good morning, everyone. so glad you're with us on this monday. israel's military says another evacuation corridor in northern gaza is open for the next several hours. it is unclear if and how far that announcement is known, though, without any cell service or internet connectivity. and new this morning, further exchanges of fire reported across the israel/lebanon border. the israeli defense forces say two mortars launched from lebanon landed in open territory in northern israel on monday. and also overnight, the u.s. did carry out a new round of air strikes against iran-backed targets in eastern syria. >> defense secretary lloyd austin says those strikes targeted a safe house. officials believe that they're responsible for at least 60 rocket strikes against u.s. personnel in iraq and syria since october 17th. this comes as fighting intensifies in gaza. the medical system there, it's collapsed. some of the images you're about to see, i want to warn you, are disturbing. hospitals are running out of fuel, water, and supplies. doctors overwhelmed as thousands seek refugee from israeli air strikes at the medical centers. meanwhile, the idf says in advance, its ground operation deeper into gaza, arresting 20 hamas operatives, including terrorists involved in the october 7th attacks. nada bashir live in jerusalem. the evacuation route is now open this morning. are people from the hospital able to leave from that route? >> reporter: well, look, the situation is deeply complex around the hospital, particularly around the al shifa hospital. we heard yesterday from benjamin netanyahu who told cnn that there is no reason why patients, why medical staff on the ground shouldn't be able to evacuate. he acknowledged that the idf had established an evacuation route on the eastern side of the hospital, as we know, there are in addition to the patients there, thousands of civilians on that side of the hospital, on the hospital complex, who are trying to take shelter here. they are, of course, completely displaced and hoping to take shelter in what they believe to be a sanctuary. clearly, not the case. but the message that we've been hearing from the doctors on the ground is that in most cases, it is simply impossible to evacuate patients and staff. you have patients who are 100% reliant medical care that they are receiving, albeit reduced medical care, given the situation inside the hospital. but we are also hearing from doctors and doctors without borders that because of the near constant bombardment and nearby fire, it is impossible for people, for patients and staff and civilians to move between the different buildings, around the hospital complex. and we did hear from the idf spokespeople yesterday who denied that any civilians had been fired at, while attempting to move between hospital buildings. but again, the message we're hearing from the doctors on the ground is that that bombardment, that fierce fighting in the facility is constant. and of course, as we know, we heard yesterday from the idf, saying that they had distributed some 300 liters of fuel to the entrance of the hospital. important to underscore, the doctors have said that would only be enough to power the hospital for about 30 minutes. von, doctors have said that the hospital director that doctors were too afraid to actually go out and get the fuel. they have requested more fuel in order to keep those generators going. but as you can imagine and hear from doctors on the ground, the situation outside in the vicinity of the el shifa hospital is deeply fraught, to say the least. >> nada bashir, thank you. new overnight, republican senator tim scott has suspended his race for president. he made the announcement during a live television interview. cnn learning of it the way many of his own staff members and donors and certainly that audience did. >> here's a look at the gop field now. scott is leaving the race just two months before the iowa caucuses. he says he doesn't plan to endorse anyone else in the primary and has no intention of being somebody's running mate. harry enten is here to break down the decision here. harry, how big of an impact is this on the standing race? >> i don't think it's that wbig of an impact, in part because tim scott simply put really did not have that much support. nationally, he was at just 3%. iowa, his best state, he was at 7%. take a look at this south carolina number. 6%. that is his own home state. he was not first, he was not second, he was not third, he was running fourth in south carolina in a number of polls. and then nevada, another 2%. so the fact is, across the board, tim scott, simply put, did not have that much primary support nationally or in the early states. one big reason why, tim scott had a problem. he was liked, but he wasn't loved. so the very favorable ratings, this is the love. this correlates best with how you tend to do in primaries. tim scott, just 18% of republicans in iowa had a very favorable rating of him. compare that to donald trump, 42%. but again, he was liked. look at this. they had a 43%, somewhat favorable rating, so his favorable ratings overall were into the 60s. the fact is, when you're trying to stand out in a primary, you need to be loved. you need to stand out from those other republicans, and simply put, tim scott was basically the type of guy to say, yeah, i like him, but, no, i'm probably not going street for him. >> it was also interesting, a couple of things, one that he is not endorsing explicitly. but also, too, the fact that he said he didn't rule it out in the future. he said, not right now. that these feelings would change going forward. >> yeah, i think, you know, look, when we go forward in a campaign, i think, you know, this is just 2024. we'll see what happens in 2028, 2032. tim scott is a relatively young guy, especially the front-runners for the gop and the democratic nomination. so this isn't his only chance. i'll also note, another big problem tim scott had, he was burning through money really, really fast. look at this. he spent over $12 million in the third quarter. he took in less than $5 million. you can't keep a campaign going, going, going, especially when you need to be able to convert people who may like you into loving you. and i'll just note, this is another sign that the field is winnowing. gop primary candidates, at its peak, it was 13. we were asking about 13 candidates. we're down to just seven today. if republicans want a chance of beating donald trump, this is going to have to keep going down, down, down, and down. get it to one or two people taking on donald trump. at this point, it's dropping. we'll see if it continues. the field is winnowing. this is what's supposed to be happening. >> harry enten, your very favorable rating is 100% on this team. >> thank you. you two combined, 200%. more than 100%. >> he's the numbers guy. donald trump, leading the republican field, has begun laying out his immigration policies for a potential second term. a source telling cnn that they can expect a massive expansion of the hardline immigration policies we saw in his first admini administration. here he was speaking in hialeah, florida, a city in which three quarters of the residents are foreign born. >> anybody ever heard of hannibal electorate. he was a nice fellow, but that's what's coming into our country right now. come 2025, we will find you and we will deport you. we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in american history. >> trump's plans include rounding up undocumented immigrants in large-scale raids and arrest operations and placing them in detention camps to await deportation. joining us, republican congresswoman from florida, maria salazar, a member of the house foreign affairs committee and co-sponsor of a bipartisan and comprehensive immigration bill known as the dignity act. i'll get to government funding in a minute, but i want to start there. people need to understand what you have put on the table, in a bipartisan manner, is a significant and comprehensive proposal. and it strikes me, and pieces of it are very innovative, if somewhat untested, compared to past proposals. when you see what the former president would like to do in a first term, it seems to run completely opposite to what you've put on the table, which you've called the dignity act. how do you respond to that? >> thanks for the opportunity. i think that elected officials are trying to fix the problem. and during his first term, president trump had quasi-successful run with immigration. but the problem is that immigration is very complicated. very complicated. and what i'm doing, and i thank you very much for praising my immigration reform law called the dignity act, is that it goes to what's practical. seal the border, put order at the border, and then, give those people who are already here, that don't have a criminal record, who have been here for more than five years, that are working, that want to pay taxes, that want to go home for christmas, just give them dignity! i'm not talking about path to citizenship. i belong to the largest minority in the country, the hispanics. i represent the city of miami. i know exactly what my people need. and my people need dignity. which is to work and live a dignified life in the promised land. the problem that we have is that both parties, both parties have not understood what's needed. and on top of that, now you have a national security issue, with the border open, 6 million illegals have come in in the last three years. that's unsustainable. on top of that, you have a business class that is telling you, hey, i need hands, i need hands to work. i cannot find people to clean the toilets or to change the sheets in the hotels. this is a very massive problem, and the dignity fixes it. it's just that we need political willingness from both parties. >> you know, and i think to that point, it just seems that from a policy perspective, a pure policy perspective, what the former president and his team are putting on the table, again, doesn't seem to be taking the path that you're taking. i want to quote stephen miller, one of the president's top advisers, certainly his top adviser on immigration. you spoke to him back in 2021, in a closed-door meeting. there was some reporting about that where you exchanged your different polsitions. the illegal immigration activist won't know what's happening. is it sppossible to support dond trump as your party's nominee if he gets that, given his position compared to yours? >> i think you mentioned stephen miller, and i would love to sit with him and explain to him what life really looks like. what reality is all about. he may write whatever -- i'm sure he means well, but in reality he doesn't get it. h that's the theory. now, what's the practice? it's like communism. it's fantastic what it says on the sheet of paper, now put it into practice, it's miserable. mr. miller, i would love to have a conversation with him and explain to him what reality looks like. because, one of the big problems that we have is the entrepreneurs. the small business owners, the big people that are in the private sector, they need hands. who's going to fill that? the people that are already here. or we need to fix the illegal immigration. the big minds that going to silicon valley or the tech capital of the world, miami. and work. and pay taxes and be part of the promised land. that's the problem. it's the politicians. the political willingness to fix the problem is the only problem, not the policy. that's why i wrote a pretty good bill, called the dignity act. it's good for everybody. >> on a more micro problem that you guys are dealing with right now, you have about four days to fix. there is a -- the speaker has put out a ladered proposal. there are no deep spending cuts. the defense portion is in the second half of that. will you support it and do you think enough republicans can get behind it to pass it? >> sure. listen, the best thing that could have happened to the republican party is mike johnson. because the job, a very big elephant fell on his lap. and i know he's a decent guy, he has conservative, but he is reasonable. so no criticism to mike johnson. he's doing the best he can with the tools that he has been granted. and i'm sure that from here to friday, if my conference gets together and understands that we need to move forward, buy some time, so we can do the appropriations. and obviously, reduce spending, because you know that it's impossible for this country to continue spending $6 billion a day, a day! and it's like, that's around $75,000 a second. let's put it into perspective, right. we've got to stop, rein that in, so we don't have to pay for that debt. so johnson will do what's right, buy time, come together with the dems, and work in a bipartisan fashion, which is what the american people want. cnn, i'm sure that many dems watch this stage. fox, many republicans -- it doesn't matter. we're all americans! and we're all here in the promised land. and we want to continue living the american dream. that's what we're working for in d.c. >> congresswoman, we appreciate your time. thank you. >> to you, sir. >> that was a great conversation. donald trump vowing to root out the political left in a speech he gave for veterans day. brian stelter here with us in studio to talk about the president's warnings and his new book, next. and democratic congressman deane phillips revving up his long-shot challenge to president biden for his party's nomination. he's vowing to p put his ownwn y ininto the racace. what h he tells cncnn, that's s. the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within. we will root out the communist, marxist, and radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of country, that lie, and steal and cheat on elections. >> donald trump vowing to, quote, root out the political left. that was a speech he gave on veterans day, as trump is seeking a second term. he continues to repeat false claims about election fraud, and our next guest has a whole new book, telling about the origin story of trump trying to tear down the guardrails of american democracy and the right-wing media's mission to put him back in office in 2024. we are so happy to be joined by our friend and former cnn anchor, ryan stelter. he's the author of network of lies, the epic saga of fox news, donald trump, and the battle for american democracy. so good to have you, friend. >> good morning. so great to be here. >> early in the book, this is page 8 before you get into part 1. hopefully you'll come away feeling the way that i do, empowered and equipped to tell the truth more loudly than ever. you're still hopeful? >> absolutely. because most people want to know what's real and true in the world. and that's why the so-called network of lies, this disinformation machine that includes parts of fox news, but also the steve bannons of the world, right-wing podcasts, all that machinery that's trying to re-elect donald trump, it is important, it's got to be reckoned with and scrutinized. it deserves all of that scrutiny, but most people want to know what is real and true in the world. we have to be louder than the liars in this environment. and the liars come from two different directions. just the other day, i was almost fueled by some ai deep fake from the trump campaign, trying to trick people into thinking that nbc was saying something it wasn't. and all of that noise is is out there. >> to counter your glass half full -- >> come on, on a monday morning! >> what's so disconcerting to some degree, we saw this, you dig in on this in such a fulsome way, is the perverse incentives that create -- fox's internal conundrum of, our viewers want this, even though it's not true, we have to give it to them because of stock prices, because of ratings, bawl ecause of all those things. >> what changes that is a one-by-one, day-by day, personal conversations. the awkward conversations, the numbers that phil might dread seeing, they're the ones we have to talk about, listen to, and learn from. there are examples of that happening. i write about that towards the end of the book. i wanted to write an optimistic story. i had to write it, because there were so many e-mails and texts that came out. and they were so revealing about how it worked inside fox. but also, how it's working to this day. all of these big lies about the 2020 election, they're the predicate for trump's re-election campaign. and i'm glad you just played that clip of him describing his opponents of vermin. that's a horrifying clip, that's a fascist clip. oftentimes, fascism is perceived as an expansionist, war-like idea from the 1930s, from hitler's germany, but trump is this kind of isolationist fascist in terms of his rhetoric over the weekend. he goes to give a veterans day speech and talks about rooting out vermin from the left. that is shocking, and it's not the kind of thing we can ever get numb to. >> one of the things you discuss in here is the weaponization of language. and you use the example of brett bear saying online, he said, we're not going to stop digging and following up on leads. and you write, quo, the language of journalism was being exploited to cover far-fetched theories in the cloak of legitimacy. it points to a bigger issue of the lack of media literacy, that gets more and more dangerous with ai, as you just pointed out. >> 100%. there's a lot of stuff out there that's not news, but smells like news and pretends to be news, and that's what was happening with the big lie in 2020. and continuing to this idea, this idea of an alternative reality, of what they call the mirror world, where you can believe whatever you want to believe. but i came away from this believing, there is still the ability to make change. some people can still be shamed into doing the right thing. there are many republican lawmakers, elected officials who are still in a reality-based environment, who do want to do what's best. of course, what they're up against is that kind of extremist rhetoric that we're hearing from trump. >> what goes through your head when you see photos or tweets from the ufc fight over the weekend, and trump standing with tucker carlson, saying he could be vice president. >> so interesting. clearly, trump is trying to dangle the idea of an alliance with tucker carlson. tucker carlson is the kind of figure, even though he's been diminished, he's trying really hard to create a new media brand on the site formerly known as twitter. he wants to be a trump ally. the reality is, guys like tucker carlson, they think they can outtrump trump. they can they're smarter and more effective than trump. in some ways, that might make them more dangerous. >> big picture, you write about the lack of civility. and as we look forward in what's to come, also the end of an era at fox, in terms of rupert murdoch. >> rupert murdoch semi-retiring. >> what happens to civility going forward? >> i look at groups like better angels and more in common that are designed to start to foster conversation and dialogue. and i think you're never going to reach everybody. you're never going to break through to everybody. but when presented with what is real in the world, most people still do gravitate towards that. and by the way, every so often, in an environment full of this noise and misinformation that you all cover every day, there still are elections. we still get to vote. and there are so many people, from so many parties and so many stripes, still working hard to defend that. that's why i mentioned american democracy in the title. this is a battle for american democracy, and trump, for what it's worse, for better or worse, he's creating a very clear delineation for 2024. he's making a very clear choice for the count