. >> the question is whether there are 37 republican electors who think that either they're open questions or that donald trump, based on everything we know about him, is really unfit to be president of the united states. >> reporter: so far only one elector, a republican from texas, has said he will not cast his vote for trump. >> it's time to pull the brake. >> reporter: some republican electors have gotten thousands of letters, even death threats after pledging to vote for trump regardless of outside pressure. >> it's other hypocrisy because i don't think that if the roles were reversed, most of these people would be okay with electo electors. >> reporter: trump fighting back tweeting, if my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned and called terrible names. after praising the electoral college over the weekend. >> the electoral vote, i never appreciated it until now. how genius it was. >> reporter: meanwhile, the president-elect's top aides continue to question russia's interference in the u.s. election, now asking fo

but i can tell you there has probably been 50 to 60 republican electors i've spoken to who have serious grave concerns about donald trump. >> what about critics that say it is just sour grapes, you're angry you lost, maybe you with other republican candidates, how do you answer the critics? >> well, i can tell you that since before the election i had said i may not be voting for our state's winner, to bring attention to the electoral college. and as soon as i saw that donald trump had won, given what the hamilton has said in federalist 68, it was made clear to me instantly that as americans and people who believe in the constitution we have no choice but to try to stop donald trump from becoming president through completely legal and moral ways. >> now, the electoral college has become much more of a partisan issue, and 2012, majorities in both parties favored electing the president by popular vote, but after the 2016 election support among democrats climbed to 81%. among republicans it sunk to 19%. is this because people know it definitely favors one party over another in your judgment

one republican elector has come out saying he will not vote for trump, and there are reports of other so-called faithless electors. the filmmaker michael moore has offered to pay the fines of any electors who break ranks and vote against donald trump. trump needs to secure 270 elector votes to take office. he lost the popular vote by up -- by 2.9 million. we'll have more on the meeting of the electoral college later in the broadcast. today's electoral college meeting comes as president obama has publicly accused russian president vladimir putin of meddling in the u.s. election. pres. obama: not much happens in russia without vladimir putin. pretty hierarchical operation. last i checked, there is not a and democratic deliberation, particularly when it comes to policies directed at the united states. we have said, and i will confirm, that this happened at the highest levels of the russian government. and i will let you make that determination as to whether there are high-level russian officials who go off rogue and decide to tamper with the u.s. electition process without vladimir putin

constitutional duty and our moral responsibility to put emergency measures into action read it only 37 republican electors change their vote donald trump will not have the 270 electoral votes he needs to be president. -- patriots could save this country. host: that group known as the hamilton electors. we will take you to stay capitals around the country including the scene right now in springfield, illinois. joining us live on the phone is kyle cheney, who is been following all of this politico. thank for being with us. guest: glad to be here, steve. host: let me begin with a story you posted earlier today, who are these electors? guest: people don't realize behind every electoral vote for over the election is a person. these people are typically party loyalists are insiders or donors because the post-up and ceremonial in the past. people got through who were kind of newcomers or not necessarily loyal to traditional loyalists to the party, which is why you are seeing some of these rest of efforts to change the outcome. host: illinois, at the top of the next hour we will take you to harrisburg pennsylvani

tomorrow we have a republican elector. influenced from this, from the state of michigan. that was a state that donald trump was not expected to win, he did. but there's been a push by a lot of democrats saying you republican electors should think twice about the russian involvement about maybe reassessing this. they don't say switch your vote, just vote your conscience. we'll ask him what he's going to do tomorrow, here and only here. >>> hello, everyone, i'm eric bolling along with kimberly gim foil, juan williams r, and greg. this is "the five." the president-elect has already saved over a thousand jobs in america. just yesterday ibm pledged 25,000 jobs, american jobs. in the aftermath of mr. trump's promises to reduce taxes, roll back regulations and make america a business friendly place aagain, the president-elect pledging to create a whole lot more when he gets in the white house. >> my administration will be focused on three very important

republican electors to change their vote. re's an example. >> republican members of the electoral college, this message is for you. our founding fathers built the electoral college to safeguard the american people from the dangers of the demagogue and to ensure that the presidency only goes to someone who is to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. >> applaud these celebrities for taking time to speak their mind, but again, these ads are specifically for republican electors and the argument they're making, they've been making throughout the campaign. why do they think it could possibly change a vote? >> i think this is just a last ditch effort, a sign of how far, and i guess how far down the left is feeling about the results of this election. i don't think republican electors will take their cues from martin sheen or anyone else other than party and the fact that their vote voted for donald trump but this is that, you know, last ditch desperate attempt to try to lobby them. >> electors are not bound by t

michigan republican electorate. let me put up mississippi first. and we've got both 2012 and 2016, so people can see the comparisons. very conservative electorate, in this case, white evangelicals is what we're putting up now. 76% of it in this one compared to 2012. here's the ideological numbers up for folks. the very conservative number is up from four years ago, up to 50%. somewhat conservative also up from four years ago to 34%. the moderate or liberal number very down. and i'll pause throwing out numbers there. that could very well be the open nature of the mississippi primary, where democrats had a democratic primary to go vote in. and therefore making the republican electorate slightly more conservative, that should be good news for a ted cruz, for instance, no? >> well, it's what we've seen across the early voting states so far, is that there is a more conservative electorate that's coming out to vote. and fundamentally, all the age and education, income, those things seem to be pretty steady. so it's a pret

and we want to encourage and want any republican electors and democratic electors who want to make thatice as well. >> reporter: other electors say they've been bombarded with pleas to go rogue. one iowa elector said he's had more than 100,000 calls, letters, or e-mails urging him to do texas elector chris soup rein said after he wrote announcing his plans not to vote for trump, he's gotten lots of positive feedback. >> you are an inspiration. love trump's hate. >> and a few death threats. >> the worst thing i've received in the mail is a threat to rape my wife and daughters before they kill me, if i do not vote for mr. trump. >> reporter: he said he supported trump during the election, but is now convinced trump is unfit to serve as commander in chief. >> i saw someone who was more interested in his own power than he was in our institutions. i had to look at, is he constitutionally fit for the office i am expected to vote for him on. >> reporter: it's unclear in the end how many electors will go rogue. today the a.p. informally polled the electoral college members and found only one of

one republican elector has are ready publicly said he will not vote for trump. what happens as -- i if dozens more join him? all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the 538 electors of the

supporters in south carolina are significantly more likely than the rest of the south carolina republican electorate to support controversial policies like these ones. donald trump supporters more than other south carolina republicans want to ban muslims from entering the united states. 80% of donald trump supporters in south carolina want a muslim ban on entry to the united states. donald trump supporters, more than the rest of the south carolina republican electorate not only want to ban muslims, they are more supportive of the idea of criminalizing being a muslim. making the practice of islam illegal in this country. they are more likely to support creating a national database listing all muslims. they want the confederate flag flying over the state capital. they will also want to ban gay people from entering the united states. nice of ppp that they thought to ask that one. we know that nearly a third of donald trump supporters think gay people should be banned from the united states. once this polling came out today, the headline for a lot of people out of this very provocative south carolina po

>> i am looking to do, is make sure that republican electors, are not swayed. like christopher in dallas, texas, he decided to switch his vote, i am sorry that is a horrible thing to do, he refused to meet me last weekend 79 resting, i'm going to make a point maybe they should bring you back on and him on. >> i would love that. adam: all of the best to you, appreciate you being here. >> thank you. adam: more trouble with china. the com communist state seized a underwater drone this could have been an act of war, one of 88 general who supports president-elect trump from the very beginning, retired lieutenant general thomas mack energyy is -- mcnerney is joining me next. adam: a new escalation of tension between u.s. and china in south china sea, accusing china of stealing one of our underwater drones, peter barnes joining us, what do we claim? reporter: that chinese stole this underwater drone. we should make it clear that this is an unmanned drone, a navy ship could 18in oceanography ship checking on the joans that monitor -- drones that monitor conditions in s

matches the national republican electorate. sort of the split between people who identify themselves as very conservative voters, versus somewhat conservative versus moderate, and so the one thing that is different in south carolina than the rest is that high veteran population than in other republican electorates, but beyond that, what makes it such a perfect snapshot in time, usually, as a presidential primary predictor, is because of its ideological makeup closely mirrors the national republican makeup here and this, to me, is where you're seeing how this race is going to play out now over the next kcouple of minute. ted cruz is the candidate of very conservative voters. that hasn't changed. didn't change in iowa. it seems to be the case here in south carolina. donald trump is now the candidate of both moderate voters and somewhat conservative voters. now, what does that mean? marco rubio is second in both categories, but that means if this is the three-way race we're about to see happen, if this is what the news of tonight

now some democratic electors are saying not so fast. they are pushing republicanelectors to vote against trump when the electoral college meets on december 19th. with me is one of the electors leading the effort, a colorado state elector and dnc national delegate. welcome. >> thank you, carol. >> first of all, explain to people like how this works, because this is like very confusing for people to understand. the electors get together on december 19th. what does that look like? >> well, i have never been an elector before. i believe we go to our courthouses, they swear us in, it's a public ceremony and i encourage everyone in all 50 states to actually do that this year, to go out and to see what we are doing and shed light on this process of the electoral college. >> so normally, the electors would just say put the check near donald trump because he won the electoral college. >> i don't think this year is a normal year. it's been a very divisive campaign. i'm reaching out to republican electors, to democratic electors and we are searching for a unity hamilton cand

there are campaigns to have republican electors switch their votes or as andrew spencer reports, delayvote altogether. >> if they're able to harm the electoral process, they destroyed democracy. >> reporter: senator john mccain who has been vocal about the election hacks spoke out one day before the electoral college is set to vote. 538 electors, individuals selected by their political parties to cast votes for president and vice president will gather in their respective state capitals on monday to do just that. hillary clinton won the popular vote on election night, but president-elect donald trump got more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. the electoral voting process has long been a formality but with the conclusion from intelligence agencies that russia interfered in the 2016 elections, some democrats are calling on congress to delay the votes until people can be updated. >> tomorrow when we vote in the electoral college, i'll be putting forward a motion to call for a bipartisan independent commission to investigate russian interference. >> the vote remains

unless the republican electorate decide to turn against him which i think there's some evidence that ow turning against him, donald trump will still walk into cleveland, fly into cleveland with the bulk of the republican delegates. i mean, just look at the math. look at the remaining states. i don't want to take john's job away from him because he's doing such a great job at the wall. you put me up against the wall, i would have to fight you. but the truth is is donald trump is the front-runner and if they want to take it away from him, they're going to have to learn how to steal. on the democratic side, we have a big night as well. that's amazing because we'll have a little bit to say. we're looking at turnout, of course, in milwaukee county in dane county which is madison, and green bay. that's 17%. 17% green bay, and 61%. president obama won big last time. senator sanders should have a good night. will it be a big, big night? he needs big upsets right now. and without a big upset, we're going to see a very long, protracted, but secretary clinton will continue to accumulate delegate

now, one of the 538 electors in this country is texas republican electorate alexander kim, who joins ow. alex, one of the things happening, we've heard from a lot of electors saying they reserved death threats or threats or menacing letters and contacts from people who want them to vote their conscience and not vote for donald trump, but you say you've actually heard from a lot of republicans including some people close to donald trump who want to keep you in line? >> oh, absolutely. you know, you hear people from all sides. the vast majority of the people that have been contacting me, over 200,000 e-mails, are people from outside of texas. less than 1% are from within texas, and those are the people that i truly represent. >> and it is a texas elect here has come out and said that he is going to, what he says, vote his conscience, and not vote for donald trump. that's not what you're going to do? you intend to cast your ballot for donald trump? >> right. donald trump happen consistently been the same person after november 8th as before. i see nothing donald trump has done to violate

>> we're talking to chris suprin, a republican elector who says he will not vote for donald trump on the electors vote. republicans can call --2)748-8001, the mcgrath, republicans, (202)748-8000, democrats (202)748-8001, and independents (202)748-8002. >> i think there were three of us that attended it after the primary. there was a secondary process to confirm that decision. at the state convention, i threw my hat in the ring. i do not think there were other candidates. i was recruited by the trump campaign to run as rnc delegate. i did not want to be in cleveland in july with the humidity. i was a shaking hands and making calls, it was that simple. ofdid you sign any sort pledge that binds you in any way to vote for mr. trump? >> you can watch washington journal live every day at 7:00 a.m.. we take you live to mobile, alabama, and president-elect donald trump. ♪ sweet home alabama where the skies are so blue sweet home alabama i am coming home to you ♪ mr. trump: thank you, thank you. thank you very much. thank you. this is where it all began. remember the incredible rally we had. i

victorious republicans stressed how the old procedure was subject to anti-democratic regulation, potentially selecting a president that no elector voted for, as nearly happened. for example, a virginia republican told his colleagues quote, when one person is intended for an office and another person obtains it, such an election, if it can be called an election, is not comparable -- comportable to the will of those by whom it is made. in arguing against it, federalists stressed it would degenerate the vice presidency by leading electors to vote for someone to provide. some federalist representatives urged abolishing the office altogether. with a smaller majority than in the house, and one that included friends of burr, senate republican leaders would need every vote they could get to pass the amendment and had to accommodate the interests of potential supporters. the process took longer. nearly three months of debate. the incorporation of more matters into the amendment then -- than simply designation. including the requirement that to be elected the vice president and president required votes from the majority of the electorate.

>> no republican electorate. we are going to have these electors sit down and make it official voting for president and vice president. it's a formal process down to the quill pens on the desk. they were picked by the party and are bound to hillary clinton because she won here easily. never the less, there are a couple protestors with the goal of preventing donald trump from winning the presidency. we're seeing similar states, most are smaller. they're trying to end a message to the elector rate. >> it's n >> this is not my president, he didn't win the popular vote, and i don't accept him as my president. >> and these are called the december 19th protests that were organized on social media. >> so the movement so stop trump, has that managed to gain ground? you said earlier it was driven by social media. >> yeah, but there has been a new organized effort. twoing against their donald trump to get the 240 votes necessary. two of the electors are here today. they unselfly sued to overturn . >> they cannot be influenc

victorious republicans stressed how the old procedure was subject to anti-democratic regulation, potentially selecting a president that no elector voted for, as nearly happened. for example, a virginia republican told his colleagues quote, when one person is intended for an office and another person obtains it, such an election, if it can be called an election, is not comparable -- comportable to the will of those by whom it is made. in arguing against it, federalists stressed it would degenerate the vice presidency by leading electors to vote for someone to provide. passed the house over a unified federalist opposition in just 11 days. republicans stressed how it was -- and a democratic regulation. intended forson is an office and another obtains it , such an election is not come portable with the will of those by whom it is made." in arguing against it, federalists stressed it would degenerate the vice presidency by leading electors to vote for someone to provide. simplyone in the other for someone sufficient to preside over the senate. to an artisaned sinecure, they called it. some federalist representatives urged abolishing

one republican elector says he won't vote for trump. rovide add blueprints for states votes. mr. trump shows again and again he does not meet these standards. how hard to bring other republicans into that line of thinking? >> we're having a marvelous response. i think we're going to do it. what we need to do is, first we want to get 270 electors to vote for an alternative candidate who will unify us. it doesn't matter to me if a democrat, republican or independent. what's important is that we have a candidate that will unify all of that, and that it's not a present danger to our country. mr. trump, if he becomes commander in chief, he will, i believe, shehe is a real danger our country, his remarks and revelations just revealed by the cia today regarding russia proves that point. so we have -- >> who are you suggesting people vote for? can anyone take this slot? >> well, they certainly can. you know, we as electors, there are 538 of us. now, certainly, you know, i'm kmi committed to hillary clinton as an elector. rather, i should say my

about him, is really unfit to be president of the united states. >> reporter: so far, only one elector, a republican from texas, said he will not cast his vote for trump. >> it is time to pull the brake. >> reporter: some electors gotten thousands of letters, even death threats voting for trump even outside pressure. >> i don't think if the roles were reversed most people would be okay with electors. >> reporter: trump fighting back tweeting, if my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned and called terrible names. after praising the electoral college over the weekend. >> the electoral vote. i never appreciated it until now. how genius it was. >> reporter: meanwhile, the president-elect's top aides continue to question russia's interference in the u.s. election now asking for a unified presentation from u.s. intelligence agencies. >> if there is this conclusive opinion among all of these intelligence agencies, then they should issue a report or stand in front of a camera and make the case. >> reporter: president obama speaking out

an anti-trump republican elector is facing allegations that he lied in a big way about being a first r on 9/11. according to reports, texas elector claimed to be one of the first firemen on the scene of the burning pentagon but investigation discovered he wasn't hired as a fireman until october. in any case his fire department didn't even respond to the pentagon attacks. here's part of it if you missed it. >> you described yourself, as a moral elector. you're suggesting that people who are voting for trump in the electoral college are immoral? >> no. i'm saying i'm taking a conscious decision to consider who i'm voting for. i don't think donald trump needs -- >> well, despite intense and growing criticism, he's standing by his story. he claims he was a member of another fire department in virginia at the time and of course we'll bring you updates on this fascinating story as we get them. >>> get those parka and boots ready. snow is coming. who better to tell us about them? and president-elect trump expected to speak in orlando very soon. the plane's on the ground, motorcade on its way

then in 2004, an elector voted for. >> in 1972 a republican voted for the libertarian candidate. there's no record of any elector pace facing any spent for not filing the rules. the us feels like nothing ado about nothing. >> it does underscore something. that is happening in the country, which is that the country remains divided after a very, very close presidential race. so i think the emotions behind the push is real. is donald trump not going to be the next president? pretty unlikely. it's an almost certainty that he is -- these results of him being president are ratified in early january by college and he takes the oath of office on january 20th. >> a bit unusual -- everything is unusual -- weighing in on twitter. just like what are you doing? >> yeah. i mean, i -- it has been striking to me how he hasn't tried to unify the country behind his incoming administration. typically the transition period is a period when president-elects try to reach out to people that didn't vote for. the, get everybody in the country onboard with their agenda. he hat gone out on the thank you tou

if 37 republican electors switcs then mr. trump won't have the # 70 electoral votes to officially win. i know the what i'm going to do monday. i may vote for secretary clinton or i may vote for a republican that 37 republican electors would want me to vote for. now that elector bound to hillaryr bo clinton. democrats are now under pressure from some corners as well tol throw over clinton and oat for a republican other than trump sweeping someone else entirelyil into office.e. election watchers say all of this is the longest of long shots. 29 states actually have laws that bind the electors to the candidate chosen by their voters in their states and it's very rare for even one elector too change votes in a given election year. a particular election in texas without a statute in texas, but other than that we're very confident that everything isvery going to be very smooth tomorrow and this harassment from groups like move on. org and the democrat partyrat should stop and it's what the people demand.nd. in 37 electors did switch

walk me through your mindset, in trying to convince some of your fellow republican electors not to cast vote for donald trump. therefore, frankly, not represent the majority voice of the people in their state. >> first, thanks for having me. we've said from day one of starting hamilton electors back on november 9th, that this is a long shot. however, through the work of hundreds of volunteers and many, many conversations through republican electors, we do believe there is a realistic chance of 37 republican electors voting for someone other than donald trump tomorrow. and what makes this different than the other elections, where 99% of electors did vote as they were quote, unquote, supposed to, is the emergency that is donald trump. he is completely unfit to be president. he has foreign ties that are influencing him. these are all the things hamilton warned us about. >> you think that, but millions of americans didn't think that. yes, hillary clinton won the popular vote thus far, by almost 3 million votes. but that's not the system we have now. if we want to change the constitution and

but in order to block trump from the white house, 37 republicans electors would need to switch their votes. something highly unlikely. let's begin with cnn's jessica schneider. >> hi, carol, that's right. michigan's 16 electors will cast their vote right here at the state capitol starting at 2:00 this afternoon. this is largely ceremonial. it will be presided over by the governor here, rick snyder. now this vote is organized by the republican party. all of the electors were chosen at the state party convention back in april. all of these electors are party loyalists. but you know, despite that, these electors here in michigan and all over the country, they've been receiving letters asking them to go rogue, to vote their conscience. in fact one elector right here in michigan said he's even received death threats. you combine that with the fact that michigan's own michael moore has even taken to facebook to pledge to pay the fines of any electors who do vote their conscience and don't vote for donald trump, both here in michigan and all over the country, but as you'll know, 28 states ha

even though every republican elector had intended to vote for print -- jefferson as president, and aaron burr as a vice, the election was thrown to the house of representatives where neither party controlled. hoping to strike a deal with aaron burr for their support, federalist homily house for seven days and 35 ballots before letting jefferson prevail after republicans threatened civil war and disunion. these federalist mechanisms underscored the failure of the constitutional provision for electing the vice president. with republicans taking control of both houses of congress, and effort began almost immediately to amend the constitution to -- and effort began almost immediately to amend the constitution to provide a vote for president and a vote for print might president -- for vice president. this provided a shift to partisan ship. and the vice president was considered part of the president's team. it reduce the chances for an minority party -- a minority party to roll the system. -- rule over the system. republicans did not gain a afficient majority to force change until after the mi

it's a sweet spot between iowa and new hampshire when it comes to republican electorates. iowa's republican caucus electorate generally very conservative, in 2012 47% called themselves very conservative. very high number for republican electorate. new hampshire's republican primary electorate, moderate. 47% called them moderate or liberal. and then there's south carolina, which falls right in the middle. with the nearly even split of voters who call themselves very conservative and conservative, and then the moderate and liberal republican crowd, many who live in charleston. it's a goldly locks state, not too conservative and not to moderate for the conservative candidates. explains why lindsey graham wins there as well as jim demint. iowa goes one way, new hampshire goes the other and south carolina is the place where one winner can take control. the south carolina electorate is more evangelical than iowa or new hampshire. but south carolina more evangelical doesn't mean being more conservative. we'll get through that later on. much more "mtp daily" daily including the cli

electoral college voters they could be heroes. the desperate details are coming up. >> republican members of the electoral college, this message is for you. >> there are 53members of the electoral college -- 538. >> you and 36 other conscientious republican electors could make a difference. >> voting your conscience on december 19th. >> thereby shaping the future of our nation. i have asthma... ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine that increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. breo is not for people whose asthma is well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine

electors peel off. in an effort to join with possible republican defectors. state, colinton powell got three electoral votes. they were hoping to deny donald trump. in washingtonr state, a democrat voted instead for another candidate because they did not want to vote for hillary clinton. this is more than what we usually see. 2000 fouro go back to to see another faceless elector that did not vote for the candidate that they were supposed to what it is not the widespread kind of defection that would've threatened donald trump's chances to be the next president. >> we solve the effort by the hamilton of electors, the texas effort. getting a lot of attention. too much media attention based on what happened today? stephen shepard: i don't know if it is too much. it does draw some attention to the system by which wetoo much d on what happened today? elected the president of our country. electoral college when it began, in some states the electors fulfill the will of the people or the people who were allowed to vote at that time in those days. in some states, there

he of course knows some of the other electors because they are all part of the executive committee of the republican party here in wisconsin, and he says some of his fellow electors received 2300, 2400 pieces of snail mail all trying to sway his vote and their vote against donald trump, but the thing is, michigan and wisconsin, like jessica was just mentioning, are states that have faithless elector laws. all that means is that they have laws against electors going against the november 8th election results. so what we are expecting here to happen today is in the doors you see behind me are for these ten electors to come in and vote for donald trump, because donald trump won the election here on november 8th and that's what they are expected to do again today, officially. now, i should say the wind chill here in wisconsin is negative 23. we were expecting protesters outside. right now, there is one brave woman outside. again, the wind chill minus 23 degrees. >> oh, my gosh. that makes me feel cold in the studio. rosa flores live from madison. let's talk about this and more. jeff zeleny is a cnn senio

college electors -- nine democrats and one republican -- have sent a letter to cia director james clapper demanding an intelligence briefing on russian efforts to elect donald trump before the electoral college meets on december 19. hillary clinton's campaign has backed their request. donald trump has called the cia's conclusions of russian interference ridiculous. we will have more on t the possibility of russian interference in the election with democratic california elector christine pelosi, the lead author of the letter to intelligence director james clapper. in syria, aleppo is on the b brk of full into the syriaian government. on monday, syrian government forces backed by russian airstrikes and fighters from other regional allies, including lebanon's hezbollah militia, continue to advance on the remaining rebel held neighborhoods. in government held sections of aleppo, some people poured into the streetsts tcelebrate e whats expepected to be the most decise battle in the five-year civil war. antigovernment rebels report syrian government troops carrying

there's a growing chunk in the republican electorate. not to be the front-runner from the day he entered to now. >> he has three charactercharac. the message. he also is an entertainer. >> he has a wonderful ability to cut the throat of the guys closest to him as a rival. >> i'd add to that list. it's absolutely part of it. he's able to think about what happens many steps ahead. if he turns out he's wrong about one of the seven steps ahead to adjust. >> when does he pull back? on the canadian thing, he put the bayonet in and hit squish. you said for months the guy is clean. he's acceptable and he does a 180 on the guy and it works. >> the poll shows that did not matter add much to iowa republican caucus goers as the thing about the loans from goldman sachs. 20% or so, it did bother them. >> 20% is a close one. >> doesn't necessarily have to matter to the voters. as long as it can throw the opponent off the message, he'll keep going with it. his intuitive sense of what gets under the skin. what drives the news cycle. >> to say you're not

electors. some of them it was an effort to join with potential republican defectors. in washington, colin powell got three votes. not because they wanted colin powell to be president. they were hoping to deny donald trump, and an elector voted for another candidate because they didn't want to go for hillary clinton. this is more than we sa seen. you have to go back to 2004 to find another that didn't vote for the candidate. it's not a widespread kind of defection that would have threatened trump's chances to be the next president. >> and yet we saw the effort by the hamilton electors, we saw chris in texas, one of the faceless electors, a republican that you pointed out is key, keating a lot of attention, too much media attention basted on what happened today? >> i don't know if it's too much media attention, i think it draws attention to the system by which we elect the president in the united states. the electoral college, when it began, in some states the electors fulfilled the will of the peep or the people allowed to vote at that time. and some say the people didn

states who elected them as elector. >> this is an ad by celebrities out there trying to ask the republican electors meet december 19 to not vote donald trump. if you remember, donald trump has 306 ele electoral votes. so far, they are the only two with votes. if what the celebrities said happened, it would bo to the house of representatives where they would vote for donald trump. we're back with the panel. i would compel them to add a story by my colleagues who have spent days tracking down the electors asking them what they will do. they found one republican elector who said they will not vote for trump. if russia on some other entity was hacking, why did the white house wait so long to hack? why did they only complain after hillary lost? here is donald trump back on july 27th and the white house today. emails that are missing. >> the defense from the trump campaign is that he was joking. i don't think anybody at the white house thinks it's funny that an adversary of the united states engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy. that's not a joke. >> laura, his rhetoric from t

they have to be the republican electors.owed a clip of him from october or september, asking the russians to hack in to find hillary clinton's e-mails, to hack into a presidential candidate's server or servers, to find e-mail. at what point, if you or i did that, if we asked a foreign entity, especially one that maybe we're not getting along with very well, to do that, to trump, iranian government, hack into donald trump tonight, i mean, really, i mean, somebody would pay us a visit, i think. this is, the fact that, the electoral college at this point, this is all a moment of conscience right now. and it's a real appeal, and, you know, there's this group that's trying to get them, republicans, republican electors to try to find a compromise candidate and to get the democratic electors to say we'll go along with that, if you're willing to not vote for trump but to vote for somebody else, a kasich or romney or whatever, that the democrats wouldn't do anything to block that. it's an interesting concept, but right now you need s

. >> by voting and other brave republican electors can give the house the option to select a qualified candidate. >> you will have the opportunity to go down in the books as an american hero. charles: 50 members of the electoral college signed a letter asking for a briefing on the russian hacking. spearheading this is the daughter of nancy pelosi. the initial demand, reviewing the initial 10, was he wouldn't vote until this russian briefing -- you guys had a chance to look at it. is that still your position? >> yes, now that 67 signatures and many more supporting us, republican and democratic electors saying we are alarmed by what we read in the news and what we continue to read in the news as more revelations are coming forward, that the intelligence reports are putin himself direct the dissemination of stolen information from democratic emails. so we are deeply concerned about the role as alexander hamilton said years ago, about the role of undue influence in our elections. we appreciate the calls for investigation on capitol hill. but among the electors, we would like that informati

if 37 republican electors do not vote today, the house would vote for trump or clinton.h essay of the federalist papers co-authored by alexander hamilton as justification for disenfranchising millions of voters. >> they need to be fit for office, they need to not be a demagogue, and they can't be influenced by foreign powers. and looking at those issues, they are strong, grave concerns about donald trump on all three of those issues, so that's why we believe it's a moral imperative to come out against him. >> reporter: and while i was talking, eight more protesters showed up outside, so we may have a few people. this is all being driven by social media, so we don't know how many people to expect, but this was one of two people that sued washington state for a law that's on the books that fines them if they're unfaithful electors. thirty states plus washington, d.c. have laws like that. that lawsuit, however, was thrown out and, again, we're expecting some protesters here as the electors start to gather up on the reception room up above me a few hours from now. jenna? jen

if 37 republican electors flip, mr. trump won't have the 270 electoral vote it >> i don't know what i'm going to do monday. i may vote for secretary clinton or i may vote for a republican that -- that 37 republican lor electors would wants me to vote for >>> democrats are now under pressure from some corners to vote for a republican other than trump. sweeping somebody else into office. election watchers say it's all the longest of long shots. 29 states actually have law that is bind the electors to the candidate chosen by the voters in their states and it is even to change votes. in any given year. >> without astatute. other than that, we're very confident that everything is going to be smooth tomorrow and this harassment from groups and the democrat party should and it's what the american people demand >> extra security is planned in harrisburg tomorrow for what officials believe will be larger than usual crowds of demonstrators at the state capitol. again, if a total of 37 electors end up switching from trump to somebo

they found one republican elector who said they will not vote for trump. if russia on some other entity was hacking, why did the white house wait so long to hack? why did they only complain after hillary lost? here is donald trump back on july 27th and the white house today. emails that are missing. >> the defense from the trump campaign is that he was joking. i don't think anybody at the white house thinks it's funny that an adversary of the united states engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy. that's not a joke. >> laura, his rhetoric from the podium has increased over the last couple of days on this very issue. >> think how heart warming that meeting between obama and trump was in the oval and they have been talking regularly. probably complementary trump was of obama and this is what he gets for it the back of the hand. pretty obvious that trump made that off hand comment in the summer. i don't think he was really telling vladimir putin to hack the u.s. commuters computers. that's not what he would do. it doesn't surprise me a

to the republican electorate in the primary. that's what a lot of people like to think to feel comfortable about where we are right now. >> the numbers are roughly even going into this -- >> because the republicans and republicans always give 440%. >> donald trump was not just talking to republican electorate, he was talking to a broader audience of people out there, and he doesn't necessarily need to have a george bush or george bush sr. to come out for him. >> he needs to demonstrate -- >> it doesn't matter -- >> he needs to clear the bar, but he doesn't need them. >> he's playing a different game all together. >> yeah. >> he's turned it all upside down, and managed to at least convince himself if not all of his strategists that endorsements are bad. that endorsements and having other people speak for you are examples of corruption, and he is going to stand alone. >> he alone can fix it. >> there is a pool of voters -- >> there is a pool of voters out there, and we've seen this, because we've seen them at this 40, 38, 32 bounc

. >> what you have in the republican primary electorate is if you are somebody who is opposed to donald trump as your nominee, that becomes the most important issue for you. right? so what you're saying, when you talk to other republicans, ted cruz slowly becoming more establishment of a choice, because of that one factor alone, this stop trump moment. something we'll be talking about all night long, and looking for clues to see is it really taking hold. is there something going on with trump right now that his momentum is being somehow slowed. now, there are big contests tonight. he can emerge with victories of the he was leading in the pre-election polls in these states. you see the national poll, the conversation that's happening mopping republicans, i really think that's going to be the big story line tonight. >> even people who do not want trump to window expect him to. we'll see if that happens. let's take a look at michigan of the you've been going through the exit polls, and about what the qualities are that candidates have and what the voters are looking for. >> we wanted to lo