those are people. >> they don't get flights out. >> they don't get flights out. >> that was cnn's lucy kavanaugh reporting. what a horrible development. thanks for following us. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. erin burnett outfront starts right now. >> the president celebrates his impeachment acquittal by unloading on political enemies and allies. republicans claim he's learned his lesson, but he had something to tell them. plus the white house ramping up attacks against mitt romney. they have sent out a slew of talking points slamming them. and pete buttigieg hits joe biden on his biggest talking point. will it work? let's go out front. good evening, i'm erin burnett. out front, vengeful, that's trump today talking and talking and talking. his victory lap started at a prayer breakfast with this

scene. he was holding up newspapers with the headline "acquitted." funny how he hates that newspaper hl he likes it. that did not last long. trump took dead aim at mitt romney for his vote to convict trump and vote to be removed on abuse of power. >> we have some that used religion as a crutch. they never used it before. >> trump attacking mitt romney's faith which is wrong and if there is one thing that is true, it is that when mitt romney said this, there is no doubt he meant it. >> i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who i am.

i take an oath before god as enormously consequential. >> and trump's maligning did not stop today with mitt romney. >> we've been going through this now for over three years. it was evil. it was corrupt. it was vicious and mean, vicious. these people are vicious. adam schiff is a vicious, horrible person. nancy pelosi is a horrible person. she said i pray for the president, but i doubt she prays at all. people are very angry that nancy pelosi and all of these guys, i mean, nadler, i know him much of my these people have gone stone cold crazy. >> so, mitt romney uses religion as a crutch and nancy pelosi, doubt she prays at all. trump lashing out at his enemies tonight. but then he humiliated his allies, the same people who tried to say his actions were

wrong with ukraine but not worthy of ending his presidency. >> think of it, a phone call, a very good phone call. i had some that said i wish he didn't make the call, and that's okay. it's incorrect. it's totally incorrect. >> it's okay if they need that, but they are totally wrong because shocker, trump says his actions were perfect. so, who is this they? they? from republicans who justified their votes to acquit. that's who they are because they said trump learned his lesson. >> the president is not going to ask a foreign power to investigate a political rival zben? >> yes, i think there are lessons everyone can learn from it. i think the message has been delivered. >> the president has been impeached. that's a pretty big lesson. >> to not learn. trump clearly did not learn his lesson. i mean, you know, just listen to him today talking about the

infamous call. >> i mean, it worked out. we went through held unfairly, did nothing wrong -- did nothing wrong. >> nothing wrong. john is outfront live outside the white house. john, what is the president's move tonight. >> reporter: erin, as we saw in that ramble soliloquy he delivered in the east room today, the president's mood is distressed. he's wounded, he's angry, and he's lashing out. we got none of the grace notes that bill clinton delivered after his acquittal and impeachment trial in 1999 when he came in front of the meamerin people, apologized to them, apologized to the republican congress for putting them through the agony. president trump thinks he himself is the victim here, so he's lashing out. you've made the appropriate point about him mocking mitt romney's faith. by all signs, donald trump doesn't understand faith.

he does not seem to be a person of faith. he does not recognize the values that faith teaches us, distinctions between right and wrong. so, for him, this is a primal reaction the people who have hurt him, and he wants to hurt them. he made that clear. and what is alarming about it, as you mentioned in the intro, is that republicans in his audience today were laughing and cheering along with him even though, as brilliant reporting by cnn colleagues has shown, ted cruz told white house lawyers that 100% of senators believe there was a quid pro quo. in other words, they know he did something wrong, yet they have made clear they're not willing to constrain him. i think the question going forward is to what extent is he going to try to use the power of his office to lash out against people, romney, biden, anybody else he might target, and will republicans put any constraint

on him? they haven't so far. >> thank you very much, john. of course what they've said is he's learned a message which at least verbally he hasn't learned. he says there's no lesson to learn other than it was all perfect. former director of the nixon presidential library, kooeierst powers. tim, you heard what john is talking about, about ted cruz saying 100% of the republican senators know there was a quid pro quo. but all these senators who came out and said the president learned a lesson, that he's not going to do it again, they were wrong. he is saying -- >> yes, he's saying he hasn't learned a lesson. one of the reasons people were so concerned by the argument that the president's defenders said in the trial about abuse of power was that if the president is given the impression he has a permission slip to abuse power,

there's no reason to expect that donald trump won't abuse power again and again and again. and today in two different speeches he's made it clear that he's learned nothing from the impeachment crisis and that he is more than willing to do what he did before again. >> scott, look, i described the way he spoke. he was exult ant, he was vengeful. all those words would describe him at various times today as he went on and on. at one point he said he doubts nancy pelosi prays at all, an insult among others. then he doubled down when he was asked about what he said about her, and here's what he said. >> i had nancy pelosi sitting four seats away and i'm saying things that a lot of people wouldn't have said but i meant every word. i meant every word. >> what do you make of that, scott? >> well, i don't know if you've noticed or not, but nancy pelosi's been trying to literally throw him out of

office for the last several months and her entire conference has been trying to prematurely end this presidency since it started, so i give the president a little latitude today to punch back. by the way, we're now in the heat of the election. voting has started. impeachment is over. and this is an electoral political battle. if this made anybody squeamish today, i advise you to look away because the election is just getting started. my suspicion is this kind of tit for tat between trump and pelosi is only going to get worse. >> kirsten. >> let's also remember where he's saying things. i think it's childish the way he was talking about how he was behaved at the national prayer breakfast. he's bragging to people about talking badly about another person at the national prayer breakfast. and the idea that because nancy pelosi tried to impeach him that somehow he's justified in the

way he behaved at the national prayer breakfast i strongly disagree with. bill clinton of course was at the national prayer breakfast after republicans tried to have him thrown out of office and he was contrite and spoke about how he had sinned and asked for forgi forgiveness. so, you don't have to behave the way that donald trump behaved. and, you know, i am a christian. i am somebody who takes my faith seriously. and the national prayer breakfast is supposed to be a place where people from both sides of the aisle can come together and it can be a non-political event and people of faith can sit there together. and what do we have? we have the president of the united states actually attacking the faith of nancy pelosi, claiming that she doesn't pray, making quite clear he doesn't understand the catholic faith. he doesn't understand in the catholic faith every week at mass you pray for your leaders. what the bible says that you're

so supposed to pray for those that persecute you, all these things, and this is the person, scott, that the christian right has thrown their support behind. >> scott, can i play -- pelosi has said she prays for the president. she was very angry with anyone questioning that. she has been a life long and very devoted catholic. i want to play what he said about that today. here he is. >> she doesn't pray. she may pray, but she prays for the opposite, but i doubt she prays at all. >> you're okay with that, scott? >> look, i don't know what you want me to say. i mean, if you want donald trump to go on television after what just happened to him, after what's happened to him the last three years and say nice things -- >> you gave him latitude -- >> i don't know why anyone would expect -- i'm sorry, what? >> when you say you gave him latitude, did you mean it's okay to say things like that or not? >> look, i'm just saying i don't know who in the world would

anticipate or expect donald trump to go out today and bend the knee to nancy pelosi or say anything nice at all after what she has done to him, after what the democrats have done to him -- >> how about saying nothing. >> it's not just impeachment. these folks have called him everything but a good milk cow for three straight years and you want him to go out and make nice? >> that's exactly what republicans did to bill clinton. >> i was just going to -- >> it's exactly what republicans did to bill clinton and bill clinton was able to stand up at the national prayer breakfast and act like a decent human beings. >> for your point, i want to play, as i said, the president went to the prayer breakfast. he said these things. then he came and spoke for over an hour, hour plus, and said more of these things. here's what bill clinton said after he was acquitted in 1999. he spoke for two minutes. here he is in his key part. >> i want to say again to the

american people how profoundly sorry i am for what i said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the congress and on the american people. i also am humbled and very grateful for the support and the prayers i have received from millions of americans over this past year. >> there many, tim, who would never forgive him for what he did and the dishonor he brought to the office, and yet how he handled it is night and day from what we saw day. >> it's night and day. there's no excuse for a politician weaponizing faith under no circumstances. i don't care how angry they might be about how they were treated, there's no excuse. this president at the moment seems to want a cultural cold

war. he seems to be feeding anger. and to test peoples' faith on the basis of whether they support him or not is horrific. what we're going through will be remembered as some kind of mccarthy-type period. >> next the white house is launching an all out assault against mitt romney, cnn just obtaining their new talking points and it is all aimed at taking down the republican senator. plus the head of the dnc saying enough is enough. will the candidates accept the final outcome? and joe biden opening up about his life long struggle with stuttering. >> i felt like a really close vibe between us because he had the same thing going on. things d and wondering if that was the last time i was going to do that thing. i thought i'm not letting anything take me away

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spokesperson for romney's campaign and mia love. congresswoman, let me start with you, you are from the state of utah and you know mitt romney, did he make the right call? >> i like mitt. he's a good friend of mine. we're not always going to agree. i think on this issue, this is an area we don't agree. the majority of utah, a poll came out yesterday that showed that 53% approve of the job the president is doing and 45% do not approve. i don't think he has to worry about what the president is saying about them, any of the talking points they're putting out. he has a lot of work to do in the state of utah. there have been a lot of people calling. i talked to the executive director of the state park authority. she said they had over 2,000 calls in queue just when they got into the building this morning. he's a big boy. he's out here talking to constituents and i think that's

exactly what he needs to do. >> brendan, right call or wrong call? >> it's clearly tough politics as mia outlined. whether it's national politics, politics inside his conference in the senate. there's no political upside. i think that's why it's so remarkable and commendable he was able to do that. you never see anybody do that anymore. he's going to have trouble back home but he's the type of person who's going to be able to go back home and explain himself. mitt romney has nothing to really fear. romney had the worse political death you could have. he ran for president and lost. i don't think he's afraid of what people are going to say about him on twitter. i don't think he's afraid of the president. i think the decision he made was one of conviction and one affected by his faith. i think he's going to be comfortable with that and whatever comes, he's going to be ready for. >> congresswoman "the salt lake tribute quantum number praised romney.

saying he did what he did and having honorably failed at that, it was time to crunch time and from the fact the president had without a shadow of a doubt abused his power as commander in chief. do you think that that is how utah voters may end up seeing this? >> i think it's a long road. i really do. i think it's going to be a -- it's probably the toughest vote. and i honestly, i agree. i think mitt believes he was doing the right thing. sometimes you have to weigh what you feel is the right thing versus what everybody -- the majority of the people in your state believe it's the right thing. sometimes they don't go hand in hand. so, at the end of the day, you have to do everything you can to get your message out there and let people know that you voted on their behalf, you voted for what you believed was not just right for himself but right for everybody else. so there's an up hill battle. i know "the salt lake tribute"

put out statements but there are a lot of state legislatures put out statements talking about being disappointed. there are a lot of people who feel just as if the one republican from the state of utah voted against -- voted for removing the president on the one article was a step a little too far for them. >> you know, it's being. one of the talking points, the white house put out a whole list of talking points about mitt romney. some of them may stick so i don't want to laugh at them but some of them are funny. political expediency has come to define his career. if he was picking the expedient path he wouldn't have done what he did. they're trying to portray him as a flip flopper and a guy that's unprincipled. is there's a chance that could work? >> it could work because the president has a megaphone and whatever he says people tend to repeat a lot, half the country. but there is no political

upside. there's no political expediency in doing this. again, that's why it's remarkable. the idea this is some plot to run for president is laughable because the president controls the party at this point. there's no constituency for this kind of thing. in my previous job i worked for paul ryan. i understand when you cross the president there's not a welcome arms from the middle or the left that welcome you and bring you in. you get attacked from the left and right. there's not a lot of safe ground for him, so there's no upside to do it. i think that's why it's so remarkable. >> and congresswoman, we see this issue here on the issue of faith which i found pretty stunning today honestly, even for a president who of course is unashamed to slam people on any basis. you know, mitt romney said yesterday, i'm going to play that and play what the president said about him today. here they are. >> i am profoundly religious. my faith is at the heart of who

i am. i take an oath before god as enormously counsnsequential. >> then you have some who used religion as a crutch. they never used it before. >> that was one of his royal base. that's what mitt romney said as he is trying to control himself from crying and that's what the president of the united states said. what's your reaction to that? >> well, i share the same faith that mitt romney shares. you know, when you are trying to make a decision that you feel is morally correct and to have somebody make fun of that is always disappointing. i don't think that the president making fun of that is going to hurt mitt romney. i really don't. i think that the best thing the president can do is let it go and let the constituents take

care of the things that he feels like he needs to take care of. one of the things that you brought up that i thought was really interesting is a lot of republicans asking whether they believe the president learned their lesson. and i actually believe that we as americans and republicans actually need to ask the same question, have you learned your lesson. i think the reason we are here to begin with because too few people pushed back which em boldened the president to be able to do all the things that he felt like he was okay with. so, i think that question really has to be asked not just of the president but of everybody. who's pushing back? >> thank you both very much. that's a crucial question. who is pushing back. next, new confusion in iowa to want. new confusion in iowa -- what? the state still scrambling to declare a winner. just over 30 minutes, the current top finishes, sanders and buttigieg will take the stage at cnn's town halls. plus joe biden's biggest selling point, his electability,

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popular vote as we await the final results. >> so, what i want to do today three days late is to thank the people of iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the iowa caucuses on monday night. >> confused? well, you're certainly not the only one because, look, there's the whole situation. plus there's this, 97% of the precincts have reported and in that tally, pete buttigieg is still leading sanders by .1 of a point. that is the measure by which a measure is declared in iowa. bernie sanders is pointing to the popular vote which is not how they determine the winner. this comes as the iowa democratic party is struggling to report full results. tom perez is tweeting enough is enough calling on the iowa democratic party to immediately begin a recanvas.

jeff zeleny is out front. what are you hearing and what might happen here? >> reporter: erin, good evening. as he stand here tonight in des moines, the reality is we do not know if there will be a recanvas or not. there is not unity between the iowa democratic party and the democratic national committee. the iowa democratic party was blindsided i'm told when tom perez said enough is enough, it's time for a recanvas. the rules do not allow for him to call for a recanvas. that has to be done by a candidate or campaign specifically. so far no campaign has done that. they have until noon tomorrow to do that. they could get an extension because the results aren't in yet. when you sort away all these discussions about the rules and whatnot, we do know one thing, this is going to be incredibly tight between pete buttigieg and bernie sanders. essentially it's a wash. they're going to split the number of delegates. pete buttigieg won about 59 of

iowa's 99 counties. his people say had that been happening in real time on election night on monday, what a story that would have been. bernie sanders said look, he got more in the popular vote. and it's the satellite caucuses that bernie sanders pushed after four years ago that allowed people to come in early that are at the center of this controversy. the math has complicated this formula. we'll see what happens here as the day goes on. unclear if there will be a recanvas or not. so far no campaign has said they want that. bernie sanders is declaring victory and moving on. if he doesn't call for it, only pete buttigieg can call for it. his campaign hasn't called for it either. at the end of the day, messy. the officials say close elections are always messy. the key is buttigieg and sanders nearly won this. that doesn't say what direction the party is going though. talk about different bookends here, sanders and buttigieg. >> thank you very much. jeff.

let me go out front to ro khanna. okay. so, congressman, it's a mess. i guess no matter where you stand you can acknowledge it's not been easy here in iowa. cnn analysis shows counting erro errors reported by the state party, talking about things like state delegate counts don't match up in multiple county, caucus rules could have been violated in multiple precincts. this is a lot of little things when you're look at a razor thin margin in terms of that overall delegate percentage that determines the formal winner. do you trust the current results? >> absolutely i do. and i think we need to praise people in iowa. there are thousands of volunteers. sure, the app failed. that's the problem. but they've been working all night. i don't believe the people in iowa cheat. i think they're honest people and they've been doing their best to get a clear result. they're 97% counted n. my home state of california where we have all this technology often

it takes two weeks to count results after absentee ballots. let's acknowledge what they're doing and praise them instead of piling on. >> when the head of the dnc tom perez says it's time for a recanvas, enough is enough, obviously you all would be the ones to call for a recanvas. he can't formally cause it to happen. what's your response to tom perez? >> i don't know what he's doing. he's not doing the hard work of counting. i think it was not fair to the volunteers in iowa doing that. no campaign has called for it. we haven't called r fit. i don't think any other candidate has called for it. we've been respecting the process. the reality is you're right. bernie sanders is ahead in the popular vote. the state delegate is close. it's neck and neck between senator sanders and mayor buttigieg. we'll see who emerges but we should respect the progress. >> today sanders held a press conference claiming victory in iowa. i know you saw it, but i want to

play what he said for viewers. >> what's not going to change is in terms of the popular vote we won a decisive victory. >> now, what politics is all about here are adjectives. pete buttigieg has been doing this for days. here he is on monday and tuesday and wednesday. >> we are going on to new hampshire victorious. we had a victorious night in iowa. on the heel of a win in iowa that put us in a strong position. >> you know, look, technically they're very close. technically on the delegate count it is buttigieg who is ahead right now in terms of the that top line winner. but a lot of this is who talks first and loudest. you wish sanders was talking like buttigieg earlier and day after day? >> i don't. i think senator sanders was precise. he said we were ahead in the popular vote but has not declared victory for the caucus. i think it's premature to call

victory for the caucus. i wish no one had done that on monday night. let's wait until the results are counted and whoever is ahead in the state delegate equivalent wins the caucus. senator sanders would acknowledge that. he's pointing out he's ahead in the popular vote. it's irresponsible to say you're winning the state delegate equivalent when the difference is .1% and the ap isn't willing to call it. >> beto o'rourke who was running for president says he's worried about the results in iowa because of turnout. he said it barely kept pace with 2016 levels. are you worried about that, that the headline may be that people weren't passionate? >> i'm not because we had more youth turnout than ever before. the satellites had muslim americans, african-americans, labor turning out. this was one day after the super bowl. it was during the impeachment. many candidates couldn't be

there in iowa. all those things contribute. the people were excited. here's the point, the base that voted for hillary clinton, they're going to come out. i don't know a single person who didn't come out in 2016 who's not going to come out in 2020. but iowa shows a lot of other new voters are going to come out too. and whoever our nominee is is going to beat donald trump. >> i appreciate your time. thank you. >> joe biden opening up about his struggles with stuttering. >> it was shocking to shake somebody's hand who has the same trait as me. >> and genie most on the fight that just won't end. >> nancy pelosi say horrible person. >> i pray hard for him because he's so off the track. at bayer, we're more than a healthcare company. we help farmers like john by developing digital tools, so he can use less water to grow crops. at bayer, this is why we science.

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tonight pete buttigieg punching at joe biden who says it's too risky to nominate an untested mayor against donald trump. buttigieg begs to differ. he responded to the vice president with this.

>> if that argument is about electability and the ability to win, we just had the first election of the 2020 process. i think that's my answer. >> out front now former vermont governor howard dean, and former chairman of the democratic national committee, and leah corr doe na. okay. thanks to both of you. leah, let me start with you. buttigieg, pretty clear i'm the guy who was able to put a number on the board. you're the guy who wasn't. does this make questions about his electability go away? >> this is for me? >> yes, sorry. >> sorry, sorry. well, no, it doesn't make it go away and i'll tell you why. there's no question that pete buttigieg, if he does end up winning in iowa that it is an incredibly impressive win. absolutely. let's take nothing away from that. but you can't call yourself the

candidate who is the most elect able after only one state that is completely not representative of what this country looks like and only represents 1% of the delegates needed to gain the nomination of the democratic party. let's wait until new hampshire. and by the way, after new hampshire you still don't have a state that is representative of what this country looks like. let's wait until nevada. let's wait until south carolina where you have the backbone of the democratic party, african voters, and a huge incredibly important and growing coalition latino voters who are going to be the largest ethnic minority voting in 2020. let's give them a say before anybody calls themselves the most elect able candidate. >> there are a lot of people who are pointing arrows at pete buttigieg right now, right? can't get this group, can't get that group. that's what happens when you get a number on the board. you're going to get a lot of things pointed at you. what do you say about his

electability. >> i say this is about politics and i've been through this. when you do well, which he did in iowa, people are going to point the fingers and try to take him down. they'll use whatever they can. i would much rather have rhetoric about electability than i would about trump's craziness on morality and whether people are religious enough. i'm actually fairly proud of our democratic candidates. they haven't gotten into the gutter which trump is always in. and they are -- whoever wins is going to present a real difference between us and a guy who's basically morally bankrupt and running a criminal enterprise out of the white house. >> when you look at how this race is shaping up, you know, a few months ago there was this front runner joe biden. there were others who were strong, but joe biden was the front runner. when you look at national polls, still is. but national polls, ultimately what matters is state by state and we're seeing that. here we are new hampshire. bernie sanders leading in new hampshire with 24%.

this is the last poll we're going to be able to report on before the primary there. buttigieg 20, biden 17, warn at 13. biden coming in probably fourth in iowa. if he does come in third in new hampshire, how big of a deal is that for him? >> well, i think that it would be disappointing for him and his campaign for sure. but let's remember that they have banked everything on how they're going to do in nevada and in south carolina. and they, i think, purposefully have lowered expectations for how they were going to do in iowa even though they admitted that that was a lot more disappointing than they thought it was going to turn out. and they've also lowered expectations with what is going to happen in new hampshire. so, that tells me that they are banking everything on nevada and in south carolina. if he does come in third in new hampshire, i do think it weakens him going into those two

must-have states. so, let's see what happens in new hampshire. but then more importantly south carolina and nevada. >> and governor dean, what about elizabeth warren? one point people were saying the surge, the surge, the surge of warren, she's going to be the nominee. everybody was saying it. now they're not saying it. she's still a top tier candidate. according to this poll she's coming in in fourth. how much would that hurt her? she's from massachusetts. >> look, we're getting a little breathless over there. there are four states up front before we hit supertuesday. we need to look at the picture in all four of them. there are other candidates in this race. something is going to happen in the next four states -- there are not going to be five candidate that is go to california. i think to start to discount any of these people now is too early. we've got three more states and they're all very different and they all look pretty tough and pretty interesting and they all have good campaigns.

>> it's exciting to say we don't know. to have it be unsettled is certainly exciting to watch. thank you both very much. next joe biden, inspiring people across the country who suffer from stuttering. and pelosi and trump.

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tonight joe biden opening up about a life-long struggle that's inspiring others of all ages to speak out. arlette saenz is out front. >> reporter: braden harrington is like any other 12-year-old kid. he likes drawing and basketball, and now he shares a personal connection with joe biden. >> i felt like a really close vibe between us because he had the same thing going on. >> reporter: brayden's father owen look his son to watch biden this week in new hampshire, knowing he too grapples with stuttering. >> we wanted to show brayden that stuttering is not a limit in life, and it didn't stand in

the way for joe biden. and it hasn't stood in the way for him. >> reporter: in a cnn town hall, the former vice president opened up about his life-long struggle and the message he gives to kids coping with the same issue. >> i still occasionally when i find myself really tired catch myself, saying something like that. it has nothing to do with your intelligence quotient. it has nothing to do with your intellectual makeup. it's critically important not to judge themselves by their speech, not let that define them. >> reporter: it's a moment that highlights one of biden's key attributes as he runs for president. he often mentions stuttering on the campaign trail, including a recent in-depth sit down with the atlantic. biden says he personally keeps in touch with more than a dozen people who stutter, some even approaching him at campaign events to mention that bond. >> by the way, you know i used to be a very bad stutterer. >> yeah, i know. i saw you. >> and i've spoken a lot about

it and involved in the national organization as well. >> yeah. >> stuttering does not define you, cannot define you. >> reporter: brayden harebing on the -- had that chance too. >> it's shocking to shake somebody's home who has the same trait as me and has the same thing going on. >> i met him. i could tell when i met him, you see the face, you can see the anxiety in their faces. >> reporter: biden then invited brayden backstage, even explaining how he prepares for his speeches. >> he showed me how he put like, like, diagonal lines through the words to like pause, take a breath and pause and chill out a little bit. >> reporter: the former vice president discussing that technique in his cnn town hall. >> what i do is if i say the democratic presidential town hall is tonight on cnn. the presidential town hall, slash, is on cnn tonight, slash. it's going to have the following

people, slash. anderson cooper is going to speak, slash. it forces me to speak in terms of not rushing. >> reporter: biden ultimately asked for braydens number, telling him he'll check in from time to time to talk through their mutual challenge in life. >> he took the time to say i want you to go out back. i know this isn't easy for us to talk right now, and i want to take some time just you and me, one-on-one. and that's a really kind act. >> it's kind of cool to shake a dude's hand and have, like -- in having him call me and other kids. >> reporter: now brayden's parents were undecided before this event, but they told me it had such a big impact on them, they'll be voting for joe biden in the primary. >> thank you. "outfront" next, jeanne on the escalating battle between trump and pelosi. when heartburn hits. fight back fast.. with tums chewy bites.

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here's jeanne. >> reporter: round two. in the post state of the union slugfest. in this corner, donald "hail to

the chief" trump. >> nancy pelosi is a horrible person. >> reporter: and in this corner, nancy "the ripper" pelosi. the two started fighting about prayer at, yep, a prayer breakfast, amen. >> nor do i like people who say "i pray for you" when they know that that's not so. >> i pray hard for him because he's so off the track. >> i pray for the -- she doesn't pray. she may pray, but she prays for the opposite. but i doubt she prays at all. >> reporter: they tear into each other. she tears up his speech, and now pelosi is being ripped for allegedly preripping that speech. the theory being it would be easier to dramatically tear it up at the end of the president's address. critics pointed out little notches on the pages as they sat on the speaker's desk. the trump war room tweeted this moment when pelosi appeared to take pages behind the desk and fiddle with them.

>> here tonight is a special man. >> reporter: trump supporters erupted. she preor the them. nancy, really, your important ticks are done, missy. premeditated political theater. but pelosi's spokesman said it was not preplanned. the speaker notched several pages in order to denote falsehoods in the speech as she went along. didn't she have a pen, we wondered? i do not believe she did was the response, and we didn't see one on the desk. >> she disgraced the house of representatives. >> reporter: florida republican matt gaetz filed an ethics complaint against speaker pelosi, which won't go far in the democratically controlled house. and talk about notches. you can count on these two to keep on taking each other down more than a notch. >> horrible person. >> he is so off the track. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york.

>> ah, okay. thank you for joining us. cnn's democratic presidential town hall with bernie sanders live from new hampshire begins right now. ♪ [ applause ] >> and live from manchester, new hampshire, this is cnn town hall event. i'm anderson cooper. welcome. the results from iowa are still not final. two candidates on stage tonight, both claiming victory, and the first in the nation primary here is just five days away. tonight new hampshire democrats and independents, many of whom are still undecideded will be posing their questions to candidates vying for the democratic nomination. you're going the hear from pete buttigieg, amy klobuchar and deval patrick. we begin with the senator from vermont, please welcome senator bernie sanders. [ applause ]