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tv   Americas Newsroom With Bill Hemmer and Martha Mac Callum  FOX News  January 28, 2016 6:00am-8:01am PST

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>> thanks, guys. >> instead of a cake, we got you some chili. >> wow. the only thing that would make this better is pheasant chili. >> there you go. there you go. >> nothing is better than pheasant chili. >> you know the best time to have a beer is? on the internet in five seconds. >> oh, my goodness. >> happy birthday, heather. bill: it's 8:00 in the morning in des moines, 9:00 in new york. it's debate night on the fox news channel. the stakes could not be higher for the republican presidential candidates. apparently there are a lot of the late deciders. 40%. i'm bill hemmer. how you doing? martha: it's great to be here in des moines. the frontrunner mr. donald trump opting out of the event tonight
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putting senator ted cruz at the center. we'll have fox team coverage of all of this throughout the day. and we start with this from des moines. chris stirewalt standing by. we begin with john roberts. what do you know, friend? >> 12 hours until the debate. a lot of people think 12 hours for donald trump to change his mind. a "wall street journal" poll shows trump points over cruz. marco rubio showing signs of a late surge drawing within 7 points of cruz. trump continued to hammer cruz on everything from campaign loans to where he was born. >> his polls are sinking.
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he's singing like a rock and he's nervous as hell. he's hitting me because he thinks i was not treated fairly, you know that, right? >> if trump stays away the big fireworks will likely be between ted cruz and marco rubio. rubio is hammering cruz as a candidate willing to say anything to get elected. rubio told me he's really looking forward to tonight's debate. >> people literally make up their mind on the last day and the debate will be a big part of it. i believe when it's all said and done and the votes start getting counted, we'll do very well. reporter: or second place will give him momentum
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going into new hampshire. he's hoping to get the same surge in new hampshire he's experiencing in these closing days. martha: it's long been said there are three tickets out of iowa. there may be more. reporter: you can't count out ben carson because he's still polling in third place. he's going to defy expectations. chris christie has a lot of governor terry branstad's operations behind him. we'll have something to look forward to monday. martha: there are always surprises and we'll be here look at them when they roll in. bill: tonight's debates expected to take on a new tone. we are joined by fox news
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politics editor chris stirewalt live in des moines. >> to be in person instead of separated. togetherness. bill: the magic of a monitor. bill: it will be interesting to see how the campaigns characterize the absence of donald trump. >> those are the easy ones. frontrunners don't like debates. in the past cycle mitt romney waited to do the debates. then he started doing debates, then stopped. that's what frontrunners don't want to do because they have to stand there and take the beating from their rivals. the campaigns that aren't donald trump they have 10 lines they have thought up about how terrible donald trump is and how he's bad for america. our job as journalists is to
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make sure that we get to the meat about these people, not what they think about donald trump, but what do they think about america, what do they think about being president? who are these people? they have been overshadowed by donald trump in many ways. tonight we are going to get a chance to drill down them. bill: he takes up a lot of oxygen on the stage. but with his absence how much wider is that lane? >> you are ted cruz, you are marco rubio. rubio is finally getting some momentum. the third of the party that is open to marco rubio is finally getting its act together. they are starting to coalesce behind rubio, you see it in the new iowa polling and you started to see it nationally. for rubio this is the moment to look like the president. tro to stand up there and say i could be the president of the
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united states. ted cruz has to make this the crusade for iowa and his voters to say i'm the only one who will stand and fight with you. these other guys will abandon you in the end. bill: some polling. monmouth and wall street number trump on top of cruz by 7, 32-25. put a slot number three in iowa if it's 1 and 2 for trump and cruz. >> right now it's rubio. the polling, especially on that "wall street journal" poll. no wins above -- ben carson is at 8%. but there is nobody over 4%. they are reaching terminal velocity for all these other campaigns. it's not just three tickets to paradise. it's three tickets out of iowa. that's all there will be, i
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think. bill: skipping the showdown will send a negative message to voters in iowa is what he said. >> they want to believe what he says is true. iowa is famously late deciding and late breaking. almost half of the people say their minds aren't made up. if i was advising donald trump. you say i can't shut this out at the end. iowans weigh their choices before they go to caucus. they want to be respected. i don't know that this shows them that he's making his best case. bill: 7:00 eastern, 9:00 prime time. thank you, chris.
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martha: be sure to tune in to the fox news google debate. it all starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern with that all-star lineup. we are looking forward to that have much. the prime time debate starts at 9:00 eastern. it will be moderated by bret baier, megyn kelly and chris wallace. we look forward to se seeing you tonight. at the end there will be a lot to talk about. we have dootsies in that pile. bill: the stage is set for later tonight. donald trump will not be there. who emerges from the shadows and has a breakout night? fair and balanced debate on that. karl rove, joe trippi standing by for analysis. martha: it's a big night for one
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senator ted cruz. he's hoping he will be the story on the other side of these caucuses. but new polls show he has his work cut out for him. bill: there is an ad war heating up from two from florida, ted cruz and jeb bush as iowa gets ready to caucus. >> has people get closer to this, people want to know, do you have a steady hands, do you have a backbone. can you make tough decisions.
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bill: donald trump leaving a big void by vowing out of tonight's debate but also creating an opportunity. making a chance for somebody else to step into the spotlight. joe trippi, the campaign manager for howard dean in 2004. and karl rove. karl, what is your expectation as you see the field for tonight? >> i think they will all at some point make -- take a shot at trump for missing the debate or for policy positions he holds. they will have to be careful how they do that because they can't
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look like they are overreaching. but i think we'll see a lot of drama tonight with a lot of arrows going after number two, ted cruz. i look particularly for a back and forth between he and marco rubio as they battle for the best outcome possible for themselves in iowa and also looking down the campaign trail at future contests. bill: joe, ways your expectation then? >> i agree with karl. they are going to come after trump to some degree. but the guy more at risk tonight is cruz. every candidate on that stage wants to take him down a notch. marco rubio most among them. then at the same time they all now have a chance to shine and get the spotlight the way they didn't if trump was there and everybody was looking at a trump-cruz fight. i think it's cruz that has the
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most at risk, not donald trump. bill: you think about iowa now and the likely caucus-goers. chris stirewalt and i were talking about 40% of them have to make up their mind. based on 2012 or 2008 what can you take from recent history? >> let's take a look at where we were. we are four days out. let's compare the "real clear politics" average. mike huckabee gained 6.8% in the last four days. marco rubio dropped 3. romney moved out of first place, huckabee moved into first place. ricrick and place -- rick santorum gained
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10.6 points on caucus night. if we had this magnitude of change we could see a difference between the real clear politic average with trump and cruz in second, rubio in third. but we could see a real shuffle if we have change on the magnitude much '08-'12. but we could have some shift between now and elect night. bill: if 40% are still undecided, if you have two significant debate 96 hour before the caucus? >> in iowa anything can change in the last few days in any year let alone the craziest year we have seen in my memory. we were ahead right now going in the last four, five days in iowa, we were in first place, john kerry and edward went by
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gephardt and dean. you have seen this not just in the republican party, but it happens a lot in the democratic party as well. things can shift. if you look at how close both cruz is to trump and rubio -- how close he is to cruz in the last few polls here, you could see that same kind of big shift, somebody going from first and dropping down or vice versa. on the other hand, if those people who trump attracts, the ones who have not attended the caucuses. if they show up he wins. that's bad not just for cruz but for trump. if they show up in the caucuses in iowa, they will show up. bill: specifically in the state of iowa, you both worked the state, gentlemen. karl, what are they looking for on the republican side?
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>> they look for something different each and every time. you have a lot of social conservatives so there is an important influence in the primary of social issues. they were looking for something different in 2008 and 2012 which is why they had different outcomes. the key monday night will be the size of the turnout. the monmouth poll shows trump ahead. and the model they used to predict that ways 175,000. 50,000 more than the up in that turned out before. and if we had the largest turnout but slightly larger, not the huge number. bill: that make joe's point. gentlemen, thank you.
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terrific analysis from both of you. we'll speak in a couple days. karl rove in austin and joe trippi in los angeles. martha: the candidate hunkering down getting ready for their staff. one is calling out the media and the way it's covering this race. >> i think a lot of iowans are getting insulted. the national media and pundits are predicting this race and screening people out.
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martha: the stage is set ready to go for tonight's prime time countdown. each of them are looking for that leg up. so joining me is fox news media analyst. howard kurtz with the way the media is approaching the developments we have seen since we got to iowa. mr. trump's choice -- >> the man knows how to steal the spotlight. many are saying this is a brilliant move. and he utterly dominated the conversation the last 48 hours. but there is a down side risk here. for the first time i'm seeing lots of people in social media saying trump is ducking. saying he's afraid of tough questions. in a tight race maybe some folks don't like the fact that he's
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bailing out on their debate. martha: we watched hip change the dynamic. he suggested he has already done debates. the more sort of the larger venue has been rallies. is he continuing to change the way candidates approach these things perhaps? >> i think that's the larger story. the media love to frame this as donald trump versus megyn kelly. he told me in las vegas, megyn kelly should withdraw because she is biased against she. he said i have done six debates. why am i on the stage with people at zero percent. the last one i thought he point. but with such a tight race and the caucuses monday, there could have been a couple of moment had he been there that could have hurt his candidacy.
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instead he gets to set the terms of the narrative and not expose himself to what cruz or rubio will throw at him. martha: the rest of the people on the stage will have more oxygen because of this. >> it's not the best outcome for ted cruz. he will be the subject of a lot of attacks. trump is staging his counter event raising money for veterans. i'm sure the rating if they are not as good as they were in the first debate he will declare victory. if trump was a few points behind ted cruz in iowa i think he would be there. because he's up 7, 9 points. in football terms he may be sitting on his lead and generate his own media show. martha: we'll see.
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we have a ways to go. in terms of the other candidates, it will give them a lot more attention. a lot of headlines will be written about them in perhaps a less contentious mode. >> it will be very contentious because you will have chris christie and jeb bush trying to climb out of their low poll standing. marco rubio has an opportunity here because he's in third place but he hasn't quite caught on. ted cruz we thought he would win iowa a couple weeks ago. he got sidetracked by trump's attacks on his canadian birth. so it's an opportunity. the idea this is going to be very polite and civil. it will be contentious because all these people will try to grab the added spotlight they get and do something with it. reporter: the analysis of how
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it's been covered has been talked about to such great extent. so it's keeping it busy. we'll see you tonight as well. bill: history. here we go. who survivors in iowa? history says you need a top three finish. is that true this year? what is their strategy tonight. fair and balanced debate moments away. first, marco rubio. >> this is a serious election. this is not a game. the future of america is at stake. i believe strongly if brrs or hillary clinton is elected it will be a disaster for america. who won't try to contain isis. jeb bush has a plan... to destroy them. and keep america safe. jeb bush: the united states should not delay in leading a global coalition to take out isis
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martha: the republican presidential candidates making a final push at the campaign stops in iowa today.
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they are hoping they will be the surprise story coming out of monday's caucus. senator marco rubio and jeb bush leased the pack in ad buys in the state. you will see them all over every television in this area. donald trump is leading in the polls. with him being absent tonight, will rubio and bush step into that void on that stage? doug schoen is a former adviser. and monica crowley. good to have you with us today. give me your thumbnail sketch of how iowa shapes up in light of the fact mr. trump said he will not be there tonight. >> i think the dynamic changes. trump obviously has some up side if in fact he's able to go on a retention in ratings for his
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alternative event. but i think he takes a risk as someone who has been a presidential adviser, a bit i am prudent. he's acquitted himself well. and i think by taking himself out of the action he creates a dynamic where another candidate, whether it be rubio or bush could emerge. but i think rubio is the candidate if he goats at cruz the way he has been has the chance to assume the man tell of the number one or two finisher in the debate helping him in the caucus. martha: anything can happen out there tonight. it's going to be fascinating. this is the real clear politics average. this is the most recent one we have. the accumulation of the number of the top fold as you know. it has trump up 10 points, more
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than that, over ted cruz. 32-26. rubio is in third place and you see carson and bush struggling to get back on the map. monica, your take on what you expect to see and how iowa looks now. >> donald trump has taken a number of risks throughout the course of the campaign and each of them has worked out well. but that doesn't mean his absence won't serve to the benefit of other candidates. i think ted cruz has a veal opportunity here. he will be positioned in the number one spot rather than behind donald trump. this gives him a huge shot at behaving like number one where voters can see ted cruz in that spot. i think all the political fires will be turned on ted cruz because he will be in that spot. but he will handle that bully. i agree with -- he will handle
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that beautiful beautifully. but marco rubio has spent a good deal of time in iowa and i could position himself as an alternative to trump and cruz. martha: this is their last big platform moment to speak voters of iowa. we know they pay close attention. after that we'll get to the national stage. we want to put up the national poll as well so people get that in the back of their minds. the national numbers mean less than the state by state numbers and perhaps that's bent case all along. mr. trump has a commanding lead when you look at this situation nationally. anything that you expect up there tonight that could change that?
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>> monica is right about the dynamics of the debate tonight. what i would add is ted cruz will probably go after not the people on the stage, but he will focus i believe on donald trump and basically say trump is afraid, how can he be a commander-in-chief because he won't debate him in front of people of iowa. he will basically going to use the new york values attack. trump's comment about the people of iowa being i guess what was it idiots if i have the word right, and if i don't i apologize. but i think cruz will go after the trump lead in iowa which as you point out was 6 or 7 points, and in so doing try to narrow the wider gap nationally. >> i was just going to say, i think it would be a mistake. i think all of the candidates tonight should ignore donald
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trump. if they start to engage him, he will end up dominating tonight's debate without even being there. martha: let's see how it goes. two people going after each other very hard. jeb bush and marco rubio. they won't want to be the big story out of florida and they want to move you have in these numbers. i want to show everybody at home a snip tet from this governor bush pac ad. then we'll here marco rubio's response on the kelly file last night. >> he refused to release the credit card records. marco rubio skipping major votes all over the place on immigration. bad judgment. he's not ready to be president.
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>> that's incredibly cynical. jeb knew about that story and he knew what a joke it was. jeb supported me. the senate in 2010 and again. and he endorsed me for vice president in 2012. jeb's super pac is spending close to $1 million a day attacking me. martha: you could write a book about this election. who's winning in the battle between rubio and bush. >> it's clearly rubio. he has more growth potential, despite the enormous expenditures, jeb has been flat or sinking. jeb's theory is he takes rubio down and starts to move up. but there is no evidence it's working. i think rubio has a huge opportunity tonight to
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distinguish himself as a national leader. he has been compelling in the earlier debates. but with trump and cruz sucking the air out of the audience and the energy in the room, this gives marco rubio a unique opportunity to state his vision and say why he should be president. martha: one of the lookbacks is whether it was wise for the infighting to go on at this level of the campaign. what do you think? >> i agree. it looks like we have had a couple different tiers of candidates break out. and for the infighting to be going on in the secondary and it looks pointless. for jeb bush to be going after marco rubio in the way he has, that smacks not of jeb bush thinking he has a shot at this
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nomination by taking rubio down, it smasks desperation that the mentor protege has blown up and jeb is doing that out of a sense of vindictiveness. martha: tonight will be a fresh start. it will be great to watch this evening. we'll be talking about this for weeks. but they decide in the final days in iowa. you can get a sense of that. they are very open to which one of the candidates they are going to like. tonight jeb bush or marco rubio or anyone else out there can rewrite how they are being perceived by these voters and it could make a difference for them. bill: we were doing our debate prep. just to see the monitor for local television here in des moines. if the rest of the country could see ad after ad, you would pull
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your hair out. you know people here are ready to get it going. so now we sit 4 1/2 days out. when we did the debate in cleveland in early august, you get the sense, there is a real tension in the room. between the mode curators, between the candidates, between the audience, because you are never quite sure how it's going to go until the light comes on and you start firing away with questions. that's part of the drama. martha: we'll tart firing away with those questions tonight at 7:00 p.m. bill: we have been bouncing around all month. the dow finished in the negative side yesterday. investors trying to find their footing. 222 the negative side yesterday. fed concerns about the effects of this global market slowdown. first, though, the louisiana
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debate before the caucus here in iowa. the bright light, the big stage trading to make a final impression. martha: everybody worked so hard and the print for space on that big stage begins. what the polls are saying about the candidate not named trump and not named cruz when we come back. >> we have to concentrate on making sure the american people have a good menu of items to look at in interpreting who they should select as their commander-in-chief.
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have to demonstrate the humility to demonstrate you work for the american people and ought the other way around. bill: that's almost a closing argument. ted cruz making his pitch there. let's talk about that with jonah goldberg. jonah, good day to you. i don't know if it's cruz or rubio or bush. who knows. as you look at debate number one and two later tonight. who do you think has the greatest opportunity? >> i think the person -- there will be a target on ted cruz's back. the question is whether everyone attacks him and rises to the challenge. ted cruz does not get flustered too often. so if he can fend off the attacks and become the center of attention in the second debate, that's probably good for him. it make him the guy everybody else is afraid of. the problem is someone could
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hand a real blow and that someone could be someone like marco rubio who may have a chance to bust out of this third tier, third place bracket he's stuck in. bill: the last fox business debate, the questions did not set themselves up to go after one another. they chose the opportunity anyway. so we'll see how that goes later tonight. specifically in iowa, the record for the caucus turnout is 130,000. there are some polls that suggest that could be $40,000 higher. that could be a blowout number if it happens. we don't know the outcome. if you do bump against an all-time number, that with tend to help donald trump. that's the conventional wisdom. do you agree with that? >> i generally think that's right. i don't think every caucus-goer above the record up in is
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automatically a trump supporter. ted cruz and other people have good ground operations. but the assumption is the traditional caucus-goers, people who have don't before. that trump is slightly under-performing with them. but ted cruz is beating them with traditional conservatives and caucus-goers. trump has a huge lead with people who have never been to a caucus before. if there are huge turnout blowout numbers, that's evidence those people showed up. bill: cruz says he has 9,000 workers on the ground in iowa. that's not as big as barack obama, 2008. i remember watching -- watching huckabee campaign. he had people come in from
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around the country and work on his behalf. that helps your ground game. conversely howard dean had a huge turnout operation in 2004 and he finished in third place. then the question goes to trump. maybe the infrastructure he set up here or perhaps he's looking. but knowing he's not there tonight, he's having a competing event in des moines across town. how do people in iowa look at that, jonas? >> that's a tough question. a lot of people i talked to thick this move probably hurt him with the traditional caucus-goers. people who have done it before and see themselves as part of the traditional republican voter apparatus at the first caucus in the nation. but the first-timers, they may see this as one more great example of how awesome trump is and it will embolden them even further.
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you hate to repeat the cliche's. it's all about who shows up and trump is not showing up. bill: i wonder how much attention trump gets with his competing event. >> i wonder, too. if i were the head of rnc, i would say any cable network that covers the whole thing live will never get another republican debate. these debates were agreed upon and everyone signed on. if you are the part yaint machinery of the party, i think there should be some penalty to this kind of thing. the other cable networks would love to take a bite out of fox's ratings in all of this. bill: we shall see. prime time tonight. jonah goldberg back in washington.
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martha: you have the prime time showdown coming up tonight and the four candidates earlier this evening. they include carly fiorina. she has had breakout performances before. can she do it again on this stage? we'll speak with one person who knows her better than anyone. live coming up in des moines. >> the last time i looked, not a single person in iowa [inaudible] the last time i looked they were important in an election. as i recall in virtually every election the people of iowa have delivered a surprise. ♪
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martha: welcome back live in des moines, iowa. there is other news today as well and it's overseas. an historic trip for the president of iran. french president francois hollande officially welcoming hassan rouhani. senior foreign affairs correspondent gregg palkot is live on this from our london bureau. what does rouhani hope to achieve on these visits? reporter: as we speak, rouhani
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is peak with french president hollande, trying to drum up business for his country and do some deals. he met with various officials in france in the wake of the lifting of the international sanctions following the completion of the nuclear deal. rouhani hailing a new relationship between france and iran. among them money spinners being discussioned. 100 airbus jets being bought for iran's aging fleet. the purchase of huge amounts of oil. and 200,000 cars a year. the concern of critics is all the money raised from these deals in france as well as the deals in italy is the funds will go into the coffers of return and it will be used to fund destabilizing policies
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throughout the region. martha: it's astonishing to hear the billions of dollars in these deals. people aren't too happy about it but it doesn't seem they can do anything about it. reporter: people are discussing different aspects. they enacted a symbolic flange that bridge. there were other protests as well. even the french government getting into the act calling for sanctions from the eu for banned missile tests showing it's not all the unanimous feeling for or against iran. back to you. martha: gregg, thank you very much. bill: fear 9 hours to go before the final debate before iowa
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♪ martha: good morning, everybody, from des moines, iowa, todays a we count down to the final republican debate before the iowa caucus. welcome to brand new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: how are you feeling this morning? nine hours. then we get this thing rolling. we're four days away from when iowa makes up its mind. this could be a pivotal moment for several of these candidates. donald trump will not be here. he will not attend and that puts ted cruz front and center in prime time. cruz is in the center seat as bret baier would say. martha: taking a look at lineup on the stage. four more candidates take the stage at 7:00 p.m. eastern for
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the first debate of the evening and there they are and bill and i will be moderating that this evening. bret baier plays a very key role in the moderator as prime time debates. good morning to you, bret. how do you feel? >> i feel good. i think a waterfall at the set a really good thing. martha: you like that? >> i say we suggest it for new york. martha: carry it around with us everywhere we go. >> soothes. bill: feels like florida. martha: fall version of "america's newsroom." good to see you, sir. it is interesting to see ted cruz in the center podium. we have not seen that in the previous debates tonight. so what are you looking for, what is the preview? >> the preview is listen, we're going to cover as you know, same broad topics. there are a lot of things to talk about. there are things that haven't been talked about before. the key thing let these candidates you know, interaction breathe a little bit. we've seen a lot of these debates but we haven't seen everything that they have been
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talking about on the trail recently play out when they're all on the same stage. i think that is one of our goals. i know one of your goals tonight. martha: when you look at sort of the side stories we've been watching, looking at rubio and bush, obviously when he prepared for this he thought he would go head-to-head with donald trump which he has been doing last couple weeks. how do you think it changes dynamic. will he become the center person and one gets a lot of heat? >> i think so. he is leading, almost leading, tied in some polls here in iowa so he becomes a focus. let's not kid ourselves if we don't ask at all about donald trump, they're going to say donald trump some way. so we say what is your favorite color, it would be, donald trump is not here. we should point out, we'll have vanilla milk shake on the set, i don't know. but, you never know. things could change. the key thing here, martha, so many people in iowa decide late.
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50% of this state could decide in the next few days how they're going to caucus. it takes a little bit to caucus. you have to get out there. this is consequential. martha: let's talk about that as well because the highest turnout i think ever for a caucus was around 130,000. i've seen some estimates as high as 230,000 for this caucus turnout. how significant will that be? >> barack obama did that. he doubled the caucus turnout in 2008. i think the turnout is key. it depend on how many people get out and, one of the things we hear anecdotally that ted cruz has pretty food get-out-the-vote operation. we don't know what donald trump's organization looks like. we know all the people stand in line in the cold so to go to these events, thousands of them. do they stand in line to figure out where they go if they have never done it before? we don't know. martha: they have to go in there with second and third choice the way the caucus structure works. they're open to all candidates open on both stages to night.
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>> they are. they have to register in the republican party which is different than, than the new hampshire primary which is essentially open and you can vote. you have to, you can go there and you can register there, but you have to sign up as a republican. martha: so all through this town everybody is getting ready for tonight. everybody is hunkered down with their staff thinking about what you guys will be asking them this evening. we know you will have good surprises for them as well. >> you too. enjoy the spa. martha: we get to kick back after our debate. it will be a lot of fun. looking forward to it, bret. bill: make my milk shake chocolate. always a big fan. thank you, buddy. meanwhile the democratic race going down to the wire in iowa. hillary clinton, bernie sanders both holding rallies across the state. with the polling showing a toss-up in that race, it will all likelihood yet again come down to turnout. >> i know that i will be a better president because of what
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i have learned here in iowa and i am asking all of you to go to the caucus monday night because if you stand up for me then, i will stand up and fight for you as hard as i can. >> if there is a large voter turnout, i'm not saying we could do what barack obama did in 2008, or wish we could but i don't think we can. but if there is a large turnout, i think we win. bill: that was interesting. white house yesterday. byron york, chief political correspondent "washington examiner," fox news contributor with me in des moines. good day to you. how close is the race between sanders and clinton. >> in realpolitiks polls hillary clinton leads bernie sanders by .2 of a percent. this is absolutely tied. you look at last five or six polls, she wins a couple, he leads a couple. bill: sanders is he getting crowds and she is not. i don't know what that means in
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the end but we're about to find out. >> well a does depend on organization and people have looked to see, there have been some sort of increase in registration among democrats, the way there was before barack obama ran away with the iowa caucuses in 2008. the answer is no? so we'll have to see there. it is absolutely true that bernie sanders get as level of passion that hillary clinton does not. but, i went to a client klein -- hillary clinton rally in new hampshire her level of organization is tremendous. aura is really quite good. there is great amount of enthusiasm for her. bill: in new hampshire. >> in new hampshire where bernie sanders is leading. bill: by double digits in any poll. >> it is still up in the air. remember couple weeks ago we had a democratic debate here.
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at that point a light bulb went off in everybody's head. the democratic national committee has not scheduled another debate until february 11th, after iowa and new hampshire. that doesn't make sense. hastily arranged the cnn forum in des moines. one more event before the caucus is here. now the newspaper there, "the union leader." wants debate in new hampshire this is not sanctioned by the democratic party. martin o'malley said i'm in. hillary clinton said she will be in it others are in and bernie sanders said i don't know. bill: what is the back channels on the logic? suggestion she needs to get one-on-one with bernie sanders in between these events, iowa and new hampshire? >> i think is relic of old thinking. the idea was hillary clinton was prohibitive frontrunner. she is absolutely going to win. it will knot even be a contest. that was thinking back then when
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they limited number of debates. let's not set up anymore minefields than we need. we have a competitive race and we have bernie sanders i think deserving to be heard. believe me, if you talked to democrats in new hampshire, they would like to have debate before their primary. bill: thank you, byron. we'll see you running around throughout the afternoon here today as well. >> yep. bill: byron york, thanks for your analysis. martha? martha: so fox news teaming up with google for tonight's debates. bill and i will be moderating the first debate live in des moines at 7:00 p.m. eastern time tonight. we're very much looking forward to that. then the big event this evening, the prime time debate 9:00 eastern moderated by bret baier, megyn kelly and chris wallace, both right here on fox news channel in case there was any confusion on that and streaming on as well. no reason to miss it. bill: looking forward tonight. martha: looking forward to it too. bill: everyone much these debates sends us in a different direction and it is kind of obvious tonight will do that same thing. martha: gives everybody an opportunity and they want to
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take advantage of it. bill: listen to byron talk about the battle between hillary an bernie sanders. i remember so well in 2008 the night barack obama stunned her. they left the main hotel in downtown des moines they were in shock. off we went on this journey that continues today. martha: he knew he had to win iowa. that if he didn't win iowa the rest of his path was pretty uncertain. for ted cruz he feels that way tonight too as he heads into the caucus. so he has a lot at stake. we'll be covering that and -- bill: 7:00 eastern time. be here. martha: in the meantime we want to remember this 30 years ago today marks the devastating loss of the space shuttle challenger. we all remember that stunning and awful moment. that mission ended 73 seconds after liftoff when the shuttle disintegrated in midair and took with it the lives of seven crewmembers on board.
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phil keating in kennedy space center in cape canaveral, florida, where nasa is holding a day of remembrance this morning. no doubt a very moving and special event this morning, phil? reporter: absolutely, martha. through five decades of incredible nasa triumphs there have been those spectacular disasters where our brave and heroic astronauts never made it home the this day is for them. "the star-spangled banner" being sung behind me. nearly 400 people packed inside the space shuttle atlantis museum here at the kennedy space center for this very poignant event. it is annual event. this year has extra relevance being the 30th anniversary of the challenger disaster. many nasa dignitaries are also here. on that morning 30 years ago here at cape canaveral it was very, very cold but it was absolutely gorgeous and cloudless blue skies. just as everyone in america who watched that launch live and the explosion remembers exactly
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where they were that day and the incredible emotional an personal impact it made on them. also holds true 30 years later for commander dick scobee's widow. >> it was elegant to see it climbing toward the heavens when the unspeakable happened. a numbing, frozen disbelief happened to us. no, no comments except to look at with me what's happening. reporter: absolutely true. now the first space race setback happened in 1967 on our way to the moon when gus grissom, ed white, and roger chaffee died in a launchpad fire. in 2003 we lost our second space shuttle, columbia, as it disintegrated as it rehe entered the atmosphere over texas. again, killing a crew of seven. remember, on the challenger grew, that included our very
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first teacher astronaut christa mcauliffe. that is why so many schoolkids watched that launch and explosion live in the classroom impacting so many people. martha? martha: phil, thank you very much. just side note. christa mcauliffe's son is there today with his family. you know we all remember being kids and watching that horrific moment when it exploded in the beautiful blue skies that morning. so it is fitting to honor these astronauts because they really put their lives at risk in order to push us further into space. bill: you remember the speech that ronald reagan gave from the oval office and just watching peggy noonan's twitter feed today. she was the one responsible for putting that speech together. the way he delivered that moved a nation forward and -- martha: everyone felt connected to him, the loss we felt, the loss that he was feeling, as president of the united states from the white house and it was a moment that none of husband will ever forget so. bill: 12 minutes past the hour.
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martha, here we go, republican candidates for the white house sharpening their talking points for tonight's debate. there is a new dynamic. no doubt making a few changes since the dynamic shifted with the absence of frontrunner donald trump. we'll talk to a spokesman from the rnc about what he expects to see later tonight prime time here on fox. announcer: a horrific terror attack in paris.
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♪ martha: all right. we are back in des moines, iowa, this morning. as you have no doubt heard donald trump says he will not be making it to night's debate. so just seven candidates take the main stage as numbers get fewer up there. could be opportunity for others to grab some of the spotlight this evening. what can we expect to see from the contenders? shaun spicer, rnc chief strategist. busy week for you. >> unpredictable and fine. martha: keeps things lively. that's for sure. how do you expect the dynamic to change tonight based on the fact there will be seven up there? >> i think when you have fewer candidates it allows for more interaction. sometimes more ability to get into the substance much an issue but i think it will be a good debate. i think we've had six so far. in that respect we can expect more of that. but, you know, the fox debates have been really good so far.
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great interaction, great audience, great enthusiasm and i expect we see the same tonight. martha: what do you expect from the other candidates? are they relieved, happy, mr. trump is up there to contend with. >> i think it's a little bit mixed. we would love mr. trump to be there. for our party we try to make the debates and put a great schedule, were there. we love all the candidates to be on stage but each candidate has to died what they want is in their best interest. some look at it opportunity to get more airtime. some want to go one-on-one with the frontrunner right now. so it will depend on each campaign and hopefully each of them will figure out how they, what they want to get out of this debate. >> has said he did six. he feels that's enough. >> and i think each campaign has to make that decision for themselves. we had 20 last cycle. 23 the cycle before. we put 12 on the table. i think schedule has been very robust. it gives each candidate an
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opportunity but not so onerous they're spending their time running around the country to do this. we have a good number. obviously going forward we would love all the candidate to continue to be in them. they're important. but each of these guys have to decide what if in their best interests going forward and how they use the debates as an opportunity. martha: all right. ted cruz says, he sees it as sort of a job interview with the american people and those folks up there tonight will have the opportunity to do that once again. in terms of what is happening on the democratic side of the table. he made a comment on the table about hillary clinton. let's put that up on the screen for folks at home to take a look at. it basically talks about whether or not she will win in iowa and i think it is coming up. you say if she doesn't, she is in big trouble according to you. >> stop for a second, realize the excitement is on our side. sometimes you miss what is going on with them. but she is facing a 74-year-old gadfly socialist from vermont and they're neck-and-neck.
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she had this thing put away months ago. talked about a 50-state strategy. how they were on the march. now marshaling all resource in iowa and down double digits in new hampshire this is an embarassment for hillary clinton. even if she emerges as the nominee, she will have a very tough time going forward. shows the fracture happening in the democratic party but weakness of someone who should have had this campaign locked up. martha: you know, sort of like groundhog day for hillary clinton. >> right. martha: she went down this road in iowa last time with no expectation a young senator named barack obama would give her a run for her money. now she has a 74-year-old senator from vermont from the other end of the spectrum doing same thing. >> i know. after 2008, with eight years of preparation you would have thought they got the message on how to position themselves and they came in with the same cockiness they did in 2008 and i think if they lose here in iowa and in new hampshire, which i think definitely will lose new hampshire, then that will be a long slog for her. all of the resources, planning
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she did trying to assume a immediate coronation, all the work the dnc did to make sure she didn't have to debate. they only had six debates. tried to bury them on saturday nights during -- now you have hillary clinton, now you have hillary clinton begging the dnc to add a new hampshire debate. that shows you how momentum really shifted away from hillary clinton and towards bernie sanders. again i think that the idea of a earn boo bierne nomination for the democratic party, idea of a self-described social it would be a huge, huge, setback for them as a party and her as a campaign. martha: drama on either side of the fence. sean thank you very much. bill: we're hours from the big debate, 7:00 p.m. eastern time. one final debate before iowa makes its decision. rand paul is back on the main stage tonight. already some tough talk from one of the front-runners, rand paul versus ted cruz.
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>> the biggest problem that cruz faces right now is ought then activity. people who like my candidacy wondering if they're choosing between paul and cruz. they're wondering about his authenticity. the on immigration. he has gone back and forth. the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum smoothies! only from tums what makesheart healthysalad the becalifornia walnuts.r? the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple dinner ever? heart healthy california walnuts. great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts.
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bill: one of the main headlines later tonight, rand paul makes return to the main debate stage in prime time. trying to capitalize on momentum. paul going after ted cruz on immigration just last night. >> he said the whole is for amnesty and he was only pure blooded person against amnesty. the problem when he was up here debating he was actually was for legalization. now he is trying to have it both ways.
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i think authenticity part is difficult and maybe is undoing. bill: pick up more with sergio gore, campaign director of the paul campaign. nice to see you. before we get to the ted cruz back and forth. what does it mean for him to be on the main stage tonight. >> i think we're happy to be back on the main stage. we have a lot of people on the ground from all over the country here campaigning for liberty, campaigning for senator paul. our office in des moines itself is filled with 100 people making phone calls. we have now reached out to over 800,000 individuals, via phone to get them out. bill: i heard him say this morning or yesterday, his secret weapon is young people in iowa? >> last night. he has been saying that all along. we always said that an maintained that. we believe they are not included in polls. we'll have thousands of kids from all over. we're organized on every campus. we're ready for a surprise. bill: your dad tried that strategy here in iowa and it worked to a degree but not to a
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final first place finish. >> i think big difference, caucuses were held during winter break last time. they were not home traveling during winter break. this is bilge difference. school is in session. bill: what is the strategy going after ted cruz? there is little bit last night with megyn. what happens tonight? what is the approach? >> the first strategy to present our vision. senator paul has unique message. the only person that stands apart from a lot of other candidates. personal liberty. he is won't rush us to war like a lot of other individuals out there. balanced budget. smaller government. everything that happens -- bill: you know ted cruz will be ready for that. >> ted cruz can be ready for whatever he wants. ted cruz has to answer to the people of iowa. sometimes he says one thing in washington and say a different thing on the road the. bill: he called it a double win for him with donald trump not being there. explain that. >> i think it's absolutely a double win.
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not only is every candidate going to get more time but there will be a lot more substance. there will be less bluster and less you know, shiny objects. we can actually dwell into and focus on some of these issues that have affected most of america. bill: i mean that is why they play the games, right? final question, he is getting a lot of heat from republicans back in kentucky saying you got to get home and get off the campaign trail. if he does not perform well on monday night, is that the signal to wrap things up? >> i don't think so. i think we're in it to win it. i think there will be a surprise. we're not worried about, not focused on the kentucky race but in washington, he made 96% of his votes unlike other senators from florida missed a third of their votes. we're in it to win it. bill: democratic mayor jim gray from lexington is challenging him.
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thank you for your time today. sergio gor. martha, what is next. martha: ted cruz will be center stage tonight, that is how it shakes out. is ready for the spotlight and what does he have to say about his critics like rand paul? cruz's campaign spokesperson is with us. >> what i've done first day i arrived in the senate, tell two things, do what i said i would do. it says something about washington, d.c. that those are considered radical and extreme act the.three genera ♪ they don't believe in artificial this or superficial that. they know that in a world of over-processed there's no substitute for a piece of real. real cheese people believe every casserole deserves a shred of authenticity, every sandwich a slice of legit. natural cheese off-the-block, 100% real. sargento,
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martha: it is a day of remembrance in kennedy space center in cape canaveral, florida, as we mark 30 years to the day of the devastating loss of the space shuttle challenger. it is annual event that honors all members of the nasa family who lost their lives throughout many years of the space program
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including crews of apollo 1, space shuttle challenger and columbia. we remember all of them today. ♪ bill: watching the clock now as hours tick away down to the big debates later tonight. donald trump is out of the picture. so then ted cruz will be center stage. he could also be a bigger threat for others as well. rick tyler, national spokesman for the ted cruz campaign for the white house 2016. nice to see you here, rick. >> happy to be here. bill: welcome to today des moin. you should say welcome to us. >> welcome to des moines. bill: quinnepiac says there is no doubt iowa is make-or-break for ted cruz. >> i disagree. we've been way behind in iowa and we worked really hard in iowa. we'll complete the full grassley on caucus days. we met tens of thousands of voters hand-to-hand. that is how you win iowa.
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that is why i think we advanced in the polls. we're looking forward to a win. i think ground game. bill: how many employees? i heard 9,000, is that right or not? >> not employees. bill: workers. >> 12,000 volunteers. over 800 standing a little place not far from here, camp cruz. two dorms. people are tripled up with air mattresses. making it iowa experience and helping us turn out voters. bill: the full grassley is a ref lens to senator chuck grassley. 99 county. >> he does it every year. bill: senator cruz says if trump wins in iowa he could be unstoppable. >> could be. that is why we want to symptom him here in iowa. he downgrade damage to himself refusing to participate in the iowa debate. iowans want a debate for a long time. they need to see all the candidates to make side by side comparison. for some reason trump doesn't want that side by said comparison. bill: you he said yesterday,
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donald trump will be at the debate, mark my words? >> you never know with donald trump. his behavior is often erratic. he could look his staff in the eye, hey, let's go to debates. fox would welcome him and so would we. he should participate. bill: what do you think is the iowa reacts to his absence. >> iowans want to meet candidates face-to-face. big rallies are fine, actually meeting people, getting feel for candidates, that is what ted cruz has done over a year. donald trump flies in, does a big event, shakes a few hands and goes off doing something else. like comparing past rout at this and pop stars. when they're together you see who is really good. if he is not there you can't compare. our guy will stand up great to donald trump. if he is not there people won't see that. i want them to see the contrast. he is making a contrast by not showing up. bill: in meantime he could be, he could be in the cross-hairs for a lot of people.
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i mean you just heard the rep for rand paul. rand paul has target on ted cruz. you were listening to sergio he gore make his case. what is the answer to that? >> look a lot of attacks on ted cruz have not been believable. ted cruz is likeable and popular. the others will risk if you attack from point of weakness, everybody will see through that. they're seeing what you try to do. they're trying to knock down ted cruz. most of the things, all the things i hear from ridiculous absurds about eligibility, these are absurd claims. no one believes them. when you make a claim is unbelievable, voters see right through that. bill: we'll see tonight in prime time. you have a really long day. thank you. for spending a few moments. rick tyler from the cruz team. thank you. >> thank you. martha: four days to go until the iowa caucus, what are voters thinking? would everybody love to know the answer about that question? what do they really feel about these candidates.
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still making up their minds, attending forums. what are the most important issues for them? google news lab has fascinating data what people really care about. it might tell you something about the future winner. shannon bream joins us to break all that down. good morning to you. great to see you here. what do we know about which candidates iowa voters are looking at today? reporter: this is such interesting data working withing google team. this is data over the last hour. that is how up-to-date it is. first we look, this will be iowa or slide or graphic we call the horse race. you can watch and see how all of the different candidates have trended over the past hour. this is not positive or negative. this is just activity. people who are making queries, making questions about all of these different candidates. you can see donald trump remaining pretty much solidly up until now, our last hit on this, actually ted cruz has moved to the top position. we look at things like specific questions about specific candidates. let's look at ted cruz. some questions here.
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these are top ones among iowa voters, online asking questions on google. will he get the nomination? where did he go to high school. this is interesting, why was ted cruz born in canada. one of the top questions was he born in canada. this was hot topic. something donald trump brought up quite a bit on campaign trail here in iowa last few weeks. the question of why was ted cruz born in canada? it is changed question. people are looking background story, involves his parents, why they were here. the status giving us insight what people want to know about these candidates. martha: fascinating. it really is. how about issues people in iowa are interested in? what is most important to them as they look at these candidates, shan noon? reporter: again this is over the last hour. very much up-to-date. these are the specific issues that people in iowa are searching for information about on google. top of the list, gun control. that is hot topic across the country. immigration. we would expect to hear a lot about those things in the debate tonight.
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taxes, same-sex marriage and health care. for the last hour, this is poll of voters here in iowa, things they are looking for. all throughout the day and through the debate tonight we'll measure in real time what people are asking about, what information they're looking for about the candidates. should be real interesting way to break down data and track as people are days away from caucuses in iowa. martha. martha: fascinating. can't wait to see how this moves over the course of next several days. shannon, thank you. we'll see you tonight as well. bill: campaigns pay attention to that stuff. they can find out so much by your search or my search and throughout iowa and south carolina. national security, economy. questions about isis. you and i have been talking about this for weeks trying to get ready for tonight. martha: trying to get the pulse what people are interested in. gun control is a huge issue in iowa. it kind blows away other issues we saw in google search yesterday.
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that will be a big factor. bill: if you think about the last one we did in august, the issues have changed. in many ways they have evolved. and candidates have evolved as well. they get better every time they go out. we'll see how good they are tonight. martha: a lot has happened since cleveland, including san bernardino and other big issues you will hear about as well so lots coming up. bill: carly fiorina is looking for another breakout performance in tonight's first debate. she will be on stage at 7:00 eastern time. so how is she prepping? i will ask her husband. i think he has an idea. she is up next live. >> for heaven as sakes folks we have to restore character nation, take the country back from the elites, media, stand with me, fight with me. you know i am not going to falter. you know you will have a fearless fighter in me.
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♪ martha: carly fiorina is among the candidates who are looking to gain ground and get attention tonight in the first debate of the evening. she is meeting voters in ankany, iowa. you can see her there. my next guest knows her pretty well. >> thank you very much. martha: have you seen your wife lately? she showed a picture of her in a coffee shop in ankeny. >> i spent yesterday with her on the road. everywhere we go we're very
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pleased with the crowds that show up. there is always more people than we expect. and, how they act afterwards. we're delighted. martha: you've been by her side for a long time. at at&t, in your careers. and then at, i think when you were about 4, you decided to step back and sort of let her do her thing and support her. you were a bodyguard for her at one points right? >> i think bodyguard piece has been grossly exaggerated. >> you were her husband, standing by her side. >> that's true. that's true. we've known each other 34 years and we've been together 32. she has always been support i have of me. when it came time for her to go to hp it made no sense for me to keep my 12 hour a day job. martha: what do you think people don't understand about carly? >> well, i would say carly's the only candidate on the stage that will actually, actually has a plan to get a lot of things done
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that people have been talking about for year after year after year. election cycle, after election cycle. the way carly is always attack ad big problem is to tap into the people around her. and in this country, we need to get citizens involved in resolution of so many problems that we have in this country. and, you know, i could read them all off. but you are very familiar with them. most candidates talk about them. one of the few that i have not heard anyone talk about but her, is truly understanding where our money is being spent. today, a lot of people, i don't think, understand that the federal government really only negotiates how much more money they're getting every year. they don't ever expose share entire budget -- martha: talks a lot about zero-based budgeting which i know is very important, you know, part of her campaign. talk to me about the ups and
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downs and how you guys remained strong through them. when you look, at one point she was on the main stage. had a very good performance in cleveland in the first debate bill and i did out there. how do you sort of keep strong given the fact that the numbers are not great? >> well it is pretty simple. first, i mean it is baffling as to why the polls say what they say. because it's not what we see. everywhere i go the people are enam mored with carly. when people meet carly, they love her. i have had more people come up to me after an event when i am with her and say, i didn't know who she was when i came into this. i'm voting for her. i was going to vote for so-and-so. she is my candidate. i love her. she has got to be our president. we hear that consistently wherever we go. a matter of keeping her in the race and get people to understand and know her better
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and i'm feeling pretty good about it. martha: a fighter, no doubt about it. i want to play a sound bite for folks at home. something interesting she said on the campaign trail. let's take a listen. >> i've been underestimated all the time. i have gotten used to it. but i also know, that most people who give you a fair shot. so i look for people that will give me a fair shot. i don't pay attention to people that call pethe "b" word and voters of iowa have given me a fair shot. martha: she said in the beginning of that, frank, she has been underestimated her whole life. what's your sense of that an what that means to her? >> well, you know, i mentioned, i watched carly in her career for 34 years. and, through the that time, i mean, came out of her mba with the bell system, a million people in the company.
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it seemed like right off the bat -- first of all she impressed me obviously, but it seemed like from day one she always had to work harder than the average person but because she was always so focused and no matter what tough job she took and she always went after the tough jobs at all levels of her career, no matter what job she took, she always did the best that anyone could do, people recognized that. she would find support from a lot of people that just kind of recognized how smart, how articulate, how dedicated she was. and they would drag her along. carly never meant to be a ceo but just like, you know, her parents taught her no matter what you do, you be the best at it. that bode well for her and myself by the way. martha: she talked about at the end of that sound bite the "b" word and struggle for being a woman out there in this position.
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do you think, you know, has she allowed people to get to know all sides of her well enough do you think? >> well, excellent question. i hope so. i tried to spend as much time as i can on radio and on television talking about the loving, caring side of her. carly when i met her was a very bad time in my life. she saved me and my two little girls as far as i'm concerned. she is the most loving, caring person you ever want to meet. talking about some of those statements, it is amazing what some people did to her in her career but she never put up with it. i remember first time she was actual manager, she was introduced by her manager as token woman. after that meeting. that is amazing statement. she went up to him after that, don't ever do that again. he could have fired her.
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she didn't put up with it. martha: incredible story. thank you for sharing that sir. >> thank you very much. bill: we have good ones lined up for her. that's all we're saying. we have ones lined up for others. who is poised to break out here only on fox. ♪
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>> hi, everybody, the main event. last gop debate before iowa caucuses. newt gingrich joins us and larry sabato joins us at the top of the hour. his final predictions who wins iowa on both sides. this big news item as well. the sikh can virus is spreading like wildfire around causing news for major u.s. airlines that could impact you. we'll tell you about it top of the hour. ♪
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bill: kind of digging our new office, martha. martha: we'll settle in here next few days, get us through the caucuses. so interesting talking to folks running campaigns and rand paul and ted cruz's folks. gives you insight. the stakes are so huge for these people. they have committed so much time, so much love, so much energy to these candidates. they watch that person go out there on the stage tonight. they're all hoping that person will do well. and as rick tyler was saying. you have kids camped out on air mattress. something called cruz campus or camp cruz right here down the street. there is just a lot of emotion and a lot of heart goes into this whole thing. i think it is such revealing thing to see that side of it up close here in iowa. bill: it is interesting when you were talking with frank fiorina. difference between family member how they approach this and difference with the campaign worker.
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they all want to win. it is so much more personal to that gentleman than it is to everybody else. and, you know, like you got kids. they're running out on field. you want them to win. want them to do really well. you get the sense both on camera and off-camara in that conversation with how critical this is. martha: you get a sense in each one of their situations when they're out with people, everybody loves their candidate. you know. there is a bubble that surrounds each one of these campaigns. we don't know whether or not, what they see as disconnect is true or not until we see the numbers come in on monday night. bill: we're eight hours away. we'll have final word here in a moment. iowa is watching these debates. these debates will matter. don't miss it tonight. martha: we'll be right back. hi i'm heather cox on location with the famous, big idaho potato truck. our truck? it's touring across america telling people about idaho potatoes. farmer: let's go boy.
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martha: so we've got a busy amp. bill: we do. martha: it's an hour earlier
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here in iowa. bill: 7:00 tonight, martha and i will kick it off in des moines, followed by the prim time debate -- prime time debate as well here in iowa. i really like how this has come together, so i think for the viewers and voters at home, stay tuned. good stuff coming. martha: we'll see you tonight, 7 p.m. eastern. "happening now" starts right now. ♪ ♪ jon: and so the stage is set for tonight's fox news debates ahead of the all-important first in the nation iowa caucuses. welcome to "happening now," i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee, and it's the last chance for the candidates to square off before the first votes are cast in this presidential election. the stakes could not be higher, and with republican front runner donald trump doubling down on his decision to skip tonight's event, his gop rivals are pulling out all the stops to take advantage of the situation.


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