>> nikki haley. >> can i ask why?she has the best chance of going against joe biden. >> what made you switch your support? >> looking for youth. >> any attributes specific to haley that you really like about her or things you dislike after having voted for trump in the past? >> i'm just not sure -- i think it's time for a change. military you have to retire at 65. surgeons don't operate at that age. i think it's time for a younger generation. >> what immediate you change your mind away from trump to haley? >> trump brings a lot of chaos. i think i'm just kind of tired of it. >> so you can see there both of these voters different reasons for switching their support from donald trump. one was about age being a concern. the other saying that trump brings chaos. i think those interviews, it's interesting. it highlights just what new hampshire is like. it's a very different state. there's a lot of independent voters here. people are changing their minds. past trump supporters are not necessarily trump supporters today. so

a different map to nikki haley. she wants to appeal to independents and moderates. 99 counties in iowa. joe biden won six of them. these are the counties where nikki haley might have the most fertile ground. they include poke county, and dorrie county where iowa state university is and other college towns here. this is what to look for, wolf, as the night goes on. >> we'll be looking together with you. you'll be busy. >>> still to come, following all of the final pitches by republican candidates in this first big event of the republican race for the white house. ron desantis' showing in iowa potentially could be a turning point in this campaign. his deputy campaign manager will join us. that's coming up next. >>> it's not just iowa. dangerously cold temperatures are stretching across much of the eastern and central u.s. several cold records being broken today. who should be on high alert? we'll update you. >>> more breaking news into cnn this hour. two attacks in central israel. at least one 1 person killed, 1 more

nikki haley won that buy 31 points, pete.magine that donald trump can't lose independents in the united states by 31 points in a general election and win. so how much of a warning sign is this going forward? and alongside that, nikki haley, there's some reporting this morning from david drucker and michael warren, that her speech was designed to bait donald trump into, you know, acting out, being rude. and it worked, right? so how does that play with these independents, these moderates, that he is losing in right now? >> it doesn't take a lot to bait donald trump. i think you just have to run against him to accomplish that goal. but i think she's running the strategy of 15 or 20 years ago to say, oh, look, he's attacking me, that means he must feel threatened. we know that donald trump doesn't follow the normal rules of politics. typically, we say you punch up. if you're behind, you go after the leader in the campaign. donald trump he punches down, he punches left, he punches right, he punches in every single direction. that'

nikki haley is 80%. that's good enough for me. and i'm just ready to move forward and move on from the name calling. it's like we are hearing such similar things, but then just flip it in reverse who answers that. >> with the opposite conclusions. >> one thing we have also been hearing, both of them accusing the other of being the political establishment or having the backing and endorsement of the political elite. that was a strong message last night. we also heard her reenforce that this morning when she stopped by a the polling place in hampton. listen to this. >> i think it's not the party uniting around president trump. it's the political elite that are uniting around president trump. and the political elite have never been with me my entire career because i have always fought the political elite. it's why i want them to have term limits. it's why i think i call them out on wasteful spending whether it's a republican or democrat. it you can't give americans a budget on time, you shouldn't get paid. i fight the political class

i saw nikki haley on the stump. she hasn't given the unaffiliated voters a reason to turn out for her. she's been unwilling to take on donald trump. she's been unwilling to say anything that a potential maga voter might find offensive. in politics, sometimes you are judged by your friends. sometimes you have to make the right enemies. she's not done what she needed to do. >> yes, you are a former party official. but you are a new hampshire voter here. you have a certain thirst that hasn't been quenched. >> that's right. i saw her thursday night. i was looking for her to take the case against donald trump. she had this very timid rightly or wrongly chaos follows him, like donald trump has no responsibility for some of his actions. she's not been willing to take him on this week. i think i have seen john mccain in new hampshire win this primarily twice by appealing to independent voters. she needed to give them something this week to motivate them to turn out on her behalf. i'm not sure she did enough of that. >> the

he beat nikki haley by 50 points.hat's a reminder, it's hard to win a republican nominating contest if you are losing republicans by 50 points. as we look ahead -- jeff and kate alluded to this -- the calendar. the calendar here is something. we are done now with new hampshire. that was right here. you have all these days left in january. you have all this time before south carolina. nevada notwithstanding and the virgin islands, a favorite of kate bolduan's and mine. this is a ton of real estate. this is a ton of time to weather attacks if you are nikki haley. a lot of things can happen during that time. a lot of them, they're not great. one other thing i want to point out that's of concern to some trump supporters is this number right here. i put it side by side with this. yes, he won. but in our exit poll, we asked, if trump is the nominee, would you be dissatisfied but not support? would you not support him if he was the nominee? look at this. republicans, 19% of republican voters said they would not support donal

the governor has endorsed nikki haley. great to have you. what is success for nikki haley in new hampshire tomorrow? >> you know, john, while the race itself has gotten at least apparently more difficult, desantis out, and ramaswamy and tim scott endorsing the former president, the expectations with donald trump is exorbitant. some of the data that's moved around, the reporting you've seen. they're not talking about cracking 50%. not flirting with 60%. success in these things, the contests, these are judged by expectations. trump met and exceeded expectations in iowa. you can 2,070 republicans, and 344,000 undeclared voters. w what happens in terms of success? nikki haley has to pull the base and enough of those to win this thing. right now, success, to your point, is single digits for nikki haley. if she holds the former president under 60% and keep this in single digits, she has to go out. it's not what keeps you out. it's what keeps you in. >> keeping donald trump under 60%. the only republican candidate to get above 50 was ronald reagan.

we would be about him instead of nikki haley. >> i'm curious when you look at this race, if nikki haley pulls out second here, there's a possibility she comes out ahead of donald trump, if she doesn't do that, is this basically over for her? >> by the way, matt is right. i want to say quickly on that with desantis, because i think his calculations was donald trump is going to go down with all of his legal challenges and stuff. i will be the heir apparent. not a bad clayplay if that happens, but if you're not part of telling the truth to the base about the fact that donald trump is corrupt, you can't expect everybody else to go do it. and then wish we would have been more successful. so in terms of haley, i think maybe a very close second place, a point or two maybe keeps her in the running. she probably stays in the running for south carolina regardless. i hope she does. this needs to go on. but if she wins, it's going to drive donald trump batty. i think the hope here is, we'll see, how insane he is. and she may gain some in that. i do think for her to be competitive through the longer

that's the opposite of outreach to nikki haley. and nikki haley supporters. so let's go to alayna treene now, any sign over the last few minutes, few hours since the news came out, the nikki haley was suspending her campaign that donald trump, the trump campaign we'll change the tenor of their approach to that. haley support >> well, i was a couple of things i want to note here, john. one is that this was their goal with super tuesday and donald trump wanted to have a decisive enough when across the board and all the super tuesday states to ultimately force her out of the race. and so they're very happy seeing that is exactly what's going to be playing out in the next hour or so. but luck to get to your question and to address some of what kylie brought up is donald trump can trump's campaign understands that they need to do work with moderate voters with independent voters, with the people who went for nikki haley and they saw yesterday on super tuesday that nikki haley did very well with suburban voters, a key voting group that his campaign knows they need

nikki haley and donald trump, exactly what nikki haley said she was hoping for. you're seeing a live look of her speaking to voters in new hampshire. we're going to take you right back to the campaign trail. >>> we haven't seen much of any of this, but it just happened. nikki haley going hard after donald trump while stumping for votes in new hampshire. this happened moments ago. >> if he's going to lie about me, i'm going to tell the truth about him. and that is the fact that he needs to answer to why does he want to raise the retirement age to 70. why as president in 2018 did he propose a 25 cent per gallon gas tax increase on all of us? why didn't he do anything to take care of the fentanyl flow in china? and everybody talks about the economy that trump gave us. ask how good it was. it was. but at what cost? >> going after him on several fronts. joining me now is the the host of morning edition on new hampshire public radio. thank you for join ughses. you just heard those comments. that was just moments ago. nikki haley really going after trump on policy and t

nikki haley arrived in new hampshire overnight. she's focused a huge amount of time and resources here in recent months. she spent the most of any of the candidates, $28.6 million in advertising here since the start of last year. haley's message heading here today that the iowa caucuses have now made this a race between her and donald trump, even after she finished third in iowa behind ron desantis. gary tuchman, we watched this unfold, and some of these people, nikki haley supporters. watch this. >> i thought she would be a close second to donald trump, but i did not envision her losing by that much. disappointed in the results. >> how do you feel? sgl >> i'm optimistic with tonight considering how much time and munroe ron desantis. i think she fared really well and she's coming to new hampshire where she'll do very, very well. >> if donald trump is nominee of the republican party, are you all prepared to vote for donald trump? >> absolutely. >> yes. >> anyone not definitive about voting for donald trump? >> not definitive. >> ver

maybe nikki haley's got a chance. a longshot but maybe has a chance. >> we will wait and see what this independent state determines tomorrow. looking forward to seeing what the beef candidates say on your show in the morning. thank you for being with us. >> thank you, breanna. >>> in the biden campaign putting abortion rights front and center in the 2024 race. any minute now, vice president kamala harris is going to mark the 51st anniversary of roe v. wade with a speech in wisconsin. we are going to bring that you live. >>> in georgia, a judge is hearing arguments on whether the fulton county d.a. should be forced to testify in a divorce proceeding. by that could have a major impact on the elections case that she is pursuing against trump. we will be right back. >>> on the biden campaign is beginning its full-court press on protecting reproductive rights on the 51st anniversary of roe versus wade. >> that pushes underway in the battleground state of wisconsin. you are taking alive look at the podium where vice preside

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

they came out for nikki haley. they told exit poehler's that they couldn't they couldn't stomach voting for donald trump even if he's the republican nominee. so there is a path for joe biden through the suburbs. in particular and so he's really got to make this race about issues that we know motivate those voters. this question of who's going to protect your right to choose this on this question of democracy and freedom. and under, under donald trump or joe biden, under which presidency you're going to have more rights. are you going to be able to live your life the way you want to live it. so he hasn't an opportunity tomorrow night when people are going to be paying attention in a way that at this stage of the game they're not really paying attention to presidential politics. most nights. so it will be a big moment for him. no question. >> i will tell you the democratic voters that i spoke to yesterday, many of them told me they were listening to what the president was going to say about gaza. these are democratic

nikki haley not competing in nevada. what happens in all these days if nikki haley stays in the race? >> well, look, john, this is going to be a long time, and that's a good point. nevada's clearly going to be donald trump. he owns that party mechanism. he's -- that's a primary, as you know, as well, it's sort of a two-sided thing. he'll win that very, very easily. the question is, what happens to money? that's my question. it looks like afp and the coke backed pact that has funded nikki haley so far stays in, she's got money. she's got a fair amount of cash on hand. they've started the campaign in south carolina. i think that's where they stay. they may be raising money in other places, but there's a lot of time between now and the end of the time in south carolina, and that's one of the reasons, john, we saw such an apoplectic donald trump last night. he wants this thing done and over and as long as she's in, she's in. there's a lot of mischief to be made particularly with those numbers you pointed out at the beginning

>> well, i think it's a vulnerability for nikki haley, but another element is that nikki haley is targeting suburban college-educated voters who are in urban centers where the streets have been plowed. given the weather conditions it might be easier to get there. that's not to say she's going to have a massive victory. that's not in the cards. it means she can do respectably. donald trump has universal name recognition. he is to republican primary voters a kind of incumbent. if he doesn't win by enormous margins, that does suggest there's a real vulnerability and the path for an alternative. that's what nikki haley is banking on. do respectably in those areas where she invested time and effort and see where she goes. >> trump, he predicted he would win with what he called, quote, a historic landslide. what happens if he doesn't? >> anything he gets is going to be historic because the next closest one is bob dole in 1988 who won by 13 percentage points. it's going to be historic. he's going to break records no matter what. however, if he doesn't win with the kind of, i think, crushing victor

that debate by nikki haley was an absolute embarrassment. she kept dropping some weird website every 2 1/2 minutes. this has nothing to do with donald trump being on or off the stage. this has to do with when nikki haley got on the stage with ron desantis she was embarrassed by her performance. >> you mentioned our town hall tonight. what do you think desantis needs to say to new hampshire voters? what do you want to hear him say ? >> i want to hear him talk about what he did in florida and the covid lockdowns and ending those. i am a brand-new dad, i want to hear about parental rights and economic policy. i think governor desantis record in florida would matchup well with the electorate here. >> congratulations on your new child. thank you for joining us. >> and other bleak milestone that underscores the horror unfolding in gaza, more than 10,000 children killed according to the hamas run health ministry. new evidence is suggesting israel's offensive has not yet entered it's less lethal lower intensity stage. >>> the humanitarian crisis in

jeff, what does the path look like at this point for nikki haley?reporter: boris, it's a narrow path and a precarious one but it is on her home turf. so nikki haley is back in south carolina, not to lick her wounds but to fight onto the primary, which is one month from today. we say a day is a lifetime in politics, think how long a month will be if there's an epic fight between her and former president trump. we are told that she is speaking to supporters, longtime allies, friends and donors and as of now, she's staying in the race. she scheduled to have a rally tonight in north charleston, she's on the air with television ads in south carolina, all signs point to the fact that she's going to continue allowing other republican voters to have their say in this primary. of course that's usually how it goes, usually people who have lost a couple of states do not telegraph that they are getting out, they reassess their decision but she has many reasons to stay in the race, largely because she improved her performance in new hampshire, yes the electorate

how do you reach that nikki haley voter? >> well, the state of the union address, of course, is an important governmental speech, but especially in a campaign year especially in a reelection year, it's a political speech to the white house, is betting on the idea that there is an anti maga majority in the country. so while you don't, i don't think you'll hear donald trump's name. i imagine they will draw lines and try to pull in those haley voters and pull in the independence and soft republicans who actually gave the democrats are very strong midterm in 2022 what do you give them? >> what do you talk about to reach those voters >> well, i think a few things i wouldn't be surprised if you hear the president saying that he wants congress to pass the bipartisan immigration bill that donald trump next few weeks ago so i think you'll hear him and should hear him talk about the state of american democracy that's a theme he's talked about a lot, a lot of pundits kind of rolled their eyes, but a lot of voters really feel democracy

>> well, first, let me address nikki haley. i think either that's intellectual dishonestly or cognitive dissidence. i grew up close to her. our desks were side by side. we're from the same county, which is a majority black county. she went to a white flight school which is preparatory, one of those schools created after brown v. the board of education. her father taught at an historically black college and university, presumably because he couldn't get a job at another university. my mother used to shop where her mother had a women's clothing store. so for her not to be able to comprehend the issues of race and for her to stumble through questions about the declaration of independence, you know, fundamentally at that time, black folk were just deemed to be three -fifth of a human bein. it wasn't necessarily written for me and you. further to the point, we're a relatively young democracy. you know, without the 1964-'65 voting rights act and civil rights act, we would not be here today. and so we're relatively young when it comes

i think nikki haley misspoke. and i think if you look at the way the other candidates in the race have attacked american history from some of desantis' positions in florida to donald trump's completed misappropriate race and assault on history, what is clear, we need civic education in this country badly. we need to get smarter and remember that elections are about the future and we should be talking about the implications of the future for these very different candidates, not just the trip wires that have synoptic echos. >> one person saying we need to stop looking at the past and look toward the future is nikki haley. that is her message now as she has hit the ground in new hampshire. and in terms of looking in the past, she is tying db and donald tr trump -- joe biden and touchdown together in terms of looking back. with her message starting really right tenat the end of iowa, beginning of new hampshire, what do the candidates need to do in these days, this less than a week now before new hampshire voters go to

will nikki haley take this moment to respond? this is a big moment. >>> in the meantime, i'm joined by cnn senior data reporter, harry enten. we're talking a lot about new hampshire, which is, by the way, the granite state. >> that's correct. >> why is new hampshire such an attractive target for nikki haley? >> you know, omar was getting at it, and it essentially comes down to the electorate. the moderate share of the gop primary electorate. this is the group donald trump does worst with. moderates make up a significant share of that electorate there. they're 36%. that's significantly more than the 27% nationally, and of course, that 17% in iowa, which is a very conservative caucus electorate. so the fact is, new hampshire, you know new england, you're from new england. those northern new england republicans and those that can vote in the republican primary are far more moderate on the republican side than the rest of the country. >> can democratic vote in the republican primary? >> no, they can. >> donald trump said they could.

donald trump going scorched earth, full scorched earth against nikki haley, and nikki haley literally saying, "bring it, donald." >>> even on the day he was going on and on about january 6th, you know, we talked about, okay, he was having a moment, he was confused. it also goes back for why i continue to push for a mental competency test for anyone over the age of 75. >> that's nikki haley last night in south carolina raising these new and direct questions about donald trump's age and mental acuity. so is it working? with me now, the very young and very sharp senior data is here. harry, what do people say about mental sharpness? >> i hope the mental sharpness is with me, but with this long week, who knows? for president, this is among the general electorate. this is interesting. in fact, the plurality of voters say, no, donald trump does not have the mental sharpness to serve effectively as president. just 47%. but look at the joe biden numbers. joe biden numbers on this are absolutely crazy. 69% of voters say that, in fact, joe biden does not have the mental sharpness to serve effect

but i can tell you one thing, if nikki haley or when nikki haley does not win this primary, this will not be some gallon yant effort where she rides off into the sunset and says i tried to fix the republican party, put me in the annals of history. no, she'll be focused on 2028. >> note bakari just put himself on something of a short list for running mate for donald trump. rina, last word to you. >> this is where we can agree, i think that we're on c here, exactly zero. there is way too much bad blood. and if i'm not mistaken a few weeks a go there was a bird cage on her doorstep sent by trump himself. so who knows. i think that they are done for good. >> a-plus to both of you on this quiz. thank you both very much. >>> all i could think of when bakari started talking is so you're saying there's a chance. >> that's right, he's got a better chance he thinks than nikki haley to the donald trump's running mate. >> thank you for those tests. >>> coming up, just ahead, disturbing allegations unveiled in a new lawsuit against wwe founder vince mcmahon. >>> plus the spiritual adviser for the

so, therefore, i'm supporting nikki haley.hink she has the strength and the stamina, and she has a wonderful work ethic to go through the process, do the best she can, to stop him from becoming our nominee. >> my colleagues john and harry were just, kind of, talking about some of the data that we know from new hampshire primaries in the past and, kind of, the lane that nikki haley is trying -- is finding herself in. how tall is the task, do you think, what you're hearing on the ground for nikki haley in new hampshire? do you think she can pull off a win there from everyone you're talking to? >> i'm not sure if she can pull off a win, but i think she can come in very close to trump, in second place. you're absolutely right. the independents are going to make the difference. >> we might be having -- >> -- people turn out -- [ inaudible ]. >> all right. a little bit of a connection issue, toni. >> i think the momentum is built -- >> i'm so sorry. we're having a little bit of a connection issue. i'm going to try to get one more qu

haley, but he says he likes nikki haley. the governor's wife, abby cox, has endorsed nikki haley, also, lieutenant governor deidre henderson has endorsed nikki haley's so that does play into the dynamic here. and you've got the mitt romney factor here in utah, the retiring us senator, former presidential candidate, still a popular figure here in utah, clearly kind of an anti-trump person. he's been very critical of the former president for years and will mitt romney's fluence play a part here in utah? now the advantage that donald trump has here is that this is a caucus run by the party and the caucus is run by the parties tend to kind of draw the more conservative committed voters. that's going to favor donald trump here. is that going to be enough to carry him over the top here in utah in the caucuses. we're going to find out later tonight. here's sample of the ballot that they can be casting here. this is a very simple, you got ryan binkley here at the top, then nikki haley and donald trump. that's what voters are going t

anyone donating to nikki haily and nikki haley says this. >> bring it, donald. what you got! >> and new pictures showing the surface of the moon after japan's historic moon sniper landing. we'll be back. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. >>> this morning donald trump, as we talked about, is campaigning from a new york courtroom once again while he's also going full scorched earth against nikki haley on the other campaign trail in south carolina. donald trump taking to social media to threaten republicans and i guess really everyone saying that anyone who contributes to haley would be, quote, permanently barred from the maga camp, even before that, here was nikki haley last night. >> donald trump got out there and just threw a temper tan

that is compared to 30% for nikki haley. that is setting up for quite the shellacking if those poll numbers hold for nikki haley in her home state. now, when it comes to donald trump's actual campaign strategy, it's been much less extensive than what we saw in new hampshire or iowa. one spin largely trying to create scenarios that embarrass nikki haley, bringing in south carolina lawmakers to speak out against nikki haley, people who she worked with in the past. but aside from that, it's been relatively low key. trump himself has only visited the state once since new hampshire. he does have events tonight as well as friday and saturday leading up to the primary, you've also seen know pensive ad buys in the state. now, i am told that they have extensive ground game there. grassroots movement, people going and knocking on doors, sending out mailers. but again, much less extensive than the kind of ramped up situation we saw in iowa and new hampshire. and part of this is why you're seeing donald trump's so visibly annoyed an ang

i do not see it for nikki haley. i think she has run a great campaign but i think there is a message coming out from the voters which is clear, we need to unite around our eventual nominee which will be donald trump. >> are you telling nikki haley she needs to get out? >> i do not see the path, i think she should move forward. i hope she reflects today. there that did not sound very neutral but we also know she is a big trump alex. the other person not lining up behind donald trump actually saying they probably will not endorse him is senator susan collins. essentially see said she does not see his -- happy that nikki haley was staying in the race saying i think that the more people see of her the more impressed they will be. it is not that surprising giving she voted for trump's impeachment after the january 6 insurrection but an example of how not everybody is getting in line. >> what is the approach to south carolina have in store for trump? >> reporter : what we have been seeing is the team trying to embarrass ni

i think it is smart for nikki haley not to debate anymore. the last debate that we saw, all they did was to spar and fight with each other, and she is trying to be a little bit of the more positive force in this campaign. it is very hard to be the positive person when you are in this, you know what i then called the insult palooza which is what those two hours were like. neither gained much, but she certainly can't play the positive role and be in this tantrum and fighting and bickering with ron desantis. it is not good. >> and with that debate, she came with the website of the desantis lies and went to the well over and over, but she did not have a trump website, and she showed up to beat ron desantis, but it seems that she did not show up to beat trump, and now she is changing the strategy to well, i will run against trump and forget about desantis. >> and what about the strategy of ron desantis' current role in the campaign? >> i don't think that folks are going to get on ron desantis's back the same way, frankly, because he is a sitting g

even the self-described never trumpers -- >> i heard from someone at a nikki haley event, they want nikki haley, but if it was trump versus biden, he would vote for trump. >> this is the reason why we need a caucus starting this process. tonight, if somebody's undecided, they can listen to the speeches. >> if any candidate questions the integrity of the outcome tonight, are you prepared for that and what would you say to that? >> i would say to you right now that any attempt to criticize our process -- what other candidates do outside of this, you know, in terms of getting people there, i don't know. we have the most transparent process. i don't mean this as a metaphor. in the country. we count the votes in the room where they're cast. after they're reported, people in the room that cast the votes can look at it on our site. you're going to see results in real time. if that's not enough, we have a paper trail for every single precinct. i would go so far -- i rarely use the word never. i have never been able to come up with a scenario where our process tonight could be questioned in terms

nikki haley is betting big on the state giving her campaign some momentum. but trump could also knock out his final opponent. >>> the faa is urging airlines to inspect door plugs on other versions of that grounded jet. >>> the big winner in last night's sheaves versus bills game is an nfl star that is not on either team. the man, the myth, the legend. we are following these developing stories, jason kelce, and more right here on cnn. welcome back to cnn news central. we are revving up big time for election mode once again. in less than 24 hours new hampshire voters will choose between the remaining republican candidates. former president trump and former governor nikki haley. those two are hitting the trail hard. trump will host his final rally there. >> his most recent vanquished opponent, ron desantis, will not be there despite the governor endorsing trump. nikki haley, meanwhile, is getting in front of as many as possible. let's take you to the campaign trail. this is what nikki haley wanted all along. a one-on-one matchup with the former president. how w

natasha, i'm curious what you think happens if nikki haley ends up coming in second? because the polling is so very clear that donald trump is the frontrunner in iowa. >> well, i think momentum indicates possibility, right, and that is part of the reason why donald trump has shifted his attacks towards nikki haley. even though he tries to project confidence, and he is completely unbothered by the fact that she's polling so well in new hampshire, if she pulls this off, she helps to make ron desantis irrelevant and basically she's able to build on that momentum. i think this could be a really big moment for her, for those who say that, you know, the maga party will never depart from donald trump, she could be a proof point that people do want an alternative. >> natasha alford, ray hansalem, thank you for coming in on this glorious wednesday before the debate. don't forget, you can watch that debate right here on cnn. it all starts tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. kate? >> we're also watching the weather right now. major flooding is having a real impact in the northeast, as

is this really nikki haley unplugged, do you think?it may be the yolo moment, which is an interesting way to put it but what nikki healy is trying do is appeal to the people would have previously supported krump while also kind of going after the more mainstream republicans that show's used to having support from when she was running for governor the last time back in to 14. kind of a delicate balance but that's something that i'm hearing from republicans here in south carolina. it's also kind of confusing because when she's doing these things like saying the cause of the civil war wasn't necessarily slavery and then walking it back, the texas border issue, can texas secede, another one, it gives an end message of not knowing where she stands. >> in south carolina there is no party legislation so ideological republicans and democrats could vote in the primary and there's no real tradition of that either, america at least in any kind of decisive way. how much can she really hang her hopes on that? >> this primary down here is not what w

omar, what is nikki haley's game plan today? >> reporter: yeah.th her an hour ago at a local diner here, and really coming off of iowa, despite finishing in third place there, she's really trying to frame this as a two person race looking past ron desantis as we get into new hampshire. desantis started his day in south carolina, but here in new hampshire as we get into the final week stretch to primary day here, nikki haley said that she obviously has seen the polls and she knows that she's within single digits of former president trump, at least as far as what the polls have shown to this point. and she's hoping to capitalize on some of that momentum and on the fact that independents, or undeclared as they are called here in new hampshire, can vote along with some of those conservative republicans. listen to some of how she from her position, especially when it comes to ron desantis. >>> he's in single digits in south carolina and single digits in new hampshire. he has been invisible in both states. he is not my concern. i am going after trump. t

with iowa in the rearview mirror, nikki haley and ron desantis are all going to be holding events inre where we are today. and governor desantis is stopping in haley's home state in south carolina. nikki haley has spent time and a whole lot of resources in new hampshire, and hoping to make some real headway against trump in what we have seen is the dominance in the polls of the more moderate independent-thinking polls in the state, and joining me for a window of what folks are thinking especially after last night in iowa, republican new hampshire state representative bill boyd and he has asked me call him bill. >> thank you, kate. i am happy to be here. >> what did you think of last night? >> it was telling. it showed to me that conservatives in iowa still resonate with trump's populous message and evident by the fact that he took 51% of the vote and absorbing 99% of the counties and a testament to the ground game that he and the advisers and team had in place in iowa. right now, there had to be any changes of the margin, and if president trump was less than 50% or ambassador haley h

but particularly with nikki haley and ron desantis.hink there is conflict there, that has drawn criticism, nikki haley was accused when she had that bad answer about the civil war. of trying to change her response this speak to a primary crowd at the base, and assuming that they didn't want to hear the truth about the civil war. >> trump really wants this thing put away after the south carolina primary, after michigan, right around super tuesday, but i can tell you this, if nikki haley comes in second place in iowa. it is over for ron desantis. it is done, how to be justified to keep moving forward, but if desantis is able to beat expectations, would that give him enough momentum, it is all about momentum heading into new hampshire, to justify him. there is a clear economic vision difference between nikki haley and ron desantis, one that is traditional to a lot of republican voters historically speaking with republican party politics. but trump as you just said, he blew it up, so where does that go, we don't know yet. >> so we will wai

we'll know soon. >> it's clear he sees nikki haley as the biggest threat. that's where the spending has been from the trump campaign and super pac and his comments have been in public. we'll wait to see what we hear today when he gets there. omar jimenez, thank you so much. >>> joining me for more on this, republican strategist alice stewart and commentator democratic strategist maria cardona. maria, attacks between the candidates, they're getting more pointed and louder, especially between donald trump and nikki haley right now. what does that mean for new hampshire? what does that mean for new hampshire voters? >> well, i think the means that they are going to get a front seat to what is actually a very nasty campaign, but it's so interesting, kate, because it hasn't been until recently that nikki haley realized that she actually has to beat donald trumpp and in order to beat somebody you have to go after them with where you think they have flaws and that has been where she has not been able to do that. desantis hasn't really been able to do that. until l

. >> and then nikki haley setting her sights on a different target, joe biden. could this be a closer fight than potentially the polls are showing nikki haley surging. >>> defense secretary lloyd austin is speaking right now after the meetings with the israel top officials, and the rough rajing he is from election officials about the war in israel. >>> secretary lloyd austin is holding a press conference with the israeli defense minister galov. >>> and so, today, we had great discussion about the goals of the campaign and how to reduce harm to civilians in the battle space. and the need to ensure a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into gaza. you know, we can offer insight based upon our own experience fighting terrorist groups, and that enabled to us have great discussions. we also have some great thoughts about how to transition from the higher operations to lower intensity and surgical operations. we have great discussions on all of those issues. in lebanon, we want to make sure that we don't expa and this into a larger or regional war in lebanon, and

haley, and you know that nikki haley is coming off of a little bit of the rough holiday break. so what does she focus on? of course, we do have left to learn if chris christie and the mounting pressure does cause him to bow out. i don't expect that to happen before new hampshire, but it could happen, but to me the big lesson that we are looking for is what happens on iowa caucus day. that question is if trump at the end of the day is the frontrunner, but by how much. because, again, if he does not get above 50%, i think that those republicans who want an alternative for trump will say, hey, guys, look, if we actually get down to one trump alternative, we might be able to do this in new hampshire. but that 50% threshold is going to be very telling. >> i hear what you saying there, tia, and to that point, margaret, maybe donald trump's main opponent now is not ron desantis or nikki haley, but it is expectations. >> it is his only opponent, john, is expectations. i suppose, you know, the court system. yeah, and does it really, i mean, even does that matter? like those expectations

nikki haley is enabling him. >> reporter: he and nikki haley and ron desantis are locked in at second place behind trump. and nikki haley singled out ron desantis behind her. >> ron desantis has not put one truthful ad up there about me. he has spent millions of dollars against me. and while he is lying about me, i am going to tell you the truth about him, because he doesn't want to hear it. >> reporter: and desantis continues the huge campaign push in iowa. >> we have done all 99 counties, and we will keep going for good measure. >> reporter: despite a major setback after the sixth senior leader of the never back down super pac stepped down. >> look, i was a talking to the head of the new hampshire survey center, and new hampshire is voting after iowa, and he said that typically in that state in new hampshire, they will see upwards to 50% of voters not deciding who they are going to vote for until the weekend of the elections. the point being that a lot can happen in this next month and a strong second-place finish for these candidates and send a message that this rhetoric is vuln vu

you know, nikki's nipping at his heels. you see that with the court situation that was described in an earlier segment. he's not where he was, but he's still awfully strong, and the base is there with him. and in republican party and democratic party, politics, one of the rules of thumb is never go against your base and that's why you see political figures reacting as they are. >> let's talk south carolina politics now, and presidential politics. donald trump -- it's been described as like an avalanche of endorsements from electeds in south carolina heading into the primary there. you know all of the players involved. and it's really interesting, i was just looking back at kind of the history of it, right? when you left the governor's mansion in 2011, nikki haley came in as the next governor. when she appointed tim scott to the senate, you won the house seat that he vacated. you know everyone involved here, first and foremost, what do you think of tim scott's endorsement. it's a real happy family. what dao you think of tim

but they do believe that nikki haley has been on the rise.ther thing i want to point out, i spoke to one adviser this afternoon who says that they believe that vivek ramaswamy dropping out of the race here in new hampshire will help donald trump. they don't know how much he had polling, but right now, they're at the point where they believe every single vote counts. they believe 98% of people who supported vivek ramaswamy would turn to donald trump next, after he dropped out. >> the reason why we're looking at new hampshire and expecting something so different from iowa is that it has such a different makeup, when it comes to who's going to be casting these ballots, kristen. tell us about that and why the trump team is actually worried his legal problems could be a vulnerability there. >> yeah, whether we're looking at here, in particular, is independents. independents can vote as a primary. you have independents that go through a wide variety of self-identifications when it comes to politics. you have independents who had a divided conservat

>> nikki haley just sat down for an interview with dana bash and made news. dana will be here and tell us what she just learned moments ago. >>> an exclusive new cnn reporting. we have new audio of kenneth chesebro, pro-company attorney, what he says happened at an oval office meeting and what it could now mean in the federal case against donald trump. emotional testimony as women open up about sexual assault they said they faced at the coast guard academy and the treatment of they received after they reported. >> senators, my main perpetrator is currently a lieutenant commander in the coast guard. he is thriving in a career that i had hoped for. >>> just in, a brand-new rare interview with republican presidential contender nikki haley fresh off her endorsement overnight by new hampshire governor chris sununu. there was a sweet older woman who has come to a lot of events, and i saw her coming in here, and she said so, are you going to finally endorse nikki haley for president? you bet your ass i am! let's get this thing done! >> all right. cnn's dana bash jus

. >>> when it comes to the 2024 raise, federal president trump is going after nikki haley by evoking her birth name, how it evokes racist dog whistles he's used against other opponents in the past . >>> and charles heading to the hospital for treatment, the princess of wales, kate middleton could be the hospital for weeks after undergoing surgery. the palace releasing very few retails, many developing stories, coming right here on cnn news. >> donald trump has been in federal court, hours of testimony from e. jean carroll and a second civil defamation case, he was already found liable, the attorneys are not cross-examining. >> she has already notified that trump defamatory remarks were -- ruined her reputation and made her fear for her life, and during parts of her testimony, donald trump reacted physically and verbally, prompted the judge to warn him multiple times, and the judge even threatened to kick him out of the court. outside the courthouse, cara, trump acting out the courtroom and going at the judge on social media? >> reporter: yes, it has been a tense day inside the courtr

but as for nikki haley, this is something as you said, it's not exactly a surprise. she is a republican sharan and south carolina for a couple of terms as a conservative republican, yes, she had her differences vividly with donald trump in the primary campaign. but all that is over. but this is what she said yesterday. again, not exactly a full-throated endorsement trump has not been perfect on these policies. i've made that clear many, many times but biden has been a catastrophe so i will be voting for trump. trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they're just going to be with him and i genuinely hope he does that so that is her lesson. >> or perhaps bit of homework for donald trump. is he going to reach out to those nikki haley voters if past is prologue, he will not he has previously said he does not need her voters first, we will see her campaign, however, her strategists are very interested in her voters, but john, that is the point there is donald trump going to change as postu

today, while trump is in court, two of his rivals are in iowa and nikki haley will arrive there tomorrow, and chris christie is spending time in new hampshire after he lodged the loudest attacks against donald trump at the debate. bottom line he said, trump is unfit, and this is something that he pressed governor desantis to do himself. listen. >> is he unfit? >> you have your thing -- >> no, i don't have my thing, and he is the thing. we not want -- you are talking about -- >> he is 80 years old, ron. >> is he -- to get elected. >> and ron, is he fit or -- >> we should not nominate somebody -- >> he won't answer. >> and we should not nominate someone who is almost 80 years old. >> you are afraid to answer. you have to either afraid or not listening, and there is a simple question. >> i am not. >> is he fit! >> there is a lot of yelling there. and so, jeff zeleny you were in tuscaloosa where that debate took play, and fiery debate there where they were screaming over each other, and a lot of jabs and most of them at nikki haley. walk us through them all. >> well, sara, it is a lot quiet

nikki haley is doing this online also. just a few minutes ago, a tweet from nikki haley.he said, another reason we need to move on from trump, too many lies, she said. democrats can't vote in the new hampshire primary. they haven't been able to change their registration for months. i eye i was tougher on china and russia than trump was. i passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country as governor. i did more to protect south carolinians than he did to protect americans. but we all know that's why he won't debate me. have a great day. so, that's what nikki haley is writing online. on the subject of who can vote in the new hampshire primary, she's absolutely right. donald trump has been saying, oh, nikki haley is going to do well in new hampshire because democrats can vote there. they can't. democrats cannot vote in the new hampshire primary. they would have had to changed their registration months and months ago. who can vote? republicans and undeclared voters. now, a lot of undeclared voters in new hampshire, and they do vote, but they make up independents. a

there is a road for nikki haley. ron desantis -- iowa could get a little scary for him. >> that was a bunch of pictures of people who were never president. >> precisely. >> they did win nominations though. two of them. >> better than nothing. >> thanks so much. >>> a masked gunman storming a live tv broadcast as a tax and kidnappings terrorize the country. what we are learning about this violence gripping ecuador. 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. here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckdu

i've used the nikki. nikki, she's hot. she's hot. and then nikki jam goes up and it's a heat, not a sheet so he's removed his endorsement from his social media. i don't know what that means, and i think it's frankly from embarrassment of people making front of him, you love reggaeton lance. i mean, if there's one, if there's one thing we know about lance, no, but but seriously, there's a reason why trump is using the appeal of these stars. what do you think about using this to try to appeal to latino men? >> well, i think trump will you i think it's a smart move actually, on my part, on his part. but again, this immigration, this whole issue around immigration every day that we spent talking about it here is a winner for donald trump and a loser for common while harris, whether it's the springfield issue or whether it's the puerto rican folks or whomever, this is a winning issue for him time and again. so every day that we spent talking about it, where americans are focused on it, one of the other notes in that ipsos poll 54% of peop