we would take the time to take a look at what is going on in 2024, it is soon upon us and is already started, to look where

candidates are and what is happening. joining us is alexandra omer of reuters -- ulmer of letters -- reuters. guest: thank you for having me. host: give us a sense of the lay the land. guest: trump went to iowa, rick scott went this weekend and that is a turning point for a event this weekend. it is a controversial desk influential youth group. there are a lot of questions about how and whether trump can revive it. a lot of eyes will be on that. host: yesterday in interviews, he made the claim that it was media coverage impacting that. where's the truth of that?

guest: sure. he was saying all of the negative mainstream media coverage he is getting was an attempt to wipe about -- him o ut. this is a misstep of what he and his team have done. there's a video that his campaign shared that was accused of being homophobic. he seems wooden on the campaign trail and does not have that touch. host: when it comes to former president trump himself, he put out a story. you could talk about his situation and others, where is the money going and who does it benefit? guest: desantis raised about $20 million in the campaign as last

quarter. was in the running for six weeks. that is a strong showing. trump raised $35 million in about twice the time. desantis is doing well. a lot of people are desperate for an alternative to trump. desantis is the best bet. his problems seem to be on the campaign trail. there was a grassroots support that is still high for trump. host: there are reports coming in about nikki haley and ramaswamy. can you elaborate? guest: yes, he is mostly self-funded. nikki haley started running

fairly early compared to other candidates and is linked to some moderate republicans supporting her. she is lingering in the polls so maybe having a order time making her case with donors who are eager to have this. host: there was just announced that the iowa gop caucuses will took place january 15 of next year. what does that mean for the players involved? guest: that is early. it is important for desantis as campaign, the states that come after iowa, that appeared to be less favorable to him. he is really banking on getting the evangelical conservative vote in iowa to dent trump momentum out of the gate. you can see him trying to move to the right of donald trump.

he is hoping to make a strong showing in iowa. it could be a make or break. host: when it comes to this, we talk about a lot of republicans. president biden was hitting the road talking about biden onyx -- bidenomics. guest: his team is trying to push the idea that they are doing a great job. they are touting jobs numbers. republicans are pointing out that inflation is still high. it does not appear that the team has managed to change the narrative around the economic situation in the united states. that will be an important part of the campaign. host: is there consensus of how contentious this campaign is for other candidates, robert kennedy junior, cornell west, marianne williamson and what that might do as far as taking support away from him? guest: i don't think there is a huge amount of concern.

a covert republicans and not democrats so i'm not the best placed to answer that. we do see contraction on some of the cases perhaps. bitcoin, the founder, those who appeal or are interested in the anti-vax position. but beyond that, i don't think they would pose a major challenge to biden. host: another republican related question. the republican party in florida asking for a loyalty pledge for those who are interested. can you explain what is being asked of these candidates and what response there is? guest: sure. it is also to ask who the republican nominee will be. that is important. this is an important step. there is been ambiguity in terms

of how the candidates have responded and they have sidestepped the question. but that will be important. you can expect candidates to be asked about that. host: i suppose you ask all of this about former president trump, his legal concerns and the hindrances that might prove. where is he with that and where to seek go depending on the outcome of various cases and legal issues he has? guest: it is important to remember that trump has an estimated 35% of rocks out of -- rocksolid support of the publican party. then there are people who are never trump's or think that there should be some one else. we have seen a lot of people pull back toward him, because they think these are targeted probes into him. the hope on the side of democrats and his rivals is that

details, especially of this documents case start to trickle out, opinions might start to shift on what he is done. i don't need to tell you there will be productions that have not materialized in the past. host: what are you watching for in the weeks ahead? guest: a huge one is how desantis affairs. a lot of people are still on the fence and they want to see how he does in the debate in august. if he can show himself to be dominant and rise above and show his campaign has life and he has a viable candidate, that would come down -- come along way. and there could be fears out of the candidacy. trump is pulling about 30 parents --points ahead of him. host: reporting on 2024