we're managing all that, looking at all of that, and we're using every instrument of national power to address various issues. so i think -- there are ways to manage this, so it doesn't spiral out of control. and that's been our focus throughout. to al jazeera. >> i have a few things, back in december, your speech at the reagan library, you told israeli leaders they have to protect civilian lives in gaza. since that speech, 12,000 more -- we're now at 27,000 killed. why are you still supporting this war when this government that isist in the history of israel led by someone who refuses to recognize

any right for palestinians and what elements they're calling for ethnic cleansing and displacement of those palestinians. do palestinians have the right to dignity as you said in angola when i was with you on the trip you said the future belongs to those who can think digdignity,t trample it. >> i said that at a speech at the reagan forum. i said that to my counterpart minister gallant every time i talk to him and i talk to him every week and i emphasize the importance of protecting civilian lives, also emphasizing the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to the palestinians. it is critical. it is really important. this is -- there is no question that this is a tough -- it has been a tough conflict. but we're -- as i said earlier, we are starting to see the israelis kind of shift their stance and change their approach

to a more focused and controlled -- control is not the right word, more focused effort, focused on a discreet set of objectives. and so, i think, you know, we talked to him about that weeks ago, and they said they were going to do that and they are doing that. but i will continue to emphasize and i know secretary blinken and president biden will continue to emphasize the importance of addressing the issue of the palestinian people. it is critical. and, you know, we're doing more, but we're not doing enough. >> time for a few more. to cnn. >> allow me to join my colleagues in wishing you a speedy recovery. the 30 take review is due in a matter of days now. do you commit to making that public and second question, has

your chief of staff offered her resignation or discussions about her resignation in the wake of the failure to notify? >> i commit to being as transparent as possible and sharing as much as possible. or you understand because this is a command and control of policies of our government here there will be elements of this that are classified. but we're committed to sharing as much as possible as soon as possible. >> and your chief of staff, has she offered her resignation? >> she has not. >> to pbs, nick. >> mr. secretary, i've seen what you're going through up close, among loved ones. so, again, we wish you a full recovery and i know it is possible, so, thank you. you described this as a gut punch, your instinct to privacy. but if i could ask you bluntly, you had nearly a month between the time you learned of your cancer and the time that this

came out to inform the president, how could you possibly think that it was okay not to tell him? if i could be blunt. and a small question on iran, and the middle east, what do you believe iran knew operationally about the attack in jordan and how important is that when it comes to the u.s. response? >> so, my diagnosis was made, the doctor highlighted you have a finite window of time to actually get this done. if you go beyond that window, then you'll have a problem. christmas holiday was coming up. for me, to be as little impact on what we're doing in the department, christmas was a time for me to take a look at getting that done. it was a tough decision for me and i did not decide until, you know, very close to when the procedure was done to actually

do the procedure. in terms of informing the president, again, i admit that that was a mistake to not talk to him about that early on. the president of the united states, you got a lot of things on your plate. and so putting my personal issue on -- adding to his -- all the things he's got on his plate, i just didn't feel that was -- that was a thing that i should do at the time, but, again, i recognize that that was a mistake, and i should have done that differently. >> and iran, knew about the attack in jordan or knew how operationally it was involved? >> we believe this was done by an element of what is known as the axis of resistance. and these are iranian proxy groups. and how much iran knew or didn't know, we don't know. but it really doesn't matter because iran sponsors these groups, it funds these groups, and in some cases it trains

these groups on advanced conventional weapons. and so, you know, again, i think without that facilitation, these kinds of things don't happen. >> to ft and then politico to close it out. >> thank you, mr. secretary. have you seen any signs that china has been successful in pressuring iran to rein in the houthis in the red sea? >> we have not. again, what is happening in terms of closed communications between leaders, you know, we don't know, but we have not seen any visible evidence that they are -- that they are encouraging or pressuring iran to cause the houthis to back off of what they have been doing. >> final question. >> good to see you, mr. secretary. i also hope that you get a speedy recovery. i have two questions. first of all, do you regret not

personally telling the deputy the details the two times you were in the hospital and the authorities were transferred to her? do you think she had a right to know? and then i have a question on the middle east as well. >> as you heard me say in my opening statement, i apologized to all my colleagues. and also the american people that i wasn't as transparent as i probably should have been up front. >> and my second question, is there any discussion right now of withdrawing troops from either syria or iraq, especially given what has happened in the last couple of weeks? >> what has happened in the last couple of weeks is not driving us to consider withdrawing troops from syria. there are ongoing discussions with the iraqi leadership about -- about our future footprint in iraq and i think that's been fairly well publicized. we have taken the first steps in

conducting those meetings and so that will play out over time. >> does that include discussions about withdrawing troops from iraq? >> it will include discussions about our footprint going forward, for sure. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have for today. thank you very much. >> we're still doing the forensics. most of the drones in the region have a connection with iran. [ inaudible ] >> you know, i don't think the adversaries have a one and done mindset. and, so, they have a lot of capability. i have a lot more. and so, you know, we -- as i said earlier, we're going to do what is necessary to protect our troops and our interests.

>> thank you very much. thank you. [ inaudible ] >> and there we see the secretary of defense stepping down after a widespread news conference this morning. i'm jose diaz-balart. good morning. we begin with the breaking news at the pentagon, where secretary of defense lloyd conducted his first press conference after being hospitalized from complications from prostate cancer. >> i want to be crystal clear, we did not handle this right, and i did not handle this right. i should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. i should have also told my team and the american public. and i take full responsibility. i apologized to my teammates and to the american people. >> the secretary also addressed

the deaths of three u.s. service members who were killed in a drone attack in jordan on sunday. >> it has been a difficult few days for the department of defense. and the entire department is united in our outrage and sorrow over the death of three u.s. service members on sunday in jordan. >> joining us now, courtney kube who is in bahrain, raf sanchez in tel aviv and general barry mccaffrey, retired four star general and msnbc analyst. so, a lot covered in this press conferen by the secretary of defense, specifically the reaction of the united states to the killing of three u.s. service members. >> yes, jose. i have to say, i believe that is the longest most comprehensive briefing we have ever had from secretary austin in this job or any other job i've covered him over the last 20 years. so, he took questions for 35

minutes, which is longer than we generally get. a couple of things that stood out to me, on his health issues, again this is the first time that we have heard from him or had an opportunity to ask him questions, since his secret hospitalization on january 1st on new year's day for complications surrounding his prostate cancer, one thing that stood out is he said he had -- he did not direct anyone on his staff not to tell the white house about his hospitalization. so that's very telling, jose, because that has been one of the big mysteries here is did he tell people not to inform the white house or where there people on his staff who whether they thought they were carrying out something that they would want or they just made their own decision not to inform the white house, he's saying he was not the one who directed them to do that. he said he did not direct his staff not to tell the public about it, but as you mentioned, i apologized to the public, he apologized, he said he apologized face to face to president biden about this, but he also said he never offered his resignation, which is also

very telling. at times like this when there is something that has been done that is clearly a mistake, oftentimes officials offer a resignation, even as a pro forma. but he's saying he didn't do that, jose. >> yeah, and he also says his chief of staff did not offer her resignation either. and, courtney, i think this is important, the issues of the health and the fact that he never informed the commander in chief, either one of the two times that he was hospitalized, he had a very interesting comment. he said i'm committed to being as transparent as possible. but as possible includes a whole slew of things, which including sometime not informing the president of the united states. >> yeah and i will say not vowing to release the review that they're conducting right now into this entire incident, saying some of it could be classified. i found that interesting as well. and another thing i was

surprised to hear him address was the fact that this could have been almost a teachable moment or an opportunity for him to show some real leadership here as an older man, who is diagnosed with prostate cancer, he could have shown to other men who are diagnosed with it every single day in this country and in this world an opportunity to show that it is not something to be ashamed of, something a lot of men go through and he could have made it almost a teachable moment. he acknowledged that in the briefing. and then, of course, the other big topic here was the situation in the middle east, you mentioned he talked about the three u.s. soldiers who were killed, the more than 40 others who were injured, he didn't show a whole lot of new information about what these response options could look like. we heard they're going to be in phases or tiered response. but he didn't show a whole lot more about that. he did, however, say that whether iran directed at tack on jordan, this dead a attack or not, they are still responsible

for arming and training and equipping these militia groups and therefore they hold some -- bear some responsibility for the ongoing attacks in the region. >> i want to bring in peter alexander who just asked the secretary some of the questions in the briefing. as a side note, i always learn from you just how you present the questions and how you do it in such a succinct and brilliant way. that's just for me. but i want to ask you about what you asked the secretary and what you learned from what the secretary told you. >> i was struck specifically as it relates first to the strikes and the deliberations about what the u.s. is responsible, the deadly drone attack that killed three americans along the jordanian/syrian border. i asked specifically of the secretary, secretary austin, why

the united states had waited until american service members were killed, three of them in total before it went further in terms of its use of military force to try to deter further strikes. and it appeared to me he was sort of winding his way through that question, in effect saying that there have been a series of retaliatory strikes so far. they have, he acknowledged, not done enough to stop the potential for iran or its proxies, i should say, to be able to attack americans. it was interesting the secretary did say that they have power, but i have a lot more and it is clear that at this moment the administration is in effect vowing to do more than it has done so far and that sort of tiered targeted approach as part of of a broader campaign to try to take out some of those iranian-backed militias throughout that region. separately to my first question, to him, which was specifically about the standard that exists

within the military, that the secretary had not communicated to the president or to the white house for a matter of days about his hospitalization, about his absence, and the reality that -- were this to be the case with any other member within the military chain of command, they would certainly have faced reprimand or dismissal. i said should that same standard apply to him. i think the secretary made it clear in the course of his remarks today that he apologizes for his, didn't use this word, failure, but his failure not to be public about it sooner, not to tell the president about it sooner and that they hope it will be a learning opportunity. it is certainly a humbling moment for him right now. it raises questions, given the judgment calls that the secretary of defense and those around him have to make on a not just daily, but hourly basis, about whether americans can feel real trust in his judgment going forward. i think that's the sort of credibility he needs to build back with the american people. he made it clear he has no intention to resign and did

acknowledge as you and courtney were discussing that he will wait for the completion of an internal review to see where if anywhere further this leads. >> and, general, in our conversations in the past, you talked about how this was such a mistake, that the secretary of defense clearly made and i want your thoughts on that a little bit more. but, also, general, on the situation of what the united states can and maybe possibly could be planning as far as retaliatory actions. >> well, look, the whole matter of prostate cancer, surgery, chain of command, will be investigated, i'm sure, endlessly in the coming weeks. i thought that secretary austin's statement was frank. it was forth coming. there is not much more to be said about it. it was a mistake when he first went in for cancer surgery, he should have personally called the president and told him i'm not quite clear why the chairman didn't share with the national

security council when he knew. but i think you almost have to put that behind you. he said what he had to say. it was a mistake. now we got to move on. this guy is a tremendous factor to u.s. national security. i've known him for 25 years. there isn't one thing he doesn't know from personal experience on dealing with these terrible challenges facing us. so, i think it was a good press conference. and he faced up to it. the larger issue is what are we going to do in the middle east? clearly they're prepared to act in a very forceful way. i like him using the word take away capabilities. the whole notion of tit for tat responses hadn't worked, 168 some odd strikes on u.s. forces. he did mention, we're in ongoing discussions with the iraqi political leadership on our 2500

troops in iraq. my personal guess is we got to get out of there. it is a counter-isis mission, we have other ways of influencing that situation. but make no mistake about it, the middle east is a mess, it is not going to get better anytime soon. the biggest single issue is constriction of world economic flow through the suez canal. where is the egyptian government? where is this saudi government, jordanian government on these issues? so, secretary blinken, who takes a lead in the region, has some hard work ahead of him. >> general, how does one, in the military, and certainly when you are presenting the proposals and the options to the president of the united states, how does one balance the reality that behind many of those, if not all of

those 140 plus attacks against u.s. interests since october, there is a sovereign government, the regime in iran, in one way or another, behind, in some ways, what has been going on? how do you balance that reality with who you strike back towards? >> well, look, you raise an important point, jose. i have been a national security council meetings with participant under three different administrations. by the time the top three issues get to the nsc, you normally have a problem for which there are several equally unappealing dangerous options. and the team that biden has in office are very thoughtful, experienced, cautious people. it is a whole of government approach. but there is going to be no good outcome. the iranians are not just committed to, you know, forcing

the israelis to face in different directions while fighting for their survival against hamas. the iranians are trying to be the dominant political and military entity in the middle east. and it is not going to go away. so all this forensic analysis of who gave the orders, it is iran, stupid. that's what's doing it. so now the question is what do we do about it? we don't want a war with iran. i think biden rightfully has kept us out of that conflict. but they're going to have to up the ante. certainly the houthis are representing a challenge that there is going to have to be some significant escalation of military force, heavy bombers, mining their harbors, who knows what we'll do. we've have some classified aspects of the response, delta force will go snatch people off the battlefield. cyberwarfare will take place.

secret diplomatic approaches to iran where we give them our red lines will happen. but this is a very dangerous, complex situation, no question. >> and, raf, just learning that the united states, president biden will be announcing sanctions on some settlers, israeli settlers in the west bank. the secretary of defense was asked about the palestinian people that have been suffering countless casualties in the war in gaza. what is the sense on the ground there in israel as we await the united states' response to the death of three u.s. service members in jordan? >> well, jose, israeli officials have not been commenting on any potential american strikes. i think that's out of deference to president biden as he takes an american national security decision. but it is worth saying, nobody tracks the movements of iranian operatives across the middle east closer than the israelis. ten days ago, there was a strike

in the syrian capital damascus. it killed a senior member of iran's revolutionary guard corps, that is a suspected israeli strike, and it is very possible as the president and his national security team pick targets in response to that attack in jordan there may be israeli intelligence that is fed into that. in terms of the west bank, jose, it is for totally understandable reasons all eyes have been on gaza, and southern israel, since october 7th, but there have been unprecedented levels of violence in the occupied west bank since then, more than 300 palestinians have been killed, most of them in confrontations with israeli security forces, but at least eight of them including one child according to the united states killed by israeli settlers and the reality is, the israeli government very rarely prosecutes settlers who commit acts of violence against palestinians and you have heard the united states repeatedly saying israel needs to do more,

and it seems to a certain extent the patients may have run out. this is the u.s. taking action on its own now. i'll give you one example of what palestinians see as the impunity for settlers over the summer. hundreds of settlers overran a palestinian village called termasi, not a single one of them has been charged with a crime. jose? >> peter alexander, courtney kube, raf sanchez and general barry mccaffrey, thank you very much. up next, we'll play for you what president biden said this morning about where things stand with the border deal negotiations. plus, we'll ask california senator alex padilla what he must see in the bill in order to support it. senator, great to see you. we'll chat in 60 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ds you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. ♪♪ whoo! ♪♪ light work! ♪♪ next victims. ♪♪ you ready for this? ♪pump up the jam pump it up♪

>> woman: what's my safelite story? i see inspiration 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. ♪ we start on capitol hill where lawmakers are waiting for a bipartisan group of senators

negotiating a border security deal to release the text of the agreement. president biden was asked about the deal as he arrived at the capitol for the national prayer breakfast. >> mr. president, some house republicans are calling the border deal a nonstarter. can you get it done? >> mr. president, are you doing enough to -- >> underscoring the urgen sy of the matter, a new poll finds 61% of voters consider the situation at the border to be a crisis. with us now to talk about this and more, nbc news correspondent david noriega in eagle pass, texas. good seeing you. how what is being discussed in washington playing out where you are? >> reporter: yeah, jose, eagle pass is a pretty small city on the border and it has become the center stage in this national political drama. the main way this is playing out here is in this conflict between the republican governor greg abbott and the federal government. all of this is connected, right? and i've been talking to some of the people who live here in eagle pass, some locals and a

lot of them sort of resent they have been pulled into this political conflict that they didn't ask to be a part of. since i've been here, we have been spending a lot of time in and around shelby park, this big park right on the river, that the residents of eagle pass are used to using. families use it almost every day. but texas authorities shut it down in order to prevent the border patrol from using the park to process arriving migrants as they had been last month when migrants arrived in really large numbers. i spoke to juanita martinez, the chair of the local county democratic party, who kind of came to the park to argue with the national guardsmen who weren't letting her and other people in. i'll play you a short clip of what she said. take a listen. >> the residents here in maverick county in eagle pass, we know the real story. everybody that is smart enough to know, there is no danger. there is no in danger. none of this is symptomstopping

immigrants from crossing. it is just a political show. >> reporter: a spoke to a city official who said the city is bearing some costs in relation to this, this activity by the state and they're wondering, you know, who is going to take care of that and their already pretty meager budget. >> david noriega, thank you very much. with us now to continue our conversation is cal senator alex padilla who sits on the judiciary committee. always great to see you. i thank you for your time. we have kind of all been hearing bits and pieces about this agreement. your colleagues are hammering out, including giving the president and dhs the authority to shut down the border when encounters reach a certain number for a week. what is your position on what you've seen so far? >> good to be back with you, jose. the frustration continues because there is nothing we have actually seen thus far. the agreement, you know, if it is even at that point, certainly the language of it has not been shared with other lawmakers for review, for analysis.

we're operating based on what we're hearing. and a lot of what we're hearing is troublesome because a lot of it is frankly trump's playbook, back in action, a series of policies proven to not work. call it title 42, the president closed the border. we can't expect it to work again. the republican colleagues who insist on shutting down the border or quote, unquote driving the numbers down, aren't truly engaged in the root cause conversation if we're sincere about addressing the number of people coming to the united states,seeking asylum or economic opportunity, let's have that conversation, but that's not what we're hearing from negotiators? you and i have for the longest time even before you were in the senate, when you were in

california, about the importance of representation and about being at the places where discussions are carried out. and you are the first latino senator in the state of california, which tells you a lot. but i'm just wondering, where is the representation on this conversation going? i haven't seen it in the senate, i haven't seen it the in the house, i haven't seen it out of the white house. am i wrong? >> that's been one of the big frustrations for a number of members of congress. i underscore that there is not a border state democrat at the table either. knowing the stakes are so high, i've insisted on working and communicating directly with my colleagues, both democrats and republicans, to try to stay on top of what is being considered in real time and offer solutions, jose. it is important to remind the public it is not unlawful for somebody seeking -- fleeing a

regime to come to the united states seeking asylum. we shouldn't cut the asylum system as we know. we should fund it better. more hearing officers, more judges, so people who qualify can get approved more quickly in a matter of weeks and months, not years and years, get the work permits so they can support themselves and move on. those who don't return home more quickly, not leave them in limbo. for folks coming to the united states seeking economic opportunity, i keep hearing from employers across sectors of the economy we have a workforce shortage. let's grow the work visa categories and connect people wanting to work with, employers who need those workers. these are the types of solutions we don't hear at the table in these negotiations. another thing that has been lost in the shuffle here is any sort of relief for dreamers, for essential workers, for farm workers who are already here, contributing to the economy, contributing to the security of our nation.

>> yeah, i mean, the 11 million plus that have been vetted in so many ways by being here and participating in our economy, with many with u.s. born children and the dreamers to at least 750,000 people who are being completely ignored on this. senator, you're talking about some of those kind of outside influences. donald trump is looking to torpedo any agreement. and it seems like a number of house and senate republicans are following his lead. >> jose, so there you have it. have republicans been genuine all along or not? you can't have it both ways. you can't say what we have at the border is a crisis and we have an urgent need to act and then publicly say that, well, let's wait until november and see how the election goes to try to do something about it. you can't have it both ways, where senate republicans, some want to make sure that secretary mayorkas in the room helping negotiate and craft a deal, where in the house, they're moving to impeach him. can't have it both ways. it seems like republicans are

just playing political games. you have what is happening in texas with governor abbott literally deploying state guards to keep federal officials from doing their job and securing the border. so, all they want is chaos. they're creating a whole lot of it. but let's not let them get away with it. >> it is a political -- show. and unfortunately in political shows, the people that aren't benefiting are the people. senator alex padilla, thank you so much for being with us. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, jose. up next, as president biden heads to the battleground state of michigan, we'll talk to the mayor of dearborn about why many

muslims and arab-americans in that state are mobilizing against the president. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost.

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deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e. 35 past the hour. in just a few minutes, president biden will be traveling to michigan, a key battleground state to meet with the united autoworkers after securing their endorsement for his re-election. unfolding in michigan, some members of the state's vast arab and muslim community are pushing to defeat biden, angered by the administration's refusal to call for a cease-fire in gaza. joining us now, democratic mayor of dearborn, michigan, abdullah hamud. good to see you. thank you for your time. last week you were invited to

meet with the biden campaign with other arab leaders, which you declined. why? >> well, thank you so much for having me. i believe that this is actually not a moment for electoral politics. over the course of now nearly 120 days, israel murdered and killed over 26,000 innocent men, women and children in gaza, displaced over 2 million and for us palestinian lives should not be measured in poll numbers. if we want to have a conversation, it should be one that is had with senior policymakers and decisionmakers that can help us chart a new course as to what is unfolding overseas. that does not happen with campaign staff. >> what conversation do you think should be had and what conversation would you have directly with the president? >> i think at the outset, first conversation i would have is on the need to demand and call for a permanent and unconditional cease-fire. that is something that is extremely important. we see a humanitarian crisis unfolding. with any decisionmakers around

the table from the administration, we have a conversation on what has to change course on what is unfolding in the middle east. secretary blinken said this is the most volatile the middle east has been in the last 50 years. so based on that rhetoric, we can clearly see that the path and the choices that have been made by this administration are surely not the correct ones. we have to embark on a new path. we hear in dearborn, we hail from many countries across the middle east, lebanon, syria, palestine, we have the firsthand accounts for what it is like to live in these countries. our parents are immigrants and refugees. use our experience to put pen on paper and chart a new course together. >> so, i'm just wondering what a new course would look like for you to be satisfied and i'm just wondering, the president of the united states has been very clear that a lot, if not all of the united states reaction to what has been going on there had to do with the 7th of october. and i'm just wondering what is it that you see as a different chart or path going forward for

the american government? >> i don't believe that dropping bombs is leading to peace. i think if we have seen anything since october 7th, it is in fact diplomatic efforts when there was a short humanitarian pause that led to some positive outcomes, we need diplomacy to lead. this president ran on bringing back decency and good moral conscience to the white house. he ran on the idea he had foreign policy experience to end endless wars in the middle east and that's not what we're seeing. that would be the course i would implore, that diplomacy should lead. just yesterday the president has come out and said that he holds iran responsible for the killing of three u.s. soldiers in jordan. if i take that same logic, would i not hold my president responsible for the 2,000 pound bombs he supplies israel that is indiscriminately being dropped on innocent men, women and children. we need to have the exact parallels, not be hypocritical when we talk about policy and

lead with diplomatic efforts. >> in your interview, you were asked about potential matchup between biden and trump and i know you don't want to talk politics but politics is a key part of our world. you said, quote, as it pertains to the decisions that are being made overseas, it seems like there is no real difference between former president trump and current president biden. what do you mean by that? >> you know, the clip that was shown to me was president trump advocating for eliminating the funding for the united nations work relief agency. the same -- trump was talking about it, biden was doing it. from my respect, trump is a threat to american democracy. and i am not blind to what is being said by him and other republican presidential candidates at the podium. that question should fall back to president biden. what will you do to prevent the fabric of american democracy from unraveling? that is a question that should fall on to the candidate. what will you do to earn the

respect of your voters across america? what we're asking for is not just important to -- most americans side with us in calling for a cease-fire. >> thank you for your time. let's continue the conversation going forward. appreciate it. >> thank you. still ahead, new polling out of south carolina showing former president trump with a whopping lead over nikki haley. what it means for the haley campaign. plus, just moments ago, defense secretary lloyd austin shared very personal details about his fight with prostate cancer. we'll speak to a doctor about why this type of cancer is particularly dangerous for black men. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnb c. there's nothing better than a subway series footlong. except when you add an all new footlong sidekick. like the philly with a new $2 footlong churro. sometimes the sidekick is the main event. you would say that. every epic footlong deserves the perfect sidekick.

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growing up, my parents wanted me to become vision changes, or eye pain occur. a doctor or an engineer. those are good careers! but i chose a different path. first, as mayor and then in the legislature. i enshrined abortion rights in our california constitution. in the face of trump, i strengthened hate crime laws and lowered the costs for the middle class. now i'm running to bring the fight to congress. you were always stubborn. and on that note, i'm evan low, and i approve this message. you want to see who we are as americans? i'm peter dixon and in kenya... we built a hospital that provides maternal care. as a marine... we fought against the taliban and their crimes against women. and in hillary clinton's state department... we took on gender-based violence in the congo. now extremists are banning abortion

and contraception right here at home. so, i'm running for congress to help stop them. for your family... and mine. i approved this message because this is who we are. 45 past the hour. new numbers giving us a closer look into the state of the 2024 race ahead of the south carolina primary brand-new polling among potential gop primary voters shows former president trump with a 26 point lead over nikki haley in her home state. it comes as new financial reports from the candidates show that while haley is running a lean campaign, trump is spending big on his legal woes. joining us now, nbc news correspondent ali vitali in hilton head, south carolina. ali, haley is touting herself as a stronger general election candidate than trump. but the path to getting there is

becoming narrow and more narrow for her. >> yeah. isn't that always the case in these republican primaries, jose. these candidates in a primary try to make a general election argument and in haley's case, she's making an electability pitch based on polls that show her head to head with president joe biden and show haley faring well if not better than former president donald trump. but, of course, in order to make it through the primary, trump is exactly the guy she has to go to and go through and we have seen her in the past few weeks be willing to ratchet up her rhetoric, specifically the way she's willing to target the former president over his electability. but also over his age and mental fitness, largely that's an attack that haley has been able to leverage because of an opening that trump himself gave to his opponent, mixing up haley's name with that of nancy pelosi's during a rift that he regularly does about a conspiracy theory regarding january 6th. haley has seized on that and only ratcheted up that rhetoric,

in the last 24 hours we have seen her start to pitch things online about fictional film about grumpy old men, that's a new ad campaign she's pushing centering both biden and trump. really starting to ratchet up that rhetoric around age and mental fitness, even as we're watching her sort of shy away from criticisms on the legal front, though haley is starting to make waves regarding the way that the former president's legal fees are being paid for in part by donors and his super pac. >> haley might have the money to move forward, but as we said, her path is tightening. is there something that her campaign is seeing maybe behind the scenes that others aren't? >> i think, jose, there is a question about movement. what direction the race is moving in. and if you look at that most recent polling, the polling you showed, that gap at 26 points seems large, but it is actually smaller than we have seen in

some past weeks where the gap has been as much as 35 or 40 points. so, i think there is two things that the campaign is going to be looking at. one is this question of momentum. but the second and more important question is are any of the arguments against donald trump really working? and they have an ability on the inside to take a look at specific messages, how they have been deployed and how they're impacting republican primary voters. now, in south carolina, independents can potentially vote in that republican primary. the issue is going to be are there enough of them to potentially wash out the very strong base that donald trump has in south carolina. this is the key question. what is the closing argument going to look like as we move toward that february 24th primary in south carolina, what are the arguments that the campaign is going to put forward, and what actually works, jose, that's the bigger issue, you can throw all this stuff against the wall, but what is actually going to stick in that's the crucial question for the haley campaign. >> what will stick and how long

she can stick around if there is no number one in any results coming in on south carolina, her home state or anywhere else. >> well, i think her argument is going to be, listen, we're going to be in this race and be an alternative. and that the number of delegates issued through these primaries, even as we get through south carolina, is going to be relatively small compared to the massive haul of delegates on super tuesday, which is march 5th. i think the campaign's argument to donors at least, for example, is give us the resources to stick through this until we know a bunch of delegates have been allocated and then we can figure out whether there is or isn't a pathway and i think that's the question. the question. will they be able to sell that argument? will people say, there needs to be an alternative through this important day of march 5th? i think that's the hope as they go into the next several weeks. >> ali, lani, thank you both.

up next, defense secretary lloyd austin revealed for the first time his struggle with prostate cancer and the complications after his treatment. we will talk to a doctor about that next. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. that's why my go to is nurtec odt. it's the only migraine medication that can treat and prevent my attacks all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion and stomach pain. now i'm in control. with nurtec odt i can treat a migraine attack and prevent one. talk to your doctor about nurtec today. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now.

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54 past the hour. back to breaking news. secretary of defense lloyd austin talking about his prostate cancer diagnosis during a wide ranging news conference. his first since the diagnosis was revealed earlier last month. austin admitted he did not handle it correctly and promised to do better in the future. >> i want to be crystal clear. we did not handle this right. and i did not handle this right. i should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. i should have also told my team and the american public. i take full responsibility.

i apologize to my teammates and to the american people. >> with us now, dr. daville, medical director of the john hopkins proton center. it's great seeing you. i want to clearly make sure that we state that you are not treating secretary austin. he said he had a minimally invasive procedure on the 22nd of december to cure his prostate cancer and went home the following day. he was taken back to the hospital on the 1st of january after feeling severe leg pain as well as pain in his abdomen and hip. doctors diagnosed he had a bladder inspection, abdominal problems. how common is it to experience these complications? >> actually, these can be common complications or side effects of treatment. most men actually will not have suffered these complications or side effects during their

treatment, their surgery for prostate cancer. >> black men are more likely to develop prostate cancer. why? >> you know, we really don't know what are the exact reasons. black men have about a one in six for black men and one in eight for white men. we think there's a genetic predisposition but also environmental factors. men in the u.s. have higher rates of prostate cancer than around the world. it's multiple factors that end up contributing to that. the important thing to remember is that the outcomes don't have to be worse. currently in the u.s., black men are twice as likely to die of prostate cancer than white men. what we have seen in multiple studies is when they receive timely and high-quality care, their outcomes are just as good as white men. >> it's interesting. the secretary talked about the

reticence of black men to talk about this. i have seen it in the latino community as well. how important is it to talk about this issue but to get checked up early? >> absolutely. that's why it can be helpful and powerful for black men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer to share their story, to tell family members and their sib siblings and children. it's best when you have early diagnosis and screening and treatment. for those who have a family history, they are at a higher risk. the family member is at a higher risk of being diagnosed. it's life saving when you can talk about it. there's a lot of stigma that we have to get over. we have to make it better for black men and any men to talk about this to their friends, their family members and their communities. share their story and improve the outcomes overall. >> i think it's important people

know that there are blood tests that one can and should be taking. then there's also the actual checkup, which is as important or maybe even more. >> yeah. part of prostate cancer screening, how we look for prostate cancer includes a simple blood test, the psa test. also can include what we call the digital rectal exam. men call it the finger exam. this occurs routinely in your annual primary care visit with your physician. the current guideline is to have a conversation with your doctor about the risks and benefits of screening. usually, that's at age 50. for black men, it's age 45 given the higher risk. it can be as early as age 40. those conversations are most important. >> i can't thank you enough for being with us and for your time. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. before we go, good news to

share with you this morning. an incredible milestone. pearl harbor survivor chuck kholar celebrated his 100th birthday. he survived the pearl harbor attack. he says he is touched by the recognition and lucky to celebrate a century. >> this is wonderful! oh, my goodness gracious. i don't think many people get to experience something like this. all of these people, who knows where they came from, because of me? to wish me happy birthday? i will never, ever forget it. >> we will never forget you. i want to congratulate you and wish you a happy birthday. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can reach me on social media @jdbalart. watch clips from our show on youtube. thank you for the privilege of