welcome to "inside politics." we are in the middle of a very busy day here in washington. we're standing by for president biden to speak on the dire situation in congress if it fails to aprue more money for ukraine. an agreement on capitol hill is looking quite grim right now as the white house is already been warning about the dangerous stakes for the u.s. now the president is going to weigh in. and lawmakers, it's up in the air whether or not they are going to act. priscilla alvarez is at the white house. manu raju is on capitol hill. priscilla alvarez, what are you hearing about what the president will say? >> reporter: the president is going to take an urgent tone on passing the is supplemental request. the president addressed the nation. he's gone to the pages of the "washington post" to express how important this is passed. the resounding message from the president has been that this request in aid to ukraine and to israel is not just about helping these countries abroad, but it goes to the national security of the united states. and that is likely what he is going to say today. now just to remind viewers, this is a $105 billion supplemental request that includes $61 billion to ukraine, $14 billion for israel and $14 billion for border security among other asks. but it is the part about border security and border policy where this has hit a snag. republicans have wanted robust policy changes to pass this s suppl supplemental. this comes at a dell indicate time for the white house, which is seeing high encounters on the the border. what the white house has said is this supplemental requests includes funds to assist with that and that they have also tried to pass policies to stem the flow, but all of this taking on added urgency by the end of this mop pz. >> thank you so much for that reporting. let's pick this story up on capitol hill, where the action or maybe inaction is right now. manu raju, what are you hearing today from your sources, from lawmakers about whether there's been any movement at all? >> reporter: prospects for passage of this massive aid package are as grim as ever. many fear that ukraine aid simply will not pass in this congress and that there could lead to the collapse of that country in its war against russia. with it, israel funding as well. amid this dispute over border security, border policies, demands by republicans to change the laws to deal with the migrant crisis at the border. those proposed changes are a bridge too far for senate democrats. they are saying that they will not accept it. now the concern is going to be what will happen after the senate republicans later this afternoon plan to block a measure to actually fund ukraine, fund israel, provide money for border security but does not institute those changes. the policy changes, block ing this measure will send a message to the administration it's time to cut a deal to their liking on the border. >> we have to be concerned with our safety at home. we are not safe and sound. it's getting worse. this is a chronic situation we have to fix. >> we told the democrats ukraine aid needs to be paired with a provision to stop the flood at the border. the vote will indicate we're serious. we meant away we said. we said what we meant. >> even if there was a deal on immigration, which is far away, getting a bill through congress would still be enormously challenging. because of the divisions between the house and the senate on how to proceed, the house speaker has made clear he wants to move israel aid first and not ukraine aid. democrats and the white house want the to move it the altogether. the speaker wants to cut funding to offset the spending in that emergency aid package. then you talk about the policy over immigration where the two parties have been unable to find any accord on this issue for decades, which is leading many to raise concerns about the inability of congress to find a solution at this key moment as the white house warns the inability of congress to pass this could lead to ukraine being kneecaped at the worst possible time in its war against russia. not to mention israel aid falling by the wayside as well. many concerns with no way out of this impass at this key moment. >> we are waiting for president biden to speak on this issue that manu raju was talking about. we said there's a lot of breaking news this hour. this now, kevin mccarthy is resigning. the ousted speaker announced today he will leave congress by the end of this year. he did so in a "wall street journal" op-ed. i want to get to melanie zanona on capitol hill. this is big news because he's the former house speaker, but it also is about the very, very narrow majority that the house republicans already have. it will at least for a short time be even smaller. >> reporter: that's right. this is only going to complicate the difficult math problem in the house. after they expelled george santos last week, republicans right now can only afford to lose three republicans on any party line votes. that number is going to go down to two republicans once kevin mccarthy leaves. and that is something that is not lost on members. marjorie taylor greene, who was a staunch ally of kevin mccarthy, summed it up best when she said i hope no one dies. a very grim reference to the idea that the house is so ten wous, especially when you have a c chaotic and rambunctious group of republicans. the same republicans that forced kevin mccarthy out of the speakership last month or back in october. so a huge political and practical um police indications with the decision. it was highly anticipated and long expected. my colleague reported in october it was expected he was going to step down kevin mccarthy denied it at the time. he said he was going to seek reelection, clearly that's not the case. he's found that adjusting from life as a speaker to a rank and file member has been difficult. there's been a lot of bad blood in the conference since then. it's unclear what kevin mccarthy will do next. he did offer some clues in this op-ed in the "wall street journal." i want to read you part of what he wrote. he said i decided to part the house at the end of this year to serve america in new ways. i know my work is only getting started. i will continue to recruit our country's best and brightest to run for elected office. the republican party is expanding every day, and i'm committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders. he also made clear he had has no regrets, including about the decision to put a bill on the floor with the demsupport of democrats that led to his ouster. so we'll see what.comment county decides to do next, but in the meantime, i'm told that house republicans are planning to toast kevin mccarthy at a party next week. this is something that was planned before his public announcement. republicans weren't expecting him to retire. they just wanted to thank him. >> thank you. appreciate it. there's a lot of breaking news. right now we have a brand new cnn poll about president biden and his approval rating. it is not very good. it's a new low. i want to talk about this with david chalian. what does it tell us? >> as you noted, if you take a look at biden's approval in our brand new cnn poll, he's at 37% approval, 63% disapproval as he's about to turn the corner into his reelection year. look at this number over time. it's a knew america low, but he's bye-bye hanging out here for some time. he starts going down after the afghanistan withdrawal. s there was an uptick around the midterms where democrats performed better, but this entire year has been a downward slide to this new low of 37%. >> how does this kind of compare to others, who have serve d in the white house? >> take a look at his modern era predecessors. this was a their approval rating at this point in their presidency heading into their reelection year. just note here. he's at the bottom of this list at 37%. take a look at these three at the bottom. what do they have in common? they didn't win their reelection race. and so this is a real warning sign for joe biden. take a look here at some of the demographic groups. 72% approval among democrats. if you're below 80% of your own party, that's a warning sign. 36% approval among independents. does not have majority among americans or latinos. 34% approval among young voters. >> that's a big warning sign. >> all of it, but particularly that number. >> the issue that everybody says that they are going to vote on, we'll see if that happens because it wasn't maybe so much in the mid-erm its, but it's an important one. that's the economy. >> and we asked an open-ended question. what's the most important issue for americans? and respondents say it's the economy. partisanship and divisions in the country, 6%. 6% say guns and crime. so on issue number one of the economy, it's a pretty poor outlook from the american people. only 29% assess current economic conditions as good. 71% say they are poor. i'll note that's a slight uptick from what we have seen before. but still, it's in the cellar in terms of positive overall impressions of the economy. and his approval rating on the economy is even worse than husband overall approval rating. it's at 33%, 67% days prove. we saw on issueses like abortion rights or vote ing rights and election integrity, democrats have an advantage on those issues. they did turn out on those issues last year. that's a good note. but i would note on what voters say right now is the most important issue, he's got real trouble as well. >> they are trying so hard with boidenomics, spending a lot of money on it to press the point that the economy is getting better. and voters aren't i buying it. they are trying to tell people how to feel and it doesn't always work. >> right now, we should see a 10-point advantage for republicans on the issue of the economy. >> can we put back the downward trend of his -- i just the want to underscore one thing you said when you pregnanted this. this right here, 52% when it started going down, the withdrawal from afghanistan and he never recovered from it. >> he came back up a bit, but never to that level. with the mud idterms last year, you're right. that was the real end. >> it's what we're seeing right now, which is he is getting some applause from republicans even for how he's trying to handle things on the world stage both in ukraine and on the middle east. speaking of both of those things, we're still waiting for the president to speak at the white house about the stalemate in congress over money that the white house says is absolutely necessary for their fight against russia. up next, we are going to talk about debate night. it is tonight. what republican candidates could try to prove, their last time to face-off before the end of the year, donald trump will not be there. stay with us. welcome back. let's go now to alabama, where hours from now nikki haley, ron desantis, vivek ramaswamy and chris christie will duke it out on the debate stage. just 40 days left now until the iowa caucuses and candidates are desperate for a breakout moment. they want to tray to chip away at donald trump's overwleming lead. donald trump, of course, will not be on the debate stage. you know who is already in alabama? jeff is zeleny. you have been talking to voters trying to figure out what they are looking for from republican candidates. what are you hearing? >> reporter: even though this is the fourth republican debate, there really have been significant differences from the last debate. there's been some changes in the campaign. that's what voters, who are just begin ning to tune into this campaign, are looking for. we always think we are near the end of this process, but some voters are just beginning to take a closer look at some of the positions of the candidates. is and look for nikki haley to try to continue her momentum, which she's really built up debate by debate by debate. but florida governor ron desantis in recent weeks has been questioning her conservative credentials. he's been call herg part of the liberal establishment. look for that to be a new storyline tonight. and chris christie, all of his folks are based in new hampshire with independent voters, moderate voters. donald trump's words about a tdictator, that's certainly als likely to be front and center. but as we spent time talking to voters, the iowa voters who will make their decisions in just 40 days, have a listen to what ann said where she's at right now. >> i'm look ing at nikki haley and ron desantis and vivek. i will vote because if he's the nominee, i will vote for him. but we need some different s aspects to our country at this point. and where it's going now is not good. that's the sentiment you hear from talking to voters. their minds are open to some degree for other candidates. that's where the opportunity comes in for some of these hopefuls tonight. but once again as in every other debate, the person driving this race is not going to be here, at least on stage. but his words and his presence will be looming incredibly large. >> especially words that he's uttered in the last 24 hours. thank you so much. i'll see you tonight in alabama. the four candidates jeff was talking about who will be on the stauj are getting ready, as we speak. here's what vivek ramaswamy said about his prep, what he expects to do. >> my strategy in this race is i i would rather speak the truth and lose an election than to win by playing some carefully threaded snakes and ladders. i don't intend to play with kids gloves. >> let's talk about this with the political panel we have here. kasie hunt, laura lopez, and leigh ann caldwell of the wash "washington post." did you think that vivek ramaswamy had kid gloves on the last couple debates? that was interesting. i was to start with the ad that ron desantis has out right now going after nikki haley, and it's very interesting to me what the topic is that he chose. >> nikki haley admits -- >> the reason i got into politics was because of hillary clinton. >> hillary clinton is actually the reason -- >> so haley raised taxes like hillary, did favors for chinese companies like hillary. >> i mean, preview of tonight? >> perhaps. i honestly look at that and i see that it's easier to attack female candidates than sometimes than it is to attack male candidates. otherwise, drawing that distinction really takes the words that haley was using when she was speaking about the ways in which it is important for little girls to see women in positions of power and uses it against her. but we'll see. ron desantis has not been a terribly attack dog on the debate stage. vivek ramaswamy took more swipes at her in the previous debate, but even she she got the better of him in that. >> i think when i i look at that ad, i see that hillary clinton has become this massive boogie woman on the right because of former president trump and it's someone that desantis sees as could be ab effective attack to tether haley to a former secretary of state, the leading candidate for democrats two pscycles ago, who has been totay demonized on the right to the point they chanted "lock her up" the last few cycles. and that he thinks it's easier to tie her to someone like that despite all the lies that were spread about hillary clinton in the 2016 cycle because that's something that really gets the base going. >> you were alluding to this, but we should say it very clearly, which is when nikki haley talks about hillary clinton, she's talking about being inspired by the now former secretary because she was telling women, get off the couch, get out of your chair, get out of your comfort zone and go run for office, no matter what your political persuasion is. >> it was about that glass ceiling and hillary clinton was close to breaking that glass ceiling. >> but it also shows to me that it screams desperation. ron desantis is for so long tried to ignore the other candidates in the race that he was the clear second runner donald trump, but this is not the case anymore. so instead of running ads against donald trump, he's focused on nikki haley, who he's going head to head against tonight and nikki haley has re repeatedly outperformed ron desantis at these debates. >> let's talk about donald trump and the koupt programming that he started to do last night with the town hall on fox. a lot of interesting moments, including this one. >> i often say al capone, he was one of the greatest of all time, if you like criminals. he was a mob boss, the likes of which he got indicted once. i got indicted four times. i got know them all. they are at the top of their game, some are bad people, some are decent people. they all have one thing in common. they want what's good for their country. >> again, he's continuing to praise dictators. >> and criminals. when he was talking about al capone. he was praising al capone. and praising tick tauters and also said that he would be a dictator on day one and not after day one. but i think that trump is saying all this stuff out loud and has been for a long time. he tries to normalize violence and speaking in a vie will not way about his political enemies he says that he would go after his politicalenmys and his entire campaign is about retribution for attacks on him for the fact that he still says that 2020 was stolen. that he's already forecasting if he loses 2024, will it have been stolen. so he is very much all the his attorneys i have talked to, and i think more and more reporters are diagnosing this as well, adopting authoritarian language and is forecasting had he would overhaul congress. >> sean hannity in that extended version of that exchange was basically trying to get him to say, no, i will not be a dictator. this isn't about revenge, right? trump is like, well, actually. you could see hannity realizes it's in the interest of the former president to say, no, i'm not going to do that, to not inflame the situation. instead, here's trump saying, it would be a mistake to not believe that trump is going to when he says he's going to do something. >> we should also note the adviser that could be if trump wins, a senior person in the trump administration is saying explicitly that they will go and find conspirators and not just in government, but also in the media. >>. >> that's one thing that's different this time around with trump's quest to the white house. he has an infrastructure around him and people around him who are all in on this vision. no longer do you have people around him who are trying to push back on the idea that perhaps dismamant lg the constin is not the best idea. >> let's be sure to talk about tonight. we're going to have a very interesting discussion, after tonight's debate. we're going to give critical analysis of what you knead to see and hear. we will be hosting the post debate discussion live at 10:00 eastern right here on cnn. ahead, john king continues his all over the map series. this time he went to las vegas and talked to latino voters, who say 2024 is still up in the air. >> would you put your money on trump-biden, or are we going to be surprised? >> i think we're going to be surprised. welcome back. we are waiting for president biden to speak any minute. that's a shot of his podium in the roosevelt room of the white house. we expect him to come and try to put some pressure on congress. congress is at a stalemate over what he calls essential funding for ukraine. priscilla alvarez is a at the white house. as we wait for the president, what are you hearing about the specifics of what he's going to say? >> he's expected to take an urgent tone and pushing for the supplemental request in making the play he's made from the beginning that this is not just about assisting israel and ukraine, but also is unhertzed for national security of the u.s. he's likely to make the warning that his officials have made over the course of the last few days. the office of management and budget saying that without congressional action, we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for ukraine and provide equipment for u.s. military stock. we're likely to see an extension of that in the remarks, which are expected momentarily. to refind viewers, the president has come out to push for the supplemental request to push for total breaking it down. it's $61 billion for ukraine and $14 billion for israel. he made a the call for the naugs in october when this was first introduced. he's gone to the pages of the "washington post." this is a priority for the president and this white house as they try to show on the national stage, but also on the global stage that they are continuing to back ukraine and israel. this is important for democracy. it's important for these conflicts and above all else, it's important for the national security of the u.s. we expect to hear all of that from the president in what is expected to be brief remarks and also getting questions from reporters. some of that may include what happens with boarder security. this is something that republicans have pressed democrats on. they will not pass anything unless there's robust policy changes where the white house stands has been unclear. they said they will not negotiate in public, but clearly, this is a delicate issue and one that republicans are calling for changes on as they also try to get this supplemental through. >> and as we wait for president biden to speak, it could happen any second, john king is here. you came to talk about your story about latino voters, your travels to nevada, but we're going to take advantage of you being here. is and talking to voters as it relates to ukraine. it's amazing to e shift in sentiment among republicans. republican leaders, that's coming from the shift in sentiment republican voter when is it comes to spending taxpayer dollars to support ukraine. >> the president, you started the show with david chalian and the lo stalling. he has a very weak hand to deal with. when he wants to push ukraine funding, he looks to right. we don't see the reason to do this. why are we protecting their board etc. the president has to make the cause for democracy and try to reach an agreement with the republicans on border security. then he looks to his left. not just here in washington, out on the trail, don't want hum to get give anymore more. they think israel is the bad actor. so the president can look left and right, whethers it's in washington at the congress or out in the country, and there's a problem right now. he's trying to solve it and be the commander-in-chief. this is a presidential moment, not necessarily a political moment, but he has a weak hand. >> you mentioned that david chalian came on at the beginning of the program with new polling. one of the things that's fascinated me if you lock at the trajectory of approval numbers, the decline, that 52%, the downward slide came after afghanistan. a lot of people were really disgusted with the way the united states left afghanistan. they didn't want to be there, but they didn't like the way the u.s. left. now you have him pleading for help from the taxpayers for very different places on the globe, but all about one core question, which is democracy. >> his calling card as commander-in-chief and president was i will end the chaos of donald trump. people looked a at afghanistan and saw chaos. they department get what we pougt. they think because the -- part of this is because he keeps a light schedule. his team bristles, but the american people do not hear him every day. so he's coming into these fights making these statements at moments of crisis opposed to building up support in traveling the country. go make your case about democracy. it's striking in the sense that you look at that low approval rating. i was just in vegas. 30% unemployment at the peak of covid. that's a body employee that's hard to recover from. people don't believe it. they can see it if you look around, but they don't feel it in their bones. david was going through. he's in jimmy carter and donald trump territory. those were one-term presidents because people don't perceive he's rous. >> we're going to try to take a chance and play the story you did. take a listen. >> lunchtime in vegas. antonio is happy to lay out the choices. more cautious about a past choice. >> what about 2020? >> 2020, i'll stay away from that today. >> you don't want the to talk about that? >> no. >> why? >> because the nature of society right now. we're a small business. and they will attack you. they will attack you just because you support a certain candidate. it's sad. >> munoz started that after 16 years as a vegas police officer. >> this was a dream of mine. owning mutt own business, i have always had a love for food and tacos. i thought i could bring something special to the community. >> hispanics were a small part of the population. he a admired reagan. >> it's amazing the political power that hispanics are creating here in the state of nevada. >> this is a state that's gone democrat in the last elections, but if you look at it today, it's right there. >> 50, 50. >> one reason why. >> now a republican with one defining issue. >> your son is how old? >> 6. >> you won't send him to public school? >> i won't. i work with hispanic families for 15 years here. i have seen it firsthand how teachers have classrooms that are overcrowded. they can barely get to them. i will vote for the candidate i support my views on a school choice. >> in 2020 that was donald trump with reservations. >> i will never condone racist comments towards my community. >> she hopes the gop makes a new choice. >> i like ron desantis because of when he has done in florida. i would love to see nikki haley, to have a woman in the white house. >> inflation and interest rates worries her. she's been selling homes in las vegas and suburbs for 26 years. democrat in the past four presidential elections. but sanchez is still a registered republican, had her first and second votes went to bush. >> that does not exist anymore. >> would you like it to? >> i would love it to come back. >> sanchez is another haley fan. >> i think she could bring back that real republican feeling. everything that it used to be. >> so if it's trump-biden, you're for biden? >> if it were haley-biden? >> i would vote for hah low. >> never trump for sanchez, but some friends voted for biden talk of giving trump a second chance. >> look at what's happening in the city economist. there's no way. >> what do you say to that? >> i say don't. don't. he's going to make things worse. >> this trip has changed a ton. >> to be in a job that long and actually still love it, it's awesome. >> he's a loyal democrat who volunteers every election as a culinary foot soldier and knows a modest shift could tip nevada republican in 2024. >> i think we have a good chance of stopping that. >> he hears complaints biden is too old or nostalgia for the pre-trump economy. he tries to reframe the conversation. >> you want somebody that's going to be for the working class or somebody possibly not for the working class people. as we get closer and people start getting more information and correct information, i think it will be a lot different. >> change is a constant here. in early debates with friends, including two sons, split between biden and trump and do your homework and keep an open mind. >> people are confused. there's no perfect candidate out there. >> would you put your money on trump-biden or are we going to be surprised? >> i think we're going to be surprise d. >> the early odds suggest otherwise. >> it's always so interesting to hear from voters. i was in nevada right before the mud terms in 2022 and the feeling was this could go republican. >> it's why 2024 is so urgent. i talked about the covid hangover. even though many of the jobs are back, 30% unemployment, it leaves a bruise. you heard that latino on. she's an activist now, so some people will discount her. we have heard the same thing from people in milwaukee. people who send their children to public schools, their kids are behind because of covid. they don't see their town doing anything about it. they worry about their kids and don't see any help. >> the fact that you talked to that one particular woman who is all biden unless nikki haley is the republican. did you hear that? >> there's a lot of that. lower taxes, less regulation, conservative supports abortion rights. >> here's the president. >> good afternoon, everyone. i'd like to speak to you today about an urgent responsibility that congress has to uphold the national security needs of the united states, and quite frankly, of our partners as well. this cannot wait. congress feeds to pass supplemental fund ing for ukraie before they break for the holiday. it's as simple as that. it's stunning we have got ton this point in the first place. congress is willing to give boout putin the greatest gift he could hope for and abandon our global leadership. we have all seen the brutality that putin has inflicked on ukraine. invading another country, trying to sub jet indicate his neighbors, try og to plunge them into winter. kidnapping and keeping them in russia. russian forces are committing war crimes. it's as simple as that. it's stunning. who is prepared to walk away from holding putin accountable for this behavior? who among us is prepared to do that? for the better part of two years, the brave people of ukraine have denied russia a victory on the battlefield. they have defeated vladimir putin's ambition to dominate ukraine. and the people of the united states can and should take pride and enabled success thanks to the steady supply of weapons and ammunition. we provided them together with our partners and our the allies. i just did a meet ing with the g7, which was one of the issues we discussed. all the european leaders, we are prepared to stay with ukraine and our yeerpen friends are as well. who in the united states is prepared to walk away from that? i'm not prepared to walk away. and i don't think the american people are either. if putinen takes ukraine, he won't stop there. it's important to see the long run here. he's going to keep going. he's made that pretty clear. if putin attacks an ally and attacks a nato ally, we have committed as a nato member to defend every inch of territory, we'll have something we don't seek and don't have today. american troops fighting russian troops. american troops if he moves into other parts of nato. make no mistake. today's vote is going to be long remembered and history is going to judge harshly thoses who turn their back on freedom's cause. we can't let poutin win. it's in our international interests of all our friends. any disruption in our ability to supply ukraine clearly strengthen's putin's position. we have run out of money to be able to do that in terms of authorization. extreme republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding ukraine's funding hostage. let me be clear. we need real solutions. i support real solutions at the border. i put forward a comprehensive plan the first day i came into office. i made it clear that we need congress to make changes to fix what is a broken immigration system. we all know it's broken. i'm willing to do significantly more. but in terms of of changes of policy, and provide resources we need at the border, i'm willing to change policy as well. i have asked for billions of dollars for more border agents,s more immigration judges, more asylum officers. republicans have to decide if they want a political issue or if they want a solution at the border. do they really want to a solution that cannot be sustained as it is now. we need a real solution. my team has been engaged in negotiations with senate the the contracts and republicans. democrats have put forward a bipartisan compromise. senate democrats also have offered to let republicans propose that. reallieses have rejeked that. we don't want you to introduce the proposal because we're not going to -- even though the democrats say you can amend it any way you want, no, we don't want to do that. this has to be a negotiation. republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise. that's not the answer. that's not the answer. now they are willing to kneecap ukraine on the battlefield damage our national security in the process. i know we have our divisions at home. let's get past them this is critical. petty politics can't get in the way of the responsibilities of the leading nation in the world. and the entire world is watching. the entire world is watching. what will the united states do. think if we don't support ukraine. what's the rest of the world going to do? what's japan going to do? what's going to happen in terms of the g7? what's going to happen in terms of our nato allies. what are they going to do? if we walk away now, it will only embolden other aggressors. i'm calling on congress to do something and to the right thing. to stand with the people of ukraine. stand against the tyranny of poutin. stand for freedom. let's get this done. we're the reason putin has not totally overrun ukraine and moved beyond that. you all have heard me talk about it before. in fact, we walk away, how many of our european trends are going to continue? what rates will they continue to fund? this is too serious. i'm willing to make significant compromises on the border. we need to fix the broken border system. it's broken. thus far, i have gotten no response. so i just we're going to vote later today. we'll know from there. . i wanted to make this comment before the vote. i'm sure i will be talking with you after the vote. thank you very much for listening. appreciate it. >> would you be okay with democrats willing to put more on policy to get this current package through? >> would you be okay with democrats? >> i have already laid out our negotiations. what we're willing to do. from judges to more border security. in addition to making substantive changes. but really thought, i felt good for a while. i thought we were making real progress. mike is a decent guy and it looked like he was prepared to move in a direction that we could compromise with, changing policy on the border as well as security at the border. but they walked away. it's take everything we have here, there one proposal, which is extreme, or nothing. in the meantime, nothing means we don't get any support for our friends and the innocent people of ukraine, anyway, i'll talk to you more after the vote. >> president biden, there's pulling by the associated press that shows almost 70% of americans including 40% democrats, believe that you acted illegally in regards to your family's business interests, can you explain to the americans that this impeachment inquiry, why you acted -- >> i'm not going to comment on that. that's just a bunch of lies. >> -- >> i did not. they are lies. >> mr. president you think there's any democrat who can beat donald trump other than you? you do believe they are, who else do you think could beat donald trump as president -- >> wow a lot more to unpack than we thought, let's just start on the message that the president was giving, extremely forcefully, using dire, urgent language saying that if the united states does not give more money to the ukraine war effort, putin is going to get a gift. if putin takes won't stop there. people go after nato, he has urged members of congress to take the long run here. he said history will judge. and much much more, john king, what do you make of that and will it have any impact and i should also note, important note, that the reaso n why this is being held up is republicans want to include pretty significant immigration policy, not just funding for the border but policy changes, along with that. >> and they haven't been able to reach an agreement on that. if you just read the transcript. most people out there watched this through their partisan lens. it was an incredibly strong moral argument for defending and standing with ukraine at this moment. the president is right on the facts, if united states walks away or significantly reduces funding, the european governments will be under pressure and other governments around the world, they will be under all kinds of pressure to reduce it as well. so, the question is, mitch mcconnell is the big player here. he agrees with the president. 100% about supporting ukraine but he wanted something. he wants more on the border. he has to deal with his own conservatives in the senate and he also knows in the wild west that of the house of representatives, if you want republican voters -- votes you have to get more on the border. can the president take that argument and get in a room and negotiate on the border in ways again, he didn't even mention israel. money for israel is part of this package as well. will he give them so much on the border that he creates a political problem for himself on the left? that's his dilemma. >> i want to get your views on think it was mj asking the question, sounded like it, before he went out the door, about, that the president made last night at a fundraiser that the only reason he's running for a second term is because trump is running on the other side. >> he said that at the fundraiser and then came back to the white house and he was asked, and he said he's not going to get out now, there, she asked, are you the only one who could beat trump. and he said no, he's not the only one but i will be trump, that's what he said. >> quickly to immigration. you mentioned border security and border funding and he said that is something that he is okay with but it is pretty significant change in policy that they are trying to do really quickly after there's been a stalemate for like 15 years on this. >> twice that. >> he said that he is willing to give, we don't know how much he has said, but that really is where things stand right now and it is all connected. >> you know the president knows, but there are other republicans more conservative than him. their top republicans who want even more than that. cnn news central starts after a quick break.