today on "inside politics," a big development on hostage negotiations. president biden said a deal to free the more than 200 hostages held by hamas is, quote, going happen. this comes as a official familiar with the talks tells cnn and israel and hamas are moving closer to a deal. i want to get straight to mj lee, who is in san francisco with the president waiting for him at least. what did the president say? and put this intoen context along with other reporting this you and other colleagues have. >> reporter: yeah, you heard from president biden, who is making his way now here to san francisco for his summit with xi jinping, expressing a sense of optimism that a deal could be reached to get the hostages out of gaza. this was echoed in part by a u.s. senior official that i was speaking with earlier, who said that israel and hamas are moving closer to a deal to secure the release of these hostages, but the official, it's important to note, cautioned that it's closer, but it's not done. essentially saying closer does not mean they are necessarily close. in terms of the broad parameter of the deal, we're talking about a large group of hostages being released out of gaza in exchange for a number of palestinian prisoners that they are holding. there would presumably be a sustained pause in fighting that i'm told could last as long as five days, but a lot of the details are still being worked out. just to give you a sense of the sticking points and really how frougt fraught the negotiations have been, israel had at one point requested that 100 hostages be released. then saw hamas' military wing saying what they are discussing is the possible release of some 70 women and children. so one official summing this up as hamas is pushing to release as few hostages as possible for the longest cease-fire possible. there have also been serious concerns about how to actually execute this in a safe way, given that gaza is under constant bombardment. that's one of the many things that these parties that have been negotiating over the potential release of these hostages, that they have been working on day-to-day for the past couple weeks. but again, just sensing a little bit of optimism, at least from the american side, including from the president himself. >> when the president says it's going to happen, that's a big deal to hear from the president of the united states. but you are right to put some caution out there, as we report this, given the fact that you have been doing reporting as have many of our colleagues since the hostages were taken, in particular the last couple weeks as the talks have heated up, where they thought they were close, thought they were almost there and then the negotiations fall apart. so we do have to keep that very much in mind. but you're right, there are so many important and specific and complicated aspects to this. first and foremost, it's how many hamas is going to agree to release. we hope just for human kind that they release all of the hostages. but also how physically that would happen and how long israel would agree to a, quote, unquote pause for that to happen. all of those are factors that are going to have to be discussed and final lized before anything takes place. >> reporter: this is a phrase we have heard over and over from sources familiar with the talks that they have been close before, but a deal has not been struck yet. just to give you one more sense of why these talks have been so incredibly complicated, the pure aspect of actually communicate ing with hamas has been incredibly challenging. this is not some regular negotiating actor and partner that you were talking about. even just getting messages to hamas has been very complicated. we know that is why the qatarys have been trying to play the mediating role so they understand exactly what's going on. there's also just the question of can hamas be even a trusted partner in all this. u.s. officials have shown a lot of skepticism that at any moment, any information that they are getting from hamas, any assurances that they essentially can't be trusted. so that's just another sense of why these talks have been incredibly fraught. u.s. officials, again, have been working around the clock, a little bit of optimism that we're hearing from the president, but officials really caution until a deal is made and until they see hostages physically get out, they are not going to be sighing relief until they really see the hostages are physically out of gaza. >> so much of what has been going on behind the scenes has kind of been playing out some of the posturing that we have seen publicly from the prime minister, from members of his team, and also from others in the arab world about how to kind of play this because you're exactly right. there is absolutely no trusting in hamas, in particular. they are quite literally terrorists, so the notion of negotiating with terrorists is what we're talking about here, which is why qatar and others who do have a lot in the case of qatar, they have senior hamas leaders living in their country. so this is certainly potentially a moment and we're going to keep on it. thank you for your reporting. >> i wanted to turn to it a very related story in washington. that is tens of thousands of americans who are gathering on the national mall right now. you're looking at live pictures from the rally for israel. more than five weeks after 1200 innocent civilians were massacred by hamas terrorists. i want to go to gabe cohen, who is there on the mall. part of the reason why this rally is happening today is to push back on anti-semitism that is rising, but, b, to remind the world that these hostages are still being held by hamas. and there are family members, many of them who flew to the united states that are where you are on the mall that came from israel in order to make sure that the world doesn't forget that their loved ones are being held by hamas still. >> reporter: that's right. they are just part of this long list of speakers that we're going to see when the program gets underway. we're still seeing the massive crowd pouring on to this huge section of the mall, about a mile long now fenced off. people coming from ul over the country and all over the world. i met people from ohio, georgia, massachusetts, florida, california, who all wanted to be here to take part in this event. organizers think it's going to be the largest gathering of jewish american communities in recent history. they were really intentional with their list of speakers as they were putting this together, really toning down the rhetoric, trying to create as they put it a really wide tent of unity and support, trying to bring together jewish organizations from it cross the spectrum. there are three points of focus here. one is showing solidarity with israel and the israeli people. one is combatting anti-semitism. and third, to call for a release of the israeli hostages still being held in gaza. just a few minutes ago, i met a woman in the crowd who says she went to high school with a long island native, who is being held in gaza. here's what she said about why she came down today. it looks like we don't have that sound. but she talked about omar and his impact on her and who he was a at a person. she felt she should be here to support her community and we know that there's a lot of concern about security here. we will see as this gets underway that rhetoric is matched by the speakers on that stage. >> we didn't get to hear from ammar, but the fact that so many people in the united states and around the world are either know somebody who was killed or is held or knows somebody who knows somebody. the jewish community is quite small. not just in the u.s., but around the world. appreciate it. gabe mentioned the security concerns. the understandable concerns that law enforcement was focused on as they were prepare ing for th very large rally here in washington today. i want to go to shimon prokupecz, who is also there focused on security. what are you seeing and hearing at this moment? >> reporter: there's certainly some concern given the event, given what's going on across the country as it relates to the protest and anti-semitism. there's a lot of concern. you have so many people gathered in one area. we could see up to 100,000 people here. so this is a major concern for law enforcement. they are on the highest alerts here,s audiocassette see behind me. the national guard is even here. they placed them at inte intersections to deal with traffic, but also the security. they are also using these dumpster trucks so that in case cars wanted to come through here, so they have that extra layer of security. this is where people are going in. this is where people are attending the rally, this is where they are streaming in. once they go down here, there's a security area. they have to go through security. anything else that you would expect at a large event like a super bowl, new year's eve, same security measures here. for now, everything has been safe. everything has been pretty good. law enforcement is out here. there's a the lot of them here. they are going to continue to be out here. >> thank you so much. it's nice they are treating it like a super bowl. unlike a super bowl, this is a group of people being threatened by not just rallies, by protests and vie listens aclens across t world. thank you for that. now we're going to go elsewhere in washington up to capitol hill. very different kind of story. one that i never thought we would be reporting on. we're talking about a fight, not just a rhetorical fight, a political fight, an actual alleged fight with elbowing and shove asking one member of congress chasing after a former speaker of the house. that is what congressman tim burr shet is accusing the former speaker kevin mccarthy of doing. he's one of eight house republicans who vote ed to oust mccarthy from his speakership last month. manu raju is live on capitol hill. you spoke with burchett not long after this incident. what's going on? >> reporter: pretty surreal moment. unprecedented moments we're seeing here in the capitol, first starting with kevin mccarthy, something that never happened before, but it happened more than a month ago, but the tension is still lingering. you heard kevin mccarthy just a few days ago telling me that he's still angry at several of those members. apparently, taking it out in physical ways. tim burchett said one of the republicans who voted to oust kevin mccarthy, and in the hallways of the capitol, accusing kevin mccarthy of taking a shot to husband kidneys, a sucker punch, and chasing him down the hallway and engaging in a heated confrontation with the former speaker. something the former speaker denies. burchett says it happened. >> explain to us what happened with you and kevin mccarthy. >> i was dong an interview with claudia from npr, a lovely lady. she was asking me a question. at that time, i got elbowed in the back. it kind of caught me off guard because it was a clean shot to the kidneys i turned back and there was kevin. and for a minute i was like what just happened. and then i chased after him. he's a bully with $17 million and a security detail. he's the type of guy when you're a kid would throw a rock over the fence and run home and hide behind his mama's skirt. from behind, that kind of stuff, that's not the way we handle things. we have a problem with smrks i'm going to look them in the eye and talk to him. >> so he walked down the hallway and hit you with his elbow. >> you can go on the twitter account. it pretty much it's very accurate. >> i ran after him. i was like, why did you do that? because it was a little different. you don't have to hit hard to cause a lot of pain. and he just, as he always did, he denies it or blames somebody else or something. it was just a little heated, but i backed off. i wasn't gaining anything from it. everybody saw. >> he responded to you? >> he just acted like what are you talking about? that's symptomatic of the problems he's had as peek speaker. >> were you face to face? >> yeah, but there was security detail. they were doing their job. it wasn't exactly he wouldn't turn around and face me. he kept scurrying trying to keep people between me and him. i just let him go at that point. i raised my voice to him. i thought it was inappropriate. you don't expect a guy who was three steps away from the white house to hit you with a sucker punch in the hallway. >> did he raise his voice back? >> just pitched thing. that was about it. >> did he walk into his office? >> he just kept on walking down the hall. i adopt know where his office is now. >> reporter: he went on to say he's still in pain from what he calls a sucker punch. now kevin mccarthy denied this in conversation with our colleague melanie zanona saying i didn't shove or the bow him. it's a tight hallway. and i just asked the speaker of the house mike johnson about whether he witnessed it or has comment. he said he didn't see it and declined to comment. >> i'm just reading some of claudia's reporting, she has the quotes because she was there. burchett said, you have no guts. what kind of chicken move is that. you're pathetic, man. and then said when kevin mccarthy started to walk away, he said to the reporter, claudia, what a jerk. you need security, kevin, screaming after the former speaker. that happened, but there's some important business that is going on in those halls where you are, which is keeping the government open or at least trying. give us a report on that. >> reporter: this all ties back to kevin mccarthy. he pushed through a measure to keep the government open, did not have spending cuts. he needed democrats to get it over the finish line. that led to his ouster and eight total republicans voting with democrats to do just that. the new speaker doing the same ta tactic. putting forward a bill on the floor to keep the government open. no spending cuts attached to it. it needs democratic support to get it over the finish line. doing something a little different. others to february, but no spending cuts and that's significant pushback from the right flank. but we do expect democrats to carry this over the finish line later today. expected to a pass the senate before they head home for friday. but mike johnson told me he's not concerned about the security of his speakership in the aftermath of this move. >> i mean, there's so much to unpack with all of this. but the news is definitely out there and appreciate you giving it all to us and grabbing the congressman to get his rendition of what happened. thank you. coming up, donald trump's campaign pushes back on reporting about the radical immigration policies. a second term would allegedly bring three words they aren't saying, it's not true. we'll explain after a break. donald trump's campaign is trying to down play reports of some controversial plans for a potential second trump term. that included large-scale rirs irs as of detention camps and travel bans. in a statement issued last night, the trump campaign says reports about personnel and policies that are specific to a second trump administration are purely speculative and theoretical unless a second term priority is articulated by president trump or officially communicated by the campaign, it is not authorize d this any way. here to share their insights, the associated press, leigh ann caldwell of the "washington post," eva mcend and security analyst cary korda ro. even in the most controversial of stories about what his policies or potential policies would be and say no, that's not true. >> right. >> they didn't say it's not true here, but the pushback on what we're talking about is noteworthy because they don't do that very often. >> i will point out particularly with the immigration details, which you just mentioned, steven miller, his former white house adviser and widely seen as the architect of the policies was quoted in the times article saying that president trump will unleast the vast arsenal of powers to enact these policies. what's happening here in part is actually a classic trump trait. he doesn't kind of like it when other people feed off him and kind of profit or benefit from him. so i think some of it is him and his people saying we don't want these outside groups coming in and trying to take advantage of us. >> this is such a good point. there are groups who are writing position papers and policy papers and chomping at the bit for trump to get back into office so they can continue to push some of these really draconian notions. >> it's not all that surprising some of these policies, because when the former president was in office, he stressed our constitutions. he telegraphed he theed to do a lot of this, and we know there were bureaucrats in the way. now there are entities like the america first policy institute filled with folks at the ready to be deployed if he's to be reelected. >> but let's listen to donald trump in his own words, and this is him talking both in november, so this month, and then earlier this fall in september. >> we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in american history. >> it's poisoning the blood of our country. it's so bad. and people are coming in with disease. people are coming in with every possible thing that you can have. >> poisoning the blood of our country. >> first of all, let's separate out and acknowledge the nature of that kind of language, which is xenophobic, which is in line with the types of policies that he tried to do last time with respect to the muslim ban and keeping out certain kinds of people, because that appeals politically and that's the type of policy he wants to implement. >> this is similar to what he tried to do before. he has wide authority that's what we saw during his first term s that pattern. >> in some circumstances, the courts will push back to a certain degree and really if we look over the past several years through the trump administration, it really is the judiciary that was able to hold the line and protect institutions more than the executive branch really in many circumstances was able to protect itself. >> now the judiciary has more trump appointees. it doesn't necessarily mean they are going to agree with him. but it is a difference. >> donald trump did a very good job confirming a a record number of apoint tees to the judicial system. but donald trump in his first term had people who were stopping him and pushing back. you had his chief of staff, you had the attorney general bill barr, and trump has said that he made a mistake in husis first b appointing people the who did not gray with him and allow him to do whatever he wanted. so now if he is elected, perhaps he's going to take a very different route and hire people who won't push back and will engage and allow him to do that. >> that's going to be a huge part of the conversation if he does get the nomination and there's a general election campaign. thank you, everybody. standby. today president biden is traveling to california. we heard that at the top of the hour. he's going fora high-stakes meeting with xi jinping. ahead, we have new reporting for a potential breakthrough between those two leaders on a key issue. stay with us. c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. just a few moments ago, president biden left the white house to head to california, where he will meet with chinese president xi jinping. the trip comes a at a key time for both leaders hoping to repair a frayed relationship between china and the u.s. the u.s. is hoping to at least come away with an agreement to crack down on the export of chemicals used to make fentanyl. i want to bring back my panel to discuss this. s and and i want people to look at something that maybe surprising to some, maybe not to others. the latest cnn poll about who is the the or most effective world leader in trump vs. biden. look at that. trump does pretty well compared to joe biden. >> he had does according to that data point. this is a very tricky area for the president because he has to appear tough to appease some of the republican criticism. but at the same time, not exacerbate tensions with china. he already has enough on his plate when it comes to international issues, whether it's ukraine or israel. but the tough talk from republicans on china is extreme. just go out on the campaign trail it wasn't long ago when senator scott, who has now dropped out, who suggested as an event that chinese students studying here should receive an extra layer of surveillance because they could be reporting back to the cgovernment. that's what president biden is up against in trying to combat what republicans are putting him in this corn er on this issue. >> that's such a good point. i had bush on my brain because we were talking about when i covered george w. bush, and i remember when he would meet with chinese leadsers, there was an effort to show him how it's done with the press and show what a free democracy and free press is. this is something that david sanger, our friend over at "the new york times," reported about what's going to happen with this trip. when president biden meets with president xi jinping on wednesday, diplomats want to know what xi will be looking at and to make sure the scenery does not include protesters. nearly every minute they spend together from the the number of steps it will take mr. xi to reach a chair when he enters the room to specific timing of their handshake will be part of a high liquor graphed diplomatic dance when designed to give them the space to try to did i have a year of bubbling tensions. that last part is key. >> the tensions between a leader come ing from ab authoritarian country, where he can dictate the way every single thing occurs, investigator vus what happens in a somewhat messy democracy. so the idea of having protesters behind him would be something that would never happen in china. so to the extent as david's reporting seems to be infer rin that the administration is going to try to accommodate in some ways, maybe different than covering a prior administration, they are going to try to make this a productive conversation. and the goal is not to get hung up on details this might make it harder, but instead try to really make it a productive conversation, because the environment has been so tense. >> that story from david is really interesting. i covered president biden's last meeting with xi in bali. everything really is like this perfect little denies. every step has a purpose. you have president biden coming from this door at this time. and then president xi coming up. all of this is intentional for a specific reason. so it will be interesting how that transpires. you want to go back to the tough on tone that we have been hearing from the broader republican party, not just on the campaign trail, but on capitol hill. there's one exception and that is the former president. he was out there praising xi jinping. this is something he's done throughout his first term in office and he does take a different tone than what primary voters are asking for. >> about the meeting specifically tomorrow, it's interesting because the reporting has is said they are try ining to lower expectations what's going to come out of it. really the goal is actually to ensure that there's no escalation of tensions, which has been extremely high. so nonescalation rather than accomplishing something are two very different things. >> the national security adviser did say they want to do something basic like restore communication between militaries, which is a huge deal. thank you so much. and as we mentioned earlier in the program, tens of thousands are gathered on the national mall to march in support for israel. coming up next, i'll speak to israel's special envoy for anti-semitism about the fight against hate across the world, including here in the united states. sglrvelgs since the hamas brutal terrorist attack on october 7th, anti-semitic incidents have exploded worldwide. from austria where a jewish section of the scemetery was se on fire and desecrated with swastikas torks a jewish school in montreal that was hit by bun fire twice in one week. what may have started as criticism of the israeli government's policies has turned into blatant anti-semitic acts that have jews around the world very afraid. right now, thousands are here in washington marching in support of israel and against anti-s anti-semitism. joining me now is israel's special envoy for anti-semitism. thank you so much for being here. it's definitely a march in support of israel, but this is a show called "inside politics." so let's just be sort of blunt about it. part of the challenge for the biden administration is the very big divide in the growing divide inside his own party on how to handle israel. and a lot of the undercurrent there, it's out in the open. it's anti-semitism. and how much of that is playing into what we're seeing on the mall. >> we want to be clear. it has nothing to do with politics. it has nothing to do with land. it has nothing toot with the dispute with palestinians. 10/7 was a day of reminder for all of us for what it was that the atrocities of the holocaust held, burning, mutilating, raping, abducting thousands of civilians, that's what happened on 10/7. this is not about politics. what we see at that rally today is not only about israel and the em pir tef to enable a democratic country like the united states after 9/11 to defend civilians. it's not only about jews, who are now being attacked. it's about the foundational prin principles of life and of liberty. anybody that cannot condemn 10/7 does not understand it's a war that was waged not just on israel, not just on jews, but actually on our shared ci civilization and humanity. the atrocities of that day, the magnitude of the atrocities can't be overlooked and forgotten. >> no question. they should not be forgotten. you're right. we should all remember that from the river to the sea is in hamas' charter. and what they mean is, among other things, to eradicate not just israel, but jews. and that is a really important thing. the problem is that let's just talk about what's happening here in the united states. that is not understood. and because of that, there you're seeing the political pressure on president biden, who most people in israel are so thankful for for his support. and so how do you square that when you look at the fundamental fear that jews do have around the world? and your mission to address that? >> so what's really important and the reason i'm on this third emergency trip to north america is what's really important is to understand that the very same anti-semitism, the fuelled atrocities of 10/7 that we just spoke of is the same anti-semitism that fuels the responses to 10/7 that deny, that justify, that support that in their attack jews around the world. when i say that, we have bto be very clear. the current mutated, modern mainstream stream of anti-semitism or the denial of israel's right to exist in any borders, you just said it. from the river to the sea, for anybody who looks at the map, is the entire thing. that's a call to annihilate the state of israel and murder jews. that's not what's known as a two-state solution. the importance of understanding that right now is part of the urgency that i think all democracies have to understand, including the united states that has seen on campuses across the country, demonstration on streets, and let us not forget paul kessler, who was murdered in a demonstration holding israeli flag in l.a. this is a critical moment for all democracies, and we have to speak up and speak out against the various placess in which the war has been raging for decades. it turned zionism into racism, and israel into an apartheid sate, and israel into the perpetrator of holocaust and genocide, when on 10/7 the makings of a genocide were perpetrated against israelis. >> speak up, speak out, silence is not an option. silence is complicity. and that is such an important message that i have learned in studying this. i'm so glad you came on to do this. i know you have to go over to the march to give a speech, but thank you for coming on. >> just to remind everybody, never again is right now. >> thank you. moments ago, in new york city, mayor adams addressed allegation it is a his campaign misused funds linked to possible favors and foreign influluence. whwhat he had d to say, nenext. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. moments ago new york city mayor eric adams says he is fully cooperating as the fbi investigates whether his office misused campaign money and possible foreign influence. >> this is an ongoing review, and as a former member of law enforcement, it is always my belief, don't interfere with the ongoing review and don't try to do these reviews through the press. we are fully cooperating with whatever the reviewers are looking for, we're cooperating with it and my role is to allow them to do their job without interference and i have to do my job of continuing to make sure the city navigates the various issues that we are facing. >> cnn's gloria pazmino has been following this and joins us outside of city hall. what's the latest? >> reporter: dana, it was actually quite surprising just to see how many times the mayor avoided answering any questions today, and in many ways we are learning more about how this is unfolding by the way he responded to the press today. he was asked over and over today about the investigation and the city's chief counsel multiple times stepping in to answer on his behalf. there were two key questions the mayor did not answer today, and that is whether he has been interviewed as part of this investigation and whether or not anyone else in his administration has been interviewed. he also would not say if anyone else's electronic devices been seized by the fbi. we know the mayor's electronic devices were seized as part of this investigation last week. dana, there was one thing that mayor did say today, and he acknowledged that he had reached out to the prior commissioner back in september of 2021. at this point he wasn't mayor, but he was the democratic nominee and might as well have been the mayor. he admitted he had reached out to the commissioner to get him to help and fast-track fire safety certificate for the turkish consulate, but he said that is routine. what officials do and are expected to do, so like i said, the way he didn't answer questions is quite telling, telling my colleague mark morales at one point we were getting ahead of ourselves by asking if he would resign should he be charged with any crime and certainly again repeating he is trying to avoid interfering in the investigation. >> so interesting. thank you so much for that reporting, gloria. appreciate it. thank you so much for joining "inside politics." "cnn news central" starts after the break.