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Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses; CNN Projects DeSantis Beats Haley for Second; U.S. Condemns Iran's Reckless Missile Strikes in Iraq; Houthis Vow Future Strikes Against Those Who Attack Yemen; New Hampshire Voters React to Iowa Results. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 16, 2024 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump gives new meaning to a clear and convincing win. Iowa gift-wrapped the former president his first election win of the 2024 campaign season. Now, the race was over while the real voting was still going on.

I'm still Laura Coates, I'm still in New York, and you're watching hour 12 of special coverage here on CNN for the Iowa caucuses.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: It is a marathon for us and for the candidates. I'm Abby Phillip in Washington.

Donald Trump last night channeled the Beatles, asking the rest of the party to come together. His belief is that the entire race at this point is over. His rivals should not pass go. And the Republican Party should simply skip preparing for the -- skip to preparing for the general election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really think this is time now for everybody, our country, to come together. We want to come together.

I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good, a good time together. We're all having a good time together. And I think they both actually did very well. I really do. I think they both did very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: But it is the general election and the fear of that 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden that Nikki Haley is now using to convince Republicans that she should be the one to get their vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can safely say tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two person race. Our campaign is the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Well Harry Enten is here at the magic wall with more. Harry, first of all, I'm not sure that it's really the two person race she thinks of. And also Trump's shade about, I want to congratulate them on having a good time, was not really what most people thought of as a congratulations.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DATA REPORTER: Yes, you know, I shall note Nikki Haley came in third place --

COATES: Third.

ENTEN: -- third place in Iowa. So if it's a two person race, then is it a race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. And I guess I was a little bit also surprised that just, you know, that was probably one of the nicest I've seen Donald Trump be in a while. But I'll also note further, obviously Vivek Ramaswamy has decided to leave this race and a lot of people see him, you know, as sort of a younger sort of version of Trump, but Ramaswamy never connected in the way that Donald Trump did.

I just think it gives you an idea of the political skills of Donald Trump and something that we could see going forward in this particular election cycle.

COATES: Well, we can probably fast forward a little bit. I mean, I'm not going to fast forward through all the primaries, but if this was an indication of what the general will look like, it'll be Trump Biden. How's that match up?

ENTEN: Yes. You know, Nikki Haley wants to make the argument that she can win in a general election and Donald Trump can't. But the fact is, if you look at the polling numbers, that ain't true.

I mean, this is a CBS News YouGov poll that came out over the weekend. And look who's in the lead here. It's this guy with 50 percent. It's Donald Trump. Joe Biden's 48 percent. Now, I should note that Nikki Haley was up in this poll by eight.

But if Donald Trump is ahead by two points, it's going to be awfully difficult to convince Republican primary voters, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, all these states going forward on Super Tuesday, that Donald Trump should not, in fact, be the nominee because he's, quote, unquote, unelectable when this polling data, in fact, shows he is quite electable -- Laura.

COATES: What do you mean she's up by eight? She was ahead of Trump.

ENTEN: She was ahead of Joe Biden by eight points. So Nikki Haley had 53 percent of the vote. Joe Biden had 45 percent of the vote in that particular poll.

But the fact of the matter is, Trump has been leading in polls. And he's actually, Laura, only gotten stronger in the polls. You know, there's this idea, you know, if these criminal, potential criminal cases against Donald Trump are bad for him. But take a look here. This is the Biden versus Trump margin among registered voters. Pre- indictments, look, Joe Biden was up by two percentage points. Look where we are today.

[04:05:00]

It's, in fact, this average of polling looks exactly like that CBS News YouGov poll where we see Donald Trump ahead by two percentage points. So it's not just with Republican primary voters that the indictments haven't seemed to hurt Trump. It's with the general electorate as well.

And it's going to be awfully, awfully, awfully difficult to convince Republican primary voters not to go with Donald Trump because of electability when, in fact, he's showing in these polls against Joe Biden, he's actually quite electable.

COATES: But you know what happened pre-indictment? Biden won the election. So how does that factor in?

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, here's the thing that I think is so important to keep in mind. So, you know, back in 2020, I remember, you know, it was the COVID year, all this stuff was going on. I was sitting at my computer at home being a little bit lonely. Now I'm no longer as lonely. National polls were Trump led Biden. In the 2020 cycle, there were zero of them. Zero national polls. Zero national polls. Look at where we are today. That CBS News YouGov Poll is no outlier.

In the 2024 cycle, Laura, 22 polls. There's about a poll a week that comes out where Trump is leading Joe Biden. And he's not just leading nationally. He's leading in the swing states. He's leading like in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia. I can show you polls from all of those states where Donald Trump leads Joe Biden. This was simply put, not the case back in 2020. This is a vastly different campaign.

Donald Trump can make an electability argument now that he couldn't make back then. He can make an electability case now that he couldn't make in 2016. This is the best that Trump has ever polled, not just amongst Republicans, but amongst the general electorate as well. And it's going to be incumbent upon Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley to try and sell Republicans on something that, to be honest, looking at the polls, I'm not sure they should be so convinced of.

COATES: If you're President Biden and you're Vice President Harris, looking at this, looking at the Trump -- at the polls right now, there's some ground to cover. There's some work to do. Maybe Harry will be a lot less lonely by the time November comes around as well. Thank you, Harry -- Abby.

PHILLIP: Harry, we do not want you to be lonely.

COATES: At all. I think I should I ask more questions just now, Abby, about that.

COATES: Harry, we need to talk about this. You know, later, ENTEN: I figure it 4:06 in the morning, it's not time I could not --

(CROSSTALK).

PHILLIP: It's not four in the morning. Thanks, Laura.

So President Biden is now responding to Trump's win. He's saying, in part, that the election, quote, was always going to be you and me versus extreme MAGA Republicans.

Now, Democratic Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker echoed that very same statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: Tonight's contest is simply a question of whether you like your MAGA Trump agenda wrapped in the original packaging or with high heels or with lifts in their boots.

PHILLIP: Spicy.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He's one of the most powerful Democrats right now in the Democratic Party. He is so wealthy. I'm fairly certain that he funds the Wisconsin Democratic Party himself.

PHILLIP: Right.

PRESTON: And he's the governor of Illinois. What does that say?

PHILLIP: So do you think that he's right, though, that this is kind of a lay up for Democrats to have Trump again or a Trump light?

JANE COASTON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think that layup is not the right term, because I think that that's what a lot of people thought in 2016. However, I will say that it makes it very, very easy for the Biden campaign to say that guy. The fundraising numbers that just came in for the Biden campaign, they raised nearly $100 million and largely from small donations. And so I think that there are a lot of people who are like not excited about Joe Biden.

I could have theoretically seen myself getting excited about Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley or Joe Manchin or some imaginary hypothetical Democrat. But that's not what I'm going to get. And so I'm going to support Joe Biden.

And I think that Joe Biden did this effectively in 2020 by basically saying, like, look at this guy. I mean, there was actually a debate in which he just kept saying, look at this guy. And I don't know if that's going to work. I don't know anything.

But I do think that being very, very clear that this is you -- you are either going to get Joe Biden or you're going to get Donald Trump. I think that in some ways that makes the Biden campaign's job a little bit easier.

PHILLIP: And I mean, that's not too shabby. $100 million for a president that is allegedly depressing enthusiasm among his own voters. It seems to suggest that there is some sense of urgency there among Democrats.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There is. And look, I mean, President Biden's favorability is not great. Donald Trump's favorability isn't great either. When you look at the general electorate.

I mean, it's he is, as Nikki Haley said, one of the most unpopular candidates, especially a Republican candidate. And so Biden advisers that I was talking to tonight said that, you know, they believe that the results tonight just again help with their message of this is going to be between him and Trump.

[04:10:00]

And that Republicans are not distancing themselves from this extreme, this extremism that Trump represents. You've seen more and more Republicans in Congress in recent days get behind Trump, starting to coalesce around him again.

You know, I've talked to also some Democrats who look, they are worried. I don't think anyone I've talked to on the Democratic side thinks that this is going to be an easy election for Biden. They do say, though, that one of the differences between 2016 and now is that some of the Democrats in battleground states that were warning Hillary Clinton about, hey, there's a problem here. They're, you know, giving some warnings to Biden and they say that his campaign is listening in a way that Hillary Clinton wasn't in 2016.

PHILLIP: And Kristen, Donald Trump's performance tonight, he's over 50 percent, but there's still a big chunk of the party that voted for someone else. Sure. Some Democrats I've seen have suggested that that is a signal that maybe he's weaker than we imagine. Do you think that that's what it shows?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that there are a lot of Republicans who would like to turn the page, but I don't think that there are a ton of them who are ready to pull the lever for Joe Biden.

Now, some of those say Nikki Haley voters might be to the extent that she's pulling people into this Republican primary process who are more independent leaning. Maybe you can envision them, say, going for Joe Biden over a Donald Trump at the end of the day.

Maybe when we look at these polls and we say, gosh, only one third of Republicans say that Donald Trump would be unfit for office if he's convicted. Well, you can't lose a third of your party and win the presidency in this country. So there are some warning signs for Trump, given this performance a little bit, if you think of him as the incumbent who should be getting much more than 50 percent.

But I still think ultimately Donald Trump's biggest problem is that right now he is looking really good in these general election polls because a lot of voters aren't thinking about him a ton. He is not present in everybody's face every day like he's going to be in September, in October.

And that's what I think Democrats are banking on, that right now voters are looking for normal. They're looking for an answer to the chaos and what they think is disorder around them. And they don't think that Biden has provided it. But have they forgotten what they might get with Donald Trump? I suspect the Biden campaign will be very eager to remind voters of what a Donald Trump presidency could look like.

PHILLIP: Yes, trying to take Trump from the background noise to a central player in the drama is going to be the job of the Democrats over the next couple of months. Everyone stick around for us -- Laura.

COATES: You know, it's not just Biden looking ahead to the general election, Abby. I mean, listen to how Trump is describing November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You're the beginning. This is the beginning right now. It's starting. And this is the beginning of something very important. I think it's the most important election in the history of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: You know, it's a very consequential election, as we all know. It's decisive of a number of things, maybe what the Republican Party stands for, who it is, the ability of an incumbent president, age, how the performance of Biden and Harris has meant anything in the otherwise historic administration. What do you say to that?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We always say it's the most consequential, historical, important election. No, it's not. It's this one. It's always this one that's coming up.

This is going to be a dogfight. And I think that this is going to be a fight for the center of the country. Individuals are going to be in their respective corners, MAGA and versus Democrats.

But it's going to be that age old, the map has expanded a little bit. But this race is going to be won in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan. That is where this race is going to be won and their little ancillary suburbs.

And so unless Donald Trump changes his stick and sounds more like he did tonight over and over and over again, college educated white women, independents are all going to come home for Joe Biden. And it's going to be a repeat in terms of the results from 2020.

COATES: I want to thank Bakari Sowers at 4:00 a.m. for giving us the city and the state, because that was really important for us to follow on. I mean, I appreciate that. Seriously, what do you think?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I agree a thousand percent. We always say every election, this is the most important of our life. I'm the last exit ram, this is our time to get it right. We can't mess this up. We say that every time. But this is an important election.

COATES: But this time is true.

STEWART: And he also he sort of uses similar terminology in his speech tonight. He said, you know, talk talking about this is the most consequential election.

He also said Joe Biden is the worst president we've had in the history of our country. So in the history of our country must be a theme today. But he took that as an opportunity really to pivot his campaign sort of away from what has been a not so confrontational from his standpoint, primary election to a general election that he is trying to stress to voters.

[04:15:04]

This is all encompassing, all important. This is an important in our election in our lifetime. And Joe Biden is the worst president we've had. Now he's shifting to going after Biden on the economy, on inflation, on the border, on crime and schools and safety. This is what he's doing. And he's basically making the argument now is the time to course correct.

COATES: Let's talk about the economy, because you and I have talked a lot, Ashley, over the year about the messaging and the so-called wins for Biden and the so-called failures for Biden and who you're asking about these things.

At this point in time, you've got Nikki Haley and Trump now going after Biden. They have for quite some time, by the way. But now with the issue, if he were to pivot towards the actual meat on the bone issues, where is the economy come in? Where are the other actual hardcore issues come in?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. OK, so here's how I think the issues are going to play out. I don't think one is going to be more important than the other. But I do think there's going to be five issues that are going to be a part of the conversation.

And depending on which voter you speak to. The ranking can be different. Yes, the economy is going to be important, but abortion is going to be important. Immigration is going to be important.

Care, the care, like the service worker industry. You know, we just are coming out of COVID and the opportunities that essential workers have. Education, I think, on a spectrum from student loans to what you can actually teach in the classroom. All of that is going to be important.

Now, here's the thing. Since Donald Trump was elected in 2018, Democrats started to make some ground. In 2020 Democrats got a trifecta, which most people thought was almost impossible. And they did.

After that, 2021 was a fluke year where Terry McAuliffe lost in Virginia. And so everybody ran scared on the Democratic side saying, oh, no, our message is wrong.

But then in 2022, the red wave never happened because of Roe and Joe Biden started doing things like student loan debt -- student loan debt. He de-scheduled marijuana and starting to do things that would get his base excited.

Now, this past election in 2023, you have Ohio, you have Virginia and you have Kansas that shows, again, the issues where you would think people are not going to go to the Republican side. They're still trending different.

This will be the first time since all of those issues happen that Joe Biden will be on the ticket. Can he weave that narrative together and say, I am working on the economy, but I am going to protect your democracy, I'm going to protect your bodily autonomy and sell that to the people? That will be the big question.

But all trends today are showing that the Democratic issues and messages are working with the average American.

GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: it's I think if you skate to where the puck's going in November, it's going to feel a lot different than it does, obviously, during this primary time. And it's going to shift back to the suburbs. And so the simple math is whoever wins the White House has got to win the suburbs. And I think Donald Trump has a huge problem in the suburbs.

He's had it. It's gotten worse. I think very few people have changed their opinion. And that's probably that 49 percent that you see show up that vote for somebody other than Donald Trump in these primaries. I think they're just are not going to ever come back.

I also think there's going to be this third party effort that starts to really form as you saw this big divide really happen are kind of our worst nightmare for those that don't want Trump and yet conservative. We'll start to see some real energy show up behind that.

If they -- if no labels find somebody of true stature and substance and name ID, that's a huge problem. And it will shape differently.

COATES: Go ahead.

SELLERS: No, what I was going to say just quickly is that, yes, I mean, Democrats, the economy, actually, inflation is cooling. It's slowing down. Joe Biden has done those things in the market. Jobs, the black, white and inequity gap, inequality gap is narrowing and shrinking. Those things are happening. What Democrats have to pay attention to, though, and talk about with some substance and some solution are two issues which we have not dealt with well, that's the issue of crime and the issue of immigration. Those are very real issues. And we cannot allow those issues to catch us on our six.

COATES: Everyone stick around. Really important points you've all raised. Thank you.

Stick around here, because next, as the candidates move on to New Hampshire, I'll talk with a teenager who's been asking them questions at their events.

Plus, CNN was in a room full of New Hampshire voters as the Iowa results came in. Let's see what happened.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. We'll be getting back to CNN's live coverage of the Iowa caucuses in just a moment. But first, we want to get you caught up on some international headlines as well.

Because the U.S. is condemning what it calls reckless missile strikes by Iran in northern Iraq and northern Syria. Iran claims it destroyed a spy base for Israel's Mossad and the sites of anti-Iranian terrorist groups. Kurdish leaders in Erbil, Iraq, report at least four civilians were killed.

[04:20:00]

Iran says some of the missile strikes were in response to the recent ISIS terror attack in Kerman near the grave of slain military leader Qasem Soleimani.

Meanwhile, Houthi militants in Yemen are sending a clear warning to anyone planning to launch an attack in the country. It comes after they claimed responsibility for attacking an American vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Monday.

U.S. officials say an anti-ship ballistic missile struck a bulk carrier, causing minor damage.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now to wrap up all of this -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, starting off with those missiles being launched in Iraq, we've heard condemnation from the UN in Iraq as well. Also, the Security Council of the Kurdistan region saying that it's a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the region.

But what Iran has said is that their Revolutionary Guards did launch these missiles and they targeted what they called one of the main espionage headquarters of Israel. Now, we have asked for comment from Israel's prime minister's office. As yet, we have not heard anything from that side. But Iran saying that it was in retaliation for Israeli attacks against Iran Revolutionary Guard commanders.

Now, also, they carried out overnight attacks in Syria. This time, they said it was specifically related to anti-Iran terror groups that may have been involved in those twin deadly bombings just a couple of weeks ago in Kerman, where about two -- excuse me, dozens of people were killed.

Now, at the time, ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack. And this is specifically why Iran says that they targeted this area.

And then, of course, there are concerns about the regional conflict expanding and about tensions expanding in another area of the Middle East, where tensions have been high. Houthi rebels say that they will continue to target U.S. and U.K. vessels in the area after the U.S. and U.K. navies struck particular targets and Houthi rebel bases in Yemen just last week.

In fact, the Houthi rebels did manage to hit a U.S. owned vessel. We understand there were no casualties. There was some damage to the ship. But as we understand it, this is the first time that Houthi rebels have managed to hit a U.S. vessel in the area. So concerns there as well of increasing tensions -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update.

Back with you with more. Ukraine's president due to address the World Economic Forum in Davos later today. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has now arrived in Switzerland for that global summit.

On Monday, Vladimir -- Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with Swiss President Viola Amherd. He announced that Switzerland will host a Ukraine peace summit with all countries that, quote, respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Invited to attend.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Max Foster. Returning now to our Iowa caucus coverage.

PHILLIP: Already, the candidates are turning their attention to New Hampshire, where CNN's Gary Tuchman watched the results come in with a panel of local Republican voters.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Abby and Laura, we spent the night watching CNN's Iowa caucuses coverage with 10 loyal Republicans in New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. Of our group, only two of them say they're ready to vote for Donald Trump a week from Tuesday in the first in the nation, New Hampshire primary.

The person who got the most support, Nikki Haley. Four of the people on our panel said they will vote for Nikki Haley. So what I ask all 10 people tonight is, are you prepared to support Donald Trump if he ends up being the Republican nominee?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: If Donald Trump is the nominee of the Republican Party, are you all prepared to vote for Donald Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: Anyone not definitive about voting for Donald Trump?

BOB, NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN VOTER: Not, not definitive.

TUCHMAN: OK. Tell me why, Bob.

BOB: Well, I expect my president to act and conduct the prudential affairs of our government and a presidential manner. And I don't think he's been a good reflection of the kind of character I would like to see in the White House.

TUCHMAN: Are any of you also troubled with his character?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TUCHMAN: But you're still ready to vote for him because you're not going to vote for Biden. No one here is thinking of voting for Biden. Who are you thinking of voting for if it's Trump versus Biden?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'd, I'd look to a independent candidate who came close to my Republican principles.

TUCHMAN: Like who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe someone like a Joe Manchin would be someone I consider, you know, I think it is economic policies are good. I like the way he reaches across the aisle. And I think we need to have a president that's able to work with both parties so we can start getting things accomplished in Congress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (on camera): All 10 people on our panel say they weren't surprised by anything they saw during the Iowa caucus today.

[04:25:00]

They all tell us they look forward to the political spotlight being on them. When people here in the Granite state go to vote in the first in the nation primary on Tuesday -- Abby, Laura.

COATES: Thanks, Gary.

Now who best to talk to, but 15 year old New Hampshire political reporter Quinn Mitchell. He says he's been to over 100 presidential events and has met more than 35 candidates. Quinn, good morning to you. I wonder what you make of all that has taken place over the last, I don't know, 12 hours. Are you surprised that Trump won by so much tonight?

QUINN MITCHELL, NH TEEN WHO ATTENDS CAMPAIGN EVENTS: I mean, not really. I think if there's one key takeaway is that Trump is most likely going to win the GOP nomination. I think looking to New Hampshire, I think this is about the only state where it's going to give a Trump alternative a shot to win this.

But I think what's clear to me is that Trump's lead is almost insurmountable at this point.

COATES: You might very well be right. I mean, DeSantis came in a second place in Iowa. I mean, you've hit him with some pretty hard questions before and alleged that his security has treated you very poorly at rallies. He's going to be in New Hampshire tomorrow. I'm wondering, will you be at his events?

MITCHELL: If my mom will drive me, you know, that's what it's going to be dependent on. If my mom can drive me, we'll have to see. We'll see tomorrow.

COATES: All right, mom, well, give him a ride. I wonder if you actually go or not. What do you what do people in New Hampshire, I do wonder, think of not only Trump, but also DeSantis?

MITCHELL: Well, you know, Trump can come in and do these fly in, fly out rallies. He can buck New Hampshire traditions. He can buck the norms. But Donald Trump has his own game. I mean, when I go to these rallies, I see this intense desire for community play out. The desire to feel you feel need, wanted and loved.

And I mean, there's always going to be 40 to 50 percent of Trump voters. There's always going to be 40 to 50 percent of his voters who would go to hell and back with him. And I've seen his strong charisma play out. And it certainly engenders the belief that he do the same for them. But this this perspective, it's really only something you get at a rally and such an intense connection.

I think you mentioned DeSantis. He's pretty much dead in the water here. I don't see a path to the nomination for him. I mean, look at this. I mean, DeSantis got 21 percent in Iowa. I mean, this is this is a state where he has banked his nomination on. He put all his resources there. He spent so much money. He had all these endorsements. He landed 30 points behind Trump.

He's dead in the water in New Hampshire. He blew his shot here in the summer. He's several percent in South Carolina. I don't really see a path for him here. I think Nikki Haley most likely have a strong showing here, but we'll have to see how that pans out. And most of that's probably dependent on if she'll take questions or not.

COATES: Well, let's talk about Nikki Haley, because she did come in a close third tonight, but a distant third, of course, of Donald Trump. You've been to her rallies before and you say that her staff tries to shield her from tough questions. Do you think that has anything to do with her performance tonight in Iowa?

MITCHELL: No, I mean, New Hampshire, I feel like she's going to do better in New Hampshire. I mean, this sort of shielding is only obvious if you're directly at her events and you're seeing her in person. She has such a great PR team.

In Iowa, I mean, DeSantis is going to do well in Iowa. This is a much more conservative state. Haley is going to do well in New Hampshire. It's independent minded and it's more moderate.

But I don't think it was necessarily a surprise for me that Haley placed in third. I've been observing DeSantis over the past couple of weeks and he is way -- he's a better candidate than he used to be. I think if the DeSantis I've been seeing the past couple of weeks was the DeSantis I saw in June and July, he'd be in a way better spot now.

COATES: Quinn Mitchell, nice job, number one. And number two, good job staying so engaged in all that's happening in the world. I appreciate it.

MITCHELL: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

COATES: Thank you.

Next, what Iowa voters said about when they decided to give Donald Trump their support.

[04:30:00]