Documents case against donald trump. It comes as the former president is being condemned for praising a dictator. Well dig in to both of those stories. And a look at the republican hopefuls campaigning in iowa, as two more names are likely to join the field this week. Good morning and welcome to way too early on this monday, june 5th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day and week with us. And well begin this morning with a deadly plane crash near the nations capitol. Yesterday afternoon the military scrambled two f16 fighter jets to respond to a private business jet that was flying over restricted airspace in dc. The response caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the region around unsettled many of the residents there. Heres some of the sound Surveillance Cameras captured. The sound was heard across many miles. The cessna was not responding to radio transmissions. It then crashed in the Shenandoah Wall i have in virginia. Officials say there were no survivors. According to the faa t plane took off from tennessee and was headed to long island when it suddenly turned around and flew back toward washington. Its not clear why the pilot was not responding or how the plane crashed. The New York Times reports the plane was owned by On Core Motors in melbourne, florida, the man who owned it, john rumpel says they were returning to east hampton, new york, after a fourday visit to north carolina. Well bring you more on this story as we learn it. Were also discovering new details about the Justice Departments investigation into former president Donald Trumps handling of classified documents after he left the white house. Nbc new has learned exclusively that the federal grand jury Hearing Evidence in the case is expected to meet again this week in washington. Thats according to multiple people familiar with the investigation. They say activity for the grand jury appeared to have slowed in recent weeks. Prosecutors working for special counsel jack smith have been presented the grand jury with evidence and witness testimony for several months, but its not clear if prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment at this point. Prosecutors reportedly face two essential legal questions. First, did trump wrongly retain classified documents after he left the white house, and, second, did he later obstruct the governments efforts to retrieve them . The Justice Department would not comment on the status of the investigation. Former President Trump maintains he has broken no laws and has dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated smear campaign. On Meet The Press yesterday, former trump lawyer timothy said he would not be. This is a case where you have to evaluate every case based on what are the facts in the law and is this something provable and then Everything Else in the atmosphere, from a discretion point of view, is this something where it makes sense . He stepped down. Many expect trump to be charged in the months ahead. Trump is also facing criticism this Monday Morning for his 2024 opponents because he congrat late north korea leader kim junk un. He posted praise on his social media website. Its worth noting frequently boasting about their special friendship and love letters skpairchled while he was president s day, trump spelled kims name wrong in the post. Nevertheless, his opponents criticized him over the weekend. With the exception of asa hutchinson, they did so without naming trump directly. What do you make of donald trump congratulating kim . Lets not forget kim john unis a thug. Theres nothing to congratulate him about. I was surprised to see that. One, i think kim jongun is a murderous dictator. Joining that, we need to be getting out of that and rejecting the w. H. O. Lockout treaty. Whether its my former president or someone else, nobody should be praising the dictator in north korea or praising the leader of russia. Under no circumstances do you have to hand it to kim jongun. Speaking of 2024, the Republican National committee is requiring president ial candidates to pledge their support for whomever becomes the nominee in order to take part in the partys first primary debate. The move comes as many have voiced their concerns about supporting opponents in the future. Donald trump said back in march, quote, there are probably people that i wouldnt be very happy about endorsing who are running. The former president has yet to say whether hell sign the pledge, but theres a report hes considering skipping the first republican debate. Former governor Chris Christie whos set to enter the race tomorrow told axios earlier this year he could never support trump again. And potential candidate New Hampshire governor chris sununu said he could support the president ial nominee but hedged it by saying hes confident it wont be donald trump. In order to qualify for the debate, candidates must sign the pledge and meet a series of polling and fundraising. Now, the gop hopefuls, many of them, were in a over the weekend for an annual Roasting Ride hosted by senator joni ernst. Everyone except donald trump attended the event, delivering shortened version at the iowa state fair grounds. Joining us now hannah knowles. Great to see you. Lets talk about some of the candidates out on the trail. Florida Governor Ron Desantis is reaching across the states how have voters reacted to this opponent . I think he got a really good reception when he was on the trail last week. I talked to so many voters who not only did they say they like his policies and his message, but he really came across to them as this young family man, and thats absolutely the image his campaign was trying to put out there. They would bring up his wife Casey Desantis at eer stop and she would kind of give her own mini speech. In that respect, he did it well. His retail poll sick ticks has been closely scrutinized. I picked up and other reporters picked up signs hes still working on that and there were signs that there were awkward moments, but there are good moments as well. His allies are waiting to see if hell get a polling bump now that hes officially a candidate and that trump would drop below 50ch, but we havent seen that yet. Campaign data suggests desantis did well at fundraising, but it was from big donors rather than small donors. Lets talk about the rnc and the pledge that for every candidate who supports the nominee, trump, he sure seems skeptical about doing that. I think theres real concern in the party that if he were to not be the nominee, he would instead of supporting the winning candidate, hed try to tear the whole thing down. When you talk to republican nominees out there talk about the various campaigns, what do they say . Absolutely. Thats why all these candidates are in a bind, too, because they want to be able to bring all of trumps ardent supporters with him if they do win. He has to be careful about not offending those people. Desantis did come out swinging at trump. I think more than some people expect and he attacked him on not just policy but character saying his name calling is petty and his behavior for years is part of the reason hes not in the white house anymore. So really getting pretty explicit. He does that with reporters, not in his Stump Speeches as he sticks with these more unveiled jabs of how i would have gotten rid of fauci and things like that. Its going to be interesting to watch how many of them directly take on trump. We really appreciate you joining us this morning. Well talk to you again soon. Still ahead on way too early, moscow claims to have thwarted a largescale attack by ukraine. Well have that reporting and what ukrainian president zelenskyy is saying about his countrys much anticipated counteroffensive. Plus, another Military Provocation by beijing. What were learning about a near collision between a chinese warship and a u. S. Navy ship. Those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. When we come right back vo with verizon, you can now get a private 5g network. So you can do more than connect your business, you can make it even smarter. Now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. And where its going. dock worker right on time. vo robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. foreman nice work. vo and retailers can get ahead of the Fashion Trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. With a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security. Giving you more control of your business. We call this enterprise intelligence. From the Network America relies on. 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Were going to to turn to some overseas headlines now. Russia says it repelled a largescale ukrainian offensive in the eastern prove engs of donetsk. They rereese leased a video claiming over 200 soldiers were killed in the battle. Now, ukraine has yet to respond to any of russias claims. The kremlin also recently claimed that one of its top military commanders was at a fort post near the front lines while the ap reports this may be an effort for moscow to criticize russia that the top Mull Tear Leaders have not been visible at the front. Ukrainian president zelenskyy tells the Wall Street Journal its ready to laurench a counteroffensive. Its unclear whether the situation in donetsk is part of that effort. Elsewhere theres been a second provocation by chinas military in a span of a week. This time a nearmiss collision between china and the u. S. In the strait. Reporter china defending its latest Act Of A Gregs at sea after one ofs warships nearly collided with the u. S. In the sea. The Chinese Defense minister argued that recent joint u. S. And canadian patrols in the region served as a provocation and warned that a fierce competition between u. S. And china would lead to unbearable pain in the whole world. In this video, the chinese ship can be seen on the left speeding up, coming within 450 feet of the Uss Chung Hewn forcing it to come to a slowdown to avoid collision. I call on the leadership to really do the right things to reign in that kind of conduct because i think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control. Reporter this latest incident comes days after a chinese fighter jet flew directly in front of the nose of a u. S. Reconnaissance plane over the china sea. Tensions rising as the white house seeks to reestablish diplomatic channels after communications broke down over the chinese spy balloon in february. Theres a lot of risk of miscalculation. Still ahead, well turn to sports, and well have the highlights from the Big Comeback Of Nba Finals and give you a look at the french open and reaction from yesterdays baseball. Thats all straight ahead. From baseball thats all straight ahead. Not so much here. If you have chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help you keep living life. Farxiga and farxiga reduces the risk of kidney failure, which can lead to dialysis. Farxiga can cause serious side effects including dehydration, Urinary Tract or genital Yeast Infections in women and men, and low blood sugar. Ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may lead to death. A rare lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. Farxiga can help you keep living life. Ask your doctor for farxiga for chronic kidney disease. 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Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler. For sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating,. Vision changes, or eye pain occur. Take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. Ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy. And save at trelegy. Com. Looking for a Bladder Leak Pad that keeps you dry . All of the things that youre looking for in a pad, that is always discreet. Look at how it absorbs all of the liquid. And locking it right on in you feel no wetness. Oh my gosh totally absorbed i got to get some always discreet denver has a timeout, wont use it. Four points. Then its over. The miami heat have tied the nba finals. What a comeback here on the road for the heat, and its one apiece. Miami heat becomes the first team in Road Playoffs to beat the nuggets in denver. There was a wintime threepointer at the buzzer. They trailed by as many as 15 points and were down by eight going into the Fourth Quarter before a 17 manufacture 5 run that put them ahead for good. The heat outlasted a 41point level. They have tied up the nba finals at one game apiece. The game moves down to florida for game three on wednesday night. In the nhl the Las Vegas Knights have a onegame edge after they beat the florida panthers, 52, in a very fun opener on saturday. Game two tonight in las vegas. Lets turn now to the french open tournament. Novak djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals in record fashion. Yesterdays straight set win puts him in the final quarter finals for the 14th year in a row. He holds the record for the most french open quarterfinals by a count of 17. On the womens side, Second Seated Player Won A Hard Fought Match Against American Sloane Stephens to advance to her first rolandgarros semifinal. Sloane stooevs came back before sabalenka came back. Sabalenka has 32 win this year. Meanwhile a womens doubles team was disqualified from the tournament yesterday after an errant hit struck a ball girl during the match. The team was leading in the second set before one of the players sent the ball to the opposite end of the court between points. It accidentally hit the ball girl in the net, injured her and she left in tears. The umpire gave a warning before a disqualification, sending that team home. The next golfer arrived. Rose zhang living up to the hype. She had a par on the second playoff hole. Zhang is the first player in 72 years to win on the l pga tour in her pro debut. Congrats to her. Time for baseball. An ally and embarrassing sixth inning moment for the red sox up in boston. To marek up for the lack of velocity. The runner takes off and that becauses going to be chopped to the open to right side. He goes around. The runner scores. The ball goes back into center field around thats going to give diaz an opportunity. He will circle the bases and score standing up. You can hear the boos raining down at fenway, absolutely inexcusable effort by the red sox. Their sloppy fielding gifts the Tampa Bay Rays a Little League home run. Tampa bay beats the red sox, 62. Yesterday ozuna was removed for not hustling in the braves win. He sit there, stared at it from home plate instead of running because he thought it was going to be a home run. Guess what . It wasnt. Went 415 feet and hit the wall. Came back in. He ended up with a single. Got pulled back in. The braves beat the diamondbacks because of a ninth inning grand slam. Time now for the weather. Lets go to Michelle Grossman for a report. Im sad to report its monday. Hows it looking . Weatherwise were not looking terrible, but we have weather in many spots. Showers around the west, the ro rockies, even the midwest. Thats going to be the story in a next couple of days. Kind of in a traffic jam. Not a lot is going to be changing or moving. You can see all this green showing up on the map. Thats the likelihood of where the rain will be falling. Rockies could see some flooding. Coastal new england as well. Were looking at temperatures in the Northern Plains 10 20rks degrees above what is typical. New england, 10 to 20 degrees below normal. Were looking for a chance of severe storms as well. That would be parts of the carolinas, georgia, tennessee. We could see some hail. The Tornado Threat is low, thats the good news, but we could see a few. Theres not a zero chance. Slow moving storms is going to be a chance to bring in rain. Tomorrow will be tuesday. Thats good news. That is a step in the right direction. Michelle grossman, thank you so much. Still ahead on way too early, well talk about whats next for President Biden after he signed the Debt Ceiling Deal, Staving Off A potentially catastrophic default. We go inside the west wing when we come back. O inside the west we come back with its customizable options chain, easytouse tools and Paper Trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. E trade from morgan stanley. Power e trades easytouse tools make complex trading less complicated. Custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an Earnings Tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. E trade from morgan stanley. Want a worryfree way to kill bugs . Zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. They work continuously, so you dont have to. Zevo. Peoplefriendly. Bugdeadly. The thought of getting screened for colon cancer made me queasy. But now ive found a way thats right for me. Feels more easy. 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Now available in cinnabon® bakeryinspired flavor. Learn more at boost. Com tv welcome back to way too early. It is 5 30 a. M. On the east coast, 2 30 out west. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. With just two days to spare before the United States reached a potentially catastrophic default, President Biden on saturday signed legislation to extend the nations debt ceiling. The fiscal responsibility act of 2023 suspends the debt limit through january 21st of 2025, which, of course, is after the 2024 president ial election. Instead of holding a public ceremony with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, the president simply signed the legislation in private at the oval office, posting that video on twitter. Joining us now White House Reporter from the associated press, our friend darlene. Darlene, good morning. Lets talk about this debt deal. It seems like everyone involved wanted to turn the page as quickly as possible after it held it hostage for weeks is. There any concern in the white house, certain elements of the deal like Student Loan Repayments, Work Requirements might dampen enthusiasm among democrats as we start looking toward Campaign Season . Good morning, jonathan. Thats super a concern at the white house. As you know, the Student Loan Repayment plan was a priority for the president and something they really, really wanted, and its super the president really wants too. There is a Supreme Court case on that, a ruling were all awaiting, but that is one thing at least one thing the white house is watching and interested in seeing what the fallout may be and whether as you mentioned it, in fact, will dampen enthusiasm among some of the voters that the president needs going into the 2024 president ial election. The same thing with Work Requirements for certain recipients of federal aid. There are lots of democrats, Progressive Democrats who objected to the republican demands for those Work Requirements. So thats another area that the white house is concerned about and also well be watching to see the fallout from. So the debate over the Debt Ceilings and negotiations really consumed the president s agenda, frankly, for the last month or so. He had to cut short a foreign trip, and it does seem like they want to move to other things, and this in particular seems to be looking on Foreign Policy. Darlene, tell us what lies ahead this week for the president and diplomacy. Sure. Its a heavy Foreign Policy week for the president. He has the Prime Minister of denmark coming to the white house today followed by the Prime Minister of uk on thursday and the big agenda will be ukraine and whats ahead as the war with russia now continues in its second year. One of the things that the president will talk about with both of those leaders is a new effort to train ukrainian fighters on f16 fighter jets. Thats something the president recently agreed to after resisting that for quite some time. Another issue for the discussions today, both of those countries are members of nato, the annual nato conference is coming up next month in lithuania. And still on the table is the question of swedens Outstanding Meb in nato. Sweden and finland both sought nato membership after russia started fighting ukraine. Turkey recently allowed more. Thats something with President Biden will discuss with turkeys president. The president and his team says, hey, weve announced our reelection bid, were not going to rush into it. We know theres going to be fundraising this month. Thats going to be the focus. Have they given a sense of when theyre going to see the president on the road ramping up the reelection bid as the republicans have center stage in their primary field . Not really, but my sense is the white house and the president , they want to hold off as long as possible in terms of putting him out there in campaign mode. They want to keep him in president ial mode for as long as possible. He will do some fundraisers because he needs to raise money for the campaign apparatus. I think were still some months away from that. Well keep an eye on that. Thank you as always. Still ahead, cnbc joins us with the latest in business news, plus a look at the markets, which are pretty mixed before the start of a new trading week. Well have so much more on all of that right ahead. O much morel of that right ahead. Trying vapes to quit smoking might feel like progress, but with 3x more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes vapes Increase Cravings trapping you in an endless craving loop. Nicorette reduces cravings until theyre gone for good. [ ] if you have diabetes, its important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. Try boost glucose control®. Its clinically shown to help manage Blood Sugar Levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support Muscle Health. Try boost® today. When it comes to your hair, ingredients matter. Thats why Herbal Essences is packed with naturally derived Plant Ingredients you love, and none of the stuff you dont. Our sulfatefree collections smell incredible. And leave your Hair Touchably soft and smooth. Herbal essences this is not just delivery. This is knowing even superheroes. Can use a sidekick. Walgreens. This is not just a pharmacy. This is living the care in healthcare. Walgreens. Time now for business, and for that lets bring in cnbcs Arabile Gumede who joins us live from london. Arabile, good morning. President biden over the weekend signed the Debt Ceiling Bill into law, averting what would have been a catastrophic default by the United States government. What do you think that means for wall street . Well, we may not have defaulted, but it seems like the market is going to go back to default settings in many ways, right . Youre seeing a lot of the market last week having some really positive numbers, really pushing forward with some gains. In fact, the s p 500 hit its best week since the month of march. Its highest level as well since last year. The Trade Ceiling is coming on the backs of that. 339,000 jobs created just in the month of may alone. Thats almost double the 190,000 that was actually anticipated. Theres still a lot of strengths in the jobs market, which is pushing some resilience in the Global Economy arngd, therefore, youre seeing some strength as well. 3. 7 is the unemployment rate, which did push up from the 3. 4 we had seen initially, but still not enough to prove that the job market or the economy is loosening. So there still is some positivity, and the jobs market is still seeing a lot of positive. Theyre signaling how they intend to act ahead of the next highly anticipated meeting. Arabile, whats the latest . If you take that jobs number into some perspective, it brings you into the conversation of what exactly theyre going to do. Federal officials have looked at perhaps pausing or taking a bit of a break when it comes to these Interest Rate hikes to kind of see what fwaul actually will happen in the future. In fact, we saw fed governor and Vice Chair Nominee that any rates to be held city should not be viewed as the end of the tightening cycle, but it would allow the fed to see more data before making decisions. One notes adding 339,000 jobs in the month of may as opposed to 190 anticipated proves theres still a lot of resilience of the economy and maybe the Interest Hikes hasnt fully been felt, but it may just be a pause, not the end of the hiking cycle. That seems to be the theory gaining momentum. Lastly, oil prices have surged after a surprise move by saudi arabia. Give us a recap of what action they took in riyadh and how it may affect prices in the u. S. . Prices have gone up 2 on the back of the news that happened yesterday, the news out of saudi arabia. Theyre deciding to voluntarily cut their output as of july. Thats the decision they made. Then yesterday, opec plus, which, of course, pm ping approximately 40 of the worlds crude and makes Policy Decisions around oil as well announced it would make no changes to its planned Oil Production cuts for the rest of the year. So 9 Million Barrels is how much saudi arabia will be pumping out as opposed to the 10 million it had before. Cnbcs Arabile Gumede. Thank you as always. Still ahead on way too early, as President Joe Biden seeks four more years in the white house, mm are raising concerns about his age. How hes responding to the criticism and the impact it could have on his reelection bid. Well get into this story when we come right back. T into this n we come right back and longer when you need it most. Its nonhabit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. Are you tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . 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It states this. Mr. Biden is the Chief Executive of the worlds most powerful nation and has just embarked on a campaign asking voters to keep him in the white house until age 86, drawing more attention to an issue that polls show troubles. The paper goes on to report that some officials in the Biden Administration acknowledge they make what they consider reasonable accommodations not to physically tax the president. That includes scheduling most of his public appearances between noon and 4 00 p. M. And leaving him alone on weekends as much as possible. At the same time the president has said age is a legitimate issue but maintains his longevity is an asset, not a liability. In fact, he went onto to tell guests at the recent kromts dinner, quote, you say ancient. I say im wise. Joining us now, peter baker. Thanks for joining us this morning. This is a significant story line. As much as white house officials like to publicly poohpooh it, polls suggest its a top concern among voters including democrats who like the job hes done but say, well, we worry hes too old to do it again. Talk about how the white house and campaign plans to approach this issue as biden plans to face voters again. What we wanted to do is look at the actual reality, get past the rhetoric and the easy jokes and all of that and look at whats real, right, whats real and whats not. I think what we found is, of course, its a more complicated reality, which is you have a president whos, in fact, very experienced, more experienced. He showed last week with this Debt Ceiling Deal hes able to bring people together and pass complicated lists. Kevin mccarthy said he was very tough, very on top of this negotiation. At the same time we saw on the same day the Senate Passed that bell, we we saw him fall at the air force academy. Very embarrassing and they cringed at it. Anybody can fall. You can trip whether youre 50 or 80, but its a bad look when youre 80. Its something they dont want to focus on. Its a question of not how he is today but how he would be in a second term. You havent seen him make a Vigorous Campaign yet. He has been traveling internationally. Theyre arduous trips. I was with him a few weeks ago in japan. They plan to show him as vigorous as possible, but make the case its the accomplishments that matter more than is his gait slowing and can he sometimes momentarily forget a word or a name or Something Like that. Yeah. And white house officials and lead democrats alike point to his record and say, look, hes doing a terrific job, but, peter, take us behind closed doors. Party leaders, democratic donors, primary wall street people, what can the alternative be . Its a concern. I hear it all the time. I dont think i speak with any democrat who doesnt raise that issue. Not that we raise it. They raise it. I know there are people around who suggest theres a creation of median republicans. There was a dinner recently i was told about between, you know, former governors and senators, all of whom are roughly in bidens generation, all of whom thought, no, he shouldnt be running as chief. Hes too old at this point. Theres the wall street, you know, major figure we talked with who said every single donor for the Democratic Party they speak with, in fact, brings this issue up. The white house gets calls from local officials asking about the president s health. I mean its a constant concern among democrats. Again, as you point out, rightly, for the most part, they like the president. A good job, they like his policies. They are concerned about where this goes. Its the alternative thats the issue because they dont perceive an obvious alternative. Kamala harris is the Vice President , a lot of people like her but she hasnt convinced many Top Democrats that shes ready for, you know for the job if in fact it comes to that. Thats a concern. Who then would step up should they have to think about a plan b . And its unavoidable that age will be a major issue in this campaign. We should note donald trump the leading republican is only a couple years younger than joe biden but other republicans in the field, decades so. We will of course be following this. Youre right, this is a story line even if the white house and some democrats dont want to hear about it on twitter. Chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times peter baker, thank you for the reporting and for being with us this morning. Up next here on way too early, Republican White House hopeful nikki haley makes the case for her candidacy in a 90minute town hall. We will have the takeaways of her appearance in front of voters. And then coming up on morning joe, new details surrounding the dojs investigation of former president Donald Trumps handling of classified documents. Plus, a Close Encounter at sea heightens already high tensions between the United States and china. A member of the Foreign Relations committee senator ben cardin will join the conversation and talk about that and so much more. Morning joe just a few moments away. Oments away vo with verizon, you can now get a private 5g network. So you can do more than connect your business, you can make it even smarter. Now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. And where its going. dock worker right on time. vo robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. foreman nice work. vo and retailers can get ahead of the Fashion Trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. With a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security. Giving you more control of your business. We call this enterprise intelligence. 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Former South Carolina governor nikki haley had a town hall Last Night On Cnn the 2024 president ial candidate spoke for an hour and a half to voters in iowa as she tries to build momentum for a campaign which right now is only receiving single digit support in most National Polls. Here are some of the highlights from the former u. N. Ambassador. It is in the best interest of america, its in the best interest of our National Security for ukraine to win. We have to see this through, we have to finish it. I am unapologetically prolife. Having said that, i dont judge anyone for being pro choice any more than i want them to judge me for being prolife. The sixweek ban theoretically came to your desk will you sign it . I will answer that when you answer when you ask kamala and biden if they would agree to 37 weeks, 38 weeks, 39 weeks, then i will answer your question. When it comes to our schools secure our schools. There should be one point of entry, there should be a Law Enforcement officer at every school. We should make sure there is a clear bulletproof tape that we have at court houses and airports. We should have that on our schools to protect them and we should have a Mental Health counselor at every single school, not a guidance counselor, but a Mental Health counselor. Some states have been experimenting with red flag laws, which enables Law Enforcement and the courts to temporarily either remove guns or block people from being able to purchase guns, individuals who have been adjudicated in some way from posing a threat to themselves or others. Is that something that you might support . No, i dont trust government to deal with red flag laws. I dont trust that they will that they wont take them away from people who rightfully deserve to have them. Im wondering how willing you are to talk to the people, republican voters, to say that that wasnt true, that didnt happen. Ive been on the record to say that while i think that we had issues, i dont think that any of them changed the election. I have also said when he said it was a beautiful day, january 6, i think january 6 was a terrible day. We should note the polling shows widespread support for red flag laws. Joining us now is National Politics romper for the hill julia manchester. Youve been covering nikki haley, the former South Carolina governor who to this point hasnt picked up much traction in the polls but what are you seeing on the trail . Are voters responding . Look, jonathan, when you go on the trail in iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, the idea of her trailing in the National Polls doesnt really seem to be getting in the way of her message on the trails. Shes really relying on these oneonone very intimate meetings with voters. Shes going to a lot of these smaller gatherings in New Hampshire, iowa, South Carolina, that she is states are really known for and thats something her campaign is really trying to tout, that grassroots support they say is starting with these communities and going up. That being said, though, she is very much trailing. The latest real clear politics average obviously has donald trump over 50 , ron desantis over 20 and nikki haley in third at about 4 , maybe a little over 4 . So, you know, as we enter this week which is going to be very busy in 2024 politics, were going to be waiting on Chris Christie, mike pence, doug bergum to get in the race, it looks like they are in second place but nikki haley said she doesnt play second. Lets talk about iowa and evangelical vote looms large there, always has, and some candidates are trying to court it. Haley for sure, you mentioned senator tim scott, mike pence when he jumps in the race this week hes going to. You have some new reporting on how ron desantis is trying to do it. Tell us about it. Yeah, so Governor Desantis we know hes put his chips in the iowa basket going into 2024 hoping that he can get momentum in iowa that will propel him obviously to New Hampshire and South Carolina. A lot of that strategy has to do with winning the evangelical vote in that state and part of that has to do with him really touting that sixweek abortion ban in florida that he signed into law earlier this year and also talking about a lot of his cultural conservative policies hes implemented in florida. Hes trying to galvanize the socially conservative base thats loyal to republicans in iowa. The issue with that, i think, is once he goes into a state like New Hampshire that might be a bit more moderate, maybe more libertarian, there is a question as to how that plays with those kind of voters. We know iowa doesnt have the best track record over the past, you know, 20 years in choosing the republican nominee and part of that has to do with the fact that New Hampshire, South Carolina, the subsequent states are much different. So it will be interesting to see how ron desantis walks that fine line between iowa, New Hampshire and really the national message. I thought it was interesting in that town hall last night when nikki haley was asked about abortion, she was speaking to a very conservative audience in iowa, but she was also speaking to a national audience. So walking that fine line, going taking a middle road approach. And on the hills website right now you can find julias new reporting on desantis would go of the evangelicals and also how the Abortion Issue looms large over the republican field right now. Thank you for joining us this morning. Thanks to all of you for getting up way to early on this Monday Morning. Morning joe starts right now. We shall fight on the oceans, we shall fight with great confidence and in the air. The woke mind virus represents a war on the truth so we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education. We will fight on the beaches, we will fight on the landing grounds. We will fight the woke in the