i want to cry, because i feel that, feel so good. the best choice! >> lai's victory means democracy in taiwan winds! >> -- i think. >>? >> no. i think china is all of the neighborhood, in my opinion, is my friend. >> your friend. >> -- maybe enemy, maybe friends. so, we can cooperate. >> lai's victory is not going well, though, in beijing, where he's regarded as a separatist and a troublemaker, because of past remarks he has made on taiwan independence. be taiwan affairs office in

china has dismissed the elections, saying it doesn't change the fact that from beijing's perspective, taiwan is part of china, and she jinping has been clear in his view that reunification of taiwan with the mainland's, in his eyes, inevitable, and he will use force to achieve that same. it doesn't mean that war is imminent here. tension is likely to escalate. the icy tension that has defined the past eight years, but throughout the day today, people we were talking to and in polling stations, and on the streets, people were saying that this was an election about choosing taiwan's identity, and choosing taiwan's future, and it's just choice asked a be left to the people of taiwan. >> listen, keeping a close eye on all of this in the future, and we thank you for doing so. janis mackey forero. in a moment, oh the possibilities. who will get the not from donald trump for vice president?

we're going to run through the list. list as i bid you all a very good day from msnbc world headquarters in new york, welcome, to adam looks which reports. we begin with breaking news this hour. and the brutal reality gripping much of this country. if you are not dealing with bone chilling cold now, you soon may be. governors from new york to louisiana declaring states of emergency with the first significant arctic outbreak of the winter. the situation, in, fact so bad the nfl playoff game between the pittsburgh steelers and the buffalo bills, that was just postponed due to extreme weather in western new york. >> 76 million people are under these wind chill alerts, and for good reason. minus 13 for the wind chill in kansas city. 15 below in minneapolis. minus 49 for what it feels like in rapid city, and those temperatures stick around for the next couple of days. we look to minneapolis sunday, monday, minus 29 for your minimum wind chill. wichita, even as far south as folks in the central plains, 16

below, 22 below, we will see these bitter cold temperatures as far south as texas. >> and this is what it looks like in des moines right now. a blizzard warning in effect there. that area is getting more than nine inches of fresh snow. the bitter snow expected to last until wednesday. nikki haley, ron desantis, vivek ramaswamy, donald trump. they are all shuffling appearances, and canceling many infects, ahead of monday's presidential caucuses in iowa. longtime iowa republican strategist saying this is probably the worst weather you could have for a caucus. but we've got our correspondents in place from iowa to michigan, covering all the days developments for you. first, we're going to head to the great lakes as we give you a live look at mackinaw city, michigan, where it's about a warm 13 degrees right now, not nbc's jesse kirsch is south of there in grand rapids for us. welcome, again,. jessie how much worse is it gonna get this weekend? >> alex, it's tough to imagine it's getting much worse than the wind that we're feeling out

here right now, but for some people, it could potentially be seen even worse. what we're seeing right now is really a flurry. it's been on, again off again here in grand rapids, one of the bigger issues right now in the great lakes region is 30 to 40 mile per hour wind gusts. we are certainly feeling that biting cold right now in western michigan. this area, as well as western new york and buffalo, could see a good amount more snow in the next couple of days in buffalo. that area, you could be seeing up to three more feet of snow coming by monday. as you mentioned, and nfl game between the bills there, is now being postponed there. back here in michigan, though, for people watching us at, home some people are watching this in warmer parts of the country. like, oh my gosh, all that snow. i've got to tell you, when you're from this part of the country, this is what we just call a saturday out here for some of those people. here's what some of the folks we spoke with earlier had to say. >> more snow coming to the region tonight, tomorrow i think. when you see more snow is

coming what, do you think of that? >> that's fun, i like. it >> it's fun? >> especially if it's the weekend. because i get to go sledding with my kids. >> where at the wind today? >> it's a bit windy, yeah. i feel. it >> doesn't stop you from going downtown the? >> no, not a lot. >> what are you doing? >> -- winter. >> you're walking around? >> yeah. >> you are enjoying the weather? >> yeah, it's nice. it's michigan! >> par for the course for some of the people out here. you can see the snow blowing sideways right now, because of these wind gusts. we are just expecting more of this kind of weather over the next couple of days out here. of course, beyond this potentially being discomforting for people, this also can be treacherous conditions, if you're trying to go on the roads or take a flight. of course, there have been travel hiccups along the way, because of this as well. >> listen, better you than me, my friend. this california girl is looking at you going no way! all right, jesse. thank you so much. let's go from there, now, to iowa, where record baking below

zero temperatures canavan impact on caucus going turnout monday night. joining me now, nbc's garrett haake in des moines, iowa. i mean, garrett, folks have got to be talking about how much the weather might impact their monday night plans. what are you hearing about that? do you think it's going to dampen turnout? >> yeah, i think that's the expectation of all of these campaigns. most of the iowans i've talked to here, as we are in negative one here in the morning now, that's why this texan is indoors, i don't know that we'll get back above zero until after the caucuses are over. all of the campaigns starting to make contingency plans will to keep their offense going, to try to juice turnout, get a couple more those caucus commitments, see how many more people that can get lined up before the hawkeye koch i start in earnest on monday night. we're also hearing from the candidates themselves that are canceling events or trying to find some way to still communicate to urge their folks to show. a year was donald trump on radio this morning, on exactly this topic. >> it's gonna be interesting,

but we have great people. i think we're gon have big turnout despite the weather, because you know, he's a real maga people make america great aipeople and they're going to be voting. they say that the enthusiasm is greater for us than anybody else. so, we should be in good shape. >> and alex, that is the assumption that the trump campaign is operating off of. here that his supporters are not just voters, right? not just people interested in politics, they are his fans. they are his sort of followers. he's the leader of a movement, not just a political candidate. so, they're quite confident that the folks will show up. as for other candidates, it's a bit more of a complex turnout operation make sure everyone gets out of their houses into their caucus sites on monday night. >> yeah, make sure you have your four wheel drive and your heaters on, and all that kind of stuff. okay, thanks, garrett haake. my fellow texan warm weather guy. all right. so, after legal setbacks in d.c., federal courts and the new york civil court this week, trump says he plans to be back in manhattan federal court on

tuesday, for the defamation lawsuit against him by e. jean carroll. however, just moments ago, nbc news learned his lawyer has filed a new request today, asking for the carroll trial to be delayed by one week, so trump can attend his mother-in-law's funeral in florida. that's it for thursday. it's unclear whether we're going to see this in court next week. this week, trump went off on a blustery rant against new york judge arthur engoron, and attorney general letitia get james, declaring he's the real victim. >> they don't need damages. we've got a great company. we are a -- company. we did everything right. it's a disgrace, and they need damages. that's the way it should be. they should be paying damages. >> here with me on set is tristan snell, former assistant new york attorney general. you love the investigation and prosecution of trump university in his new book, taking down trump, 12 rules for prosecuting

donald trump, by someone who didn't successfully. it comes out january 30th, so, i -- am in the studio, upcoming own copy. this is pretty awesome! thank you so much. look, you did it! you won 25 million dollar settlement from donald trump! with regard to trump university. what do you make, first of, all of trump's claims right there when he says yeah, guess what? you owe me damages. >> yeah, that's not how it works! especially when there is a mountain of evidence that he broke the law with persistent, repeated fraud and illegality. mind you, we already know he already lost at the trial level. he already had summary judgment. he is liable for fraud. this trial was about math. >> okay, so, when you touch the money. look, this is not a nothing case, right? this is what we're getting from fish james. trump and his children sta t lose $370 million. it is an extraordinary amount of money there. with interest, the new york a.g. is also asking for a lifetime ban on trump for doi business in the state.

five year bands on eric anthony doing business in the state, do you see any parallels with this case, and that which he prosecuted against him? >> this is a much larger version of the same thing, but there are a lot of similarities in terms of going up against them, the stonewalling that you face, the consistent idea they did nothing wrong. but counterattacks. his whole playbook is running at the same way. at the end of the day, they were lying to his own fans and the trump university case. it's effectively what they were doing. here, they were lying to banks. either way, it's a violation of the same statue that was used in trump university is being used today. executive law 60 3:12. and just as we believe he was liable in that one, you know, it really looks like he's liable for this one. >> since we look at his d.c. immunity appeal, we have been playing the sound, this of the judge, pan, asking a trump lawyer, a hypothetical question. it goes like this. if he orders seal team six to

kill a political rival, what happens? and here's a little bit of trump's own rationale for all this. take a listen. >> i liken it to the fact that police have to have their control back. they have to have respect. it's very much like. that is very similar to that, but you have to have immunity for a president. >> one moment. help me understand. this is he trying to make a case here for having the same kind of immunity that's a law enforcement officer would have to killing? >> effectively, that's what it sounds like. what he's really arguing for is to be completely above both law. the idea is that if it's the president who does, it's automatically legal. minute, this was the exact same argument, pretty much in so many words, that richard nixon and his people made back in the 70s. and it wasn't accepted as law than, and i don't think it's going to be accepted as law today. >> do you think it's going to

be an incredible thing, for, to put that forward as not being law? we seem to be, as much as watergate, shook this country up, don't you feel like we're almost in more turbulent times now? >> oh, no. i think we definitely are in many, many ways. i think that the threat to the republic is far greater with us than it ever was with watergate. and that's really saying something. this is not just about one act of corruption or a break-in or a cover-up of that. this is about the powers of the presidency overtaking that of everything else in the constitution. that's what it is at stake right now. >> yeah, talk about a calendar. let's look at trump's d.c. election subversion trial. that is scheduled to begin march 4th, okay? then, you have the hush money trial. that stas march 25th. trump had toak mar-a-lago classified documents trial, that is may 20th. georgia electionteering and conspiracy trial set for august 5th. are there any of these, tristan, you think could be put there in courts, wrapped up with a

verdict before november? in the election? >> i do. i think the d.c. january 6th case is the one i am the most bullish about. i feel like this was designed with speed in mind. they didn't go indict the whole lot of other people in that one. they just invited him. they only did it for a few counts. and i think judge chutkan has been very much determine not to let trump run his usual aybook of delay, delay, delay. i think the supreme court is going to rule this as a unity issue, and i think they're going to do it quickly. i actually, at this, point it really doesn't even look like we're going to have any delay at all. the jury selection is starting in a few weeks. now, the opening arguments are slated for the beginning of march. >> but how can you push back, yes, of course, we all know delight, the, lay the lay. that is the first thing when it comes to any trumpian defense. how can you push back on that? when an argument is made or an appeal is made or they're saying oh, no, no, no. we can't do this because of this, that, and the other. you have to play that out to, a degree. >> you do. >> otherwise, on the back and,

come what may, when a verdict is played, it's not fair. >> right. you have two -- part of it is that trump uses the due process of our system, the notion that we take these things seriously, and you actually argue it out, uses it against itself. he'll come up with a cockamamie argument, but the system basically treats that path of, we've got this argument, we don't know if it's cockamamie, we're going to have to have a briefing. we're going to have to have an argument, a set, et cetera. what do you do if you're a prosecutor on the other side of that? we've got to fight hard to make sure those things are expedited. that is why jack smith wanted that expedited appeal to bypass the d.c. circuit. straight up to the supreme court. they actually denied that. at first, but that, we have granted it. that was mission accomplished,. oh >> really? >> smith, even if you got the night the first time, it both made sure that everybody was taking it seriously, that he wanted to get this expedited, the d.c. circuit has moved faster, everything has moved faster, because it was clear the government has been putting

its foot on the accelerator. that's what you have to do in this matter, and i think that if they actually can stay on target, they have the trial began in march. i think the trial is going to be a, looks extravagant of at least a month or two, maybe longer. i actuall do think you could get a jury verdict by the beginning of may. you could actually, then get sensing a few months after that. and i think that's what they're going for. i think a lot of these other cases, it's going to be unclear whether or not they happened before the election. especially the mar-a-lago case. that one, we have no idea what's going to happen to that trial calendar, and the -- case, while meritorious, is a much bigger case. just as a lot more moving parts, a lot more defendants. you know, the judge there has said i don't know ifwe have a courtroom big enough in this town. atlanta, to actually host a trial in. so, that's just crazy. >> yeah. well, what is in craziest this book. taking down trump, you did it. 12 rules for doing it. tristan, sell out on the 30th? >> 30th, yeah. >> hope it flies off the shelves. thank you so much. a move like yesterday by hunter

biden's lawyers that could change the entire story. we're back in a short 60 seconds "

know an explosive wrinkle today in the hunter biden capitol hill cider. biden's lawyers now say they're kai why it would comply with congressional subpoena if house republicans were to issue a new, proper one. hunter biden team says the first one was issued before the house voted to authorize an impeachment inquiry into the president. so, e letter was sent to house oversight and judiciary chairs, james comer and jim jordan. the house is expected to vote on 100 by the contempt resolution next week. joining me right now, nbc's julia jester on capitol hill. welcome, julia. , so does this mean hunter biden will testify in private, in front of the oversight committee? and why the change from his team? >> so, alex, that is the question.

the answer remains to be seen. as of right now, all roads still lead to the house. voting on those contempt resolutions next there is day. now, republicans are arguing that they intentionally wrote the formal impeachment inquiry resolution to back date all subpoenas and making them valid. but hunter biden's attorneys are arguing that they are legally invalid, and they called this contempt resolution impermissible and misplaced. now, they're arguing that despite that, hunter biden would be willing to come for a hearing or disposition with the new subpoena. they prefer a hybrid model of a closed-door deposition in the public hearing. now, the house oversight and judiciary committees have not yet indicated whether they will issue a new subpoena, but here's what we do know. first, i want to play a bit of chairman comer's thinking from before this letter, in light of hunter biden's appearance.

surprise appearance, on the hill this week. >> well, i mean, obviously, everything they're doing is to obstructive slowed down and to do everything they can to delay. but you know, we're going to move forward. we're going to continue to bring people to the depositions, and if they don't come in for depositions, if they don't honor our law of subpoena, we will hold them accountable. that's just what happened in this room. we held them accountable for defying lawful congressional subpoenas. >> now, that was him then, and now, we have a statement from comer and judiciary chairman jordan, saying they are heartened by this letter from hunter biden's attorney, but they are still planning to move forward with these contempt resolutions quote, until such time that hunter confirms that they to appear for a private deposition. they added they won't tolerate any additional quote, stunts or delay from hunter biden. so, we will have all eyes on that vote next thursday. it remains to be seen whether

there will be a new subpoena to hunter biden. >> so, you got to that point, because i was gonna say, they have not indicated yet if they're going to do that. okay. all right, the plot thickens. thank you so much, julia. good to see you. joining me now, democratic congresswoman from texas, jasmine crockett. she is a member of the house oversight committee. and a favorite of cars, we're glad to have you back on the broadcast. i know that you were at that house hearing on the contempt charges this week. they exploded into mayhem on the president's son made that surprise appearance. let's take a look at. that >>'s right if the gentlelady wants to hear from hunter biden, we can hear from him right now, chairman. let's take a vote and hear from hunter biden. -- >> i was speaking. are women allowed to speak here? >> order, order. >> let me tell you why nobody wants to talk to you all behind closed doors, because y'all lie. >> the majority of my colleagues over there, including the chairman, don't want to hear from the witness with the american people watching. >> excuse me, hunter. apparently, you're afraid of my words. >> whoa! >> i think it's clear and

obvious for everyone on launching this hearing today that hunter biden is terrified of strong conservative republican women. because he can't even face my words. >> yeah, i was watching and that wasn't my conclusion, but with that wasn't quite the circus, with pornographic photos on display. insults flying, was anything accomplished at all that could help the full house decide whether hundred biden should be held in contempt, or if republicans unofficially decided already? >> no. of course, they've already decided. you know, this is nothing more than games for them, and it's a matter of a way to distract from the fact that the republicans are unsuccessful at doing anything that is productive for the american people. it's also a way to make it seem as if there is something nefarious going on. they want to make it seem as if president biden, his family, have the same kinds of issues as trump and his family.

and there really is no comparison. we know that trump has 91 counts pending against him for a reason. >> so, as we were just talking about, with -- on capitol hill, hunter biden's attorney sent a letter to the oversight committee yesterday saying if the committee submitted new subpoena, he would comply. , so the question is, where she didn't have an answer to get, because i haven't told her, will the committee do that, and when they prevent him from being held in contempt? do republicans on the committee just wants him to be held in contempt, so they might not consider issuing the new subpoena? but do they have to lose by doing that? >> they do just want him held in contempt. one of the reasons and rationales they gave before for why they needed to take this impeachment inquiry vote, was because they didn't want to put some power behind their subpoenas. one of the things that was learned in the last impeachment that's look place as it relates to trump's the courts really require that congress act in some way to legitimize the

authority in which was sought to subpoena people in an impeachment investigation. so, we know and if the republicans do decide to basically acquiesced and say yeah, okay, will agree that we need to reissue, then, that tells you that they are agreeing that it was invalid on its face in the first place. so, i think that going forward now on whether or not he should be held in contempt, i think it puts that at jeopardy, and they need to see what he does when a new subpoena is issued. >> you had a pretty strong reaction to nancy mason's comments about hunter biden's appearance at the hearing. let's take a listen to what may said. >> you are the epidemic of white privilege, coming into the oversight committee, spending in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena that to be the post. what are you afraid of? you have no balls. >> okay. you had a strong reaction to those comments in the hearing. i'm curious your reaction of

hearing that again. >> [laughter] you know, it is absolutely insane. this is what we do, right? when you're on the republican side, use phrases that really do have some deep and hurtful meanings for people that look like me. say things like white privilege, , which i'm not saying hunter biden does or does not enjoy white privilege. but not showing up to this committee has nothing to do with white privilege whatsoever. there may be a privilege that hunter enjoys, but it definitely isn't necessarily because he is a white man. and having it come from someone like nancy mace, and her retorts to what i said, having to do with the likes of harriet tubman, which i was like lady, i don't know where you are coming from, talking about harriet tubman, but i do want them to recognize that white privilege exists and actually, she realized and said she was one, if not the only, republican that tries to work

on issues as it relates to minorities. whether or not i agree with that as a whole other issue. but really checking your privilege at the door is what nancy mase and the rest of her republican colleagues need to do at all times, and because the sense of how they act because they employ the same white privilege as we sit in committee, and their maga friends and follow them through the same things as they have so many derogatory things to say about me on social media that have nothing to do with substance, but because they are white and half of them literally like half the education i have, but somehow, they feel as if they are superior to me as a black, educated women in america. >> wow. let me get in one question here on the u.s. -- strikes against the houthi rebels in yemen. there are some lawmakers on both sides who say president biden should have come to congress for approval before he ted. democratic congress men broken assess the actions are unconstitutional, but

congressman adam smith told me just in the last hour biden had a legitimate self-defense claim. where do you stand on this? >> yet,, so obviously, we've not been, well, they have been briefed. i have not been briefed. let me speak for myself. i have not been briefed about what's going on to be able to say with some certainty that i have very strong feelings on by or the other. i can say that yeah, the president's given latitude under our constitution, if this is a matter of self-defense. it does seem as if that is the way it has been coached as this is a matter of self-defense. but until i am actually briefed and i'm sure, would be allowed to share exactly what i gleaned in that briefing, i wouldn't be able to take such a strong opinion. and i'm a tell you, because of how fragile things are in this country right now, and as a sitting member of congress, i try to be very cognizant of the things that i say without having the benefit of the full amount of information. and i am entitled to that

information. so, i fully anticipate that we may end up in a scif, hopefully this upcoming week, where we do have a briefing and we are given more information. and i will be in a better position. at this point in time, i will say there is nothing that prevents the presidents from going forward, if it is a matter of self-defense. >> that's what i love about having you want. you come here informed, and if you don't know exactly something, you say i'm going to become better informed before i answer that. that's cool. let me ask you real quickly, are you heading to another government shutdown? that is six days from now on friday. what do you think? >> [laughter] who knows? you know? we know through fields, and there were 13 or 14 republicans that caused this to fail. all of a sudden, they got on board, and in my opinion, anytime those rebels that are known as the maga crowd, whenever they start to get in the middle of something, easily, they have sucked up the blood out of some deal. so, listen. i don't know how the speaker is

handling them. i don't know what it is that he may have negotiated away. i think we are a little nervous that he did give a way of the deal that he said he's agreed to. if that's the case, he will be mccarthy to point over the democrats, and he may become kevin mccarthy two point oh for the republicans as well. so, we will see. >> we just got word last, our speaker johnson has noticed a gop conference call tomorrow but to negotiate budget negotiations. so, we'll see what comes from that. jasmine crockett, always good to see you. see you again soon. thank you. so, we're going back to iowa to talk about how the weather might play a role in the turnout next. and a reminder, we invite all of you to watch tonight at nine eastern, when we get exclusive new poll results from nbc news on the des moines register. msnbc's katie tur and steve kornacki, they're going to bring us live coverage. >> live coverage >> when i grow up, i want to be just like my mom. eva longoria. she's really famous and rich,

because she steals money from her friends. she's taking money from my dad. she wants to destroy him. ah... it's dice dreams. dice dreams, attack your friends and steal their coins. play now. ♪♪ here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪ ♪boost♪ nutrition for now. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal.

kinda like me. order in the subway app today. my daughter and i finally had that conversation. oh, no, not about that. about what comes next in life. for her. i may not be in perfect health, but i want to stay in my home, where my family visits often and where my memories are. i can do it with help from a prep cook, wardrobe assistant and stylist, someone to help me live right at home. life's good. when you have a plan. ♪ ♪ you can't leave without cuddles. but, you also can't leave covered in hair. with bounce pet, you can cuddle and brush that hair off. bounce. it's the sheet. right now in iowa, bitterly

cold, potentially deadly

weather is creating problems for republican presidential hopefuls. those candidates were all forced to cancel events yesterday, but they're back on the campaign trail. now urging voters to brave the elements and trump for those caucuses, now just two days away. our reporters are in place, following all the action for us in iowa. we're going to start with nbc's vaughn hillyard, covering the trump campaign for us. but on, when do we expect to hear from the former president again? >> well, donald trump has indicated he is on his way from mar-a-lago here to iowa. he canceled both of his rallies here today. you canceled one of his two rallies tomorrow, so, just have 20 minutes out from here in the city of -- where he is holding the final rally tomorrow afternoon. he has been posting a flurry of social media posts on his social account, including one video that he just popped, that includes old soundbites of the iowa governor, kim reynolds, who has been a fiercely loyal to ron desantis on the campaign trail for the last several months, endorsing desantis and helping him in his bed.

but the bites you here in this video, this ad from the trump campaign, are kim reynolds passed praise, excessive, praise of donald trump. so, you can expect here over the next 48 hours a not only donald trump continuing to home in and call out what has been a consistent lead in the polls here, but, also urging his supporters to not be complacent, and try to view this as if it's tied. he's said that constantly, trying to make sure that his supporters actually go out in what would be negative 35-degree wind chill on monday night, and not simply think that we've seen him in the polls, and he's going to dominate. instead, he needs them to get out there, and that's going to be the real test for the trump team and the volunteers that are trying to activate those supporters around the state. >> yet. definitely a very big test for that. thank you so much my, front. let's go to nbc's ali vitali, who said that nikki haley event in iowa city. where i was told you might have to whisper, because she's

onstage. but one of the caucus goers telling you today about haley's process for a win on monday? >> alex, as usual, you are right. i will do my best golf whisper for you, because nikki haley is on stage behind me right now, making one of her closing pitches to iowa voters here. in these final stretch before the iowa caucus. look, the weather is a factor. certainly one of the things that we are often talking about is, does enthusiasm wax were wane based on how they are seeing the polls play out, how enthusiastically are for their candidate. in the case of nikki haley, certainly, that's one of the things she's battling here, as trump continues to say he has the most enthusiastic voters, certainly for haley, she's trying to make sure her voters are enthusiastic as well. but i think the big question here for caucus goers has been, is iowa trump country? watch. >> my son, who is also here with me today. [muted] >> to me.

>> what do you? >> so, of course you heard there, the voters that we were talking to were saying they don't think this is trump country. they're hoping, at least, that they're not. i think the fascinating thing that i found at these nikki haley offense, among voters who don't want to vote for trump, the idea of a trump versus biden election again is something that they say is a nightmare. we don't even want to have to think about it. nikki haley, of course, aside to voters time and again, if you don't like it, you should make sure you participate in this caucus on this primary cycle. >> really quickly, ali, i know you don't have returned there, and the tape we wrote was not the right one. we do have what those voters were saying. let's play that right now real quick. here it is. >> what do you think about when people say, well, iowa still count trump country? >> i think that's wrong. i don't think, i don't know if trump belongs in this country,

personally. i just think it's wrong on a lot of levels. he's so far off the scale of reasonable that i couldn't, i couldn't reasonably consider voting for him. >> have either of you guys ever voted for trump? >> no. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ >> so, alex,, that of course, is the real sentiment we're tracking here. i'm meeting people who voted for trump twice, and now they feel like after january six as a breaking point, that's why they're looking for someone new. or even a couple there, the man told me that he, in 2008, caucus for barack obama. you don't eat too many obama to nikki haley voters, so that was a first for me. but it is a reminder that voters can come from everywhere. you're not trying to pull from the most maga of maga supporters. haley, and others, are also trying to pull from independents and more moderate voices within the party, and again, that's what you could have in iowa, when it comes to

the competition for second place. the competition for first, though, it's pretty clear. this is trump's seat to win. >> absolutely. let me tell you, nice job. i think when you retire from politics reporting, definitely go into gulf. you can do it right there, right along the greens on the fairway. >> thank you! >> good job. thank you, my friend. coming up next, the donald trump vp stakes. who is making the cut from the list? some ideas, next. as, ne xt

we're all counting down to the iowa caucuses, just two days away now. it will be record setting because of the dangerously cold weather. take a look at these daytime highs from monday. they are below zero, and the wind chills are even worse, in the negative 30. but there are new potential challenges and headaches for donald trump's attorneys in his quest for immunity in his criminal cases. a political report reveals several times over the past two weeks, trump said the 2020 election was, quote, long over by the time he began pushing

state officials to overturn the election results. these statements contradicting trump's moves in the months after the election when he insisted the election was a long way from over, and filed lawsuits contesting the results as a candidate, and not at the outgoing president. joining me now is atlantic staff writer and msnbc political contributor, mark leibovich. i was going to have you on, mark. so, this appears to be some kind of new maneuver by trump, because he's now saying, i wasn't a candide ymore after the 2020 election, and in challenging the results, i was doing my job as president to ensure elections are fair. so, what do you make about this? about-face? >> well, it is a pivot, i guess. it's a subtle pivot, but it means nothing, certainly, in the legal context, i don't think. i can't imagine a judge being swayed by that. it's also kind of, you know, defies credulity when you have someone who's basically been

saying one thing for three years, solid now. and no,, no, by the way, it was long over. i was acting as president. look, i think it's part of the same kind of jumble of words and ideas and pivots and absurdity that i think a lot of people are on there too, it i think at this point, probably in the legal system, it's become kind of old also. >> so, in a fox news town hall this week, trump said he is decided who his vice presidential pick will be if he wins the republican nomination, but he wouldn't get reveal who that is. some of the names being floated include south dakota governor kristi noem, congresswoman elise to fonac, and marjorie taylor greene, and in fact, his gop rival, nikki haley. you just wrote a piece on haley, which i'm gonna get to in a minute. but first, i want to get your response to these possible names on the ticket. and do you think hailie would accept this offer, even after saying she doesn't play for second? >> yeah. i mean, if you parse the answer, i don't play for second, that

is a non answer to the question of what you rule at being donald trump's running mate? so, yeah. you know, it's a clever answer. it gets applause. it's self serving in the moment, but if anyone who's listening to politicians over the years, and unfortunately, sometimes, we've listened to too many of them and know their moves too well. it's clear that what you are saying is i'm not ruling this out at all. as far as the other three, i think no, i think they're all probably possibilities except for green, and i would be very, very surprised if trump picked haley, because he has been so intent on picking someone loyal, someone who would be, you know, basically a carbon copy of him and haley, for as much as she might try to pivot or be cute about, this it's not going to be able to pull this off. >> if those are the qualifications, what about kari lake? she is out there all the time, promoting him, very, very solidly. >> i think it's probably more likely that someone in the template of kari lake will get

its then nikki haley. you know, i think kari lake's problem is she's never been elected. at least, statewide, anywhere, including in arizona, obviously. so, she would have a long way to go. i also think she has worked extremely hard to sort of check the sycophancy box that would be the number one require for someone to be his running mate. >> let's go to that atlantic article now, with analysis of nikki haley's campaign. there is new iowa polling, and it shows for the first time, with a pretty clear lead over desantis, but despite he least pledged to tell hard truth, you're right, mark, when it comes to speaking the hardest truth of all, about trump, haley's words fall feebly short. here's some of what she said at this week's debate, where trump was, of course, notably absent. >> i think he was the right president at the right time. i agree with a lot of his policies, but his way is not my way. i don't have vengeance. i don't have vendettas. i don't take things personally. for me, it's very much about no

drama, no whining, and getting results and getting them done. so, i don't think president trump is the right president to go forward. i think it's time for a new generational leader. >> how do you interpret what she said relative to trump and his maga voters? >> well, i mean, listen. it's very, very mild criticism. if you listen to the words, there's no criticism at all. yeah, he's not the right president. he was, i mean, you could parse at any number of ways. i think my part about nikki haley in the story is that you know, she's a very commanding candidate in person, as she's shown on the debate stage is. she's very effective, but you, know she is, at some, point going to have to go after trump in a real way. her usual sound by something to the effect of chaos follows him, which, if you think about, is so passive. it's basically saying he has nothing, i mean, whatever chaos is. it could be the january 6th insurrection. it could be whatever is embedded in those 91 counts,

those indictments against him. but he did nothing to cause. it, so she, at some point, especially if she does well in iowa and really well in new hampshire, and even beats him going into south carolina, she is going to have to take off the gloves to a degree, a lot more than she has to this point. >> okay, mark leibovich, will be havoc you back a lot us this plays out. thank you so much. next, how abortion might drive turnout in monday's big contest. contest. looks right. right now in washington, nooo... nooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. bounty, the quicker picker upper.

d.c., thousands are marching to demand a cease-fire in gaza. the rally goers also calling for a halt to u.s. aid to israel. as the humanitarian crisis in gaza intensifies. the march expected to stop the white house, in, fact later today. nbc's brie jackson is joining us from washington, d.c.. the question, what is the scene like there right now, brie? >> good afternoon, alex. we continue to see the crowd grow out here.

so, we're about two and a half blocks away from the actual stage, and that just gives you an idea about how large this crowd is. we are told that the organizers expected about 25,000 people here today, possibly 25,000. from the looks of things, they probably have met that or have exceeded that amount of people. but we've talked with people from all across the country that have come here to deliver their message. some of the speakers that we have heard from today, they say they lost loved ones in this conflict, and they are demanding action. they are calling for a cease-fire in gaza, and they're also calling for action from president biden, congress, and leaders here in washington. they are demanding that the u.s. stop sending aid to israel, stop supporting israel. i talked with one man who family members who has lost family members in this conflict, and here is the message that he

has for the biden administration. >> save lives. we swore the oath, no harm. no human being deserves to live like that. just imagine yourself, if you have a brother or sister there, and you're helpless, what are we gonna do? we are just begging president biden and his administration. cease-fire now. stop the bloodshed. >> and that is the message we continue to hear. cease-fire now. now, this is nearly 100 days into this war. organizers say that this event, the timing of this, going into the martin luther king junior holiday, is significant because they say they are standing up against injustices that are happening in israel. alex? >> we can definitely see a densely packed crowd. that stage is very much -- in the distance. thank you very much, pre-jackson, for that. let's go back to iowa, now. get a live look at des moines

in midwinter deep for years grabbing the headlines. republican candidates who, a, course are there for the nation's first presidential contest on monday. and one of the key elections the cycle? abortion. nbc's priscilla thompson has been speaking with young republicans ahead of the caucuses in sue county. that is a largely evangelical area. so, welcome to you. this is going to be the first caucus experience for most of these young people, priscilla. what are they saying about how abortion is going to influence their decision? >> yeah, alex. i spoke with students at northwest college, a christian school about an hour from here, and one of the issues topping their list this election cycle is abortion. i want to play for you some of have a described their thinking about this issue in terms of who they plan to caucus for. take a listen. >> for me, i would say abortion would be the top issue. >> when i talk about the issue, which candidate do you feel is stronger on the issue of abortion? >> yeah.

honestly, i'm not sure who's stronger, but like, trump was a huge part in the roe v. wade, so that was great to see. >> there's a difference in the way that nikki talks about abortion that appeals to you? >> yeah, i definitely think so. like lisa, she's a seems or sympathetic to the issue. no one is oh, yeah, i'm going to get an abortion, because that's a super easy thing to do. i don't want to deal with the consequences. >> and one name you did not hear in those conversations was ron desantis, which is surprising, because he's really gone after evangelical voters here. he is gone all in on iowa visiting all 99 counties, and notable because about an hour ago, the sioux city journal, which is the paper on record in this area, actually endorsed ron desantis, saying his policies mirrored those of trump, except he does not have the baggage that the former president has. so, a lot of those folks i talked about in sue county said they are still weighing a ron desantis or a donald trump, but they feel like they know what

they're getting with donald trump, and they believe he will do what he says he's going to do. alex? >> that's interesting. okay, priscilla. thanks for sharing. and it bears repeating, tonight at nine eastern, we're going to get exclusive new poll results from nbc news and the des moines register. msnbc's katie tur and steve kornacki will have live coverage for us. but next, to borrow from the late tim -- florida, florida, florida, how it went from a swing state to a mega maga one. mega maga one. arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement. (ella) fashion moves fast. (jen)ctly at the source. so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g 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.

i think he's having a midlife crisis i'm not. you got us t-mobile home internet lite.

after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre-- i like watching the puddles gather rain. -hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. we are just 48 hours from the i know what year it is.

republican caucuses in iowa, where a ferocious winter storm is making it challenging for candidates to make their final pitches to voters this weekend. the arctic conditions, however, not stopping florida governor ron desantis from holding a meet and greet earlier today, where he declared he is going to win the state. >> if you are willing to go out there, and you are willing to brave the elements on a cold, windy, snowy january night for

me, and do that for a few hours, i'll fight for you for the next eight years. donald trump is running to pursue his issues. nikki haley is running for the donors issues. i'm running for your issues, and your families issues, and solely to turn this country around. >> all of the republican presidential nominees are battling it up for one of the most crucial voting blocks in iowa, evangelicals. according to a report from the new york post, this week, desantis gained 50 new endorsements from pastors and faith leaders across the state. but axios reports donald trump seems to be more popular overall among i's evangelicals. nbc's steve kornacki is -- with a closer look at what could be a close right in the hawkeye state. >> you know northwest iowa really, this is an area we're even could play a big role in -- back in 2016, 64% of the iowa republican electorate was evangelical christian.

but it's especially true for northwest iowa, and it's not just folks who are affiliated, as evangelical questions. it's folks who go to church regularly, church is a major part of your life. i think it is -- but sue county. we saw in 2016 how skeptical evangelicals were of donald trump, many were at the beginning, and the story of the last eight years is that this political bond trump seems to have generated with them. it isn't a story about donald trump, as he improved his standings with evangelicals. how much has he improved a standings with evangelicals? is he winning this county, is he winning a big? >> it's also a story about ron desantis, if rhonda scent is going to make a stand on monday night, he has really courted evangelicals aggressively, got endorsement for one of the top evangelical leaders in the state. now let the for nikki haley's standpoint, if you zoom with all the counties here, nikki haley found her strongest support for political independents, college educated voters, higher income voters, voters in the suburbs, voters with a more negative view -- broadly speaking, the coalition

that haley has been getting putting together in iowa and elsewhere resembles the coalition that marco rubio had in iowa back in 2016. so haley, if she is going to have a surprise showing here, a really strong showing, it's not just winning or doing well in those rubio counties, showing inroads in the rural places, with low concentrations of college degrees where rubio didn't register at all, and where the voters who are gravitating towards her or not many number so far. >> steve is back on tonight, nine eastern with exclusive new poll results from nbc news, at the des moines register. katie -- will join him as well. that's going to do it for me on this saturday edition of alex -- reports. see you again tomorrow at one pm, for the next edition. for the next edition welcome to the beach weekend. i'm ari melber, let's get right into the headlines. >> this post holiday period is also known in politics as the campaign homestretch. we are three days out from the start of the 2024 race in iowa, and we are seeing the candidates talk s,