welcome to msnbc s special coverage in tonight s iowa caucus. i am ari melber here with jen psaki for the next hour. great to be here. as we count on to the caucus results coming later tonight with candidates making their final push is. here s what they had to say. today is the day we make history because we do do you guys know anybody who has gonna vote for haley or desantis? yes, i do. and i m gonna try to persuade you can t sit home, even if you vote and then passed away, it s worth it. you can be the most worthless republican in america, but if you kiss the ring, he will say you are wonderful. it s just because he has an excellent record of service. what do you think about when people say, well, iowa is still trump country? i think that is wrong. some iowans, you just heard, pushing back on efforts for tonight s story before voters weigh in. it should happen in the next few hours. while trump does have a lead in the final poll, with haley rising, a
Representative multi racial democracy . Weve always had the struggle for that. Its always been a contest between the many and the few to have a seat at the table. When we deny that truth, we fail to give ordinary americans a chance to be the heroes in the story, right . Because if everything that was important and every struggle for justice either happen in doctor kings day, and its finished and complete, and now we have to be a color blind society. What does the Everyday American need to do in the face of inequality today, widespread poverty, of mass incarceration, of police violence, right . You are not called to be a part of a movement if you pretend that it all happened in the past. But, of course, if you deny that it ever happened at all, then use fail to see that the everyday heroes, white, black, and brown who helped make this country truly pull forward into
Limits at least of some polls. They are part of the picture because it is part of the process. Now, jen, you are of course working in the iowa caucuses 20 years ago this month. Hard to believe it is at fact. And from there, of course, to your White House work, and now to your work. We are gonna turn to you. Right, look, as ari says, as you just said, both can be important. The latest Nbc News des moines Register Poll shows trump at 48 , compared to Nikki Haley at 20 , which is of course a jump for her. She is now advancing desantis which is a contrast in december. Desantis its at 16 . And while these numbers do show haley in second place, for the first time, as i said, they also show what looks to be a big Enthusiasm Gap among her supporters. The massive 40 point Enthusiasm Gap actually in terms of Excitement Trump supporters have, very enthusiastic for him, 49 have for him. And haley supporters have for her, more like 9 according to
Vote for her as well as independents. Thats a good percentage. Shes doing the best among those groups. As unappealing as he can be, in the most diplomatic of ways, Vivek Ramaswamy is truly barred from the state. Hes done a whopping 303 events an all 99 counties. Of course, there is Ad Spending which Nikki Haley is outspending everyone else. Shes been reporting about 3 Million a week into tv ads. But one factor of course that none of them control is mother nature. Shes making it very cold air right now. And shout out to mother nature, weather is one shes been making her presence known. Not only her presence, but she is reminding us all that we are just human beings. And Candidates Cant Control the weather, not even a president. Tonights turn up, as you probably heard, its become a question of Enthusiasm And Weather preparation. These are icicles that just got cooked look what we did. 35 minutes in negative 60degree Weather here in iowa
For the democrats not to go to iowa first. A huge surge for the republicans since over the last couple of years there. No question. Governor dean, thank you for joining us with your amazing Book Collection behind you. Joining us now from iowa, Asa Hutchinson running for president and on the gop ballot tonight, former Arkansas Governor has been an outspoken Trump Critic throughout the campaign. He has redefined the republican party and not in a good way. And whenever you look at what im trying to do, draw attention to the fact that Donald Trump is a weak candidate for us. Long term, fear, fearmongering, and grievances only take you so far. Governor hutchinson, you have been a strong critic of trump, never held back on that front. What is a good night looking like for you tonight . Well, you have to beat expectations here in iowa. And, of course, i have taken a tough route here in the