This is why we fight. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message. Welcome to a Special Coverage of the Iowa Republican caucuses. In a few hours the gop will be one step closer to choosing a candidate to take on joe biden. Here is des moines, where its 2 degrees below zero, trump himself has expressed concerns that his margins could take a hit from the frozen temperatures. What are the candidate saying in these final hours . Nikki haley began her day at the drake diner here in des moines, a popular spot. And shes telling iowans to go out and caucus for her, she says shes not worried about the weather, shes feeling a lot of momentum and excitement on the ground. She has centered her campaign on this notion that she would be the strongest person to go up against President Biden in november, so principally, about electability. Meanwhile Governor Desantis, Crisscrossing The State as well. Take a listen to what he had to say. People are going to say, theres only two possible nominees, donald trump or Governor Desantis, we are the only one to have strong support amongst Bedrock Conservative republican voters. To win the nomination and got to be able to do that. I think iowa will show that clearly. You see Governor Desantis there, he is really caught in a Battle For Second Place with nikki haley as both of them really try to emerge from this contest this evening as the principal trump alternative. But then Big Question Is, will iowans turn out despite this weather and the one time speaking to say yes, they think its a huge honor that i will goes first, and theyve had the privilege of vetting these candidates and despite this negative temperature, below zero temperatures, they do plan to go out to their community centers, among their community and participate in the caucus tonight, anderson. We will check in with you throughout the day. The cold is where we go with john berman at the magic wall. So, what do you think this means for turnout . Let me show you where the weather could have an impact in iowa. Everywhere the entire state, The Deep Yellow here is where there are windchill warnings, the pale yellow, Winter Weather advisories. Its just everywhere and they are forecasting temperatures really low like 14, thats without the windchill, davenport, 16. So which candidates will this affect the most . You can say well it could impact donald trump, the latest polls have him way ahead, maybe he has the most voters to spare and on the other hand they may take his lead for granted and not show up. What about ron desantis, in the same poll from the Des Moines Register, 62 of ron desantis supporters say they will definitely attend the caucus. 56 for donald trump, 51 for nikki haley. The issue for ron desantis though they are committed, is where they might be in the state. Hes making a big play for evangelical voters. Everywhere you see on this map with the darker colors, who has the greatest percentage of voters, i will circle these areas right here. What do they have all in common . Look at the populations. The places with the biggest circles have the greatest population, the smallest circles the lowest population. A lot of small circles there, for these evangelical areas where ron desantis was trying to run up the score, that means fewer Caucus Places at these precinct, a longer distance to travel over icy roads, that could be a problem for desantis getting his people those long distances to the polls. Well, where do they have the most Polling Places . Let me circle the areas right here with the biggest populations, lets figure out what they all have in common. I will take out these filters right here, and i want to show you the 2020 president ial election. Donald trump won, joe biden won six counties, but they are largely in the Major Population Centers with a lot of voters which means a lot of precinct, which means you dont have to drive far to get there. Who could that benefit . Maybe nikki haley, shes taking a big play for independent and moderate voters in these urban and suburban areas, Towns Like Ames where iowa state is, iowa city where the University Of Iowa is, this is a place where moderate to independence have done well, including in 2016, marco rubio, he finished in a close third here, marco rubio actually won in these areas that i circled right there, where there are probably a lot of caucus sites and a lot of precinct you could show off two, maybe that would benefit nikki haley. We will have to see. Joining us is doug hi, in terms of the Ground Operation, who has the better ground game . Without question, donald trump. One of the more interesting things, in the general but also the primary, donald trump has a real professional organization which he didnt have his result was impressive in 2016 yes, he was a force of nature but i was all about organization, and thats why ted cruz actually one. Trump was a force of nature that merely wont at all. Trump doesnt have to work as hard as the other candidates, he gets more attention in whatever he does anys better known by i voters as well so we are going to see trump do very well in counties that ted cruz did. Its also an indication, a little bit of the benefit of having been the president , he runs the Republican Party, fulls, at the same time, hes also running like he did in 2016, as an outsider. In 2016 he did not have the organization, now he does. And he is running as an outsider so the duality of his campaign is a feature that we will continue to see. Antiestablishment an establishment free. Im involved with the Herbert Hoover president ial library. I think the story of iowa is a story of the gop elites versus the gop grassroots, because, what you have in iowa is gop elites, kim reynolds, former elected to are no longer in office but used to run the state, theyve all decided that they are friends with donald trump that they are going to support someone else. I interviewed him last night and he is supporting desantis. Its almost like they got in a room and said who are we going to go for that isnt donald trump. Who could turn a page for the Republican Party and when you look at the polling and you look at the energy and you look at where trump is, you see that it perhaps didnt translate. So are the elites able to influence the grassroots or does the grassroots have its own momentum despite the elites which has been the story of trump all along. The operation that desantis has set up is Lightyears Ahead of what ted cruz had in 2016 which was a very good operation. And this is really a test of those kind of endorsements. A test of the ground game. Desantis and his team have flown through an impressive amount of money before a single vote has been cast. And the latest poll shows that momentum is moving away from him, nikki haley has been catching more but given the importance of a ground game and iowa, this is a test for kim reynolds, a popular governor, can she convert that endorsement to people on the ground, can best mac donald trump has thrown out the rulebook on a lot of issues. Theres no he doesnt run the state, hes not the governor. To your point, The Press Tops try to come up with an alternative to trump and they seemed to really be bought in. Its interesting that this argument that Vivek Ramaswamy has been making and desantis has been making that a vote for them is actually, if you want trump, if you like trump, a vote for them is actually a vote for trump because they will protect donald trump in a way that donald trump cannot protect himself from the deep state. It doesnt make a lot of sense and i think its why you saw donald trump going after Vivek Ramaswamy. A lot of people thought, he must be a maga many me. Its a oneway street. Hes coming after you one day. What are your expectations . I think turnout will be down overall. Itll be interesting to see, weve been talking about seniors and whether or not they will brave the cold, the dangerous conditions particularly in rural areas, and it opens up an opportunity for Younger Voters to have their voices heard. Im looking at not just what the turnout is, but where it is and how. Does the evangelical vote split between ron desantis and donald trump or is donald trump, hes got two thirds of the angelica vote, he got that in 2016 but can he get that now. That will be the most interesting, not just because of what it tells us about iowa but where the electorate really is. I think it goes back to what john was talking about, Population Centers. Yesterday i saw a quote from a caucus going for trump who was asked about the weather and i can handle tough weather, she said i would walk over glass for donald trump. Okay, thats a mindset that means that that person is going to caucus but you do have harder issues if you are out in the northwestern corridor, where you have far to drive and also roads that arent necessarily as wellkept. It makes that interesting to see, can donald trump get to 50 . If hes at 50 1, he can argue that this race is over. Nikki haley is brushing off attacks from the former president and she says americans want to talk about key issues and not whether or not somebody is maga. Trump turned his legal troubles into Talking Points and how is that resonating with voters . Stay witith us. Any moment now nikki haley said be having one of her last appeals to voters. Earlier she took aim at donald trump. This is not what americans want to be talking about. They want to know why inflation is high, why everything is more expensive. They want to know how we are allowing the lawlessness at the border thats out of control. Thats what they want to talk about, not whether someone is maga or not. I was Senator Moyer is here right now. I feel great, nikki has certainly been gaining momentum at the right time, peaking at the right time and i think we will have a big surprise tonight at caucus. The Ground Operation that the Haley Campaign has is not as deep or as extensive as desantis or the former president s. How concerned are you about people actually showing up . Ive seen the team grow over the last 11 months. Shes put in the time and effort, going all across the state, doing the town halls and talking with iowans, answering the tough questions, and i think that has paid off and you see it in the polls. I think you will see a lot of people show up at caucus tonight, looking for the new generational type of leader who can have the best chance of beating joe biden in november. What do you think Success Looks like for nikki haley tonight . Does she have to come in second . I think a strong second will give her the momentum that she needs going into New Hampshire. She has a strong lead in New Hampshire. So, i think a strong showing here tonight in iowa will take over, and of course in her home state of South Carolina, going into Super Tuesday, she will be wellpositioned to go oneon one with donald trump and show the American People why she is the best alternative without all the baggage and chaos to move this country forward. Marco rubio just endorsed trump over haley. In 2016 haley was a strong supporter of rubio. What you make of that decision . Everybody is entitled to endorse who they want to. You know, obviously i think nikki is the most qualified, she is the candidate that beats joe biden by doubledigit in november and i think as republicans we need to keep our eyes on the prize. We want to take the white house back and that means if we want to take the country back and move forward into a positive future, we need to elect someone that doesnt have all the baggage and chaos that can actually serve two terms as president. Beam i live in a rural area and my routes roads are plowed. The crews have done a work job, iowans arent afraid of getting out in a little cold weather. The enthusiasm at the local levels is high. The enthusiasm is high. In my Little Elementary School where im caucusing, they are setting up shuttles because they anticipate that the parking lot wont be big enough for all the people who are going to show up tonight. Thank you. Donald trump not just going after his rivals, also taking aim at people at the center of his legal troubles. We will see how voters feel about this type of messaging in the home stretch, next. In order for Small Businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. Making the most of every opportunity. Thats why Comcast Business is introducing the Small Business bonus. For a limited time you can get up to 1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. Yup, 1000. So switch to Business Internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network. Give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. Plus, ask how to get up to 1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. Former President Donald Trump making his myriad legal troubles a part of his campaign. Trumps legal fights have loomed large over the primary race. How is the former president using his Court Battles to his advantage. Well anderson, donald trump is putting his legal battles at the forefront of his campaign. I know from my conversations with trumps advisors that they really view his political strategy and his legal strategy as largely one in the same and that is why you are seeing donald trump talk about his legal issues so much on the Campaign Trail and i know, with my conversations with his team, they really do think one of the best strategies on the trail is to try and paint himself as a victim of political persecution and thats exactly what the former president did during his rally in iowa yesterday. He told reporters these caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over the liars, cheaters and thugs who say, quote, The Washington Swamp has done everything in its power to take away her voice but tomorrow is your time to turn on them and to say and speak your mind and vote. Now we should note much of his rhetoric around his legal issues isnt necessarily based in fact but it is something that his team believes is working well with his supporters. And a great example of this is what we saw last week when donald trump took himself off the trail not once, but twice in order to appear in court for two of his second just make separate cases. And part of the strategy was it enabled him to suck that media oxygen out of the primary and keep it on himself. Thanks so much. John berman is at the magic wall. Lets remind people how trump did in 2016. He lost. He lost in Republican Caucuses and he is appealing to different voters this time around. In 2016, ted cruz won the caucuses. And as i mentioned before, ted cruz really campaigned hard among evangelicals. And you can see that in these areas densely populated with evangelical voters, this is where ted cruz did the best and tried to run up the score. That was 2016. I want to show you a couple of these counties that have some of the highest numbers of evangelicals, in the northwest corner of iowa right here, lyon county, ted cruz was first in 2015, marco rubio was second, ben carson was third, donald trump wasnt among the top three. One county the south and sue county, a high number of evangelical voters. Now, we are in 2024 the latest Des Moines Register poll among evangelical voters, donald trump is at 51 . Ron desantis, is at 22 , donald trump is just lapping the field, eight years ago, he wasnt even among the top three in these counties and to an extent, you think donald trump has the idea that hes pretty safe among these voters. Where is he spending all of his money right now . We have one slight here that shows ad spending over the closing weeks of the campaign, Doldrums Campaign and his super pac spent 4. 5 million targeting nikki haley. Zero dollars targeting ron desantis so not fighting for the evangelical vote, he thinks he has that in his pocket going after more moderate voters. My panels back. Its fascinating, we were talking about his legal troubles. Its a brilliant move by him, to embrace them and to campaign off of them and he knows the cameras will be in the courtrooms. He is following the cameras. And insisting on being in court even when his presence is not required. And claiming he has to be in court and fundraising over that. Its completely disingenuous but the other thing that he does effectively is joke about it, i mean, its troublesome that he is so funny, thats what ill elaborate a Liberal Democrat said. He has these jokes that trivialize the justice system, trivialize the fact that theres a real process happening. And frankly, none of his opponents take on the narrative because they are afraid of the voters not going for it. So its an unchallenged narrative. Also framing a vote at the caucus as, this is your retribution as opposed to, vote for an issue, build a wall, overturn obamacare which obviously he never did. Theres an old political slogan, hang a lantern on your woman thats what hes d