To begin with the race for the White House,
Ron DeSantis Nikki Haley head to head in Iowa last
night in the final debate before the first votes of
the campaign.
It came hours after Chris Christie announced he's dropping out
of the race,
hours before Donald Trump set to appear in court again.
Rachel Scott starts us off from Des Moines.
Good morning, Rachel
George. Good morning to you.
That major campaign shake up coming before the candidates even
took the debate stage.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dropping out of the
race,
raising the stakes for Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley with
just four days to go until the Iowa caucuses,
you're so deaf. First we have to put governor governor
overnight.
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis going head to head,
taking the stage at the Iowa debate just hours after
Chris Christie suddenly dropped out of the race.
If leadership's about getting things done,
how did you blow through
$150 million in your campaign and you were down in
the polls?
I think I hit a nerve.
This is a great window in the leadership because she
focused on a lot of political process stuff,
things that no voter cares about.
Haley and DeSantis are fighting to prove they are the
best alternative to Donald Trump,
now battling for 2nd place with the Iowa caucuses just
four days away.
If Trump is the nominee,
it's going to be about January 6th.
Legal issues, criminal trials. His way is not my way.
I don't have vengeance. I don't have Vendetta.
Haley calling January 6th a terrible day and ripping into
Trump's argument in court that president should have total immunity
from prosecution.
That's ridiculous. That's absolutely ridiculous.
I mean, we need to use some common sense here,
but the candidates spent far more time going after each
other.
She's got this problem with ballistic Podiatry shooting herself in
the foot every other day,
saying things that now she doesn't even take questions from
people,
the rivals clashing on education,
Social Security, foreign policy, and abortion.
These fellas don't know how to talk about abortion.
I've said over and over again,
the Democrats put fear in women on abortion,
and Republicans have used judgment.
This is too personal of an issue to put fear
or judgment.
I think she's been confused on the issue.
I think she's trying to speak to different groups with
different things,
not on the stage. The front runner,
Donald Trump, who was doing a separate town hall just
a few miles away
slamming Desantis's six week abortion ban in Florida.
If you talk five or six weeks,
a lot of women don't know if they're pregnant in
five or six weeks.
We're not the radicals. We are not the radicals.
But we're living in a time when there has to
be a little bit of a concession one way or
the other.
And I think, you know,
I want to get, I want to get it right.
With voting set to begin,
the stakes are high as the field only narrows former
New Jersey governor Chris Christie officially ending his
2024 bid but issuing a stark warning about Trump.
I'm going to make sure that in no way
do I enable Donald Trump to
ever be president of the United States again,
and that's more important than my own personal ambition.
But moments before he took the stage,
Christie caught on a hot mic attacking Haley.
She's going to get smoked and you and I both
know it.
She's not up to this.
Then saying this about DeSantis,
the audio cutting out mid sentence,
I talked to DeSantis, called me,
petrified that I would, and leaving this message about Trump
for his rivals on his way out.
Anyone who is unwilling to say
that he is unfit to be president of the United
States
is unfit themselves to be president of the United States.
Sources confirm that DeSantis did speak to Christy DeSantis wishing
Christy well and Nikki Haley commending him on a hard
fought campaign.
We were told at this point,
Chrissy does not plan to endorse a candidate in this
race,
but polls have shown that his supporters could turn toward
Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary.
And I'm told that is something DeSantis advisors were worried
about months ago.
Michael, Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if that happens.
Rachel, thank you so much.