reports, president trump lashing out at jack smith today trying to portray the investigation as an attempt to rig the 2024 election calling on his supporters to fight against the justice department and fbi in a series of fiery social media posts. as the potential for indictments grows by the day. despite a direct appeal this week from trump s legal team. the special counsel in new video obtained exclusively by nbc news is not ready to show his cards. is an indictment coming soon, sir? is an investigation wrapping up, sir? also today, former new jersey governor chris christie is entering the republican contest kicking off a string of announcements this week from candidates trying to catch donald trump in the polls. and i ll be joined by maryland governor wes moore on the culture wars being waged by top republicans as a wedge issue against democrats. plus a disaster in ukraine, a major dam and electric power plant blown up, thousands are being evacuated from rising floodw
prepandemic levels, it could overwhelm the health care system. cnn this morning continues right now. they re poisoning the blood of our country. that s what they ve done. they ve poison abouting mental institutions and prisons a all over the world, not just in south america or three or four countries we re thinking, but awe oil the world they re pouring into our country. well, good morning, everyone. former president donald trump is escalated his longtime anti-rhetoric as he hits the campaign level. the white house is calling fascist. speaking of the white house, the white house and the senate, their negotiators are racing to try to reach a deal on immigration and southern border policy with aid for ukraine and israel hanging in the balance. and right now defense secretary lloyd austin is in israel as they scale back to protect civilians. cnn this morning starts right now. and here s where we begin this hour with defense secretary lloyd austin in israel as the
cnn this morning starts right now. well, good morning, everyone, i m poppy harlow with phil mattingly in new york. a lot to get to. specifically politics. pre-christmas campaign push lands in iowa today. donald trump, ron desantis and nikki haley all holding events there, sharpening their closing messages and attacks against one another this morning. a new signal the trump campaign is concerned about one candcand candidate s growing momentum. abbott signing a controversial bill making illegal immigration a state crime that will allow texas police to make mass arrests. the protests and threats of legal challenges already under way. and bursts of lava and smoke filling the sky in iceland today as a volcano dramatically erupted overnight after weeks of warnings. threatening a geothermal power plant. cnn this morning starts right now. new this morning, it looks like donald trump may be feeling some pressure in new hampshire as nikki haley chipped away at what was a huge
and right now on andrea mitchell reports, outrage in israel after three of their hostages are killed by israel s own troops even though the hostages had made white flags, had sos messages with leftover food on the walls and the troops have been told to withhold fire. large crowds in israel this weekend protesting outside the military compound demanding that hostage talks resume. the cia director in europe with israeli and qatari officials for secret talks to get those negotiations going while defense secretary austin arrived in israel today as the administration is increasingly frustrated with prime minister netanyahu including failure to stop violence against palestinians in the west bank. attacks by extremist settlers against palestinians in the west bank must stop and those committing the violence must be held accountable. plus, congressional overtime. senate immigration talks to unlock millions in aid to israel and ukraine running out of time to get a bill passe
ruling against rudy giuliani, a sum that will bankrupt the former mayor of new york city. his attorney said it is basically a death penalty for him, an economic death penalty. plus an update from capitol hill on foreign aid negotiations, the package which would provide critical funding for ukraine. it s been held up by republican demands for stricter immigration policies. but it looks like there s progress there. might be some. we ll get analysis on the biden administration s push to get israel to scale back its war in gaza, what s going on there. with us, we have the host of way too early, white house bureau chief at politico, jonathan lemire. former state department official, elise jordan. politics nation reverend al sharpton. and presidential chair at vanderbilt university, historian jon meacham is with us. so let s get to it. at a rally on saturday, donald trump again used the language of 20th century authoritarians while separately praising this country s