diplomatic talks unfolding in the middle east for days -- secretary of state anthony blinken macon to unannounced visits today and the israeli occupied west bank and in iraq. in a meeting with -- secretary blinken reaffirmed americas commitment to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in gaza. the state department says blinken also discussed efforts to restore stability to the west bank. over the past few weeks, tensions have spilled over there as israeli -- and a surprise visit to back that, secretary blinken met with iraq's prime minister to talk about the importance of preventing the war from spreading into a wider regional conflict. lincoln over under is -- humanitarian pause in fighting -- aid for civilians into the gaza strip. >> this is a process. israel's race -- raised important questions about how humanitarian policies would work. we have to answer those questions. second, it is important that the pause advance a number of things, one of them as hostages. we are intensely focused. the united states, israel, every country that has one of their citizens being held hostage by hamas, to bring them home. >> a short time ago, nbc news confirmed that cia director william burns is also in the middle east to hold talks with political leaders. our sources say they have intelligence counterparts. also today, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu visited soldiers and an air force base in southern israel. netanyahu is still rejecting calls for humanitarian pause. or for a broader cease-fire in israel's war against hamas. the group that the u.s. deems a terrorist organization. hamas killed 1400 people in israel during the october 7th terror attack. inside of gaza, the ministry of health says that 9700 palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. the humanitarian crisis on the ground has only grown worse. the basic things like food, water, they're hard to find. the current level of aid allowed to enter gaza, it's not enough to meet the needs of people that live there. today on msnbc, cindy mccain, the director of the world food programme, says the time is running out. >> we are unable to get inside, get enough food trucks in. what is occurring on the other side is starvation. as you know, there is a huge lack of water and lack of fuel. people are in dire straits across the border. what i am asking for and pleading for is the ability to get more trucks in in a safe manner, one that is quick and efficient. we can't wait any longer. these people are going to die. i would like the world, i'm pleading for the world, please help us to get the trucks in. >> joining me now from tel aviv, nbc news correspondent paula gorani. what is the significance of secretary blinken's surprise visit to the occupied west bank? >> he is reiterating the u.s. diplomatic message to the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, with the surprise visit. and also the surprise visit to baghdad. one of the things he said, which is sort of a modification of the diplomatic message that the u.s. had a few weeks ago, was that he is trying to sign post what a postwar gaza might look like by acknowledging that the palestinian authority, which by the, way it has to be said is deeply unpopular in the west bank, might have a role to play. this is what secretary blinken had to say today about that. listen. >> the p. a. is playing a very important role right now in the west bank, trying to keep the stability there. that is usually important, because nobody wants another front in the west bank or anywhere else. they are really stepping up under difficult conditions to do the necessary work. if you project forward, to the future, we all agree in defining that future, shaping that future, for gaza, for the west bank, and ultimately for a palestinian state, palestinian voices have to be at the center of that. >> there is a problem with that, the rams would tell you in the region. the palestinian authority isn't just deeply unpopular. it is seen as corrupt, it is seen in some cases as just being the arm of the israeli occupation in the west bank. the idea of having the palestinian authority in any way administering a postwar gaza, it's one that does not seem entirely realistic as far as analysts and observers are concerned. this is a message that the u. s. is bringing, but is not resonating with arab leaders across the region. certainly not if you speak to ordinary palestinians. >> notable, what you described yesterday as a softening of the administration's position. and today, a modification. talk us through the role president abbas plays within palestinian society, and the effort to contain hamas. >> i think that i can repeat a little bit of what i said by expanding on it. he's somebody that is deeply entrenched in the palestinian authority, a longtime leader. he's in his 80s. the palestinian authority is not seen as serving its people. in fact, you might remember and some of our viewers might remember, on october 7th when the attacks took place, there were demonstrations in ramallah, not against israel, but against the palestinian authority. some of the protesters infect attacked the ramallah sign inside of the occupied west bank. in an effort to show their displeasure with their own leadership, who they've accused of not just leaving them unprotected, but of allowing some of the settler violence, some of the settler expansions in the west bank to take place. not pushing back enough against this israeli expansion. >> nbc's paula gorani for us. iran denies it played any rolett with hamas top leaders. nbc news bureau chief has more from tehran. >> iran's supreme leader met with the hamas leader, according to iranian state media. they did not specify the date of the meeting, and we believe it happened in the last couple of days. interestingly on social media channels linked to hamas, they were reporting this two days ago. iranian state media only spoke about it today. this marks the first known meeting -- since the outbreak of the war between israel and iran-backed hamas on october 7th. the previous reported meeting was in june. also interestingly, there was no public statement. it was a closed-door meeting. according to state media here, during their meeting, they were briefed on the latest developments in gaza and the west bank. he expressed appreciation for the resilience of the people of gaza and expressed regret over what he described as israeli war crimes. he said these were supported by the united states. he also emphasized iran's permanent policy of support of palestinian resistance forces against what he calls the zionist occupiers. i think that one of the things that it is a key take away from this is that there is no doubt that hamas was expecting a much more forceful speech from the head of hezbollah. they wanted him to deliver some sort of ultimatum, or make some sort of declaration of war, which he did not. -- and by not doing so, it would be seen as iran giving that direction. hezbollah takes its direction and its orders from tehran. in some ways, this meeting is being interpreted as tehran giving hamas assurances that they still have their back, they support them, the financial and military support, the training will not dry up. also, i think this is an important point. the united states is designated as a global terrorist who lives a life of luxury in qatar, a country which has been instrumental in the financing of hamas. also good relations of the u. s.. and yet she is able to travel unimpeded, without any -- back and forth from qatar, to other places that we don't know about. it should raise some uncomfortable questions about washington's relationship. >> nbc's ali arouzi for us in iran. thank you. up next, the countdown begins. we're a year out from the 2024 elections. just days from the next gop debate. for a third time, it's anyone's guess if donald trump will show. stick around. for a president that has quite a full docket, just this week, sent to testify tomorrow. our own lisa reuben, -- and, later the referendum for voters on tuesday in ohio, the future abortion rights in that state. the outcome, also dealing with key indicators about the year to come. we will explain ahead on american voices. known for loving the outdoors. known for getting everyone together. no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer. fda-approved for 16 types of cancer, including certain early-stage cancers. one of those cancers is triple-negative breast cancer. keytruda may be used with chemotherapy medicines as treatment before surgery and then continued alone after surgery when you have early-stage breast cancer and are at high risk of it coming back. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation, or have a nervous system problem. keytruda is an immunotherapy and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials, exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com, and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you. are you sweating?! didn't you use old spice dry spray? of course, i did don't lie to me! old spice has long lasting sweat protection! ok, i lied. noooo! aaaah! (i'm ok.) take a moment to pause and ask, why did you get vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia? i help others. but i need to help protect myself. honestly? i couldn't afford to get sick. i want to be there for this one. i can't if i'm sick. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease. you may be at risk if you're 19 to 64 with certain chronic conditions. or if you're 65 or older. don't pause a moment longer. ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia today. he hits his mark —center stage—and is crushed by a baby grand piano. you're replacing me? customize and save with liberty bibberty. he doesn't even have a mustache. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ nice footwork. only pay for what you need. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. - wounded warrior project has been with me every step of my journey. - they've helped me realize it's possible to rise to the top again. - it's possible to get the help i need for me and my family. - it's possible to hate pushups again. - to feel understood. - to begin healing both inside and out. - to feel like myself again. - and now i know anything is possible. (gentle music) >> a year out from the 2024 presidential election, we have an unexpected turn and the -- quest for the republican nomination. nbc news has learned iowa governor kim reynolds will endorse florida governor ron desantis at a rally in des moines tomorrow. her endorsement could provide a valuable boost to desantis's floundering campaign, and the pending endorsement, already under trump skin -- after evoke the news today, trump's campaign's governor valence for going back on her initial plan to stay neutral. also today, nbc news released a new poll showing for iowa republicans, the top quality they're looking for and a candidate is the ability to beat president biden. nearly three quarters of those surveyed said it's, quote, extremely important, above all other issues. that's another republican presidential debate this week. the gop debate will go down in miami -- hosted by nbc news. at least four candidates appear to have made the cut. but donald trump is expected to skip it, as he has the two others. joining us now, host of the strange days podcast, and republican congressman carlos curbelo. both our nbc news political analysts. let's start with kim reynolds in her plan to endorse ron desantis tomorrow. does that change the dynamic in iowa? >> it can, in the sense that -- hoping that there's one candidate who has the opportunity to go one-on-one with donald trump won this primary season formally kicks off. kim reynolds thinks that's ron desantis. polling continues to be relatively strong compared tono, of course. the other one that everyone's talking about is nikki haley, because she has surged in some of the early stakes in recent weeks. again, this is all relatively speaking, because donald trump is still the very strong front runner in this field. but establishment republicans think that if one of these candidates has the opportunity to face him one-on-one, that the republicans might be able to nominate someone other than donald trump. >> to your point, carlos, the word relatively is doing a lot of work in that analysis. nbc news reporting that the biden campaign is gonna head to miami -- gop debate to counter the maga messaging with -- focus on land bck communities. what would your counsel be to them a year out, fernand? >> well i think the most important thing that the campaign has to do, and i think they're doing it, alicia, is to make clear to the american people that contrast between what going back to maga trumpism represents. and that doesn't matter if it's donald trump is the nominee, nikki haley, or ron desantis for that. this is the party that was comfortable with using violence to end american democracy. the party which has made excuses for the type of behavior that we've seen that has resulted in violence, stopped the peaceful transfer of power. the party which has not created jobs, has not strengthened the economy, has not been able to get many of the big bills passed that the democrats and president biden have done. if they can set up that contrast, the on that message, and hit it every day for the next three 65, president biden 's gonna win reelection comfortably and get the mandate that he and the democrats deserve. >> let's take finance point there about this being not just about donald trump, but about trump-ism. lest we ever lose sight of just how unusual this election is. it's easy to say, it's a year into the election, there's a debate. there's nothing normal about this election. -- donald trump's allies are laying out a plan to use the federal government to punish critics, and opponents, if he were to win a second term. trump has even talked about invoking the insurrection act to deploy the military to quell any demonstrations against h. we'll get to the polling, a year out. i know people like to talk about the polling. but trump, as a threat to democracy, i know that may not conceptually always resonate with voters. but i wonder if the pivot for republicans on that debate stage on wednesday night is to say, the man who is not here, who wants to be president again, has no regard for the rule of law. is anyone who's gonna be on that stage willing to prosecute that case against him? >> alicia, i think this electability question is probably the most relevant in this context. and here is reality. donald trump and his movement were on the ballot in 2018, in 2020, and in 2022. and swing district and swing state voters all over the country, in all three elections, rejected donald trump and his movement. he is polling ahead of joe biden right now and some of these states. that is a reality. however, some of these candidates who actually want to defeat donald trump have to make the case to republican voters that this is someone who's a three time loser. he did squeak out a victory in 2016, but since then, he has been soundly defeated and every subsequent election. so that is a powerful argument. you heard nikki haley trying to make that argument, she is the candidate that pulls the strongest against joe biden. i think we can look to her to try to reemphasize that point in this important nbc news debate next week in miami. >> all right, fernand. carlos just suddenly referenced that new york times poll that has everyone talking today showing donald trump leading president bi five battleground states. and nevada, for example, trump has a ten-point advantage. i know it's a year t. i know historically, we have seen candidates rebound before. you are the pollster among us. what jumps out to you about those numbers? >> well, i think we have to state the obvious. these are not good numbers for president biden. and the silver lining of these very soft and weak numbers is that hopefully, they recognize and understand that they've got a year to turn this around, which i still think is enough time. let's be honest also. the campaign on the biden side has not really begun in earnest. we're starting to see signs of that. that's gonna take place, now, into this new year, and that's when you'll really see the campaigning take place in a way that the republican process has been joined. i think part of the polling is also reflective of the fact that the world is a very difficult place right now. but when rather than try to blame this on president biden, i think the american people need to understand it is biden 's sober, experienced, and study and that is guided the united states through these difficult periods. and the idea of going back to the chaos of trumpism, which not only would mean that erratic approach, but an approach that would say to the world, you cannot count on the united states of the last 246 years. the united states under trump may very well be an authoritarian type of fascist movement. that is the stakes. that is why these polls are alarming now, yes, but still should strive as a wake up call that the biden campaign is what the country needs to understand what the stakes are one year from today, alicia. >> -- plan to use the federal government to go after his critics. i'm hoping to get you both in on this question. i'm gonna start with you, carlos. let's look ahead. the big election is happening in -- kentucky, mississippi are holding gubernatorial elections. -- constitutional amendment on abortion, plus whether to legalize marijuana in virginia. -- carlos, which race are you watching most closely? >> i'm watching ohio. we know democrats have been benefited by abortion politics since the overturning of roe v. wade. we'll see if that continues in a red state. then i'm also watching virginia. virginia has been a bellwether for a long time, previewing a year ahead of the national elections what could happen. and it is been a pretty good predictor in recent years. those are the two that i would focus on. >> i've got 30 seconds for you. >> the truth is, 2023 has been a great year for democrats in the special elections. i think if you see that trend continue, it'll put a little bit of the bed wetting to rest that democrats are feeling and give them a bit more oomph in their sails. the truth is, all the states, all these elections, democrats have done well in 2023. i anticipate they'll do well in virginia, ohio, >> fernand, carlos, given that we have allies in miami, i had talk to the two of you. thank you for being taking the time to be with us. a reminder this wednesday, november 8th, put it on the calendar. it is the next republican primary debate. it can be moderated by nbc nightly news, lester holt, and the press moderator, kristen walker. it starts -- nbc news now and on