>> yeah -- on the video >> he's like come on nikki, come on nikki.e just started hitting him. she told him let me be. let me go. and he said okay. >> at first neither angela, nor anyone else could figure out what had just happened. >> i'm like why did she go running? is it something i said? >> so she was more upset than what she was letting on in the by. she must have been to be running out like that. >> so not too far from here is where the mystery began? >> the mystery began when she left here, just a few feet from where we're standing. >> to try and solve the mystery, detective slinger reviewed all the text messages between nikki and dug on doug's phone. -- what kind of things where she? writing >> trust issues that she had with him. maybe that he was out with them other girls. >> nikki roe wow, what's flooded you with because none of your friends know? you hurt me all the time. >> when angela learned just how angry nikki was with doug, she couldn't help but feel like she may have contributed to the couples problems by making that phone call to do

one more chance, and if it is not right, i am taking over. >> rhonda loved nikki, and nikki loved her. she put the twins in dance, music classes, and at school they won awards. >> the teachers describe them as almost angelic, sweet, happy and engaged. and there are pictures of them, one on each of nicky's arms. >> casey back, a reporter at an nbc affiliate in -- >> he just described to that, way she had a sweet demeanor in their classrooms, and with their classmates. they were almost timid. then, as they reached their teens, they changed, somehow. and in the ways children often do, in the way that nikki herself one did. and just like nikki, the twins were sent to live for a couple of years with a rather permissive family matriarch, della. until 2010, when nikki welcomed tasmiyah and jasmiyah back. all together again at robert's house. a fresh start and nikki turned up at school being. >> yes, she was in a very good move. she looked great, a new look in her, she had braids in and she was happy. >> as if the braids in her hair or a kind of announcement. her girls were back. >> they were

hours, still, no nikki. dave's wife, of almost four years, was gone, into the night, into the rain. what, on earth, had happened to nikki? >> turns out, nikki had a troubled past. had those troubles caught up to her? or, was it something else? coming up -- >> would you think something is wrong? something was wrong from the beginning? >> yes. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good. i'm gonna pull over and stretch my legs. i think you were supposed to keep left there. hmm? what is this place? the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak? [ sniffs ] four types of jerky. this is where i live now. you could save a ton with progressive by bundling your boat or rv with your home and auto. hey, guys! free bags! they're just giving th

she was looking for nikki, her coworker. >> i loved nikki. nikki was great. she was just so great to work with. very smart. lots of energy. just a wonderful person. >> reporter: allison recalls that she and another colleague from work were running late. that would turn out to be an important twist of fate. >> 40 minutes late actually. everyone else had started searching. >> reporter: so were you given a grid or an area to look at? >> yes, we were given the front of the neighborhood. the very front of the neighborhood on the right. a patch of woods near a busy road. >> derek and i went into the woods together. and i remember having to walk up and go over a large tree. and there's this pile of leaves and it's and it's where everything else is clear and flat and my heart is racing a million miles an hour. i go up to the pile of leaves, i was using my boots to move leaves at the bottom of the -- of the pile. he heard the panic in my voice and he started helping me and that's when we saw blond hair. and i screamed this blood curdling scream. >> reporter: and there

keith morrison: ronda loved nikki. and nikki loved her girls. she put the twins in dance and music classes. at school ...they won awards. catie beck: their teachers describe them as almost angelic, sweet and happy and engaged. and there's pictures of them, you know, one on each of nikki's arms. keith morrison: catie beck was a reporter at nbc affiliate, wxia in atlanta. catie beck: teachers described them that way, that they had a sweet demeanor in their classrooms, and with their classmates, and-- they were almost timid. keith morrison: and then ...as they reached their teens.. they changed, somehow. in the ways children often do. in the way nikki herself once did. and, just like nikki, the twins were sent to live for a couple of years with the rather permissive family matriarch...della. keith morrison: until... 2010, when nikki welcomed tazz and jazz back. all together again in robert's house... a fresh start. and nikki turned up at school beaming. ronda: yeah, she was in a very good mood. she looked great. she had, you know a new look with he

it was from nikki's sister.eed. >> and even more surprises from the forensic evidence in the house. >> yes. >> have you ever seen anything like this before? one thing after the next that is not what it appeared. >> yeah. it was definitely crazy. >> reporter: then came the biggest blow to their theory. it had to do with that partial profile of male dna found on nikki's body and the bloody cord. they couldn't identify whose it was but they were able to rule out doug. >> this is a huge mistake. to arrest somebody for murder who it is really appearing did not commit the crime. >> yeah. i take full ownership of that myself. and, my supervisor that made the decision based on what we had at the time. we were responsible for the safety of the community. safety of doug's child that he would have had custody of. so we had to take all of those things into consideration. >> i would really hesitate to say use the term mistake. based on the circumstances. we had probable cause to make our arrests. >> reporter: but detectives

nikki whitehead was a single mom working towards a brighter future but that dream died when nikki was viciously murdered. her death -- and investigators committed to solving her murder the answer would prove elusive and in the and difficult for even the veteran detectives to believe. here is keith morrison with bad blood. >> once in a wild in a complicated life, a woman can get lucky, which is why you're looking at a sweet little town called -- reigned by gated communities, good school, a sheet of unions. it was pure luck that brought nikki in this quiet safe neighborhood. just far enough away from atlanta, that capital of over heated ambition down the highway. here she could give her beautiful twin daughters a better life than hers. but of course look, fortune, faith can go either way. sometimes in ways very hard to comprehend. >> everything about this goes against nature. >> how can somebody do that? >> it was definitely the bloodiest crime scene i had ever been to. >> in the next few minutes you will know exactly when it happened, where it happened, how it happened. but of course,

what on earth had happened to nikki pietz? >> turns out, nikki had a troubled past. had those troubles finally caught up with her? or was it something else? coming up -- >> did you think something was wrong, something more was wrong from the beginning. >> yes. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues plus a cooling sensation. live claritin clear. nexgard is the flea and tick protection that's #1 with vets. it even prevents the infection that causes lyme disease. your vet trusts nexgard for her patients and her own dog. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. ask your vet about nexgard. now, we all know progressive offers 24/7 protection, but we also bundle outdoor vehicles with home and auto to help people save more! [ laughs ] ♪♪ [ humming ] [ door creaks ] oh. [ soft music playing ] what are you all doing in my daydream? it's better than that presentation. a lot better. you know, whether it's a fraction or a decimal, it's still fun, you know? it's very common to have both sensitivity and gum issues. whether it's a fraction dentists and hygienists w

. >> i love nikki. but she was such corrections are great to work with lots of energy, positive. just wonderful. >> on the morning of the search, allison recalls that she, and another colleague fromd work, a man named derek, were running late. that would turn out reto be an important twist of fate. >> 40 minutes late. everyone else have started searching. >> are you given a grid or an area to look at? >> we were given the front of the neighborhood, the very front of the neighborhood on the right. >> it was one of the last unassigned sections of the organizers search grid. a patch of woods near a busy road. >> derek and i went into the woods together. is this pile of leaves, and it is in the middle of where everything else is clear and flat. and my heart is racing 1 million miles per hour. i go up to the pile of leaves, i was using my boots to move leaves at the bottom of the pile. as i was doing that i said derek and derek came over and heard the panic in my voice and he started helping me. that is when

nikki's mother linda did not like that. >> i wanted nikki to get her own place, establish her own lifemy mom would discourage that. you know, she would find ways to tell her no, you are better off here. >> that is how it went four years. but nikki had learned how to style hair, and was doing well at it. and the possibility of independence. >> she eventually wanted to get out of the control of della, right? >> she wanted to, as the girls got older, she definitely wanted to take control of her life. >> then one day, in 2000, nikki was shopping at the mall. and robert head just happened to be in exactly the right spot. >> i was sitting on the fountain one afternoon at about 6:00. and they're walks in nikki, coming into the mall. >> and your eye caught her? >> yes, i just could not let her get away, she was outstanding. >> that he was old enough to be her father did not matter, robert was in love. so we persuaded her to go to dinner that very night, took her dancing. he bought her nice things, treated her like a lady. >> she was my movie star, that's what i called, or my movie star. >> thi

they knew they would find nikki's blood. >> sure enough, in a smear of nikki's blood, a match.ed to one of the twins but which one? >> they are identical twins with identical dna, couldn't tell. >> by this time, the twin hz been out in the world without a word from the police for five months. >> wxai reporter katie beck. >> i think those five months built a confidence, an ar owe against that we are gooding to get away with this. >> you can imagine may 21, 2010 just after school. >> how did they react to being arrested? >> shocked. they thought it was over with. it had been five months. >> the arrest was big news. two sweet girls charged with the murder of their mother. who would have thought? >> people were riff eted by this story. >> yes, they were. >> when the twins finally told their version of events that cold morning in january, the city was riveted all over again. >> coming up, the fatal struggle. did their mom start it all? when dateline continues. s acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? turns out, my body w

what on earth had happened to nikki pietz? >> turns out, nikki had a troubled past.hose troubles finally caught up with her? or was it something else? coming up -- >> did you think something was wrong, something more was wrong from the beginning. >> yes. >> when dateline continues. >> nicole pietz, a woman just shy of her 33rd birthday, reported missing by her husband. >> we just want to know she's safe. >> david pietz told reporters how he waited with her with friends at a saturday night dinner party. she was a no-show. >> she was not there. they haven't heard from her. they haven't been able to contact her. >> david appeal to the public to keep an eye out for her. >> we want them to know we love her very much. >> nicki's mom was by his side. >> she's not somebody who wouldn't come home. she somebody that, if she's ten minutes late, she would call. >> did you think something was wrong? did you think something was more was wrong right from the beginning? >> yes, because nicki wouldn't have gone away without telling me. >> if nicki could've called somebody, she would'

the group nikki considers family. >> what's up, nikki? >> what's up? >> i love you. >> i love you, too. >> i almost got arrested. >> reporter: if the drag rats miare a , davis nikki's big brother. >> first time i met her, she didn't have a sleeping bag or blanket or nothing. i have been looking out for her and her for me for about a year and a half. >> nobody is going to look at a guy like me and say, hey, you want to come to my house? come on over. so we are all we have, is each other. so we got to look out for each other, otherwise, no one else will. i love this guy. >> i love my big brothers out here. they always take care of me. being a female on the streets is definitely harder than being a guy. there's obvious reasons. my big brothers are protective of me. hey, guys, see you later. >> reporter: nikki seems to spend most of her time with dave and gage. not with her boyfriend, ak. >> we try to hang out as much as we can but we are always on different missions. we have different agendas and different sets of friends. cops are right around the corner

nikki haley, the last one standing.and with the results that came in last night in which she only pulled off a victory in the state of utah, losing in 15 other states, this was a clear message send by the republican electorate, that the republican electorate and the united states of america wants donald trump to be their nominee, despite four criminal indictments, despite having been found to have sexually abused e. jean carroll. despite having been found to have repeatedly engaged in financial fraud, they wanted donald trump to be their nominee. and nikki haley we anticipate her making these remarks any moment now and notably per ali vitali our colleague in the room right now, she does not intend to endorse donald trump suggesting that there's a great share of the republican electorate, the independent electorate that wants a different message coming out of this republican nominee. the question here is would that mean potentially supporting joe biden down the road, and does donald trump have any interest in expanding h

we're going to go caucus for nikki haley. not just to galvanize the republican party, but you bring healing to the country. you can't complain about what happens in the general election if you don't play in the caucuses in iowa and the primary here in new hampshire. and those are the two stops. ron's not even going to come back to new hampshire is our understanding. he's kind of ignoring it. going off to south carolina. kind of a strange strategy. completely given up on the state indicating it's just that two-person race. if you can get it down to two people before super tuesday, clearly that's going to be the opportunity. now it becomes a 50-50 proposition. right? can trump really hold at 47, 46, 47%, is that enough to get him over the hump to win super tuesday states if there's only two people in the race. the math says it isn't but the fact we've even gotten here when no one said we could has defied expectations. >> the haley campaign has launched a new ad in new hampshire. let's take a look. >> the two most disliked polit

nikki haley won about 54%., and the democrats. >> do you mean the sneaker -- >> or donald, trump the democrats are not coming out to the woodwork. my, what was happening? >> i mean, i am shocked, i am shocked that the sneakers didn't work. no, i mean look listen, i think that the idea that there was going to be some new swath of black voters, that we're going to donald trump, but in general defecting, i think that has been overblown. i think there is obviously a lot of very cynical people who have been trying to say that the republicans some how have a strategy around black voters, that the democrats don't have, that democrats have been taken for granted. but i think look, we are looking at people who have records, right. the black community has seen what donald trump did, and they are voting accordingly. we have record low unemployment for black people in the country under joe biden. people see what is happening, or these policies actually mean. and the votes that we are seeing reflect that. >> olivia, i am ju

ambassador for now nikki haley. one member of republican leadership just said, john thune, saying he had no idea that this resignation announcement was going to be coming from nikki haley. he said on fox news he was with a member of the senate foreign relations committee last night. nobody had a clue this was dropping until about two and a half hours ago or so. interesting stuff that it was a surprise to senators. i don't think we have andrea mitchell so i'll turn that question to you guys. >> it sort of goes to the reality tv show aspect of the trump administration. again, we don't know if she decided super late or if she just informed the president last night or this morning. i'm sure we'll get the reporting on that. the fact he set up this meeting. the fact they have had this love fest in the oval office. the fact he teased it ahead of time that there was a leak to sort of get some excitement about it goes to the overall showman aspect the president likes. >> successor to be named within two or three weeks the pr

that option is nikki haley.s hard to walk away today thinking that anything but an actual win of actually beating donald trump in new hampshire could be justified as a win. it's very difficult for her to go and make the case looking at the republican electorate around the rest of the country in other states ahead that somehow she has better prospects elsewhere than here in new hampshire. >> ashley, let me ask you, what's a win for nikki haley? is getting into double digits good enough? could we be wrapping this up and have a presumptive nominee by the end of the night? >> reporter: it depends on who you ask that question to. if you ask nikki haley's campaign, who put out a memo this morning, their argument is that this is a long race, that they are heading next to south carolina, and then that super tuesday they argue is fairly favorable terrain for her. 11 of the 16 states who go to the polls then have open or semi-open primaries. their spin is, don't count her out. a little on the ground reality is that as thi

ambassador, nikki haley.then vivek ramaswamy came in fourth and dropped out of the race. >> and asa hutchison just announced he was dropping out of the race. 100,000 iowans turned out, much lower than in 2016. >> so it's now off to new hampshire. great place. we won it last time, and we won it both times, and we love it. the people are great. >> we thank you for your effort and we thank you for your support. you helped us get a ticket punched out at the hawkeye state. >> our campaign is the last hope of stopping the biden/trump nightmare. >> and steve kornacki at the big board, and ali vitali in manchester, new hampshire, and darsha burns with the desantis campaign in greenville, south carolina. steve, what stuck out you last night? 98 out of 99 counties went for trump. >> yeah, trump nearly did the 99 for 99 sweep. one county where nikki haley finished above him, and it was by one single vote in johnson county. this is where the university of iowa is, and iowa city. in the general election this would be the

nikki haley, nikki haley, nikki haley, nikki haley is in charge of security. >> a very big hello to a place where we've done very well, sioux falls. thank you very much, sioux falls. >> so i don't need to tell you, david, he doesn't run against barack obama, that nikki haley wasn't in office on january 6th. there are compilations of clips like that that go on for minutes. but are republicans who are looking that the saying -- by the way, saying biden isn't competent because he's old and he gets confused -- going to think the same thing about donald trump, or is she just throwing darts? >> look, i don't think you're going to upend donald trump on arguments of age. i will say that nikki haley -- i'm a little too old. nikki haley has really sharpened her attacks on the former president over the last several days and is pushing the argument that he overspent, didn't get the job done at the border. he didn't stop fentanyl from coming across the border, and if you want somebody that is going to get the things done that he says he's going to get done, what are you going to give another chanc

looking at nikki haley.rategist. >> i mean look, i will say, while this is a situation in the primary, i think we need to fight, until the very end. and so at this point, i would say -- nikki haley, you are right, stay in, stay in, wear him down, make him continue to spend money. you know, keep pounding the message about what he stands for. talk about how he supports putin, talk about how he doesn't stand by ukraine. talk about what it is that you are getting with his brand. because actually at the end of the day, and actually does help the biden campaign. because you are actually delivering the message to people in your party, saying this is what this brand is. do you really want that to be the continuation of the republican party? we will continue to lose, the way we have, cycle after cycle, with donald trump at the helm. is that what you want? now granted, you are correct. she is not going to garner support along the way. i would be surprised if she gets anything along the way. but you know what, i think

but i have no hesitation to vote for nikki haley.she was -- i was teetering towards the end anyway a bit. >> why? >> i don't know, electability. you know, i think what they can carry in the general election as far as, you know, the house, the senate, and everything else, just there's a lot of -- i think a lot of trump voters may not even vote if he's not the nominee. i mean, they're trump voters. they're not necessarily republicans or conservatives. most are, but i'm just saying that i think some of them may just sit it out. i think that's what happened in georgia. >> and here in this primary, though, you're someone who when desantis dropped out, you were not entertaining trump. >> no, i'll vote for him in the general election if that's what it comes down to it. i did in 2016, and i will in 2020, and i will again if he's the nominee. i was just hoping he wouldn't be the nominee? >> why? >> his temperament and his personality and his -- the baggage that he carries with him, these court cases. i'm not sure that he's done anything wrong

i want to go back to nikki haley. being quite vocal and opposed and specifically against former donald trump. i think she called him unhinged for him at one point. she showed up for him tonight. the south carolina delegation has showed up for donald trump. i heard you guys talking about it. there was some booing originally when nikki haley came out onto the stage. there was not booing. you were saying there was no booing when nikki haley came on the stage. >> absolutely no booing. 100%. we were yelling nikki and applauding. >> so they were very happy. so if they were happy to see nikki haley, if nikki haley was happy to see president trump, one thing i do want to point out is i don't know if it was returned back the other direction. if you look at where you were saying the seats are not great here right? >> well, i would like to be a little bit closer. it would be nice to be a little bit closerment. >> check this out. rachel, south carolina delegation. we are in the last row as far away as you could possibly be from t

nikki haley as an example. can tell you and reporting my profile of her, spoke with dozens of people who had been friends, confidence, allies of her over the years. most of those people are no longer even in contact with nikki haley. they feel estranged from her in part because they feel as though she lied to them. and she effectively conned them into believing that she had a set of principles that were ironclad and came from a deep place of conviction, and she jettisoned them at the first opportunity to gain some sort of entree into the world of donald trump. that's the story of so many republicans in the trump era. frankly, it's a bit heartbreaking at a certain level. when you talk with some of these people on the other side, when you talk to people who have sort of sustained this damage to their family relationships, to their professional careers and their reputations and integrity, when you talk to them on the other side of it, what they will tell you time and time again is it was not worth it. i think obvi

nikki haley. >> i've got to say, too, you have to question trump supporters on their incoherence, willie geist, on how to win an election. this guy lost in '17, '18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, and will lose in '24 again if democrats work hard, if they go out and do their jobs, if everybody that's socon certained about democracy and freedom go out and do their jobs. willie, they're going to lose again, but they have a choice. they have a choice. nikki haley, you put nikki haley up against joe biden, i mean, biden doesn't want that. biden's team didn't even want ron desantis because they understood it was something new. there wasn't all the trump baggage and wasn't the trump craziness. >> some skills there. >> there weren't things that were going to scare off -- yeah, i know, desantis made a huge mistake by going way to, like, the red hot on social issues. you had the six weeks and everything else. but before that, they were like, uh-oh, this guy can win the atlanta suburbs. this guy can win the phill

>> i'm leaning toward nikki haley. >> why nikki haley?ght now. i think she has momentum. and i think she could win the state here. >> you're not going to support donald trump here in new hampshire. what do you think about the fact that he won iowa so convincingly? >> i still don't think that's a big surprise. he was leading going in. he maintained that. >> any chance you support the former president? >> no. >> why not? >> i don't like him. i don't like the way he conducted his presidency. and i just don't think he's a good viable candidate. >> reporter: now, you hear even one of the voters mention this idea of momentum. and that's what this early primary process is all about. trump's dominance in iowa now means that the question is can anyone beat him? can anyone take him down? he still has the lead in polling here in new hampshir but this is one of those states where he has looked the most vulnerable out of those early primary and caucus states. d that's why you have these candidates focused on new hampshire, former president trump is ta

where was nikki pietz? she and her husband planned to meet up for dinner at their friends' apartment but nikki failed to show up. several hours passed and still no of her. soon worry turned to panic as friends and family began a frantic search many of them haunted by the trouble that almost took nikki from them years before. here again is dennis murphy. >> nicole peets, a woman just shy of her 33rd birthday reportedmying by her husband. >> we want to know if she's safe. >> david told friends how he waited for her with friends at a saturday night dinner party. she was a no show. >> they hadn't heard from her. >> he appealed to the public to keep an eye out for her. >> we love her very much. >> nikki's mother was by his side. >> she's somebody that if she's ten minutes late, she calls you. >> you came up right away. did you think something more was wrong right from the beginning? >>. >> yes, because nikki wouldn't have gone away without calling me and telling me. >> if she could have called somebody, she woul

he goes on to attack nikki haley. notable because from rhonda santas, in the video endorsing donald trump, there's questions over whether trump would allow his former, we should be clear, fellow floridian, back in the fold here. and clearly, the answer is, yes, no questions about whether he will provide an offer -- to be part of this or he would seek to have this be the end of ronda santa's's career. from the statement, donald trump is eager to consolidate the support, it's not just run desantis that we saw, it's vivek ramaswamy, tim scott, all within the last week endorsing his candidacy. it runs counter to the idea that there would be a coalescing candidate, what we have in realtime, jonathan, is the exact opposite. and the recognition among these candidates that the majority of the republican electorate still sides with donald trump and the maga wing of this party. for donald trump tonight on stage, we'll see what comet -- nikki haley last night, calling her bird brain, mispronouncing her name. we should expect not

, nikki haley, nikki haley, i haven't been hearing trump as much. i talked to our embed who has been living here for six months who says she keeps hearing nikki haley, nikki haley, organically at the grocery store and the street. not so much hearing donald trump organically except at the events he has done. do you see nikki haley as actually having a shot in this state now that chris christie is out or are you thinking that it's all trump all the way? >> yeah, i have to say, nikki haley's greatest strength, the best thing that has happened to her candidacy has been that afp money. there's no question when that came into the race that pushed her in a way and was able to get her message by the way. >> this is the koch brothers. >> the american prosperity, funded by the koch brothers. that is what has spread her message the way it has. people are using the line about chaos, that's why they're hearing it as often as they are. i don't think nikki haley beats donald trump in new hampshire. the average difference between them is still in the double digits,

that's not nikki haley. >> nikki haley values different than donald trump? >> here's what's interesting about that, let's say they are different, what nikki haley did, the slavery comment and the america's not really racist comment, right, what she did after she made those comments is back track. what donald trump would do is not do that. he would double down and triple down. and that sort of act alone is what brings his supporters to his doorstep. they say this is a person of conviction. i don't believe that. but what they believe is that that kind of -- that kind of strength is what they need to lead the party, so even if they share the same values, they don't come out the same way. to your point about energy, she didn't bring that same energy to new hampshire. she's not barnstorming the state in the ways we would expect at this point. >> she's barnstorming much more than trump, when you look at how many events each held in that state. trump has not been tre a whole lot. 13 events total so far in this election cycle. he's been so dominant in the polls. wha

nikki haley would win by ten, 15 points.cited about her here in new hampshire. it puts the chaos and drama behind us but don't think for a second that something else is going to -- if your viewers say donald trump is a threat to democracy, get off the couch and go vote. don't wait for these external things to happen. we're just trying to charge people to make sure we have as high a voter turnout as we can come tuesday. >> a lot of people do think he's a threat to democracy and nikki haley says chaos follows him. but i wonder when you say you're going to vote for him any way, are you telling those voters he's not a threat to democracy, that chaos following him is fine because ultimately if he's the nominee, i'm going to vote for him, it's totally okay. is that undermining the argument for nikki haley? >> no, because look. that's the general election. we're focused on the primary. the reality, joe biden is that bad of a president. has done that bad of a job that'ven with someone that all the chaos and drama of donald trump wou

haley, nikki haley.aley basically an opening, she started directly questioning trump's mental fitness at events yesterday. >> last night, trump sent a raleigh and he's going on and on a mentioning me many khoury times, as to why i didn't take security during the capitol riots. why didn't i handled january six better. i wasn't even in d.c. on january six. i wasn't in office than. they're saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, nancy pelosi, he mentioned me multiple times and that's the barrio. but concern i have is that, i'm not saying anything derogatory but when you're dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this, we can't. [applause] >> ali vitali, dasha burns, michael steele, and david jolly are back with me. michael, why did she pick this, i have my theories on this, it eludes to him being old, she's young, next generation, but we're a couple days out from the primary. she hasn't hit back on a

where do nikki haley's voters go?nsidering from a couple of different angles because i've been talking about this in the coverage the last couple of days, that is a lot of the haley support, there is a lot of strong evidence in these states, just come from the fact that a lot of the primaries allowed for democrats and republicans to participate. i think one of the big factors in haley's support in some of these states we have seen has been independents and democrats who strongly dislike donald trump and are already willing to vote for joe biden over him and probably did vote for joe biden over him in 2020, just taking what is essentially a free opportunity to vote against trump again in these primaries. so, i think that's a meaningful chunk of the vote that haley has gotten. i'm not sure that's available to trump at all potentially. there is also a big chunk the exit polls have shown haley's voters who say they will ultimately get in line with donald trump. i think that leaves -- there is a group out there, i'm sure,

in terms of the nikki haley voter, they are looking at where nikki haley voters reside. they see where the vote count is. they see that as an area where there can be overlap. expect ongoing outreach there. one of the challenges for president biden, of course, is trying to move toward the center, which is typical for general elections, and would be a way to try to encourage support from those who have looked seriously at nikki haley. he has challenges on his far left with concerns, protests and questions about the support there. that is a stretch for the president, and it will be a challenge for his campaign. >> ashley parker, let's talk about that. joe biden needs to reach out, he needs to do both at the same time. that's a very hard pivot for him to make. what role does nikki haley have? it seems to me as long as it's donald trump's party, she has to just contort herself into a different person to make change. she said it's his choice to make. that's a very subjective judgment. i could see her saying, well, he reached out to me and now all is forgiven. what does that sa

in 2020, nikki haley trounced him and nikki haley primary voters in iowa and new hampshire, a dramaticump in the general election. you're seeing this massive divergence between the republican primary base that he has consolidated and that large swath of independent moderate voters that decide a presidential election. >> and mara, nikki haley insists that she has a path forward suggesting maybe some super tuesday states or going after super tuesday, do you see where she has a path going forward? >> one thing i would point to is the issues that voters cited as what their number one reason for voting for one or the other. for the trump voters, immigration was well over 70%. congress is working on legislation to address the border crisis, and republican senators are urging their house counterparts to get on board saying this is the best chance we'll have to accomplish something. so what happens if they do, which, you know, speaker mike johnson has said he's not really interested in it. let's say they get this done, what does that do ahead of uper tuesday for voters, if they're looking at i

it's a great position, and nikki realizes it. i think she's helped make it a much better position if you want to know the truth. i think it's become maybe a more glamorous position than it was two years ago, maybe, i wonder why, but it is. i mean, she's made it a very glamorous position, she's made it a more important -- more importantly and more important position. we have -- i can almost say many people want to do it, and they're very good people, and i'll be talking also to nikki about that and to the general about that and my staff. we have many people that are very, very much interested in doing this. >> were you frustrated by the lack of actual announcements -- >> not only am i not frustrated, i think it's incredible what's happening. you're talking about north korea? it's amazing the way the media -- >> who are you with? >> it's amazing the way the media says for 80 years they couldn't do a thing, and what are we in, three month os of negotiations? it's ridiculous. you have no rockets flying. you have no missiles flying. y

it's looking difficult for nikki haley to do that.'s promising she's going to keep pounding the pavement, not just here but way down the calendar too. >> you are at a don jr. event, nikki haley although we kind of describe her as more moderate in the sense that new hampshire voters might be more into her than in other states, she is a very conservative person. she's a very conservative candidate, how is the trump campaign trying to distinguish trump from nikki haley in terms of policy and the ways in which donald trump would govern, or are they even attempting that? does it matter? >> reporter: absolutely. i think you see it in two big issues. first they're trying to distinguish themselves from her more traditional conservative, something like social security. you can hear the event getting started behind me, where nikki haley says conservative things that sound like paul ryan saying, yeah, we might have to raise the retirement age to keep social security solvent, donald trump says we're going to find it another way to do it. also on

ambassador nikki haley in new hampshire.trail here with babies and beer, making the case with nbc's aly frittelli, a trump nomination is not inevitable. >> let's keep in mind, we don't do carnations in this country because 70% of americans don't want a trump biden rematch. >> reporter: haley now has a one-on-one race she has been hoping for after a dramatic drop out by florida governor ron desantis. today, perhaps with an eye for 2028, thanking supporters after he endorsed donald trump when suspending his campaign. >> he has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old republican guard of yesteryear. every package for, warmed over corporatism that nikki haley represents. >> reporter: desantis, seen initially as a strong trump alternative, ultimately unable to overcome the strength of the trump brand in the gop. >> he ran a really good campaign. i will tell you. it's not easy. >> democrats are also holding their own contests in the state, of sorts. president biden is not on the ballot because of a dispute over that prim

nikki haley, nikki haley, nikki haley -- did you know that they destroyed all of the information, destroyed it, all of it, because of lots of things like nikki haley is in charge of security. we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guard, whatever they want, they turned it down, they do not want to talk about that. >> reporter: there is some pretty obvious confusion there, and repeating of nikki haley nikki haley. but, he gave nikki haley basically an opening and, she started to openly questioned his mental capacity. >> last night, trump is out of raleigh and he is going on and on, mentioning me multiple times, as to why i did not take security during the capitol riots. why didn't i handled january six better. i was not even in d.c. and january 6th. i was not in office than. they are saying he got confused, that he was talking about something, else about pelosi, he mentioned me multiple times in that scenario. the concern i have is that i am not saying anything derogatory, but when you are dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we cannot have someone else that we question whet

that's not true with nikki haley.e of attack now which is really interesting. guess who is the insurgent. guess who has all the elite political class on his side. every politician is endorsing donald trump. so she's done this before. it's not like the politicians in south carolina love nikki haley because she was this meteor that, you know, just took off and beat all the guys and won and got re-elected. it's not like they all -- there's a lot of -- in case you haven't noticed there's jealousy in politics and a lot of men that wanted nikki haley out of south carolina. she's really got an opportunity now to say hey, aren't you a little uncomfortable that every politician in washington wants donald trump? it's kind of a flip. i watch her. watch her. she'll use that. >> it's a great point and something mike and i heard at her event. she has started to make that point. go ahead, tim scott, go ahead, nancy mace, get up on the stage. looks like we know who the establishment figure is in this race. it's donald trump. >> she d

haley, nikki haley.e gave nikki haley basically an opening. and she started directly questioning trumps mental fitness on campaign events yesterday. >> last night, trump is at a rally, and he's going on and on, mentioning me multiple times as why i didn't take security during the capitol riots. why i didn't handled january 6th better. i wasn't even in d.c. on january 6th. i wasn't in office then they're saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, nancy pelosi, he mentioned me multiple times in that scenario. the concern i have is i'm not saying anything derogatory, but when your dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can't have someone else that we question whether they're mentally fit to do this, we can't. >> [applause] >> ali vitali, dasha burns, michael steele, and david jolly are back with me. michael, why did she pick this, i have my theories on this, it eludes to him being old, she's young, next generation, but we're a couple days out from the primary. she hasn't hit b

] [crowd chanting, nikki, nikki!]match between biden and trump. the first party to retire its 80 rolled candidate is going to be the party that wins this election. and i think it should be the republicans that win this election. so, our fight is not over. because we have a country to save. in the next two months, millions of voters in over 20 states will have their say. we should honor them. and allow them to vote. and guess what roy? in the next two months, joe biden is not going to get any younger or any better. >> [laughter] >> we will have all the time we need to defeat joe biden. when we get to south carolina, donald trump is going to have a harder time falsely attacking me. the great people of south carolina know i cut their taxes. they know i signed the toughest illegal immigration bill in the country. they know we passed a voter i.d., and tort reform, and ethics reform. and they know we moved 35,000 people from welfare to work. every time i have run for office in south carolina, i have beaten the political est