea to seek indigenous authorities taking guatemalan city. i think for me it is not exactly

to the party elections, not exactly about what are happening in this bump in guatemala. we are facing against colonialism. guatemala is one of the most poverty countries all around the world. the reality and the conditions today, slavery. so the people are doing -- for me it is a radical moment. i never imagined that. i never imagined the indigenous people taking guatemala city because of course we always do the demonstrations, we defend the motherland, defend the territory. we always fight. we have more than 550 years fighting against colony destructivism. we have to change the reality

because guatemala is a dictatorship from the extremely right 17 years ago. this is not new. we have the possibly to vote for extremely right parties. right now that is why the people what to change this reality. for us it is inspiration. i feel honored to be part of the k'iche people, one of the leaders -- the guatemalan country is grateful because of that action, because of that demonstration we have a country right now. we can recover a small part of democracy right now. juan: you are now in spain. you received political asylum after fleeing from guatemala.

can you talk about your own experience and the threats and problems that you and your sister survived when you were in guatemala? >> well, we -- i have two cases for being an indigenous woman leader in guatemala, what to change the reality. in my sister, too. my sister -- all the time and guatemala come the situation for being indigenous journalists, activist -- pandemic of covid, it was really horrible for the land defenders in guatemala. the situation was really awful. that is the reason why we don't have nothing to stop we don't have conditions -- these are

dictatorships. guatemala is a jewish dictatorship right now. most of the challenges of bernardo arevalo's government is to change the mayor of the persecutor officer. we know he is responsible of the exile a lot of indigenous leaders, of a lot of people who were part of -- a lot of judges. so they are responsible. the other president of the last government are responsible. and right now we can see a possibility to return to the country but we need conditions because right now we are not

sure if we can return. amy: i want to go to that issue with frank larue, the kind of conditions that are necessary and the struggle of the new inauguration, fighting against the corrupt pact of the military and governing and corporate elite in guatemala? frank, you are activist, lawyer, have seen what happened and of the history of 1954 when the u.s. helped overthrow the guatemalan president for united fruit, the dulles brothers -- represented united fruit, is the corporate lawyer. but what that meant for the hundreds of thousands of guatemalans who were murdered over the years and how that played out right through to sunday, hour after hour, waiting

for this inauguration with the last skirmishes led by the congressmembers and -- the conservative congressmembers and the attorney general? do you feel bernardo arevalo is safe as president? >> well, thank you for the invitation, amy. the answer is yes. as my two predecessor said, i think the transition is real. i was very glad to see you mentioned the two presidents. one historical president is arevalo's father is part of what was considered the first spring, which was then toppled. but it is also important to mention during all these years, we had dictatorships and military regimes and we went through a period of genocide. so there are over 200 victims in guatemala that lost their lives through the peace process. and today, 27 years later after the peace process, beginning to

see the change in guatemala. i think this time the change is real. one of the issues to highlight -- they are two. bernardo arevalo is trustworthy. everyone voted for him. not necessarily knowing him personally but trusted his honesty and trusted semilla the party. i agree with the congresswoman that it was the enthusiasm of breaking with the path of corruption. i think the other thing to highlight, and lucia ixchiu mentioned it, this was the opportunity for the indigenous ship and the ancestral leadership to bring out their strength, to show the world and the ruling elite in guatemala that have dominated with force and abuse that this is a time of change. guatemala is a country with serious cases of exclusion and differences economic

differences. there's a huge gap in life between indigenous and nonindigenous. this is the time for change. the changes irreversible. i honestly believe bernardo arevalo will be able to initiate the change. i think change will take a lot of work. they are inheriting a house in shambles, a country in shambles with huge social problems, inequalities, and torn down states that does not care to save nor health nor education for basic services. the challenges are enormous. i think they are to the challenge. very importantly, the level of consciousness of the people of guatemala. i think the young people in the cities but especially the mobilizations that lucia was mentioning of the indigenous peoples. this was a sign of strength.

i think those that have ruled the country in the past now, they cannot defeat them but this is a time as indigenous people said, not struggling for one election, not struggling for one victory, we are struggling to save democracy and to have them respect our boat. obviously, those that are against bernardo and the transition to democracy wait to the very last day, as we all know, the long session of nine hours in congress, went to the very last day to stop the transition but were not able to do it. i think this is a moment of real hope in guatemala but a hope because of the transition, hope because for the first time we have an honest government -- but also a hope because the people mobilized. this is a victory of the people of guatemala, especially the indigenous people. juan: frank, i wanted to ask you in terms of what you would expect from the united states

government? previous u.s. government have backed the corrupt elite of guatemala in maintaining power. what is your hope with this new administration that you would expect from the biden administration and from washington? >> we would hope for support. the u.s. and the international community, the oas included, which doesn't have that great of a record, or the european union, everyone supported the transition. i think it came to the point where everyone recognized guatemala was about to implode if it kept going in that direction. and the only way to rescue it was to rescue democracy. and i think everyone has put their support behind bernardo arevalo, karin herrera, and the semilla party in government. i think the support has to

continue. one of the things bernardo said in his speech, we thank the international community but please don't forget coming to powers only but the first step. in reality, he said of your initial step of what has to be a long process. please continue with us for the long term. obviously, we are linked to the different policies. this administration and washington have made the right statements, taken the right position, but we do remember with the past administration, the truck administration, there was a moment when a good experiment -- the truck administration turned her face away and it collapsed. this is very tragic. very crucial to understand the policies from washington have an indirect effect and how much the elites over there thinks they can get away with. amy: lucia ixchiu, in spain, though you would like to be in

guatemala, safe in guatemala, we have less than a minute but your final demands as this transition is made to the new arevalo administration? >> right now we are organized in migrants and exiled people. people in the u.s., too. we are vital for the country even if forced to leave the country. we have our demands and we want to speak to the government of bernardo and we want to speak and let them know we went rights and we want to be recognized as persons even as migrant communities and exiled people.

[indiscernible] our work was vital. amy: i want to thank you for being with us. lucía ixchiu is a k'iche indigenous leader, now exiled to spain. and frank la rue is a guatemalan human rights activist and lawyer. speaking to us from guatemala city. we would like both of you to stay after the show so we can conduct our interview in spanish and put it online at democracynow.org. next up, an update on the humanitarian crisis in gaza. the u.n. secretary-general and rallies worldwide demand a cease-fire. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. major rallies calling for a ceasefire in gaza were held worldwide this weekend, marking 100 days of the isaraeli assault

on gaza. those included one and washington, d.c., where organizers say 400,000 people protested u.s. complicity in one of the deadliest and most destructive military assaults in recent history. palestinian health officials say israeli attacks have killed 158 civilians in gaza over the last 24 hours alone, bringing the death toll since october 7 to 24,000 -- though this likely an under count. the majority of those killed are women and children. it is believed more than 10,000 children have died. on sunday, president biden put a statement marking 100 days since the october 7 hamas attack and condemned hamas for continuing to hold more than 100 hostages. but he made no mention of the tens of thousands of palestinians killed, injured, or displaced during israel's bombardment.

on monday, united nations humanitarian leaders issued a joint demand for dramatically increasing the flow of aid into gaza. this is the world food programme's palestine country director samer abdeljaber. >> everyone in gaza is hungry. we are exploring all possible solutions but none are sufficient in the face of obstacles. there are people starving in areas and we are not able to give basic fod for. we need to be up to bring in more supplies and we need safe access to reach people everywhere in gaza. not just those close to the borders. we need long-lasting cease-fire to stop the suffering. amy: for more, we are joined by dr. omar abdel-mannan, pediatric neurologist and co-founder of gaza medic voices and health workers for palestine. he is in constant touch with his colleagues in gaza and joins us from london. dr., thank you for being with us.

the assault this weekend, especially in the central and south part in khan younis, is intense with well over 100 palestinians killed just in the last 24 hours. can you talk about the desperation of people there and what you think could lead to a cease-fire as millions around the world demanded one this weekend? >> thank you so much for having me on the program. the situation is spiraling out of control. many of our colleagues have just come out of gaza in the last few days led by -- have come out and said the scenes inside the hospital's are apocalyptic, to say the least. they describe scenes inside alexa hospital that has been completely taken over by the

isaraeli i forces, many had serious casualties from areas and many were children, children with double above the knee amputations, children with burns to the rebels that are so horrific they are disfigured for life. and women and men also being killed and targeted. we're sitting systematic targeting of health facilities, health care workers, 370 at least who have been killed, being either killed, maimed, abducted, or even more so tortured when they have been held captive. what we're saying this not a war on children. this is a genocidal, uncontrollable massacre of palestinians at large and en

mass. the israeli government have made it very clear there now can a situation where they either want to exterminate palestinians for force them out of their ancestral homes after 75 years of occupation. what would lead to a cease-fire? the simple answer is the american government. president biden. when he comes out and says on a national address 100 days of the seventh of october he feels for the hostages in the families, we all feel terrible about the situation on october 7. but to completely ignore the tens of thousands, at least 24,000 who have been killed in cold blood by an isaraeli war machine, is frankly outrageous. frankly, the u.s. and the u.k. government and other leaders are complicit in this because they are arming the same isaraeli

bombs raining hellfire on palestinian hospitals, schools, bakeries, and water sanitation plans. make no mistake, this is an attempt to completely wipe out and infrastructure and public health system for people in gaza. juan: doctor, there have been an estimated 15,000 children born in gaza since the assault began. can you talk about the impact on pregnant women with the collapse of all of these medical facilities? >> we had an obstetrician that was with this w.h.o. team that just came out of al aqsa. what she described is women giving birth in the shelters, in the rubble, in the streets with no maternal -- maternity care for women who are pregnant in the north and central regions of

gaza. that is at least an million people with no access to maternity care. that means women going through high-risk pregnancies, going to deliveries with no hospital care, no midwives, no doctors to help. what that has led to his many women dying in childbirth from normal complications that happen. where they hemorrhage and cannot have a blood transfusion. having seizures and no medication given to them to stop the seizures. this is medieval style medicine we are seeing and this is 100% man made. this could stop right now if there was a permanent and lasting cease-fire. unfortunately, the u.k., the u.s. has continued to warmonger and allow isarael to continue in this genocidal tactics. in the global south has started to mobilize. there is been a great awakening for people who before were not

aware of the situation in palestine. 70 years of occupation sped up at double speed with this genocidal attacks has led the people to protest and the hundreds of thousands across london, washington, d.c., and other major cities. health care workers speaking, we do not accept this. he will not remain silent. we have escalated and will continue to do so. as a concerned edison of the world, we have seen a lack of humidity, lack of response from our leaders who are impotent, frankly. now it is the duty of citizens like us to stand up, to protest, to approach our members of parliament, to put pressure on our governments to act. if that doesn't happen, the next step is to boycott any isaraeli product that is funny estate the destroying people and killing --

funding the state, destroying people and killing. this is the next step in this is what i'm calling for as a concern citizen to my fellow professionals and professionals across the world to stand up and speak up because we have had enough. we are sick and tired of seeing our own colleagues killed and maimed. juan: could you talk about your work trying to bring children to the u.k. for medical care from gaza and the obstacles you have faced? >> this is work that is being done by colleagues of ours. there are numerous projects attempting to bring children to european cities, to european hospitals to provide care -- similar to what ccr has been doing so well to the united states previous to october 7.

we are in discussions with the relevant bodies to try to make this happen. many are children who have had complex injuries as result of direct bombardment and bombing who need years of reconstructive, plastic surgical work. these are specific cases where the need is not met in egypt or neighboring countries. this is happening but -- amy: finally, dr. omar abdel-mannan, you have israel talking about this going on for more than a year. they are saying hamas has to release the hostages. meanwhile, hamas released a hostage video where one of the hostages is shown saying to other hostages were killed in an isaraeli struck.

what is your response to the israeli government, to netanyahu, and to the others in the waraying first hamas has to release all the hostages? >> we have seen this narrative time and time again. we have seen the excuses of hostages as human shields, hamas tunnels. made of these have been debunked. many of these tunnels under hospitals were previously used as ventilation. they are not even hamas tunnels. this idea of hostages being released, israel is shooting at their own people. they shot at those waiting white flags that were israeli hostages and they were shot dead at point

blank range. frankly, to me and to all of us who have seen the masking of the israeli government's intentions, these are just bully excuses. much of the media are complicit in this. they are allowing these narratives. when i go on every tv show and i get asked, do you condemn hamas ' or do you know about the tunnels under the hospitals? what remains is many of these stories, the majority of them, are not true. simply not true. that would be my response. i am not and we are not going to be taken for a ride by the israeli government's narrative. the west -- the u.k. and the u.s. and the west are complicit in continuing this narrative.

until there is a cease-fire, aid entering, until the end of occupation of gaza and the west bank -- settlers attacking palestinians -- we will not stop. we will continue and mobilize in the hundreds of thousands, millions against this genocide. amy: dr. omar abdel-mannan, thank you for joining us, pediatric neurologist and co-founder of gaza medic voices and health workers for palestine. speaking to us from london. next up, record low turnout and temperatures for an iowa caucus. donald trump trounces his opponents and heads to new york to deal with yet another trial for the sexual assault of e. jean carroll, the new york writer. stay with us.

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amy: "i see in the heavens" by basel zayed. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we end today's show with an update on the first caucus of the 2024 election cycle. donald trump has trounced his opponents in the iowa caucus, winning by a landslide, record 51% of the record low vote. florida governor ron desantis narrowly topped former south carolina governor nikki haley to place second. vivek ramaswamy suspended his campaign and endorsed trump. trump's victory came despite his mounting legal troubles and the fact that he has refused to debate his challengers. he is coming from iowa to new york to the manhattan federal court today for the second trial determining damages for sexually assaulting writer e. jean carroll. before he joins other candidates in new hampshire.

for more, we go to wisconsin, to john nichols, the nation's national affairs correspondent. he has been covering the iowa caucus. what stood out you most? a lot of records here, 30% higher than the next candidate, desantis. freezing cold weather. and now he is in court in new york. >> it is quite a stack of records. thank you for having me. what stood out for me as i walked the streets yesterday was it was unbelievably cold in iowa . they were talking in some parts of iowa about 30 to 40 below zero wind chill last night when the caucuses began. i don't doubt that may have depressed turn out to some extent. but i have to tell you, i did not see the sort of enthusiasm i have seen in the past and i've covered iowa caucuses for

decades. in many ways, it seemed as if the republicans were just going through the motions. they were putting a period on the end of a sentence. yes, they endorsed donald trump. yes, some in the urban and suburban areas lead toward nikki haley, especially -- to some extent, ron desantis. what stood out most to me was some of the entrance polling, as people go into the caucuses, that for a variety of reasons is the best to survey rather than exit. 32% of the people who attended the caucuses said they believed if donald trump was convicted of one of the 91 county basis and trials all over the country this year, in he is convicted, they would see him as unfit for office. that is a striking figure. it is higher than we have seen and some polls. in a state where you're talking

about very conservative people coming to the caucuses, to have that high of level, i would suggest when you combine that with some of the national polls that point to similar concerns, these trials of trump may turn out to be more significant than a lot of political pundits assume. i think most assume republicans are going to line up by trump no matter what. that whatever conviction he faces, whatever happens, they are not concerned. this entrance polling suggests very different reality. if we continue to see this pattern going forward, i think it is a compelling number -- compelling set of numbers they should look toward november. it may be donald trump has more of a problem with republicans that people thought. juan: john, the presidential primary -- primaries now shift

to new hampshire, nevada, south carolina. what is your expectation in terms of any chances of some of these contenders against trump to make any headway? >> it all comes down to new hampshire. there's no question of that. new hampshire is the place where nikki haley has put all of her energy. she did go into iowa and she has a lot of money behind her ,koch brothers money, wealthy donor types tend to be supportive of her. her focus has been primarily in new hampshire. she has been going into very small towns in that state, really building out a serious campaign. some recent polling have showed her closing in on trump with chris christie getting out of the race, a lot of his votes are likely to go to nikki haley. it is clear from iowa that nikki

haley has an appeal in some of the more urban and suburban areas. that is where it is all at. if nikki haley beats trump in hamsher, then you have an ongoing race. new hampshire will decide whether this is going to be any kind of realistic contest for that republican nomination. if nikki haley does when new hampshire, go to south carolina, her home state, that will be a big test and then we will have more to talk about. if trump does as well or anywhere near as well as he did in iowa, she will fade away pretty quickly. juan: president biden has been raising lots of money. raised over $97 million in the last quarter of 2023. he has begun to get out to stop somewhat. -- stump somewhat.

talk about biden's chances, especially his involvement and support for the wars in ukraine and -- i'm sorry, the israeli attacks on gaza? >> biden has got a lot of problems. we're talking about his entrance poll data, but biden's approval ratings are exceptionally low and his polls against trump put him at best even. he has a hard race ahead of him. i don't think there's any question. i spent a lot of time talking to people and recently interviewed rashida tlaib about michigan, there is simply no question joe biden is harmed politically i think in a number of states by his ongoing support for the israeli assault on gaza. you look at michigan as an

example. the polls recently out of michigan have been very troubling for biden. i hear in coming days he's going to try to make some efforts to reach out to arab americans, to reach out to communities that have been deeply concerned about this. of the fact is, i don't think rhetoric is going to help. only a change of policy is likely to begin to close some of the gaps. biden has a hard race ahead of him. i would summit up, look, the level of people and i will said they would see a convicted trump as unfit is an encouraging sign for biden. the reality is, we are likely to have a very close november election. when you get down to it, it will be an issue of mobilization. i think trump will have some trouble mobilizing the whole of his republican and conservative base. biden also will have trouble in that regard. we have a long, complicated,

frankly, frustrating race ahead of us. amy: we have to leave it there. nikki haley is pouring money into new ads were she refers to the trump-biden nightmare. john nichols, the nation's national affairs correspondent, just back from iowa.