newsom versus desantis.s and millions and millions people watch, also like an also-rans group, i was talking with steve moore on the phone over the weekend, what if desantis clobbers gavin newsom? in this sean hannity debate? you know, could desantis redeem himself, everyone is leaving california. they are moving to texas and florida. because of the taxes and illegal ill bre immigration and crime and the rest, we have this church theme what is desantis seeks salvation in debate with newsom. >> yeah. >> i like that. i like that. how amazing is it that -- gavin newsom not even running, yet, ron desantis is the one that can benefit the most out of a debate with a guy who supposedly not even running that is how bad of a situation that ron desantis is in. i also think it is interesting that you know, this does not necessarily benefit gavin newsom. gavin newsom has to run his campaign with all of the democrat superdelegates and big wigs and fat cats who sit you know smoke filled back rooms to assure that -- insure

desantis: wow. mrs. desantis: i am so proud of you. gov.tis: and i think that is a lot to say about willing to stand and fight for people and it is not easy and 100%. we also won those fights, in ways. so yeah, we're standing and fighting, but we are delivering. and the results with florida, without we have done since i have been governor. we've cut taxes every year by record amount and yet we have paid down 25% of our total state debt. in the entire history of florida we have knocked off 25% just since i have been governor. we are ranked number one in economy, number one for education by u.s. news and world report, number one state for net migration, second lowest tax burden per capita. we have the lowest amount of state employees per capita in the entire country. our cost to run our government is the lowest by far. we have eliminated two agencies since i have been governor. we have shown our prime rates at a 50 year low. since i have been governor violent crime is down 35%. while it is up in many other parts of the country, particularly b

it was desantis -- it was desantis who fought disney when they tried to overturn parents rights in the desantis who stared down the ncaa when you're trying to boycott the state over the governors support of women competing in women's sports. [applause] >> -- it was our governor, it was ron desantis who stood up for our special olympians and ensure that they could compete without being forced to take an experimental mrna coded vaccine. there are no vaccine mandates in the state of florida. [applause] never have been, never will be. it's desantis who at the backs of our men and women of law enforcement leading to a 50 year crime low in the state of florida. it was desantis if you remember during the riots of 2020 said to the protesters if you lose got if you destroy property, you are going to jail -- if you lived. [applause] it was desantis ensured that dei, crt, esg, they are doa and florida. [applause] its desantis or a stood strog for second amendment d rights. it is desantis of and led the charge tosa an active death penalty for child rapists and pedophiles. it is desantis who stands

desantis looses to trump, that is no fun. what if desantis loses to haley that is no fun either. and desantis gets 16 or 17 and then trump gets all the rest? trump has a 30 point lead in iowa. i mean that will wreck desantis -- seems to me anything that happens short of actually beating trump and desantis is gone, he is gone. tell me if i'm wrong, rich? you're the political guy. >> he has to, i don't think you're wrong. he needs to win iowa or very, very strong second in iowa. but i think he really has to win it but just to stick with the subject of football, larry for a second, talking about hail mary passes did you seed video of trump at the clemson-south carol lyne game last weekend. politicians are not greeted kindly by sports fans and football fans. he is out on the field and treated like a conquering hero. sec, pro-trump conference this goes to how he is political and cultural phenomenon. larry: yeah. >> so it doesn't matter, we can all say desantis should have done this differently or that differently how do you beat with that? how will nikki haley compete with that? that

as is ron desantis.here is a pretty big forum, it's next week actually, the week before thanksgiving and iowa. the iowa family leader. an influential evangelical group having all the kind of insane. so we'll see if that echoes anderson-ites. it. mind but the bottom line, i think also, the position nikki haley has, looking for consensus. you heard the applause and the audience for. that she's been able to walk this line on abortion. she said she's pro-life, in her words, but she called for consensus. there is an appetite for. that so she's going to suburban voters, and i think that's pretty important. again, this is a bit of a cop. out i think we have to say, the winner of this debate, and certainly the person commanding in the lead in this race, was on here tonight. he was down the road. >> and rhonda mcdaniel told, me she she doesn't expect him to come to any of the primary debates at all. but she does expect him, if he is the nominee, to go to the general election debates. we'll see if that happens. >>

haley and desantis.ou get what you get, by the way, this is being carried out the same debate on television in iowa right now. one of them, the whole theory of the case is one of them is gonna emerge as the trump challenger. the problem is trump has such a large lead nationally that it just might be meaningless. >> what are they hoping for? some sort of criminal indictment? somehow they'll step into the breach? >> look, trump really only came up of the beginning part of the debate. when they asked directly about him. other than that, to their credit, they were debating amongst themselves about their positions on issues, a little name calling here and there. i think that they're just hoping that he just implodes. nobody is really trying to take it to trump. not even chris christie, the person who's ostensibly in this race to take on trump. i don't see anything changing there. i think haley sees desantis as a problem for her. desantis haley as a problem. ramaswamy sees desantis and haley as a problem. they

ron desantis is not so cool.> i will say, red versus blue state debate is the debate we should be having. larry: i want to defend desantis, the "wall street journal" here desantis versus newsom, a score card. you run down. . employment. businesses, income, population, migration, cheaper energy and taxes and spending they are important. desantis should just run this down, and i know steve moore has met with him, i want to see desantis win because it is the red state blue state argument. if pol he loses it, this is a blow, mark, can -- here. the koch brothers, i don't know freedom works or whatever it is. >> americans for prosperity. >> thank you, david coc ckoch was a great friend of mine, they are putting money up are in nikki haley. and desantis betting the ranch on iowa. whole campaign. how will ha work? in your opinion, how will that work? endorsements and betting ranch, and hail marys. >> it does not work -- does not matter if you win iowa. you could win iowa and not get nomination. the koch brother money, th

desantis wants to lead that. the democratic party will move passed biden and coalition and newsom and his team want to position himselfs as a new democrat. each is looking forward into 2026, 2028 when people have not voted for 2024 that is all at stake. >> i am curious with gavin newsom is there concern from biden's camp that he is taking away attention from president biden when it comes to his campaign for president next year that he is taking away the luster? >> reporter: all right, so, inside what is going on, there is a concern he is taking it away from the vice president, california's own kamala harris. you are eclipsing the vice president and what happens with that in the aftermath of this. look, newsom and harris have been political cousins. there is a worry it creates friction moving forward especially as we enter into the fray full throated of the 2024 campaign. that is something to pay attention to. that is much more of a problem for management on what is going on behind-the-scenes than the white house

as much as the desantis camp has a nikki haley problem, they've also long had a ron desantis problem.of the way that we're watching polls show haley in some states eclipsing desantis, and in other states just cutting into his lead overall. this is something that has to do with momentum. it's also showing in the way that they're trying to air ads that frankly pull her so far out of context that it's almost difficult to believe. look at this one about nikki haley and hillary clinton and watch the ways the nikki haley campaign is showing these quotes are out of context. watch. >> we know her as crooked hillary, but to nikki haley, she's her role model. the reason she ran for office. >> i often say that the reason i got into politics was because of hillary clinton. >> it's important to note this ad takes past quotes from haley about clinton completely out of context. let's say that again. completely out of context. it shows a desperation of the desantis camp. >> the reason i got into politics, believe it or not, i don't agree with anything that she has to say, but it was because of hillar

it, desantis is finished.well was finished. this time he may know it. larry: who are you picking? who are you picking? >> governor desantis has done an extraordinary job in the state of florida. the economy is booming. the out-migration from the northeast and midwest and west where taxes and regulations are so high, he welcomed them all, economy thrived, culturally, socially, economically, you name it but the style factor is huge. gavin newsom is always full of it larry but style tends to trump in formats like this. we'll have to see. larry: gavin newsom is very cool. ron desantis is not very cool. >> the red versus blue debate is the debate we should be having. larry: i want to defend desantis. "wall street journal," desantis versus newsom, the report card. run down, employment, unemployment, personal income, migration, taxes spending as you both noted. these are important points. desantis should just run this down. steve moore has met with him. i want to see desantis win because it is the red state, blue sta

desantis also had problems in performance. on paper seems stronger than in practice, and made a strategic choice really limited his reach. he basically marketed himself as trump inch without trump. turns out the vast majority of republican voter who want trumpism also want trump. right? so haley had, i think, a more kind of coherent appeal to a portion of the party that's resistant to trump. problem, as you suggest, that is not majority. she ultimately ly has to find a way, if she's going to seriously, or anyone seriously challenge him, peel away voters who now support trump but none irrevocably -- the question, her argument will change an electability and proving more appealing to those maybe sometimes trump voters, than desantis's version of trumpism without trump. >> you mentioned that her ascendancy is tied to how well done in debates. one next week. we don't expect donald trump will be there, but should he take them on more directly? time to pivot to focusing on trump? >> i think at some point obviously has to make that c

and what desantis did doesn't make it any easier for them.ke me, or like our martha's vineyard clients, is stealing their opportunity, is coming to take their place and to replace them. our country is full. we don't want people coming up here. our country is full. we want mexico to stop. we want all of them to stop. our country is packed to the gills. we don't want them coming up. if you go back in history, and you look at the times when politics and criminal acts have become blurred, when you're trying to advance a political agenda and committing crimes to do it, and then people don't even recognize the criminality, that's a very, very slippery and scary place to be. hey there, buddy. i want to thank you for getting all them stanky ass spics off our island, man. we'll talk to you in a little bit. good luck with y'all, and fight on with the white power. yeah, i don't appreciate you going on television talking about my governor here. you got that, you democratic piece of shit? don't you ever get on tv and say shit like that. you got that, boy?

now they are going to go with ron desantis. i think desantis is making the case.esantis is a key play in the state of iowa. and, if iowa launches a ron desantis, it then gist new hampshire a flu look. south carolina a real and you have a real primary that's going to take place. >> bret: just to clarify something you said about the money thing. this is, i think, from a reuters article in which it said that desantis' campaign super pac linked to him a nonprofit group supporting him together paid $95,000 in recent months to the family leader foundation, according to campaign finance reports and the document prepared by an iowa state lawmaker who was helping vander plaats' organization raise money for the july 14th presidential candidate forum. is that not true or that's true? >> well, it's definitely true. i would encourage everybody to read the reuters article. everything we do is above board and in sunlight. we have a leadership summit that's a major thing. irs rules prevent us from giving donations to a campaign or giving access to a campaign. and so not only ron

ron desantis rule of 20 weeks or sixj desantis rule of 20 weeks or six weeks _ desantis rule of 20 weekseeks or i think conservatives can win this debate by _ weeks or i think conservatives can win this debate by having - weeks or i think conservatives can win this debate by having a - weeks or i think conservatives can win this debate by having a directi win this debate by having a direct debate _ win this debate by having a direct debate with— win this debate by having a directl debate with some of these people win this debate by having a direct i debate with some of these people as opposed _ debate with some of these people as opposed to _ debate with some of these people as opposed to just — debate with some of these people as opposed to just trying _ debate with some of these people as opposed to just trying to _ debate with some of these people as opposed to just trying to sneak- debate with some of these people as opposed to just trying to sneak it i opposed to just trying to sneak it in and _ opposed to just trying to sneak it in and hope — opposed to just trying to sneak it in a

gavin newsom versus ron desantis. two governors, two ideologies, one telling prime time showdown tonight. you're watching getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. it is attracting outsized attention. tonight's long awaited political jousting match between california's gavin newsom and florida's ron desantis. desantis is running for president next year, though his star is fading, while newsom is not so why all the hoopla? joining us live now to break it all down is abc seven news political insider phil matier. so phil, what is going on here? why are they doing this? well, they're doing each one has its own reasons and one of them is ron desantis is running for president, but he's not exactly leading the pack. >> donald trump is, as a matter of fact, he's neck and neck with former south carolina governor nikki haley for the second place spot and some people say it's fading. gavin newsom, he is sort of becoming the democratic stalwart out there and he's raising his national profile and he wants to be in t

right now it looks like about between desantis and ambassador nikki haley.ns different but if there's any about that, take a listen to the crowd's reaction launched into in the, a jeff hutchinson and chris christie. >> a significant likelihood donald trump will be found guilty by a felony offense next year. >> your anger against the truth is reprehensible. >> the third debate wednesday night in miami, former president trump will have erotic to counter program custom crossto crosstown. >> bryan llenas an update, thank you so much. good to see you. raymond, you have five florida state legislatures from florida slipped on desantis, things only seem to get worse, listen to what political magazine had to say quote three expert shoemakers think on desantis is probably wearing my boosters and the focus is not on politics right now but this. >> don't think lyft is the reason he's losing. the more endorsement, he lost five people walk like state legislatures with desantis. the mark telling endorsement is senator rick endorsed trump today. that is the big take away cl

la popularidad de ron desantis vino bajando y la de haley subiendo.florida, jaime flores no lo critica. >>> estÁ aprovechando su oportunidad, me parece brillante, ¿quÉ necesidad tiene de meterse en un debate cuando ya cuenta con gran popularidad y donde todos los demÁs candidatos querrÁn ganar puntos atacÁndolo? >>> no podemos dejar que la democracia en este paÍs se pierda por el extremismo que estamos viendo mÁs del lado republicano. >>> cristina londoÑo, noticias telemundo. >>> esta noche un sospechoso estÁ bajo arresto por caminar por un parque cerca del capitolio con un rifle tipo ar-15, el hombre residente de atlanta se paseaba con el arma y tras las autoridades arrestarlos creen que tiene problemas mentales. >>> y bueno las personas con antecedentes de violencia domÉstica ¿tienen derecho de portar armas de fuego? la corte suprema de justicia escucha argumentos de las partes por este caso sobre los derechos de portaciÓn de armas, zulema salazar con el informe. >>> (hablan en inglÉs). >>> vÍctimas de violencia domÉstica por armas contaron sus hist

senator endorsed trump over desantis.s something that's going to move voters, or is this timed specifically by team trump, sort of as they make this move on florida? >> ahead of the freedom summit -- >> i'm sorry, david, go ahead. >> so ahead of the freedom summit, this is a timing move to announce rick scott's endorsement. does it move voters? not necessarily. the back story is that rick scott and ron desantis really, really dislike each other, so scott's endorsement was never in play for the governor. >> matt, earlier today on msnbc, ron desantis said he was still optimistic that he has a path to winning the republican nomination. i want to play a little bit of that from "morning joe." >> people are not locked in. i mean, that is very true, and in iowa, i don't think they're locking in. new hampshire, they're not locking in, so we're doing it. i'm not hoping for any type of special intervention. we're going to go win it by convining a plurality of the voters that we're the best choice. >> so matt, you know what's going

desantis focused significant portion of that speech not just on israel, but on colleges. -- on race, and racism as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion programs but in this speech, he tied those educational bogeyman to discrimination against israel. >> this whole thing of dei, diversity, equity and, inclusion, that is anti israel, it is anti-jewish, 100 percent if you take that to the logical conclusion. >> so, governor desantis wants to censor all of. he does not want college talk about race or gender, or apparently gaza. and he is not alone. the new york times reports that groups that have led campaigns to oust school board members, and remake stake curriculums, have also jumped into the fray. parents defending education, a conservative nonprofit organization, says that it fights indoctrination in the classroom, it started tracking incidences that school leadership appeared to criticize israel. and moms for liberty, a national conservative group, has warned that progressive school administrators are trained at the same universities allowing antisemitic protests. joi

is this ron desantis' last chance? >> no, i don't think so. look, he is one of the more -- his name i.d. is higher than most candidates. this is not an ideal position for any candidate to be moving most of their operation to one state as desantis has done with iowa, but look, at the same time, the oxygen is leaving the room. each time -- there are fewer and fewer so-called chairs on stage for the debates and trump has maintained a significant lead throughout his entire primary. and so we're running out of time here for some kind of surge of another candidate. >> and while he is very much at risk if not already in a position where nikki haley is basically surpassing him in the race for second place. daniel strauss, happy friday. thanks for being here. >>> and coming up this morning, we're hear from joe biden's top didiplomat in n israel rigight . (car engine revs) (engine accelerating) (texting clicks) (tires squeal) (glass shattering) (loose gravel clanking) nice footwork. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now

he could embarrass desantis.highlight some of the things that potentially are causing desantis more problems in his own primary situation. so, i mean, i think the biggest issue for him is this would be an unforced error, meaning it's not something he has to do to engage in the primary. but if he if he handles it well, it could give him a boost. but, dan, just let me get back to your point about biden. i guess my question is, with the poll numbers so bad with his with his age and so on, why would he feel so compelled to run for a second term? well i think he feels because he's spent his entire career trying to make it to the presidency and he's got it. and it's the golden ring. and it's hard for him to give it up. but there are so many people around him that were telling him that he should could rest on the laurels of what he has achieved. and what is going on in the world, and that if he goes forward and is defeated by donald trump, that will remain his legacy. and it is up to somebody around joe biden close to h

she says she believes desantis message will resonate with the national audience. >> desantis focusesn what is right, not is -- not what is politically popular or easy or convenient. whether it is covid or fighting to get indoctrination out of our schools. >> it is certainly clear that the governor is betting so much on what will happen in iowa to either propel him out of here come up with new strategies. a new campaign office in urbandale. essentially whoever desantis goes, you see the governor not too far behind him. he is also really taking steps to end the evangelical vote which could prove for quite influential in the state. it's coming up fast. >> no doubt about it. thank you very much. joined by communication director aaron and caroline levitt. ladies, welcome. >> thank you, mike. let's start with the expected endorsement from governor abbott is it a big deal? >> the endorsement i want to talk about is the endorsement of kim reynolds he. we have not seen a republican governor in iowa endorse a contested primary since 1996. this is going to make a big deal we saw yesterday while

>> i think desantis needs to be concerned about his campaign overall.e has had to let go of a lot of his staff because of his polling and the way his campaign was going. i think a lot of desantis loyal people believed the governor would be in a much stronger position than he is. i think there's been some criticism of how he's been handling himself at debates, and i think that his campaign is just kind of struggling. a lot of it is on life support. if he's not able to secure florida, that will spell trouble for how he can go even further nationwide. >> i do want to play a longer sound bite of chris christie last night taking his combative style straight to the audience, berating trump supporters, to which he got a lot of boos. listen. >> well, now it feels like home. thank you all very much. your anger against the truth is reprehensible. the problem is you want to shout down any voice that says anything different than what you want to hear. >> so what exactly is chris christie angling for here? is he really trying to be the republican nominee? >> i think

listen ron desantis, ron desantis has more to lose even though tonight even though florida's governoras a huge advantage over his california opponent when it comes to bragging rights. the question is, can he make it count? big government versus small government and the stats show a clear winner and i'm going to prove it. look at the tale of the tape. begin with employment between the two states, since 2019 florida gained more than a million jobs. california, lost 85,000. the unemployment rate stands at 4.8% in california. in florida, almost half of that at 2.8%. new business applications, 2.3 million in the golden state. 2.7 million in florida. as for population, california lost just over a million resident. florida gained 737,000. as for spending, this is remarkable, california has a 31 1/2 billion dollar shortfall despite all of those high taxes. florida, meanwhile has a $17.7 billion surplus. no, let's not forget the cost of gas. we do this a lot in florida. the current average is $3.17 a gallon while in california it stands $4.84 thanks of course to higher taxes and don't forget t

it's ron desantis' florida. >> desantis has one other weakness.has a lot to lose because he has a lot to gain. he needs to pull votes from trump supporters and nikki haley supporters and they'll be watching. gavin newsom has nothing to lose. he's not running for anything and his position on abortion matches the majority of american voters when desantis brings up biden, though, he'll have to defend and then there are these images seen around the world of california and what it looks like in our malls in union square. major retailers moving out. these are the images they think of when they think of california. back to you. >>> well, there are lingering concerns for an east bay refinery. this time it's the martinez refinery which experiences a new flare-up last night on the heels of the chevron refinery flaring in monday in richmond. nbc bay area's bob redell is outside the martinez refinery with the latest. >> it was yesterday that the martinez refinery in contra county which had to burn excess gasses into the open air. the refinery posted this to t

who thinks desantis won the debate.r, who thinks haley won the debate, one, two, three, four, five, six. who thinks ramaswamy won the debate. one, two, three. who thinks scott won the debate. >> nikki haley came in first place with the story county group this time around. >> why do you think she won? >> i think she was attacked by people and that means that they fear her, and i think she's strong and she reacted appropriately, and she's not a pushover. >> the mayor of nevada, why do you think she won? >> i think with foreign policy being center stage, it plays into her strengths, and they spent a lot of time on that topic, and we saw her go toe to toe with tyrants of the u.n., and you can see her doing that as president. >> why do you think desantis won? >> aside from scott, he holds office right now, and that office is in the executive branch, so everybody else says what they would do or what they did ten years ago, desantis says what he's doing now, and what he's going to be doing once he changes position. >> and what

it's not actually just ron desantis.he anti-defamation league has also called on an investigation for these pro-palestinian groups. it was roundly condemned just this week by the aclu for doing that. students should have the right to articulate their positions without being shutdown by campus administrators. >> setting the college debate aside, the broader debate over what israel is doing, the role of hamas, what's happening to the civilian and the children in gaza, do you feel like the sort of narrative on that is shifting among at least democrats? today senators dick durbin and chris murphy came out and were very vocal about serious reservations they have about israel's strategy here. does it feel like the tide is shifting? >> a little bit because there's a huge gap between where democratic politics in washington are and where democrats are on the ground. first of all, because the people who support the invasion do not have good answers for the end game. they don't have a good answer for what comes after they topple ha

>> i'm looking at nikki haley and ron desantis. i think ron desantis has to have a big night.however, he hasn't stood out the way nikki haley has. ron desantis, in many ways, may be coming for nikki haley. we've seen their campaigns and super pacs telegraphing a lot of attacks between the two of them. the candidates themselves attacked each other. they're fighting for the second place spot behind donald trump. it seems, in the polls, nikki haley has in many ways, with the exception of iowa, but usurped ron desantis from the second place. there's going to be sparks there. >> the hope being if one can be the clear second place, there's pressure on the rest to drop out and maybe we have a one-on-one. it is election night in america. i know you've been following virginia in particular. give us a sense as to what you expect. >> you know, look, the democrats and republicans have obviously poured quite a bit into this. glenn youngkin has been on the campaign trail with republicans. he even got involved in primaries earlier this year. this is seen in many ways as a referendum on his f

new report wiing of frustrationd chaos among the allies of ron desantis a fight nearly broke out at ard meeting over a desantis-aligned super pac here's dasha burns >> reporter: tur noyl moil in ds world. one board meeting earlier this month nearly ended in a brawl. as the florida governor's allies struggle to reverse a slide in the polls and a surging nikki haley. >> the race is always framed around donald trump, whether someone can beat him or not. people want an alternative and they made a summary judgment on desantis that he wasn't it, because he, his polling numbers were i have, very, very high ann they tanked. >> reporter: during a discussion, a long-time confidante ch confidante challenged a pac consultant to a fight and two other board member also to restrain them. >> people are frustrated >> reporter: and the internal strife playing out as one says you can't keep throwing money at radio shack. the ceo announcing his resignation last week. >> i love you, too >> reporter: nikki haley now the biggest threat to the desantis campaign, has pulled even with him in iowa and ahead of

makes perfect sense, says desantis.and the group's support and claims he did more for black people than any other president. mean child -- meanwhile, desantis criticized trump's response to the george floyd protests back in 2020 saying when he is elected president, he will not sit idly by and watch rioters torch american citizens. that's desantis taking swipes at donald trump. stu. stuart: thanks, ash. >>> coming up, take a look at this op-ed. quote: liberal arts education is the answer to political polarization. oh, really? i thought it was these liberal arts schools pushing these far-left ideologies that were the problem. we will yet into that, believe me. >>> elon musk did not hold back revealing how he feels about advertisers boycotting x. kelly o'grady brings us his obscene and fiery response. that's next. ♪ ♪ if -- i'm like, forget you ♪ you can't buy great conversations or moments that matter, but you can invest in them. at t. rowe price our strategic investing approach can help you build the future you imagine.

as for ron desantis, i respect what ron desantis has done here in florida.plause] he started off as a strong, historically-strong with all the advantages. his allies had spent tens of millions of dollars, but the campaign has struggled and he has lost almost two thirds of his support and is still falling, because ron desantis believes the nation is in decline, like the dark days are here to stay. he doesn't have a forward-looking, aspirational vision about where our country should go. and our former president, i voted for him twice. i partnered with his administration on tax cuts, the largest tax cuts in american history, a $2.4 trillion tax cut. i wrote it and he signed it. we saw the rebuilding of our military, supreme court justices, three supreme court justices that led to overturning roe v. wade. we put 300, we put 300 conservative judges on the bench. but our party has been underperforming in three consecutive national elections. we have to get back on offense, and that is why i know that we must win. the 2024 race is just getting started. most people

hal, is this a make or break event for ron desantis?me turf for him, but sometimes that can be added pressure. what do you think? >> i don't think it's make or break, i think he'll do extremely well, and he's very prepared. i think foreign policy, look, he stepped right up when the attack happened on israel, he sent planes over, brought american citizens back, sent supplies over there and did it all -- didn't charge people. he was there before biden's state department could even get it together. shown leadership already even from the governor's mansion on issues of foreign policy, so i think he'll do extremely well tonight. neil: we were talking about last might's race, you don't want to read too much into this, but i was sort of connecting the bread crumbs on abortion and how it was integral not only in virginia that assured the statehouse is in the going the governor's way, but now all democrat, both of them. a similar playing out in new jersey. they weren't expecting a red wave, but they certainly didn't get it, and a lot of that had

kim reynolds, the governor of all-important iowa, throwing her support behind ron desantis. can it shake up the race >>> and buffalo bills star damar hamlin back on the field where he nearly lost his life less than a year ago his emotional message. >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news" with lester holt >>> good evening, everyone republican front-runner donald trump was center stage today in manhattan as the rest of the field readies to debate in miami. he was the center of an extraordinary legal and political moment, taking the witness stand at his civil fraud trial. his testimony framed by flashes of anger, defiance and disdain for the process. defending himself against allegations he inflated the valuation of his assets to get more favorable treatment on bank loans. it comes one year before the 2024 presidential election, with mr. trump the leader by a wide margin today in court mr. trump again attacked the trial as election interference and called it ridiculous at one point the judge telling mr. trump's lawyer to control him, saying "this isn't a political rally. none

right now, desantis is on that road to nowhere.nd haley looks like she is better positioned in new hampshire and south carolina, to get this down to a one-on-one race if anyone can. >> ron, sticking with you, it strikes me that we heard haley and desantis making the age argument about dump. that there needs to be a change in the republican party and across the country. they are also attacking president biden, who is turning 81 today. those have worked against biden in polling. can they work against rump? >> to me, how reluctant they are to make a policy argument. desantis is running against trump but entirely from the right. haley makes criticism of his comments. many of the biggest vulnerabilities trump would have has a general election nominee have not come up in a republican primary. that's one of the reasons this early pulling may not reflect his vulnerabilities if he wins the nomination. they are looking for ways to encourage voters who like trump, who liked his performance as president, but who may be willing to consider alte

governor desantis has made a calculation early on. senator grassley from iowa, his annual effort, of every one of iowa's 99 counties company has won you to hear. -- won each year. governor desantis will have visited every county. you mentioned senator scott. really for all the folks here in iowa. what i said, there's still time for one of those candidates to make a surge, and that is their best shot moving forward, here in iowa. are we seeing the impact of that on the ground? not yet, i would not say, but there is still time. senator scott has been here. i was voters are familiar with him. it will be interesting to see if he has an impact, but it is early. host: here is a headline from a piece that you wrote in the gazette, saying that, keeping the faith, crucial to presidential candidate, a deep conviction drives evangelicals to participate in caucuses. talk about that voting block. guest: yeah. they are critical to iowa republican primary elections. it is also the reason that they are very committed, i think, if the word they used,

desantis versus newsom, florida versus california.tate versus blue state, that's the great thing about a republic, you get to choose. if you go by economic performance, seems that florida wins and hands down but this is a political debate on tv where style and appearance and tone also count. all that's coming up on "the evening edit" coming up next. ♪ ♪ the biggest ideas inspire new ones. 30 years ago, state street created an etf that inspired the world to invest differently. it still does. what can you do with spy? ♪ (baby cooing) - [joe] sacrifice. surrendering your desires for the sake of someone else. sometimes sacrifice is tedious. sometimes it's rewarding. and sometimes it takes everything you've got. (man yelling) - i love you guys. - i love you too. - be careful son. (rotors whirling) (beeping) - [joe] sacrifice. surrendering your desires for the sake of someone else. sometimes it's tedious - [father] you're doing so great son. - [joe] sometimes it's rewarding. sometimes it gives you back more than you could've ever imagined.

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>> ainsley: who is that desantis? >> brian: i'm talking about ron desantis.e is the issue and how to handle it. frustration he can't gain on president trump without him being there. i do think some of his criticisms are a dry hole on the republican stage. because we know that he -- the president built 450 miles of wall, would have finished it if the republican house gave him the money. they gave them omnibuses ramped up the. shut down of the government which would have been problematic. and even tried to shut down tiktok and stop sanctuary cities but it was stopped in courts. many of those people were put in place by democratic presidents. so we have a system where we're not an absolute monarch. you can get some stuff done, after a while you can only do so much. look at joe biden with his student forgiveness on loans. >> ainsley: i want to hear what they thought about abortion, too. we had a big conversation about that after the election. nikki haley said i am pro-life, but we don't need to judge people who are pro-choice. she said i had a roommate in college

on the other hand, donald trump, ron desantis going after donald trump has not been good for ron desantis, it could be the presidential race has revealed his weaknesses. he looked strong as a governor but some of his weaknesses which are connecting on a personal level are exposed on the trail. pete: he had to fight back. rachel: he had to direct all of it. will: those voters i spoke to earlier, and nikki haley supporter who campaign cochair, jazmine jordan is a republican iowa voter and what they felt about the upcoming race. >> political momentum, nikki has and she's booming, everywhere she shows up there are more and more people flocking to her banner. >> there's a divide. with nikki haley it is a shift on foreign policy. with trump you see america first. i know what i am getting with donald trump. he is consistent. he is reliable. he has the track record to prove he sticks to his word, something i'm passionate about, actions speak louder than words and he delivers. rachel: i don't think there is a neocon surge in the party. we are exhausted by war. pete: i'm not telling you if it is a

please join me in welcoming ron desantis. the next president of the united states. >> what a speech. thank you governor reynolds. thanks for the first lady of florida for a great introduction. we are excited to be here and honored to have governor reynolds support. we are also happy to say my wife has been making this promise to everybody. when we are in the white house, the only thing our kids will be bringing back his homework. not cocaine. don't worry about that. governor reynolds is one of the greatest governors in the united states. one of the greatest governors the state has ever had. and part of it is that she has a great head on her shoulders. she stands for the conservative values we all believe in. she delivers really big results. she has been willing to do that when it is not easy. ultimately it is the test of the leader. it is easy to lead when the wind is at your back. a little harder when you're facing some turbulence. when i was going through what we were going through with covid, i think kim and i were the onl