>>> TONIGHT, IN IOWA, ALMOST THE
FIELD WILL TE THE STAGE AT A L
GOP DINNER TO MAKE THEIR PITCH
FOR WHY IOWANS SHOULD CAUCUS FOR
THEM IN JANUARY.
AT THE CENTER OF ATTENTION, OF
COURSE, IS DONALD TRUMP.
IT'S HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN EVENT
SINCE THE NEWS BROKE THAT HE'S
FACING MORE FEDERAL CHARGES.
CNN'S JESSICA DEAN IS IN DES
MOINES, IOWA.
JESSICA, HOW'S IT LOOKING OUT
THERE?
>> Reporter: WELL, IT'S GOING TO
BE QUITE A NIGHT.
WE'RE REALLY SEEING ALL OF
TRUMP'S LEGAL ISSUES COLLIDING
RIGHT INTO THIS 2024
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY, AS WE'VE
SEEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN IN THE
LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
AND WE LOOKED AT SOME OF THE
POLLING THAT WE GOT FROM FOX
BUSINESS OVER THE WEEKEND, AND
IT JUST SHOWS DONALD TRUMP'S
INCREDIBLE HOLD OVER THIS RACE
IN THE STATE OF IOWA.
NOW, IT IS EARLY.
THINGS CHANGE.
THERE IS CERTAINLY TRUMP FATIGUE
BASED ON THE VOTERS I'VE BEEN
TALKING TO.
BUT ONE WORD THAT DID NOT COME
UP YESTERDAY EITHER FROM RON
DeSANTIS WHO I WAS WITH ON HIS
BUS TOUR, WHICH I'LL GET TO IN
JUST A SECOND, OR FROM THE
VOTERS I WAS TALKING TO WAS
INDICTMENT.
NOBODY WAS REALLY TALKING ABOUT
THAT.
THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT WHO CAN
WIN IN 2024 AGAINST JOE BIDEN.
THAT'S THE CALCULATION THAT THE
VOTERS I WAS SPEAKING TO ARE
MAKING.
AND THEY'RE TRYING TO ASCERTAIN
WHO THAT PERSON IS.
GOVERNOR RON DeSANTIS IN THE
MIDDLE OF KIND OF A CAMPAIGN
RESET A COUPLE OF MONTHS INTO
HIS CAMPAIGN.
WE'VE SEEN HIM SHEDDING ABOUT A
THIRD OF HIS STAFF.
THEY ARE PROMISING A LEANER AND
MORE INSURGENT CAMPAIGN.
I ASKED HIM ABOUT THAT
YESTERDAY, DANA.
HE TOLD ME THAT SOMETIMES, YOU
KNOW, YOU HAVE TO MAKE NEW
DECISIONS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS
KIND OF COMMANDERS INTENT.
AND IF THEY'RE NOT FOLLOWING
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THEN YOU
HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES, AND THAT
HE'S ALL ABOUT SUBSTANCE AND
THAT'S WHAT HE'S GOING TO FOCUS
ON.
WHAT HE'S NOT DOING IS DIRECTLY
TALKING ABOUT DONALD TRUMP ON
THE STUMP.
AND ASIDE FROM ASA HUTCHINSON
AND CHRIS CHRISTIE, WE REALLY
AREN'T HEARING ANY OF THESE
CANDIDATES DIRECTLY TAKE ON
TRUMP.
THEY'RE REALLY TRYING TO THREAD
THIS NEEDLE WITH VOTERS THAT
LIKELY VOTED FOR TRUMP IN THE
LAST TWO ELECTIONS, AND CONVINCE
THEM THAT THEY ARE THE PERSON TO
DO IT.
WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM DeSANTIS
IS THIS ELECTABILITY ARGUMENT.
HE KEEPS COMING BACK TO WHAT
HE'S DONE IN FLORIDA.
YESTERDAY HE SAID HE WON BY 20
THERE, TRUMP WON BY 3, THAT HE
WAS ABLE TO GET INDEPENDENTS
COMING TO HIS SIDE, THAT THAT'S
WHAT HE COULD DO IN BROADER
ELECTION.
WHETHER OR NOT VOTERS ARE
ABSORBING THAT, WE'LL SEE.
BUT IT IS GOING TO BE
INTERESTING TO SEE THE BALL IN
THAT STAGE TONIGHT AND THEN
TRUMP GOING INTO TOWN AND WILL
HE SUCK THAT OXYGEN OUT, AS HE
OFTEN DOES.
>> ABSOLUTELY, THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR THAT REPORTING, JESS.
LET'S JUST, AS WITH ETALK ABOUT
THIS, BRING BACK UP THAT POLL
THAT CAME OUT ON SUNDAY.
IN IOWA BECAUSE IT REALLY IS
STRIKING WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE
NUMBERS.
DAVID CHALIAN, 46%, WHICH IS AN
INCREASE IF YOU LOOK -- THERE
AREN'T THAT MANY IOWA POLLS,
BUT, GENERALLY SPEAKING IN THE
WAY THAT PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE
FORMER PRESIDENT.
BUT WHAT'S ALSO MAYBE THE MOST
STRIKING IS HOW DeSANTIS GOES
DOWN AND EVERYBODY ELSE.
THEY'RE JUST SO FAR BEHIND HIM.
>> SO FAR BEHIND.
AND LISTENING TO JESSICA, SHE'S
SORT OF STANDING IN THE CENTER
OF THESE TWO SEPARATE UNIVERSES
THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN THIS
REPUBLICAN NOMINATION RACE RIGHT
NOW.
BECAUSE WE ALL GET PRESS
RELEASES EVERY DAY.
IT'S LIKE HOW MANY DOORS, NEVER
BACK DOWN, AND HOME PHONE CALLS
HAVE BEEN MADE.
AND IT'S LIKE THERE'S THIS
ATTEMPT OF A TRADITIONAL
CAMPAIGN THAT'S HAPPENING AND
THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE
WITH THESE TEN-MINUTE SPEECHES
TONIGHT AT AN IOWA REPUBLICAN
GATHERING WITH THE FAITHFUL.
AND IT'S THIS, LIKE, BIZARRO
UNIVERSE OF A NORMAL CAMPAIGN
THEN.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THIS FORCE OF
DONALD TRUMP WHO'S FACING ALL OF
THIS LEGAL PERIL, WHO, YOU KNOW,
THE LEGAL PERIL BASED ON PERHAPS
UP ENDING OUR DEMOCRACY AND
TRYING TO THWART IT.
AND YET HE'S STILL 30 POINTS OUT
ON THAT POLL AND HE'S SUCH THE
DOMINANT FORCE THAT HE COMES IN
ON A DAY LIKE THIS WHERE
INDICTMENT IS ALL THE NEWS AND
DO THOSE OTHER SPEECHES MATTER?
YES, TO THE HALF OF THE
REPUBLICAN CAUCUS-GOING
ELECTORATE THAT IS OPEN TO AN
ALTERNATIVE, THEY MATTER.
BUT A LOT OF FOLKS ARE LOCKED
INTO DONALD TRUMP ALREADY.
>> AND, LISTEN, THEY LIKED HIM
FROM 2016 AS WELL, RIGHT?
HE BARELY LOST IOWA.
THERE'S SO MUCH CHATTER ABOUT,
OH, WELL, MAYBE HE'S NOT THE
FAVORITE OF EVANGELICAL VOTERS.
BUT THEN HE CAN SAY LOOK WHAT I
DID AROUND ABORTION, LOOK WHAT I
DID AROUND THE SUPREME COURT.
THE OTHER INTERESTING THING IS
TIM SCOTT.
YOU HEAR SO MUCH BUZZ ABOUT TIM
SCOTT.
HIM POSSIBLY GETTING A SECOND
LOOK PARTICULARLY IN A PLACE
LIKE IOWA.
HE IS A MAN OF REAL DEEP FAITH,
AND HE CAN SPEAK THE BIBLE AND
HE CAN SPEAK JESUS.
I KNOW YOU'RE A PREACHER'S KID,
I'M A PREACHER'S KID TOO.
I SUSPECT THERE COULD BE SOME
SORT OF TIM SCOTT BOOM LIT AT
SOME POINT.
THIS MIGHT BE THE BEGINNING.
>> I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP
BECAUSE I WANTED TO PLAY
SOMETHING THAT TIM SCOTT SAID
YESTERDAY IN IOWA.
IT WAS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT
WE SAW IN FLORIDA LAST WEEK
WHERE THEY CHANGED THE EDUCATION
STANDARDS, QUESTIONING WHETHER
OR NOT SLAVES GOT SKILLS,
USEABLE SKILLS WHEN THEY WERE
SLAVES.
TIM SCOTT PUSHED BACK ON THAT IN
A BIG WAY.
>> THERE IS NO SILVER LINING IN
FREEDOM, IN SLAVERY.
THE TRUTH IS ANYTHING YOU CAN
LEARN, ANY BENEFITS THAT PEOPLE
SUGGESTED THEY GOT DURING
SLAVERY, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD AS
A FREE PERSON.
I WOULD HOPE THAT EVERY PERSON
IN OUR COUNTRY AND CERTAINLY
RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT WOULD
APPRECIATE THAT.
PEOPLE HAVE BAD DAYS, SOMETIMES
THEY REGRET WHAT THEY SAY, AND
WE SHOULD ASK THEM AGAIN TO
CLARIFY THEIR POSITIONS.
>> HE'S SO GRACIOUS.
>> THIS WAS TEED UP FOR HIM.
AND THIS IS TIM SCOTT REALLY
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AN OPENING
THAT RON DeSANTIS HAS LEFT FOR
HIM.
WE SEE DONORS AND EVANGELICAL
VOTERS GIVING HIM ANOTHER LOOK.
YOU SAW REPRESENTATIVE BYRON
DONALDS WHO'S SUPPORTING DONALD
TRUMP COME OUT TO KIND OF RALLY
AROUND TRUMP'S SIDE HERE.
BUT LET'S BE KIND OF HONEST.
FOR THIS PRIMARY TO EVEN BE
COMPETITIVE AT ALL, SOMEONE
NEEDS TO GROW IN IOWA.
IF DONALD TRUMP IS WINNING IOWA
BY 46%, THIS PRIMARY HASN'T
STARTED YET.
AND SO I'M SAYING THERE IS A
BASE LINE THAT EVEN THE TIM
SCOTTS STILL HAVE NOT CLEARED
YET THAT I THINK WE HAVE TO
RE-REMIND OURSELVES EVEN THOUGH
HE'S KIND OF TAKING UP SOME OF
THAT ENERGY THAT WAS BEING
CORONATED AROUND RON DeSANTIS,
THAT WASN'T ENOUGH TO SURPASS
DONALD TRUMP.
THEY HAVE TO -- THEY NEED TO ADD
UP ALL THINGS THAT COALESCE
RATHER THAN 1% HERE, 2% HERE.
>> RON DeSANTIS IS TRYING.
THERE WAS A CLIP THAT I THINK
PROBABLY IS FAIR TO SAY WENT
SORT OF VIRAL YESTERDAY.
IN OUR WORLD, WHICH IS THE WORLD
THAT MATTERS ON "INSIDE
POLITICS."
RON DeSANTIS ON THE CAMPAIGN
TRAIL WAS ON THAT BUS TOUR THAT
JESSICA WAS TALKING ABOUT
INTERACTING WITH A CHILD ABOUT
AN ICEE.
>> OH, WHAT IS THAT?
AN ICEE?
YEAH?
THAT'S PROBABLY A LOT OF SUGAR,
HUH?
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
>> YEAH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S
MORE AWKWARD THERE.
THE GOOD TO SEE YOU PART TO A
CHILD OR THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE
CALORIE COUNT OF AN ICEE.
THE PROBLEM THAT RON DeSANTIS
HAS, AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT IT ENDLESSLY, DOESN'T HAVE
A LOT OF CHARISMA, HE'S VERY
AWKWARD ON THE TRAIL.
AND SOMETIMES HE COMES ACROSS AS
A HUMORLESS ROBOT.
AND IN A PLACE LIKE IOWA, IN A
PLACE LIKE NEW HAMPSHIRE WHERE
YOU'RE GOING TO BE GREETING ALL
SORTS OF PEOPLE FROM KIDS WITH
ICEES TO GRANDMAS WITH ICEES,
HE'S GOT SOME WORK TO DO.
I THINK THE AVERAGE SMALL TOWN
MAYOR IS PROBABLY BETTER AT SORT
OF THE NITTY-GRITTY OF POLITICS
THAN RON DeSANTIS IS.
AND WE'RE SORT OF SEEING THAT
OVER AND OVER IN CLIPS LIKE
THIS.
>> I MEAN, NO ONE HAS MORE
PRESSURE ON THEMSELVES TO BE
NORMAL AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR
THAN RON DeSANTIS CURRENTLY HAS.
AND, SO, WITH ALL THOSE
QUALITIES, THAT IS REALLY GOING
TO BE ON DISPLAY.
>> THAT IS VERY GRACIOUS.
>> EATING A CORN DOG ON CAMERA.
>> WELL, THAT'LL BE NEXT MONTH.