donald and me.e are effectively tied in the state of iowa. >> reporter: trump skipping tonight's debate to hold a rival campaign event. that leads gop's arrows aiming straight at cruz. rubio previewing one of his lines of attack, calling cruz a flip-flopper on issues like immigration. >> time and again, ted is a calculated political operative. >> there are candidates in our race that are first-term united states senators. senator rubio. senator cruz. good people, but not prepared to be president of the united states. >> reporter: other candidates like rubio were eager to pile on cruz. tonight the biggest punches may come from rubio. >> i saw you on the senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance because they told you it would help in iowa. last week we saw you flip your vote on ethanol in iowa for the same reason. every single time there's been a defense bill in the senate, three people team up to vote against it. bernie sanders, rand paul, and ted cruz. >> i appreciate your dumping your research

she was donald trump before donald trump was donald trump. 2008, she was the -- she was the one who was out there connecting with audiences, connecting with blue collar whites, mastering facebook and twitter, even before donald trump had done that. so i think this is really huge. really sort of doubles down on trump it trumpism. you will hear democrats, they've been sending out memosing talk about it as a dream ticket not really a dream ticket. >> senator cruz, before the official announcement from the trump campaign, he tweeted this, i love sarah palin. without her support i wouldn't be in the senate. regardless of what she does in 2016, i will always be a big fan. >> yeah. yeah. and sarah palin, to ted cruz as well, i was at an event with jake tapper in las vegas where he was interviewing sarah palin and she said, donald trump and ted cruz are both of her favorites. she loves ted cruz. so i'm sure this is deeply disappointing and i think ted cruz is on the losing end of this. i'm not sure, though, as much influence as she has with the tea party her influence among mainstream republica

eastern time and donald

i don't think he agrees with donald. he can even agree with donald.. >> i agree with you on the loyalty part. we both experienced that loyalty. i don't know that it's about megyn kelly. i don't know that it is for donald trump. and i don't know if it is for roger. in fact, according to the campaign manager, lewandowski for trump, said it is not about megyn kelly. it is how fox is dealing. you can argue fox news does symbolize something in the gop. >> right. >> is he trying to protect that? and megyn kelly is going to be fine. do you think that is really the battle line? >> it could be. look, they have treated donald fairly. they haven't gone overboard. i was one of his closest personal friends. they criticize said me. and they supported me back and forth. maybe donald is expecting too much from fox. >> does he win just by this conversation? nobody is talking about cruz. >> this may be what you and i have missed. from the beginning it is when is donald going to fall apart. but we're talking about donald. we're not talking about cruz. we're not talking

donald trump is a showman.hey put on a show today, and he's good at production, he's good at shows. that's out there and that's part of this. i'll go back to phyllis schlafly, when i read the text from what she had to say, it wasn't an endorsement. she was encouraging him saying this is the only one taking this on. it wasn't an endorsement like sarah palin gave an endorsement today. if glenn beck comes into iowa and endorses ted cruz, that will scoop the news from today and influence another segment of the caucusgoers. i stand with ted cruz and a full spectrum constitutional agenda. he's there. he's solid as he can be. i'm going to stand next to him all the way through this and i think he wins iowa. >> okay. i want to ask you this. this is our latest cnn poll of polls. this is in iowa, okay? it has ted cruz at 127%, and donald trump at 25%. if cruz loses iowa, what happens next? because it doesn't seem like cruz is going to win new hampshire. i ask you that because sarah palin has a lot of support in iowa. she

donald trump is a fool. he is free to be a fool; he is not free to be a dangerous fool on our shores. here are some of the foolish things that donald trump has said: the concept of global warming was created by and for the chinese in order to make u.s. manufacturing non-competitive. it's freezing and snowing in new york. we need global warming! of john mccain he said: he's not a war hero. he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured, ok, i hate to tell you. then he went on the offensive. he said a great wall in relation to mexico and nobody builds , walls better than me, believe me, and i'll build them very inexpensively, i will build a great, great wall on our southern border. and i will have mexico pay for that wall. mark my words. >> the honorable member makes an excellent case as to why donald trump is a buffoon, not a criminal. jack dromey: the remarks are daft and offensive. i defend people's right to be daft and offensive. i was chairman of the national council for civi

you know, donald is a fragile soul. you know, if she asks him mean questions, i mean, his hair might stand on end. we are effectively tied in the state of iowa. if he's unwilling to stand on the debate stage with the other candidates, then i would like to invite donald right now it engage in a one-on-one debate with me any time between now and the iowa caucuses. >> so, gloria, the question is could this move by trump end up working to ted cruz's advantage in iowa? >> reporter: it might, absolutely. i think it was very clever of cruz to try and challenge donald trump to a one-on-one. i doubt he would did it, by the way. but i think, you know, cruz is making the point, as in fact fox news made, you know, in a way, look, if you're afraid of megyn kel kelly, what else are you going to be afraid of? fox's is that correc fox's snark i think is what got to donald trump and i'm going to talk to some advisers because it was clear this moved so quickly today. it's no seek contract that donald trump has a problem with megyn kelly

the donald trump campaign set the precedent tonight for refusing to debate, a precedent that donald trump will follow if he is the republican nominee. we may have already seen donald trump's final presidential debate. at his rally tonight in iowa, donald trump got one of his biggest reactions when he said this. >> when you're treated badly, you have to stick up for your rights. and i have to go a step further and say that fox has been extremely nice the last number of hours actually and they've wanted me there and they said how about now. they called a few minutes ago, how about now, can you come over? i said hasn't it already started. and we thought what we'd do is let them start and we wanted to be about 15 minutes into that hour so that by now they're all tuned in. look at all the cameras. this is it like the academy awards. >> you made it. rachel maddow got across the hall. we have the republican strategist and chuck todd, political director for nbc news. rachel, i floated this idea last night when you were in flint that this is the first debate that donald trump will refuse to partic

donald trump. >> sara with an h? joining us to discuss the state of the race is former presidential candidate, lindsey graham, who just last week endorsed jeb bush for president. great to see you. >> you can't do bigger than john wayne. >> that's true, but can you? can you? >> no. >> all the speculation. sarah palin may be the special guest. may be endorsing donald trump. some things people might know about you. one of your best friends is senator john mccain. also what people might remember is sarah palin was john mccain's running mate. donald trump questioned john mccain's war hero status over the summer. what would that mean if sarah palin now endorsed donald trump? >> if sarah endorses donald trump, it would be good for trump. i like sarah palin. i traveled the country with her. i appreciate her and her family very much. john wayne and sarah palin can't save donald trump from being crazy. if he's the nominee of our party, we're going to get creamed. he has an 81% disapproval rating with hispani

>> uh-huh. >> donald trump. >> okay. brad? >> i agree. i think donald trump will gain the most. he's sucking up all of the oxygen. we're not talking about the differences between the candidates. we're talking about donald trump not participating. which is smart. for him, it's probably smart. him doing the unconventional thing politically has turned out to be to his benefit. i do think it's a short gain for him. he's playing just in iowa and new hampshire and he's not thinking about the fact that he may be the nominee and insulting a woman like megyn kelly will have repercussions in the general election when other women will be turned off by that. >> quickly, adriana, do you think he's not going to show up at this debate? >> i don't think he's going to show up and it benefits the remaining candidates on the stage. there's been a lot of exchanges between jeb bush and others and so jeb bush must be relieved that he doesn't have to go up against donald trump. >> that's true. >> we'll leave it there. brad, adriana cohen, ana navarro, thank you for that interesting discussion. we appr

the first stop is the donald j. trump foundation and we're to assume the foundation will direct the money to veterans groups. this seems like a good time on a quick refresher the last time he did an event. it was back in september hosted by the group called veterans for strong america. they hosted and sold tickets to the event which people paid up to $1,000 to attend. turns out after digging they didn't appear to have any members at all and the staff, itself, appeared to consist of just a single solitary lone individual. oh, according to the ap, the group's tax exempt status was revoked was a it hadn't filed tax returns for three years. joining me is army veteran who served in iraq and afghanistan. brandon, it's great to have you on the show. i've long been an admirer of your twitter feed. i follow you quite avidly. i want to get your reaction to this very bizarre thing that happened last night in which donald trump says he's going -- fox should donate the money to the vets. ted cruz super pac said we'll pony up $2.

and donald trump should show up. now, if donald trump gets all his supporters to the caucuses, he doesn't need eththose undeci voters. with you a lot of those supporters haven't been participants before. that's the way i think this could affect things. >> why did that voter change his or her mind about donald trump? >> he changed his mind because he thought that trump of wasn't playing by the rules that had been set out. he didn't like what trump had said about megyn kelly and he just thought trump was being, as he put it, kind of rude and that didn't sit well with him. so he decided to go see marco rubio today. >> that's why people usually like him. and some veterans are saying, hey, don't use us as a prop. can this backfire on donald trump? >> that was the first thought i had when he announced this, both sides, cruz and trump, are using veterans as a political tool fl battle. first trump says i'm going to drop out. debate. maybe he's dropping out because he's doing what front-runners do, they don't want to debate,

donald trump. "ac 360" starts right now. >>> good evening, thanks for joining us. tonight the biggest, baddest. this time it's personal high stakes showdown in all of american politics. oh, yeah, and also the caucuses on monday. and that republican debate tomorrow. basically, sometimes bizarro planet called politics got knocked off its axis with fox news. that is him campaigning in north carolina. the showdown became a war last night when he backed out of the debate taking shots at moderator megyn kelly for he says treating him unfairly for a snarky press release that fox put out. today he called kelly a lightweight, because, as he put it, he refuses to call her a bimbo. calling her a bimbo, he tweeted, would be politically incorrect. that's the kind of day it's been. it's also been a day for fox news, which used to be a gop gate-keeper to scramble to fix things for trump and for trump not to care. he unveiled what he'll be doing tomorrow night. our jim acosta is traveling with the trump campaign.

, isis needs donald trump, and donald trump needs isis. isis needs to say on the one hand, muslims, you are under attack. donald trump needs to be able to say on the other hand, you are under attack by muslims. and that's why i strongly believe that he should not be allowed to come to our country. just think what would happen in the current climate if he came to birmingham, to london, to glasgow and preached that message of divisive hate. it would be damaging. it would be dangerous. it would be deeply divisive. >> the gentleman's making some really interesting points. the examples he's used though are more surely about donald trump being a bigot rather than hatred. britain is pretty good at roasting beef. do you not think it better that we just roast trump? >> i'm sorry. i don't think a debate like this calls for flippensy at a time like this. with the greatest of respect, when our police service and our security services are working night and day to prevent our country being attacked and when they need the support of the muslim community

donald trump. donald trump may have overreacted by walking away from the debate. the view from fox, trump was always looking for an excuse to get out of the debate. he didn't want to face ted cruz tomorrow night. you can choose to believe that or not to. this might be a petty, personal argument that's playing out in front of the whole country because these two men are so powerful. >> but brian, trump has talked about shenanigans with debates at just about every debate. he's talked about, maybe i won't do it, or maybe i'll -- >> maybe donate to -- right. >> so it's not completely out of the ordinary that he has an issue with the debate. or has been kind of toying with the idea. >> we are only -- more pressure on the line, more at risk. and, of course, he believes he has more power than ever, as he consolidates his lead. he knows other television networks will air his event tomorrow night and he'll get a lot of attention for it. and once again, he is like the puppet master, pulling the strings. >> an

. >> donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. >> trump's statement is a dangerous proposal that overrides history, the law, and the foundation of america itself. >> you're pitting donald trump, full throttle, ready to destroy anyone who gets in his way. ♪ ♪ >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews. i don't think this country's establishment politicians, the media, ever got this guy. they certainly underestimated him. not going anywhere. can't last. you know, with each week and each provocative statement, he held to his lead and went a bit further, saying president obama was foreign-born, an illegitimate president. calling for a wall along our southern border. making fun of women's looks. talking down to a top latino journalist. saying thousands of muslims in new jersey had cheered 9/11. and each time the knockout verdict came loud and certain. that's it. this guy's fini

and it becomes the hammer on donald trump -- whatever the question, they load on donald trump.t would be an mistake but i'm not counting on them doing anything. charlie: great to have you on the program. we will be right back. ♪ charlie: we continue now with politics and the back-and-forth between donald trump and fox news. joining me now we have gabriel sherman. he is the author of the loudest voice in the room, how the brilliant bombastic richard neal's bills. -- built fox news. megan, let me go to you in iowa. what is the talk and iowa about the impact of this? obviously we will not know until we see the debate and the numbers and what donald trump does. but having those kinds of restraints, what is the talk? >> it is the talk of the town. ebay talk is what you are flagging, will this be able to fit or something that hurts him? the overwhelming consensus of what you hear is that this is again going to help him. he has the upper hand and is showing the voters who is boss and he is walking away. he is using the tone that has made him famous. anytime you think with donald trump

now donald -- >> but i was born here. >> on the issue of citizenship, donald, on the issue of citizenshiping to use your mother's birth against you. [laughter]

tongue-in-cheek, reference to donald trump. last night, donald trump went awol. he left his position, his post because he did not want to stand up to fox news and megyn kelly. if you're are not going to stand up to megyn kelly, how are you going to stand up to china, to putin, to nuclear iran? he said he was going to repeal every word of obamacare and put ineffective reform that is beneficial to the country and its citizen. what ted cruz could have said is that donald trump's health care reform mirrors that of bernie sanders. it is a socialite system. that is what donald trump wants. on illegal immigration, i ted cruz hit it out of the park. he wanted more amnesty. he won at the borders to be basically less secure. we estimate of these people by not what they're saying today, but what is in their record. the other place enough it out of the park, in the state of iowa, he is saying, renewable fields will do better in the free market. given of the mandate, subsidies. , hee donald trump has been has been saying, i will grace the establishment because they know i am

. >> this is the beginning of the end for donald trump. >> the beginning of the end for donald trump. i will eat my right hand is the republican nominee. mark: happy 2016. the countdown is over and i was has begun. this month, you can expect major speeches. what matters more than anything else is which candidate has the strongest closing argument. we saw three candidates make their bed today. >> on donald trump and i approve this message. donald trump called it radical islamic terrorism. he is calling for a shutdown of muslims entering the united states until we can figure out what's going on. he will stop illegal immigration by building a wall. we will make america great again. mark: in new hampshire to top candidates put forward their own closing cases. >> i won in one of the toughest places in america. i know better than anyone how to prosecute. >> we need a commander in chief. which of these three arguments you think is the strongest? it's only the 1st avenue year. trump is the strongest closing argument. it brooks no quarter. he said two phases to his campaign, one stop illegal i

at the end of the day he is in it for donald trump and donald trump only, not the republicans and not -- >> what do you make of huckabee and santorum going to this event? >> other than the fact they're trying to get as much attention as possible? the old saying if you're going to get run out of town and come monday, they may be run out of town. if you'll get run out of town, get in front and make it look like a parade. that may be what they are trying to do. grasp on to the last embers of their own campaign and some attention toward their campaign. >> let's remember, these 24 guys who won the iowa caucuses and now are relegated to being like two little minnows that swim behind the shark. >> they are bobbles on donald trump's charm bracelet. >> but they don't like ted cruz. >> we will count their votes monday night and dr. carson's votes monday night. what those three get will have a lot to say about what the margin is at the top. >> this is not so much how much they love donald trump but how much they don't like ted cruz. >> and that's the big question. is this the first sign of other

this isn't about the country for donald trump, it's about donald trump.is erratic behavior is just inexplicable. the idea he's not going to participate in a presidential debate and let viewers discern for themselves the difference between the candidates because he has a problem with the host is just childish. >> you say it's childish. let me read to you what roger ales from fox news put out about donald trump today. there's this back-and-forth as you well know. whether trump would go or not go. roger ales puts out this press release today about donald trump. we learned from a secret back channel that ayatollah and putin intend to treat trump unfairly if they meet with him and he becomes president. let me just ask you, rick, if -- i mean, if something like that was said about your candidate by the head of a news organization, would ted cruz show up to that debate? >> it doesn't matter. roger ales is not running for president. i don't think the american people care about the back-and-forth between roger aels and donald trump. there's no reason to get out of

well, we're not that stupid, donald. you don't come to debate, and we definitively will not be caucusing for you. host: ann, you were a democrat. were you going to caucus for him? caller: no, my husband is but i will do everything in my power to make sure he doesn't. host: what are you going to do? caller: i'm a wife. i've got plenty to do. [laughter] host: point taken. who are you going to caucus for monday night? caller: hillary clinton. host: tell us why. caller: she is my girl. well, actually, i was really kind of going back and forth between hillary and bernie and after i watched her do the benghazi in front of congress, i was locked. she's my girl. i'm going with her all the way. host: ok. that's ann in des moines, iowa. we'll be covering the democratic caucus and republican caucus monday night. tune into her coverage here on c-span and c-span2 and c-span.org. on the democratic side, front page of the "washington times," bernie sanders praises obama says that his claims in the debate on monday night write obama car

i like donald trump, donald trump is very opinionated which doesn't make it easy for him for the debate. >> the youngest person here, have you ever voted for a president, before? >> no, sir. >> who won that exchange? >> i think ted cruz did from the opening statement. i think that he is willing to die for this country instead of staying on his knees. and i feel like donald trump isn't willing to do that. i think he's in it for personal gain. >> kim, what was so, either effective about what cruz said or where donald trump came up short on that exchange? >> he's so engaging. he just goes, goes, goes. quick, quick, quick, quick. i can't believe what he said. >> i want someone to defend donald trump. william, go ahead. >> donald trump is just making a point this is a weakness in the cruz campaign. whether it's fair or not, democrats don't play fair. he was just making that point to cruz. >> go ahead. >> i just don't -- he sounded honest. i like honesty in politics. it's hard to find. >> he had honesty out of these politicians? >> no. but i love to hear something that sounds more honest than

when donald trump is attacked by the republican establishment, oftentimes it boomerangs and helps donald personally i'm not a simon and garfunkel fan. it was not rest signatureating. even people in this studio right now happen to like it. but the noticeable thing of that isstt( very pro-american. it wasn't an attack ad. he wasn't taking down hillary clinton or the g.o.p. at all. it was just pro-bernie. >> right. which is that bernie sanders is winning right now or at least tied in these states by not talking about email. not attacking hillary clinton really. talking about his agenda, talking about the middle class. beating up, yes, on millionaires and billionaires. let's face it his programs money. he doesn't want to talk about that necessarily. you notice we should, to be fair, point out that he doesn't mention any of his plans in there he makes it about the people. well, part of that may be he doesn't want to talk about his socialist policies. we shouldn't completely let him off the hook. on the other hand, you are right, i think it was a completely positive ad compared to the slashing

number one, donald trump is not a conservative. and two, we wanted to make the point, not the so-called establishment that's opposing trump, in fact, as we speak, you have elements of the political hiding under their desk, figuring out how they can co-op or deal with donald trump. we want to win this election. we want to do it with a consecutive and we think we can. >> rich, you wrote this morning, this is what national review exists to do, to plant the flag for conservativism, have you missed your chance, has trump led for too long? >> i object the notion because he's at 30% at the polls. this thing is effectively over. look, we knew we could get a lot of blowback from this issue. it's particularly rich that donald trump invoked william f. buckley and said buckley would be ashamed of what we have done. in fact, buckley wrote about donald trump in 2000, he called him a nar sissist. >> alex, you have a different month, you tried to get an anti-trump thing going, you had no takers. is the gop going to have to live with a trump nomine

donald trump did not.ing there, he avoided some tough questions and perhaps answers that would have put him in hot water. >> all right. john berman reports live from des moines. many thanks. my next guest says he was contacted by the trump campaign and will be receiving some of the funds that were raised last night. joining me now by phone, keith howard. he's the executive director of liberty house. he's also an army veteran. keith, good morning. >> good morning. thank you very much for having me. >> thanks for being with me. when did the trump people contact you? >> i was contacted by a colonel jolly yesterday afternoon around 4:30, and to be honest, i was afraid i was being punked. he said that he was representing the trump foundation, and would like to make a donation to liberty house, i called him back from a different number thinking this might be a college newspaper prank, but everything checked out, and then this morning i went online and saw that liberty house is one of the 22 organizations that th

donald trump has tamed into that.died the very notion i'm a billionaire and i work hard every day and if you work hard every day there's aspirational things that if you live right and play by the rules you can have donald trump's version of the american dream and there are people who latch onto that saying, you know, this is the right way to go down. i certainly understand his lure among the base. >> it's interesting they feel so disconnected. >> donald trump is singing their song. singing with us this morning.- nice to see you. >>> we're following breaking news on the armed group who took over buildings. ammon bundy and several of his followers arrested during a traffic stop. shots were fired killing one of the ranchers, robert "lavoy" finicum. that brings the total number in custody to eight. ammon bundy's father cliven responded by telling the "l.a. times," quote, we believe that those federal people shouldn't even be there in that state and be there in that county and have anything do with this issue. i have some

i think donald trump did well. i think it was his best debate performance, and he drl own that new york values moment. i thought he was even a little emotional, and i thought it was in some ways a very touching answer. ted cruz did very well at the front of the debate. then he got in it with rubio, and i think that was less good for him. rubio i thought was okay, but i thought the winner probably was donald trump. and remember, what donald trump those do is win iowa. he doesn't have to win iowa big, but if he wins iowa, he'll win new hampshire big and he'll win south carolina big. and he'll have incredible momentum. someone needs to beat him somewhere in the first four states. >> elise, let me bring you in. you have, for example, joe scarborough saying this morning, if donald trump wins iowa, there is no stopping him. what is your belief there? >> well, i think there's a lot of truth to that. it's going to be interesting to see if trump can actually take iowa, since his ground game there in the caucuses are a very

it's not about donald trump. >> i kind of miss donald trump. he was a little teddy bear to me.ways had such a loving relationship in these debates and in between and the tweets. i kind of miss him. i wish he was here. >> let's start with msnbc's kerry sanders who covered the event this morning. trump and his campaign riding high there following that veterans' event. what are they doing to sustain that into the weekend through monday? >> it's amazing in that there is just a tremendous amount of energy following the fact that he did duck out of that debate, deciding not to participate. the crowd here seemed to cheer it on even more. donald trump has surprised folks, especially those who followed him all this time, admitted he is tired. but he couldn't stand the voters up. he made a commitment so he was here. i heard there were several hundred turned away in the cold who wanted to hear him speak. donald trump is leading in the polls here in new hampshire 31% to ted cruz's 12%, and while we don't know how he's going to do -- because they actually haven't had the caucuses yet in iow

donald trump and donald trump needs isis. isis needs to be able to say on undere hand that they are attack. donald trump needs to say on the other hand the you are under attack by muslims. that is why i strongly believe that he should not be allowed to come to our country. just think what would happen in the current climate. if he came to london, to glasgow and preached that message of divisive hate, it would be damaging, it would be dangerous, it would be deeply divisive. >> the gentleman is making some interesting points. these examples are more shortly about donald trump being a bigot rather than hatred. britain is pretty good at roasting beets. shouldn't we just roast trump? think aorry, i don't debate like this calls for flippancy at this time. with the greatest of respect, when our police service and our security services are working night and day to prevent our country from being attacked, when they believe the support of the muslim community, to have someone come to our shores who demonizes the entire community would

won't they just be taking pot shots for two hours at donald trump and donald trump not giving any response they're, you know, pygmies here at this stage. i'll tell you, john, exactly what this reminds me of is when ronald reagan fired the air traffic controllers when everybody said he couldn't do it and secondly, when he walked away from the negotiating table with gorbachev at reykjavik and everybody said you can't do that, either. in other words, the message delivered in both cases was be bold, be strong, be unique, be different. that's donald trump's message there in a nutshell. if he continues with this, this is his message and he's living up to it. >> so, alex, if you are one of these other campaigns right now, how do you respond? >> well, i think the interesting thing would be for one of these candidates, maybe all, to show up at the last minute at the trump event and say, donald trump, you can't get away from me. and let's have a debate right now. that would be a demonstration of strength as well. look, i hate to disagree with dana, but this is not about issues. if anybody thinks tha

donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the [ bleep ] is going on. [ cheers and applause ] >> the west will eventually turn against its muslim citizens. >> joining me now is republican presidential candidate carly fiorina. good morning and happy new year to you. let's start with that video. >> good morning, dana. >> good morning. what message do you take from trump's appearance in it? >> first, no one is responsible for isis ideology. i found it pretty rich that this isis propaganda tape talks about the cruelty of the west. these are after all people who crucify, behead, subjugate, rape anyone who does not share their radical islamist theology. so let's get real here. on the other hand, it's true that barack obama called isis a jv team, that hillary clinton along with barack obama declared victory in iraq and withdrew all of our troops precipitously against all the military advice

donald trump speaking now.t he's doing is introducing some veterans who are going to speak and stand at the podium for a moment and talk about their trials and what they've gone through as veterans. as he does that, we're going to continue on with our conversation and then we'll dip in as soon as donald trump starts to speak about policy or other issues. i want to bring in bicari sells. i found it very interesting that he has his rivals standing on stage with him in front of a big donald trump for president sign. >> well, they weren't just his rivals. these were the last two winners of the iowa caucus. this gave his ploy tonight some validation. not only did donald trump put his money where his mouth is, but he had rick santorum and mike huckabee get up there and erode all their valuables and principles so they'd have a camera following them. tonight is something we haven't seen before. those two weren't just some average joes. they have won here in iowa. and t is just amazing tv to sit back and watch. >> bob,

so i would invite donald.et's do the event -- he's been saying this past week that he thinks i'm stupid. that he should do very, very well in a debate with someone who is so stupid away from moderators that he is so afraid of. host: senator ted cruz withal chaleng to donald trump to debate him one-on-one before the iowa caucuses this monday. william in culpepper, virginia, what do you think? caller: i believe that fox news is trying to up their ratings. they just had a debate a couple weeks ago. host: fox business did. caller: yes. but that's still their affiliates. i believe that donald trump is right in doing this. host: why is that? caller: because like i said fox news is trying to up their ratings. and use him to do that with. donald trump has proven he's a brilliant guy. he's very successful. he's more successful than the rest of them. host: do you think that candidates should be able to pick the moderators? caller: well, i'm not saying that. but i'm just saying that fox news -- why should they be having

this is donald trump going after cruz. that could be a sign he is worried about his footing in some of these early states. >> sarah murray what the trump campaign. thank you so s much. as for the other candidates, they are flooding the campaign trail and the air waves today, attacking just about everyone and everything except the republican front-runner. phil mattingly is "out front" in new hampshire tonight. >> the political air war kicking into high gear. >> you want someone to read one hell of a bedtime story? ted cruz is your guys. >> reporter: across televisions, the republican primary has gotten tough on the issues. >> politics would be very different if lawyers or bankers were crossing the rio grande. >> reporter: on democrats. >> he's the one hillary doesn't want to run against. >> unlike some, his day is now booming. >> the only one escaping the onslaught? donald trump. >> he's calling for a temporary shutdown on muslims entering the united states. >> reporter: as trump's new ad hit the air waves in iowa, other ca

donald trump was out there in vegas today. joining me is jeffrey lord, a donald trump supporter. "what america needs: the case for trump." those will be duelling. bob, so many people, including people who know him well in congress and even people who know him well back to when he was a college student are saying negative things about ted cruz. are you worried this is going to stick? >> well, i hope it does stick because it's going to benefit ted cruz. as a matter of fact, ted krus has been very open. if you want things to be the same way they are, if you want to keep deal making and growing government and have less services to the people and keep the power in washington versus we the people, then he's not your guy. but if you want real change, if you want principled conservative leadership for the benefit of this country, ted cruz is your guy. so i think that now that donald trump is embracing he's the art of the deal guy, people like him, the establishment is liking him, that's going to benefit ted cruz. the environment today is not about deal making with washington, d.c. >> jef

i like donald trump, donald trump is very opinionated which doesn't make it easy for him for the debate. >> the youngest person here, have you ever voted for a president, before? >> no, sir. >> who won that exchange? >> i think ted cruz did from the opening statement. i think that he is willing to die for this country instead of staying on his knees. and i feel like donald trump isn't willing to do that. i think he's in it for personal gain. >> kim, what was so, either effective about what cruz said or where donald trump came up short on that exchange? >> he's so engaging. he just goes, goes, goes. quick, quick, quick, quick. i can't believe what he said. >> i want someone to defend donald trump. william, go ahead. >> donald trump is just making a point this is a weakness in the cruz campaign. whether it's fair or not, democrats don't play fair. he was just making that point to cruz. >> go ahead. >> i just don't -- he sounded honest. i like honesty in politics. it's hard to find. >> he had honesty out of these politicians? >> no. but i love to hear something that sounds more honest than

they like donald trump. they'll continue liking donald trump. if they don't like donald trump, then they'll continue not liking donald trump. the question is, those undecided voters who are still deciding. does it matter to them if they see him on stage tonight? i did speak with one voter yesterday who says he's deciding between jeb bush and donald trump. and he says he doesn't care. he's seen enough. >> all that matters is who comes out. thank you katie tur for following the trump campaign. halle jackson is following the cruz campaign. halle, preparing for tonight and his challenge to donald trump. trump being off the debate stage tonight means a lot of incoming fire for ted cruz. a lot of spotlight on him. how's he preparing and ramping up? >> reporter: he's getting ready to face those attacks coming from the republican rivals who will be joining him on stage, francis and looking ahead not just to tonight but to saturday night as you know, he has challenged or he corrected me last night, he has invited donald trump to a one on one debate. a to

i met donald six months ago in phoenix.uced him then. 30 days ago back in phoenix, introduced him then. and it's my privilege and honor to help them, do endorse him today for president of the united states. so, thank you very much. >> joe, thank you. well, i want to thank sheriff joe. this is a man when we talk about borders, this is a man that believes in borders and getting his endorsement means a lot to me and he called and he said he'd like to do it. he's actually wanted to do that for quite some time. we said, let's hold it for a little while because we're looking at the world and seeing what's happening. we're seeing a lot of bad things happening and he's the kind of guy we want on our team. he's tough, he's strong, and he's smart and he's done an amazing job and he's got a great, great following of people that absolutely love him and revere him, and joe, i would like to really thank you. come here. thank you very much. okay. questions? [ inaudible question ] >> no deals. no deals. joe never asked me for a thing. sara

so donald trump wins.own forum, shows that he's a big guy, he's generous, raising money for wounded warriors. and we're not talking about anything substantive at the moment, right? >> i don't know if this is going to help him or not. this is a disgusting human being. the original question that megyn kelly asked him at the debate was entirely appropriate because he made absolutely degrading and sexist comments about women and he's proved to her exactly right. and beyond that, what this shows is an authoritarian screech to the media that it would be terrifying that the donald trump has the powers of the presidency of the united states. can you imagine what he would try to do vis-a-vis the media as president, trying to dictate who can ask him questions in a presidential debate? god help us if this helps him politically. it's appalling and it's terrifying. >> so, jason, you heard what hadley brought up, you know, hillary clinton. >> right. >> but donald trump seems to have found a way to neutralize that despit

donald trump's bomb shell announcement, sarah palin's endorsement. trump's son is live out front with me next. breaking news. protesters gathering in michigan calling for the governor to resign. we'll be back in a moment talking about the toxic water. huh. introducing centrum vitamints. a brand new multivitamin you enjoy like a mint. with a full spectrum of essential nutrients... surprisingly smooth, refreshingly cool. i see you found the vitamints. new centrum vitamints. a delicious new way to get your multivitamins. this is lloyd. to prove to you that the better choice for him is aleve. he's agreed to give it up. ok, but i have 30 acres to cover by sundown. we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. yeah, i was ok, but after lunch my knee started hurting again so... more pills. yep... another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? for my pain... i want my aleve. get all day minor arthritis pain relief with an easy open cap. they speak louder. we like that. not just because we're doers. because we're changing. big things. small th

donald trump is public is supporting amnesty.n: we will talk about ted cruz versus donald trump as we have for the past couple of days, as we will into the future. who is winning the battle? trump is on immigration. ted cruz is going after donald trump on imminent or maine. -- imminent domain. they believe conservatives care about it in some quarters and it is relatively undiscussed in the debate. can argueink ted cruz that he is more on message than donald trump is. the expectations game is setting up well for ted cruz in iowa, but i think trump is winning in others. john: donald trump has promised he would spin money on television, he is doing that. this is his first negative ad with significant dollars behind it. cruz andng after ted discombobulated him, he is going straight for the jugular in iowa on this issue. trump is on offense and ted cruz is on defense. offenses winning the battle. -- offense is winning the battle. joe: ted cruz in iowa, that is his state here there is no other state where he is that close to trump. thi

you wouldn't do what donald trump is recommending? a temporary ban on all muslims coming into the united states until the u.s. can figure out what's going on, pair phraraphr what his position is. you don't support that decision? >> no, i don't think you can do it on the basis of religion. you know, that's not typically what we do. >> a lot of terrorists can come from a lot of different areas. we can be much smarter than simply to target muslims. you know, when it comes to muslims, here's what i have to say. i dwru up in detroit. there are a lot of muslims there, a lot of good people i played with, they were friends. teddy roosevelt, i think, had the right physical ones if i. when he said we're a nation of immigrants. everybody is welcome to come to our country from any race, any religion, any country if they want to be americans, if they accept our values and principles and our laws, and if they don't, they stay where they are. that makes perfectly good sense. >> dr. carson, stay with us. we have more questions for you. some of the mo