>> would you back out if trump backs out? >> no, not now. >> that was president biden at the white house last night answering questions about comments he made earlier at a fund-raiser. we'll go through what he said about the 2024 race just ahead. meanwhile, donald trump was pressed on his promise to use a possible second term to seek revenge and retribution. we'll bring you what he said. and then also ahead the partisan fight over the senate's foreign aid package. one contentious issue is threatening to sink the entire bill. we'll bring you the latest from capitol hill. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, december 6th. i'm jonathan lemire, and thanks for starting your day with us. we begin this morning in the middle east where the israeli military has now entered southern gaza's largest city. israeli forces clashed with hamas terrorists in fierce gun battles yesterday. officials describe the fighting as the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation. israel's widening air and ground offensive has displaced even more palestinian civilians. the united nations now estimates that more than 80% of gaza's population have been driven out of their homes since the beginning of the war. israel's invasion of the south is also exacerbating the already dire humanitarian conditions. the world health organization says the situation is, quote, getting worse by the hour. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has no plans to stop the assault amid his vow to destroy hamas. yesterday netp hew said israel must retain open ended security control over gaza aer the war ends in order to ensure the territory remains demilitarized. netanyahu said this. "no international force can be responsible for this. i'm not ready to close my eyes and accept any other arrangement." . the comments suggest a renewed push for israel to occupy gaza after the conflict, a move the biden administration has made clear that it opposes. and the u.s. president is blaming hamas for the end of the seven-day truce and is condemning the group's reported sexual assault of women during the fighting. with a temporary cease-fire expiring last friday, israel said hamas did not live up to its duty to release its remaining female hostms. president biden reiterated that claim, condemning the terrorist group during a campaign event yesterday in boston. he said the female survivors and tnesses to the october 7th attacks are now sharing account which includes rape and murelty, the president added, the world can't just look away from what's going on. it's on all of us to forcefully condemnhe sexual violence. biden then spoke about the hostages saying this. "these are civilian women mostly between the ages of 20 and 39. let me be crystal clear, hamas' refusal to release the remaining young women is what broke this deal and ended the pause in the fighting." hamas has denied that allegation, but nbc news has reviewed evidence that suggests that dozens of israeli women were raped, sexually abused, or mutilated during the october 7th terror attacks. that evidence is primarily from the israeli government and military. also, the united states will start imposing visa restrictions on extremist israeli settlers in the west bank. the state department made the announcement yesterday saying anyone believed today be involved in, quote, undermining peace, security, or stability in the west bank will be banned from entering the united states. that includes acts of violence or anything that unduly restricts civilian access to essential services and basic necessities. the biden administration has repeatedly warned that israel must stop the violence by extremist settlers. attacks have intensified in recent months amid an expansion of jewish settlements as well as the october 7th terror attack. joining us now correspondent for axios, ryan keith. let's begin this morning with that. the biden administration's stance on settler violence in the west bank. the president himself has made clear this needs to stop, but it's complicated because many believe netp hew has empowered those extremist fringes there in the west bank. give us the picture. >> well, there's so much of this that goes back to netanyahu who has been in power on and off since 1996. so he has given the green light to a series of behaviors that until now the u.s. hasn't felt the need to call out. and so we see the mixing of a lot of narratives here. so on one hand it is both necessary and inevitable that israel has to see this out in gaza. they have to get rid of these tunnel networks wherever they are. and we're now getting to the last city where there is a tunnel network that israel hasn't blown up. even though this isn't the original narrative that israel said about what would happen in gaza, they're falling somewhat to an inevitable end. at the same time we have seen this massive uptick in violence in the west bank while the world has been distracted or focused on gaza. and we're seeing the legacy of 25 years of netanyahu encouraging these settlers -- and settlers really is euphemism, to do whatever they want to take over parts of the occupied territories in the west bank. the humanitarian crisis, death toll so much bigger in gaza. it is really interesting to see the biden administration crack down on this aspect of the west bank and even the israeli military and government admitting, yeah, we have extremists on our own side yesterday. that was quite an unusual move. so we're going to see more on this front, and at the same time it's still just a small fragment of what is going on in gaza. so there is a lot for the audience to keep focused on here, because it is going to remain messy for weeks to come. >> right. as we mentioned, ryan, the fighting intensifying in the south. israel has mentioned flooding tunnels with seawater or other means. what sort of international pressure are we seeing right now not just from the united states but other countries trying to lean on netanyahu as the humanitarian crisis worsens? >> europe is furious this has gotten to this level of violence and humanitarian crisis in gaza. so you can see the pressure coming from there. and it is going to spill over out of the theater of gaza and israel and west bank. you've got eu officials now saying they believe their cities are at high risk of terror attack through the holiday season from both sides because of this war. so you do see continued potential for this to escalate beyond the immediacy of gaza, and we're going to have to keep our eyes open across a lot of fields. >> thank you for starting us off with that insight. turning to some domestic politics now, donald trump admitted yesterday that he would be a dictator if he is re-elected next year. during a pre-taped fox news town hall sean hannity asked trump twice if me planned to abuse his power in his second term. if stead of directly saying no, trump told the iowa audience that he wouldn't be a dictator except for his first day in office. >> i want to be very, very clear on this. to be clear do you in any way have any plans whatsoever if re-elected president to abuse power, to break the law, to use the government to go after people? >> you mean like they're using right now. so in the history of our country what's happened to us, again, has never happened before over nonsense, over nothing, made up charges. i often say al capone, he was one of the greatest of all-time, he was a mob boss, the likes of which scar face they call him, and he got indicted once. i got indicted four time. >> i want to go back to this one issue, though, because the media has been focused on this. and under no circumstances you're promising america tonight you'd never abuse power as retribution against anybody? >> except for day one. except for day one. >> meaning? >> i want to close the border and i want to drill, drill, drill. >> that's not -- that's not retribution. >> i'm going to be -- you're not going to be a dictator are you? nope, except day one. >> response to those comments the biden campaign released a statement writing this. donald trump has been telling us exactly what he'll do if he's re-elected, and tonight he said he'll be a dictator on day one. americans should believe him. meanwhile, a new court filing reveals the evidence that special counsel jack smith believes will prove trump guilty of election interference. that evidence, the former president's own words. prosecutors said yesterday they plan to focus on trump's history of questioning election results when they do not favor him. the majority of the new 9-page court filing lists comments from the former president before and after getting into office, comments like these. >> will you commit here today for a peaceful transfer of power after the election and where there's been rioting in many cities across the country, will you commit to making sure there's a peaceful transfer of power after the election? >> we'll have to see what happens. you know i've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster. >> i want to ask you here on the stage tonight do you make the same commitment that you absolutely -- sir, that you absolutely accep the result of this election? >> i will look at it at the time. >> are you saying you're not prepared now to -- >> what i'm saying is i'll tell you at the time. i'll keep you in suspense. >> my book the big lie traces this exact pattern from trump. nbc news is reporting that statements like those, prosecutors argue, illustrate trump's plan of falsely blaming fraud for election results he does not like. also went further in linking trump to the insurrection saying his words sent his supporters to the capitol. the filing also mentions an incident in 2020 where the prosecution says a trump staffer tried to obstruct the michigan vote count when the state started to swing toward biden. the campaign allegedly encouraged biden to stop the count. in a statement a trump campaign spokesman called special counsel jack smith deranged and said the indictment is fake. the trial is scheduled to begin in march. we'll have much more on this on "morning joe." still ahead here on "way too early," we'll have a look at some significant headlines coming out of congress including republican senator tommy tuberville finally dropping his hold on hundreds of military promotions. plus, what house speaker mike johnson had to say about a vote to move forward with an impeachment inquiry into president biden. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. check on sports and weather when we come right back a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. there are some things that go better... together. burger and fries... soup and salad. like your workplace benefits and retirement savings. with voya, considering all your financial choices together can help you make smarter decisions. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. 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(engine accelerating) (texting clicks) (tires squeal) (glass shattering) (loose gravel clanking) welcome back. we turn to now some news from capitol hill. republican senator tommy tuberville dropped his blanket hold on military promotions after more than ten months without receiving any of the concessions he had previously demanded. the alabama lawmaker began his protest in february over a pentagon policy that would reimburse service members who had to travel out-of-state for abortion services. that policy we should stress is still in place. the senfer held up more than 400 military promotions, at one point causing marines, army, and navy to be without official permanent heads. while tuberville lift his hold on all military promotions at the three-star rank and below, a hold does still remain in place for at least ten four-star military nominations. yesterday evening senate majority leader chuck schumer began a process to confirm more than 400 stalled promotions on the senate floor. >> now let this incident be a warning no one -- no one should attempt this in the senate again. the senior senator from alabama has nothing to show for his ten months of delay. no law's changing in any way except for the damage he did to our military readiness and the pain he caused to military families. >> meanwhile in the lower chamber, republican leaders say the house will likely vote next week to formalize their impeachment inquiry into president biden just before lawmakers leave for the holidays. house speaker mike johnson told reporters that the move is a necessary step. >> of all the moderates in our conference understand this is not a political decision. this is a legal decision. it's a constitutional decision. and whether someone is for or against impeachment is of no import right now. we have to continue our legal responsibility, and that is only solely what this vote is about. the house democrats cheapened impeachment. they used it for partisan political purposes. they went after donald trump twice. i served on the impeachment defense team twice. we call those sham impeachments, snap impeachments. they were. what you're seeing right now is exactly the opposite of that. you're seeing a very deliberate investigation uncovering and following the facts, following the truth where it leads. that's what the constitution requires the house to do. >> the white house responded to johnson by highlighting how house republicans have engaged in these probes for months yet have provided no documents, testimony, nor any sensitive law enforcement information that supports their allegations of any wrongdoing by the president. still ahead here on "way too early," the final four is set for the nba's in-season tournament. we'll show you who's headed to vegas to play for this championship. plus, a rare trade between the most bitter rivals in major league baseball. it's all straight ahead. n major league baseball. it's all straight ahead. get the rest to be your best with non-habit forming zzzquil. ♪ ♪ 22 seconds to go and a trip to vegas on the line. 6 second difference. >> austin reeves with that clutch three-pointer that padded the laker's slim lead over the phoenix suns in the last seconds of last night's nba in-season tournament quarterfinal matchup. now, let's be clear l.a. was able to setup that play after a real assist from the officials who granted the lakers a controversial timeout during what appeared to be a loose ball. you can see it. reeves did not have possession and yet they gave him a time out anyway. lebron scored 15 of his 31 high points in the fourth quarter. lakers beat the suns. they'll now play the new orleans pelicans in the semifinals tomorrow night in las vegas where they'll have a significant home court advantage. the milwaukee bucks are also las vegas bound. milwaukee breezed by the new york knicks 146-122. the bucks will face the indiana pacers in the tournament's other semifinals. we turn now to major league baseball. the winter meetings are under way, and we've got a rare tde between the new york yankees and boston red sox. the division rivals yesterday making only their seventh trade in the last half century with alex verdugo heading to new york to trade for three pitching prospects. he also was the last player left from the mookie betts trade. what a disaster that was. while this deal partly fulfills the desire, new york is reportedly not giving up on the push to add superstar juan soto from the padres and could possibly flip verdugo to get soto. and guv enough ron desantis is bashing the college football playoff system. the florida republican who's also running for president asked the state legislature to set aside $1 million for florida state university to sue the cfp committee after the seminoles were left out of. it's being viewed by most as a political stunt. by the town the florida legislature agrees on a spending band the college football playoff will be over. and the potential lawsuit will not have any future implications as the football system next year is set to expand to 12 team time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. how's it looking out there? >> a little iffy if we look out towards the west where i'm sure many people have seen the images come out after impressive rainfall yesterday. stretching from seattle to portland and down to eureka, washington, oregon, and california include in these alerts. and you can see why plenty more rain still work through the region, and we've got more to come even after this batch. here's the deal through the day today. we'll see not quite as heavy a rain as we dealt with yesterday. it'll be a little more scattered as we get through today. we'll see that taper off a bit, but another system on the way. that brings more snow, more rain to already saturated grounds. we'll also see into tomorrow snow falling in northern portions of of the rockies. some chilly air will filter in that region, too. speaking of chilly air we've got record warmth instead of a massive ridge to take shape across the western half of the united states. 46 degrees in washington, d.c. today, but check out rapid city in denver upper 60s. these temperatures running 20, 25 degrees above normal and even see the potential for record highs tomorrow. minneapolis in december at 55 degrees that is not norm. >> not even close. chg ae lassman, thank you so much. still ahead we'll turn to politics for a look at the foreign aid fight happening in the senate. the funding will would provide critical support for ukraine, but republicans are threatening to derail the measure mostly over one issue. we'll tell you what that is when we come right back. what that in we come right back first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. welcome back to "way too early." it is precisely 5:30 a.m. on it east coast, so therefore 2:30 a.m. out west on this wednesday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. now, it's still unclear this morning if a deal to provide aid to ukraine or israel