>> reporter: good morning. welcome back to the weekend. we start this hour with breaking news. we are getting brand-new information from the final des moines registered poll head of the iowa caucuses, it has to do with the general election. a hypothetical race between president biden, donald trump, and independent candidate robert kennedy junior, trump leads 71% to biden's 11% among likely republican caucus goers in iowa. now, it is no surprise that trump is leading, but it is notable that biden pulls the support of republican caucus goers. 74% of republican caucus goers believe trump can run against

biden, regardless of his legal challenges. court of the top lines, the poll found trump with a nearly 30 point lead over his republicancompitors. trump supporters also lead the pack and enthusiasm, a factor that can prove crucial as the frigid iowa weather could keep some caucus goers at home. just take a moment and take stock of this, 91 cow indicted, twice impeached reelection losing former president, is leading the pack, it is not even close. the party of small government continues to rally behind a man who is promised government retribution to any and all of his perceived enemies, from president joe biden to judges, prosecutors, and even this very network. what is scarier, trump ist dominating the field despite these scandals and statements. as falling in the case that his support has grown among republicans because of them. last week, as former governor chris christie was suspending his own presidential campaign, he warned the american people

about what trump is ushering in. >> please understand this. i have known him well for 22 years. more than anybody else in this race has known him. and i can promise you this. if you put him back behind the desk in the oval office, in a choice comes, and a decision is needed to be made, as to whether he puts himself first, or he puts you first, how much more evidence to need that he will pick himself? >> reporter: the iraq ox's have led the nation and nominating candidates for more than 50 years now. but never in those 50 years have such abnormal and sinister dynamics been at play in a presidential election. this is just very chilling. in a new polling that we just got at the top of the hour. regardless of who republican caucus goers in the recent iowa

poll say that they will support on caucus night on monday, all of them, except nikki haley supporters, say that they're going to vote for trump. 43% say they're going to vote for joe biden, biden supporters and nikki haley supporters have the support gap. those are the people who are less revved up to get out there and vote. >> reporter: this process has been designed by trump in the sense that he has, over the last few years, been able to bake in a sentiment among his base voters that there is -- coming off of him, no other alternative to consider. so that locks in. those who are sort of in a nikki haley, chris christie, desantis space. they are not there because they are just, oh my gosh, i love nikki, i want nikki. they're there because, i do

what trump. so that explains a lot of what you're seeing in this fluctuation, where we're seeing this nikki haley support that is this then. >> reporter: despite the fact that she is theoretically coming in second. >> reporter: theoretically coming in second, but when you bring it out a national polling in a general election, it is competitive. you know, we can dance around whether or not she absolutely is competitive, but she is competitive. so there is this reality of, which is why i've always had a problem with this process. >> reporter: you mean the caucuses? >> reporter: just the way we start it. i still give kudos to democrats for recognizing it, to change up their game, to create emphasis in a different space among the electorate, to sort of generate a different kind of energy for what will be a consequential election. republicans are playing the same old soon mold, and they

are going to get the one thing they don't need. a very bad player at the top of the game, which is going to go into a general election with an electorate, even within its own ranks, that is not 100% behind him. >> reporter: i was in the republican primaries, the isle of the president, one aisle does not really go on to the republican nominee. he lost i want 2016, he's poised to win right now. i am struck by chris christie's words, really, and just elevating what is happening in this primary process. we touched on a yesterday, but the fact that there are so many say, i don't really like trump, but if push comes to shove, a vote for him. those are what i like to call the cassidy arson's, and the chris christie's the world right now. people say, i don't like trump, but, i don't know. chris christie has said he is not voting for donald trump. he has not thrown his weight anywhere else. cassidy hutchison, to her credit, says she has not

endorsed anyone. but you might as well have endorsed joe biden, because she said that if people want to vote for democracy, the vote for joe biden. these voters, what is going to take for them to say, hey? i care about democracy, i care about my freedom. i don't know. it is blowing me. let's turn to the man of the hour. maybe he can give us some insights. nbc's steve kornacki gets a close look at the des moines registered poll, nbc news poll, at the big board. >> reporter: with a caucus tomorrow in iowa, today, we get the final poll. it is a good one. nbc news, with the des moines news, they've been pulling the straight for decades, an extremely accurate poll. let's get right to, it what they find, the republican race? they find what we have seen for a long time now. who donald trump, four, four ahead. 40%. the head of nikki haley, rod desantis, 16, vivek ramaswamy at eight, which the change since our last poll, taken back

in december, trump down a tick, haley up, near surpassing desantis there for a second, little bit of a rise from ramaswamy. couple loops in this 40% for trump though, but this is the highest number ever in a final des moines registered poll for the iowa caucuses on the republican side. caucuse>> reporter: 40% is thet candidate has ever gone in the caucus with, the previous was 43, george w. bush, 2000. he won that. the margin, 28 points, trump over. haley also the large than a final publican poll in iowa, the previous record, 23. george w. bush, 2000, again, who won the caucuses and won the nomination. dive deeper into the numbers. where is the source of trump strengthen eye off? we've been seeing it for a long time. right now, it is a big change from 2016 when donald trump lost iowa, evangelical voters, 2016, they made up nearly two thirds of the entire republican electorate in iowa. donald trump, with an outright majority of poles from support

of evangelicals. in 2016, when he lost iowa, he lost evangelicals by double digits. what's been true in iowa for a while is that if you win the evangelical vote in the caucuses, you'll win the state. trump, nearly 30 points ahead of desantis on evangelicals. how has haley got into second in this race? short answer, independents. she trails trump, but she's only four points behind him among independents. 33% of the vote there for hailie. again, self-described, it is going to make up probably around 20% of the aisle caucus electorate tomorrow. so you see here the strength there. there is the problem for nikki haley, and here is the cautionary note about her taking second place in the poll. we are caesar publican lowers to have a favorable or unfavorable view of the candidates? look who chips in the lowest, it is a polarizing number for haley, and it will change. look at this, in our last poll, again, last, month haiti was nearly 60% favorable. she is down 11 point since

then. she was 31, unfavorable, she's gone up 15 points since then. nikki haley has become a polarizing and much less popular figure with iowa republican caucus goers, maybe it has something to do with this. we asked supporters of each candidate, broadus antis, and nikki haley, what they are feeling like towards donald trump. look at this. more than three out of four haley supporters have a negative view of trump, and half of all of haley supporters in iowa either describe themselves as independent, or democrats. we've seen it with other candidates, we saw with chris christie, we saw with mike pence. when you get associated with anti trump voters, anti trump forces, pro trump republican voters, and there are a lot of them, tend to turn on you. is that what is happening with nikki haley in iowa? then there's a question of whether it is going to help anybody, will this hurt anybody? what would do to turn out? we don't know. but maybe this is one way to measure it. we asked folks, are you

extremely, or very enthusiastic about trump support and supporters? maybe 90% trump supporters, 92%, nikki haley, under 40% extremely or very enthusiastic. well that expect turnout. >> reporter: we'll find out tomorrow, we'll continue the conversation. joining us now is the woman behind the register poll firm, a cell certain company, jan selzer. welcome, to you. okay. tell us. what was the biggest thing that shocked you in this final, if anything? and please make a prediction. on a scale of 1 to 10, how much will the weather be a factor for caucus goers tomorrow? >> on a scale of 1 to 10, certainly above five. it is going to play a factor in who turns out. i think, as the numbers start coming in, it's going just until then, in nikki haley in second place, it is not

something we predicted. but we are open to that idea. i think the thing that steve really helped clarify is that, if you look at every other number besides the horse race, besides her second place finish, you would think she's trailing, that she would be third place, and maybe a distant third place. because the underlying fundamentals are not the ones of a strong candidate surging. so even though her horse race number left a few percentage points, it really is all of these other indicators that make us think that her number in the poll is better than her number will be on monday night, maybe. >> reporter: i want to focus a little bit on an intriguing number in your polling, where you are showing 11% of gop caucus goers who are likely, or

at least intend right now to vote for biden come november. talk us through that, that really stands out as a stock thing. because you're thinking i would gop caucus members, that's going to be a big ten storyline for republicans. but, to your point, there is some real loose movement aside this gop voting base. >> you have a good eye to pick that number out. you think of the caucus of being the bassist of the republican base who show up on caucus night, and yet, here is this sliver of people who say, if the race comes down to joe biden and donald trump in november, there are some who would vote for the democrat. now there are some people who are currently registered as democrats who qualified as a likely republican caucus goer.

so once you understand how that number came to the, it makes more sense. that this caucus is attracting people who have not caucus with the gop before, and they go with the gop and the democrats. but they are drawn in, to make some sort of statement, that since they are not in the trump camp. and the person that they are supporting, mostly, substantially, is nikki haley. and that may be what lifted or her number to be in second place, but also, it leaves a question mark about the -- enthusiasm for republicanism will naturally be lower. >> reporter: fair polls a standard, because this off and catch things that are things myths, and i would say this is the methodology you employ the polling. you're still calling folks, which a lot of pollsters are not doing anymore, and you have

the very lied screen. you're not look at people who voted before, we have caucus before, you said, are you likely to caucus, and i think that is important with the number of first-time caucus goers going to donald trump with really large support. is there a methodology of this polling in apply it to a general election given that phenomenon? >> we do, that we choose a different sample from. we start with the secretary of state's voted list, some very high proportions of iowans who are registered to vote if they are eligible to be there. and then we don't care if you voted before. we don't care if you've been inactive for a while. . we cast a very wide net. because there is this crossover of voters because their first-time caucus goers and we

don't want to miss them. we want to make sure that voters are equally likely to be contacted by our poll. >> >> reporter: jay insults, at one of the best, thank you very much, and she will be in touch tomorrow. coming up, a damning new report that lays out just how donald trump has twisted a system of justice to his benefit for more than half a century. that is ahead, on the weekend. that is ahead, on the weekend. iration right through my glass. so when my windshield cracked, i chose safelite. they replaced the glass and recalibrated my safety system. that's service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn.

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been in a 50-year mission to discredit the justice system. that's how michael cruz describes his long running legal fights in a new piece for politico magazine. cruz writes, trump and his allies say he is a victim of the apization of the justice system, but the aly is exactly the opposite. he snt most of his adult life molding into an arena in which he could stick claims and hunt leverage.

it has not been for him a place of last reso much is a place of con quarrel. conflict in courts is not bad for him, it is how he does business. nbc legal analyst -- the former deputy assistant general for the justice department's national security division, and the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, prosecuting donald trump. the reason i wanted to have conversation tied to this politico piece is because there is trump himself, and then there is what his vision of the justice system has meant for those who carry his water and the ways that they are reimagining it as a tool to make leverage for himself. >> this piece really expose this whole decades long process of mr. trump co-opting the legal system for his own purposes, and what was interesting is that, whether he won or lost in the individual case, he portrayed that as a win, like he always does, through everything. but i think what this really

shows us is that it should have been any surprise when he came into office, and he co-opted the presidency. by co-opting, i mean, changing into something for his own purposes. something that other than what it is supposed to be. he co-opted the department of justice and the entire executive branch, and that's what he's trying to do now, with the criminal cases against him, as well as several cases like the new york civil fraud case. it is used these, he is campaigning on these, his numbers went up, including his fundraising numbers that went up after the first indictment. it continued to go up with every indictment. and this is now a major part of his campaign. the fact that he, according to him, is being persecuted by the department. by the department of justice. and that, now, when you see it, along that spectrum of 50 years, that is exactly what you can expect as well if he were to obtain the presidency. >> reporter: you really push the button for me on this, because the other side of this

is, how the system responds. it finds itself twice in knots and pretzels, and almost like putting bubble wrap around donald trump to protect him from what? he is no different than any other criminal defendant, period. >> reporter: he supposed to be no different. >> reporter: right. so why is this system so contorted right now, and judges, we have them trying to figure out, okay, do a slap on the wrist, or dry salman jail? well, what would you do find wrestling there, if i were in that space. what would you do? so why is it so hard, seemingly, for people to understand that they are getting punked by the sky. he, according to him. >> so that's a thing that's interesting. because as a prosecutor for more than 20 years, and most people who are involved in the criminal justice system, they obey the rules. now they might've committed a crime, but once hailed into

court, they show up, they abide by their attorneys advice, they speak only when they're asked to speak. you know, i think judges are used to people complying with the rules. the lawyers complying with the rules, the defendants complying with the rules, and donald trump just defies all of that. so i think judges are a little bit at a loss. like what do you do with somebody who is powerful, and to continue to defy the rules. so you see things like sanctions. you see judge engoron today, you say, they are climate control. but i do agree. i think they struggle to dispense justice evenly, and they are trying to do it, but he just pushes back in. >> reporter: thank, you go there. he's not powerful. he commits no military, he commands no government agencies. he is a private citizen. >> reporter: well not hard power, he has soft power. >> reporter: here's the thing, mary. you spent so much time as a federal government prosecutor. at least juvenile justice work,

that's what i did. every time donald trump is in court, every time we talk about, donald trump's legal things, i just think about the gross to proportionality that exists within the system. let's just be very clear. i will say the quiet part out loud, brock obama could never. he could never. >> reporter: he also wouldn't. >> reporter: he wouldn't because he knows that he couldn't. >> and he has respect for rule of office law. >> reporter: that's true. but first and foremost, they persecuted the man for a tanned suit. so i think they let him get away with criminality. where do, and maybe the conversations are happening within the legal community, to sow out here, where we can see. but is there an internal conversation, maybe folks are having about the fact that they are allowing donald trump to get away with murder here? >> i suspect the judges in the judges dining room at lunchtime or sometimes talking to each other about what. do you have advice for me, my fellow judges, about how to keep control of this? and not let it be hijacked into

a campaign event? and i will also tell you, at least in the d.c. courts, the federal courts in d.c., there are rules about not giving interviews, press conferences, in the hallways. and those rules apparently must not apply in the new york courts. so he'll be able to go outside the courthouse, and give his speeches after he's at different proceedings in d.c.. but he will not be able to come right out into the hallway into that. >> reporter: right. you were saying, after the break, we're talking about the contradictory efforts donald trump is making to overcome the 2024 election. why that overcomes his defense. be sure to tune in tonight, ray melbourne is turning out tonight to dissect the numerous legal cases against donald trump and the applications he might have on the candidacy. watch, defendant trump, candidate trump tonight here, on msnbc. (son) dad. you ok? (dad) it's our phone bill!

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making a desperate pivot to help with presidential immunity, and in fairness case. during much of trump's crusade to fight the 2020 election results, he said he was challenging the results that his capacity has of political candidate. his lawyers even told that distinct federal courts. but now that he's looking for presidential immunity, trump's changed his as well. >> the election was long over. i wasn't campaigning, i was just doing my job, i am entitled to immunity. i am absolutely entitled to immunity. if i don't get, it will be the only president hilly tonight get it. >> reporter: mary mccord is back with us. all president, all the time, right? so now immunity, he is wrapping himself in this or do you that he was always on the job, he

always protected because of immunity. does it fly? is that the rest of us, speaking to both sides of his mouth? how does the court see that? because now it has a different color, because there's a real case and controversy in front of him. >> reporter: it's interesting. because the d.c. circuit has already ruled with respect to presidential immunity in this break. braces that brought by congress members for civil liability, for harm done based on january 6th. and what the court said there is that, at least at this stage of those proceedings, there is a big difference between what the former president did is part of his official acts, and what he did as an office seeker. so when campaigning for election. and the court actually pointed to what mr. trump and his lawyers wrote when they sought to intervene in the supreme court in that period between the election in 2020, and january 20th, 2021, when the

power was turned over to president biden, and they argued then that he should be allowed to intervene in that case as a candidate for president. this is something they filed in the u.s. supreme court. he was clear, that whole time, he was still trying to get that office. so if you apply the reasoning of the d.c. circuit in a civil case, saying, look, there is no immunity for what you seek, what you do when you are seeking office as a candidate. that certainly should carry over into the criminal context. and as we know, with the arguments in the criminal case about immunity that occurred last week, almost one week ago, the court there was skeptical but he gets immunity at all, even for additional acts. >> reporter: i think that's a big part of the rest of the story. is how does the court come down on questions like immunity. because that goes directly to the office of the presidency, but you've got to have a clear delineation, being a candidate. >> reporter: and i used to work in the white house. it would've never occurred to me that i could do a crime and say, oh, will i was a deputy assistant to the president, i

was acting on behalf of my capacity as a senior adviser to the vice president. when donald trump's lawyers are arguing is that when he picked up the phone, and called the secretary of state, in georgia, and, said i'm jeff i'm 11,000 more votes, that he was acting as the president that states of america. and that's, like not true? he was very concerned about fraud in the elections, as the president, it's part of his job. but what he did is, he tried to raise everything up to this 30,000 foot elevation. like all of these were just my right, as a president, to communicate with state legislators, and state secretaries of state, communicate with my department of justice about opening investigations into election fraud. communicate with my vice president about what he could do on january 6th. so these are all official acts, according, again. he, according to them. but, again, that argument might have some weight in a civil case, and that is where the

question is. were you doing something as part of your official acts? i think he's been bringing that far, far, too broadly, but was it in your personal capacity. in the criminal side, which is what we're talking about, the jack smith prosecution, related to january 6th, there was a question about whether he's entitled to immunity, even for the scope of things in an official act. and remember, his own attorney admitted that he could be criminally responsible for things done within the scope of his official acts, but only if he were impeached, and convicted by the senate first. but still, that was an important concession. because it says, or she could be prosecuted for things you did within the scope of a presidential run. >> reporter: as isolates to the quest of accountability, and how the system of justice handle someone like donald trump, i'm not sure if you caught this entire back and forth, but the trump team was asking for a postponement in the e. jean carroll case. the judge denied that postponement, and, then you had trump announcing that he was going to do a campaign event in new hampshire, less than 24

hours later. and the shamelessness, i don't think, it surprises us at this point, and yet, the drumbeat of disregard is hard to ever mobilize. >> reporter: -- i'm sorry, for his mother-in-law's funeral. >> because he's going to a campaign event. and you can tell, because of the change positions, no matter what proceeding is in, whether the supreme court back in 2020, whether it's in the d.c. circuit here in 2023. whatever position suits his purposes in the moment, that is the position he will take, and shamefully, his lawyers will take that position. like we expect this from trump. but to have lawyers, unable that, which is with frauds on the court, i think some of these lawyers will, at some point, and should be held to account. >> reporter: i want to broaden up a little bit. because all this conversation is here, and, now in the moment. but thinking ahead to what our system looks like for future presidents, what are some of

the presidents that you see being set right now, both by the actions of this particular candidate slash former president, and the court itself? >> that's interesting question. because that's when that mr. trump's lawyers are really trying to use in the courts. they're saying, if you do not give mr. trump immunity from criminal prosecution, we're going to see the floodgates open, and every future president is going to seek to prosecute the last. and the fact is, and again, i do think he is creating dangerous precedents of himself. but i think that prediction is wrong. we have not had president, after president, after president, try to prosecute their opponents, because we've had most presidents respect the rule of law. and i think and hope and pray that, at some point, we will get back to presidents who respect the rule of law. we are there right now. i think president biden respects the rule of law and

what republican presidents and democratic presidents have done in the past as well. so i fear for this, trying to use it, and push, it as a president, into political prosecutions. >> reporter: may that prayer be answered. we want to thank you very much for being a part of the conversation. up next, one of president biden's top campaign eutenants, quentin flukes, folks, i'm sorry, whois here with us to break down what they are watching for tomorrow night, in iowa. you are watching the weekend. you are watching the weekend. with two times more menthol per drop, and powerful vicks vapors to vaporize sore throat pain. vicks vapocool drops. vaporize sore throat pain. marlo thomas: my father founded saint jude children's research hospital because he believed no child should die in the dawn of life.

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with a replacement we could trust. that's service the way we want it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ >> reporter: all eyes may be on the republican candidess the caucuses begin, but they've been in the campaign as well. they've been sending messages to iowa governor -- senator tina smith of minnesota,

going to the new york times. they're expected to hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon just of the nation's first nominating contest kicks off. their mission, sell the democratic platform to voters, but our voters in iowa and the country vying? joining us now, president biden's reelection campaign bid worker, quinton folks. please tell me, what is it you're looking for out of iowa? >> first of all, let me congratulate three of your new show, it's exciting, i'm glad to see you guys on air. so thank you for having me, i apologize i cannot be there with you guys in person. >> reporter: i blame the trains, quinton. i blame the trains. >> the entry, yeah. look. tomorrow, unfortunately, we expect more of the same. we saw president biden give a speech about freedom and democracy, and we're going to see that on full display tomorrow. no matter who wins tomorrow, unfortunately, it is going to be more of the same, we're gonna see republicans double down on the agenda, because to me out of touch with the

american people. and the real winner is going to be joe biden, if you want to see whoever emerges, and whoever is the winner. we are going to see the contest that we want against the freedom and democracy that joe biden is fighting to protect, and what the maga republicans are trying to do to pull it back. >> reporter: quentin, let's talk about that. what you have to say to the critics? because there's a lot of people in the papers giving advice, saying that, you know. you need to look at what obama did, in his 2012 reelect, and what the biden campaign is currently doing, it is not up to snuff. it when it comes to just infrastructure piece at first, what is the response that you have all not heard up in a way that you need to to be able to compete in 2024? >> what i would say to the critics is i understand what they're feeling. they're feeling urgency, they feel afraid, democracies at stake, we're not just saying that, and dragging our feet. we are building a campaign that is gonna be the campaign that we need to be effective to win, in november, and we saw

yesterday, some of more takes, and the fact that we should lead here, looks like we're not gonna look of the fact that americans are paying too much for prescription drugs. we're not gonna let go of the fact that we need to continue everything we can to reduce student loan debt. he's not gonna echo the fact that trump is out there saying, he wishes the economy would fail, it says that we're not going to let it go down to make sure that inflation is decreasing. so, to the critics, i will say that our campaign understands the urgency. we're rising to the occasion to meet the moment. we are looking at what we need to do to make sure there were gonna win in november. and that is not dictated by one poll, or any given moment in time. boost by poulin infrastructure that make us more competitive, and victorious, in november 2024. >> reporter: he's talking about political yesterday, we are first, i did say that part of the reason the biden campaign folks aren't listening is

because the same people saying joe biden couldn't win in 2020, is that he did maybe let bidenomics go because people don't seem to be grasping at, but they do grasp when their gas goes down. so take your point, quentin. so i'm just saying, i've worked on a lot of campaigns. the chairman has won some races over here, and he's lost some races to, we talked about them. what specifically, though, how are you are going to respond to what we all here out there in the streets from voters? from young people, saying, they don't want to vote for joe biden for whatever reason. for black voters in georgia, for who you know very well, saying, i don't know if i am really feeling like this administration has done anything for me. when the opposite is true. so many things have been done, but it's not breaking through. so what is the plan to communicate that outside of the airways between now and really labor day? >> reporter: small, you worked on campaign to alluded to. there's a matter of what people pay attention to, right now,

three fourths of americans are saying that they don't even believe donald trump is going to be the nominee. just to speak candidly to it, we're going have to build a massive, ground infrastructure. you know, obviously covid, in some capacity, when off a doors in 2020. we're gonna have to train a new generation of organizers, and get them back involved and out knocking doors. i'm very old school when it comes to that. i think the field is going to be one of the biggest components, how able to get a message out. not only just to these voters, but to get them involved. i believe the fact that matt african americans should be knocking doors known community, the young voters need to be out there on college campus systems, looking at their colleagues about what's at stake, building infrastructure out there. you know you'll be higher up in the states, and we've seen that, campaign travelers are ramping, up -- we saw them in valley ford, south carolina, organic it's phinisee this directly to the american people, so when we too, man we're ready to go. but again, your bonus campaign

like democracy is at stake, because it is. >> reporter: quentin, you've got multiple problems here. and it results in you having to fight on two fronts at the same time. you've got, as simone has just indicated, nervousness. let's just be polite about, it within your own ranks. regarding the enormity of the democratic party, current president joe biden. but on my side of the aisle, you've got republicans who are clearly indicating how they are going to go at this campaign, two ways. one, just a full frontal attack, you know, all things hunter biden, and all of that. but then, the subtext. and nbc news has been reporting on recent indication by republicans that they will possibly be casting doubts on whether joe biden can win legitimately in 2024, setting

up narratives in a post election world in which the election would likely be challenged again. how does this campaign tack in both of those situations to hold the presidents team in play so that rank and file voters come to the polls, respect the process, cast their vote. you guys have done the kind of work that you need to do to get those votes that you need, and this election, we can get through it as clearly as we can. >> look, first of all, we have to play the campaign cards we've been dealt. we have to look at what's in the table, we have to make decisions based on that. when it comes to the stuff about hunter biden, i find it ironic that the only branch of government that the republicans fully control, not, branch valley chambery commerce that republicans fully controls the house. and they are continuing down this failed attack of the

presidents family, it's probably what makes the house the most ineffective that it has been since the great depression. so i wish they'd focus on policy rather than attacking the presidents family. but to the other point, that look. we're very clear, we talk to our base, i'm very concerned about talking to base voters, making sure that they're bringing voters back into the fold. he's also the polling that you guys had up. i think it's interesting when you see some of the numbers of republican candidates that will say that they will vote for trump, and that are considering president biden even an iowa. and i think that is something to allude to. we're going to continue to be very clear about what our message is, and that's the fact that margaret publicans like donald trump owes an existential threat to democracy. our challenge is making sure we get that message out, but we also communicate to our base voters. for me, we solidify the democratic base. that is top of mind for me every single day, whether it comes to a medium, weather comes to a ground gain, and everything in between. making sure we send the president, vice president, the second gentleman. that's what we want to do, and that's what my focus is.

>> reporter: clinton, given that you already have other -- given you will most likely be running against a election denier come this election, is the legal team of the biden re-elect campaign making preparations right now for the possibility that a vote will be challenged? >> i wish those republican candidates would find the courage to say that about the front runner of their party instead of plain pandering to get to his extreme maga supporters votes. but when it comes to the president, look, our legal team will be prepared for whatever comes down the pipe. we know, and unfortunately are all too familiar with the type of tricks that republicans are going to play to make sure that people do not have the right to vote, to try to overturn election results, and try to just outright deny what is going on here. but we are going to be prepared to defend democracy on all fronts. whether that's internally from the campaign, externally, through legal means. but we are ready to engage that. but i do believe, and i wish

that the republican party would take a look inside, and cast doubts about those same nominee, or the presumptive nominees, who are on the table. that continue to double down, and deny, and refused to say that donald trump tried to steal the election last time. so, again, it is hard to take that criticism when they are falling for the same trick themselves. >> reporter: quinton folks, thank you for joining. askew to sit at this table with us next time. it is good to have you on, thank you. we're going to unpack some of this before a quick break. you're watching the weekend. you're watching the weekend. deed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

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what we just heard from the biden campaign. i thought the last piece of the legal piece that you laid on top of everything else that someone put on the table was a very, very important. because kids in a traditional campaign, this is not really paid much attention to. even as bush we gourd, it is not a real push element. in the last two cycles. >> reporter: in the midterms, i went to arizona and nevada, both of those democratic candidates were running against election deniers, i host that same question to them, and they both, said yes, of course our campaigns are preparing for this. in this modern environment, you can't afford not to. and i think we all appreciate having worked on campaigns, is that this does mean that there are resources going to this additional challenge -- >> reporter: i wouldn't say can't go, but i think that's

when you got to raise extra money, in 2020, i think don trump telegraphed that he was going to talk about what he was going to do. so when i worked on the campaign he won that night, when he went up there and denied that he won, and that he was the winner, we said, game on. and that entire week, our campaign at the time held three things and preferences open to the conferences about white, with all said and done, joe biden was going to be the next president united states of america. i think quentin is always good on television, i think he came with a little smoke for me calling me a critic, i'm not, want to tell you the truth. but i, think frankly, the people should listen to what he said, because the biden campaign, they are listening. quentin said that he's very concerned about base voters, and if they need to talk to base voters, he said that via the ground game, paid, when the president, first lady, second

lady, second gentleman. they're building up the infrastructure the campaign. they know they need to knock doors. so if i was out, they're saying, i know it's happening, seems like they heard a little something. >> reporter: seems like they're a little politico. >> reporter: not me, maybe ex. >> reporter: they're gonna need to bring that game. because we know from our conversation earlier, there are 11% of republicans, at least in iowa, republican caucus votes who will vote for biden the general. we'll be right back, you are watching the weekend. watching the weekend. here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪ ♪boost♪ nutrition for now.

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the sunday morning. i'm simone sanders-townsend, along with my friends, alicia menendez and -- we will see you back here bright and early, saturday and sunday at 8 to 10 eastern. follow the show on social media at the weekend msnbc. velshi starts right now. hey, ali. how are you? >> i'm great. you -- looks great to. me you're still talking to each other? >> you're not in club where. >> i don't know who you have book today, i will not be outdone before my show starts. you are fabulous. thank you for two great shows, and continued success. we will enjoy the show next weekend. have a great time. i'll see you through the course of the week. good morning to all of you. it is sunday, january the 14th. i'm ali velshi. we are now a day away from what is shaping up to be a historic republican caucus and iowa. the final