desantis' candidacy, and donald trump has a personal animosity toward ron desantis. he was very angry and viewed desantis as disloyal for running in the presidential race after trump endorsed him. i do think that desantis immediately offering his endorsement to donald trump is something that will help and clearly, you're seeing donald trump himself and also the people around him be very gracious with desantis dropping out and saying that they're honored by his endorsement and so i think they'll stay tuned to see whether or not we may see desantis on the trail with trump at some point in the future. >> that's a great distinction, in terms of trump feeling particularly bristling at the fact that desantis would compete against him on the campaign trail in this go around because in 2016, of course, you know, donald trump didn't have a problem with marco rubio, chris christie or ted cruz eventually being surrogates even though they were initially his competition, too. it is dint here, too. we'll see before ron desantis will become a surrogate since he's announced his endo

desantis has double-digit support.ou can see a universe where trump aggregates something like 60% in haley's home state. mo.guy: can she get a result new hampshire? that puts win and her sales where she can go home work for a month and try to write her own comeback story on her own turf that's of the campaign is rooting for. i think were reading ahead to what comes next. i want to linger for a moment on this huge outcome today which is ron desantis getting out of the race before new hampshire even voted obviously is a huge disappointment relative to expectations, i think his high expectations were rooted in reality look back late 22, really 23 had a viable chance of becoming the nominee. after the new york indictment came down from alvin bragg in new york city, you started to see the polling average pull away from donald trump, people rallied around trump because they view that particular as illegitimate partisan, i'm not sure any campaign even a flawless campaign can overcome that dynamic. let's be honest this was not

and today, 32% picked desantis. yesterday, 34% said desantis.day, 37% said desantis would be their second choice. and today 10% said haley would be their second choice. and yesterday and friday, 7% picked haley. so one else with 17.6 average over the last three days. but again, the big news right now is, as it is officially a two horse race on the republican side, with desantis suspending his 2024 campaign and endorsing the former president and eric, it's not a big surprise, but it definitely is big news ahead of the new hampshire primary. that is arthur eric shawn here in new york. also, it is just a huge victory, potentially for former president trump with the vanquishing of ron desantis in this race, as you said, leaving it now basically down to a trump. haley race. so we'll have to see what happens on tuesday at the new hampshire primary. haley will obviously likely do much better than she did in iowa with many independents. there are more undeclared voters in new hampshire than republican or democratic voters. there are 873,000 or so regist

ron desantis was doing the opposite.have saved him, i agree, it would be almost impossible against donald trump. but he didn't even try. >> this is a guy, obviously, coming from florida, he has to at least think of the diversity of that state and say, okay, if i can navigate the politics of florida and the diversity of florida, i should be able to take the lessons learned from there in apply that to the broader america. he did the complete opposite. he alienated black voters, he alienated women voters, he alienated latino voters. even voters in florida who may be more moderate and perhaps even liberal lgbt voters who thought of themselves as republican in florida, he alienated everybody he needs to to build a coalition to take on donald trump. >> yeah, listen. i think what happened with desantis's i think they locked in his basic framing of moving, you know, being super maga, even being at the right of trump on things, in the summer of 2022, when everyone thought a big red wave was gonna come. when desantis was doing rea

desantis 9. desantis 10. desantis 11. desantis 12. desantis 13. desantis 14. desantis 15.esantis 16. desantis 17. desantis 18. desantis 19. desantis 20. desantis 21. desantis 22. desantis 23. desantis 24. desantis 25. desantis 26. desantis 27. desantis 28. desantis 29. desantis 30. desantis -- >> let's set that aside. we need a delivery. okay. okay, so no -- >> should not count. >> no. okay. okay, we need -- yeah. set that aside. >> the next one i picked up doesn't have -- >> a sticker on the back. >> a precinct. >> let's set it aside for right now. >> were we at 25? >> yes. 30. >> desantis 31. desantis 32. desantis 33. desantis 34. desantis 35. desantis 36. desantis 37. desantis 38. desantis 39. desantis 40. desantis 41. desantis 42. desantis 43. desantis 44. desantis 45. desantis 46. desantis 47. desantis 48. desantis 49. desantis 50. desantis 51. desantis 52. >> we're going to go back to the voting in clive. let me bring you a key race alert and look at thactual votes coming in. 34% of the estimated vote in for the iowa republican caucuses. it's more than a third of it.

remarks to run desantis. it probably hard to not take those things personally but as we said things change he is now back the former president donald trump. he did also go after it nikki haley focusing his attacks on her pretty trump holds 50% support among likely republican voters here in new hampshire. his closest competitor right now former south carolina governor nikki haley she says that 39% that's according to brenda poll that just came out this morning here in the first in the nation states for the ongoing election cycle hear from among new hampshire's registered voters trump is by far the favorite there sitting at 67% though new hampshire governor is continuing to tell us he does not believe trump is a real conservative. he has endorsed nikki haley and believes she can do much better among the undeclared voters will have to see how that all fares out for it as you heard fox news at digital just talked with the former president a short time ago he said he is very honored to have the endorsement by ron

president trump who mocked ded desantis det on the campaign trail, showed -- >> now there were desantis supporters who still showed up to restaurant, they spoke to us, they were disappointed but they understood why he made this decision to drop out. one supporter telling us he is not sure who he will support now. >> i will not support nikki haley, he behavior in this race is beneath republican nominee, donald trump has never been something of father of two young children i could support in white house, it will be difficult to stomach either one of those va candidates. >> decision to drop out did not come out of left field, rumors started lating saturday night that campaign may be ending when desant de. campaign tried to squash any talk about the governor pulling out of the race. the rumors they turned out to be true. ron desantis once considered front runner for withinner t2024 race for president has dropped out. >> thank you so much. >> we go to martha maccallum who spoke with president trump before his rally. you got the first interview after this, what did president trump say. report

ron desantis does not have what it takes. and you could see the way things were lining up, that where pressure on, predictive of how he would handle the national spotlight. first of, all he allowed himself to be defined by donald trump four months before he was able to respond. because he wasn't declared candidate until may. so all that fawning coverage was going on, and he wasn't really able to defend himself against trump's attacks well that funding coverage was going on, because trump said, no no, we're gonna blunt that right away. and, so that was months of that. and also, ron desantis, you have to remember, one of his closest political allies was susie wildes. and he fired her a couple years ago. guess who hired her and who's running champ campaign? donald trump. donald trump hired ron desantis's closest political ally and consultant, and she knew where all the bodies were buried for ron desantis, and several other staffers that used to work for him went over to donald trump. so they knew you had to needle ron desantis a

ron desantis coming to trump.she says the fellas, what she's saying is the boys don't want me to have this but i'm here anyway. which is not allowed to say, because she's a republican woman running in a field, they're doing this to me because i'm a woman, donald trump is bringing claims against me because i'm a woman of color, republican voters an expert after experts say, this data after data point that i found while i was writing my book pointed this out as well. grassroots republican voters hate anything that reeks of gender identity politics. it means she's in a box to the way that she can talk about it, she needs to make sure she saying, i know i look different, i sound different, everyone has eyes, they can see that. but that's not the reason why you vote for me it's all merit, which of course it is. >> she'd write a great book about that if she averaged. it don't know if she. well we need to take a break, michael steele who's been up since the crack of dawn today, he hosted a morning show, i want to thank y

will that be enough for ron desantis tonight?- ron desantis tonight? and — ron desantis tonight? i don't know, and first _ ron desantis tonight? i don't know, and first of _ ron desantis tonight? i don't know, and first of all - ron desantis tonight? i don't know, and first of all it's - ron desantis tonight? i don't know, and first of all it's a . know, and first of all it's a personal endorsement, not a ministry endorsement. but we always say we don't want to be always say we don't want to be a kingmaker, buta standard—bearer. my endorsement isn't so much about me but the people of iowa and america weighing in, letting them choose. as i even told ron desantis, my endorsement is worth one vote. now trump will also compete for that evangelical vote, somehow keep, or can he compete? he's got a record. in his first term, he appointed three supreme court justices, the abraham accords, so a lot of evangelicals are appreciative of the former president. does that mean they'll stay with him or turn they'll stay with him or turn the page and move to a governor

desantis: no, no.owed how it is done in flig appeared we can do it -- we showed how it is done in flora. we can do it. >> good answer on the bureaucracy. gov. desantis: there you go. all right. thanks for coming. ok. you live local here now? good. good tsee you. thank you. gobless you. thanks, guys. thanks for coming out. >> [indiscernible] i enjoy every point being made out there. gov. desantis: we are going to get it done. [indiscernible] all right. thank you very much. >> [indiscernible] it is also a gift to you. gov. desantis: who is taking it? thank you. ok good. can you hold that? thanks so much. happy new year to you guys. good. yes. when do you go down to lehigh? we should be there already. gov. desantis: you have to wait for the caucus. >> i felt. gov. desantis: are you doing ok? ok. [indiscernible] how are you? >> i'm doing well. gov. desantis: thanks for coming. really? ok. wow. [indiscernible] do you want to be in it? she is bacng away. ok good. we got it? thank you. ok. honestly, the stuff

nikki haley and ron desantis? >> i thought desantis delivered one of the best performances i have seen him give in the entire campaign. he has improved the last several weeks. made no mistakes. it was center cut conservative content. i thought he had an incredibly strong night. i thought on nikki haley where she always shines, head and shoulders above everyone in my opinion is on foreign policy. she knocked that topic out of the park. for people who have been arking that they are not hitting donald trump hard enough, they put that to bed tonight. because i thought both desantis and haley came and whacked donald trump pretty hard on a number of topics. what i was most surprised at was that they didn't really whack each other. >> desantis, usually he is cold toward the audience and warm toward donald trump in this weird way. it was reverse this time. he was warm with the audience and cold-blooded going after donald trump. where has this guy been? if he had been around a couple of months i thought he might have done

the people that committed the run for the desantis turnout that it will be a very good night for desantis think it was shocked the country. >> in terms of the operation that you have seen, they have done a lot of doorknocking . and do they have a big turnout operation for tomorrow and the weather? >> they have an incredible turnout operation to make sure they remind people to get out to caucus and getting them rides if they need to have rights. it's an incredible organization and we compared one time with ted cruz is a great organization but there fred flintstones and ron desantis is like the jetsons. and we had a poll up about the enthusiasm of various candidates with trump is 88% enthusiasm and 32% for nikki haley. some had pointed to what they believe to be the late surge of momentum by nikki haley. it seems that a lot of these people may be independents or people who may not necessarily vote for either desantis or trump if nikki haley is not in the race. what do you think of her support? >> i see her as the modern-day mitt romney. she may galvanized the support but the key thing is th

the couch, baccari likes to say, the desantis team has the governor's operation. >> desantis people haven knocking on a lot of doors for a long time. >> they have the governor's time and the governor's boom and complacency will be an issue and on team desantis and the better than expected turnout and on the haley campaign probably a little worse and on trump, the enthusiasm will be bolstered by also people calling and their neighbors calling, do you need a ride? i'll take you in my suv and there will be a lot of that tomorrow. >> to your point, in the poll said most would vote for nikki hail over donald trump so these are want not true and true through bred republicans because i don't see people in democrats impeach. >> they're -- it's a huge ooh we have to make know educated case about the future including cnn's post-debate town hall. there were voters who watched all five of these debates and one said i'll wake up and see how i feel monday morning and then decide to vote. they've taken the information and making these calculated decisions and sometimes they wake up and they feel how th

lisa desjardins is at ron desantis' watch party.his was not the result the desantis campaign wanted, a clear and decisive win for former resident trump. tell us what folks in the room are telling you and reacting to the news. lisa: i can tell you that there is not yet anyone saying they are disappointed, but the eyes of the supporters of ron desantis in the room look like they would like a different outcome clearly. there are folks coming in who said if desantis ended the night in the 20%, that is something that could help him continue on his campaign so we are watching the numbers. everyone here is watching the numbers mostly. second third, the position may matter very much to this campaign. they had more staff in this state and spent more, desantis bet everything on iowa. second or third could matter in terms of who stays in the race and what future trajectory he has, if he can be against president trump in the future. the conversation is the call by the associated press that happened as i was reporting to you, before many caucus-

that's what desantis did. he didn't have do it, but you might as well -- his advisers said, do it quickly and not have the question hanging over, is he going to support him, is he going to endorse him? he is 43 years old. he has a long future should he want one. that's why he decided to endorse tonight. there's no up side in not, at least politically speaking, never mind the hypocrisy of what he said about the former president. >> no question about it. he is eating those words tonight. jeff zeleny, thank you very much. >>> let's discuss now with stewart stephens. he is the author of the book "the conspiracy to end america." a lot of ground to cover. some might pertain to your book. let me ask you to comment on the news first. desantis' etcxit, does it come a shock? what do you think it means? >> not a shock. this race has been set in stone since really the republicans decided that when trump was indicted, that they were going to rally around him. that's when this race ended. it could have gone the other way. r

ron desantis won by a large margin. but they failed to realize is that people don't want what they are giving. >> chevron jones, i want to thank you very much, particularly being here at this moment where we are talking about your governor and the suspension of his campaign. thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> welcome to all of you to alex witt reports. we have this breaking news, the huge revelation that sources tell rhonda santas is ending his campaign for president. we're going to go right now to dasha burns in manchester who is tracking the campaign. tell us more. what have you been told specifically about this? >> well, look, florida governor ron desantis just tweeted moments ago saying, success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue which counts. that's a quote from winston churchill. alex, we talked earlier today wondering about what these last-minute moves were going from south carolina, making this last-minute pivot to new hampshire. here you have it, suspending his campaign which ha

ron desantis does not have what it takes. and you could see the way things were lining up, that where pressure on, predictive of how he would handle the national spotlight. first of, all he allowed himself to be defined by donald trump four months before he was able to respond. because he wasn't declared candidate until may. so all that fawning coverage was going on, and he wasn't really able to defend himself against trump's attacks well that funding coverage was going on, because trump said, no no, we're gonna blunt that right away. and, so that was months of that. and also, ron desantis, you have to remember, one of his closest political allies was susie wildes. and he fired her a couple years ago. guess who hired her and who's running champ campaign? donald trump. donald trump hired ron desantis's closest political ally and consultant, and she knew where all the bodies were buried for ron desantis, and several other staffers that used to work for him went over to donald trump. so they knew you had to needle ron desantis a

it's actually quite simple what happened to ron desantis. ron desantis was never well liked.n was never well run. and as a result, his super pacs ended up not being well resourced for those reasons. his strategic message was also never well received. and so what it seems like to me is after he won his election for governor, his re-election for governor, he became the golden boy. but at the end of the day, he was always really just a gop mirage. everyone who was dying to turn the page from trump focused all of their hopes and dreams and promises on ron desantis. and so he was like this glistening, beautiful, glittering thing in the desert, but when you got really close up to him, there was no there there. he was more like a lifeless political carcass, even from the moment that he announced his campaign. let's remember what a debacle that was on twitter. and so he never really got off the ground because there was so much pressure put on him to be the golden boy that was going to take the republican party from the stranglehold of donald trump into the promise land. and he was ne

and what happened with desantis?e was so unready for it that he got flummoxed by a 15-year-old kid. what did the desantis campaign do in new hampshire? they threw him out of a town hall. this wasn't a candidate that was built to last and wasn't ready to take the blows that donald trump rained down upon him, knorr was he able to throw his own punches as well. >> thank you so much. really appreciate it. jeff, stay warm. we'll have you back later in the program if you're still around. >>> still ahead, the trump and haley campaigns are reacting to desantis dropping out. we're going live to reporters on the ground next. >>> more now on the major shakeup to the republican presidential race, just two days ahead of new hampshire primary, as ron desantis exits the race and endorses donald trump. cnn's -- is with the trump campaign in rochester. alaina, how are they reacting? >> reporter: well, jim, i'm told -- my colleague kristen holmes and i are told that donald trump is expected to address desantis dropping out of the camp

trump commending him, what is in it for desantis? what is he after here? i guess he saw some good examples of ring kissing and decided to imitate it. who knows what was going through his mind other than the fact he certainly wants to run the next time. whether he will be credible as a candidate after this disaster is run, remember, he was originally supposed to be trump's main challenger and most of the establishment and the republican party was a betting on him. and his campaign crashed and burned. this was really a disgraceful enterprise in so many different ways. but in his mind, at least right now, as he is coming to terms with the demise of his dream, he is thinking about running in 2028. well-being associated with nikki haley is not going to help you because this party has already become the donald trump party or the maga party and it will be, in all likelihood, even more so as the years go on. so being associated with nikki haley is not a good thing for ron desantis future ambitions. >> so could he serve as a surrogate to perhaps for trump, do you t

ron desantis coming to trump.ellas, what she's saying is the boys don't want me to have this but i'm here anyway. which is not allowed to say, because she's a republican woman running in a field, they're doing this to me because i'm a woman, donald trump is bringing claims against me because i'm a woman of color, republican voters an expert after experts say, this data after data point that i found while i was writing my book pointed this out as well. grassroots republican voters hate anything that reeks of gender identity politics. it means she's in a box to the way that she can talk about it, she needs to make sure she saying, i know i look different, i sound different, everyone has eyes, they can see that. but that's not the reason why you vote for me it's all merit, which of course it is. >> she'd write a great book about that if she averaged. it don't know if she. well we need to take a break, michael steele who's been up since the crack of dawn today, he hosted a morning show, i want to thank you for stickin

nikki haley and ron desantis. >> i thought desantis delivered one of the best performances i've seenive in the entire campaign. i think he's really improved over the past several weeks. he made no mistakes, it was center cut, conservative content on immigration, and other issues. i thought he had an incredibly strong night. i think nikki haley, where she always shines, head and shoulders above everyone in my opinion, is on foreign policy. she knocked that topic out of the park. i think for people who have been arguing that they are not hitting donald trump hard enough, and they put that to bed tonight. i thought both desantis and haley, came and whacked donald trump pretty hard on a number of topics. what i was most surprised it was that they didn't really whack each other. >> yeah that's a good point. >> desantis in particular, it was like where has this kind? been usually he's cold towards the audience, and kind of one towards donald trump in this weird way. it was the reverse this time. he was warm with the audience, and he was cold blooded going after donald trump. i was like, wh

what about ron desantis, in the same poll from the des moines register, 62% of ron desantis supporters say they will definitely attend the caucus. 56% for donald trump, 51% for nikki haley. the issue for ron desantis though they are committed, is where they might be in the state. he's making a big play for evangelical voters. everywhere you see on this map with the darker colors, who has the greatest percentage of voters, i will circle these areas right here. what do they have all in common? look at the populations. the places with the biggest circles have the greatest population, the smallest circles the lowest population. a lot of small circles there, for these evangelical areas where ron desantis was trying to run up the score, that means fewer caucus places at these precinct, a longer distance to travel over icy roads, that could be a problem for desantis getting his people those long distances to the polls. well, where do they have the most polling places? let me circle the areas right here with the biggest populations, let's figure out what they all have in common. i will take ou

when marco rubio endorsed don trump over desantis, i am imagine that desantis is so fatigued from thel trail they will not do the, but it is a powerful drug. he has until may or june to qualify for the u.s. senate race. maybe he pulls the trigger and does that. >> reporter: see ron desantis on the trail again. michael what do you have there. >> real quick, what i love about what david just said imagine that happened now, senator ron desantis is set up in perfectly as an incumbent u.s. senator to run for president two years later. >> reporter: oh my god, oh boy. [laughter] that's a lot to digest. we do have to sneak in a very quick break again, everyone is sticking around still. coming up the states days to go before the new hampshire primary. nikki haley opens up new lines of attack, openly questioning his mental fitness for office, we will be back after a quick break. quic break. woohoo! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. what's everybody waiting for? this? we all go, why not enjoy the go with charmin. and for a showe

. >> where did you meet ron desantis?ge together. i played football and he was the captain of the baseball team. >> what is the story we should know? >> on wednesday night there was a little bar called tj tucker's at the holiday inn, and they had karaoke night and we would go sing country music songs on wednesday night. >> what would ron desantis sing? >> i think we saying hank william songs. >> what did you think about them getting into politics as a guy you knew from college? >> he is the kind of guy you want to get into politics. before he got into politics he volunteered to serve our country in uniform and the united states navy, earned a bronze star in iraq, and people asked them to get into politics. >> did you go down to florida when he was running for governor? >> i have helped run his own career, helping him raise money when he ran for congress and of course when he ran for governor. there is a group of us here, all college buddies going back 25 plus years. various sports portal within three or four years of when

and that's ron desantis. he is the only one who has delivered on every single one of his promises, from school choice to tax relief for families, keeping the state open during covid. there is a reason why florida is number one destination for new movers these days. it's a free state, and if he could take that to the white house he could turn the country around. >> we know desantis' campaign has certainly poured a lot into this state. he has traveled almost every day to all 99 counties. where does he need to place tonight to be a success? is it within ten points of trump? >> listen, i'm not going to answer the directly. we're going to beat the odds tonight. expectations have been set very high for the former president with many polls predicting him winning by 30 plus points. ron desantis has put in the work. he's spent the time here. but as you mentioned nikki haley also has heightened expectations. she spent more than any other candidate in this state. she has attacked ron desantis with more money that's been

the headline of the day, ron desantis is out.g and hoping to get in as to how they feel about the news. why don't i reach in here from you, you're from massachusetts? >> from maine. >> woody thing about ron desantis decision today. >> i think it was the right thing to do, there is only one person that we need. >> you? >> i'm really happy, it shows who's in front and were going with the lead horse. >> let's work down the line, quickly in the time that we have, where is a gentleman. we were talking about earlier, the headline of the night that ron desantis has folded in this campaign and enforced donald trump, what do you think that does for the selection. >> every desantis motor is going to vote for trump now. he was a shoo-in anyways but desantis, i would love to see them as vice president and i would love to see him do eight years after trump serves. >> how long have you been in line? >> a couple of hours. >> ball mean? >> it's beautiful i would stand longer. >> we are getting in, we have a ticket. >> good luck to you, thank you

they are obviously happy to have desantis' endorse my donald trump had viciously attacked desantis, focusing the majority of his attacks on desantis. a lot of that, of course, is he was concerned about his candidacy, but also for personal reasons. donald trump has a lot of personal animosity, he calls his running a betrayal of him. will the campaign use him as a potential surrogate, and tout that on the trail. when i asked trump advisers about this, they told me it's still unclear. they're not sure if they're going to welcome desantis into this, or how they may use that endorsement. >>> hey, david, i would love to ask you to follow up on that. 2016, why would there be any rye luckettens on trump's part to embrace desantis as a surrogate? marco rubio, ted cruz, the list is long of many who dropped out of wray for the 2016 nomination and they ended up throwing support behind trump. what would temp be weighs on whether to embrace ron desantis? >> again, i think that any nominee, donald trump included if he's the nominee around, main mission is to unify the party, and really heal invite wounds f

and governor desantis -- desantis is prepared to do it. i appreciate your vehemence. i do think that president trump did some good things, but he did not do the things that he promised to do. if he did i would be supporting him for election again. but i believe we can do better with governor desantis and i believe that the american people will trust him more to get the task done while balancing the budding -- the budget and leading our country. i look forward to the votes being cast and i hope that is the way it ends up. but, as i say, that is why they play the game and we will see what voters have to say. host: andrew. new york. democrats line. caller: thank you and good morning. thank you for taking my call. question. everyone talks about having a secure border but no one talks about what that means. i presume we are talking about a brick and mortar wall 32 million miles -- 32 miles across the border -- host: i am sorry about that we are going to have to ask you to watch the language. as far as the approach which he was -- was referencing. if you wanted to elaborate

will we see ron desantis become a potential surrogate for the campaign?m our conversation with trump's team, there are no plans for him to show up on the trail with them but that could change in the coming weeks. rochester, new hampshire. >>> in the meantime, nikki haley is using the moment to try to win over ron desantis supporters, breaking down the strategy heading into the pivotal event. >> this news broke while nikki haley was at one of her many campaign stops at a clam shop, a lobster shack, she came out and said about ron desantis, he has really good campaign and been a good governor but now it is a two-person race between her and former president trump, that's what they have been saying in new hampshire for a while because of how he was polling solo and not competing the state. now it is a reality. and she was to pitch to potential ron desantis voters, here she is with dana bash today. >> they love america and they want a new generational leader, telling them that i am that new generational leader, look at the fact that we can actually win. that i

desantis a little more than $6 million.t's the desantis campaign and superpacs that support him. pro-trump has spent much less money because they entered the new year very confident. you have to schedule the tv time a long time ago. one of the reasons he saying come vote even if you're sick. they were so confident they have not spent as much on television, and now there's a debate whether that works or not. the reason he is saying vote if you're circumstances and erin, the key here is they have the phone numbers, so they're texting the people. are they telling the people who are afraid to drive themselves, we'll come get you and give you a ride? let's find out tomorrow. >> that's a crucial part of it, the ability to be able to mobilize and get people to vote. you, john, have been talking to the voters for five months now, and it's been interesting watching your reporting, because you've been talking about how they say they've been really seeing old school campaigning ahead of these caucuses. in a day driven by tiktok and so

he desantis, with a good “ob. he said the desantis, with a good job. said they did a desantis, with a good job. ho: said they did a good job, they are all having a good time together. what we emily project in these early moments of this speech is a gracious magnanimous attitude of somebody who is in their own mind, so clearly the front runner that he can afford to say all of these very nice things to people. we have seen speeches in the past where donald trump can come out fire and brimstone, on a revenge tour, criticising people, that is not what we are saying tonight and that is because he is very clearly not that concerned, he had a very good night and is trying to project he's floating above all these other people and he can afford to them on the head and say, good job, to them on the head and say, goodjob, guys, to them on the head and say, good job, guys, you to them on the head and say, goodjob, guys, you are to them on the head and say, good job, guys, you are very smart people. is good job, guys, you are very smart people-— good job, guys, you

so is desantis. but if he epds upcoming out of iowa in the same place as nikki haley, to me, that calls into question the value of all of that ground game here in iowa. >> having participated in this process for winning campaigns and losing campaigns, it turns out you can be really well organized, but you have to have a good candidate too. you have to have the product it's not just the deliverance of the product or the operation to bring voters. it all has to work together. and for the longest time in thisment campaign, he wasn't an effective candidate. he was fishing in trump's pond, and that was -- >> when you're working for a candidate, do you call them the product to their face? i would be curious. >> only after the fact on national television. >> we have to take a quick break. just ahead, a fact check on what we saw tonight at this debate and perspective from jeff zeleny. we'll be right back. >>> it was the final debate or the first contest of the 2024 election that played to an audience of iowa

trump's remarks today about desantis validated desantis' remarks last week about trump. desantis was a loser, a failed governor who never would have been elected if not for me and all of a sudden he is a statesman what ran a great campaign. it's a reminder for trump, much liked edmedieval court, there'se qualification for leadership, loyalty and sublimation to the leader. it's really about bending the knee. once you do that, you are in the graces. as long as you don't do that, it doesn't matter what else you are doing. that was a potentially powerful argument from desantis if he had waited -- if he had not waited until the weekend before the iowa caucus. you see where he is today. >> one thing that desantis did this weekend by bowing out of the race, he did throw a life line to the former president a little bit who is going through a rocky news cycle, heading into this new hampshire primary. he had the notable gaff friday night confusing nikki haley with nancy pelosi. earlier today at this rally, he was saying that he is fine, he is notly impaired. he says, they are tryi

president trump who mocked d desantis d on the campaign trail, showed -- >> now there were desantis supporters still showed up to restaurant, they spoke to us, they were disappointed but they understood why he made this decision to drop out. one supporter telling us he is not sure who he will support now. >> i will not support nikki haley, he behavior in this race is beneath republican nominee, donald trump has never been something of father of two young children i could support in white house, it will be difficult to stomach either one of those v candidates. >> decision to drop out did not come out of left field, rumors started lating saturday night that campaign may be ending when des de. campaign tried to squash any talk about the governor pulling out of the race. the rumors they turned out to be true. ron desantis once considered front runner for within2024 race for president has dropped out. >> thank you so much. >> we go to martha maccallum who spoke with president trump before his rally. you got the first interview after this, what did president trump say. reporter: you can hear the cro

clearly before we begin i would like to take time to congratulate ron desantis. and, of course, a really terrific person, i have gotten to know his wife, casey, for having run a grant great campaign for president. he ran a really good campaign, i will tell you it is not easy. they think it is easy doing this stuff, right? it's not easy. but as you know, he left the campaign trail today at 3:00 p.m.. and in so doing he was very gracious that he endorsed me. so i appreciate that. i appreciate that, and i also look forward to working with ron and everybody else to defeat crooked joe biden. >> what a difference just a few hours make. this is a complete 180 from the type of rhetoric we heard donald trump use just this weekend in manchester, new hampshire on saturday trump was criticizing ron desantis and this is also the first time, i want to note, that he is actually referred to the florida governor by his real name instead of the nickname that he has given the florida governor, which is ron the sanctimonious. but i think one thing we should be watching for is whethe

ron desantis is only polling at 6% here in new hampshire. the fact that he endorsed donald trump, the fact that there was no love lost there, the fact that it looks -- if you talk to -- if you just listen to desantis and others, that there is an air of -- for donald trump. any chance that they think they can get at least some of desantis' supporters there? >> i do think they think they can get desantis supporters. her pitch to desantis supporters is she's the one that can win in a general election. when you see the matchups between haley and biden versus former president trump and biden, she does do better. those are theoretical matchups. she really does like to talk about those. that's one thing we're watching for her to keep bringing up on the campaign trail. >> you mentioned judge judy. i did have a chance to listen to her before she went out on the stump with nikki haley. listen to why she is supporting the former governor of south carolina. >> i want to be proud of america. i want to be able to listen to our commander in chief, whoever

desantis was asked not about these issues. in addition to these issues, he was asked by a voter about why he's not going after trump. >> why are you not going after trump? >> he won't debate. he's not willing to get on a stage. he's not willing to answer questions. he's in mar-a-lago. so show up and debate. he's basically making a mockery of this whole process by not showing up and answering people's questions. he doesn't think he needs to. >> it's process. it's not really substance. certainly not anywhere near. nobody is going anywhere dloez where chris christie is going, which is the guy is not fit to be president. he tried to overthrow democracy. >> what desantis did is he was afraid to criticize trump at all. he would not take them on on the criminal indictments because he saw the rally to him. he he took him on very few issueses. and over time, trump kept slashing and attacking him and driving his numbers. if you remember, there was this moment at the end of 2022 where desantis was very popular. trump contributed to a tou

ron desantis did not connect because it is difficult to know huron desantis really is. i've heard people say, he's the nicest person i've never met. well once you meet him, and you get to know the real rhonda santas, or get to be interact with him, i believe that governor desantis is a person who will do and say anything as we just heard from his pulling out of the race, and what he said's. what i think he'll do and say anything to become president of the united states. look, good riddance, it's a good day for america. one more person that's bad for america's out of the presidential race. >> carlos, take a listen to nikki haley responding to the news that desantis suspended his campaign this afternoon? >> we just heard that ron desantis has rocked dropped out of the race. i want to say to iran, he ran a great race, he's been a good governor. we wish him well. having said, that it's now, one fella and one lady laughed. >> how do you think this news will impact her show tuesday night in new hampshire? >> well, rev, nikki haley ran and won the race a second place. the theo

if ron desantis cannot beat donald trump _ ron desantis cannot beat donald trump in — ron desantis cannothen the race _ beat him anywhere. when the race moved to new hampshire, independents can vote and it is a primary— independents can vote and it is a primary and the primary has many— a primary and the primary has many independents as republicans in some years. nikki — republicans in some years. nikki haley appeals to those independents and is probably our best— independents and is probably our best shot. the test here in iowa _ our best shot. the test here in iowa it— our best shot. the test here in iowa it will— our best shot. the test here in iowa it will be, can ron desantis get close to trump at all. �* ., desantis get close to trump at all. r ., ., ., desantis get close to trump at all. �* ., ., ., , ., desantis get close to trump at all. �* ., ., ., ., all. and to follow up on that, brad, if nikki _ all. and to follow up on that, brad, if nikki haley - all. and to follow up on that, brad, if nikki haley were i all. and to follow up on that, brad, if nikki haley were to l brad, if

>> ron desantis has dropped outt of the race.pplause] he ran a great race. he has been a good governor. and we wish him well. having said that. [inaudible] >> in a statement haley went on to say so far only one state has voted half of its votes went to donald trump and have did not but we are not a country of coordinations voters deserve a say in whether be good on the road of trump and the biden again or do we go down a new conservative road? on the campaign trail haley has made it very clear she says she is not a moderate she's been attacked for not being conservative enough. i asked her about this before the desantis news came out and this is what she had to say. >> i want support from conservative republicans, moderate republicans, independent conservative democrats we are focused on getting everybody because at the end of the day you don't bring america together when you got somebody saying who's a good republican who is a better publican? who is a good person who is a bad person? who is right and who is wrong? that's what's

ron desantis dropped out.show. >> thanks, jonathan, it's great to be back on with you. >> before we get to the big news we want to talk about, the 51st anniversary of roe v. wade, as someone that's run for president, i love your reaction to florida governor ron desantis dropping out of the race for presidential nomination? >> well, in some ways for those of us who've been watching this for the past year and seeing no controlled donald trump has on his own party, the thing that surprises me it was 56,000 people who voted for trump in the caucus in iowa, now it's starting to seem inevitable. donald trump, we all know what this means, the chaos, whether it comes to abortion rights, whether it comes to democracy. the thing that i think a lot of republicans were looking for was an alternative. that's why desantis ran, that's why he had supporters. and now we're back where we started with the same guy. >> right, as you well know, governor desantis signed into law a strict six-week abortion ban in his state in florid

ron desantis, trying to do the same thing. the pro ron desantis crowd needs to be built. you don't do that by carrying the donald trump down, 20 47. chris tried that, god bless him, he had a one state, one issue strategy, didn't work out, i applaud him, he's a good friend, he ran hard, it just didn't work out. it's not a winning strategy. especially when you talk to the republican base. the republican base that wants to see how we will galvanize the party together, how to bring the country together. i think they did a great job focusing on, where their focus needed to be, to build their base, their support, to have a strong showing in iowa. obviously, nikki isn't just trying to have a strong showing in new hampshire, she's on the verge of winning the state. it's a much different issue there. that's what you must do. you need to talk about yourself, grow your support. you don't just do that by focusing on the other candidates. >> they didn't focus on him much at all. do you think that is a nuanced question to ask, whether someone has the character to be president? do you t

she can't beat ron desantis. ron desantis can.said, as indictments matricalate into convictions and we start learning details in this stuff, his poll numbers will go upside down against biden and ron is only one that can win in november. >> shannon: congressman massie, for desantis team, thanks so much. up next, our sunday group, including bret baier, who has some scoop from president trump. >> miss any of today's program, listen any time anywhere, top news makers and sunday panel, take "fox news sunday" with you everywhere you go, download it at fox news podcast.com, or wherever you download your podcasts. news podcast.com, or wherever you download your podcasts. podcast.com, or wherever you download your podcasts. you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliab

i believe that ron desantis has all of those traits. he's demonstrated them as the governor of florida to these done so very effectively through some of the most difficult circumstances that governors have faced certainly in our lifetimes and he has shined effectively in a way that i believe would provide great national leadership. idi give you one example. while we worry about the national debt driving inflation and really getting out of control but we are losing control of our government because of the budget deficit. at the same time the governor of florida, governor desantis has reduced for this debt at 25%. i think they have now achieved the status as the lowest debt per-capita in the whole country. he's leaving florida in a positive direction that is the opposite of the federal government and that's one of those areas where president trump to increase the debt by more than any other president, does not look good on the scorecard if you will. for people like me who care about long-term fiscal sustainability and what we are passing

interesting comments from ron - desantis._ well, i desantis. was this expected?ell, i don't think this _ desantis. was this expected? well, i don't think this was _ desantis. was this expected? well, i don't think this was expected - desantis. was this expected? well, i don't think this was expected so - don't think this was expected so soon, because many analysts predicted that mr desantis would hang on perhaps until south carolina, the next primary vote. he did well in iowa, in the caucasus on the 15th of january. did well in iowa, in the caucasus on the 15th ofjanuary. he performed better than many people had predicted. but it was clear since the iowa caucuses that donald trump had a huge lead, a lead that seems almost impenetrable, so i think this won't come as a huge shock, that another candidate has dropped out. but you know, i think the timing is crucial of this, just two days before the new hampshire primary, the crucial vote, and donald trump already has a commanding lead there. nikki haley is now left in the two horse race with donald trump. what does t

let's start with desantis. he's out of the race of course, he's endorsed donald trump, what do you see as the impact of that on the overall race? >> i think the movement of voters is less important than the signal to the broader electorate. desantis support had dwindled in new hampshire, and south carolina, and while more of his voters are likely to go to trump then haley, there aren't enough of them to make a big material difference. i think the problem for haley is that this reinforces the signal sent by all of the other republicans who have been endorsing trump in the last few days and weeks, whether they are consolidating or capitulating, make your own judgment, but the risk is that it tells voters that the party has decided it's time to shut this down, some way similar to what happened for joe biden in early march 2020, when many of his former rivals unified behind him suddenly after south carolina. that's the problem and that there's a big block of voters that will follow his lead to donald trump. >> trum