>> caucusing for nikki haley. >> why did you decide on? nikki haley?like just said, she should say -- on policy in general and -- deborah -- really important. we have someone who run strong in second place an all the early states and is in a really good position in the primary, but would also beat joe biden by the largest margins in every poll we have seen. she would really bring together a coalition that would have reagan-esque type margins that we haven't seen in 40 years as a party. >> you have not desantis won the debate. is that who you are going to caucus for? >> yes. >> and have you decided that based on his debate performance? >> probably more on his record and his interactions with voters i have seen personally. i think he is doing well, actually. when he interacts, personally, with voters. >> what we need to do -- ramaswamy is about to talk to anderson cooper. so, i could ask you guys about an hour's worth of questions, but i have to go back to the studio. now anderson, you hear what is happening, nikki haley has won her second debate in a ro

who thinks haley won the debate? one, two, three, four, five, six. thinks ramaswamy won the debate? zero. >> pretty telling there. not a single hand goes up when he asked if christie won the debate and many when asked about whether nikki haley did. that really does seem to me to be the dynamic right now in this race. and raises further questions about what chris christie does in the context of new hampshire. >> sure. and i guess my question would be he is at 11%. he is not at 2% or 3%. at the end my boss senator scott was. and so really if you are him, there is no real reason to get out yet. as long as you are polling at that level, polling above desantis in new hampshire, i think one of the things that caught my eye, and i didn't watch the whole segment with gary, was whether votes were changed. i think in large part to have a game changing moment. what i mean by that, a moment that actually changes the polls in large part. not just 4% to 7%. i think what hamstrung a lot of the debates, without trump on the stage, you can't have a moment like christ

they'll caucus for haley, desantis and haley.en in the upper left is expected, says it will be trump. >> he's done it. he's been the president. he's made the tough decisions. >> poppy, phil, only one person on our panel who at this point is positive he'll caucus for donald trump. but notably i asked who do you predict the iowa caucuses and the consensus among the eight people in our group, trump. poppy, phil. >> that was gary tuchman. >>> avlon, what's your take when you watch the voters. >> my take this shows that the caucus situation in iowa is still very fluid, the momentum is toward nikki haley. remember, that caucuses are a process of persuasion. some people will say, trump is bad for the country, he doesn't represent our values. we'll see who has the gravitational pull. this isn't over. people haven't started voting. a focus group that we talked about cnn late last night, his group said that christie won that debate. >> and joe biden won the debate last night, you know, when you see chris christie ie being boo that's good n

four >> for nikki haley. >> why did you decide on haley? >> like jeff said, she had set out of the park on policy in general and whatever was talking about the importance of winning is really important. you have somebody that runs strong in second place in all the early states. it is a really good position in the primary. but also would beat joe biden joe biden by the largest margins. she would really bring together a coalition that would have reagan-esque type margins that we haven't seen in 40 years as a party. >> you thought demand just won this debate. is that how you're gonna caucus for? >> yes. >> have you decided that based on his debate performance? >> probably more on his record. and he is interactions with voters that i have seen personally. i think he's doing well. actually when he interacts personally with voters. >> okay. what we need to do, ramaswamy's about to talk to anderson cooper. i could ask you guys an hour's worth of questions, but i have to go back to the studio. so anderson, you hear what's happening here? nikki hale

all of the discussion, all of the conflict surrounded haley. so the fact that christie team feels they need to spend ad time and money on haley means that she is threatening not only desantis and his voters, who are pro trump, but also the more prod rat voter who is are open to christie. that shows that she's moving. >> yes, moving, not surging, so far. like i side, right now, the numbers don't show he will make the stage nor will vivek ramaswamy. the idea of two people, assuming donald trump doesn't show up, but if it doesn't happen, maybe three people t will be a different vibe. >> i think even the debates where you had vivek ramaswamy and chris christie, it was only about two people. because they have been the two contenders, the two contenders for second police. and the biggest problem atic pat of that ad is the last sentence. he's the only one to beat donald trump. he's not. primaries are very close. he hasn't shown an ability to get close. there's a reason the focus has been on those two candidates. that seems to be who the voters who do

nikki haley, she's essentially brainwashed herself. now when a question is asked and the answer is crystal clear and backed up by historical fact, any eighth grader should be able to tell what you the civil war was fought over. she's brainwashed herself in not being able to say the answer. it speaks to, there is this huge antipathy to reconciling any of the past transgressions against black people that america is responsible for. and they would rather pretend like it didn't even happen. >> haley had a couple of attempts clarifying her remarks today. here's part of what she said. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's the easy part of it. what i was saying was what does it mean to us today? what it means to us today is about freedom. that's what that was about. it was about individual freedom, economic freedom, individual rights. >> she said in another appearance that it was bigger than just the issue of slavery. what do you make of that framing of this issue? >> i think what's going on is, the revisionist hi

carol smith attended a haley rally last week. >> i'm a lifelong democrat and when i saw nikki haley inhe first debate, i was overwhelmed. she was concise. she was on point. she said what needed to be said. there was no double talk. she needs to be elected. compared to the other candidates in the field. don't ask me if it's because she's a woman because that will m make my -- go up. >>> we're joined by director of elections and surveys, anthony salvanto. this is a big move for nikki haley. what's behind it? >> it is, margaret. good morning. nikki haley is up substantially from where she was this fall and one reason is, voters tell us they see her as reasonable as compared to the other candidates and prepared to be president. her number there is on par with the former president. now she's helped by the independents who can vote in the new hampshire primary and it's not a surprise that she and maybe former governor chris christie are looking to do better in new hampshire because those independents say they're more amenable to the idea of candidate who is different from donald trump. now t

presidential contender nikki haley is having a moment.gaining momentum and getting some major backing from those who think she has the best chance of stopping donald trump. but she still faces an uphill battle. abc's linsey davis got rare access to the former u.n. ambassador who described how she plans to break through to voters. >> reporter: a month away from the iowa caucuses, and republican candidates are crisscrossing the state. ron desantis -- >> you have one conservative candidate running in this race, and that is me at this point. >> reporter: vivek ramaswamy. >> what i see right now is a republican party now that has failed to do what we actually need to. >> reporter: desperate to overtake the party's biggest name. >> we're going to save our democracy, and we're going to bring our country back from hell. >> reporter: donald trump. >> in jail breaking rocks on a rock pile, i would still vote for him. >> reporter: but at the moment, the only one with a fighting chance appears to be the former south carolina governor nikki haley. >>

and that's why joe biden has to win. >> what you said a moment ago, don't you think haley, nikki haley, does in fact know that? >> well, she should know it. you know, again, as governor of the state of south carolina and knowing the history of the state as it relates to the civil war, she should have known it. and she should have said it. but nikki haley and the maga extremists are all about, you know, going down to the depths of extremists to get any vote that they can in order to get power. these are people who are attacking our fundamental freedoms right now in this country, freedom of people to vote for who they want to, freedom of people to control their own bodies. they believe in banning books. and we've got a contrast here, kaitlan, in joe biden, who understands that this is a moment you need to have moral clarity. you remember he got into this race because he said, we're fighting for the soul of this nation. and if you can't stand up, as a leader, and just define something that any person that even lives outside of this country -- we can go to london and ask what was the cause

so that's what it seems like governor haley is grappling with. whether she wants to acknowledge and recognize we have a long history of race based discrimination, starting with slavery, going through jim crow, and today there are many people who want to erase that history. they want to ignore and deny that history. and so, when you start to look at banning books, lemon discussions of race and classrooms today, that's what it's all about. and governor haley needs to be clear about whether she wants to embrace an accurate depiction of our history and deal with the cultural battles today, or whether she wants to ignore it and deny it and embrace a revisionist history, which is what i refe r to as a birth of a nation, gone with the wind version of our history, which is totally inaccurate and problematic. >> ron desantis has been calling out nikki haley for her comments. he says this was obviously about slavery. but what do you make of the fact it's ron desantis who has been waging this anti-woke campaign? he himself actually defended in his state som

haley would be solid second behind trump. >> steve: speaking of haley, nikki haley and the current governor of new hampshire, chris sununu joining us next half-hour on fox. >> brian: that endorsement stands from yesterday. >>>> lawrence: one and done. >> ainsley: if you want that to be your question, you go for it. >> ainsley: multiple students getting medical treatment after eating gummy bears that tested positive for fentanyl. >> todd: this was a matter of time, seven students at central elementary getting sick after eating the candy. unclear if the student who brought the gummies was one of those who fell ill. sheriff's office conducting the investigations the gummy bears were examined and tested positive for fentanyl. of the seven students, five did need medical attention, two students transported. the superintendent office saying school administration notified the families and amherst sheriff's office is investigating the cause of the illness. the bag was brought from home by a student. police are offering $1000 reward for anyone with information. this underscores need for narcan in ev

although haley would definitely win that competition. >> haley fighting off a whole mob of super villainsnikki haley had to defend herself of that -- of the debate performance and she did well. she actually held up well. she was actually able to full off. beltway journalists and pundits too. >> nikki haley is a rising star. i have heard from so many people who have never voted republican before. people who may disagree with her political positions but still say i like her. >> the fact that nikki haley, you know, did so well and people thought she did well showed that her strategy of just kind of staying above the fray really worked. >> really what struck me i think is how nikki haley conducted herself she has all the momentum. >> beltway and new york and florida pundits liked her. now, if you are republican and you are getting that type of press coverage, you should be making plans for your career post politics because you will be fog in the footsteps of john boehner, jeff flake, mitt romney and liz cheney. you will either be drummed out of office or retire to avoid electoral humiliation.

so, nikki haley is not a moderate, she is a maga extremist, and i don't care if it's nikki haley, donaldon desantis. the democratic party and joe biden and kamala harris are going to be ready for this contest, because we know that this is a contest about hope versus fear, progress versus chaos, and joe biden and kamala harris are protecting the freedoms of the american people, where we are getting constant attacks from the maga extremists, including nikki haley. >> dnc chairman jaime harrison, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> and nikki haley has been on the campaign trail today at multiple stops in new hampshire. her rival, chris christie, also they're weighing in on this just a few moments ago. >> you've got to tell the truth. and i'll make it easy for you. if someone asked me what the cause of the civil war was. [laughter] [applause] it's easy. it's slavery. >> christie went on to say that he believes haley did not acknowledge slavery in her answer last night, because she is, quote, unwilling to offend anyone by telling the truth. i want to talk about this with two top

right, where nikki haley was the former governor. if you look at the primary vote choice, she's 30 points behind. viewed very favorably, she's down by 14. there's clearly more voters that are gettable for her there, and iowa and new hampshire, we'll wait and see what happens. >> you have a great piece on dot com that people should read about the pathway. >>> josh barrow and cnn commentator, what do you think, an? nikki haley have a path? >> they were talking about how she has run the best campaign. that's relative. everybody else in the field has been awful. remember, when this all began, ron desantis, the governor of my state, sadly, was supposed to be the great non-trump hope and he has deflated like an old helium balloon. he truly is. watching his campaign is like one of those helium balloons that was shiny at the beginning, and now it's hanging on by strings a sad looking thing. what is nikki haley's path? everybody else needs to drop out. her only path is if ron desantis comes to his senses, realizes there's no shot for him, dro

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

nikki haley is about nikki haley.s not about advancing the needs of the people of south carolina, nikki haley is about nikki haley. >> she's also used the mother emmanuel masker which came right before the flag was taking down, in her campaign announcement. she references it on the campaign trail, she's even compared her political leadership in that moment in a way that reflects on her ability to bring two sides together on a particular issue. does it bother you that the mother emmanuel massacre is part of her part little story on the campaign trail? >> you know abby, it actually does. as i said nikki haley has never prioritized doing the thing that benefit all cells carolinians, she's also had a very pro-confederate maga agenda. right before mega was a thing nikki halo was mega. she was always gonna push those extreme policies wells's governor south carolina. she signed an extreme borscht ban into law while she was in governor of south carolina. she's also endorsed plans to gut social security and medicare, nikki hal

is this meaningful for nikki haley in new hampshire? >> sure, it's meaningful, but i think the thing that's going to influence new hampshire the most is the very first in the nation state to go out and vote. the iowa caucus. i think on january 15th, when people go out and cast their vote and everybody sees ron desantis as the true trump alternative when they see him below projections and expectations out of the water, that momentum will go into new hampshire. that will certainly be more important than any one endorsement. but let's not forget ron desantis has endorsements from over 60 state legislators. hnikki haley has fewer than fiv. he's the grass roots candidate. he's building this campaign from the bottom up. we expect there to be a lot of momentum because his theme is freedom, making florida the free state focusing on freedom from government overreach, eliminating state agencies, medical freedom, that theme ties in nicely in new hampshire and people love it. >> you talked about the endorse mentes that your candidate has. in additi

only person more fascist than biden is nikki haley.friends like larry fink created economy with chevron while being a shareholder of petro-china. >> ainsley: nikki haley is live with lawrence in tuscaloosa. lawrence. >> lawrence: can y'all give a roll tide welcome to this clemson graduate? [cheering] >> lawrence: okay. so governor, ambassador, i forget -- >> it is nikki, those are moments in time. >> lawrence: talk about the performance last night. vivek had a sign and said nikki is corrupt. take the banter out, there are a lot of corporations, business people and corporations giving you money. when business folks give money, they want something in return. put it to rest, when they come to you, what do you tell them? >> when they come to me, they ask my views, they know i'm tough on china, they saw my work, they saw me at the un. these fellas would take every bit of that support if it was going to them. they are jealous it is coming to me. last night it was clear, we are surging in the polls, we are picking and choosing battles. it is

certainly, not nikki haley. so she shouldn't even be worried about appeasing someone who wants to relitigate the civil war. those are not nikki haley voters. nikki haley was in new hampshire running to try to win new hampshire, not alabama, not mississippi, new hampshire. her core constituency are not trump voters. she needs to win independents in new hampshire and non-trump center right voters in new hampshire. that should be her top priority. and what does she need to do for that to happen? she needs to get chris christie to drop out of the race. i think it is much less likely today that chris christie will drop out of the race than it was two or three days ago. so i think this was a big deal. again, with the caveat that news cycles move quickly. as john was saying, this reenforces a negative stereotype about nikki haley not being ready for prime time. and it speaks not just to her bad political strategy. it speaks a little bit to character as well. >> susan, we heard from chris christie that nikki haley looks

nikki haley needs a lot of things to happen for her to win new hampshire. she probably needs chris christie to drop out, she needs to consolidate more voters and does need to attract some trump voters to her, i think that's going to be challenging. of course the question is if she does do well in new hampshire, where did she go from there? the next day to south carolina and she's former governor. it's hard, it seems like trump is very much in the lead there, he has the endorsement of h.r. mcmaster, even if she does well, the question is what is her bath ahead? >> we don't talk about a president mccain for a reason, he could not do well in new hampshire. i did not mean anything in the end. >> i remember when he made that combat, i'm sure david does as well. let me ask you this, nikki haley has been tiptoeing through the trump to lips. she was having and hauling around questions about donald trump, let's play that and talk about it on the other side. >> one president trump had the opportunity to stop it, when he had the opportunity to say it, people listen. h

let's listen to what he did to defend nikki haley. >> he has insulted nikki haley's basic intelligence. if you want to disagree on issues, that's fine. while we disagree about some issues and disagree about who should be president, what we don't is this is a smart, accomplished woman and you should stop insulting her. >> it seemed like he was on the verge of an endorsement right then and there. but listen, chris christie knows his audience. he is really competing for the new hampshire voters. and he knows that's a more mod moderate electorate so there was some political strategy as well. i was texting with a pastor earlier this morning and he shared that he was really adisappointed in you personal the attacks were on that stage last night. chris christie is speaking directly to that. trying to hone in on that. i do think that as we get closer to new hampshire, if he's still many this game, he's going to be more aggressive with her. >> i actually asked the former new jersey governor about whether or not he was -- i didn't use the word endorsement, but pretty close. let's listen to our c

nikki haley does. people are smart enough to know that's real and it isn't just a chris sununu endorsement, nikki is a rock star on the campaign trail. they like her and connect with her and get excited with her. it's a different vibe here and we will carry that like i said four or five weeks. i think she's going to win this thing. pretty handily. >> governor chris sununu, thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> thanks, buddy. >>> next, a vote expected this hour to add even more pressure on the governor of israel to stop its assault in israel or change tactics. thus, the attacks on ships in the red sea that could soon take a swipe at the global economy. and another look at the volcano erupting in iceland. we check in with the cnn team now on site. stay with us. >>> moments ago a vote on a consequential united nations resolution was delayed until tomorrow after intense negotiations and delays, the un security council is trying to get the united states on board with the majority of members who've been c

not all republican women are backing haley.ald trump has a strong command of this race across all demographic groups, including women. but spending some time with her this week in new hampshire and in recent weeks in iowa and south carolina, one thing is clear, she asks people in her audiences if they're seeing her for the first time nearly half of the audiences raise their hand and many of those are women. erica, poppy. >> what a piece. interesting what erin told you, we're going to talk about it with the team here at the table. jeff, thank you very much for the reporting. >> you bet. >> they're all back. we can start on that. i'll hand that to you. >> i think it is a great point. >> this woman who was interviewed who said she appreciates the fact that haley doesn't use gender as a crutch, a word she used, and instead is focused on the issues et cetera. what do you make of that as a key strategy? >> i think it is smart. there are a huge number of women who don't want to be known as women, they want to be known as leaders. i th

now to my interview with nikki haley and chris sununu. pit started with a question to governor sununu. why haley? >> obviously, we have been friends for a long time. and more than anybody else in the country, i have been able to spend a lot of time with all the three top candidates. chris, ron, and nikki. it isn't just about the po policies. it isn't just about background. it's about who is connecting with folks, listening, earning the trust. spending the time. that's how we do it here in new hampshire. when i have seen her time and time again when in the diner or someone's backyard, a lot of people like to talk at people. but saying what are your top priorities and your issues? i get excited about the opportunity to have a president that carries that philosophy into the white house. we have seen a lot of republicans try big-government solutions. that's not what this is about. it has to be about the mind set of what's the individual looking for. how do i empower them. it's working. >> i'm just thrilled. i knew in order to earn his endorse

republican candidate nikki haley. she is playing damage control to put it lightly to clarify what she meant and why she didn't say slavery when she was asked about the cause of the civil war. listen to what she has been saying. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that's unquestioned, always the case. we know the civil war was about slavery but it was also more than that. it was about the freedoms of every individual. it was about the role of government. [ laughter ] >> that is the cleanup. but do you think this will have an impact on where she stands in the race right now? >> she is not standing very good to start with. i think it is ultimately a political calculation that a lot of republican voters don't want to hear that. and she sit theres with a straight face and talks about the freedom of people when you are talking about 4 million southerners having slavery. how much less freedom can you have than being human chattel? she has a hard time getting it out of her mouth. yes, that is primarily

it is good, but it is not enough for haley. maybe she can win in south carolina where she is the former governor, but for now, good news for nikki haley in new hampshire, and we will see if it is going to translate into more success down the road. >> and the job she has done previously has helped her as well. and now, joining in is rob brownstein, and looking into how nikki haley is performing in new hampshire is the best that any republican has done against donald trump has done in any state since june, and what you think of this nikki haley surge? >> what he is doing in new hampshire is consolidating the parts of the party that are intrinsically inherit to trump which is not to be a genuine threat to trump. she is running well with the independent voters and not only moderates and graduates, but the coalition resistant to trump, and that is going to allow her after the first two states she will be on a track to eclipse ron desantis as the most viable alternative to trump. but ultimately to truly threaten trump, she going to h

there is a one word answer to that question, and nikki haley knows that one word and nikki haley refused to use that word and instead gave an answer that was a lie from start to finish. nikki haley believes that the trump lesson is the way to win republican votes is to lie. last night's question revealed nikki haley, like donald trump, believe she can rely on the inadequacy of republican voters education to get away with lying to them. donald trump does it every day about every subject. one example, how many times have you heard donald trump say that china paid the tariffs that donald trump imposed on chinese goods? then trump says that in every speech and every republican listening to that always clap for that line. it is a lie. every time he says it. and he gets away with it because the republican audience that believes it does not have enough education to know that tariffs imposed by the united states are paid exclusively and entirely by the people of the united states. i could rattle off right now a long list of policy lies that donald trump tells just like that because he believes h

nikki haley referring to her as former governor.alk about foreign affairs, it's hard to hide the fact that she was the u.s. united nations ambassador. on that stage that was her purview she has more experience. we kind of have taken informal poll of a lot of people -- she has the momentum right now of those four. she has the endorsement that's why the fell also a were attacking her with the exception of chris christie. >> lawrence: it was clear who was surging based on the people who were attacking her on the stage i get to the tell you talking to people in the diner, i asked them because there was a lot of rhetoric going back and forth, more so than any other debate. i asked them were they able to separate who was telling the truth? there was no one in here that was able to have that says this person actually won the debate from a standpoint of when they were going back and forth either they liked the person and policy distances or they don't. none of the back and forth changed the position of it when think weren't on air and talki

>> nikki haley. >> lawrence: why?that she acted like an adult and we need someone that is both strong and has like all of their personal feelings together enough to handle themselves. >> lawrence: well said. my other friend right over here shocked me. you went in as a desantis supporter. >> correct. >> lawrence: and you left as a. >> nikki haley supporter. >> lawrence: why? >> i think that she was much more strong and solid she presented a good message. the same message she has been presenting didn't interrupt people something we need in a leader is someone who can be be the adult in the room when times get crazy. >> roger that, brother. who your candidate? >> >> at the end of the day it is trump. >> why? why? because it's trump. he will secure the nominee if the legal battles don't take over. >> roger that. as you can see. there is a mixed crowd here in this diner today. it's probably the first diner that i have seen every candidate represented today. we'll be talking to them all morning and, plus, chris christie jus

that doesn't necessarily help nikki haley.s is just so challenging for haley to be able to knock off trump because he's such a strong incumbent, effective an incumbent in this primary right now. i get chris christie thinking i have to stay on this on principle. >> you're no fan of donald trump. what are your thoughts on that ad? >> well, i'm just -- i'm trying to figure out what he's doing. his stated goal is to rid the party and rid the country of donald trump. i agree that it makes it difficult to do that if he remains in the race. i wonder if iowa will change the calculation. let me paint a picture of where donald trump crushes everyone in iowa which i think is likely and maybe desantis doesn't continue and to your point some of those people go to trump. does that change his calculation? i don't know the answer to that, but for a guy whose entire campaign theory is i have to rid the country of trump. i have to wash this off of myself and staying in the race seems to be counterproductive or counterintuitive with that idea. >

>> major: nikki haley faces backlash.ense, she claims the question came from a "democrat plant." >> you grow up in the south, it's a given it's about slavery. >> major: and breaking news, another state removes president trump from its primary ballot. the decision just in. fighting and air strikes continuing in gaza as we learn an american was killed by hamas. tonight's "eyes on america." >> you don't normally think of cotton as being high-tech, so now they are using dna, so we know exactly where our clothes and our sheets are being made. >> make 2023 disappear! >> major: and say goodbye to 2023 on this good riddance day. >> get rid of all the bad stuff and just have a good happy new year. ♪ ♪ >> major: good evening to our viewers in the west. thank you for joining us. i'm major garrett in for norah. we begin on the campaign trail for the 2024 republican nomination. nikki haley is facing a barrage of criticism, not for something she said during a new hampshire town hall, but for something she didn't say. when a voter asked

the suburbs out here, you will see a lot of desantis haley. >> but if it is desantis, haley, trump wins. >> he does. that's the question, right? how do you get people to consolidate. >> reporter: this is chris mud's big change. midwest solar is growing and needed a new office. same candidate, same confidence you have to have thick skin to be for trump today. the people who say they are for him will show up. >> when you hear desantis say we have to stop losing or haley say no drama, no chaos, time for a new generation of leadership, you say? >> there are 35 to 40 points behind trump. i would say they are the chaos and they should stand down and support trump. >> reporter: mud doesn't care about polls showing haley runs stronger against president biden. doesn't care that trump could be both the republican nominee and a convicted felon by summer. >> i think trump has been pushed into a corner. i think he has a lot of targets on him. he is doing a great job of deflecting every one of them. >> you talked to people on the ground who have their candidate. some think there could be a big iowa s

that's the problem for haley now.an pivot around there this, we're not at new year's eve, much less new year's day, that's when new hampshire voters will be focused on this. if she has a sharp message and we know she has sharp elbows then she can do well. >> this is going to be far from the only surprise we see leading up to iowa and new hampshire. tia, desantis and christie, they have jumped on this. do you think that either of them, i guess, got this request he right after the fact? >> well, i mean, i think both of them were able to monday morning quarterback her answer and really drill down on why it was problematic. i think chris christie probably has a little bit more credibility on being a, quote, unquote, truth teller and that's what he's really focused on in attacking haley on her answer. we know that governor desantis has had his own problems with how he's spoken about issues of race and i don't think people are really convinced that in the moment the way nikki haley was that ron desantis would have been so m

and at the end of the day, he's the only person moving is nikki haley. chris christie isn't going to make up 30 points in the next few weeks. y nikki haley can make up five or ten points and give trump that defeat. and i think that's likely to happen. i think the voters will come nikki's way and chris come ni nikki's way, but that's a decision for chris to make. >> governor chris sununu of new hampshire, thank you very much. happy new year. >> you bet. happy new year. >>> up next, will the supreme court weigh in on efforts to remove donald trump from the ballot? and what might they decide? constitutional law scholar and democratic congressman jamie raskin is here next. >>> and could our political problems be caused by americans' failure to simply connect with one another? i'll talk to senator chris murphy about the epidemic of loneliness in america, coming up. to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and cr

>> this is a huge boost for nikki haley.e heard it said many times that presidential campaigns don't end because candidates run out of energy your ideas. because they run out of money. to have this network, these are mega donors who can be wildly influential. the thing with the flagship group that actually made the formal endorsement is that they also have a robust network of grassroots activists. we are talking not just top-down in terms of big dollars coming in and financial resources. that can mean everything from sending mailers or going after her rivals. we are talking tv. we are talking digital contact. we are talking phones. we are talking doorknocking. this money can really fuel things in a way that a campaign alone could not. so to have that extra injection of support, financially and on the ground, is going to be huge. americans for prosperity action has already knocked and called more than 6 million voters. part of their strategy for helping make the case for nikki haley is trying to do that magic thing that is so

look at the way nikki haley has done this. she has been critical of him without saying his name as christie pointed out, but she's also the only one who is now making some games in the polls, and the way that desantis has been doing it is not working and it really hasn't been working for chris christie, a little bit in new hampshire but having gone up against trump in 2016, i can tell you, it's very hard to just do the direct attack particularly, given you know, that he uses every moment. >> i hope it works for haley but she is still down major double digits. again, i've done a lot of campaigns and i find you have to take them on directly. maybe it's different with trumpet what they are doing right now simply isn't working. even though i hope that haley or kristi can break through the pack. >> donald trump gave them an opening with his comment about being a dictator for one day. and we've gotten some reaction from republicans on the hill and so forth to that comment. here's what the house for affairs chairman had to say. >> it

haley is gonna have to sharpen her ziv she really wants to take this guy down. >> if i'm nikki haley and i see those polls where i'm beating joe biden by 14 points and on trump only by two or three, i would say that all day every day to voters. probably in my sleep, as well. >> charlie dent, thank you so much. we appreciate your perspective. >> had we draw closer to the 2024 election we have new details on foreign interference in the last election. intel assessment found for countries or china, u.n., and cuba tried to meddle in the 2022 election. cnn reporter, katie bliss, joining us now. that is quite a lift, katie. what more did this at find? this was a really interesting report. the intelligence committee found overall effort by foreign governments to try to intervene in the 2022 midterm rose from 2018. what they didn't see was the broad sustained whole government bought like what russia did in 2016. something that have not been seen since. instead what they saw were efforts to try to influence specific foreign policy objectives for these various nations. for example, the -- found

it's really desantis versus haley to be that trump alternative. a month away from iowa, where both candidates really feel like they need to show something. talk to us about your view right now about that caucus. >> look, in terms of the caucus when you look at the polls and the latest nbc news des moines register poll we know nikki haley and ron desantis are tied. that's bad news for ron desantis because his campaign has put literally everything into the iowa basket. they're banking on iowa and this idea he can get enough momentum to go into new hampshire, south carolina, and the subsequent primary states. if nick nikki haley is starting to catch up with him that's bad news for momentum even though donald trump remains at the top of the pack. he's very much tonight going to have to not only make his case to a national audience but also to donors. we know nikki haley got a good backing from the koch back americans for prosperity group. that's going to help her in new hampshire. if ron desantis can get more donors, more resources on his side in the

nikki haley. she is up five points. still, it's trump stealing the spotlight. the rnc calling the colorado case election interference. its vowing to squash efforts to block trump not just in colorado but in at least a dozen states even as iowa voters have mixed opinions. >> absolutely, he is not qualified to run. i'm happy because it takes another person out of the line. >> i don't think it's fair. i think he should be able to run. >> but polling shows trump supporters in iowa are committed with 83% telling fox they are certain to caucus for trump come january. >> well, we have those new iowa voters. there is also a new national survey out from quinnipiac university showing where the race stands among republicans and, get this, nikki haley now rising to 11% in second place with governor desantis. essentially tied for second. both of those candidates, of course, trailing trump by 56 points. and while the caucus here in iowa is fast approaching, you can probably tell from the holiday decorations beh

nikki haley is up a bit. part of that polling done after her endorsement from new en england's governor. >> i want to talk about this. >> announcer: poll. yesterday it was like flickers of hope for those who don't want donald trump to be president. take the polling off the screen so i can demonstrate it here. that's up 18 points for nikki haley since september. when you go under the hood, reasonable, likeable, all the things where independents can vote, you're sitting there looking at it saying, okay, maybe the pathway she's laids out is a viable pathway. what do you think? >> i think she's still pretty far behind donald trump. she's certainly jumped a lot. it's a big warning for chris christie, and, b, i think it's a problem for ron desantis. his earn tire argument has been it's a two-man race between him and trump. what this indicates to me is at least in new hampshire, republicans are coalescing around nikki haley and deciding she's the candidate. it makes me wonder is that eventually going to happen in so

2020 election, we will bring you those details and audiotapes delay -- detailing their plot, nikki haley under scrutiny over controversial comments she made on the campaign trail, the exchange she had with one man in new hampshire and how her campaign is responding today, taking you on the road. the house were four university of iowa students were demolished just hours ago, why some of the victims families were pushing for it to be torn down after the suspect trial. welcome to the lead, everyone, i'm in for jake tapper, we start for breaking news, cnn has revealed a chaotic last-ditch effort by former president trump's campaign to get fake elector ballots to d.c., they were trying to get the fake ballots to former vice president mike pence and a final push to overturn the 2020 election, it involved a haphazard chain of messengers, staffers, and talk of even chartering a private jet, all of this to ensure the fake balance for michigan and wisconsin got to the capital in time for the electoral college certification on january 6th, 2021. emails and recording show new talk -- context in the

>> this is a huge boost for nikki haley. i have heard it said many times that presidential campaigns don't end because candidates run out of energy or days -- or ideas, but because they run out of money. these are multibillionaire conservative power houses who can be wildly influential. the flagship groups that made the formal endorsement boast having a robust network of grassroots activists. so we are talking not just top-down in terms of big dollars and financial resources, we are talking digital contacts, phones, doorknocking. so this money can really fuel things in a way that a campaign alone could not. to have that support financially on the ground is really huge. this group has already called more than 6 million voters and part of their strategy making the case for nikki haley is trying to do the magic thing that is so important in every election, which is turnout. one of the strategies is to go to likely republican general election voters and trying to make sure they are going to vote in this primary which could be ma

nikki haley knows that.nsettling to see this from her is that at 51 years old she should've reconciled her past heritage in the south with leadership on the world stage and the national stage, yes, the civil war was about slavery. it shouldn't take cleanup on aisle screw up for her to revisit this's second time. and even then, when she acknowledges, she said but, but, but, it suggests an allegiance to the old vestiges of the south that i think people have assigned to nikki haley, a political character that has grown away from that. clearly she hasn't, and it gives reason to question nikki haley's personal medal in politics but also her leadership on the national stage. >> david, what does it say then about the gop that she found it necessary to thread a needle that shouldn't have to be threaded? >> look, this is a party that trades on racism and dina phobia and massage unsee and tries to gloss over them as though they don't really do so. the reason they do is the failure of leadership from leading politician

that includes former south carolina governor nikki haley.s she works to capture momentum from a surge and the polls, her campaign is also cleaning up her recent comments about the civil war. this morning on fox news, haley said it was a mistake not to mention slavery when asked about her -- asked about the cause of the war. civil war. >> the first thing i should have said with slavery. i completely agree with that. when you grow up and the south, slavery is a given. like, when you think of the civil war, you know it was about slavery. that's not, you know, that's never been in question. if you grew up in south carolina, you know that's a huge part of history. but you take it for the lesson that it is. which is, yes, that's a stain on our history, but we where do we go with it from here? and that is, what is the role of government? >> but now, you've probably seen nikki haley's response when asked a simple question. what caused the civil war? but just in case, here it is again. >> don't come with an easy question. i think the cause of that th

it's kind special votes over to nikki haley.of course, we'll wait to see what turns out and a lot can happen between now and the republican primaries here in south carolina, which is scheduled for february 24th in downtown greenville, south carolina for debate night in america. i'm kelsey o'donnell. it will be an interesting race to watch for. sure. thank you. kelsey dance. >> all right, our reminder here are some of the busy political days to keep in mind starting in 2024. for big contests in the first 2 months of the year alone. to be a very interesting time with these key dates here. and despite top heavy polls favoring former president trump, his fellow republicans gearing up for a fight in less than 40 minutes. they will outline how they will handle the top issues from immigration to inflation. our analysts, congresswoman nicole malliotakis and republican strategist chapin fay back with weighing in when to buy big debate night in america returns. and welcome back to debate night in america. once again joined by our panel us

nikki haley has now accepted. this will be the debate to take place basically on the eve of the iowa caucuses and the third candidate who has qualified thus far, john, though the qualification window remains open until the beginning of january is donald trump. he has not yet stated nor has his campaign whether or not they will attend the debate but when nikki haley announced her accepting of the debate invitation in the statement from the campaign, they urged donald trump to not avoid this debate. as you know, he hasn't debated in any of the debates to date this cycle and urged him to also come on the debate stage on january 10th on cnn. >> you know, of course, donald trump has not attended any debate and each time he doesn't go he seems to do better in the polls, but at a minimum, david, this is shaping up for what could be nikki haley and ron desantis, you know, a two-person debate which is something i think a lot of republicans in and of themselves want to see. >> yeah, i mean, as you know, we've seen the debat