in gaza continues to hold up. we'll have the latest on when more people could be freed as well as the future of the temporary truce in the war. meanwhile, back here at home president biden is hitting the road today to champion his administration's achievements, part of a broader push to change voters feelings about the state of the economy. and also ahead, this could be the final week in congress for embattled republican george santos. we'll go through the latest action to remove the rookie lawmaker from new york. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, november 29th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. and we'll begin this morning with the prospect of more hostages being freed today from the gaza strip. it comes after ten israelis and two thai nationals were brought back into israeli territory yesterday. in return israel released 30 palestinian prisoners. the exchange with hamas happened after both parties agreed on monday to extend the ongoing humanitarian pause for an additional two days. that truce now set to expire torrow. the terrorist group has freed 81 people since the cease-fire began on friday while israel in return has released 180 palestinian prisoners. it's believed about 240 people were taken captive during the october 7th terrorist attack on israel. the white house says eight or nine americans are still being held hostage but admit they don't have clear proof of life. meanwhile, cia director bill burns is now in qatar discussing the hostage release deal and the potential for a broader agreement. a diplomat with knowledge of the talks is telling nbc news that the new deal could require hamas to release hostages who are men or military personnel. as of now the terrorist group has only been freeing women and children. officials are also considering a cease-fire that would last longer than four days. unclear, though, of its duration. meanwhile, several senators were seen wiping away tears yesterday after watching a lengthy video of the october 7th hamas attack on israel. the 46-minute video, which nbc news journalists have had a chance to also watch, shows civilians including children being shot can to death and burned beyond recognition. members of the house had the opportunity to view it earlier this month. among those in attendance yesterday was senate majority leader chuck schumer. schumer who is jewish said that he was so shaken up by the video that he was unable to give remarks on the senate floor as he typically does on tuesday mornings. a truly truly, truly harrowing watch. we're also getting a look at the first humanitarian u.s. flight for aid in gaza that landed in egypt yesterday. senior biden administration officials tell nbc news the aid will be transfer today the united nations which will deliver the items to civilians in gaza. the white house says this is the first of three planned military flights transporting humanitarian aid into the region. u.s. air force officials say that more than 54,000 pounds of item were drop off from this flight alone. the delivery includes food, medical supplies, and other items to help people of gaza prepare for the upcoming winter months and also includes some heavier clothing. according to the biden administration roughly 800 truckloads of aid has been delivered to gaza during the first four days of the humanitarian pause. in october the white house announced that the united states would provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance for palestinians in gaza and in the west bank. joining us now democratic congressman of mast. congressman, good to see you again. let's start with -- with israel. your assessment of this current pause, which has been extended and the administration hopes will be extended further, what do you think is -- how has it gone in terms of the prisoner hostage exchanges as well as aid going into gaza? >> good morning. thanks for having me on. my week began with the meeting of the hostages who had flown from tel aviv to discuss their plight with members of congress. and one of those family members who had brought with her five pictures of loved ones taken october 7th told me over the course of her flight here three of them had been released and we want more of those conversations. all eyes on bill burns to see what is possible. he has the full confidence of the u.s. president. he also is talking with counter parties who have standing in the israeli cabinet, and that's critical because they need to be able to get a deal past the israeli cabinet as well. i'm likely to support whatever measure the americans and israeli cans accede to that's going to get more hostages home because that's the top priority so long as it still affords israel the military latitude it needs to pursue and destroy hamas because there will be more hostages in the future if hamas is allowed to remain in governance of gaza, and that's not my opinion of the situation. that's what hamas itself has said it intends to do. >> so congressman, let's talk about some growing divides, though, in your party about exactly that. there are some in up your words outliers from democrats that are called on the u.s. to support a full cease-fire. we also heard from the president over the weekend used to the idea of putting some conditions on israeli aid although the administration has walked that back somewhat. what's your take on both of those things? >> calling for a cease-fire doesn't make it so. there was a cease-fire in place on october 6th and the next day hamas walked right through it to murder, to terrorize, and to torture 14,000 innocents in israel. so when individuals call for a cease-fire what they're saying is iszeral should lay down its arms and hamas should have the latitude to continue to terrorize not just israelis but actually palestinians as well. hamas is releasing these hostages only because israel has retained its military leverage over the last 50-plus days and now to handcuff israel before all the hostages have been released while hamas' leadership is still extant in southern gaza would be to finish before the objectives have been completed. so this is the middle and not the end. of course everybody ultimately wants a cease-fire. this war is nightmare, but those calls for a cease-fire should be directed at hamas, which right now could end this for everybody. if they would release the hostages and if they would engage with the idf as combatants and not as terrorists, this entire nightmare for palestinians and israelis alike could end. >> and of course there's the open question about what sort of aid congress can send to israel and if that can be done before the christmas break. we'll see what the house republican majority does with it. congressman, we want to talk about one specific republican and that is house republicans have moved this week whether to vote to expel santos from office. congressman garcia filed a privilege resolution to expel the republican following a scathing report from the house ethics committee that found substantial evidence santos break the law. the move means house leaders must now schedule a vote on the resolution within two legislative days. the defiant long island lawmaker has already survived two other expulsion efforts and says he would not turn to his colleagues for support. he's denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges. so congressman, you were one of the 31 democrats who earlier this month voted to keep santos in congress. explain what your rationale was then and how you plan to voit this time around? >> i'll be voting to expel george son tose. he's had due process now. even loyalist and fabalists in this country deserve impartial fact finding forum to adjudicate their claims. he'd had that now with the house ethics committee. the republican chairman of that committee has filed a resolution to expel him, and that's the due process he is owed, and how now needs to leave congress. >> we appreciate you again joining us this morning and we hope to speak to you again soon. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll explain the new strategy from donald trump's legal team in the federal election interference case against him. plus, hunter biden agrees to testify in front of the republican led house oversight committee. the question now will it be public or private? the debate surrounding this may surprise you. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. ther when we come right back hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? 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>> reporter: murdaugh agreed to a 22-year sentence for 22 financial crime tuesday be served concurrently for his two life sentences without parole for the murders of his wife maggie and son paul in murders he insisted he didn't commit. >> i would never hurt maggie and i would never hurt paul. >> reporter: with handcuffs unlocked an emotional murdaugh apologized to his victims. >> i concede to each of you i did terrible things. >> reporter: and his family -- >> i am so sorry that i destroyed our family's reputation. >> reporter: judge clifton newman unmoved. >> i will turn the page and leave you behind. >> that was nbc's anne thompson with that report. still ahead here, we'll turn to sports. the nba's in-season tournament is heating up. we'll have the highlights from that and try to explain it to you. plus a shocking move from dallas mavericks owner mark cuban. that's all straight ahead. cuban that's all straight ahead. once alexandra called me to let me know that bank of america had approved my loan... it was important to me. we not only just provide the financing piece, we do everything that we can to surround them with the right people. all you need is a perfect, amazing team that will guide you through the right steps to be successful. and that's what bank of america was for me. ♪♪ vicks vapostick provides soothing, non-medicated vicks vapors. easy to apply for the whole family. vicks vapostick. and try vicks vaposhower for steamy vicks vapors. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. delicious too. just ask my old friend, kevin. nothing like enjoying a cold one while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. a chance to take the lead here. wiggins with five fouls, one drive zone. and he scores! what a basket. >> that was not an easy shot. the fade away in the final seconds lifted the sacramento kings over the golden state warriors as steph curry misses there and into the nba in-season tournament quarterfinals. thecis won their group with a 4 and 0 record and will host the new orlen pelicans monday. meanwhile the boston celtics blew up the chicago bulls last night to win a three-team tiebreaker via point differential. we're all trying to get used to this. but, yes, the celtics needed to beat the bulls by a certain amount in order to break the tiebreaker. they did. you can see there they won by 27. celtics will meet the indiana pacers in quarter times. the new york knicks grabbing the eastern conference wild card spot with a win last night over the charlotte hornets. the knicks will visithe milwaukee bucks on tuesday, the los angeles lakers will play the phoenix suns that night. the winners of each of the quarterfinal games will advance to the semifinals in las vegas next week. i still don't quite understand how this works. i'm not sure many fans do. but we'll see, the final eight that could be fun. mewhile, more nba news in dallas. mavericks owner mark cuban has reportedly agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise. multiple people with knowledge of the agreement confirm to "the washington post" broke this news on substack the shares will be bought by the widow of billionaire cuseena magnate. cuban will maintain an ownership stake and maintain control over basketball operations. cuban purchased the team for $285 million in the year 2000. the associated press reports the sale agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion. pretty good investment there for cuban. luka doncic led the mavs over the rockets last night, which prevented houston from advancing in the in season tournament times. head coach jason kidd after the game took issue with a perceived lack of coverage of the team's success. >> it's all right to write positive stuff. people will raeld your positive bleep pleep. you don't always have to be negative, right? the world is already negative enough. let's see some positive stuff on some positive people that are doing their job on a nightly basis. we're only into this year. we can't go back to last year, right? like that's the [ bleep ] problem. have a good night. >> angie lassman, everyone is a media critic these days. mean wile, florida state is back in the top four of it latest college football playoff rankings. the seminoles back in playoff position. georgia remains number one. michigan moved up one spot to number two with washington state at number three. ohio state was the top ranked team in the sfp rankings back on october 31st. they dropped four spots. alabama is now number 8. we'll see what happens in the conference championship game this weekend to see who makes the playoffs. time now for the weather and here is the afore mentioned angie lassman with the forecast. >> jonathan, did you see any of the flurries in newark city yesterday? >> yeah, a little bit of snow. >> yeah, a little bit. you know who got a lot folks along the western lakes. we're still dealing with some of that across portions of of lake ontario and lake erie. so we'll still pick up additional snowfall in that area. mainly it's going to be western new york another inch or two later today and that will start to taper off. still dealing with the cold through portions of of the southeast from wilmington and stretch through tallahassee and out through batten rouge we've got alerts up. and not hard to tell why 20s right now in atlanta, high 20s for the actual temperature and feeling like the low 20s and 36 for charleston and nashville feeling like 18 degrees right now. still on the cool side of things for the eastern part of the country but start to see things get mild as we get into tomorrow and especially into the weekend. low 50s for washington, d.c. by tomorrow, mid-50s for indianapolis. and then we settle into this kind of seasonable pattern here as we get through saturday and sunday. and low 50s on tap for new york, so no snow in the forecast just yet for new york city. that was the big question yesterday. numerous people asking me when are we going to see some accumulating snowfall. >> i feel like the flurry we got yesterday was more than we got all last winter. >> you're wrong about that but not by much. we didn't have a whole lot last winter. >> i'm voting for some snow. >> me too. i'm with you. still ahead here on "way too early," president biden is out west today. we'll tell you which republican held district the president will visit to explain how bidennomics is helping their community. that's coming up next on "way too early". that's coming up nex too early" mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. ♪ today, my friend you did it, you did it, you did it... ♪ centrum silver is now clinically shown to support cognitive health in older adults. it's one more step towards taking charge of your health. so every day, you can say, ♪ youuu did it! ♪ with centrum silver. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. this isn't charmin! no wonder i don't feel as clean. hurry up dad! i'm trying! this cheap stuff is too thin! here's charmin ultra strong! ahhh! my bottom's been saved! woohoo! with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. what's everybody waiting for? this? we all go, why not enjoy the go with charmin. and for a shower-fresh clean feeling try charmin flushable wipes! first time i connected with kim, she told me that and for a shower-fresh her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. welcome back to "way too early." it is just about 5:30 a.m. here on the east coast, which means it's 2:30 out west. i'm jaupthen lemere. thanks for joining us on this wednesday morning. president biden is in colorado today visiting republican congresswoman lauren boebert's district to highlight how bidennomics is positively impacting that community. the president will speak at the largest wind tower manufacturer in the world which recently announced it'll be expanding its footprint in the state due to the benefit of biden's inflation reduction act. ahead of the speech the president is slamming boebert's vote a the bill saying that he willork to continue to work for the american people even if, quote, self-described maga republicans like representative boebert put politics ahead of jobs and opportunities created by bidennomics. joining us now white house reporter for "the washington post." tyler, good to see you. no word if the president will mention denver local production of "beetle juice" while he's there. lauren boebert famously attended a show. but he will talk about the economy trying to bridge that disconnect with voters who don't feel good about the economy despite relatively positive metric. and you write that he's also going to talk about the affordable care act, which donald trump has targeted in recent days. tell us what we should expect to hear. >> yeah, it's good to be with you, jonathan. thanks for having me. and that's right, biden becoming more aggressive on a host of issues as he and his campaign try to drive a harder contrast in particular with former president donald trump trying to isolate the two of them in this one-on-one matchup, feeling they need to create a better contrast with trump as it seems he is all but set to win the republican nomination, so after trump made those comments this weekend or put out on truth social about his desire to try to repeal the affordable care act, the biden campaign went into overdrive. biden himself even responded to the comments from the former president trying to drive the contrast between biden's efforts to expand and protect affordable care act and trump's comments about wanting to repeal it. with boebert this is part of the strategy that biden has tried to implement over the last several months trying to bring up his economic approval numbers. as you stated the economic indicators, the macro ones look largely positive for the economy, but the administration is having trouble getting americans to feel good about the economy, and that disconnect, that disparity between what the overall indicators say in how americans are feeling is a warning sign for democrats and for the president as he runs for reelection, so this is a targeted effort here in colorado where he's going to really drive home the different vision he has for the economy and what that one is advanced by as they bring in maga republicans like trump and representative boebert. >> and tyler, it does seem the white house and biden campaign writ large spent real months trying to make a positive case what they've done. and not that's stomping, but they do seem to be leaning more far into contrast with trump particularly -- and maga republicans particularly since election day of a few weeks ago. talk to us is there any disagreement or tension in the biden world as to the correct approach? >> yeah, jonathan, we have both reported on this phenomenon in the campaign, in the white house and across the democratic party about how much -- how aggressive biden and his allies should be about trump. as you said for months the biden white house has really centered on this bidennomics phrasing, that messaging about trying to sell biden's economic accomplishments. they have not necessarily seen the type of gains that they've wanted in public opinion about biden's handling of the economy. and there's been many pollsters who say that phrase should never have been adopted by the white house. initially dismissed by biden and then ultimately adopted trying to co-op that phrase from something that was per jorative to something that was positive. we've not seen that work to the success that the biden administration has wanted, and so we've seen democrats inside and outside the bubble really calling for the white house to be more aggressive, calling for the president to be more aggressive in making it a one view match up with trump and going after his record as biden says compare me to the alternative. we've heard from democrats who say, okay, you should be doing that. we're now in the full swink of the election, it is less than a year away. we'll so how aggressive the president is against his predecessor. we've not necessarily seen him always follow through with that despite it calls within his own campaign and party to do so. >> terrific reporting this morning from the white house reporter for "the washington post." tyler, thank you for joining us. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll take an early look what's driving the markets this morning after stocks saw modest gains yesterday. plus how snail slime helped amazon reach record sales on cyber monday. we'll explain, i guess, when we come right back. guess, when we come right back. ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? 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>> well, this morning u.s. futures are pointing to a positive start, as you said, so an extension of the rally we saw yesterday. u.s. stocks now on pace for their best month since july 2022. so it's been a pretty good run for wall street. fed expectations front and center yesterday. we got fresh commentary from a couple of officials namely christopher wauler. in terms of the days ahead you've got u.s. q3gdp to look out for, on the data front wholesale for october, and earnings wise dollar tree coming before the bell, and after market close you've got salesforce earnings to look out for. >> so speaking of cyber monday, amazon says it rang up record breaking sales leading to that day. and we just teased a moment ago as to one of the reasons why. julianna, tell us more. >> well, amazon said basically the period from november 17th to cyber monday marked its biggest ever holiday shopping event. of course november 17th was long before black friday itself, long before thangs give, and that's part of the reason that they are seeing so much demand for their deal. they're starting them earlier and earlier. the ceo of worldwide amazon store said we kick off the holiday season with prime big deal days back in october and extended the black friday and cyber monday shopping event to 11 days to accommodate even more deals. amazon, doesn't disclose specific figures but said shoppers worldwide bought more than 1 billion items during this period last year. >> and snail slime part of that thanks to facial serums. and saudi arabia won the bid to host the 2030 world expo. they're also vying for a world cup coming up. tell us what this means for the crown prince, mbs, and his efforts to reshape the kingdom's international image? >> well, this story really caught my attention this morning firstly because the saudi state is now poised to be the second gulf state to host the world expo in more than a decade. the uae hosted the event back in 2020. so big win for the region. in terms of what it means for saudis specifically clearly the country has been trying to rebuild on this international stage. and this event they're hoping will expand its influence, turn it into a regional finance hub, that's one of the big ambitions there and also attract tourism. part of the plans saudis have involve $8 billion in investments for the events. so they're going to be investing in infrastructure, public parks, e-game facilities, tons of stuff coming saudis way. >> all right, cnbc's juliana tatelbaum, thank you as always. talk to you tomorrow. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll get an update on the war in ukraine, which is nearing its 650th day. retired four-star navy admiral will join us with his expert analysis when we come right back. h his expert analysis when we come right back emergen-c crystals. theo's nose was cause for alarm, so dad brought puffs plus lotion to save it from harm. puffs has 50% more lotion and brings soothing relief. don't get burned by winter nose. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. 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(vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? we really need to work on your people skills. welcome back to "way too early." and we're going to turn now to an update on the war in ukraine and russia's intensified efforts to capture a key town under ukrainian control. one of the embattled regions illegally annexed by the kremlin. reuters reports russia has bombarded the town from the air and ground for over a month now. it brings to mind the battle of bakhmut where russia threw thousands of poorly trained troops into the fight while ukraine expended key resources there do it spite skepticism about the strategy from allies in the west. meanwhile, finland has closed all travel throughout its border with russia. for the next two weeks only fright traffic will be allowed to cross between the two nations. last week finland shut all but one post in their northern mt region, and now that crossing will close as well. finland has seen an unprecedented surge in asylum seekers. just this last month alone at least 900 people entered finland from russia, a massive increase from the average of less than one per day. helsinki is now accusing moscow of funneling people to their border as retaliation for their decision to join nato and increase cooperation with the united states. russia has denied those claims. speaking of nato expansion, just the few moments ago sweden's minister said they believe they'll finally get the official approval from turkey in the weeks ahead. joining us now retired four-star navy admiral james surete s. he's chief international analyst for innocence news. admiral, so great to see you this morning. let's start with that town where russia is really focusing a lot of its efforts. does ukraine's decision to battle for bakhmut to expend a lot of resources tlz was a controversial one. even many member of u.s. leadership weren't sure that was the right idea. remind leaders where you stood on that and do you think this battle could play a similar role? >> bakhmut became kind of like the alamo of american history. it achieved iconic status, so as relt of that i think the ukrainian decision, jonathan, to really keep that pressure on was smart. this current go around what the russians are doing i don't think is smart generalship. the russian generals have consistently misfired, fumbled, dropped the ball. and i think this is an example of them putting too many resources against too small a prize. >> so where do you think things stand right now? the ukraine conflict has faded from the headlines as we've focused on what's happening in the middle east. also the fighting itself has sort of frozen. there hasn't been much progress made an either side and now winter approaches. where do you see this next few months going? >> well, a third combatant is about to enter the battlefield, russia, ukraine, and old man winter is about to arrive. and that will further freeze the frame, not to go too far with our freezing metaphors. so what you'll see is more static on the battlefield, jonathan. not much will happen through the winter months. and then the -- the advent of the f-16 fighters, which will be hitting the battlefield in march, i think that's the next big muscle movement in this conflict. bottom line, don't look for a lot of emotion right now. this thing is starting to look like the korean war with a frozen line that may become a line of demarcation. >> so -- but with time if it's going to be static for a few months, time seems to be on putin's side, no, because he's certainly eyeing the 2024 u.s. presidential election. he announced this this week a massive hike in defense spending, about 20% of all fiscal expenditures going to the military in the year ahead. if we are in a frozen conflict and ukraine has done a remarkable job repelling russia's invasion and you've been very impressed by what thoufb done, are you still optimistic about the long-term arc of this war. >> again to hold onto that korean war metaphor for a moment, if this thing freezes into two sides along a line of demarcation, you open the door at that point negotiation. putin can't overwhelm the ukrainians. and as a result, you could see a case, over time, where ukraine achieves its real goal, which is to come into the european union, to come into nato, i can see that happening. but you are correct, jonathan, putin will wait to play that card of the u.s. election. he's hoping to see donald trump come in, who's not a supporter of ukraine, and not a supporter of nato. >> retired four star navy admiral james staph rae dis, we'll see you on "morning joe" soon. up next on way too early, nikki haley scores a key endorsement from a conservative organization backed by the coke brothers. we'll dig into what it means for the 2024 race as some republicans look for an alternative to donald trump. and then coming up on "morning joe," we will have live reporting from tel aviv for the latest in the israel/hamas war as more hostages are set to be released from captivity. plus, hunter biden now wants to testify before the house oversight committee. but republicans who have long called for exactly that are now saying, not so fast. democratic congressman dan goldman and jared moskowitz will join the conversation on why the chairman is now seemingly fighting against a public hearing. 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"morning joe" just a few ms away special olympics athletes with developmental needs. thousands of bank of america employees like scott spend countless hours volunteering to teach people how to reach their financial goals. it felt good. it felt like i could take on the whole world. the influential conservative policanetwork financed largely by billiaire charles coke is endorsing former u.n. ambassador nikki haley in the republican imy. a statement reads in part ts way. when we announcedur decision to engage in our first ever republican presidential primary, we made it clear that we'd be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction and win. it's clear that candidate is nikki haley. according to sources familiar with the decision the choice came down to nikki haley and florida governor ron desantis. but the endorsement went to haley due to better pole numbers and being more idealogically aligned with the network. joining us now is shelby. great to see you. walk us through the thinking behind the decision, what your sources are saying. why haley and does it matter in a race where donald trump has such a commanding lead? >> asp action has been doing this for months and months. they've been on the ground talking to voters in early voting states i was with them on the ground last month and saw firsthand they're targeting two kinds of voters, the soft trump voters, voters who their first choice is trump but open to picking somebody else and then they're also targeting the sect of republican voters who want to turn the page and want new leadership. the first thing i'll say is there is a significant base for them to play with. the ultimate question is do those voters ultimately vote for nikki haley over someone like donald trump? but it came down to polling and it came down to the fact that ron desantis has been struggling for months in his polling numbers as nikki haley has been rising and ultimately they looked at the numbers, the favorabilities of nikki haley over ron desantis and said she's the one to back over donald trump, she's in the best position to take him on. >> the coke organization doesn't wield the clout it used to in the trump-fied party. let's talk iowa. voters are going to be voting in six or so weeks time. i know that donald trump is headed back to that state this weekend for a series of events. give us the latest from what you know of the state of play in iowa. >> listen, it's still, as far as donald trump's team is concerned, trump's race to lose. at the same time, you see all of these other candidates with the exception of chris christie, really going all in on iowa. their expectation in the state is not necessarily to come out number one against trump. it's to come in a close enough second where they're competing. and again, as we talked about for the past few months on this show, ultimately the nontrump alternatives want to be the last standing non-trump alternative. so for them that means we don't necessarily have to win in iowa, just be competitive. >> if that person is say a nikki haley, finishes strong in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, even if it's a couple second places, the non-trump forces the thought being rally around her. we'll see if that happens because a lot of people's second choice is donald trump even if he's not their first. there's another republican debate, for some reason, next week. give us a sense whether any of the candidates involved thinks it can change the trajectory at all. >> i've heard campaigns arguing it is making a difference particularly with nikki haley's team who has performed pretty well consistently in the debates. but look at the poll numbers, nikki haley's rise, she's still far behind donald trump so i've heard the argument it isn't making a difference so it doesn't matter whether they make the debate stage or not. >> give us a sense of fpss here. where did do the candidates stand in terms of the access of money to stay on the air to stay viable for the first few months of primaries. >> that's a good question. certainly some of the candidates are more strapped for cash than others. chris christie doesn't have as much in the bank but he's being more conservative than some of his opponents so i think his team expects to stay through new hampshire, which is his focus. you have ron desantis who's been forced for several months now to lean heavily on his super pac and it's affecting his superpac with infighting, so that's affecting his standing. and nikki haley with this endorsement behind her is going to boost her. >> thank you shelby. thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early" with us on this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. hunter biden is more than welcome to come in front of the committee. if he wants to clear his good name, come and say these weren't 20 shell companies, they did something. he's invited today. >> well, that's -- he has to be happy because hunter said he's going to -- >> hunter is in. >> hunter wants to go and speak before the american people. >> right. >> wants to clear his good. >> he's more than invited. >> wants everybody to -- you know, this poor comber guy. >> he's been trying to get hu