a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york, welcome, everyone, to alex witt reports. with breaking news from the nation's heartland, at this hour, to developing storylines, blizzard conditions, accompanied by a bitter chill sweeping across parts of the midwest, including iowa, where the first contest of the 2024 presidential election cycle is slated for monday. the weather scrambling republican campaign schedules and looming over the imminent caucuses, potentially affecting turnout. it is a weekend of consequence on all those fronts. and we have correspondents from michigan to iowa, with reactions from the candidates and on the midwinter blast. we're going to begin in the great lakes. we have a live look at mackinaw city, michigan.

that's where you would normally see a famous bridge there, but we're going to go right now to nbc's jesse kirsch, who's in grand rapids for us. welcome, chevy. how bad is it where you are? how much worse is it going to get, not only there, but across the nation as well? >> yeah, alex. i don't know if you could hear it, but it is the wind that's hitting us hard right now. we are in grand rapids, michigan. the western part of this state. this part of michigan, as well as western new york and the buffalo area, could be seeing a lot more snow over the next couple of days. there's a possibility in the buffalo area, because of lake effect snow bands, that we could be seeing three more feet of snow in the buffalo area in some parts, stretching into monday. the bills were supposed to have a big game this weekend. that game has been postponed because of the weather conditions that are expected in that parts of western new york. over the next couple of days. it's just these wind gusts here and in the grand rapids area that are really a punch to the face right now. we're actually doing better, temperature, wise than some of

the people. who are in the sub-zero temperatures. there are stretches of this country that they are, going to have highs and anywhere from 20 to 50 degrees below average. so, a lot of cold air across the country, on top of all of the snow that we're seeing in various parts of the great lakes and midwest region, where i am right now. and of course, that means treacherous road conditions, tough times in these guys as well, at chicago o'hare international airport between flights coming in and out of that airport yesterday. they reported more than 800 cancellations, and those numbers were ticking up again today, when i've been chatting throughout the morning. into the early afternoon. so, tough weather conditions for traveling, definitely a good day to be staying inside, and keeping warm, if you can. just to kind of, you know, put this all into perspective, these weather conditions, unfortunately, appearing to have been deadly this weekend. according to wisconsin officials, a 69-year-old man had been snow blowing his driveway and for sounds unresponsive and pronounced

dead in the milwaukee area. we're getting another powerful gusty right now,. alex all this snow blowing around, we're expecting more to be coming down to the next day or so. >> you know, i hate the, left when you said just for perspective, all we have to do, jessie, is look at you. i mean, you look like you are in the northern tundra. it's pretty brutal. i mean, you look, right i'm just saying, we can tell it's pretty cold. anyway, thank you so much for that. now, counting down to iowa, where voters could experience the coldest caucus state ever, as the republican candidates scramble to make their final push ahead of monday night. nbc's garrett haake is in your des moines for us. derek, welcome to you. let's talk about the voters and the candidates are faring today as they are winding down to the highly anticipated caucus in just two days. let me just say how smart you are to be endorsed there. >> yeah, it's definitely good to be out of the arctic cold here in des moines, alex. the snow has stopped, but the winds continue, the icy conditions mean very difficult to get around the state, and that has really slowed was

normally a sprint through the finish line here in iowa. something of a crawl, front under donald trump is on his way through the state right now. he completely scrambled his weekend campaign schedule for rallies turned into one, we'll see if that takes place. i think nikki haley and ron desantis expected to come in some combination of second and third here in the state. we're out campaigning this morning. things are still trying to lock up kind of new converts, new voters, see if they could close the gap with trump, who has been the dominant front runner in this state since the jump. when i talk to voters across the state, what i found so far is kind of this dynamic where you've got donald trump and his true believers. whether they be new to caucusing or have had a long time, trump committed, and haley and ron desantis fighting over either post trump republicans, or maybe even some independents and democrats looking for something new. here's a little bit of what i've heard from voters across the state so far. >> it i feel like there needs to be a new generation that comes in the white house. it can't be trump or biden. >> you voted for trump in 2016,

biden in 2020, who's it going to be in 2024? >> nikki haley. >> tell me why? >> i think at this point, we need a leader who is going to unify the country, someone willing to work on both sides of the aisle. >> do you think of yourself as a republican or of yourself as a trump supporter? first >> trump supporter first. >> and alex, everything we know about iowa's politics and the ways that has shifted away from democrats and towards republicans and toward specifically donald trump over the last decade or so, indicates to us that he expects to have a very strong night. his campaign schedule suggest that he expects to have a very strong eye about, this is really, to have the sprint to the finish like we've seen in the past. the real drama here is that battle for second place between ron desantis and the key haley. they are momentum have seemed to be going in opposite directions, but the santa still has a lot of money to spend. he's got a lot of infrastructure in this state. we'll see if that's enough to carry him through, come monday night. >> yeah, tell me really quickly, , garrett has nikki haley been

really saturating the airwaves, though? it's been reported she has spent a ton of money on advertisements. >> yeah, i mean, nikki haley has been the momentum candidate of this race. that includes fundraising. earlier in the year, she had no money to be on the air in iowa or elsewhere, but as of late, her as her debate performances have been strong, as she kind of locked in some more enforcement, with that has come down or money. she's been able to get up on the air here of her campaign and her super pac, spending pretty heavily on the airport in iowa and new hampshire to try to shake the results of this race. but alex, listen to this. even before this week, before the final week of this race, the campaigns had spent 100 million dollars on the airwaves in iowa alone. that money goes a very long way, and relatively small, medium markets. the voters here have been blasted with television commercials since this summer. i think one thing that's been constant across all the voters i've talked to in the states they are quite ready to be done seeing political television ads here for a little while. >> oh, i'm sure! they're like, bringing the dog food commercials, okay!

thank you very much, garrett. we'll talk to you again, thank you. meanwhile, sioux county is one spot we are watching, that's where trump from the worst in 2016. partly because of its high share of evangelicals. nbc's priscilla thompson is there for us right now. welcome to you, my friend. what are voters saying about how they feel this time around? >> yeah, alex. there is no question that trump 's popularity in su county has grown, but a number of caucus goers that i've spoken to say they are still undecided between trump and desantis, and given how poorly trump performed in su county in 2016, you might think it would be fertile ground for ron desantis, who really has made an attempt to go after those evangelical voters, pouring so many resources into this state. but on speaking to voters, they're saying they're not sure that they know ron desantis, that they feel like they do know what they're getting with donald trump. they like it. take a listen. >> i think ron is a good leader

to, but i don't really know much about him yet, because he's been the governor of florida. we have seen four years of donald trump. >> looking around everybody, it seems like they're all for trump, a lot of my friends would say that they are trump supporters. >> when you actually come through through desantis? because trump is abrasive enough to push his envelope. you have back down a couple of times. >> and this is a trend we've seen across the country since 2016, with a lot of those evangelical voters lining up behind the former president in part because he's credited with sort of paving the way for the overturning of roe v. wade, abortion, of course, a big issue in this community. so, it remains to be seen what exactly will happen on caucus night, but i'll tell you this. in 2016, 64% of republican caucus goers identified as evangelicals. so, the way sue county goes should, could certainly tell us

a little bit about how the state might go. alex? . >> yeah, point well taken. you make a good. one okay, priscilla, figure. that for all of you in our next hour, the three words every msnbc viewer wants to ar. mr. cv kornacki. he is talking about iowa republicans and what they fought back in 2016, compared to now. you probably could've sold tickets to it. what was described as a circus in court this week. donald trump right in the middle of it. we're back in 60 seconds. e back in 60 seconds if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible. talk to a doctor about nurtec odt. (ella) fashion moves fast. (jen) so we partner with verizon relief is possible.

to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (jen) that's enterprise intelligence. (vo) it's your vision, it's your verizon. ♪♪ here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪ ♪boost♪ nutrition for now. two down, one to go, in a week of legal setbacks in d.c., federal court and new york civil court, donald trump says he still plans to be a manhattan federal court to say for the defamation lawsuit against him by e. jean carroll. but new filings in that case may prevent trump from tuin the defamation trial into the circus that played out in his new york civil trial, when he launched a barrage of personal

attacks against the judge, as well as the attorney general. joining me right now, kristy greenberg, former federal prosecutor and former deputy head of the criminal division at sdny. welcome back here on this saturday, my friends. so, this scene uray, it was wild, right? trump refused to stick to the facts of the case. then, lost his mind when the judge indicated he had one more minute, saying things lis is a fraud on me. the person in the room right now hates trump. he said he should be paid for being prosecuted, telling the judge, i know this is boring to get. you have your own agenda. yot listen for more than one minute? judge engoron at that point said, mr. casey, plea control your kaiya client. it's this circus act, christy, precisely what the judge was trying to avoid? what does this kind of behavior by trump, and do you think he's going to get away with it on tuesday? >> so, the judge should never have allowed donald trump to speak. this is clearly going to be a temper tantrum thrown by a toddler.

he already testified as a witness. he actually declined to testify a second time, when he had the opportunity to do so. and really, the judge shouldn't be asking donald trump's lawyer to control his client. the judge needs to control his own courtroom, and he should have shut this down. now, the judge had a bomb threat that morning, and hours later, you have donald trump attacking this judge personally. he is fanning the flames and he presents a grave danger to any public servants who may deliver some measure of accountability to him. do not expect this to happen on tuesday in federal court before charge caplan. touch caplan is a tough cookie. he suffers no fools, and there will be no nonsense in his courtroom. >> so, judge engoron says he's going to try to deliver ruling on the civil case by january 31st. the attorney general is asking trump, to pay back what he calls ill gotten gains, like $370 million plus interest. that includes 100 and $68

million of saved interest. she also wants a lifetime ban on trump from doing business in the state, and a five-year ban on his sons, eric and don junior. what are the odds, christine, features grants this? >> so, i think there is one of those outcomes you mentioned that really scares donald trump, and that's that lifetime ban barring him from participating in the real estate industry in new york, and from being an officer or a director of any new york entities. the corporate death penalty. i do believe in this case the judge is going to impose it on donald trump. he is his own worst enemy. his own trial testimony is going to be used against him to do this. really, the test for this is whether or not there's a reasonable likelihood that there will be a continued violation. there are at least three reasons that came up in this trial as to why that would be the case. one is his own lack of remorse from his own words on thursday. he has not taken any accountability for his actions. the second thing his intent.

he is somebody who has said he reviewed and commented on these statements. how did he know he was false? he also testified that nobody is more than expert in real estate that he is. that he knows more about this than anybody else. he knew the correct square footage of the apartment he lived. and he knew the deed restrictions in mar-a-lago, where he lived. he had signed documents to that effect, and that was evidence at trial. then, the third recent i think, you know, in addition to the lack of remorse and intent, why i think he will get this corporate death penalty, is that they have done nothing at the trump organization to remedy this culture of fraud. you have the cfo, who pled guilty to tax fraud. you have the controller, who's admitted he aided and abetted the cfl in doing that, because he didn't want to lose his job. were either of those people fired? no. they weren't. they actually were given severance packages that were quite handsome, in exchange for not cooperating with long for

smith. there was no internal investigation to turn things around and make the culture better. so, i really think, with those things, there's a pattern of fraud here. the judge will find that that penalty should be imposed. >> his immunity appeal here in d.c. last tuesday did not appear to go very well for trump. here are two key ises that were raised by a federal appeals court judges. take a listen. >> could a president who ordered seal team cis to assassinate a political rival, who was not impeached, could he be subject a criminal prosecution? >> if he were impeached and convicted first. >> i think it's paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care of a lot to be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal laws. >> so, kristie, as you listen to those questions raised by the judges, what's your assessment of them?

also, the responses from team trump? >> donald trump's argument that a president can't be prosecuted unless he is first impeached and convicted is just a legal nonstarter. there is no basis in a text or the history of the constitution, and asked the judges were pointing out in their hypotheticals, it defies common sense under this theory that the president can order team six to order a political opponent, or trying to not be impeached or convicted, but still avoid prosecution. that's not only not the law, it is not anything the d.c. circuit court of appeals, or even the supreme court, i, think will uphold us law. so, what are they actually doing here? the lawyer that made this argument for donald trump, i went to law school with him. he is a smart guy. he's a rhodes scholar, graduated with honors. you worked for judge's kealia and judge luttig and justice scalia. they are trying to do two

things. one is delay. this is like football. they're trying to run up the clock till the election and get as close as they can to be able to claim election interference. the other thing they're doing, and this is very clear in the oral argument, they are setting the stage of what will happen if donald trump wins. donald trump's lawyers said this would open the floodgates. that there will be cycles of recrimination for anyone else in terms of political prosecutions. they actually said at one point, his lawyer said that joe biden could be prosecuted for mismanagement and the border. which is of course, not a crime. so, they are telling him what they are going to do if he wins. >> kristy greenberg, thank you so much for weighing in on all that. we'll see you again soon, no doubt. coming up next for all of you, the breaking news. more war? war as to work. i use secret aluminum free. just swipe and it lasts all day. secret helps eliminate odor, instead of just masking it. and hours later, i still smell fresh. secret works! ohhh yesss. ♪♪

(♪♪) we come from a long line of cowboys. (♪♪) when i see all of us out here on this ranch, i see how far our legacy can go. (♪♪) when my doctor gave me breztri for my copd things changed for me. breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ask your doctor about breztri.

have you ever considered getting a walk-in tub? well, look no further. or eye pain occur. proudly made in tennessee, a safe step walk-in tub is the best in it's class. the ultra-low easy step helps keep you safe from having to climb over those high walled tubs, allowing you to age gracefully in the home you love. and now, back by popular demand, for a limited time, when you purchase your brand-new safe step walk-in tub, you'll receive a free shower package! yes! a free shower package, and if you call today, you'll also receive $1600 off. now you can enjoy the best of both worlds. the therapeutic benefits of a warm, soothing bath, that can help increase mobility, relieve pain, boost energy, and even improve sleep.

or, if you prefer, you can take a refreshing shower all in one product! call now! ♪ unnecessary action hero! ♪ -missing punches? -unnecessary! -check reversals? -unnecessary! -time sheet corrections? -unnecessary! -unentered sick time? -unnecessary! -go! -unnecessary! -go! -unnecessary! -when you can take this phone, you'll be ready. -make the unnecessary, unnecessary. let your employees do their own payroll.

get over here kids. time for today's lesson. wow. -whoa. what are those? these are humans. they rely on something called the internet to survive. huh, powers out. [ gasp ] are they gonna to die? worse, they are gonna get bored. [ gasp ] wait look! they figured out a way to keep the internet on. yeah! -nature finds a way. [ grunt ] stay connected when the power goes out, with storm ready wifi from xfinity. and see migration in theaters now. breaking news. the united states carried out another strike against houthi rebels in yemen overnight. the target this time was a houthi radar site that put

commercial vessels in the red sea at risk. this, according to two offense the facials. it comes after the united states and the uk launched 60 strikes on houthi targets in multiple locations on thursday. now, in response to houthi milint who have been launching weeks of attacks on vessels. the rebel group vowing as strong and effective response. joining me now, former supreme allied commander of nato and msnbc key chief international analyst, admiral james -- always good to have you here, admiral. let's get this. what do you, no sir, about the new overnight strike, and why did the u.s. take this one on unilaterally, without the uk? >> i'd call this a bit of cleanup. the big strike, as you correctly alluded to, was u.s. and uk actually dropping ordinance with specific support coming from five other nations. two pacific nations, to nato allies, and one in the gulf, bahrain, so, very much a coalition effort. that was the big strike.

i'd say probably, this particular radar was not included in that initial set of targets. and the analyst said, you know, we ought to go back and make sure that radar is down, because alex, at the end of the day, but the houthis have been able to do is use those radars to create the targeting so that they can launch these long range cruise and ballistic missiles. so, this is a one-off, not designed to be an additional strike per se, i think at this point, everyone is going to have to stop on the coalition side, and wait and see what the houthis do next. >> the last 48 hours, could these actions spark a wider, more violent conflict across the region? any worries on that? >> yes. in the sense that's i'd scored right now, alex, about a one in three chance that this thing could go high order. that being defined as u.s.,

versus iran. potentially, and why involving israel. but i think it's a two in three chance we probably don't go that far, because neither tehran nor washington is looking for that broader confrontation right now. that's why it's, if will, a bit of a proxy fight. i think it will probably stay ned at that level, but you can't rule out an expansion. we are all keeping a good eye on it. >> and expansion, leaving involving iran? i was going to ask you about that which you have not spoken about many times. you are concerned the last time we spoke, which was maybe a week ago. you were at about 30%. , so if you're doing a third, technically, you're at 33% concern about iranian involvement. so, you don't think this particular last 48 hours has really drawing the attention or the ire of iran? >> i think it is certainly drawing their attention, and hopefully, what they will take

out of it is that we are willing to actually use military force to push back. and as you know, alex, it's not just the houthis in the south. it's, of, course hamas in gaza. and hezbollah to the north of israel. all of these entities are creatures of iran, being directed, organized, trained, equipped, and supplied by the iranians. so, iran needs to hear that message from us that we are willing to engage very directly against their proxies. let's hope the message passes through the houthis and ends up with the moola's in tehran. >> strong and effective response. that's with the houthi group has vowed. what does that mean? what are they capable of doing? >> i think they've already shown us their best punch. that was two weeks ago. they did a pretty sophisticated multi pronged attack using speedboats, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, helicopters,

they've shown us, i think, the extent of their capability. so, i'm not sure they have a viable next level of escalation here. however, to say, they face, alex, i could see them trying to take down another merchant ship, as they did about three months ago. they still hold a ship called the galaxy in one of their ports. 25 mariners are held hostage. they may try to lash out by taking down another commercial ship. but that navy, u.s. navy, and the coalition partners are going to do everything they can to stop them. >> okay, admiral james stavridis, i'm hoping the next time we talk, it hasn't got up to 35 or further, but i'm watching. thank, you my friends. appreciate that. back here in the u.s., a massive rally is underway in our nation's capital, calling for a cease-fire in gaza. as well as sending aid to israel. thousands are gathered right now at freedom plaza for a march to hold israel accountable for what organizers

are calling crimes against humanity. that march route including a stop at the white house. nbc's brie jackson is in washington, d.c. for us. welcome to you, brie. talk about the scene and what it's like there right now? >> good afternoon, alex. as you can see behind me, there is a huge crowd out there, organizers are expecting 25,000 or more people to come. we spoke with people from michigan, ohio, new york, all across the country. they are here with the same message. we're hearing chance of free palestine, cease-fire now, they are demanding action from the biden administration. they want them to stop supporting israel and the war. they are between israel and hamas. so, some of the speaker said of taking the stage have these emotional stories. we spoke with one man who says he has lost several family members there in gaza. take a listen to what he told us. >> whether it's women, children,

or elder people who are paying the price for this, the price of the fact that this issue off the palestinians dealing with, for over 75 years, they don't deserve this. they deserve exactly like what my children here in washington, d.c. area to serve. >> now, this is the second rally in washington, d.c., in support of gaza since the war began back on october 7th. once again, people that are coming out here today say they are putting a spotlight on what they say is happening there in israel. they say they want israel to be held accountable. they are demanding a cease-fire and are calling on the biden administration to stop supporting israel. so, from here, they're going to take their message to freedom plaza over to the white house. they will start watching in about an hour for now. they point to start marching a few blocks up to the white

house. another thing to note is that organizers say they are having this, the timing of this event, it's martin luther king holiday, heading to the martin luther king holiday on monday. so, they say they are standing up against injustices that are happening in israel. alex? >> hey, bree. not for nothing, we are hearing somebody literally screaming behind you. i just want to make sure there's not sort of security apparatus or something interaction. someone is just passionate about what they're talking about. i want to make sure that person's okay? have you been hearing that as well? >> alex, that is passion your hearing. we are seeing a safe rally here so far. safe, and that's passion your hearing. we've heard that a couple of times throughout the day. >> okay, good to know. just caught my ear. thank you so much, brie jackson, for that. well, he's been singing the same old song since 2020, but this week, trump changed his tune about the last election. why? a potential answer to a big mystery, next.

mystery, next. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn.

your best defense against erosion and cavities is strong enamel- nothing beats it. new pronamel active shield actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a gamechanger for my patients- it really works. (vo) meet fargo, the new virtual assistant from wells fargo. fargo makes banking faster, and easier. gamechanger for my patients- (woman) fargo, turn off my debit card! (vo) lets you pick up the tab, even if you forget your wallet... (kaz) i got this. (ben) fargo, send kaz $145 dollars with zelle®.

(kaz) smooth. (vo) fargo puts important information at your fingertips. (dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no... (vo) want to see everything fargo can do? you can, with wells fargo. new today, a report on a rather breathtaking and inexplicable about-face for donald trump when it comes to the 2020 election. political rights at least six times in the past two weeks, trump has said the last presidential election was long-over by the time he began pushing state officials and then vice president mike pence to overturn his defeat. joining me now is peter baker,

msnbc chief analyst, chief white house correspondent for the new york times, and coauthor of the divider, trump in the white house 2017 to 2021. is this as much of a head-scratcher for you as it was for me? he's saying lots? how do you interpret this shift from him, peter? is it a legal strategy, as this immunity case heads to the appeals court? this is a political strategy, in preparation for primaries? what is it? >> well, it's a head-scratcher, of course not the first time we've seen. you can just in the last few days. i, mean he changes the argument to suit's needs, right? he's basically trying to say i was acting in the capacity of the president of the united states, not as a candidate, who had an interest in the outcome of the election. it was my job to make sure the election was carried out freely and fairly without fraud. that's the only thing i care about. which of, course, is allied by all the evidence of him calling, for instance, the georgia secretary of state and saying find me the votes. i need to win. or pressuring state legislatures to change the electoral college votes that

were going to be sent to washington time and time again. be very clear, he was not acting as a disinterested commander in chief only concerned about the integrity of the system, but as a candidate who wanted to hold on to power after the loss he refused to accept. this is a way of changing the argument for the purposes of the current moments. he's done this another time. he recently said that trump lawyer said they cannot prosecute him, as far as immunity, the cannot process him criminally because he wasn't convicted in an impeachment trial, even though his lawyers, for the last impeachment trial, that don't convict him. if you want to go after him, use a criminal justice system. , so it depends on the moment. no argument they need in the moment. >> to the immunity case, donald trump is challenging the justice department by asserting he should be protected from prosecution because of his presidential immunity. if the supreme court, peter, agrees with trump, that's what essentially invalidates all of these cases against him in connection to january six. to both sides have a case, or is this one sided against

trump's claims? >> well, look. the supreme court never ruled on this exactly before, so, in that case, in that sense, you, know it's an uncharted territory legally. but most legal scholars think there's not very much of and arguments for the idea of blanket immunity, which is what he's claimed. because the consequences of that are so enormous. the idea that it's one thing to say you can't prosecute a president who is currently in office. that's why the impeachment clause for to get him out of office, and, you can prosecute them. that's relatively, you know, there's a lot of people who believe that the justice department takes that position. that's -- in court, either. the idea have no complete immunity after you leave office, you can never be charged with anything, it's a bit of a sweeping statement that even conservative legal scholars finds to be rather extreme. given that this is supreme court, with three of his own appointees, has repeatedly rebuffed him, for instance, when he has said he is immune from having to release taxes. it's hard to imagine that they then say okay, but you're immune from all criminal liability for leaving office if

you do some the criminal. they do think there are certain things you do as president, if that you are immune, that's a sovereign later, you can't be suture every decision you make. but the idea that you can, that you can't be criminally charged from committing an actual crime while president seems like a bit of a stretch to most legal scholars. >> so, president biden, as you, know is responding to a comment that donald trump made about why he hopes the economy crashes this year. let's take a listen to both of their remarks. i'm getting a reaction on the other side. >> when there's a crash, i hope it's going to be during this next 12 months. because i don't want to be herbert hoover. the one precedent i just want to be herbert hoover. >> he economist doing pretty darn well because he doesn't want that to continue. and by the way, the idea that he wants to see a crash in the next 12 months, he doesn't want to be herbert hoover, he has to understand. he's already herbert hoover. he's the only other president who has lost jobs during his term. >> so, you've got to wonder

what trump was thinking when he said that, right? how could trump possibly think that a failing economy would help him out in the slightest, or, peter, was he thinking only about himself politically they're, not the country, nor the voters? >> well, certainly, it's a matter of politics. if there's a crash before the election, he does believe that would help him out, and it probably would. but you know, biden's point has a fair one. up until now, republicans have talked about how bad the economy is. this statement by former president trump seems to imply the exact, it is actually hurting really well. to sentence about spot. he gets to about. spot it's blamed on biden,, so he can then use that politically in the election. but you know. it's one more thing he says that's his you know, you would think no other politician would say and get away with it, but he does, and time and time again, he doesn't seem to change the political dynamics at least in terms of his base. >> how to tell you, that was a head-scratcher for me. i'm still glad you always come on and straighten things out. thank, you my friend. peter baker, it's good to see you. on the road again, here what's

on the minds of iowa voters next. plus, whether some might agree with this headline. a programming note, tonight at nine eastern, we're going to get exclusive new poll results from nbc news and with the morning register. msnbc's katie tur and steve kornacki will have live coverage. >> liv coverage >> it's our phone bill... we pay for things that we don't need. (mom) that's a bit dramatic. (dad) we must tighten our belts! (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon.

(dad) it's our phone bill... we pay for things that we don't need. (mom) that's a bit dramatic. (dad) we must tighten our belts! (mom) a better plan to save is verizon! (vo) that's right! plans start at $25 per line guaranteed for 3 years. only on verizon. now, two decision 2024. gosh, it looks chilly with these live pictures from frigid iowa city, were donald trump's

leading rivals ron desantis and the key haley, who are trying to just take out of the snow as well as their huge polling gap. now, just two days before the iowa caucuses, haley is extra far up though, after a suffolk university poll of likely caucus goers. but her ahead of say the chances for the first time, head by seven points. it was conducted before chris christie dropped out. we've got to reporters on the ground for us in iowa. we have our intrepid nbc's aly batali at first, at the bluebird near in iowa city. so, ali, how is the capitalizing on the pole ahead of the caucuses? >> they're happy to see this poll, basically, what's happening is as happy as i am to be inside on a day like today, because they are seeing this as an opportunity for them to continue riding the momentum that is really only going to be borne out once they have people going to caucus sites and actually making their votes no. for halle, iowa has never been the state she needs to win. it's the state she wants to do well enough in to springboard

herself into new hampshire. that's the state where if you look at polls, if you talk to folks on the ground, certainly, when i talk to my campaign sources, that's where they feel they are at least within striking distance of former president donald trump, and that would be the state where they're hoping to pierce his veil of inevitability for this republican nomination. in iowa, though, yes, that poll is good news for hailie. let's good news for around the santas, and certainly, great news for former president donald trump, who it's consistently leading the pack. it's why we're seeing haley when you look at places like new hampshire, try to tamp down the rival, rhonda santas, as just another iteration of trump. that's why her super pac is running ads like this one. watch. >> [crowd chanting] >> make america great again. >> [crowd chanting] >> build the wall! >> who's your daddy? >> so good. >> who's your daddy? >> make america great again.

>> who's your daddy? >> -- >> then, mr. trump said, you are a fighter. >> of course, that at their intersperses and old ad from then governor candidate ron desantis. that's from his 2018 race in florida. now, it's coming back, and depending on who you talk to, this i can work a few different ways. of, course is something the haley super pac is running in new hampshire, and attempt to make it seem like there's a binary between haley and trump, and every other candidate is just a trump acolyte. then, there's also some republican offensive spoken to who say they think this is actually a pretty good ad for trump, to. in that state. >> that's really interesting. that poll was taken before chris christie dropped out of the race. is there any indication or the 2% may go? is it more haley bound, or desantis found? wouldn't think it would go to ramaswamy. >> i don't think so either, but

look. i think it was a question to ask here in iowa where yeah, it's going to be a game of inches for second place. but that 2% is not going to be, i think, no make-or-break or. instead, asking the christie question in a place like new hampshire, that's where the haley team really thinks it's going to come out in a way that could truly benefit them, especially because if you look at some nbc news polling, a majority of christy for voters, however reluctantly, would go to haley before they would go to someone like trump or desantis, and that's exactly what the halle people are trying to capitalize on in new hampshire. >> okay, my friend, great answer. thank you so much. let's go to nbc's vaughn hillyard, who's at trump headquarters in urbandale, iowa. they are not going to let you inside? is that why you are in the car, my friends? seriously? or is it just the weather? >> no live shots inside, but we do have a live feed with the photographer who is inside here right now, who has been capturing some video of the volunteers here in action just tuesdays out from the iowa caucus. there's talk about a couple of the volunteers you see inside of that room here is that they

came out, despite this weather, to come volunteer. and they believe that a couple of the precinct captains i was talking to that they believe that they're going to be able to turn most of the folks who committed to them to show up. well, understanding when you're talking about negative 35-degree wind chill, they are going to be understandable consequences. but they believe they've built up an operation over the last year that is going to guarantee them all but a victory and want to let you listen to a conversation, at least part of the conversation, i just had with arizona senate candidates, kari lake. in which i asked her why she's out here on the campaign trail on behalf of donald trump, and what a potential win on monday night would say about the republican party. take a listen. >> what will the results on caucus night here in iowa, and in new hampshire, tell us about the state of the republican party? >> i believe, and i think you've probably seen the polling, that president trump is going to win. he's going to win big. anything over 12% would actually be historic. i think the biggest victory, if i'm right, you might want to check these, numbers but from,

right i think it's a 12% victory in a crowded race. so, anything over 12% would be great. i think it's going to do much better than that. >> now, donald trump says that he is on route to higher what now. he has spent the last couple of days in mar-a-lago, of course, he had two rallies planned for today, alex, or both canceled. one of his two events tomorrow it's canceled. ron desantis, like nikki haley, is also out on the campaign trail today. he had his first stop here today as he fights for second place. he made the case that he is going to go through whatever elements necessary to pull off the nomination, and he told the crowd at his first event of the day if they're willing to come caucus for him in these devastating temperatures, that he will fight for them for the course of eight years in the administration. alex? >> okay, vaughn hillyard, thank you so much from inside your car. stay toasty. my next guest in this an expert in voter data. what he has to say about all that talk of a stolen election in 2020, and what that could mean for this year. for this year trigger migraine attacks too.

that's why my go to is nurtec odt. it's the only migraine medication that can treat and prevent my attacks all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion and stomach pain. now i'm in control. with nurtec odt i can treat a migraine attack and prevent one. talk to your doctor about nurtec today. progressive makes it easy to save with a quick commercial auto quote online. so you can get back to your monster to-do list. -really? -get a quote at progresivecommercial.com. ♪♪ here's to... one year bolder. ♪♪ ♪boost♪ nutrition for now. when you purchase a pair of bombas socks, tees, or underwear, you also donate one to someone facing homelessness.

one purchased equals one donated. 100 million donations and counting. visit bombas.com and get 20% off your first order. we really don't want people to think of feeding food like ours is spoiling their dogs. good, real food is simple. it looks like food, it smells like food, it's what dogs are supposed to be eating. no living being should ever eat processed food for every single meal of their life. it's amazing to me how many people write in about their dogs changing for the better. the farmer's dog is just our way to help people take care of them. ♪ i was stuck. unresolved depression symptoms were in my way. i needed more from my antidepressant.

vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant... is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms... ...better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements, which may be permanent. high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death, weight gain, and high cholesterol may occur. movement dysfunction and restlessness are common side effects. stomach and sleep issues, dizziness, increased appetite, and fatigue are also common. side effects may not appear for several weeks. i didn't have to change my treatment. i just gave it a lift. ask about vraylar and learn how abbvie could help you save. when people come, they say they've tried lots of diets, nothing's worked ask about vraylar and learn or they've lost the same 10, 20, 50 pounds

over and over again. they need a real solution. i've always fought with 5-10 pounds all the time. eating all these different things and nothing's ever working. i've done the diets, all the diets. before golo, i was barely eating but the weight wasn't going anywhere. the secret to losing weight and keeping it off is managing insulin and glucose. golo takes a systematic approach to eating that focuses on optimizing insulin levels. we tackle the cause of weight gain, not just the symptom. when you have good metabolic health, weight loss is easy. i always thought it would be so difficult to lose weight, but with golo, it wasn't. the weight just fell off. i have people come up to me all the time and ask me, "does it really work?" and all i have to say is, "here i am. it works." my advice for everyone is to go with golo. it will release your fat and it will release you. with the iowa caucuses two

days away, may wonder if donald trump becomes republican nominee. are we in for a repeat of 2020? false claims of voter fraud and a stolen election led to the chaos and the tragic events of january six. joining us now is can block, an expert in voter data. ken owns simpatico software systems, and was hired by the trump campaign just one day after the 2020 election to prove election fraud. ken is also the author of disproven, my unbiased search for voter fraud for the trump campaign. that data that shows why heat loss and how we could improve our elections, and that book is coming out on march 12th. i'm so glad you're here to talk about this,. can you have worked very closely with the trump team after the 2020 election. the trump mentality of claiming fraud to mask the truth of losing an election. could that rear its ugly head with trump again? or any other candidate?

>> i think so much -- thanks for having me on this afternoon. i think so much of the answer to that question relies on who may future president trump surround himself with. in 2020, november of 2020, i was hired by lawyers who worked for his campaign team who wanted due diligence, who wanted to understand if the claims of fraud were true or not. when i determined that i could not find enough fraud to matter, and that the 15 claims of fraud they said to me were all false, they properly communicated that the chain of command. mark meadows received the information that said the fraud was not the cause of the loss, and mark meadows communicated that information -- >> the rights -- is perform -- will have what 2:50 with a

another story altogether. >> how long did that take you, can? how long did that communication get up the chain to mark meadows? >> the whole, it was basically 30 days from the election before most states certified the results. so, it's only within that small window of time that you really had the ability to effectively contest and election results. so, the month of november 2020 was the bulk of the work that was done. >> okay, i'm looking at what you wrote here. this was an op-ed for usa today. you wrotehi month and writing quote, voter fraud is detectable, quantifiable, and verifiable. i have yet to see anyone offer up any voter fraud in the 2020 election that provides these three things. what were you asked to look for by trump's team four years ago? and where you are at all pressure to find something that didn't exist? by your first answer, i'm going to presume you weren't. >> that's correct.

it's a really good question, and the answer is i was not pressured as part of the negotiations for my contract, i made it very clear that i would leave no stone unturned, looking for voter fraud. but that i was not open to providing a pre-determined outcome if the fraud was there, i would find it, and they also stipulated in my contract that any fraud that i found in my company found, would stand up in court. so, that was the acid test for all the work that i did, was could what i brought forward, or what other people brought forward, survive legal scrutiny? and the answer across the board to that question was no, not just from my research at my work, but we've also seen empirically, with 60 plus court cases, nobody has brought forward examples of fraud in 2020, sufficient to change an election, and survive legal

scrutiny. >> okay. i'm curious, when you present your findings to trump's attorneys, give me the tenor of how that was received, and also, did you have any direct conversations with mark meadows? >> i didn't. i was kept in a pretty small box. i did most of my communicating to the lawyer that i reported two. that lawyer, alex cannon, was deposed by the january six committee. in his deposition transcripts, he identifies my company did the work, and that he communicated the campaign's findings that fraud was not discovered, and was disproven in every circumstance. he took that message to mark meadows and in his january six deposition, he describes mark meadows reaction, which was i guess that means there is no there there. meaning, the claims of voter fraud were empty. >> we actually heard that line. so, you have this front row seat to everything that happened after the election in 2020. have you been asked, can, to be part of the ongoing special

counsel investigation into efforts to overturn election results? >> yeah. i received subpoenas from jack smith's investigation in washington. d.c.. and i received subpoenas from fani willis is investigation in fulton county, georgia. >> okay. in your op-ed piece, you mentioned trump's latest legal battle, and you say if trump is sure heas immunity, then he should work with and not against prosecutor jack smith. can you explain that? why? >> is that my quote? >> yeah? >> okay? i don't recall making that, but will run with it. it may not have been verbatim. i could keep looking through here. there's some things -- >> -- i >> would there be reason for donald trump to work with jack smith if he says, look, i did nothing wrong! there's a whole immunity thing! >> yeah. not being a lawyer, i wouldn't