Here's the latest from the 2024 campaign trail
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- Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are campaigning in New Hampshire with four days to go until the primary.
- Sen. Tim Scott endorsed Trump this evening over Haley, his fellow South Carolina Republican. At the same rally, Trump said Haley probably would not be his VP pick.
- After facing criticism over her lack of activity in the Granite State, Haley has six events on her schedule today. She needs a strong showing on Tuesday to keep her campaign hopes alive following a third-place Iowa finish.
- A new tracking poll shows Trump continues to lead Haley and DeSantis by double digits in New Hampshire.
- President Joe Biden's campaign is focusing on abortion rights ahead of the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling.
Why Trump is ahead in the New Hampshire polls
Three high-quality New Hampshire polls now have been conducted entirely after the Iowa caucuses — and they tell a consistent story about the battle in the state’s GOP presidential primary.
It’s not just that all three of them — two tracking polls via the Boston Globe/NBC 10 Boston/Suffolk, as well as another poll from St. Anselm College — have Trump leading Haley by double digits, or that they all have Trump at 50% or higher.
It’s in the reason why Trump has that lead: Across the three polls, Haley is winning independents by 10 to 20 points. Trump, meanwhile, is winning registered Republicans by some 40 points.
Trump repeatedly bashes Sununu, who has said he would vote for the former president
Trump repeatedly bashed New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, while delivering a campaign speech in the Granite State tonight.
“I think your governor sucks,” Trump said at one point, describing Sununu as “terrible,” and “bad news.”
The former president hammered the point several more times during his remarks, saying, “You guys don’t need this guy," and suggesting that Sununu "thinks he’s hot stuff," when in fact "he's nothing."
Sununu has endorsed Haley and is joining her on the campaign trail in his state this week, but also told CNN this month that he would vote for Trump if the former president is the party's nominee.
DeSantis suggests TSA unnecessarily focuses on people who 'clearly' aren't a threat
While railing against what he called the ineffectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration, DeSantis suggested that some passengers "clearly" aren't a threat.
“Why do we have this big bureaucracy that’s not actually adding to security where you could do it at a much lighter footprint by just recognizing that some people clearly are not going to be threats?” DeSantis said tonight in Dover, New Hampshire.
He did not specify who would be deemed a potential threat and who wouldn't.
Trump jokes about canceling the election: 'Just say Trump wins'
During tonight's rally, Trump touted his poll numbers and joked about canceling the 2024 presidential election.
"Just cancel the election, just say Trump wins automatically," he said to cheers in Concord, New Hampshire.
"We have fun, we're laughing and kidding," Trump added, before jabbing at critics whom he said would call him a "fascist" for what he meant as a joke.
Trump confuses Haley with Pelosi when talking about Jan. 6 riot
Trump appeared to mistakenly refer to Haley instead of Rep. Nancy Pelosi when discussing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“Nikki Haley, you know they, do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people,” Trump said.
Trump has previously accused Pelosi of turning down 10,000 soldiers on Jan. 6, a claim that has been debunked.
NBC News has reached out to Trump's campaign for comment on tonight's remarks.
With a new poll showing him with a 17-point lead, Trump ramped up his attacks on Haley. Meanwhile, Haley is trying to appeal to conservatives, and calling for the GOP to pick a younger nominee.
Trump says Haley probably won't be chosen as his VP
Trump addressed the prospect of selecting Haley as his running mate, arguing that she didn’t have “presidential timber” as the United Nations ambassador.
"When I say that, that probably means that she’s not going to be chosen as the vice president," Trump added.
Haley has previously struck down speculation of her serving as vice president, saying she doesn't "play for second."
D.C. board files disciplinary charges against pro-Trump lawyers
Disciplinary charges have been filed against three lawyers accused of aiding Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election results.
A disciplinary counsel for attorneys who are members of the D.C. Bar alleged in filings publicly released Friday that Julia Haller, Brandon Johnson and Lawrence Joseph violated standards governing the practice of law in the nation's capital.
The counsel cited efforts by Haller and Johnson to file federal lawsuits making false claims about extensive election fraud in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, adding that the lawyers “knew or should have known the lawsuits were frivolous,” among other claims.
The charges, which will be heard by the D.C. Bar’s hearing committee, were first reported by Politico.
In a separate filing, the counsel highlighted Joseph's involvement in a Texas lawsuit that asked a federal court to declare that former Vice President Mike Pence was exclusively authorized to determine which electoral votes should be counted.
Joseph made false statements about alternate electors in Arizona and “knew that the Arizona legislature had never qualified or authorized another slate of electors, but he never corrected his claims,” the counsel said.
Tim Scott formally endorses Trump
CONCORD, N.H. — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott endorsed Trump for president during a rally here tonight, telling voters repeatedly and enthusiastically “we need Donald Trump,” four days ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
“That’s why I came to the very warm state of New Hampshire, to endorse the next president of these United States, President Donald Trump!" Scott said.
While introducing Scott, Trump touted their working relationship, highlighting Scott’s signature Opportunity Zones legislation and their efforts to increase federal funding to historically Black colleges and universities.
Trump also revealed that Scott personally “gave him a tremendous endorsement” two days ago, though a source familiar with Scott’s decision making said the endorsement decision was not finalized until this morning.
Ahead of Scott’s speech, Trump bragged Scott endorsing him over Haley, who appointed him to the Senate in 2012.“Remember, I’m running against somebody from his state, so it’s not that easy to do,” he said.
The Democratic National Committee ripped Scott after he endorsed Trump.
“Tim Scott centered his own campaign around banning abortion nationwide, and now he’s endorsing Donald Trump because he knows Trump is a MAGA extremist just like him who is hellbent on ripping away freedoms from women across America," DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd said in a statement tonight.
"Scott’s endorsement of Donald Trump is only the latest example of MAGA extremism exerting complete control over the Republican Party," Floyd added.
DeSantis: Low Iowa caucus turnout should be a 'warning sign' for November
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — DeSantis said today that low turnout at the Iowa caucuses should be ringing alarm bells for Republicans as they attempt to win back the White House in November.
“It’s a warning sign for the party in November because the turnout was so abysmally low,” said DeSantis, who blamed low turnout on Iowans’ assumption that Trump would be the eventual Republican nominee.
“There’s terrible enthusiasm right now,” he added in remarks to reporters.
About 108,000 Iowans turned out on the night of the Iowa caucuses, down from a record-setting turnout in 2016 which saw about 187,000 people caucus in the Republican nominating contest.
DeSantis, who came in a distant second to Trump, acknowledged that sub-zero temperatures may have contributed to the downturn of caucusgoers but said Trump played a big role as well.
“I think it’s because you have some folks on our side who, who don’t want to do the Trump thing again, and they checked out,” said the Florida governor.
“There was a certain class of voters that I think were just like, ‘Alright, the party is doing this again,’ and they just kind of dropped out of the caucuses,” he added.
