monday s caucuses are set to be the coldest on record. front runner donald trump is returning to the state this weekend after wrapping his civil fraud trial in new york, speaking both in the courtroom and of course outside. this is a political witch hunt, the likes of which nobody s ever seen before. they owe me damages for what they ve done. we didn t have a jury. we had no rights to a jury. cnn s eva mckend is live in des moines braving the elements this morning. so much focus on the weather and how it could impact turnout ultimately. well, erica, iowans are used to the cold, but these blizzard conditions are tough. i can tell you from being out here this morning, the roads are treacherous. it s very very windy. nikki haley forced to cancel her events. excuse me, not cancel her events this morning, shift them. they re going to be tele town halls, that means that iowans can call in to find out more about her vision for america.
forward and leave the negativity and baggage behind. reporter: desantis continuing to slam haley, likening her performance at a cnn debate to hillary clinton. it was me versus hillary, i mean, nikki. reporter: and criticizing the large campaign donors supporting her. she has not gone all 99 counties, doesn t like to interrupt the voter, they just spend, spend, spend, and somehow that s going to do the trick. that s not the way it works. reporter: at one event in iowa, desantis battled not just temperatures, but climate protesters. this is what s wrong with the college system right there, that s exhibit a. reporter: trump will hold his final events in iowa this weekend after spending thursday in a new york courtroom. speaking during closing arguments in his civil fraud trial. this is a political witch hunt, the likes of which nobody has ever seen before. they owe me damages for what they have done. reporter: the former president making the legal cases
for second place, how much of an impact this well worn message from donald trump will have at this point. i mean, i ve lost count of the number of times, we talk about the grievances and witch hunt, yet here we are again. it was spot on to say the sfr piece center piece of the campaign, this is a witch hunt against me, everybody look at me. it s actually a smart strategy for republicans because that is what donald trump s base likes. it s what motivates them. we know that the trumps who have been campaigning in iowa, even though it doesn t look like they have been campaigning, donald trump has not been in iowa, but his sons have been in iowa. one of the things that they have said over and over again is you need to come out. you need to show your political force. you need to show your loyalty to prove that i m the leader. i know, john, you find that funny. to show that i m the leader of this country, but also so that we can take revenge on my enemies.
the problem is they re not having enough sugary drinks. you know what, not interesting in a nanny state but people do need to understand. you want to be the nanny. all right. you give me a better option to deal with our nation s obesity epidemic. now, let s go to sports. we will begin with day one at the masters. isn t the masters a wonderful place to be? especially yesterday, there s a beautiful day on the course at augusta national, all eyes were on phil mickelson because he said, hey, everybody look at me. coming into the houston open, he chipped into the shot safely on the green and finishes the day 2 under. tiger woods also drains a long birdie putt at 14. this is a guy who hasn t won since like 1948. but he misses on 18. a possible birdie putt. he had a pretty rough day. here s a guy who made the headlines yesterday. roy mcilroy, birdies here to go