cnn's jeff zeleny with the results of the poll known for its accuracy. jeff, what do you have? do we have the numbers yet? >> we do, jim, and every campaign is watching this des moines register iowa poll, which does have a historical pretty good average of showing what will happen on monday night. it certainly shows the trajectory of campaigns. and there is news ibthis. donald trump is still leading this field quite dramatically at 48% in this poll, which is down slightly from last month. but second place now is nikki haley. she's vaulted over florida governor ron desantis who's at 16% in this poll. let's go through the numbers again. donald trump, 48%, nikki haley, 20, and ron desantis at 16%. so going into the final hours of this caucus campaign here, this is so important certainly for haley because it shows that she has some mauchlt here in iowa as well as of course as we've seen in new hampshire. but donald trump still in overwhelming lead in this race. slightly below the 50% mark. he was at 51% just a month ago, but that's basically within the margin of error. so he leads

i want to bring cnn's jeff zeleny back in. we have been together this weekend. you've been here a lot longer than this weekend. just kind of getting the lay of the land. one of the things that we all like to do as reporters is go out with canvassers as they knock on doors and say, are you going to go out? can you count on you to caucus? you did that and it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. >> it wasn't. the people who are at the rallies, if you're going to a rally on saturday or sunday, you're going to the caucus monday night. we went out for a little while in the suburbs of des moines,on stone, iowa, with people from afp, they are supporting the haley campaign. we went door to door with a long-time activist. he was knocking on doors. a few people said, no, it's too cold, we're not going out. one person said, i'm definitely not going out, a few expletives. the question here is, the ground game now all comes into such play. he was going door by door in this key johnston area. i'll be looking at the results tonight in the suburbs. behind the scenes what's happening r

let's bring in jeff zeleny. we wanted to dip in for a moment to hear trump accepting that endorsement from ron desantis. obviously, trump is delighted by this. he is expecting the rest of the field to do this in short order. jeff? >> reporter: when he won, he extended an olive branch. but at this point, accepting his endorsement and acknowledging how difficult it is to run for president. some of the kindest words we have heard from donald trump about ron desantis. one thing has been extraordinary over the last year. donald trump defeated ron desantis not just in iowa but month by month by month in tens of thousands of -- and millions of dollars in a television advertising -- just driving up desantis' negatives. there's been so much overlap between the two campaigns. many of the people inside the inner circle of the trump campaign helped elect desantis in florida. they were central to his rise. then they went to work for the former president. there's so much overlap between the two. clearly now, desantis loses, h

jeff zeleny is live from the ground floor in the debate hall. the timing of the announcement is a surprise for people waking up this morning, didn't expect it today. how are the other campaigns reacting? >> well, look, this is something that certainly is going to be on the minds of these candidates as they take the stage at the debate hall behind me at drake university. and really, it's one of those things that shakes up the race in a way that has many crosscurrents. it's not clear exactly if this will be the focus of the debate tonight or mentioned at all. but certainly it is on the minds of both of these candidates. the immediate reaction from nikki haley is she congratulated chris christie for running a hard-fought campaign. those two served as governors basically at the same time, she in south carolina, he in new jersey. in an entirely different pretrump era of the party. but you heard that hot mic moment there, and that is what florida governor ron desantis seized upon. he says he agrees with chris christie's assessment there, that she is g

>> jeff zeleny on the scene for us in new hampshire. i want to bring in our cnn reporter and dana bash. nikki haley now has the two-person contest she said she always wanted. kl a coalition of independents and more moderate republicans in new hampshire overcome trump in the primary tomorrow? >> that's the way it will have to be if she has any shot of doing just that. she knows that. her team knows that. that is part of what is driving her of what is driving the geography of where she goes. j jeff just laid out the examples that had the voters surprising the country with either wins or in this case, bill clinton being the comeback kid. he didn't win but he came back from big problems with his campaign. and that is because of the kind of sentiment and the sensibility of new hampshire voters but also what you alluded to there. they're called independent, not affiliated. they can vote in either primary. in the republican primary, given this dynamic, they are expected to play a big, big role. it is one of the many reasons why new hampshire i

jeff zeleny joins us from des moines right now. jeff, i mean obviously this is all going to come down to turnout and which candidate is doing the best job of that at this point. but you know, the weather -- i wonder if it's a wild card. you covered so many of these. what do you think? >> reporter: it is definitely a wild card. i mean, for all of the advertising, for all of the messages, the campaign stops, they're all so strategic, this is something that the campaigns have zero control over. that is not where presidential candidates like to be, so it is absolutely the biggest wild card. i've been talking to advisers in all of the campaigns, and to a person that's what they say. there is just an unknown -- this is just an unknown factor. some of the supporters of these candidates are older, and that is a challenge perhaps to get them to the polls, to the caucus sites monday night. some of them have to drive long distances, that is a challenge to get them to the caucuses on monday night. so for all the spinning going on about, oh, it

cnn's jeff zeleny is sort of indoor/outdoor.can see the outside, but, you know, you have a little bit of the heat from the inside. i just want our viewers to not be super concerned about you. tell us what you are seeing there, not only with the weather but with the campaign. >> reporter: well, dana, we are bundled up, no worries here about that. but the weather is political here, and this is why. it is one of the central worries and concerns of the campaign going forward at this point. it is what they're preparing for. it is what they're thinking about and it is what they're worrying about. the candidates have mainly had to cancel most of their events today, so the campaign is essentially frozen in place. this is why this matters, not that voters necessarily need to hear one more stump speech or closing argument but these events are about organization. when you walk into an event you are met by a campaign staffer or volunteer to make sure they have your information so they can remind you on monday to come out to the caucus. it i

jeff zeleny begins our coverage tonight. "outfront" live in des moines. geoff, it's freezing, and it can be very dangerous in many places where people may have to caucus. where does the race stand tonight? >> erin, it's actually below freezing. and the winds are the far bigger concern here. that is why all of the campaigns have their eye on the weather forecast, and even more than that, the specific road conditions. have all these roads been plowed? will they blow over again with all the snow coming here this past week? but because of all of that, all the campaigns, of course, have intense strategies. they know where their supporters are. now the challenge is to get them out to the caucus sites tomorrow evening. erin, across all of this, the biggest picture, can the iowa caucuses be a roadblock for donald trump or a glide path to his nomination? >> brave the weather and go out and save america. because that's what you're doing. >> reporter: donald trump is eyeing a knockout victory in iowa, hoping the first contest sets him on a rocket ride to the republi

thank you so much, jeff zeleny, for being out there and doing all that work. know you have plenty more to do. >> you know the caucuses are close if you can't see jeff zeleny's ears. winter is here. >>> a big day for president biden's reelection campaign, the speech near valley forge in pennsylvania designed to frame the election around the threat that president biden says donald trump poses to democracy. this is how the deputy campaign manager explained it to "cnn news central." >> donald trump is telling us every day who he's going to be if he's reelected president, a dictator on day one, ripping health caraway from millions of people. these are threats to democracy and we feel that the american people deserve to hear these things from us and it's a moral responsibility of this campaign to paint that picture for the american people. >> that is what we expect to hear today at valley forge. valley forge is where george washington led the colonial forces through a harsh winter as they fought the tyranny of the british in the revolution. one man who knows that is

cnn's jeff zeleny is there for us tonight. jeff, i don't know how we convinced you to actually stand outside. how's it feeling there and how's the campaign being impacted tonight and this weekend? >> reporter: anderson, it's chilly. there's no doubt about it. the wind is the biggest issue, but look this is as warm it's going to be between now and the caucuses. over the weekend it's going to increasingly become colder and colder. the snow is not necessarily a big concern. iowans are used to snow of course, but it's the dangerously cold temperatures that are really making the campaigns make backup plans how to get their supporters to caucuses on monday night. excuse me, it's hard to talk out here too in the cold. the candidates are also making big changes. we just learned former president donald trump will not be campaigning tomorrow here in iowa as he planned. he was planning four weekend rallies. he's now only having one on sunday. it's adjusted all the campaign planning. >> i don't necessarily as a floridian want to be in nega

>> jeff zeleny for us in iowa. stay warm, jeff.us now laura barron lopez white house correspondent for pbs "newshour" and fred upton from michigan. laura, i want to start with you. jeff laid out a battle for second place and i get the expectations game and i get that you want to be seen as rising when you get to new hampshire. what do any of these candidates get long term out of being in second place if that's all they ever get? >> well, they're not going to get the nomination if that's all they ever get, john and that's an issue right here. you're seeing that ron desantis and nikki haley at different points are trying to still defend former president donald trump, the front-runner, maybe potentially like ron desantis are looking for some type of cabinet position. there's a bit of skepticism from really close trump allieses about whether or not nikki haley would be some that the majority of supporters really want as a potential vice presidential pick, but right now nikki haley appears to be gaining momentum in states like new hamps

desantis and haley are both campaigning in the suburbs outside des moines today, that's where jeff zeleny is. jeff, where are their focus in these final few days? >> reporter: dana, no coincidence that florida governor ron desantis is beginning and ending his day in the des moines suburbs. also in between, he's doing events in northwest iowa, the critical conservative stretch of the state. nikki haley for her part, she is also beginning and anchoring where i am, north of des moines. these fast growing suburbs of iowa that will play such a critical role in caucus night on monday. and dana, the questions you were asking at the debate, many voters here are talking about that debate as they're trying to make up their minds between desantis and hailry. there are still undecided voters, we still find them, but one other central piece of the electorate here of course in iowa always is the evangelical vote. all campaigns to some degree have been courting them. we talked to some voters and paers about what they're thinking about the race. >> many of us are very happy at things he accomplished in t

jeff zeleny, cnn, new hampshire. >>> the u.s. senate has taken the first step in possibly avoiding a partial government shutdown. senators voted to advance a short-term funding exemption to set up two new deadlines in early march. >> congress has until friday to stop funding from running out of priorities including military construction, veterans affairs, transportation, housing and the energy department. the rest of government is funded until february 2nd. here's more from the major ity leader. >> while most the democrats and republicans want to avoid a shutdown, a small group seem dead set is on making a shutdown a reality. with little leverage to enact their agenda, these extremists have tried again and again to bully the speaker, bully their own republican colleagues, and bully the country into accepting their hard right views. >> the u.s. defense secretary was released from the hospital it week after being treated for post surgical complications from his prostate cancer. now we're hearing aids called for an ambulance on new

cnn's jeff zeleny and jessica dean are braving the elements on the campaign trail. jeff, you first. how much of an impact is the weather expected to make leading up to monday's caucuses? >> reporter: frederica, there is no doubt, it will impact the number of republicans who turn out to the caucuses on monday night. all campaigns are scrambling to sort of assess how it is exactly going to affect it. the reality here, the winds, the punishing winds, you can feel them as they hit your face here. that is the issue. this is the warm spot. it'll be colder tomorrow and even colder monday night. the campaigns are doing a variety of things behind the scenes to really try and make sure their supporters get to the iowa caucuses. one of the challenges is in some of the rural counties across iowa, there's only a couple precinct locations for the whole county. some people may be driving a great distance to try and get to their caucus locations. former president donald trump has canceled his in-person rallies today. he was supposed to be having a couple rallies, one in atlantic, iowa, in the weste

i asked our senior political correspondent jeff zeleny which counties in iowa are the most like new hampshire lynn county which is where cedar rapids is, and you could see donald trump just trounce nikki haley and ron desantis there, and an 18-point win. haley narrowly edging out ron desantis, and not performing well, and what makes this a new hampshire-like county? suburban, much of like new hampshire, and forgive me, new hampshire, but it is one big suburb of massachusetts, and suburb and more educated voters and another county would be story county where iowa state is, and again, donald trump beat nikki haley, but only by four points and college-educated voters there, and donald trump with the edge, but this is a county that marco rubio won in 2016 that nikki haley would have to win. i am highlighting these counties, because they have more independent voters, and those are the voters that nikki haley is going to need in new hampshire if she has a chance there, but the independent voters in iowa went for donald trump, 42% of the vote and nikki haley 34% and ron desantis 18. in new hampshire

cnn's jeff zeleny, christine holmes, and jessica dean are tracking the latest on the campaign trail. jeff, let's begin with you outside in the snowy conditions. how are the campaigns handling all of this? >> reporter: fredricka, it would be a beautiful day here in snowy iowa. it's actually quite pretty, but it's the wind. the dangerously cold wind, you can just feel it as it sort of hits your face. that is what is a concern to people. if you have to outside for a long period of time, that certainly is a worry. the reason is for those caucuses on monday night, it is going to be even colder then. as voters potentially have to wait in line to go into a caucus site, the campaigns are trying to encourage supporters to come out to the caucus sites monday evening. the question hanging over this race, though, aside from the weather, is is the campaign frozen in place? is donald trump still the commanding leader in this race, and are nikki haley and ron desantis still fighting for second place? we are going to get a glimpse of a potential answer, a snapshot of that, in tonight's des moinmoines

jeff zeleny is on the ground in manchester, new hampshire. jeff, the battle over new hampshire's airwaves really heating up. haley's directed attacks -- on major turning point for her. >> there is no question, breonna. it is striking the degree to which nikki haley is returning fire to the former president. of course he has been taking attacks at her for the last several days here, refusing -- accusing her of trying to infiltrate the new hampshire primary by bringing in moderates and independents. that is allowed here. these voters are the biggest swath of the electorate. in hollis, new hampshire, she returned fire and pointed out the distinctive differences between their candidacies. >> trump says things that americans are not stupid to just believe. the reality is, who lost the house for us? who lost the senate? lost the white house? donald trump. donald trump. donald trump. nikki haley will win every single one of those back for us. the second he said he would get on the stage, i'm ready. he hasn't done anything. he threw a temper tantrum l

cnn's jeff zeleny is joining us from i hope i say this right, henniker, because i know new hampshire me if i got it wrong. this morning that's where cnn will hold its town hall with nikki haley later today. jeff, what is haley saying? a lot of people look at the attacks from donald trump and saying he's attacking her in particular because because she's got some serious momentum there. >> reporter: well, sara, good morning. we're actually in hollis, new hampshire, the town hall is in henniker, new hampshire, and we just finished an event with nick kay haley who was talking to voters other and really responding to some of the attacks donald trump was making against her. you can feel the tension between these two candidates with five days left before the new hampshire primary, a volley back and forth. it started with accusing her trying to infiltrate the new hampshire primary with independents and democrats. the reality is undeclared voters make up 40% of the electorate, one of the reasons why she has a chance here. some of the voters we talked to here were undeclared voters. you can pi

cnn's jeff zeleny has more right now and is joining us with the latest on the republican presidentiale. jeff? >> nikki haley in particular, is counting on the democrats and liberals to infiltrate your republican primary. >> reporter: tonight donald trump has nikki haley on his mind and in his sights as he seeks a knockout in the new hampshire primary to put an exclamation point on his blowout in the iowa caucuses. >> you know that's what's happening. you have a group of people coming in that are not republicans, and it's artificially boosting her numbers here. >> reporter: haley now faces her biggest test yet as she seeks to galvanize moderate republicans and seize upon the state's crucial block of independent-minded voters. >> we can either have more of the same, or we can say it's time to change and move forward. >> reporter: in new hampshire haley's rise presents the most immediate threat in trump's march to the republican nomination. she bluntly tells voters they deserve better choices than trump or president joe biden. >> the majority americans think that having two 80-year-olds

jeff zeleny picks up this story. >> reporter: time is running short in the race for second place. florida governor ron desantis -- >> what you are able to in iowa will reverberate all across the country. >> reporter: and nikki haley -- >> they don't see the momentum we have on the ground. we've got it in iowa, we've got it in new hampshire. >> reporter: not only locked in a birth fight for the republican nomination, fwout but for the ro confront donald trump head-on. their collision course has left trump in a frontrunner el's lanf his own. >> i think that he needs to go after trump and i don't see him doing it. >> reporter: garcia asked desantis why he had gone soft on trump, a question the governor took issue with. >> i've articulated all the differences time and time again on the campaign trail. >> reporter: when we caught up with garcia, he told us he wanted to see desantis fight harder. >> he's going after nikki haley quite a bit in ads. >> that is fine, but nikki haley isn't the leader. donald trump is. so that is where it needs to be. >> reporter: 12 days before iowa opens t

jeff zeleny, cnn, des moines. >>> haley and desantis have been taking plenty of swings at each other in iowa. joe walsh discussed their chances with maria cardona. here is part of their conversation. >> trump is going to win iowa, it is just a matter of how big and if nikki haley can get a bump heading into new hampshire. >> and the problem is because distance has gone all in in iowa, this is it for him, this will be the hill that he dies on or not. if he doesn't -- i think if he doesn't come in second, he's done because he can't go to new hampshire and they have already said that he is going to south carolina before he's going to new hampshire. i think that he will try to one up nikki haley in south carolina regardless of what happens in iowa. he will focus on south carolina. he wants to embarrass nikki haley in her own home state because donald trump is so far ahead of both of them, if he can get second place in south carolina, that is a huge embarrassment for nikki haley. >> and if desantis can get second in iowa, that could defy expectations. >> and i also think it mean that's th

jeff zeleny, cnn, des moines. >>> natasha lindstaedt is joining us from england. we knew donald trump had a huge lead going into this, but are you surprised it is as big as it is given he hasn't debated and put in the work on the ground like his opponents? >> no, i'm not surprised. he has only been to some 25 events compared to desantis who put everything into iowa, visited 99 counties, put a lot of money into his campaign. but trump supporters are really passionate about him. they are willing to wait hours and hours in the cold just to see him speak. and as the report mentioned, he has this huge lead going in and that is likely to hold. in fact if he doesn't get a 25, 30 point lead or result in the iowa caucus, that would be a sign that there was something a little bit off with the campaign. but i would like to point out that i think terrorism's campaign in iowa has been much more well organized and more effective than let's say it was back in 2016 when he lost to ted cruz. so though he might not be physically appearing in iowa that much, the organization itself

jeff zeleny, you have been out in iowa a the lot. what do you make of the fact that as we just laid out, the two who are kind of right under donald trump are still mostly going after each other and not the guy who is so far ahead. >> because the guy so far ahead has a core base of supporters. no tv ad or new argument is going to pry most of sportders away. but the available voters are the people who have made the decision to move on from trump. they believe it's a good idea to have a new face of the republican party. those are largely people either still open minded but looking at nikki haley or ron desantis. so this race for second place is actually really fascinating. it has so many layers to it. a couple things that i'm watching as we head out to iowa later this week. nikki haley, she's starting off much later in terms of organization and ground game, but a couple voters i was texting with over the holidays, they are still trying to decide. that's what heez commercials are designed to do. so that's why trump is getting a free pass

jeff zeleny is with ron desantis in iowa. i want to start with eva. haul hale's campaign announced a pretty big fundraising haul. >> reporter: they did. her town hall just about to get underway here behind me $24 million in the last quarter. that's up from $11 million in the last quarter. so that really tells you that she continues to have some momentum in this contest. that perhaps some folks that entered the race and donors have moved over to her. this seems to be an illustration of that. something that we notice on the campaign trail is she does seem to be confronting former president trump more directly, more forcefully. that's because a superpac associated with trump is hitting haley on her position on the gas tax back from when she was governor of south carolina. she says she supports no such thing. and she's sounding off on this. take a listen. >> i see commercials that you see, and i have noticed that president trump has given me some attention. and i appreciate that because that means he sees what we're seeing. but in his commercials and temp

cnn's jeff zeleny in is in des moines for us right now. nikki haley had the campaign trail, i take it, mostly to herself today. >> reporter: wolf, she absolutely did, and it is a snow covered and wind blown campaign trail. as you might expect in january here in iowa what nikki haley is trying to ride a bit of a wave of momentum into those caucus, just six days from tonight. and she was campaigning in dallas county. it's a critical suburban county just west of des moines here, and she was reaching out to those moderate republicans who she believes may be on her side. >> thank you for showing up because i didn't know if we'd come see five people, but to see a full house really is great. so thank you, i appreciate that. i believe president trump was the right president at the right time. i agree with a lot of his policies, but rightly or wrongly chaos follows him. you know i'm right. chaos follows him, and we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. we won't survive it. >> so, of course, ha

jeff zeleny is out front. >> time is running short in the race for send place.lorida governor ron desantis. >> what you're table do in iowa is going to reverberate all across this country. >> and former south carolina governor nikki haley. >> they don't see the momentum we have on the ground the we've got in iowa. we've got in new hampshire. >> in the only locked in a birth fight for the republican nomination but for the right to confront donald trump head on. >> their collision course escalating for months has left trump in a front-runner's lane of his own much to the frustration of republicans like chris grars who saw desantis today in iowa. >> i think he need to go after trump, and i don't see him doing it. >> garcia asked desantis why he had gone soft on trump, a question the governor took issue with. >> i've articulated all the differences time and time again on the campaign trail. >> when he caught up with garcia he said he wanted to see desantis fight harder. >> he's going after nikki haley quite a bit in ads, what do you think about iginla? >> that fine

. >> jeff zeleny is on the line with us as well. jeff zeleny is on the campaign trail.e must be in new hampshire. i see the piles of snow behind him. jeff, i guess there are more hotel rooms available in manchester tonight than there were maybe 24, 48 hours ago. what is your sense of how this, sort of, imploded for ron desantis? >> reporter: i mean, it is the biggest implosion and really month by month of really than any presidential campaign i can recall. someone who started out with so much promise, so much money, really barely limping out of iowa and of course not even making it to new hampshire. if you think back to a year ago, he really was even leading donald trump in some polls, as we've said. so, it was the textbook case of the outsourcing your campaign to a super pac, which he did. clearly not the best idea. but just as a candidate, he only really came into his own over the last couple of months or so. when i was really seeing a real growth by him on the campaign trail. of course by then, it was too late. in terms of him kissing the ring, he said -- look, he si

cnn's jeff zeleny is in des moines. there is still a lot on the line between the two candidates. >> reporter: there's so much on the line tonight and in the next coming days. both candidates are hoping to amplify the arguments they make on stage tonight. for the florida governor, there's no doubt that iowa is where he needs to revive his campaign. and they really been working at it for more than a year through organization, through a ground effort. he needs to slow the raise of nikki haley. not only here in iowa but also in new hampshire. of course so that is what he is the planning on doing tonight. he's been in deep debate preparations we're told. he's going to challenge her south carolina record when she was governor. of course that was a different time in the republican party during the era of the tea party. she was elected in 2010. for her part, she has done very well in these debates. but she's never been one on one with just a single rival. she's benefited, of course, from having chris christie on stage, having v

and it could well determine how long this republican presidential race goes on. >> all right, jeff zeleny in new hampshire. so harry epten is here with me. harry, everyone watching this around the country because obviously that is her general election strength. but in new hampshire when you look at the numbers how many independent voters does she actually have to get to beat trump. >> so right now if you look at republican polling of post-and look at the polling for this particular primary folks who aren't registered with the party registered independents or those not registered and registered day of, they're going to make upzer histtorquely speaking 40, and 50% of the leck tort. my guess looking at the numbers based upon the current percentage of republicans voting for haley and the current percentage of independents, that number may have to go above 50%. so it is a top road, but the fact it could happen. the idea of independents not voting in new hampshire as donald trump is trying to argue, they always vote in new hampshire. >> in the past three 40 to 47, so 50 is not out of the realm.

back with me, casey hunt, jeff zeleny. he is governor here, endorsed nikki haley. i think we're -- we will see if we see nikki haley at some point very soon. what are you thinking this morning as you listen to voters? it looks like she's pulling up now. >> on immigration, that's something that former president donald trump's campaign has been hammering nikki haley on here in new hampshire. it's more of an issues based campaign from their side, pushing social security and immigration. she's been refuting that saying, when i was governor, i passed a tough immigration law. that's one of the things that has been a challenge for her here. we saw that voter there and many we have spoken to are concerned about the fact of illegal immigration. >> trump tried to muddy the water with her stance on the southern border saying she opposed a wall. she didn't. she said, you can't just have a wall. if he convinced people, this is the number one issue in the state, we know that, if he convinced people of that, that's an achilles heel for her. >> what's the thing about donald trump

and jeff zeleny is still with me here. i want to bring in matt mowers, former new hampshire republican party executive director. also part of the trump administration. i want to talk about south carolina, but we're in new hampshire still. >> of course. >> the last time for this cycle. you know the state well. can you just give us a 30-second overview on the importance of the results that we saw here? >> well, if there was one state in america where a non-trump candidate could beat him it would be new hampshire. the number of independents who participate in the process, the number of moderate republicans who are in the republican party not to mention a popular republican governor, chris sununu, endorsing his opponent. so the 12-point gap here that we're seeing between donald trump and nikki haley might spell challenges in other states that are much more challenging demographically for nikki haley supporters than they would have been here in new hampshire. >> so interesting. okay. so let's look at some of that support that d

jeff zeleny, thank you. next wednesday jake tapper and dana bash moderate the presidential debate live from iowa. you have to tune in for that. >>> president biden will travel to valley forge, pennsylvania, to deliver a major campaign speech revolving around to tomorrow's third anniversary of the capitol insurrection. it comes as he prepares for a possible rematch in november with trump. biden is using the revolutionary war landmark to send the message that the former president is a danger to democracy. priscilla alvarez is a at the white house. good morning. you want to start with this moment for the biden campaign as he tries to use this anniversary to kick off his case for second is term. >> reporter: he's going to use this moment to set the stakes for the 2024 election. protecting democracy has been the center piece of the president's campaign, he's going to illustrate that in his speech today by the calling back to the january 6th insurrection and also the threat that former president trump poses to dem

jeff zeleny, cnn, manchester, new hampshire. >>> lawmakers in washington have avoided a partial governmenttdown by pass ago short term funding extension. both the u.s. house and senate overwhelmingly improved the so-called stopgap measure which will give them more time to negotiate full year appropriations bills. the new deadlines are march 1st and 8th. the bill is headed to president biden's desk for his signature. >>> when we come back north korea says it no longer wants reunification with the south and that's raising alarm bells and fears that the north may be prepared to take advantage of global chaos and distraction. we will bring you the latest developments also in the assassination of an he can dorian prosecutor as the country attempts to crack down on the recent surge of gang violence. >>> north korea claims it has carried out a successful test of an underwater nuclear capable drone. the test came after joint u.s., south korean and japanese naval drills earlier in week which pyongyang described as a serious threat to national security. >>> there are now growing concerns over commen

jeff zeleny is live in des moines for us at the site of the town hall. what do you know? >> sara, no question that former president donald trump looms large in this case. he is back campaigning in iowa tomorrow, but in the absence, rivals have been campaigning aggressively and particularly f governor ron desantis, and what we are hearing from voters that are undecided and yes, there are still some undecided voters out there, is that donald trump is not playing by the rules by not participating in debates. this is what some voters said and ron desantis said last night. >> he is not willing to debate, and he is not willing to get on the stage and answer questions, and he is in mar-a-lago, and so, yes, show up and debate. he is basically making a mockery of this whole process by not showing up and answering people's questions. he doesn't think that he needs t to. >> reporter: and so they are clearly trying to make the case to the iowa voters that donald trump is not putting in as many hours or answering questions that the voters have, and of course, he has spent quite a bit

jeff zeleny, cnn, des moines. >>> china says that taiwan is still its territory and that won't change the island's ruling party celebrates a historic election victory. taiwan's democratic progressive party clinched a third consecutive presidential victory on saturday with 40% of the total vote. china had warned taiwan that a democratic progressive win could increase the risk of conflict. the voters shrugged off those warnings by making lai ching te their new president. >> translator: the taiwanese people have successfully re resisted efforts from external force toss influence this election as we believe we can choose our own president. >> cnn's will ripley joins us from taipei. taiwanese voters ignoring the chinese warnings. take us through the result and reaction. >> reporter: kim, china threw everything but the kitchen sink at taiwan in the run up to this election, talking about disinformation, misinformation, deepfake videos, doctored audio, spy balloons, unveiling images of their new aircraft carrier. we know all of the ships and fighter jets in the taiwan strait have been going o

jeff zeleny, thank you. phil, poppy, back to you. >> kasie, thank you, i just learned about manch vegas and why it's called that. we'll get back to you soon. cnn political commentator, anna navarro, cnn political commentator, adam kinzinger, biden white house communications director, kate bedingfield, and former senior adviser to president obama david axelrod, all very senior and important and opinionated at this table. we're so glad you're here. i want to start with you, ax. >> some more senior than others. >> you were watching phil's magical -- everyone was glued to it very closely, that tied with what we just heard from jeff and kasie, is this thing wrapped up? >> look, i think the odds have been very long from the beginning for anyone taking on donald trump as he gained momentum. ironically with each indictment he picked up steam. you look at national polls right now, and you average them. he's got a 50 point lead. no one has ever -- thank you. no one has ever. >> putting ax's ear piece in. like i said,

joining us now are chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny.or haley is taking some flak for comments she made about iowa and new hampshire. what's the latest on that as she prepares? >> anderson, governor nikki haley stepped into this long-running controversy and competition between iowa and new hampshire, of course the states that for generations have led the presidential voting. and yes, there is competition between the iowa caucuses and the new hampshire primary. usually these candidates sort of keep -- stay in their lanes when they're in the various states campaigning. but take a listen to what governor haley said last night campaigning in new hampshire. >> i trust every single one of you. you know how to do this. you know iowa starts it. you know that you correct it. you know that you continue to go -- >> so the applause and laughter you heard in the audience in new hampshire probably will be the same here tonight where we expect haley to likely clean up that answer. of course, iowa and new hampshire don't always echo their responses. oft

. >> it would be a major development for her if, in fact, that happens and jeff zeleny is with us, astand by. give us your analysis and you've been doing a lot of reporting on this, as well. >> wolf, there is no question that this is a major milestone in this campaign, but first a bit of reporting. i am told by a republican source familiar with the governor's plans that he does intend to offer a rationale for what he believes the republican party should do going forward to win back the white house and restore the republican party. i am told he has no plans to immediately offer an endorsement. not a surprise at all, of course, but that is what i'm told will be happening in new hampshire. wolf, when you take a step back, before a single vote has been cast in this 2024 presidential race the field has shifted and dr changed dramatically. now with chris christie bowing out and mike pence bowing out and those are two longstanding republicans in this party that are urging voters to turn away from donald trump and their candidacy did not take off. one thing that is dramatically different as w

the years leading alternative for donald trump. >> jeff zeleny, thank you so much with that.are looking for a winner here at. they're trying to see where that candidate would look like. even though they change voters minds, do you think? >> people watch the anderson cooper interview of ron desantis, they may have changed their mind, i'm not sure how many people tuned in and iowa after that. but i'm not quite sure that anybody made the case that they could be the alternative tonight. there is a view of the iowa voters and, the watch group. it was essentially being in the debate tonight to, or any debates, at that point, who switch their minds. i don't think anybody, really, has had things change. trump is still the guy to beat here. i'm talking to kristen about this before, you heard the gentleman say, today a wake, up when i wake up that, they all make my mind up. i was wondering, if that's the kind of person who goes there, and votes for trump. it's what they know, right? it's muscle memory. >> when they describe the republican electorate using a goofy analogy, it's like som

cnn's national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is outside of what is going to be a ron desantis event in iowa. jeff, what are you seeing today? >> john, we are seeing all of the candidates back on the campaign trail as you said, and the florida governor is going to take the stage momentarily here, and he is sharpening the argument against but argument that donald trump is simply not electable, and warning the republicans to consider their options here. john, he is doing something more than that, because he is going after the sbeg le and he said to chip roy a few moments ago, consider the character and integrity of donald trump. so the personal qualifications have not been explored nearly as much. in the final days of the campaign, desantis, and nick di hay lis do and so peeling away are some of the donald trump supporters which may be more difficult to do, but as you said, president biden is also on the campaign trail raising the larger question of electability. is donald trump an asset to the party or not? that is the question in the ether or the air all year long, and there is not a

national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is there in iowa with more on the results of the new poll of likely caucus goers. >> reporter: with two days to go for the opening of the presidential contest, donald trump remains far and away the frontrunner in iowa according to the new poll. the iowa poll has a storied history of capturing the final movements in this race shows donald trump at 48% in the poll. race for second place is fascinating, nikki haley edging out florida governor ron desantis narrowly, 20% followed by 16%. the rest of the field is far below, vivek ramaswamy 8% and going down from there. but donald trump still has an overwhelming lead of the race, his supporters the most committed. the reason this matters, weather has been a central concern, blizzard warnings and dangerously cold weather, the committed supporters may be the answer to who shows up monday night. but haley is riding a wave of momentum. her supporters are not as committed or enthusiastic. a quarter of iowa voters have not made up their minds, there's still room for movement. but it's still donald trump'

here with me is jeff zeleny, and jeff duncan, and the former white house spokesperson for george bush, and most importantly a son of indiana, the most important part of your bio, pete. jeff, let's talk about nikki haley and this statement she and the campaign put out this morning suggesting she's no longer interested in debating ron desantis at all. her next debate is either going to be against donald trump or joe biden is what she says. she's really trying to make this a two-person race. >> she definitely is, and she said that last night in her speech in iowa. sounded like she was kgiving th same speech if she won second place, and she didn't. she said, it's a two-person race. it's something chris sununu said for a long time, it's a two-person race. it's still not quite. the governor of florida is in south carolina today. so it's a three-person race. we'll see. i mean, i guess it makes some sense for her not to engage in desantis in terms of debatiing but one question i have is the main tv station in new hampshire, it's a tradition. maybe traditions don't matter anymore like i'm used

jeff zeleny joins me live. now here we are in the final days, so what are you hearing from the voters. >> surprisingly there's a lot of voters who haven't made up their mind. others are just dining in right now, paying attention. you hear concerns about specific policy issues, but as these candidates tried to make their case here, we hear a lot of voters. that's why tonight is so important. living large over all of this, this is what they're saying about donald trump. >> well, i mean, first of all, he won't debate. he's not willing to get on a stage. he's not willing willing to answer questions. >> cass ofollows him. we can't be a country in disarray and have a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. >> reporter: they're talking a lot about donald trump. i think right now we need a commander in chief. we need somebody with fresh legs to lead us forward to the next generation. >> it if we get slick and slippery politicians out of the way, and take donald trump on, we will lose it. >> the former pr

>> jeff zeleny reporting for us. jeff, thank you very much. jessica dean is joining us right now from west des moines, where she is with the desantis campaign tonight. jessica, as we mentioned, we're waiting on those very first entrance polls set to come out of iowa. what will the desantis team be looking for? >> well, wolf, they're certainly looking to see just how turnout will shape up tonight, and if the weather and how the weather might impact that. as one adviser was saying to me, will it be geographical? will it be the fact that people in rural areas can't get out on the roads? will it be age-related? older people, might they not want to get out in the cold? they just don't know that. is a big x factor tonight. but what i'm also told is desantis really spent this day feeling what i'm told is relaxed, ready to roll, ready to go, very loose, that he feels good and optimistic about going in to tonight. they're also relying on this extensive ground game that has been touted for months now, put together by the super pac aligned with desantis,

you know that you continue -- >> cnn's jeff zeleny is in des moines, iowa. you heard people laughing in new hampshire. are you hearing that same kind of laughter in iowa? >> reporter: not quite as much. we will see if the town hall audience here responds in that way. my guess is no. but as you well know, there's an interesting dynamic between the two first voting states if it iowa and in new hampshire that really is played out over the generations of politics. and she's correct in some respects. the iowa caucuses don't always produce a winner, but their intention and purpose is to narrow the field. that has already happened in many respects. there was a large field at the beginning of the race. it's much smaller now. but it is crunch time for these two candidates. nikki haley and ron desantis, trying to make the case to undecided voters. you maybe wondering why, as we are the in the final 11 days, are there still undecided voters, after millions of dollars of ads, there are undecided voters. we ran into several of them just yesterday and talking with many of

jeff zeleny has more. >> reporter: really in the span of just a couple days time, he has collected the endorsement and support of several of his former rivals who were in this race. obviously desantis being the latest, but tim scott, vivek ramaswamy, so there does seem to be this growing ground swell of people surrounding the former president. but look, there is still a race here. voters are still making up their minds here in new hampshire. there has only on been one contest. iowa is the only state that has voted and donald trump received about 50,000 votes. so the nikki haley campaign is aggressively campaigning across the state of new hampshire, just have the feeling here that this is moving very quickly and by the end of the new hampshire primary tuesday we could be off to the races in terms of a rematch between trump and joe biden. but let's see what the voters have to say. history shows that new hampshire has many times delivered surprises here. certainly in the final days of the iowa campaign, he was aggressively going after the form er president. he was raising deep questions a

. >> jeff zeleny joins us from amhurst, new hampshire. wild night. what's next?> reporter: good morning. perhaps a wilder month to come should nikki haley decide to stay in this race. as she's pledging to do. new hampshire is the beginning of the process. the question today is, is it the end of the republican primary campaign? that's a decision that nikki haley will have to make. she is holding a campaign rally tonight in north charleston. she's vowing to fight on. if she decides to do that, this will be an epic battle. donald trump was teasing last night saying he is going to do nothing to stop her. we have seen an aggressive campaign. this is nothing what south carolina would be that has a history of bitter feuds in primary campaigns. the haley campaign is on the air this morning in south carolina with television advertisements. this is a sampling of what she's selling to voters. >> biden, too old. trump, too much chaos. a rematch no one wants. there's a better choice for a better america. her story started right here. america's youngest governor, a conservativ

. >> jeff zeleny reporting for us. thanks. let's break this down with our excellent political team. trump won the most votes ever by a candidate in the new hampshire primary in either party. the entire gop seems to be coalescing around him. even the republican national committee chair. >> the math and the path going forward, and i don't see it for nikki haley. i think she's run a great campaign but i do think theres a message coming from the voters which is very clear. we need to unite around our eventual nominee which will be donald trump and we need to make sure we beat joe biden. >> so is this race effectively over right now? how long can haley actually stay in? >> it's not over. the only two states to vote and yet it seems over very much, right? a little side note, she was hand picked by donald trump. she's trying to get back in his favor. she's also saying the same message the trump campaign is sending. they're trying to make it uncomfortable for any republican to be in the room unless you're for donald trump. let's get together. notice the tone in that nikki haley. talking abo

jeff zeleny talked to a voter last night who made a point we have heard over and over again the last, which is interesting. take a listen. >> i think he needs to go after trump. i don't see him doing it. so i don't know that he's going to be able to pull this off unless he goes after trump. that's just my belief. >> talking about ron desantis there. similar issues have been raise ed with nikki haley. why? >> what i hear again and again from voters across the country is that they want a fighter. that's what people really love about donald trump. his support comes from a mix of his policies and his personality. it's heavier, i think, on the personality. one farmer i interviewed was telling me the number one issue for his business right now is that his ill grant workers who don't have legal status are at rusk for deportation. some of them have been picked up in raids and deported. then i asked this farmer, what do you think about donald trump. he said i love the guy. he has my vote, knowing that donald trump would never support the kind of policies that this farmer is looking for. so th