in iowa just six weeks away. also this hour, the u.s. aid to ukrainian forces about to run out, the white house is turning up the heat on congress. arguing the war against russian aggression will be kneecaped on the battlefield. i'll get reaction from the ukrainian ambassador to the united states. and the israeli military now says its objective in northern gaza is nearly completed. as the ground assault against hamas expands in the south. the united nations says the number of civilian deaths is rapidly increasing in this new and intense phase of the war. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour with presidential politics as the nation closes in on the first contest of 2024. one of donald trump's most vocal republican critics is offering a very chilling new assessment of what his second presidency would actually look like if, if, he's re-elected. here's kristen holmes. >> a fresh warning from a leading critic of donald trump about the danger posed by the former president to american democracy. >> a vote for donald trump may mean the last election you ever get to vote in. >> those comments come as trump attempts to turn the table on such a warning. >> joe biden is not the defender of american democracy. >> the former president who is facing felony charges over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, claiming president biden is the real risk to the country. >> joe biden is the destroyer of american democracy. it's him and his people. they're the wreckers of the american dream. >> a spokesman for the biden campaign calling trump's comments a quote, desperate attempt at di traction. the attacks come as trump frames the election as a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. >> we have to stand up for american values embedded in the institution. the declaration of independence. because we know maga extremists have proven they won't. we have to stand up for our institution as a democracy because maga made it clear they're not going to. >> trump has continued to rail against democratic institutions and make false claims about the 2020 election. >> they rigged the presidential election in 2020. and we're not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024. >> he also suggested the u.s. constitution should be terminated in a social media post and the former president has outlined plans to dramatically reshape the federal government including a pledge to use the justice department to target political opponents. >> if somebody, if i happen to be president and i see somebody who's doing well and beating me badly, i say go down and indict them. mostly that would be, you know, they would be out of business. they'd be out. out of the election. >> donald trump has also said that if re-elected to a second term, he would make it easier to final civil servants as well as he would expand his hard lined immigration policies and he has called for mass deportation. now, this messaging and outline of what a second term would look like is clearly resognating with some people. we are just about six weeks away from the iowa caucuses and he is leading his rivals by a hefty number in those polls. he's leading nationally as well. >> thank you very much. let's get more on all of this. joining us now, kaitlan collins, a veteran of covering the white house. this is not the first time we've seen trump try to turn the tables on his opponents. is this a winning idea? >> it's a tactic he always uses. remember in the campaign lead up after access hollywood, the next debate, he brought bill clinton's accusers to the debate and kind of teased this debate he might be dropping out. he also accuses people of what they accuse him of doing. this is the argument president biden has been making before he was in the white house. he believes it drove him into the white house. it's one president biden plans to use as he's trying to seek a second term here. i think when trump is accusing biden of this, it's not just based on trump's words. we all witnessed as he tried to overturn the results in 2020 and it was very clear. you don't really have to look deeper into what his allies are saying. he was the one who tried to subvert democracy, but it is something they are trying to use. they're even going to the great lengths of printing out signs that say biden attacks democracy, pushing it out, because they want to try to neutralize the argument they know is going to be the chief one made by biden on the campaign trail. >> can anything really reign in trump if there's a second term? >> i don't think so. i think this is something you're hearing from people who work with trump now, saying it's a positive thing that he won't be stymied by people working against his agenda. people like john kelly have spoken out about it. people like bill barr, the former attorney general. and their concern and what you hear from other people is that trump's not going to hire anyone who disagrees with him this time. he's only going to hire not only people who don't push back on him, but work to carry out his wishes. that was often a great frustration of his because he'd try to get something done and they'd say that's illegal, not doable, you don't have the authority to do that. he would push back. there's a real concern there wouldn't be the checks and balances on him because he doesn't have to worry about being re-elected again, which is something advisers would try to use previously. they'd say well, if you do this, it's going to hurt your re-election. he's not going to have the john kellys and bill barrs. as cheney warned today, house republicans basically do anything trump wants. >> he's still way, way ahead in all the polls. see what happens. thank you very, very much. important note to our viewers. we will all see her tonight for the source. let's bring in more political experts right now to break all of this down and gloria borger, liz cheney says the u.s. is sleepwalking into dictatorship. her words. is there any reason to think republican voters though are listening? >> well, there's one group of republican voters that are not listening and those are the republican voters who are dedicated to donald trump and stick with him through thick and thin. the ones who have gone to him since he's been indicted. but i think there are republicans who are on the fence who might listen to a liz cheney but i think it's incumbent upon democrats to continue to bring the receipts about the things that donald trump is saying. you know, talking about using the justice department for personal retribution. how he would hollow out the government with loyalists. mass deportation. i think that those issues have not been talked about a lot and maybe a lot of people aren't listening but it's incumbent upon democrats to start getting the public to focus on what kind of government there would be in a second donald trump term with advisers who are loyal to him and no one else. it would be donald trump unchained. you know, there would be no guardrails. >> it's amazing when you think about it. scott jennings, let me get your reaction to more of what liz cheney said today in an interview. >> a vote for donald trump may mean the last election that you ever get to vote in. and again, i don't say that lightly. i think it's heartbreaking that's where we are, but people have to recognize that a vote for donald trump is a vote against the constitution. >> so, scott, how do you respond? can you vote for both trump and the constitution? >> well, i think that statement is hyperbolic, personally. i have more faith in our constitutional order, our institutions, in our other political leaders. i know we obviously had a challenge to that system in 2020 and you know, we all saw it unfold live on our televisions. but the system held and i actually think the american people are going to deliver a very clear verdict in the next election. i know it's, we're talking about it's going to be close in a handful of states here and there, but i think we're going to see where the american people need to go. i don't know who's going to win, but i have more faith in our constitutional order, our institutions, than perhaps representative cheney who i respect greatly. van jones is with us now. let me read a line from "the new york times." quote. forces that somewhat contain his autocratic tendencies in his first term would all be weaker. as a result, mr. trump and his advisers more extreme. extreme policy plans and ideas for a second term would have a greater prospect of becoming reality. what worries you most about a second potential trump term? >> the fact he would probably be better at it. he didn't think he was goeing t win. he didn't have a governing team. the whole thing was a dumpster fire from the beginning. that was a good thing because a lot of stuff he wanted to do he didn't know how to do. having worked in the white house, he spent the first week trying to find the restroom. it's not an easy place to learn to operate. this guy winds up getting a bus. he doesn't know how to drive the bus so he spends the first four years learning to drive the bus and there were people in there slowing him down and putting up the guardrails. this time, that won't be the case. you've got four years to get ready. you've got a team of weirdos and whackos who thought this thing through. now he knows how to drive the bus. if you thought he was going fast and furious the first time around, you've seen nothing the second time. it's not just about you never have to have another election. you thought the last ride was bumpy, this is going to be insane. you might have any number of things happen to you and your family that could have been prevented. you have no idea what you're signing up for. if you don't like joe biden, that's fine, but you don't put your family on a bus driven by a mad plan because you don't like the other bus driver. >> gloria, should democrats be concerned that trump can effec effectively turn the tables on biden? >> well, trump does this all the time, wolf. he accuses people of doing things that he's accused of and i remember back in 2016 when he was evading hillary clinton and she accused him of being a puppet of putin. and he said no, you're the puppet. that's what this is. democrats have to counter it. they have the counter every charge donald trump is making no matter how ridiculous. i think this will be one of the easier ones for them to counter by reminding people he tried to overturn a fair election. but he's going to, he's going to do anything he can to win and you know, this is just one of those things that he's going to say no, no. unless it's countered forcefully. >> scott, why do you think the message trump poses a grave threat to american democracy coming from system republicans has not resonated more with gop voters? >> well, because a lot of the republican voters who are loyal to donald trump actually believe that is true of joe biden. they would say this is them talking. he's using the justice department to prosecute his opponent. they're using political allies in georgia and new york to prosecute a political opponent. there may be not using the government to go after other people who deserve to be go after. so i think the reason you're hearing trump use the language he's using is because his people want to hear that they believe and trump sees the polls now and says if i can just keep by base consolidated, biden's is fracturing, that's all i have to do. that's the message they want to hear and it is not going to change and i think you're going to hear it for the next year plus. >> van, some final thoughts from you. >> well i think talking about american democracy is good for folks who went to college, but he's not just bad for american democracy. he's bad for you. you're going to have a rough time. the reason you have all these checks and balances is so somebody doesn't have a nutty idea and run it down the american peoples' throat. you could wind up eating food that can kill you. get your kid killed in a war. you've got to have these processes. just like in your workplace, you've got a bad manager that thinks he knows everything. get everybody in a lot of trouble. that's what you've got with a president like this. american democracy might be abstract. what can happen to you and your family won't be. >> thanks, guys. just ahead, the white house is warning congress that aid for ukraine is quickly running out with potentially very dire consequences if more funding isn't approved. i'll discuss with ukraine's ambassador to the united states. and we'll also go live to israel to get the latest developments on the military operations underway right now inside gaza. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." the white house is warning congress in stark terms that ukraine funding is running out and that delaying aid will quote kneecap ukraine on the battlefield and increase the likelihood of russian military victories. melanie is joining us from capitol hill. how are lawmakers responding to this urgent new push to pass aid for ukraine? >> well, wolf, there are serious doubts right now about whether congress can actually pass an aid package for israel and ukraine but the end of the year despite these new warnings from the white house. at issue is a complicated debate over the border. republicans are insisting that stricter immigration and border security provisions be attached to any more additional funding for ukraine and there was a bipartisan group trying to hammer out a deal but we are told those talks hit an impasse over the weekend. chuck schumer, the senate majority leader, has signalled he's just going to put a package on the floor for ukraine and israel without those provisions as soon as this week. essentially daring republicans to vote against it. but republicans making clear they are not backing down from their deupmand. >> this side of the aisle has been clear that a security supplemental must include funding and policy reforms to address the crisis at the southern border. and if that doesn't happen, we will not proceed. >> democrats want to be reasonable on immigration. we're willing to make concessions but we will not keep going in circles if republicans aren't interested in meeting us halfway. >> one of the voices you heard there has said he is not going to abide by a demand from speaker johnson to include the house gop's package in their talks. cornyn told my colleague that the speaker will quote get what we sent him, but at this point, wolf, unclear what, if anything, they could pass in the house. >> very disturbing, indeed. thank you very much. let's discuss what's going on. i'm joined by ukraine's ambassador to the united states. ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. as you clearly know, the white house is warning that u.s. funding for ukraine is in their words, out of money and nearly out of time. are you concerned by congress' impasse right now over new aid to ukraine? >> good evening, wolf, and thank you for having me. while it is indeed true we only have one of the programs remaining for the presidential -- and everything else that congress and american people so generously provided us during the previous two years is already used. so, we are in urgent need of additional support as russia continues this aggression war. the battlefield is very hot and russia's trying to advance. they continue shelling all the civilian population. even today, missile strike 16, more than 18 actually, drones. casualties again. and the winter is coming. we know that the attacks on energy infrastructure is imminent. so after we have win so much, we cannot lose it now. and you know, of course we all are praying literally and hoping on the additional support from american people. we really need it now. especially here in the difficult winter. let's remind everyone that how horrible it is. we still have more than 2,800 villages and cities under russian accusation where people have been killed and tortured. 12 million people are displaced and if we do not stop it while it's still in ukraine where ukrainian people are invested in the fight and containing this evil that actually wants to attack not only us and we invest in our people. and we're asking four friends ad partners, especially the united states, to stay with us. to support us and stay the course so that we can stop putin in his geneocidal war and send signal to others. those who think about future attacks, that it's not okay. the civilized move can stay united. >> the house speaker johnson says republicans want answers about, i'm quoting him now, the lack of a clear strategy in ukraine during negotiations for new aid. how do you respond to the new speaker? >> well, we, you know, the exchange of information between us and the united states is unprecedented now. if there is any additional information needed, we are ready 24/7, to share. we're sharing with the military. with all of our colleagues. i think you know that our strategy is very clear. i often quote reagan now. we win, they lose. this is our strategy. the civilized world has to win. and we have all the tactical exercises we need to do and of course it's all a function of weapons. you know, we have a number of strategies and options and ukrainian people will stay the course until we win this one. but of course, it all depends on the support and on the weapons that we will have and we can do it faster should we have more support. >> ambassador, without more u.s. support, more u.s. aid, how much longer could ukraine actually fend off russia? >> well, this is the situation. we don't even want to contemplate. look at the map how much bigger russia is. they have no more boundary. they have no red lines so to say and -- there are so many more of them and they still have so much more equipment and north korea and iran are helping them. sending all the drones and missiles and everything that they're asking in order to attack us. but in order also to attack security in the black sea and pose threats to so many other neighbors not only in europe. so i pray and i know that american people support the values for which we are fighting on the battlefield right now. and you know, i'm positive that both fighters will find a solution in order to help and in order to help this battle for democracy. >> good luck to you, ambassador. good luck to the people of ukraine. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you very much, wolf. >> coming up, how israel is expanding its ground war against hamas and what that means for civilians and the humanitarian crisis in gaza. the israeli military says its ground forces are not operating -- the war clearly days after a week long truce collapsed. alex is joining us live from tel aviv. alex, how is the idf expanding its operation in gaza over the past few months? >> expanding and intensifying their operation going from the north into the south as well. we have seen ground operations announced for the entire gaza strip and for the past 24 hours, a significant amount. very significant to use the words of the idf, across the gaza strip. we're also seeing israeli ground forces. there were israeli soldiers who came face-to-face with hamas militants in a building in northern gaza and two israeli soldiers were killed. israel says the operations in the north will end soon then the focus will turn fully to the south where of course they have told gazans in the north to flee to. we have new video from today that shows israeli tanks on a road that runs north to south. eyewitnesses saying the forces there were firing on civilians and journalists. the focus for the israelis, wolf, will really turn to the city of hanunis in southern gaza where so many gazans have fled to. this is where israel and u.s. officials do believe that many hamas leaders have gone to, wolf. >> are there any signs of progress, alex, in the stalled hostage negotiations? >> no. the sense is that they're really dead in the water according to sources we've spoken with. certainly the main mediators. the u.s., qatar, and egypt are trying to get these hostage talks back on track. there are some 137 hostages still inside gaza we believe. the hope had been that hamas would release all of the women and children and then move on to releasing the civilian men. they did not do that. it is not clear why they have not released all the women and children. what you're starting to hear from president biden administration officials is that hamas does not want the women to be released because they could tell some horrible stories about the atrocities that they have witnessed and that they have gone through. there is still believed to be around eight americans inside. seven men and one women and we heard from the white house today saying it is paramount those americans get released, wolf. >> certainly is. alex, thank you very much. now to the situation inside of gaza. the u.n. warning that civilian deaths are rapidly increasing. cnn's ben wedeman is following all of this for us. he's in jerusalem now. what are you learning about the conditions on the ground in gaza tonight? >> well, what we're hearing from a variety of international organizations, the world health organization, doctors without borders, martin griffith, who's the chief u.n. relief officer, all of them are saying that now that israel is starting its ground operations in gaza, that the situation which is already catastrophic, is only going to get worse. desperate times call for desperate measures. and in gaza, if that means looting the local bakery destroyed overnight by an israeli air strike, so be it. look at the people, he says. they're doing this out of hunger. it was the barika bakery, arabic for blessing, but now gaza is under the curse of the war. it was the last functioning bakery there. basic needs, striking it is a kind of terrorism. once the sun came up monday, people of all ages descends upon the bakery. taking away bags of flour, cooking oil, scraps of wood to use for cooking and heating. and just about anything else they could carry away. this man describes it in one word. chaos. the world food program warns that people of gaza are reaching the breaking point. >> when you have civil order breaking down completely because people are becoming desperate, hungry by the moment, this is of course bound to happen. >> and with israeli ground forces now operating in southern gaza, the hundreds of thousands who fled the north in search of safety are now even more than before in the line of fire. >> gaza, after almost two months after war, has come to this. and as you know, wolf, the israelis have dropped leaflets on southern gaza with that qr code that might indicate to them where they can go to go to some safe area, but of course, now we've learned that all internet service, cell phone service in gaza, is down. wolf? >> ben wedeman reporting for us. thank you very much for that report. also tonight, there's heightened focus on the horrific allegations that hamas terrorists raped israeli women and girls during the october 7th attack. the issue front and center at the united nations today. women's rights advocate and former facebook executive, sheryl sandberg telling the group, i'm quoting. rape should never be used as an act of war and warned that silence is come police is. some top republicans are being slammed by democrats to forcefully condemn acts of sexual violence against israeli woman. dana bash questioned pramila jayapal. >> i've condemned what hamas has done. absolutely. the rape. of course. but i think we have to remember that israel is a democracy. that is why they're a strong ally of ours and if they do not comply with international humanitarian law, they are bringing themselves to a place that makes it much more difficult streefor them. >> with respect, i was just asking about the women and you turned it back to israel. i'm asking you about hamas in fact -- >> i already answered your question, dana. i said it's horrific and i think rape is horrific. sexual assault is horrific. i think that it happens in war situations. terrorist organizations like hamas obviously are using these as tools. however, i think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against palestinians. 15,000 palestinians have been killed in israeli air strikes. >> cnn has learned that in response to that interview, two other progressive democrats are now planning to introduce a house resolution condemning sexual violence by hamas and we'll be right back. george santos is already moving on from his political career joining the celebrity video service, cameo, today. brian todd is joining us now. what does santos' post congressional future look like? >> wolf, he doesn't seem to have missed a beat as far as public attention is concerned but now he's making arguably as big a splash with his exit as he did while he roamed the hall of the capitol. booted out of congress, santos is remoting. now joining cameo, the celebrity video message platform. >> don't let the haters get to you. >> engaging in everything from birthday to holiday greetings and pep talks on cameo, the platform's cofounder says santos raised his price on cameo today from $75 to $200 due to the demand. demand from even inside the capitol with senator john fetterman buying a santos cameo clip to tweet senator menendez is is also federal indictment. >> stand your ground sir and don't get bogged down by all the haters out there. >> this comes as the republicans seem like they're on a revenge tour. >> that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future. >> santos has already gone after four house members on x, threatening to file ethics complaints. >> usually you see revenge as this sort of dish they do more privately and they found a moment to serve it cold. but here, he's serving it hot. coming on twitter and trying to make a bomb and make an explosion with what he says. >> nbc's "saturday night live" gave santos a sendoff this past weekend with a wolf blitzer impersonation. >> disgraced and now expelled congressman, george santos. is giving his final press conference. >> okay, enough. >> but santos is hinting he'll dictate his own career in the public eye now that he's cut off from the $174,000 a year house salary. >> i'll definitely be writing a book. i have refused every single offer for a documentary. >> and he said he won't rule out something other disgraced politicians have done. a possible appearance on abc's danci danci dancing with stars. >> if i find the chutzpah to go on television and embarrass myself. >> but he also has to contend with a federal trial next year on 23 charges ranging from identity theft to donor theft to using money for botox. >> the thing that used to get you pushed out and make you disappear from politics and maybe the public eye is now maybe raising your elevation higher. especially since he refused to sort of back away from it in sort of a trump like approach. >> another point of intrigue is the race for his now vacant house seat. a special election has to be held within about three months. if his seat flips to a democrat which is a real possibility, the republican majority in the house will be even slimmer. >> thank you so much. just ahead, a former u.s. ambassador arrested today and charged with spying for cuba. a former u.s. ambassador is now facing major federal charges for allegedly spying for cuba's intelligence services over more than four decades. he made his first court appearance earlier today. our senior justice correspondent evan perez is following this for us. this indictment lays out some pretty stunning allegations. >> right, wolf. these allegations read like a spy novel and according to prosecutors manuel rocha was spying for cuba for at least four decades and he served as u.s. ambassador to bolivia from 1999 to 2022, but his career spanned many, many decades over many, many countries from argentina to cuba, dominican republic and he even worked on the national security council at the white house, and according to prosecutors, he -- while he was working for the cuban government and while he was working for the state department he was trying to recruit people to help gather intelligence for the cubans. the attorney general merrick garland spoke about these allegations at an unrelated event today. listen to what he had to say. >> this action exposes one of the highest reaching and longest lasting infill trations of the u.s. government by a foreign agent. those who have the privilege of working for the government of the united states are give know an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve. to betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the united states while serving a foreign power is a krim tcrime that wil met with the full force of the justice department. >> and wolf, according to prosecutor, one of the things he said when he was meeting with this undercover fbi employee who he thought was his cuban handler. he said for me, what has been done has strengthened the revolutionary reference, of course, to the cuban revolution, wolf. >> evan, thank you very much, for that report. a very significant development, indeed. coming up, tensions in philadelphia after a pro-palestinian rally outside of the jewish-owned restaurant occurred. we will show you why the white house is condemning the demonstration. tonight, the biden white house is condemning a pro-palestinian rally in philadelphia as anti-semitic. demonstrations venting their anger outside of an israeli-style restaurant in philadelphia. cnn's danny freeman has details about the protest and the reaction. >> you can't hide! >> on sunday night, pro-palestinian protesters marched through the streets of philadelphia. at one point, stopping at the jewish-owned restaurant goldie and chanting. >> goldie, goldie, you can't hide! we charge you with genocide! >> goldie, which serves primarily falafel sand wchwiche owned by two james beard -- >> they're stealing as well. >> the witness who provided this video said the protesters stayed for five minutes before moving on through the city. the larger, planned protest ultimately marched across 20 city blocks. there was no apparent damage at goldie and police did not say whether there were reports of vandalism at the restaurant, however, local, state and federal leaders quickly and forcefully condemned the demonstration at this jewish business as antisemitic. >> what we saw last night was not peaceful protest. what we saw last night, in my opinion was blatant anti-semitism. >> the white house releasing a statement monday reading in part it is anti-semitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that service rail i food over disagreements with israeli policy. this behavior reveals the cruel and senseless double standard that's the calling card of anti-semitism. this latest incident just one of many recently charged moments across the country. in williamsburg, vij virj, a festival organizer came under criticism after a jewish organization said an upcoming menorah lighting was canceled because the event did not want to appear to choose sides in the israel-hamas conflict. the festival organizers said the lighting was never officially scheduled and the event has never had any religious affiliations. meanwhile, in burlington, vermont, where students were shot over the weekend, one, hisham artani is paralyzed and motivated by hate. goldie was busy for the lunch rush monday as many went out of the way to support the jewish business. >> it brought me almost to tears and seeing how people kept coming in and coming in and how backed up they were, really. it was beautiful. >> now, wolf, we reached out to goldie's parent company and owners for comment on today's story, but they declined our interview request. wolf? >> danny freeman from philadelphia, thanks for that report. finally tonight, we offer our deepest condolences to cnn's gaza producer ibrahim arman. at least nine members of his extended family were killed when an air strike hit their home in northern gaza including an uncle. this is a devastating loss for ibrahim who safely fled to egypt along with his immediate not that long ago. may his relatives and all of the innocent people who have been killed in gaza and in israel rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room," thank you very much for watching. erin burnett "out front "qwest st starts right now. "out front" next, breaking news. israel ramping up the fighting in southern gaza tonight as a near communications blackout hits the gaza strip. this when cnn's producerbr