to try to knock trump out of the race are counter productive. they backfire. as you know he feeds on grievance just like a fire feeds on oxygen. and this is going to end up as a grievance that helps him. did colorado just hand donald trump a political gift by barring him from the ballot? why some say the effort to rue the former president could actually help his campaign. plus how president biden is responding. this as nbc news has learned the colorado supreme court justices who ruled in the case are now facing a flood of threats after their historic decision. also ahead, we ll bring you the latest out of the israel-hamas war as israel defense forces uncover hamas extensive tunnel network in gaza city. and the blunt warning from chinese president xi jinping to president biden about beijing s intentions with taiwan. all right, good morning. welcome to way too early on this thursday, december 21st. i am not jonathan lemire. i m sam stein in for jonathan lemire. now, th