nikki is corrupt. >> i love the attention, thank you for that. >> no one bigger than donald trump. >> record of lying, wall street donors used to support him and now they support me. >> don't interrupt me, i didn't interrupt you. >> i beat the left time and time again. >> it's a bunch of lies. >> president biden dismissing questions about his family business. >> contacts he had with hunter biden's businesses. >> carley: going virtual to avoid pro-palestinian protesters. no way did i obstruct the proceedings. >> will they censor jamaal bowman for pulling the fire alarm? >> what is next, jaywalking? [applause] >> the government. >> give it a whirl. [cheering] >> lawrence: roll tide! roll tide! we got a big conversation coming up live from tuscaloosa, alabama. the location for last night's final presidential debate before the iowa caucuses. it was a fight night there. i'll send it to y'all. >> ainsley: so great to see ron desantis there. you interviewed chris christie earlier. >> steve: with a bloody mary

nikki is corrupt. >> would you like to respond? >> no.is not worth my time to respond to him. >> sarah matthews, what did you make of how haley handled all of this and how do you think her performance affects what had been a pretty upward rising trajectory and fumomentum in polling? >> i think that definitely her strategy was to try to not be as contentious maybe as she had been in the previous debates. she obviously saw in those debates that she had kind of sparring moments with vivek particularly. but i think in this debate she chose to try to rise above it and look like the adult in the room. and i will say it was a strong debate performance from her. do i think it was her strongest that she's had? no. i think that desantis and chris christie probably had their strongest debate performances to date. but i think that she still looked like that she was the person who is rising in the polls and the others looked like their campaigns were flailing and that is why they were attacking her so aggressively. >> matt gorman, quick last word. >>

i'm going to take nikki haley's word at it. she believes he's fit to be president.f you believe someone who says those kind of things and is under four criminal indictments is fit to be president you can agree with her. i don't. >> okay. well, nikki haley i want to ask you about how some of your opponents who have stood on that debate stage have talked about her. you did seem to come to nikki haley's defense after the last debate when vivek ramaswamy went straight at her. you said you think he personally has a woman problem. do you think your party has a woman problem? do you think a woman could be the lead on republican ticket? >> sure. i think a woman can be a lead on a republican ticket and i don't think the party has a woman problem. i think vivek has a woman problem. i defended nikki haley at that debate because when someone on the stage like vivek treats someone who is as smart and accomplished as nikki haley is, has been my friend 13 years, says and compares her intellect to that of his 3-year-old son, the way i was raised, margaret, is you stand up and defen

nikki is corrupt!that nikki is corrupt there, we saw you come in at the beginning of the debate, and with your sharpie, write something with very big letters on that pad. and then we saw what it was. but that, plus the rest of what we played and much, much more that we did not have time to play, you were really aggressive, back to how you were a couple of debates ago. and i guess a couple of debates -- with a form of leadership people are looking for right now? >> i think one of my policies that goes beyond corruption in -- and then joining the board of pfizer, whether you're doing special deals with boeing for years as governor south carolina only to go join their board. afterwards use their connections to start military -- financial incentives. i'm very critical of biden and the hunter biden payments that were allegedly made an otherwise. well, i can't apply that standard to the democrats if we are not applying it at home in our own party as. well and so for me it is going to take people, at least fr

let me read you what you have said about nikki haley. >> no, no, no.argaret, no, i'm countering, margaret, i'm countering what you say, margaret, i'm countering what you say about other polls showing surges, which they do not.% so if you want to cite them, at least cite them correctly. >> okay. you said nikki haley's not a fundamentally serious candidate when she said, as you just said earlier on our program, that trump is fit to lead. you've said, you wish that she cared more about the truth and things she's said about global trade, for example, you say, shows she doesn't even understand what she's talking about. are you ruling out ever working with nikki haley in the future to defeat donald trump? >> i'm working on defeating donald trump. i'm the only one in the race who is working on defeating donald trump. when she hasn't ruled out being think you can take her as a - serious contender against him. ron desantis and i have both ruled out accepting the vice presidency from donald trump. nikki haley has not. that's why she's not saying strong things ag

nikki is corrupt. >> nikki is corrupt there. we saw you come in at the beginning of the debate and with you a sharpie right something very big letters on that pad. and then we saw what it was. that plus the rest of what we played in much more that we don't have time to play, you are really aggressive back to how you were a couple of debates ago. i guess the question is, why do you consider that a form of leadership that we were looking for right now? >> i think one of my policies that goes against partisanship, join the board of pfizer whether you're doing special deals with boeing for years is the governor of south carolina only to join their board afterwards, you connections down a military contractor that changes your financial incentives, i'm very critical of biden. the hunter biden payments were allegedly made an otherwise. well, i can't buy that standard to the democrats who are not applying it at home in all parties well. for me it's going to take people at least from the outside read hofman, one of the largest bone use.

>> nikki haley. >> lawrence: why?that she acted like an adult and we need someone that is both strong and has like all of their personal feelings together enough to handle themselves. >> lawrence: well said. my other friend right over here shocked me. you went in as a desantis supporter. >> correct. >> lawrence: and you left as a. >> nikki haley supporter. >> lawrence: why? >> i think that she was much more strong and solid she presented a good message. the same message she has been presenting didn't interrupt people something we need in a leader is someone who can be be the adult in the room when times get crazy. >> roger that, brother. who your candidate? >> >> at the end of the day it is trump. >> why? why? because it's trump. he will secure the nominee if the legal battles don't take over. >> roger that. as you can see. there is a mixed crowd here in this diner today. it's probably the first diner that i have seen every candidate represented today. we'll be talking to them all morning and, plus, chris christie jus

certainly, not nikki haley. so she shouldn't even be worried about appeasing someone who wants to relitigate the civil war. those are not nikki haley voters. nikki haley was in new hampshire running to try to win new hampshire, not alabama, not mississippi, new hampshire. her core constituency are not trump voters. she needs to win independents in new hampshire and non-trump center right voters in new hampshire. that should be her top priority. and what does she need to do for that to happen? she needs to get chris christie to drop out of the race. i think it is much less likely today that chris christie will drop out of the race than it was two or three days ago. so i think this was a big deal. again, with the caveat that news cycles move quickly. as john was saying, this reenforces a negative stereotype about nikki haley not being ready for prime time. and it speaks not just to her bad political strategy. it speaks a little bit to character as well. >> susan, we heard from chris christie that nikki haley looks

nikki haley needs a lot of things to happen for her to win new hampshire. she probably needs chris christie to drop out, she needs to consolidate more voters and does need to attract some trump voters to her, i think that's going to be challenging. of course the question is if she does do well in new hampshire, where did she go from there? the next day to south carolina and she's former governor. it's hard, it seems like trump is very much in the lead there, he has the endorsement of h.r. mcmaster, even if she does well, the question is what is her bath ahead? >> we don't talk about a president mccain for a reason, he could not do well in new hampshire. i did not mean anything in the end. >> i remember when he made that combat, i'm sure david does as well. let me ask you this, nikki haley has been tiptoeing through the trump to lips. she was having and hauling around questions about donald trump, let's play that and talk about it on the other side. >> one president trump had the opportunity to stop it, when he had the opportunity to say it, people listen. h

ambassodor nikki haley cannot command that. i think if she does well in iowa and new hampshire, i think she get trumped in south carolina. >> mentioned several lawmakers in south carolina. could senator tim scott gives her a boost now that he's out of the presidential race. could we see that play out in south carolina? >> probably not. a couple things. one, i don't tim scott will do it. he may be one of the vice president candidate. so that is terrible politics for him, one. i love tim. we get along very well. but he doesn't have the popularity of some of the other elected officials in south carolina. donald trump came in south carolina last year and secured all of these endorsements. he's been back. i don't think there is any hope. tim scott does a great player in south carolina politics. he will not be able to push the state in one direction or the other. it will be awful politicians on his part. >> there is something that we're seeing that is a little different from before. you have ambassodor nikki haley and ron desantis hi

nikki is corrupt. >> i love all the attention, fellas, thank you for that. >> there is no bigger issue than donald trump. >> i have a record of standing up and doing what is right. >> you have a record of lying. those wall street donors used to support them and now they support me. >> don't interrupt me. i didn't interrupt you. >> walk yourself off stage and have a nice meal. >> you have these three acting as if the race is between the four of us. >> we need someone in the white house who going to be at fighter. i beat the left time and time again and that's what i will do for you. >> mass shooting at the university of las vegas. >> everyone is hysterical. >> four people dead including the gunman. >> a bunch of lies. >> we have sworn testimony of contacts that he had with hunter biden's business clients. >> they're lies. >> a man is behind bars after sucker punching a grandfather who was pushing a stroller with his infant grandson inside. the attack was completely unprovoked. ♪ good morning, good morni

i think the voters will come nikki's way and hopefully ultimately it comes nikki's way and that's a decisionis to make. >> governor sununu, thank you so much. happy new year. >> you bet. happy new year. >>> will the supreme court weigh in on whether to remove donald trump from the ballot? constitutional law scholar jamie raskin is here next, and could our political problems be caused by americans' failure to simply connect with one another? i'll talk to senator chris murphy about the epidemic of loneliness in america coming up. to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. ♪ ♪ join the millions of people taking back♪ ♪eir privacy ♪ ♪ >>> the weight of evidence that i reviewed indicated that it w

if you want the old republican party, nikki haley is your last shot. if you like the new republican party and agree with donald trump, the election is over in the primary. one thing voters don't like, they don't like their choices being pushed out of the way, this has to naturally happen. what will happen, last stand for ron desantis will be iowa, he's out of money, he wins iowa, or he can continue this or donors will come back. nikki haley, she has money to do it, polling number two in new hampshire. this will give her a bump. again, no one has yet to explain to me how they're going to get 40% of the vote to switch to them when you have donald trump that is leading in every single poll. >> steve: figure ron desantis had that ground game, best ground game in iowa and caucus system, i think he's thinking it is hail mary, we will know. >> lawrence: good point, i keep hearing from ron desantis. why aren't those people talking to the pollsters? 40% margin. >> steve: that is problem with caucus going, it is different, you can't precaucus, show up in that ju

>> if anybody knows nikki haley, i do. i was the chair of the south carolina democratic party when she was governor. this is a woman who is extreme. there is nothing moderate about nikki haley. she epitomizes what maga extremism is all about. she believes in national abortion ban because she put a ban in place here in south carolina. so, you know, nikki haley is not a moderate. she's a maga extremist. and i don't care if it's nikki haley, donald trump, or ron desantis. the democratic party and joe biden and kamala harris are going to be ready for this contest because we know that this is a contest about hope versus fear, progress versus chaos, and joe biden and kamala harris are protecting the freedoms of the american people, where we're getting constant attacks from the maga extremists. >> dnc chairman jaime harrison, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >>> and nikki haley has been on the campaign trail today, multiple stops in new hampshire. her rival, chris christie, also there weighing in on this just a few

right, where nikki haley was the former governor. if you look at the primary vote choice, she's 30 points behind. viewed very favorably, she's down by 14. there's clearly more voters that are gettable for her there, and iowa and new hampshire, we'll wait and see what happens. >> you have a great piece on dot com that people should read about the pathway. >>> josh barrow and cnn commentator, what do you think, an? nikki haley have a path? >> they were talking about how she has run the best campaign. that's relative. everybody else in the field has been awful. remember, when this all began, ron desantis, the governor of my state, sadly, was supposed to be the great non-trump hope and he has deflated like an old helium balloon. he truly is. watching his campaign is like one of those helium balloons that was shiny at the beginning, and now it's hanging on by strings a sad looking thing. what is nikki haley's path? everybody else needs to drop out. her only path is if ron desantis comes to his senses, realizes there's no shot for him, dro

i think the voters will come nikki's way and chris come ni nikki's way, but that's a decision for chris to make. >> governor chris sununu of new hampshire, thank you very much. happy new year. >> you bet. happy new year. >>> up next, will the supreme court weigh in on efforts to remove donald trump from the ballot? and what might they decide? constitutional law scholar and democratic congressman jamie raskin is here next. >>> and could our political problems be caused by americans' failure to simply connect with one another? i'll talk to senator chris murphy about the epidemic of loneliness in america, coming up. to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. >>> the weight of evidence that

so, nikki haley is not a moderate, she is a maga extremist, and i don't care if it's nikki haley, donaldon desantis. the democratic party and joe biden and kamala harris are going to be ready for this contest, because we know that this is a contest about hope versus fear, progress versus chaos, and joe biden and kamala harris are protecting the freedoms of the american people, where we are getting constant attacks from the maga extremists, including nikki haley. >> dnc chairman jaime harrison, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> and nikki haley has been on the campaign trail today at multiple stops in new hampshire. her rival, chris christie, also they're weighing in on this just a few moments ago. >> you've got to tell the truth. and i'll make it easy for you. if someone asked me what the cause of the civil war was. [laughter] [applause] it's easy. it's slavery. >> christie went on to say that he believes haley did not acknowledge slavery in her answer last night, because she is, quote, unwilling to offend anyone by telling the truth. i want to talk about this with two top

there is a one word answer to that question, and nikki haley knows that one word and nikki haley refused to use that word and instead gave an answer that was a lie from start to finish. nikki haley believes that the trump lesson is the way to win republican votes is to lie. last night's question revealed nikki haley, like donald trump, believe she can rely on the inadequacy of republican voters education to get away with lying to them. donald trump does it every day about every subject. one example, how many times have you heard donald trump say that china paid the tariffs that donald trump imposed on chinese goods? then trump says that in every speech and every republican listening to that always clap for that line. it is a lie. every time he says it. and he gets away with it because the republican audience that believes it does not have enough education to know that tariffs imposed by the united states are paid exclusively and entirely by the people of the united states. i could rattle off right now a long list of policy lies that donald trump tells just like that because he believes h

is this meaningful for nikki haley in new hampshire? >> sure, it's meaningful, but i think the thing that's going to influence new hampshire the most is the very first in the nation state to go out and vote. the iowa caucus. i think on january 15th, when people go out and cast their vote and everybody sees ron desantis as the true trump alternative when they see him below projections and expectations out of the water, that momentum will go into new hampshire. that will certainly be more important than any one endorsement. but let's not forget ron desantis has endorsements from over 60 state legislators. hnikki haley has fewer than fiv. he's the grass roots candidate. he's building this campaign from the bottom up. we expect there to be a lot of momentum because his theme is freedom, making florida the free state focusing on freedom from government overreach, eliminating state agencies, medical freedom, that theme ties in nicely in new hampshire and people love it. >> you talked about the endorse mentes that your candidate has. in additi

now nikki haley has been shamed into coming to the cnn debate. it's time for donald trump to follow suit. >> he said no the last however many debates. so what is the incentive? i don't think shame is something that you would voassociate with the former president. i don't know that tick tick is going to work. even baiting him hapt worked for these candidates. who knows. >> i think the question is going to be, does it get to a point where so far he's been able to say this is not a race among equals. these candidates have shown they are equal in terms of their chances of winning. the numbers have been moving in his direction in iowa. in october he was below 50%. and then most recent poll, he's above 50%. so i think there's something there. i do think that there is potentially the most risk for him to the extent there's any risk at all in skipping one that is five days before the caucuses when ron desantis is going to be -- if ron desantis comes within 20 points of donald trump in iowa or surges beyond where he is in the polls in a meaningful way, th

>> this is a huge boost for nikki haley.e heard it said many times that presidential campaigns don't end because candidates run out of energy your ideas. because they run out of money. to have this network, these are mega donors who can be wildly influential. the thing with the flagship group that actually made the formal endorsement is that they also have a robust network of grassroots activists. we are talking not just top-down in terms of big dollars coming in and financial resources. that can mean everything from sending mailers or going after her rivals. we are talking tv. we are talking digital contact. we are talking phones. we are talking doorknocking. this money can really fuel things in a way that a campaign alone could not. so to have that extra injection of support, financially and on the ground, is going to be huge. americans for prosperity action has already knocked and called more than 6 million voters. part of their strategy for helping make the case for nikki haley is trying to do that magic thing that is so

he's betting nikki haley will be the one to do it.ampshire governor chris sununu joins me right now. governor, there is a tape for everything. before we get into the new hampshire race, and of course, that cbs poll, which i'm sure you want to talk about, i did want to ask you about something we talked about at the start of the show, which is donald trump repeating that remark about immigrants poisoning the blood of our country. he did it at a rally this weekend in your state. what did you think when you heard him say that? >> look, we shouldnt be surprised out of any craziness that comes out of donald trump. it was a disgusting comment. he didn't strategically for two reasons. number one, he wants to galvanize that base. he knows that 40 point lead he had in new hampshire, a month ago, is now down to 15 points. nikki is surging. that's getting him nervous. he wants to galvanize the base. number two, he realizes that, you know, when it comes to the southern border, he didn't do what he told us he was going to do, right? it's almost a d

let's listen to what he did to defend nikki haley. >> he has insulted nikki haley's basic intelligence. if you want to disagree on issues, that's fine. while we disagree about some issues and disagree about who should be president, what we don't is this is a smart, accomplished woman and you should stop insulting her. >> it seemed like he was on the verge of an endorsement right then and there. but listen, chris christie knows his audience. he is really competing for the new hampshire voters. and he knows that's a more mod moderate electorate so there was some political strategy as well. i was texting with a pastor earlier this morning and he shared that he was really adisappointed in you personal the attacks were on that stage last night. chris christie is speaking directly to that. trying to hone in on that. i do think that as we get closer to new hampshire, if he's still many this game, he's going to be more aggressive with her. >> i actually asked the former new jersey governor about whether or not he was -- i didn't use the word endorsement, but pretty close. let's listen to our c

nikki haley does. people are smart enough to know that's real and it isn't just a chris sununu endorsement, nikki is a rock star on the campaign trail. they like her and connect with her and get excited with her. it's a different vibe here and we will carry that like i said four or five weeks. i think she's going to win this thing. pretty handily. >> governor chris sununu, thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> thanks, buddy. >>> next, a vote expected this hour to add even more pressure on the governor of israel to stop its assault in israel or change tactics. thus, the attacks on ships in the red sea that could soon take a swipe at the global economy. and another look at the volcano erupting in iceland. we check in with the cnn team now on site. stay with us. >>> moments ago a vote on a consequential united nations resolution was delayed until tomorrow after intense negotiations and delays, the un security council is trying to get the united states on board with the majority of members who've been c

nikki haley's focus is on what nikki haley is about, her resumÉ.when you look at that it's the most qualified individual, the best option to be president of the united states. that's why i endorsed her so strongly. no, she takes him on and all of her town halls should talks about the trump issue, the chaos that follows him, problems that he has. and how he affects the ballot. you can't have donald trump on top of the ticket. we tried that in 2022. >> but you think that approach, not going nuclear, that approach that she is taking is enough to beat him? >> yeah, because it doesn't just have to be from her. there are other folks. the memo is out on donald trump and the issues and chaos that follow him. >> she told dana in that interview when she pushed trump is fit to be president. he is fit. >> yeah, i think most people agree with that. we don't want him to be president. it's a 50/50 within the republican party right now. he beats biden by a couple of points. nikki haley beats biden by 17 in the latest poll. >> that was in "the wall street journal"

nikki is corrupt. [cheering] >> this woman will send your kids to die so she can have a bigger house. >> other candidates like nikki haley cave when the left or media come after her. >> only person more fascist than biden administration is nikki haley. we know nikki will cave to big donors when it counts. >> they are jealous, they wish they were supporting them. i love all the attention, fellas. >> closing a bridge from new jersey to new york, do everybody a favor and walk yourself off that stage and enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race. >> you do that every debate, go out and say something, all of us see it on video. we confront you on the debate stage and you say you didn't say it. >> i will tell you exactly what i said. >> i'm not done yet. hold on. >> this is the fourth debate that you would be voted in first 20 minutes as most obnoxious blow hard in america. >> kayleigh: whoa, there were fireworks, take this piece by piece. it seemed as if governor ron desantis had a new strategy, i

nikki haley also joins us. we have a good mix of stories, some politics, some crime and john kirby is here, we'll talk about israel as the war resumes in force in gaza. first, though, that entertaining match up between florida governor ron desantis and california governor gavin newsom was must-see tv with sean hannity last night here on fox. they went at it on a lot of things that are important to americans across the country, watch. >> governor desantis: california represents biden-harris on steroids. joe biden is in the pocket of the teachers union and so is kamala harris. >> governor newsom: it is not kamala harris, ron, it is kamala harris. you are troeling folks to outtrump trump. >> governor desantis: what is that plotting? that app is where they plot human feces found on the streets of san francisco. >> governor newsom: extreme is your ban that criminalizes women and doctors that even donald trump said was too ectreme. >> governor desantis: this book is in schools in california, florida, this is not cons

nikki haley is about nikki haley.s not about advancing the needs of the people of south carolina, nikki haley is about nikki haley. >> she's also used the mother emmanuel masker which came right before the flag was taking down, in her campaign announcement. she references it on the campaign trail, she's even compared her political leadership in that moment in a way that reflects on her ability to bring two sides together on a particular issue. does it bother you that the mother emmanuel massacre is part of her part little story on the campaign trail? >> you know abby, it actually does. as i said nikki haley has never prioritized doing the thing that benefit all cells carolinians, she's also had a very pro-confederate maga agenda. right before mega was a thing nikki halo was mega. she was always gonna push those extreme policies wells's governor south carolina. she signed an extreme borscht ban into law while she was in governor of south carolina. she's also endorsed plans to gut social security and medicare, nikki hal

won't deoffend on nikki haley. trying to get trump voters in 2028 than prevent the train wreck that a trump presidency would be in 2024. >> the debate hours after mass shooting in umlv, the issues of guns didn't come up. for our viewers who want your position on guns in mass shootinging in america, what would combatting this gun violence in america look like in a christie administration, previously you've been supported of an assault weapons ban. >> well, let me just say this, i think it's very, very important for us to enforce the laws that we already have on the books. that's what i did as governor in new jersey. if the recent mass shooting in maine, if the laws had been enforced of someone who showed mental disturbance and violent speaking, we would have pre prevented those deaths. i'll say to you, at the end of this if we don't deal with the mental health crisis in the country and provide much more mental health treatment for folks and make it easier for involuntary admit people who are having mental health iss

those are not nikki haley voters. nikki haley was in berlin, new hampshire, running to try to win new hampshire, not alabama, not mississippi. new hampshire. her core constituency are not trump voters. she needs to win independents in new hampshire, and non-trump center right voters in new hampshire. that should be her top priority. and what does she need to do for that to happen? she needs to get chris christie to drop out of the race. i think it is much less likely today that chris christie will drop out of the race, then it was two or three days ago. so i think this was a big, potentially a big deal. again with the caveat that news cycles move quickly. as john was saying, this reinforces a negative stereotype about nikki haley and not being ready for primetime. and it speaks not just to her bad political strategy, i think it speaks a little bit to character as well. >> you know, susan, we heard from chris christie, appoint others have made to, that nikki haley looks like somebody who wants to be secretary of state

i was nikki who. i had the least amount of money that i worked south carolina like no one else and we won. when i got to the united nations, they said i didn't have enough experience and i got to work and i took the kick me sign off of our back. [applause] i have been underestimated and everything i've ever done and it's a blessing because it makes me scrappy. no one's going to outwo me or outsmart minhis race. >> and now a look back at campaign ads of yesteryear. two ads from the 1980 presidential primary ssothat were running this week in 1979. gallup h jt released a national poll showing ronald reag solidly ahead of his republican competitors including gerald ford, senators howard baker and bob dole and former cia director george w sh. here are commercials from reagan and bush heading on themes of national security and inflation. >> ronald reagan spoke out on the danger of the soviet arms buildup long before it was fashionable. he's always advocated a strong national defense and position of leadersh

nikki haley is up a bit. part of that polling done after her endorsement from new en england's governor. >> i want to talk about this. >> announcer: poll. yesterday it was like flickers of hope for those who don't want donald trump to be president. take the polling off the screen so i can demonstrate it here. that's up 18 points for nikki haley since september. when you go under the hood, reasonable, likeable, all the things where independents can vote, you're sitting there looking at it saying, okay, maybe the pathway she's laids out is a viable pathway. what do you think? >> i think she's still pretty far behind donald trump. she's certainly jumped a lot. it's a big warning for chris christie, and, b, i think it's a problem for ron desantis. his earn tire argument has been it's a two-man race between him and trump. what this indicates to me is at least in new hampshire, republicans are coalescing around nikki haley and deciding she's the candidate. it makes me wonder is that eventually going to happen in so

i could go for nikki haley but trump is here. so they are all going i could, i could, when trump is still here. he is still here, is still not going anywhere. mitch mcconnell had a chance to wipe this olive we all know and he didn't do it and that we are dealing with this. it's way different from 2015. i don't think any of these folks are vying for any cabinet positions or anything with donald trump. vivek maybe. i'll give him half of one. >> it's think desantis wouldn't take a cabinet post. he would if he was offered one. >> the blind taste test somewhere and all of this. zero cope, talk to pepper, everybody stick around because up next, i watched this debate with callers tunes. hear what they think. plus university presidents are under intense pressure tonight over how antisemitism and some of their testimony. as republican candidates go after them. this is cnn special live coverage. >>> well tonight, candidates making their final pitch for american people before the primary season officially begins. our next guest watching ton

it's kind special votes over to nikki haley.of course, we'll wait to see what turns out and a lot can happen between now and the republican primaries here in south carolina, which is scheduled for february 24th in downtown greenville, south carolina for debate night in america. i'm kelsey o'donnell. it will be an interesting race to watch for. sure. thank you. kelsey dance. >> all right, our reminder here are some of the busy political days to keep in mind starting in 2024. for big contests in the first 2 months of the year alone. to be a very interesting time with these key dates here. and despite top heavy polls favoring former president trump, his fellow republicans gearing up for a fight in less than 40 minutes. they will outline how they will handle the top issues from immigration to inflation. our analysts, congresswoman nicole malliotakis and republican strategist chapin fay back with weighing in when to buy big debate night in america returns. and welcome back to debate night in america. once again joined by our panel us

republican candidate nikki haley. she is playing damage control to put it lightly to clarify what she meant and why she didn't say slavery when she was asked about the cause of the civil war. listen to what she has been saying. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's unquestioned, always the case. we know the civil war was about slavery but it was also more than that. it was about the freedoms of every individual. it was about the role of government. [ laughter ] >> that is the cleanup. but do you think this will have an impact on where she stands in the race right now? >> she is not standing very good to start with. i think it is ultimately a political calculation that a lot of republican voters don't want to hear that. and she sit theres with a straight face and talks about the freedom of people when you are talking about 4 million southerners having slavery. how much less freedom can you have than being human chattel? she has a hard time getting it out of her mouth. yes, that is primarily

he's betting nikki haley will be the one to do it.t now. governor, there is a tape for everything. before we get into the new hampshire race, and of course, that cbs poll, which i'm sure you want to talk about, i did want to ask you about something we talked about at the start of the show, which is donald trump repeating that remark about immigrants poisoning the blood of our country. he did it at a rally this weekend in your state. what did you think when you heard him say that? >> look, we should be surprised out of any craziness that comes out of donald trump. it was a disgusting comment. he didn't barrier to jiggly for two reasons. number one, he wants to galvanize that base. he knows that 40 point lead he had in new hampshire, a month ago, is now down to 15 points. nikki is surging. that's getting him nervous. he wants to galvanize the base. number two, he realizes that, you know, when it comes to the southern border, he didn't do what he told us he was going to do, right? it's almost a distraction. he didn't secure the border, h

now to my interview with nikki haley and chris sununu. pit started with a question to governor sununu. why haley? >> obviously, we have been friends for a long time. and more than anybody else in the country, i have been able to spend a lot of time with all the three top candidates. chris, ron, and nikki. it isn't just about the po policies. it isn't just about background. it's about who is connecting with folks, listening, earning the trust. spending the time. that's how we do it here in new hampshire. when i have seen her time and time again when in the diner or someone's backyard, a lot of people like to talk at people. but saying what are your top priorities and your issues? i get excited about the opportunity to have a president that carries that philosophy into the white house. we have seen a lot of republicans try big-government solutions. that's not what this is about. it has to be about the mind set of what's the individual looking for. how do i empower them. it's working. >> i'm just thrilled. i knew in order to earn his endorse

nikki is corrupt. >> i love the attention, fellas, thank you for that. >>> it was knives out for nikki haley at last night's republican debate. will it stop her momentum? >> the republican front-runner not on the debate stage, instead hitting the campaign trail today, donald trump is expected to be in new york city courtroom. >>> block critical aid to ukraine demanding tougher border policies, in return what president biden said he's now willing to do. "cnn this morning" starts right now. ♪ >>> good morning. so glad you're with us on this thursday. you're probably late up watching the final republican presidential debate of the year, four candidates on that stage, clashing on policy, trading some personal insults as well. >> nikki haley took the brunt of the attacks from ron desantis and vivek ramaswamy over her big-ticket donations and her foreign policy positions. at one point vivek ramaswamy even holding up a handwritten sign saying nikki equals corrupt. >> in terms of these donors who are supporting me they're just jealous, they wish they were supporting them. >> donald trump not o

nikki is corrupted. this is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can purchase a bigger house. >> nikki haley coming up at 9:15 am and we are all going to weigh in on who gained momentum last night in the catch up to donald trump who is ahead by 48 points in the rcp average but voters decide this and they do so starting january 15th and i will. stuart: ted cruz joins me now. thanks for coming back to the show. dollars a pleasure to have you on. who do you think won last night? trump maybe? >> i think the field continues to narrow and it is more and more battle between desantis and haley for who is going to be the chief alternative to trump. you view this something like an ncaa tournament, this is essentially the plate and rounds, the winner of it is going to go head to head with trump starting in iowa. i think you saw last night the process accelerate. the two of them are the leading contenders. they were both taking shots at each other and i think they were both speaking to their supporters. you

that is next. >> in our politics lead, nikki haley is working hard to walk back what she said and did not say last night at a town hall in new hampshire after an attendee called her out for not mentioning slavery in her response to a question about the civil war, cnn is on the campaign trail. >> of course the civil war was about slavery, we know that, that is -- i'm questioned, it's always the case. >> nikki haley playing cleanup after this exchange with a boater during the new hampshire town hall wednesday night. >> was the cause of the united states civil war? >>.com with an easy question, the cause of the civil war was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and cannot do. >> after not mentioning slavery in her initial response, nikki haley acknowledged in interviews and campaign appearances the civil war was about slavery. >> growing up in the south, it is a given it's about savory -- slavery. to me, it's about freedom, it's bigger than slavery that was such a stain on our history, what do you take on it going forward? >> also claiming without

donald trump and nikki haley. and nikki haley is still the best person, the best republican to beat donald trump and of course, joe biden loves the fact that everybody's talking about this today because we're talking about this, we're not talking about the crisis at the border. where he had to send his secretary of state and secretary of homeland security down to mexico city to beg for help. so, again, nikki haley has been very clear on her position on the civil war and that it was because of slavery. >> that's interesting. i want to get to the border with you in a moment but you don't see any issue with how she answered it last night and had the chance to mention slavery but did not? >> look, she said it was for freedom. freedom of black people. again, was it an imprecise answer? of course. could the answer have been better? of course. but you know she's a leader, come in and clarify her message today. that's something other people in this race have failed to do or they double down on crazy conspiracy theories. s

>> well, look, i'm not going to speak for nikki. when she's out there, she talks about the former president. she talks that this is the time to move on. there's no place for that. but i think she does a good job of making sure she's not just saying elect me for president because we don't like that guy. elect me because of that rhetoric. she's putting her resume, her background, her experience and most importantly what she's going to bring, she's a former governor. it's not just about politically points and policy, it's about actually achieving something, accountability, how you manage the government, how you work with congress, and, again, that type of message is really resonating with folks. they don't want to live in the past in new hampshire. new hampshire is always a forward-looking state. >> don't you think she should denounce trump's hateful rhetoric? >> look, i think she's been pretty hard on him. i do. again, i think everybody is winning for every candidate to go nuclear, kind of like chris christie does. and he's done a gre

nikki haley comes along.dangerfield, and you get no respect. >> yes, i will tell you. it is something to have articles written saying the president does not have an opponent. you know, the other day they talked about not having a primary. you know, chris christie coming ron desantis, whether it's news nation, cnn, maybe fox would be into doing it. there should be a debate among the democrats come about the american people should see what the options are. the polls make it very clear that people want to see what other options are available. you have myself, you have democratic voters and really all americans that should have an opportunity to see this. and nobody should be lying and saying no one is running against the president because indeed we are. >> robert kennedy junior with the democratic party because of that. and why not you? >> he has $15 million in the bank. but also it is more even difficult for independence. also, i have nostalgia for the democratic party that used to be, just like there are peopl

nikki haley knows that.nsettling to see this from her is that at 51 years old she should've reconciled her past heritage in the south with leadership on the world stage and the national stage, yes, the civil war was about slavery. it shouldn't take cleanup on aisle screw up for her to revisit this's second time. and even then, when she acknowledges, she said but, but, but, it suggests an allegiance to the old vestiges of the south that i think people have assigned to nikki haley, a political character that has grown away from that. clearly she hasn't, and it gives reason to question nikki haley's personal medal in politics but also her leadership on the national stage. >> david, what does it say then about the gop that she found it necessary to thread a needle that shouldn't have to be threaded? >> look, this is a party that trades on racism and dina phobia and massage unsee and tries to gloss over them as though they don't really do so. the reason they do is the failure of leadership from leading politician

nikki haley, she's essentially brainwashed herself. now when a question is asked and the answer is crystal clear and backed up by historical fact, any eighth grader should be able to tell what you the civil war was fought over. she's brainwashed herself in not being able to say the answer. it speaks to, there is this huge antipathy to reconciling any of the past transgressions against black people that america is responsible for. and they would rather pretend like it didn't even happen. >> haley had a couple of attempts clarifying her remarks today. here's part of what she said. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's the easy part of it. what i was saying was what does it mean to us today? what it means to us today is about freedom. that's what that was about. it was about individual freedom, economic freedom, individual rights. >> she said in another appearance that it was bigger than just the issue of slavery. what do you make of that framing of this issue? >> i think what's going on is, the revisionist hi

but nikki haley actually blows trump out of the water. nikki haley would cause a massive crisis among democrats. and i believe that there are republican primary voters who want a winner. and they want to win big and i think that's a pitch you can make. >> have -- are you suggesting that some of the republican candidates should cede the ground to nikki haley? i think that is the thing that could happen. i think chris christie has no chance to win. i think at this point ron desantis has no chance to win. >> but they don't think that. >> well, i mean they must know that by now. i mean they must know that by now. >> certainly desantis is not going to get out before iowa. he has been here a long time. and i want to bring up another element to this stew that we've got here and that is donald trump. he has something very interesting to say this week. i want to put it up on the screen. just out of the blue, he said, i don't want to terminate obama care, i want to replace it with much better health care, obama care sucks, and yes, all of the excla

so it is nikki haley.awrence lawrence so the problem they are going to run, into if i could quickly go through it. the national polls has donald trump in rcp average 60%. desantis is at 12%. haley is at 12%. then you go to iowa. donald trump is at 50%. desantis is at 19%. and haley is at 15. >> brian: desantis has that governor endorsement. >> lawrence: south carolina trump 49%. hail little 19%. desantis is at 11%. and everybody keeps saying, lawrence, why do you keep citing the polls? the only time i don't believe the polls is if the polls don't reflect what is happening on the ground. and i haven't seen this massive movement for ron desantis or nikki haley. we have seen it before when people were against, you know, bryan kemp as governor. and i said, look, i know donald trump put up this primary opponent with perdue but people like trump and they still like kemp. i haven't seen that with nikki haley or ron desantis. even if one of them gets out of the race. >> ainsley: especially when there is 30 point d

be governed by nikki haley than donald trump so they want nikki haley to come out on top of the gop primary because they see that better than i mean just assuming joe biden is going to lose i also think very interesting. maria: didn't jamie dimon say that other day in a meeting everybody helped inform, even if a democrat help nikki haley. >> i think that that really says all that you need to know robert on the show early mentioned the maga lane and establishment lane, i don't think that is true i think that that has pretty much been decided by primary voters even in 2016 i think that it is very clearly a maga party at this point, and the question really isn't whether nikki haley is going to stand a chance because not going to win gop primary i think you have a bunch of democratic first establishment figures trying to enter the their in general election she might stand a chance, but doesn't have any place in the -- >> didn't someone say recently the no label group would take her on as independent. >> wow. that would be a big -- >> take votes away from if in no label, independent bide

i think nikki does a great job of talking about what she brings to the table.she says it that she believes he was the right president at the right time but we have to move forward without distractions and a lot of people who have not paid attention are saying that's the right message. these numbers are moving and if in new hampshire nikki haley can win this thing it's a real reset button on the whole election. now the numbers show it really can happen and that will create an incredible opportunity where it is a one-on-one race. right now he will fly into new hampshire and do a rally, no questions and no answers, doesn't have the energy and doesn't talk like he does in 2016. he is a completely different candidate for the worse so he got away with staying out of the limelight but if he has to take on someone one-on-one -- people want to get behind that and when they see a big win for nikki haley i think all bets are off. conservative leadership of the next country. >> there is a terrible case of a pregnant woman in texas who had to go out of state because of the