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Blizzard Freezes 2024 Field In Final Weekend Before Iowa Caucuses; DeSantis Blasts Haley For Calling Clinton An Inspiration; U.S. Launches Second Round Of Attacks On Houthi Targets; Trump Cancels Most Weekend Rallies In Iowa Due To Weather; Will Christie's Former Supporters In NH Vote For Haley?; Thousands Marching On The Nation's Capital In Pro-Gaza Rally; Taiwan Voters Shrug Off China's Warning And Re-Elect Ruling Party; GA Judge To Set Hearing On Fani Willis-Lead Prosecutor Allegations. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 13, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:59:57]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Dancer -- that's the dog's name, 3- year-old dog -- and her family were on a walk when she got off her leash and then tumbled down the cliff right onto a ledge. Her owners searched for hours but then couldn't find her in the dark and assumed the worst.

Park rangers then were notified and later found that chili pup the next morning. And they say the professional troublemaker was reunited with her family and is now recovering well. We love that. We've got two good news stories for you there.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with a frigid final stretch before the first votes of the 2024 presidential election.

Dangerous weather with wind chills as low as 45 below zero causing major disruptions on the Iowa caucus campaign trail. And much of the state is under a blizzard warning. But with just two days until caucus goers make their picks, candidates are not giving Iowans the cold shoulder at all as they hit the trail, and make the case for why they should be the Republican nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DESANTIS, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I could tell you this, if you're willing to go out there and you're willing to brave the elements on a cold, windy, snowy January night for me and do that for a few hours, I'll fight for you for the next 8 years.

NIKKI HALEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's funny because I've been campaigning here for eleven months now all over the state. And in October or November, I was at every one of the town halls, I was like, it is cold. And that's what they did in October or November. They laughed and they go, oh, this is mild. This is mild. And I was like, no, it's not. It's cold. I get it now. I totally get it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Eva McKend, she gets it, too. She's right out there in the elements in Des Moines. Eva, it's a powerful day right on the campaign trail in Iowa. I mean, nothing can be taken for granted. What are the messages that are being sent?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I can tell you that the wind is picking up, but that is not stopping these candidates from resuming activity on the campaign trail. Nikki Haley in Cedar Falls, Governor DeSantis in Council Bluffs, as well as a number of other stops. And their message to Iowans is to brave the elements on Monday, still get out there and caucus for them even though it might be negative 20 degrees.

In addition to talking about the weather, they are also outlining their visions for America as the two are caught in this bitter battle for second place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESANTIS: Republicans get in and they make promises and they get to D.C. or wherever, and more often than not, the Democrats and the left just eat their lunch on issue after issue. Governor Reynolds has stepped up and she has had big victories over the left here in Iowa. I have had big victories over the left and the Democrats in the State of Florida. We beat the Teachers Unions when it comes to universal school choice. We beat Fauci on COVID. We beat the Democrats on election integrity. And we beat Disney by standing up for the innocence of our children.

HALEY: We're $34 trillion in debt. We're having to borrow money just to make our interest payments. China owns some of that debt. And I would love to tell you that Biden did that to us, but I will always speak in hard truths to you. Our Republicans did that to us, too. We'll stop the spending. We'll stop the borrowing. We'll stop the pet projects and earmarks, and I'll veto any spending bill that doesn't take us back to pre-COVID levels that will save us trillions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, they are out on the campaign trail as well. As for this big question about turnout, I was at the popular drake diner this morning having breakfast here in Des Moines, speaking to a voter who has participated in the caucus process since the 80s and told me that he believes that Iowans, despite this weather, will still turn out. A similar sentiment that I heard from a pastor earlier this week who says, frankly, many Iowans take this process as a huge honor. The fact that the state goes first and they believe that Iowans will persevere and still participate, have their voices heard despite these conditions, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. We are about to find out. Eva McKend, thank you so much.

All right, for more on this last-minute push on the campaign trail, let's bring in "NPR" National Political Correspondent, Mara Liasson. And National Politics Reporter for "Axios," Sophia Kai.

All right. Good to see both of you. Mara, you first. Listen to you all the time. So a big part of what makes, you know, the Iowa caucus is so different is that people actually have to go in-person to take part.

[14:05:04]

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Yup.

WHITFIELD: And you just heard it right there from Eva who, you know, who said people consider this a real honor. So they are going to be there. How big of a factor do you think this weather is going to be?

LIASSON: I think the weather is huge. I mean, even for tough Iowans who turn out every time. Polls show that Republicans in general are much more energized and excited about voting this time than Democrats are. So let's see if Iowa turnout tonight reaches the same levels that it has in the past. I mean, that's a pretty big indicator of how determined a party is to elect their candidate.

OK, Sophia, you're in the car, you're in Des Moines, you're staying pretty warm and toasty for now, getting around is going to be a real challenge for people there. I mean, it's not just the caucus goers where it's a challenge, even for the candidates. But how much of a difference is it making that some of these candidates are trying best they can to get some face time, despite the weather, to make sure that they can win the support of folks?

SOPHIA CAI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Yeah, so I'm right outside the Trump campaign, Iowa HQ, where they have volunteers. They also have Kari Lake greeting those volunteers, making signs to go on top of the snow. And I heard that they found volunteers driving four- wheel drive to help get the elderly.

And that I think is the concern for a lot of these campaign is how did they get the older folks to the caucus sites without it being a health hazard? And so, you know, that's been the focus of the campaigns. Trump right now has been attacking Haley.

They've been lowering expectations for what would be considered a success. And so on the ground, it's really about inches and what they like to call moving mud right now for both the Trump campaign, as well as the DeSantis and Haley campaigns.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, you know, we're looking at video of kind of the most recent appearances of some of the candidates, Nikki Haley, you know, Ron DeSantis was actually there with Chip Roy and the Iowa governor. You know, DeSantis was also very critical, you know, of Nikki Haley for not taking, you know, enough questions from interested voters there. In fact, let's listen right now to a most recent soundbite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESANTIS: The other night on CNN with Hillary -- I mean, Nikki. And the issue is this, look, we all have records. I'm very proud of mine. She's not as proud of hers because she says that, you know, you're lying when you quote her words back to her. You know, she wrote in her book in 2019 that Hillary Clinton inspired her to run for office. And she said that on video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, so Mara, the two are going at it. I mean, they did, you know, during the debate, you know, this week here on CNN. And of course, they are looking at each other as the competition. I mean, rarely are they, you know, going after Trump, who is after all the front runner. What's going on?

LIASSON: That's one of the most significant dynamics of this race. This is a -- I have never seen an Iowa caucus that has as little suspense as this one in terms of who's going to be number one. So the race is for, number two, for some reason, both DeSantis and Nikki Haley have decided not to really take on Trump frontally. They both said they vote for him if he was convicted. Haley has suggested she might even pardon him. She's left the door open to be his VP. So they're going after each other.

DeSantis invested a lot of money in Iowa. He has the governor's endorsement. We'll see if that ground game really delivers for him. But Nikki Haley has had a lot of momentum recently. She's surpassed him in a lot of polls. She's looking forward to New Hampshire. So to me, even if the number one doesn't have a lot of suspense, the number two does. And I think this is a huge test for DeSantis. He has to beat Haley here to have a future. And she also has to live up to her billing as the person with momentum.

WHITFIELD: And Sophia, Chris Christie, you know, he suspended his race. If you were a Chris Christie fan in Iowa, who are you leaning toward? Because Chris Christie was very willing to go after Trump. I mean, that was at the core of his campaign, whereas, you know, Haley and DeSantis are very tepid on that. In fact, they avoided at all costs. But who's that Iowa voter going to most likely lean toward?

CAI: I think that voter is definitely going to come out in caucus for Haley. In fact, I was at one of her events two days ago in Davenport where we had someone who considers herself a Democrat who was going to come register as a Republican to caucus for Chris Christie. Now, he says he'll caucus for Nikki Haley. So that's one great data point for you right there.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Mara, Vivek Ramaswamy, he's also been campaigning -- he's been campaigning hard in that state. He picked up some endorsements from three Iowa legislators this week. What kind of an impact is he going to make on this race, this caucus?

[14:10:12]

LIASSON: Minimal. Ramaswamy's staff, we hear, are already looking for other jobs. I don't think he's much of a factor.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Mara Liasson, Sophia Cai. Good to see you both ladies. Thank you so much.

LIASSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: It's going to be exciting next couple of days as the first major test of the 2024 presidential election gets underway. The stakes are very high there in Iowa who will come out on top, the 2024 Iowa caucuses. Our coverage starts Monday at 4 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Right Iowa is just one of the many states getting hit by an arctic blast bringing life-threatening temperatures. New York and several other states are now under a state of emergency. More than 1200 flights canceled nationwide as winter weather worsens. Floodwaters are slamming the Northeast prompting overnight rescues for 20 people in New Jersey. That's where we find CNN's Polo Sandoval weathering bad conditions there in Patterson, New Jersey. And Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is in the CNN Weather Center.

Polo, you first. What's going on?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, since December, just one wave after another, this weather really has impacted so many people earlier this morning. Those wicked winds really bring it with it, the potential for power outages. But now that the winds have really scaled back, the only threat that really remains, of course, the floods. You mentioned a little while ago, the Passaic River here in Patterson, New Jersey, actually cuts through this community.

We see car after car kind of braving some of this ponding on the road here while others are choosing to just shift into reverse and go the other way. One local law enforcement official here telling my colleague, Nicole Grether, that it was not as bad as predicted.

Nonetheless, they are keeping a keen eye on the river because that is where all of this water is coming from. There's still a projected, roughly, two-foot rise in the water, at least in the Passaic River. And this is a body of water that already been at flood stages for quite some time. And there were concerns that they could potentially surpass what this -- what the region experienced last month.

Nonetheless, this really is now more a story of inconvenience for so many people. A close of two dozen individuals had to be rescued from their homes in and around this region here in the last couple of days. So fortunately, hasn't gone beyond that. And we should point out that these are regions that are very familiar with the flooding potential of the Passaic River.

These are low-lying areas that often flood. So it's really fueling some of those flooding frustrations for the people of New Jersey and really surrounding communities that continue to experience these watches and warnings, folks living in and traveling through the region. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, they're very dicey stuff. Elisa, which regions are feeling, let's say, the coldest temperatures right now? ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, I mean behind this storm that

Polo there is tracking the flooding is the cold air that's coming in behind it and you've got those temperatures that are going to start to plunge. This is what's left. You've got the lake effect snow that's cutting across the Great Lakes here. The last of the showers cutting through the Northeast. But like he was mentioning that flood threat continues because we're still watching these rivers as they rise and fall. They're saturated from the last couple of weeks that we've had round after round of heavy rain.

Blizzard warnings actually still continue across parts of Iowa, South Dakota, not because we have that much more snow falling, but because we have all the fresh snow on the ground plus 45 mile per hour gusts. Ground blizzard conditions are possible because the visibility could still drop a winter storm watch and effect for parts of Arkansas and to Tennessee because as this arctic air comes in, it could come with a punch of snow.

Here's the wind chill warning that's in effect for. I mean, just look at it. Most of the northern central plains for wind chills as cold as 45 degrees below zero frostbite then can happen in 10 minutes or less.

As this cold air plunges southward, we're looking at 17% of the lower 48 with temperatures. Temperatures below zero, 80% of us with temperatures below freezing as we go through the week that many daily records both for high temperatures during the day and overnight low temperatures at night could fall looking at 250 record -- records are possible as all of this cold plunges through on Tuesday.

Here's a look at some of the overnight temperatures for the northern plains where we'll be sub-zero for the overnight temperatures through, looks like through Wednesday, Tuesday or Wednesday for a lot of these cities here like Bismarck, Rapid City, Omaha, still at minus two through Wednesday. So it's going to be hard to get above zero for some of these northern plains communities.

Now, I do want to point out that this is the first time a lot of this part of the country is even seeing cold so far this winter. See all these red dots. That's where we've got the warmest winter on record so far from December 1st. And a lot of these areas are top 5 and top 10 for warmest winters on record so far. So that's the difference between weather and climate. We have this cold snap coming in, but it's coming as we've had a pretty warm season so far. Fred?

[14:15:12]

WHITFIELD: All right. Elisa Raffa, Polo Sandoval, thanks to you both. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead, President Biden launches a second round of attacks on Iran backed rebels in Yemen. Houthi officials again vowing to retaliate.

Plus, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis under fire. The latest on those allegations of an improper relationship with her Lead Prosecutor in the Georgia Trump trial as a judge now plans to consider this in court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:19:58]

WHITFIELD: The U.S. carried out a second round of strikes overnight, Friday, against Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The attack, launched by the U.S. alone was much smaller in scale than assaults earlier in the week, when nearly 30 Houthi locations were targeted by the U.S. and several of its allies.

Houthi officials vowed to retaliate after both sets of strikes. Houthi forces fired at least one antiship ballistic missile on Friday after the first round of strikes, but it didn't hit any vessels. For weeks, Houthi rebels have been carrying out drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Phil Mudd is a former CIA Counterterrorism official and the author of several books on intelligence and the CIA. Phil, great to see you.

PHIL MUDD, FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: So this second strike appears to be aimed at a radar facility that was being used to target ships in the Red Sea. Do we have a sense yet of how much these attacks have actually diminished Houthi capabilities?

MUDD: I think you use the right word and that is diminished. This is about deterrence. This is about trying to send a signal to the Houthis that says, don't do this again.

The goal, I don't think, is elimination because that's not possible. So if you're looking at some of the sites, these sites are obviously a lot of technology, a lot of stuff that the Houthis might have to get from Iran. So it's not easy to replace. But it is replaceable, Fredricka.

So again, the point is, the Americans and others, their allies are telling the Houthis, cut this out. They're not telling them with these strikes that there's any sort of invasion imminent or that we're trying to eliminate the Houthis. That's not on the table.

WHITFIELD: The Houthis are pledging, you know, a strong and effective response to the strikes. What are you expecting Houthis might do?

MUDD: Boy, this is a bit of a cat and mouse game. Look, they can't go up against the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy in the region, but obviously, cargo ships don't have the defensive capability of the naval, of the U.S. Navy. I'd expect to see some more attacks against cargo ships, not only to tell the Americans that the Houthis won't back down, but for domestic political purposes in Yemen. If you've looked at the news over the past day or two, the rallies in Yemen in support of the Houthis are enormous.

So there's an effort by the Houthis to tell the Americans, we're not going to take it from you, but there's also a domestic political benefit for them to tell their audience in Yemen and elsewhere we're going to stand up to the backers of the Israelis. And the backers of the Israelis are the Americans.

WHITFIELD: Following the strikes, President Biden said the U.S. said a private message to Iran. What do you suppose the message received was?

MUDD: The message out of the White House publicly has been including from the spokesman at the White House, we don't want war. There's a back channel that's occasionally used with the Iranians. It was used when I served at the White House 20 years ago. The message is probably, let's both cool off. Neither of us wants this to accelerate. Tell your people to cool off. We don't intend to do more. I do not think it would be anything like a belligerent message. You might hear the Iranians talk about. The American message is going to be, let's both cool this off. We don't want anything to get worse.

WHITFIELD: Kuwait, Jordan and Oman are among the countries condemning the strikes. And those are countries the U.S., you know, counts on as being friendly. What is this doing to relations?

MUDD: Well, you notice the Saudis are quiet here, too. There's a couple things going on here in terms of relations. You're right. Those are countries where we've typically had a terrific relationship. These are also countries that typically have not had a great relationship with Iran. Iran, of course, the backer of the Houthis. I think the message here is pretty simple. After the October attacks by Hamas and Israel, the Americans are seen as supporters of Israel. Houthis are seen as defending the rights of the Palestinians. So those Middle Easterners like the Kuwaitis are in a tough spot.

If you support the Americans, it looks like you're supporting the backers of Israel. If you don't support the Americans, it looks like you back the Houthis. The Kuwaitis and others are in really difficult spot. They don't want to see this accelerate either.

WHITFIELD: Let's shift gears if we can. I want to ask you about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. He remains in the hospital and officials say he was overseeing the operations against the Houthi targets. And, of course, you know, they remains that storm of controversy over how he handled his hospitalization, who he did or didn't inform. How big of a deal do you believe this is right now?

MUDD: Well, if you're watching the media, this is -- this is in terms of grades on a report card, an A. If you're someone who served in government, this at best gets a D. I cannot get excited about this. Give me a break. He made a mistake. He should have told the White House. This was an odd set of circumstances. But if you think the Defense Department can't figure out how to strike a few targets from a militia in Yemen without day-to-day operational support from the Defense Secretary, give me a break.

Plus, he's going to have communications capability at the hospital. This is an interesting news story, but from the optic of a professional who used to work this non-story, Fredricka, it's just not that interesting. [14:25:00]

WHITFIELD: And, how do you think our allies are interpreting this?

MUDD: This is a classic Washington thing where it's -- members of Congress see an opportunity --

WHITFIELD: Oh, we just lost that signal, but I think we get the gist of his sentiment. Phil Mudd, if you can hear me, thank you so much.

All right, next, we're back on the trail in Iowa as Donald Trump begins his trek to the state. Other candidates out campaigning today. Trump's strategy as we're only two days away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're just two days away from the first votes being cast in the 2024 election as Iowa prepares to hold its Republican presidential caucuses on Monday. And most of the GOP candidates are now being forced to scale back on their last-minute pitches to voters today, as much of the state is under a blizzard warning.

Frontrunner Donald Trump has opted to hold a tele-rally tonight instead of campaigning in the wintry weather in the Hawkeye State, and that has some candidates like Ron DeSantis criticizing Trump for being a no show in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DESANTIS, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're in, we're showing up. I mean, Donald Trump, I guess, has phoned it in. He's just going to be hanging out down in Mar-a-Lago. I'm sure it's probably 75 degrees there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kristen Holmes is braving the cold for us there in Des Moines as well. Kristen, what can you tell us about Donald Trump's Iowa strategy with just two days away?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I did talk to some sources who are in Palm Beach who said it's actually 80 degrees, so a lot warmer. But Donald Trump himself is no longer there. He's on his way here to Des Moines. We are told that they canceled three of four events. He's keeping one of his rallies tomorrow. But as you said, doing tele-rallies.

When it comes to what his message is, it's really get out and caucus. And partly let's temper some of these expectations. Now, we're hearing a lot of the tempering coming from his senior advisors who are essentially saying that, yes, every poll has him leading by double digits, some of them even up to 30 points. Even if he wins by more than 12 points, that would be a historic win. I have heard this now from multiple senior advisors. They are a little bit concerned that because of that big margin, anything that is smaller than 30 points is not going to look as substantial.

The other part of their concern with those big poll numbers is that people aren't going to show up, that people are going to see that and say, well, Donald Trump already has enough support. I don't need to go out in caucus. This is something Donald Trump has said time and time again, telling his supporters, pretend that we are losing by a point, like we are not winning in the polls. He wants people to actually show up.

Now, part of that is also because they want to set the tone for the primary season. They want a definitive win here that really would curb any momentum that any other candidates are having. So that's their big goal.

And remember, Fred, one of the things we've talked about, they were really trying to bring out first time caucus goers. So whether or not this weather stops, people who have never caucused before, that's going to be something interesting to watch.

WHITFIELD: And what about after Iowa? Is the former president already looking to New Hampshire?

HOLMES: His team is certainly looking to New Hampshire. They are spending a combined between the Super PAC and the campaign, $4.5 million right now on the airwaves attacking Nikki Haley on immigration. That is not any kind of coincidence. They are seeing her rise in the polls. And that's also why when I talk about winning by a big margin here in Iowa, that's very important to them because of New Hampshire. They want to curb any kind of momentum that Nikki Haley has so that she's not soaring into New Hampshire. And particularly, we're talking about Nikki Haley here. Just to give you an idea, they are not spending any money at all campaigning right now on the airwaves against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The super PAC, $1.3 million a week up until the primary in New Hampshire, hitting Nikki Haley. They clearly are concerned there. They really wanted this to wrap up. They had originally had thought, look, Donald Trump has a big lead in both of those states, but they have been watching those poll numbers and they are seeing her inch higher and higher every day.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

All right, looking ahead to New Hampshire in another way, now that Trump critic and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has suspended his presidential campaign, will his supporters there vote for Nikki Haley in the nation's first primary? Chris Christie has yet to endorse a candidate. CNN Correspondent Omar Jimenez has more from the Granite State.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Christie hasn't endorsed anyone yet, but there's one candidate most likely to benefit from his exit. A CNN poll from New Hampshire showed 65% of Christie voters surveyed said they would pick Nikki Haley as their second choice.

(On camera): You are essentially one of those 65% who supported Christie before, but now you're leaning Haley?

CHRIS PEASE, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: Why is that?

PEASE: Because she's the best pathway to helping the country move forwards from Trump.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): It was a dynamic he raised at a Christie campaign event last month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would it not be better to better serve the anti- Trump vote for you to suspend, but for Nikki to have you as a VP declared before the January primary?

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEASE: I was particularly pleased yesterday when we had the Christie announcement because the timing was right. The next best candidate is clearly Haley. Now, she has an opportunity to gather and to speak with and to speak to that 65% of Christie supporters like myself. Her needle has just moved by a big jump now in New Hampshire.

JIMENEZ: Other Christie supporters, like Tom Barton, were ready to go all in for Christie. Now, he isn't sure what comes next.

[14:35:04]

TOM BARTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I'm very saddened by this.

JIMENEZ: He says he's open, but needs to see more.

BARTON: If there's one candidate that I would like, if she would stand up to Trump more, it would be Haley.

JIMENEZ: Catherine Johnson, a Democrat who supported Christie, doesn't see it the same way with Haley.

CATHERINE JOHNSON, CHRIS CHRISTIE CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: I'm a New Hampshire Democrat volunteering for Republican because he believes in the idea of working across the aisle. I'm going to go work for the Democrats starting tomorrow because, no, I respect her, but no, I will not vote for her.

JIMENEZ: Others as young as ten years old liked Christie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's say you weren't running.

CHRISTIE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you had no idea that this could even happen. CHRISTIE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would you vote for?

JIMENEZ: But Hannah and her parents thought this was the right time for him to go. They attended many campaign events and Hannah helped encourage her parents to see more of the candidates. It even changed their minds.

STEVEN KESSELRING, NIKKI HALEY SUPPORTER: I'll give Chris Christie the credit for telling me the truth about Trump and helping me to see that it was time for somebody else to take the reins. I was a Trump supporter two months ago and I would have said that Trump's going to win the nomination. Now I feel like there's enough momentum behind Nikki Haley that she's going to win New Hampshire.

KIM KESSELRING, NIKKI HALEY SUPPORTER: I wasn't really a full-on Trump supporter. I knew if I was at the general election, if that's what was on the ticket, I probably would vote for him. But I was kind of really undecided going in. Hannah encouraging us to go to these town halls, opened my eyes. That's what kind of made me decide who I really wanted to throw my vote behind.

JIMENEZ: But for some of Christie's now former supporters, this goes beyond the primary.

PEASE: You want to choose that voice that a greater proportion of the country is going to resonate with than this pocket.

JIMENEZ: And to you, that's Nikki Haley?

PEASE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Omar Jimenez, thank you so much.

All right, right now, large crowds of pro Gaza protesters rallying in Washington D.C. The White House installing new fencing as a precaution. We're there, live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:21]

WHITFIELD: Happening right now, thousands of people are marching in Washington, D.C. as part of a pro-Gaza rally. Organizers say the march for Gaza event will rally from Freedom Plaza and end up at the White House later on this afternoon. CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now from that rally. Gabe, what are you hearing from some of the attendees?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Fred, first I want to give you a sense of just how large this crowd is. If you look behind me, about 100, maybe 200 feet away, that's Freedom Plaza. But there are so many people packed in here that the crowd actually flows out here to the surrounding streets. We know that organizers have bust in thousands of people from a couple dozen states. And it really looks similar, Fred, to a rally that was right here at Freedom Plaza in early November, and that the last massive pro-Palestine rally we saw here in the district. I was there.

And frankly, in the past two months since the message today really isn't very different. It's still people calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and also a crowd trying to put political pressure on President Biden and the Biden administration to end that unequivocal support for Israel and end its military funding.

Look, we heard from a Palestinian American woman just a little while ago, I spoke with who said she's lost family in Gaza. She voted, she says, for President Biden in 2020. She says 2024, there's no chance as of now that President Biden has her vote.

Now, just this week we heard the Biden administration say that the President is listening and engaging with progressives that are calling for a ceasefire. But just this morning I spoke with a Biden staffer. There are a bunch of them out here today as part of the ceasefire effort. And I spoke with one. She told me that she does not believe at this point the administration is listening.

But a crowd like this here in the district, just a few blocks from the White House, Fred, well, there's no way, she says, that the administration can ignore that. And we know that in just a little while, this huge crowd is going to be marching through D.C. over to the White House, and they're going to be rallying there. Right now, there's a program happening. There are speakers talking about what's happening in Gaza again, using the word genocide again and again, a word that has been posed to the president at this point. And they're hoping this political pressure amid the election unfolding right now, Fred, that it could change the tune of the Biden administration.

WHITFIELD: Gabe Cohen in the nation's Capital, thank you so much.

All right, next, a Georgia judge plans to hold a hearing on salacious allegations against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The latest on the allegations of an improper relationship with her lead prosecutor in the Trump Georgia election case.

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WHITFIELD: Voters in Taiwan shrugged off warnings from China and re- elected the ruling party for a third consecutive presidential term. It's a vote that could have major consequences for U.S. relations with China. CNN's Will Ripley has more.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: History on the streets of the Taiwanese capital tonight, thousands of people are out here listening to the first words of their new president-elect, Lai Ching-te, and his Vice President-Elect Hsiao Bi-khim. This is their first press conference after confirming that they have

accepted their election win. The two opposition parties, the parties that were considered friendlier to China, both conceded earlier in the evening on Saturday.

The election results came through relatively quickly, just a few hours after the polls closed here in Taiwan. This island democracy has a reputation for being very efficient when it comes to tallying the election results, partially because there are just under 24 million people living here and nobody can vote an absentee ballot.

So everybody who cast their ballots, the millions of Taiwanese who voted, actually had to do so in-person in their hometowns. But a lot of people turned out. There were just under 2,000 polling sites here in Taipei alone and there were lines that a lot of them throughout the day because of what is at stake in this election. China had told the Taiwanese people, warning them in the run-up to this election, that this was a choice between peace and war, prosperity and decline, implying that the Democratic Progressive Party, which is openly loathed by Beijing's communist leaders is the wrong choice in China's view to lead Taiwan for the next four years.

[14:50:07]

And they've been making their point not only with bellicose statements but also with actions including just in recent days sending spy balloons over Taiwan unveiling imagery of their third most advanced aircraft carrier, one of the most advanced in the world that experts say once a complete sea trials would play a vital role in any potential invasion of Taiwan which China has never ruled out as they say that they will eventually reabsorb this island as part of their territory even though the communist rulers in Beijing have never actually controlled it.

And, of course, there's always the looming threat. But people here, the supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party say that's exactly why they've decided to give the DPP four more years in Taiwan because they believe that the party's strategy of a close alignment with the United States prioritizing military diplomatic and economic ties with the U.S. is the way to protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack as opposed to the opposition's argument that in fact re -- mending fences with China, rebuilding that relationship and recalibrating the U.S. relationship would have been the way to dial down the temperature and avoid a cross-strait conflict.

But Taiwan has made its decision a third historic consecutive presidential term for the ruling party, the DPP.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Will Ripley, thank you so much. And just a short time ago, China responded to the election results. The Foreign Ministry saying the election does not change their view that Taiwan is part of China.

All right, still ahead, the frosty Iowa campaign trail, active today despite the weather, while Donald Trump treks to the state. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley seizing on the final two days left in the caucus countdown. We're live in Iowa, next.

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WHITFIELD: The judge in the Georgia election subversion case against former President Donald Trump has set a February hearing to discuss allegations of an improper relationship between Fulton county DA Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, her pick for lead prosecutor. CNN's Nick Valencia has details.

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NATHAN WADE, GEORGIA LEAD PROSECUTOR: Good afternoon, Judge.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Nathan Wade was selected by Fani Willis as a Special Prosecutor in Georgia, many lawyers in Cobb County, where Wade practiced law wondered why him? Not only did Willis have the biggest staff of any judicial circuit in Georgia to choose from, but she also had more experienced felony prosecutors to take on the former president and his allies.

Former U.S. Attorney and one-time Federal Prosecutor Michael Moore says if the allegations of an improper romantic relationship between Willis and Wade are true, it's an unforced error by Willis and challenges the integrity of the case.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Cases are not lost because of some Matlock moment, some moment like you see in "My Cousin Vinny", where suddenly somebody finds the evidence. Cases die by the death of a thousand cuts. This is a cut on the case.

SCOTT GRUBMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I was pretty shocked. I was pretty appalled.

VALENCIA: Criminal Defense Attorney Scott Grubman faced off against Wade while representing one-time Trump co-defendant Ken Chesebro.

What stood out for Grubman is not the alleged romance between Wade and Willis that's shocking. It's the exhibit in the filing which showed some of Wade's billable hours. So far, Wade has earned more than $650,000 for his work on the case.

GRUBMAN: He's doing things like billing 24 hours in a day.

VALENCIA: Why is that weird?

GRUBMAN: Well, look, attorneys work hard, and technically it is possible to bill 24 hours in a day. Of course, I have never met an attorney, ever. And I don't think anyone I know has ever met an attorney who has billed 24 hours in a day. And this 24 hours in a day isn't being billed to a private client, it's being billed to the taxpayers of Fulton County. VALENCIA: No doubt, the 127-page legal filing from Trump codefendant and former campaign official Michael Roman has been fodder for gossip. But noticeably missing was any direct evidence of an improper relationship. That optic is something Willis has already been reprimanded for once when she held a political fundraiser for a political rival of one of the case's co-defendants.

JUDGE ROBERT MCBURNEY, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: I don't know that it's an actual conflict. It's a, what are you thinking moment. If the optics are horrific.

VALENCIA: Persecution, not prosecution, is a theme the former president has tried to get to stick in all of his cases.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a political witch hunt.

VALENCIA: After allegations of the Willis-Wade romance surfaced, Trump again seized at the chance to appeal himself as the victim of a witch hunt.

GRUBMAN: And wonderful defense attorneys, and there are a lot of them that are left in this case. I could absolutely guarantee you they're going to avail themselves of that.

MOORE: I'd tell her to get out of the case. I really think that this type of case, with these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor. And I think probably to preserve the case and to show that what's of most importance to her is the facts of the Trump case, as opposed to her political career, if you will at this moment.

VALENCIA: If the world wasn't already watching Fani Willis is every move, they likely are now. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right, it's icy cold on the campaign trail. Frosty weather making for a challenging final stretch in Iowa. There are wind chills as low as 45 below zero in parts of the Hawkeye State, with many areas under blizzard warnings right now. And with just two days before the first votes of the 2024 presidential campaign, candidates are not giving Iowans the cold shoulder. They are hosting events across the state.

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