in his own state, but he suspended his campaign for president today, and threw his support behind former president donald trump. and here is trump at a rally earlier tonight, talking about desantis endorsement. i d like to take time to congratulate ron desantis. and of course, a really terrific person. but as you know, he left the campaign trail today at three pm, and in so doing, he was very gracious, and he endorsed me. so i appreciate it. gracious, we don t get that word a lot from donald trump, but he is trying to get everybody to support him. so now the race is narrow, a head to head between trump and nikki haley. haley leads trump among independents, a crucial block here in new hampshire, where there are more undecided voters than republicans or democrats. but she is 19 points behind trump overall. so, what comes next, and how close are we to another head to head presidential race between donald trump and joe biden? joining me now, nbc news correspondents dasha bu
hampshire, where in just two days, voters will head to the polls the first primary election of the 2024 presidential cycle. but it has been a wild 24 hours in the race for the republican nomination, after florida governor ron desantis once, the next great hope of the republican party not too long ago. i mean, i am talking less than two years ago, the next great hope. he won by 19 points in his own state. but he suspended his campaign for president today, and through his support behind former president donald trump. and here is trump at a rally earlier tonight, talking about desantis s endorsement. i d like to take time to congratulate ron desantis. and of course, a really terrific person. but as you know, he left the campaign trail today at three pm, and in so doing, he was very gracious, and he endorse me. so i appreciate that. gracious, we don t get that word a lot from donald trump, but he is trying to get everybody to support him. so now the race is narrow, a head to
exactly one hour away from the first major test of the 2024 g.o.p. primary season. the iowa caucuses. now, more than 1600 caucuses across 99 counties, you can believe it or not. i have been covering to iowa for years covering these caucuses. this year isn t just the coldest, but also has the most riding on it. i will explain what is really at stake in moments. but, first, we have reporters at the headquarters of all the major candidates. first to trump s right here in des moines where fox news senior national correspondent rich edson is standing by. rich? rich: you know, laura, it s cold it s icy. some of the roads are impassable. they have talked to the weather all day long here. we talked to the candidates how that plays into the campaign. they say look, all the campaigns are dealing with this. one campaign aid said, look, we have the most dedicated campaign base in the history of american politics. we re not worried about our folks showing up. speaking of showing up, for
it s 4:00 in the east. a stunning comprehensive brand new piece of reporting that really amounts to a first drafrt of history for merrick garland s justice department a piece of reporting that answers questions we ve been asking for years now questions that have dogged doj for many many months why did it take so long for d.o.j. to investigate? the first formal step into probing the campaign to overturn the 2020 election. the criminal inquiry now into the fate of electors did not take place until april 2022 more than a area after the insurrection and well after the january 6th select committee had begun to uncover a complex multipronged plot and democracy with donald trump in the driver s seat. the washington post is reporting in the immediate aftermath of the january 6th insurrection, acting u.s. attorney michael sherwin, senior justice department officials and paul abbate quashed a plan in the u.s. attorney s office to directly investigate trump associates for any links to
outfront next, the trump pinted judge making her first ruling in the classified documents case. is it a sign she s not stepping aside? new details about the judge. why a case she s working on now could shed light on how she ll rule in trump s case. plus, a graveyard of russian missiles. ukrainians utilizing putin s deadliest weapons. what they found may surprise you. a special report. and where is melania and ivanka and the family? trump s 2024 campaign is anything but a family affair. let s go outfront. and good evening. i m erin burnett. no recusal. the judge who was appointed by trump and is presiding over the classified documents case issuing her first order. a sign she has no plans to heed the calls to recuse herself. ordering both parties to start the process of obtaining security clearances for their lawyers by tomorrow. it comes as there are mounting questions about her record in past cases. the judge, who was piappointed 2020, has little experience in oversee