its closing arguments in donald trump s civil fraud trial after a dramatic scene in which the former president himself addressed the court. the judge had only allowed trump to speak on the condition that he focus on the facts but the president quickly veered into other territory claiming he is an innocent man being persecuted d the judge telling defense counsel please control your client. th former president has already been found liable for inflating properties to get loan deals. the judge will attempt to issue his ruling by the end of the month. yasmin vossoughian is reporting for us outside the courtroom in new york. vaughn hillyard is urbandale, iowa, also with us, renato, former federal prosecutor. somebody might argue at least in terms of drama donald trump s a tough act to follow. reporter: yeah, i think that person would likely win that argument. nonetheless, i think lee tee james has a lot in store. she is not likely to offer closing arguments to other attorneys.
elbows are impossible to lick. i meant your own elbows. you don t settle for bad internet. that s why you have the xfinity 10g network, with ultra-low lag for better streaming. wish you would have been more specific about your elbow. only from xfinity. good afternoon. i m chris jansing reporting live from msnbc headquarters in new york city, and it is suddenly another wild day inside a manhattan courtroom. breaking news as we come on the air, former president trump addressing the court right now, part of the final chapter in the civil fraud trial that could bring down the empire that made donald trump a mogul and then arguably president. today there were dramatic closing arguments as the former president tried to argue his way out of a devastating blow to his business. lawyers putting their final mark on what has been an intense and important 11 weeks. i want to bring in new york times investigative reporter suzanne craig. also with us new york times chief white house c
These two candidates? well, believe it or not, phil and poppy, there are still undecided voters here in iowa. so this 2forum allows the opportunity it solidify themselves as the clear trump alternative. policy differences, those will also come into focus. and it is remarkable to see just two podiums up on that stage tonight after covering this republican primary for so long when there were so many candidates at the outset. what i can tell you is things have really intensified on the campaign trail in the last few days. here are how nikki haley and governor desantis are thinking about tonight. i like being underestimated. so, you know, i could sit here and say this, but you know what, i think that being the underdog suits me better. so buckle up. i think that it will be an interesting ride. we ve been waiting for this.
I will say from being out on the campaign trail, things have really intensified in the last few days. take a listen. i like being under estimated, so, you know, i could sit here and say this, but you know what, i think that being the underdog suits me better, so buckle up. i think it s going to be an interesting ride. we have been waiting for this. i have done 150-plus town halls, and it has come to this moment. don t complain about what happens in a general election if you don t play in this caucus. it matters. so some might sort of diminish the importance of debates, but i can tell you from being at several nikki haley town halls, speaking to her supporters, showing up there, they tell me they were in part attracted to her campaign and candidacy based on her past debate performances, based on some of those high-profile
Seeing things ramp up. what can you tell us tonight? reporter: sara, this is shaping up to be a fierce debate. that s because there are still voters in iowa that are undecided. governor ron desantis, nikki haley, they are trying to appeal to those voters, make the case for why they are the clear trump alternative, policy differences. those should also come into focus tonight. and we re hearing from governor desantis deputy campaign manager who sort of telegraphed governor ron desantis plan for the evening. and that is to try to push haley into answering questions that they feel as though she has previously evaded. so we could get some fireworks. i will tell you from being out on the campaign trail that things have intensified in recent days. take a listen. i like being underestimated. so you know, i could sit here and say this, but you know what, i think that being the underdog