we are live in the newsroom in washington. good evening. today donald trump and ron desantis held dwelling campaign events in iowa. the florida governor is in the hawkeye state wrapping up a campaign tour of all 99 counties in iowa but high- powered endorsements from iowa's governor has not had mucht on the poll numbers. desantis showing in the polls that he is back behind donald trump, whose lead appears to be growing at this point. the former president is pushing lies about the 2020 election, saying he hopes judges will let them prosecute that race. he is claiming his rival is handing out these signs. look at these on screen right there. these signs say biden attacks democracy. he is encouraging his supporters to enter ballot counting facilities to guard the votes. we are live in iowa. steve is in newton with the campaign and kristen holmes is in cedar rapids with team trump. pretty astonishing to hear trump's allegation that president biden is waging a war on democracy as he is facing federal election interference charges. he is the one that tried to overturn the 2020 election but we saw campaign signs being handed out to supporters today. >> reporter: yes, jim. this was the most forceful rebuttal we have seen to joe biden's argument to americans that he would be back -- bad for democracy. trump and maga republicans were a danger to american institutions. take a listen to some of what he had to say. >> joe biden is not the defender of american democracy. joe biden is the destroyer of american democracy so if joe biden wants to make this raise the question of which candidate will defend our democracy and protect our freedoms, i say to crooked joe -- and he is crooked, the most corrupt president we've ever had -- we will win that fight and we will win very big. very big. >> reporter: jim, he said his campaign is a rightist crew saying to liberate our public from joe biden. what exactly is it that joe biden is doing that is of immense -- against democracy? he talked about joe biden and his administration forcing people to buy cars, electric cars in particular, but the main crux of his argument was essentially saying that joe biden was turning his administration against donald trump using the justice department for election interference, saying that his wife he is facing so many charges, because joe biden and his administration has essentially done this on purpose so donald trump would not be president. not really surprising when you get back to the connecting of the dots there politically since we know his political campaign message, donald trump's and his legal message are the same, this is political interference. this is all fake. this is all democrats orchestrating this. it is particularly fascinating. you said the former president himself is facing attempts to overturn the 2020 election. >> that is what he will be on trial for here in washington d.c. steve, what are you hearing on the desantis front? they have completed this tour of all 99 counties and he's got the endorsement of the governor of iowa but it's not making a huge impact on the numbers. still a lot of time left and we have seen races go down to the wire. that is what the desantis campaign is hoping for, that he will make that kind of a comeback. >> that's right, jim. the iowa caucus has a history of producing late and producing surprises and i hope there will be one surprise left in his favor. he just got done giving his address to the iowa caucus goers for this 99th appearance in a county. you know, it was a pretty storied defeat for these candidates that come here. many have attempted, but not all have gone on to win the iowa caucus. desantis is hoping to be one of the few who have. jim, it was an interesting speech because he spent so much time offering a relatively dark vision for the country's future, talking about the troubles he sees in america, yet he says he left the store feeling rather optimistic about the country. he had a chance to explain why he thinks the 99-county tour is so important to producing a victory here. listen to what he had to say. >> i don't think doing the 99 counties is just about the caucus. yes, we will use that to win the caucus but it has significance beyond there. one, the fact i am willing to do this, that should show you i consider myself a servant, not a ruler. that is how people who get elected should consider themselves. >> reporter: desantis has six weeks to catch a spark. people i talked to in the campaign remain optimistic there is time to turn this around but they acknowledge there is a tough road ahead and nikki haley is posing a new challenge for him here. he's got a lot of time and ground to make up and he will spend a lot more time even though he has already completed a tour of every county, jim. >> we will keep our eyes on nikki haley as well. kristen holmes, steve contorno, thank you for joining us. joining us now, molly jean fast , but scott, let's get to you first. trump is on the campaign trail with remarks i would describe as pretty rich. let's listen to this. >> we have a lot of opponents and we have been waging an all out war in american democracy. you look at what they have been doing, becoming more and more extreme. they have waged an all- out war with each passing day. >> scott, is this the old campaign tactic of accusing your opponent of your own weaknesses? what is going on here? >> well, he obviously believes that democrats have rigged it. his words, not mine. with the impeachment in the russian investigation, they believe that they are currently using the department of justice and joe biden's allies and using state courts to weaken him or stop him altogether from being a viable candidate for president. that is the argument he has been making and i expect that will be the centerpiece of his argument all year. joe biden and the democrats will argue it is trump and his people to overthrow the fair election of 2020 so you have two campaigns making the same argument and they are not talking to each other's voters. we will see which one turns out . >> the only issue with that, molly, at a rally today, trump was instructing his supporters to go where ballots would be tabulated, places like detroit, philadelphia, and atlanta to, "gargatha vote." we saw people trying to intimidate election officials and so on. we should note, these are the majority african american cities that the former president was talking about and it sounds like he is saying the quiet part out loud again. >> first we have to stop and fact check scott here because we know there was no election interference. whether or not it is in donald trump's heart, that is one thing, but we know there was no election interference. the 2020 election was completely fair and counted. many people in different administrations -- you know, many of the courts proved that it was fair. i think it is really important that we say things like that and we don't let trump hijack the narrative here. what he believes in his heart is irrelevant, right? we know the 2020 election was completely fair so that is really important. yes, trump is projecting. this is what trump does. he lies and he will do anything . look, this is the guy who announced his candidacy early because he hoped it might prevent him from being indicted. i don't know. i mean, this guy is willing to do a lot of stuff in order to try to get back into the white house and there is a reason for that. he doesn't want to end up in jail, right? he's facing 91 criminal counts. >> scott, if we can show our viewers this sign the trump campaign was handing out earlier today. there is the sign handed out at the campaign event. it says, "biden attacks democracy." isn't there something upside down about that? how has president biden attacked democracy? as molly was saying, you can feel a certain way, but that doesn't make it so. >> if you are trying to understand it with the limbs of how and why political campaigns do the things they do, it's donald trump and that is what his people have told him he should believe and that is a way for him to muddy the water on the attacks he is facing. it is irrelevant of the facts, irrelevant of what the three of us believe about the 2020 election or how joe biden has acted in august. the purpose of the campaign is to nurture the voters on a narrative that, you know, whether it is true or not, whether it is based in reality or not. as the campaign rolls on, you will continue to see both campaigns try to do that. i may disagree with what joe biden does. i disagree a lot with what donald trump does as well. that is what a campaign does. you build a narrative, a framework for office and you do all you can do to drive your framework and drive the people inside of it and keep the people there and that is what donald trump is doing right now. >> molly, is there something telling about the sign they were handing out at the trump rally earlier today -- and let me show this to the viewers one more time -- because they are accusing biden of doing something that donald trump himself tried to do after the 2020 election, overturn american democracy. overturn an american election. his supporters will hold these signs up, yet they are not being told the reality of the situation? >> well, trump has this whole thing, right? he has what he tells his people whether or not it is true and i think that he has seen that biden has done very well running on democracy and so, he has decided this will work for him too. a lot of the stuff is upside down stuff. i mean, according to what i know about the norms of democracy. you know, he will try it. look, trump is trying a lot of stuff and he is at this point the republican front runner by a large margin, so it does seem as if he is going to be the nominee, barring some kind of huge event. >> scott, let -- >> on this strategic point, i think molly might be onto something. he sees biden running on this and having some success, so maybe he needs to run on it. one other piece to that, i think he senses in his base and republicans at large, even some that are not for him right now, the idea that vindication might be at hand. the national polls show donald trump currently beating joe biden. i think they sense that, look, trump is our best bet to win the election. that is what they think republicans are sensing now, so feeding on the ideas getting vindication for what they think happened for the impeachments, the indictments, whatever you're mad about with donald trump, vis-a-vis his problems, that is the core vibe they are going for so when you see a sign like that it's like, it is feeding that emotion. i suspect that is part of what is going on here. it is not a policy tactic, but more of an emotional tactic, you know? >> molly, an issue democrats are emotional about, obamacare. trump has been rehashing the debate on obama care. he posted on truth social something like, obamacare sucks. i covered the trump white house. they tried to get rid of obamacare and he said over and over again he would come out with his own plan for replacing obamacare. we never got it . we don't know what happened between now and then. we still don't have that plan. what is your sense of that issue for democratic voters? i suspect some of them would like to have that debate again. this has been the law of the land for many years now and many like what it does. it covers pre-existing conditions and so on. >> obamacare is a loser for republicans. this goes back to the idea that taking things away from people is a loser, right? we saw this with rowe. women didn't like having a right taken away. with obamacare, if trump had been a more diligent politician, more controlled, he would have talked to his people and known this was not a good issue for him to run on. instead, he was all over it. i remember him saying something to the effect of, who knew healthcare was so complicated? this is a tough issue for him and i think it is a loser for republicans. >> scott, i am old enough to remember when obamacare was not good for obama. i covered the second term of the obama administration and it was not a good issue for him but slowly but surely over time, it has become a good program. is this what republicans want to talk about and get back into? >> well, it depends on who you're talking to. premiums are expensive and if you talk to folks paying for their portion of the healthcare out there, it has gotten more expensive every year. if i were in his shoes, i wouldn't talk about appealing obamacare without a replacement plan. i would say simply it has gotten more and more expensive. they told us it would be cheaper. they told us it would be a solution but it doesn't feel like insurance at all for a lot of americans. that is the correct policy framework. it doesn't absolve him of needing his own plan, but in terms of rhetoric and trying to connect with people about what they are really worried about, what you find as most folks are paying for their health insurance and they're worried about how expensive it's gotten . >> guys, thank you. molly, scott, thank you for your time this evening. we appreciate it. coming up, a dozen intercepts seen over tel aviv as the fighting ramps up. we will take you there live. you are watching cnn. sirens in israel as the iron dome intercepts at least a dozen rockets over tel aviv. it's the second time the defense system has been used since the truce with hamas ended on friday. as the fighting resumes in gaza, negotiations over the remaining hostages has hit a, quote, dead end as they said hamas has violated the agreement after refusing to return a group of seven children. what's the reaction to all of this? what about the air raid sirens? did you happen to witness any of that? what can you tell us? >> that was us. that video is from when we were sort of standing, getting ready to do some reporting from the center of tel aviv and the sirens started filling the air. hundreds of people immediately moved into the air raid shelters that are strategically placed at mostly every street corner in tel aviv. it just shows you, as this ongoing military operation continues, and israel really pangs targets in the gaza strip, hamas still has the capability of launching rockets into israel as well. so this is very much still a very dynamic war that is unfolding. now, earlier, we were in that part of tel aviv because thousands of people had gather there'd in order to show support for the hostages. 130 or so israelis and others that are still inside the gaza strip voicing their support for those hostages, and calling on the government as well to do more to prioritize their release. everybody in israel wants to see these hostages set free as soon as possible. but there is some division about the best way of achieving that. there are those who believe the hostage families, the supporters, they believe the negotiations should continue. should be resumed. because israel has withdrawn negotiators from qatar. everything should be done to bring those hostages home as soon as possible. the israeli government and their supporters are essentially saying that, look. it's time for military pressure on hamas to force them to release more hostages. that's the only way. nevertheless, it has become a very emotional political issue in this country. >> and matthew, what do we know about israel's next step militarily in gaza? do we think it will look like what we saw before the truce? heavy bombardment? dropping leaflets on palestinians, telling them to move to the south so they could get out of harm's way. you can argue whether or not that was ultimately successful. but the heavy bombardment that left so much devastation. will we see a similar thing in the south? what can you tell us? >> reporter: wreckage, devastation, so much loss of life as well. already we've seen nearly 200 palestinians according to the hamas-controlled health ministry killed since the resumption of military hostilities. the united states, other israeli allies are calling on israel to show restraint. to protect civilians in the gaza strip. israel said it is doing that but it is also pounding them with a very high degree of military might. so casualties, it seems, are going to be an inevitable consequence. so everybody is watching very closely how that unfolds. whether it is the same situation with the mass casualties as before, jim. >> all right. thank you very much for that report. we appreciate it. coming up, the u.s. just announced a ral to slash methane gas emissions. is it too little too late? that's ahead. the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network. even given the challenges we face, i am optimistic. with ambition and bold action, i know we will build a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous world. >> that was vice president kamala harris speaking at the 28 global climate summit in dubai earlier today. she went on to announce the u.s. is pledging $3 billion to the u.n.'s green fund designed to help developing countries fight climate change. david mckenzie is in dubai with more. >> reporter: in a made for tv moment, world leaders and royals entering a critical climate change summit. hosted by the uae, a major oil producer. >> we cannot save a burning planet with fiery fossil fuels. >> we are already living in a climate crisis. >> reporter: global efforts to cut emissions are wildly off track. there are growing called for concrete plans to phase out the use of fossil fuels. now ma major announcement from the white house, new rules from the environmental protection agency to slash methane. a dangerous byproduct of the oil and gas industry by nearly 80%. >> we've got to get the receipts. make sure we're making the progress we need to make in this critical decade. >> reporter: are you hoping these new rules will be inspiring other countries to follow suit? >> absolutely. we've seen on the basis of strong, domestic action in the united states, countries are coming along, documadopting the play book and scaling them worldwide. >> reporter: chief among them, china. the white house is hoping to build on the momentum of president back-to-back and president xi jinping's meetings last month. >> china has to step up in a big way to take a chunk out of admissions. >> reporter: even as they push the transition, u.s. oil production is breaking records. churning out more than 30 million barrels a day. >> it is really hypocritical, both the emirates and the u.s. are saying they are committed to 1.5 degrees, but you can't be committed to the limit if you go on expanding fossil fuel production. >> there are very bold pronouncements on one hand and actions on the other. are the two lining up? >> no. they're not. one of the big concerns many have about the process here is that we're seeing an awful lot of announcements which are never followed up. >> reporter: the white house climate adviser says the key to the new rules are enforcement. he would not say whether the u.s. will commit to a fossil fuel phaseout. there are intense negotiations happening here. scientists say if there are aren't deep emissions cuts globally, the world could face a climate catastrophe. jim? >> thank you very much. let's discuss more with cnn's chief climate correspondent, bill weir. one of the major headlines coming out of this conference today seem to be around this agreement to cut methane emissions. folks at home might be saying what's the big deal there. bring us up to speed. >> methane which we know best as natural gas. if you think about the heat trapping qualities of these gases, carbon dioxide is a blanket of