Republican presidential candidates gear up for final week before Iowa caucuses

Trump tonight called the U.S. economy "fragile" and said he hopes it craters before the next presidential inauguration.

"We have an economy that’s so fragile, and the only reason it’s running now is it’s running off the fumes of what we did," Trump said during a sit-down interview with Lou Dobbs.

"And when there’s a crash, I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months, because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover," he added.

Trump frequently claims on the campaign trail that if Biden is re-elected the U.S. would experience an economic crash rivaling the Great Depression.

With just one week until the Iowa caucuses, GOP candidates are targeting former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the polls for the Republican nomination.

Here’s everything you need to know about how next week’s Iowa Republican caucuses work:

 When do the caucuses take place?

On Monday, Jan. 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local).

Who gets to participate?

Eligible voters must be at least 18 years old by Election Day 2024 (the general election). To participate in this GOP contest, a caucusgoer must be registered with the Republican Party; same-day voter registration is available.

Trump suggested that if he is re-elected, he would have Biden indicted. His comments came a day before an appeals court hears arguments on his claim that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

In a post to his Truth Social platform today, Trump said he plans to attend oral arguments on his presidential immunity claim before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tomorrow, and claimed that it was his obligation as president to find voter fraud.

“Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity. I wasn’t campaigning, the Election was long over,” he wrote. “I was looking for voter fraud, and finding it, which is my obligation to do, and otherwise running running our Country.”

Read the full story here.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said that while he has no indication from the national party that the state is at risk of losing their first-in-the-nation status, Democrats’ decision to change their election calendar puts the Republican caucuses under more scrutiny.

“My job is also to have my eye on 2028 and especially now since the Democrats have royally screwed everything up,” Kaufmann told state Republican leaders at the party’s annual breakfast to kick off the year’s legislative session.

Following the event, Kaufmann told NBC News that there is no current risk for the Republicans to lose their cherished status but “it didn’t help what the Democrats did.”

Kaufmann also told reporters that he will be hosting Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel in Iowa for the caucuses and plans to bring her and other national GOP officials to watch the voting unfold next Monday night at a local precinct.

Lindsey Pipia contributed.

The New Hampshire attorney general’s office today sent a cease-and-desist order to the Democratic National Committee after the national party demanded state Democrats “educate the public” that their upcoming presidential primary is “meaningless.”

In its letter to the DNC, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office declared that demand to be illegal voter suppression and warned the DNC to stop trashing their primary or risk “further enforcement action.”

“Telling any person qualified to register to vote or vote in New Hampshire that the January 23, 2024, New Hampshire democratic Presidential Primary Election is ‘meaningless’... constitutes an attempt to prevent or deter New Hampshire voters from participating [in the primary]... in violation of RSA 659:40, III,” Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell wrote in the order to the DNC, citing a portion of the state’s voting rights law.

“This matter remains open, and this Office reserves the right to take further enforcement action based on the actions described in this letter and any other actions that violate State election laws,” O’Donnell concludes.

The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read the full story here.

Ramaswamy and DeSantis brushed off concerns that freezing temperatures on Iowa caucus night could depress turnout.

Ramaswamy said following a campaign event in Sioux City on Monday that he thought the weather could "work to our advantage" because the people backing him "are not tepid supporters."

DeSantis expressed similar sentiments, telling reporters during a virtual press conference that he would "grin and bear it" in the cold weather and that his supporters are "very passionate folks."

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann shrugged off concerns that the frigid weather forecast will significantly affect next week’s caucuses, telling reporters it would take a “major, major ice storm” to derail the voting process.

“I don’t think cold keeps people away,” Kaufmann said, joking that he thinks “it’s kind of cool” that out-of-state reporters will experience sub-zero temperatures while in town to cover the candidates.

Early forecasts for Jan. 15 show dangerously low temperatures with biting windchill. Despite the forecast, Kaufmann said the party has no contingency plans, adding that the caucuses are “like a football game that’s going to go on no matter what.”

Lindsey Pipia contributed.

CLEVELAND — Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has endorsed Bernie Moreno in his state’s combative Republican Senate primary, signaling consolidation of support around Trump’s preferred candidate in one of the biggest races of 2024.

Jordan, a Trump loyalist and a leading figure on the political right in Ohio, announced his support for Moreno in a statement first shared with NBC News.

“Bernie is a true America First conservative, and will make us proud in the U.S. Senate,” Jordan said. “Our country needs common sense conservative fighters now more than ever. Bernie is a political outsider who has lived the American Dream. His perspective, his grit and his conservative values will serve Ohio well in the U.S. Senate.”

Read the full story here.

Andrew Warren, the former Hillsborough County state attorney removed from his post by DeSantis, announced he will not seek re-election after publicly mulling another run for months.

“I have been planning to run for re-election since the day I was suspended,” Warren said in a video statement posted on his X account, adding that he ultimately decided against the bid because DeSantis “could suspend me again for whatever reason he wanted.”

DeSantis removed the Tampa-area prosecutor for “neglect of duty” in 2022, accusing him of not properly enforcing the law. “State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said in a statement at the time that critics decried as politically motivated.

The Republican Party of Florida formally voted to remove its chairman, Christian Ziegler, who is facing rape and video voyeurism allegations.

The move was widely expected after news broke last month that the Sarasota County Police Department was investigating allegations that Ziegler had raped a woman with whom he and his wife, Bridget, had had a previous sexual encounter.

Ziegler has denied wrongdoing and has not yet formally been charged, but a series of search warrant affidavits first obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability outlines the allegations in detail.

Read the full story here.

A handful of House lawmakers decided after spending time with family over the holidays that they won’t run for re-election this fall. Today saw one more join that growing list: Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., who was elected to Congress in the tea party wave of 2010.

“Scripture teaches us, ‘For everything there is a season,’ and it became clear to me over the Christmas holiday with much discernment and prayer that the time has come to bring my season in public service to a conclusion,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, I will not seek reelection to an eighth term and conclude my service in the House of Representatives at the end of the 118th Congress.”

Bucshon, a former Navy reservist and heart surgeon, isn’t one of the more well-known members of the House. But he serves on the influential Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues like health care and telecommunications.

Ramaswamy’s campaign will resume ad spending in Iowa this week following a pullback at the end of December. 

NBC News reported last month that Ramaswamy’s campaign stopped spending on TV ads. He responded in a post on X, saying TV ad spending is “idiotic, low-ROI & a trick that political consultants use to bamboozle candidates who suffer from low IQ.”

AdImpact, an ad-tracking service, shows ad buys coming in for Ramaswamy’s campaign that will start in Iowa tomorrow, but his campaign says the ads will start Wednesday, less than one week before the Jan. 15 caucuses.

So far, the campaign has only reserved $22,500 worth of TV ad time in the next week, but ad spending reservations are always subject to change and more could come in as the day goes on. 

Read the full story here.

Biden took a dig at Haley during a speech in the Republican presidential candidate's home state.

“For those who don’t seem to know, slavery was the cause of the Civil War,” he said, referencing the former South Carolina governor's widely criticized comments on the matter.

Biden also highlighted the experiences of Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, two Georgia election workers who were the subject of various right-wing attacks and conspiracy theories, calling them “two brave Black women”.

He also pushed back on Republican attempts to sanitize the events of Jan. 6, saying, “They tried to steal an election and now they’re trying to steal history.”

Read the full story here.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today that a special election will be held to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California’s 20th District in the Central Valley. The primary is set for March 19, with the special election May 21. 

For special elections in California, candidates from all parties compete on the same primary ballot. If a candidate wins more than 50% of the primary, he or she can fill the vacancy and there will not be a special general election. 

The district is likely to remain in GOP hands. McCarthy won re-election in 2022 by 34 percentage points, and Trump carried the 20th District by 25 points in 2020, per calculations from Daily Kos Elections.

Biden was interrupted as he delivered a campaign speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church by protesters shouting in support of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

"Cease-fire now!" several people chanted at the church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"No, that's all right," Biden responded to them.

The protesters were escorted out as they were drowned out by the remaining attendees who began standing up and chanting, "Four more years!"

DeSantis' closing TV ad in Iowa keys in on Haley's recent comment in New Hampshire that the state's role is to "correct" Iowa in the presidential nominating process, which Haley later brushed off as banter.

"Haley disparages the caucuses and insults you," the ad's narrator says after playing a clip of Haley making the comment in New Hampshire.

DeSantis also criticized Trump in the final ad. "Donald Trump is running for his issues. Nikki Haley’s running for her donors’ issues. I’m running for your issues," the Florida governor said in the spot.

Ramaswamy criticized Haley for canceling a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier today because of snow. Ramaswamy is scheduled to hold an event there later today.

"Nikki Haley cancelled her events in Sioux City, Iowa to 'avoid embarrassment.' I’m headed to Sioux City for our event right now," Ramaswamy posted on X. "We're not cancelling. Four events in northwest Iowa, keeping them intact. If you can’t handle the snow, you can’t handle Xi Jinping."

Ramaswamy quoted a user on X who wrongly said Haley canceled her event because no one showed up. The user posted a video from a report on MSNBC about the canceled Haley event that was deceptively edited.

Trump is moving to have the election interference charges against him in Georgia thrown out, arguing that he’s protected by presidential immunity.

Trump has made the same argument in the federal election interference case against him, which has been paused until an appeals court hears arguments on his claim tomorrow.

“The indictment is barred by presidential immunity and should be dismissed with prejudice,” the Fulton County Superior Court filing today said, arguing that “the power to indict a current or former President for official acts does not exist.”

Prosecutors have argued that Trump was acting outside the scope of his duties when he pressured officials in the state to reject the 2020 election results in the state, which Biden won.

Read the full story here.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., endorsed Trump, adding his name to the long list of congressional Republicans backing the former president's 2024 White House bid.

Alford’s endorsement comes one week ahead of the Iowa caucuses. The congressman was formerly a popular news anchor not too far down the road in Kansas City, making him at least somewhat known in the southern part of the Hawkeye State.

Trump has been endorsed by more than 100 members of the House, compared to five for DeSantis and one for Haley, per the NBC political unit's tracker.

Two new ads boosting Haley are hitting the airwaves in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Haley campaign's latest spot is her closing ad in Iowa, launching one week before the state's caucuses, the Washington Examiner reported over the weekend. The 30-second spot features a narrator saying that Haley would be a president “with grit and grace, a different style, not a name from the past,” as images of Biden and Trump flash on screen.

SFA Fund Inc., the pro-Haley super PAC, also launched a new ad today focused on New Hampshire, with roughly two weeks to go until the state's Jan. 23 primary.

The spot repeats a familiar argument from other recent ads, touting Haley's strength in a potential matchup against Biden.

Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor who was tapped by the White House to oversee the rollout of the infrastructure bill, has left the administration and taken a role in Biden's re-election campaign.

"Mitch Landrieu brings unique and valuable experience to this fight. Mitch has been a key leader in the Biden-Harris administration’s work to build a more fair and more free America, one where the economy is built from the middle out and the bottom up, everyone can live, work, and retire with the dignity they deserve, and that protects the rights of every single American," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.

Winter weather in Iowa is upending Republican presidential campaigns' schedules one week out from the caucuses.

Haley was set to hold an event in Sioux City this morning, but that was canceled because of snow. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, were also forced to cancel two events on behalf of the Trump campaign in the state today.

Haley is still set to participate in a Fox News town hall this evening. And Ramaswamy has several events in Iowa on his schedule.

On the Democratic side, Biden will travel to Charleston, South Carolina, to deliver a speech at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Biden's campaign is touting that it raised more than $1 million online in the 24 hours after the president's speech near Valley Forge on Friday.

“In election after election, democracy and freedom are mobilizing issues for the American people. in 2024, that will be no different, and we are encouraged by the strong grassroots enthusiasm we are seeing around the President’s core campaign message,” deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty said.

Trump, with a lead of about 30% in recent Iowa polling, is slow-rolling his way to the pivotal caucus night Jan. 15.

As his chief Republican rivals swarm the Hawkeye State in the closing week, Trump, the defiant front-runner, is choosing not to campaign with the usual fervor of a major presidential candidate — instead, opting to spend the majority of his time over the last month holding down at his Mar-a-Lago club and leaning on campaign surrogates to do his final bidding in the state.

This week, Trump will take part in a Wednesday night town hall hosted by Fox News but will not campaign otherwise until this weekend, the final two days before next Monday’s caucuses. He is also skipping a Republican debate, which Haley and DeSantis will attend. Tomorrow and Thursday, he will voluntarily attend two of his court proceedings — one in D.C. and the other in New York — instead of campaigning.

Read the full story here.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Amid declining support from Black voters, Biden heads today to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the site of a horrific hate crime in which a white supremacist massacred nine worshippers in 2015 — what his campaign sees as a high-stakes address as he kicks off the election year.

According to his campaign, Biden will warn that MAGA Republicans, led by Trump, are running on a dangerous agenda that is the polar opposite of American principles and will reiterate the stakes of the 2024 election when it comes to democracy and personal freedoms. 

The address at the historic church, known as “Mother Emanuel,” comes just days after Biden kicked off the campaign year near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, criticizing Trump for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

“He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” Biden said.