the u.s. is arming ukraine with more american ammo and rocket launchers. the lead starts right now. stocking up ahead of a likely russian spring offensive. the u.s. deploys another $400 million in military aid to ukraine. can president biden secure even more as russians encircle the strategic town of bakhmut? plus, from prominent attorney to convict, the swift prison sentence today for alex murdaugh after a jury took only a few hours to find him guilty of killing his wife and son. and drag shows shut down. tennessee becomes the first in the nation to put new restrictions on the performances. welcome to the lead. i m pamela brown in for jake tapper today. we start with our health lead. moments ago, the white house announced a lesion removed from president biden s chest last month was a common type of skin cancer. cnn s phil mattingly joins us now from the white house. tell us more about this diagnosis. reporter: that lesion was removed during the president s annual phy
support behind haley. christi is vowing to stay in the race and says haley is already looking ahead to the next presidential election she s not trying to beat him. she s hoping that lightning strikes, but how do you beat somebody if you won t say why they don t belong being president? i ll make it clear. he s unfit. she s playing for 2028. reporter: now, there are some that dismiss debates as not all that important, but i can tell you that being at nikki haley s town halls when you speak to voters, many say they were attracted to her campaign based on her debate performances, so tonight could prove to be consequential for both of these candidates. phil, poppy? for sure. thank you for the preview. everyone looking forward to it tonight. let s bring in senior political commentator and former trump campaign adviser and a political adviser of the 2020
philips took a seat at a replica desk in the oval office. trumpers and desantis in 2028. reporter: colleen is from jacksonville, florida, she wore a desantis hit and sported a trump sticker. she said she is torn. i love this hat because it is, like, let us alone, you know, i love it. but as of right now i m reporter: this gathering is always a chance for republicans and conservatives to size up their potential field of candidates. particularly when they re trying to win back the white house. but, pamela, this year s event is so much different. largely because it is focused on nostalgia and celebration of former president donald trump. of course, he arrives here tomorrow, trying to make the case that, yes, he s the past to the party but also the future of the party. the question, how far will he go after some of his potential rivals to start drawing distinctions between them, particularly the florida
there it is, trump at 71, ron de sanctimonious at 10%. reporter: calling him average, suggesting that he knows things about desantis that won t be very flattering and saying of his potential run, i think the base would not like it, i don t think it would be good for the party. trump firing some not so subtle warning shots saying, if desantis does run for president, he would be making a mistake. a cautioning echoed recently by trump s family. so wouldn t it be nicer for him? and i think he knows this, to wait until 2028. reporter: the fresh tension rising between them is in sharp contrast to their cozy relationship of years past. trump calling desantis brilliant and a true fighter endorsing his first bid for governor. appearing with him on the campaign trail. he s a nice man. reporter: desantis has been one of trump s most vocal supporters and allies. i d like to thank our president for standing by me.