> bidenomics is not working. >> my one-on-o"> > bidenomics is not working. >> my one-on-o" property="og:description"> > bidenomics is not working. >> my one-on-o">
right now on "early start," dropping out. senator tim scott suspending his race for president. plus. >> bidenomics is not working. >> my one-on-one interview with dean phillips who's defying fellow democrats by challenging president biden in the primary. troops advance in gaza where the w.h.o. says the largest hospital isn't even functioning. good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm kasie hunt. it's monday, november 13th. it's 5 a.m. here in washington. also 5 a.m. in south carolina where tim scott stunned republicans by announcing he was suspending his campaign. the timing took many of his campaign donors by surprise. it's been clear since last month when they canceled a multi-million dollar slate of tv ads. his team worried about whether he'd even qualify for the fourth gop debate next month. scott told fox that he's not going to back another republican in the race but that he would try to advance the message about the kind of person that voters should pick. >> i am going to remain as committed to making sure that this country chooses the right person. i think what our country is going through right now is a very challenging time and our goal should be to unite this country and not take advantage of the divisions of this country. >> scott also told fox he has no intention of accepting a vice presidential nomination reaffirming the position he took on the campaign trail. there are reasons why he probably wouldn't be offered it, but fair enough. democratic congressman dean phillips is escalating his challenge to president biden. democrats have frankly overwhelmingly rejected phillips campaign. he told me he believes he likely torpedoed his own political career but he says that biden's approval numbers are historically low and that the president is in grave danger of losing to donald trump next year. >> he won by 40,000 votes in 2020 in about three states. i mean, think about that. and use a raganesque term. do you think that the president is better positioned now than he was four years ago, 40,000 votes? i know the answer is no. most people know the answer is no so why not have a thoughtful competition to determine who is best positioned? >> so basically phillips told me someone with courage had to step up. he has the advantage of having a personal fortune to back it up. more on that in just a bit. but with less than five days to go before a potential federal government shutdown, house republicans areworking on a two-step plan to try to avert it. new house speaker mike johnson announced a plan on a gop house call on saturday saying, quote, i wasn't the architect of the mess we are in. that's according to a source on the call. the first bill would extend funding until january 19th at the same levels including money for mill tear ri construction, the va, transportation and the energy department. the second bill would extend until february 2nd. neither contains aid for ukraine or israel. let's bring in a congressional reporter for the associated press. frn farnush, the good news is holidays. how is speaker johnson threading the needle. is this something the senate can buy? >> i think it's really interesting what he's doing. he's trying to appease this very, you know, difficult right flank of his party by making sure that it was a house freedom caucus idea. so he's able to give them that. while still ensuring if he wants democrat votes, it's a clean cr. it's nancy pelosi era funding for the government. so it would continue all of their priorities. obviously they really wanted to include israel aid, they really wanted to include ukraine aid. this is only thing everyone can get on board with at this point be. >> one thing about the timing here, farnoush, if it passes, it would put it right in the middle of the republican primary season. the is anybody thinking about that? does it matter in this context? >> i think it's interesting the way house republicans operate. i don't think they're thinking about that because their priorities will be, you know, funded through that time and they'll see it as a win for them, right? if they put the staggering deadlines, they'll be like we forced democrats, we forced the establishment of congress to go away from the idea of this massive omnibus around christmas which is how they've operated for several years. this is the kind of establishment washington behavior that they want to stray away from. >> one thing that i think might be hard for people who unlike you and i don't, you know, know the sort of very specific ins and outs of congress is why would hard line conservatives care that they used this latter way of doing things? why does it matter that they would split it into two if the funding levels are going to stay the same? what is the argument from the hard line conservatives' perspective for why that matters? or are they just trying to put any kind of points on the board? >> i think there is the argument for them as, you know, the way the freedom caucus proposed this, that if you force separate deadlines, obviously really piv pivotal. you'll notice defense is in the latter deadline which is obviously going to help, you know, a lot of democrats to be able to support this deal, but i think the argument for house freedom caucus in proposing this, we force the ability to passingle subject appropriation bills. that's been their objective since january. that's why mccarthy was ousted from the job. he was ousted for the exact thing that mike johnson is trying to do now, which is pass a clean cr. the difference this time is mike johnson told them he would have to pass a cr. he would propose it and it would have to pass the floor for single subject bills. what they do after that february 2nd deadline is going to be what's interesting. >> nothing like objecting to governance by crisis by creating an additional governance crisis which now of course they have to solve and do exactly the same thing they fired kevin mccarthy for. thank you very much for being here. please come back. up next, the u.s. carrying out a new round of airstrikes against targets in syria. defense secretary lloyd austin said the strikes directed by preside the president and they said they're responsible for 46 rocket and drone launches against troops in iraq and syria since october 17th. meanwhile, israeli troops advance their ground offensive. they are completely encircled. israel also says 20 hamas operatives have been arrested including what they call terrorists involved in the october 7th attack. let's bring in lieutenant ben hodges, former commander of u.s. -- i'm sorry, general hodges, former commander of the u.s. army in europe. thank you for being with us. what message are they trying to send with these attacks on u.s. forces? are they escalating? are they trying to start a war with the u.s.? >> i don't think, kasie, that they want to start a war with the united states, but i do believe that they are testing, probing to see where is that point where we will strike back. this gives them some opportunity to demonstrate strength in the face of u.s. deterrence efforts, but i think secretary austin and the president have been showing restraint thus far but they will cross that line pretty soon. >> let's talk a little bit about the ground operation that's going on in gaza as well because this obviously, as pressure for a cease-fire has mounted, increasingly difficult picture is coming out of the al shifa hospital in gaza as the medical system is falling apart. but what the israelis have been doing, there are tunnels underneath gaza, including underneath some of these kinds of infrastructure that civilians use. are they striking the right balance? how do you think this evolves from here? >> well, this is a very difficult situation but there is no balance. you can't justify destroying a tunnel and killing dozens or however many innocent people. i mean, the burden is still on israel just like it would be on u.s. forces or other allied forces to protect civilians even in a case when the enemy, a terrorist organization, is using a hospital or humans, innocent people as a shield. that's -- that is the law and that's who we are. that's who israel is going to have to be. i think the president and secretary blinken have been communicating to the israeli government that, yes, every member of hamas needs to be killed, of course, but the way that this is being done is not helping make progress towards the real desired end state, which is a peaceful co-existence between israel and its arab neighbors. >> general ben hodges, thank you very much for being with us this morning. i hope you'll come back soon. >> thank you for the privilege. all right. coming up here, don jr. back in the new york courtroom testifying, this time for the defense. plus, presidents biden and xi set to meet in san francisco. stakes are so high to the leaders. a familiar face makes a comeback after a u.k. cabinet shakeup. welcome back. just in at this hour, former british prime minister david cameron has been named the new foreign secretary in the u.k. it is part of a cabinet reshuffle after the home secretary was fired just hours ago. let's bring in max foster live in london. max, good morning. it's always wonderful to see you. can you please explain, david cameron's a familiar figure to those of us here, but this reshuffle is very significant in terms of the israel hamas war and the reasons for the firing of the home secretary are pretty explosive. what's going on? >> reporter: yeah, so this all happened in the past hour and it's surprising stuff, being called out by this man, david cameron coming back as foreign secretary. he of course led the remain campaign as prime minister to stop britain leaving the european union and he lost and he ended up leaving, but now he's back as foreign secretary. quite well respected i think on the international stage. there was a lobbying scandal though here in the u.k. he was caught up with so we'll wear the to hear what he says about that and what the reason was rishi sunak. cameron doesn't represent any change. this came out of a cabinet reshuffle. the early headline was the home secretary had been fired. a very controversial figure, not just in the u.k. but also in the conservative party. the most recent controversy was leading up to the weekend protest, palestinian protest. xi accused police of being biased in the way they police these protests and not clamping down on palestinian protestors in the same way as they did on right wing protesters. the labor party accused herve inciting protests over the weekend and violence and protests. the police refused to change their policing and they were vindicated over the weekend when there were big protests and they were generally peaceful with only a few arrests over the weekend. a big change just as the previous foreign secretary is now the current home secretary. that is mr. cleverly of course. a big shift here and quite surprising i have to say. >> indeed. thank you for -- this has all been -- our viewers can't see we've been scrambling on this for the past half an hour. max, while i have you, i want to ask you about something our dana bash pressed netanyahu on over the weekend. she, you know, really tried to talk to him about whether he would take any responsibility for what happened in the october 7th attacks. that reckoning has been kind of looming out there. it's been put on hold while the israelis waged this war. he really was not willing to take any of it on. take a look at how netanyahu answered the questions. >> i've already addressed that many times and i said this whole question will be addressed after the war. >> why not now. >> just as people would ask -- well, did people ask franklin roosevelt after pearl harbor that question? did people ask george bush after the surprise attack of february 11th? it's a question that needs to be asked. >> i think those questions were asked. >> we're going to answer all of these questions. including me, i'm going to be asked tough questions. right now i think what we have to do is unite the country for one purpose, one purpose alone and that is to achieve victory. >> it's been a minute, honestly, since the attacks of october 7th and to dana's point, a lot of these questions were asked here in the united states in the wake of september 11th. what do you think he's got to say? >> i don't think he's got much option. there is support for the invasion. there's a lot of support for the idf, the military. very little support for benjamin netanyahu. his polling numbers are very low and they were really low before the war as well. he notion that he's on borrowed time politically. that's what a lot of the analysts i'm speaking to are saying within israel. he has to put off this reckoning as you described it, and that's the only way he can do it. let's talk about the intelligence failures later on. he's also got to come up with some answers for it because he was the prime minister but he's also suggested that he wasn't warned at all. it was the intelligence agencies that failed on this. at some point he's going to have to address it. he's going to put it off. that's the headline. that's my interpretation anyway. >> he's had to walk back those comments and you and i have talked extensively about how intelligence can be reflective of it. the west bank instead of gaza, max foster, thank you very much. >> thanks, kasie. more ahead on tim scott suspending his presidential campaign. the timing came as a big surprise to some key people. welcome back. donald trump jr. will be the first defense witness to take the stand today in the new york civil fraud case against his family and their businesses. he's denied any role in preparing financial statements when called by the prosecution earlier this month. new york city mayor eric adams says he'll work with investigators after a "new york times" article revealed he's under a federal corruption probe. at issue is whether adams pressured scholz to open turkey's new consulate. and the man known as the qanan shaman wants to be a counselor. he wants to run for the libertarian party. he was released to a halfway house in march. heavy rain battling the house, the gulf coast. they've experienced significant drought. derek van dam. happy monday to you. what's the latest out there? >> yeah. saying that the gulch coast, it's parched, arid, bone dry, thirsty, thank you webster's dictionary for all the synonyms this morning. this is putting it in context. you are running 30 inches of rain. impressive rainfall deficits across this area. guess what, we've got a drought buster on the way. rain is moving in across these parched regions across the gulf coast, across louisiana where much of the state is steeped in this exceptional drought. heavy rain, flash flooding. maybe a little bit of too much of a good thing. problems on i-10. look at the moisture streaming into the southeast in the coming days. so perhaps bringing some rainfall into pensacola. all the way through atlanta, into the florida panhandle. rainfall totals as kasey mentioned, 4 to 6 inches locally. on a broader picture, we cross the central parts of the country. bit of light rain through the northeast, particularly into northern new england. want to get you a quick look at your temperatures to start your monday just right. we'll be in the upper 40s to mid 50s, slightly warmer along the south coast. there's the temperatures in the middle 60s across the nation's mid section. >> i will say i woke up to winter this morning in washington. for those of you who are heading out, i'd recommend a coat. weatherman derek van dam, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> cheers. up next, a 3-year-old american being held hostage by hamas. we've got details on the latest hostage talks. and what president biden's latest democratic challenger says about his campaign for 2024. when i go back to iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. i am suspending my campaign. i think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they're telling me not now, tim. >> good morning. i'm casey hunt. that was republican presidential candidate tim scott announcing last night he is now a former presidential candidate. scott's team conceding his upbeat optimistic campaign had failed to gain traction in a not so optimistic race. in the meantime, democratic candidate dean phillips who's challenging president biden says he's ramping up that long-shot bid. phillips told me on saturday that he is willing to invest as much of his multi-million dollar personal fortune as it takes although he claims he doesn't think he will have to. do you have a top dollar figure that you're willing to invest? >> no. because this is so important. i, again, will not be self-financing my campaign, i won't need to. we are drawing wonderful support from around the country. i start my day every day with $5 donor calls. >> joining me now wall street journal white house reporter katheryn lucy. katheryn, good morning. thank you so much for being here. i want to start with a little bit more from that phillips interview. i think we should help everyone understand, this isn't a person that the white house thinks is going to be taking them on for the nomination, right? but there are people biting their nails about how he could potentially hurt president biden in this process. you heard him there say he's potentially going to invest as much as it takes. he's a multi -- has tens of millions of dollars. he talked to me about super pack money because he's hearing they might air ads in michigan which is a critical swing state. take a look at what he told me about that. >> you will take super pac support? >> as you well know, i can't deny support from anybody. >> i know you can't tell them what to do -- >> the answer is yes. the answer is to achieve what we need to achieve to overturn the status quo to ensure that donald trump is defeated, absolutely. >> so my take away from this is that the attempts by the democratic party to basically reject dean phillips have kind of made him angry and more willing to spend whatever it takes to make a point. this seems a little risky for the white house. what are your thoughts? >> well, certainly, yeah. he's not going away. and i think one key thing that you're seeing with phillips is that he is highlighting biden's biggest weaknesses, right? so he's talked about biden's age, which we know from voters is a real concern and he's targeting the economy or so-called, you know, biden economics. biden's economic achievements which we also know a lot of voters don't feel this economy is working for them. he can't go the distance, can he get off the balance let in certain states. certainly he is making noise and highlighting these weaknesses potentially in key states like michigan, you know, is something that's not helpful to the president who is, you know, currently in a tied race with, you know, former president trump when they're matched in hypothetical polling. this isn't helpful for them right now. >> we know regardless of how it comes together, the 2024 election is going to be razor thin. we know the vote margins in critical states are so small. anything like this could make a difference. >> any amount could make a huge diff difference. >> for sure. let's talk about tim scott. trey gowdy, former north carolina senator, now a fox host. a lot of donors and staff members for tim scott were stunned by this announcement. what's behind it? >> it's a surprise to a lot of people. it was a surprise to some of the staff but it's also not a surprise, right? he just hadn't caught fire at all, meaning, i think the hope was that his campaign, his personal story, a positive message would really, you know, elevate him. that just didn't happen. it has not been that kind of race. i me