>>> BACK WITH MORE ON THE BREAKING NEWS. FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS RECEIVED A TARGET LETTER IN JACK SMITH'S JANUARY 6th PROBE. INSTANTLY MAKING HIS LEGAL TROUBLES ONCE AGAIN THE TOP ISSUE IN HIS 2024 CAMPAIGN TO RETAKE THE WHITE HOUSE. I WANT TO BRING IN VAUGHN HILLYARD FROM MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE. NBC'S NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT GABE GUTIERREZ IN SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO IS COVERING TRUMP'S RIVAL RON DeSANTIS TODAY. ALSO JOINING US IS FORMER REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR OF OHIO AND FORMER 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOHN KASICH. GOOD TO HAVE ALL OF YOU. VAUGHN, WHAT REACTION ARE WE HEARING FROM TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN TEAM? >> Reporter: SO FAR IN THE FIRST HOUR, ANA, SILENCE FROM SEVERAL OF THE CANDIDATES. ASA HUTCHINSON, THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS WHO IS RUNNING FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION SAID THIS SHOULD BE DISQUALIFYING OF DONALD TRUMP IF HE IS FOUND GUILTY OF EVER SERVING IN THE WHITE HOUSE AGAIN. NIKKI HALEY WAS ALSO JUST ON FOX NEWS A FEW MOMENTS AGO. I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO PART OF HER REMARKS. >> THAT'S WHY I AM RUNNING, IS BECAUSE WE NEED A NEW GENERATIONAL LEADER. WE CAN'T KEEP DEALING WITH THIS DRAMA. WE CAN'T KEEP DEALING WITH THE NEGATIVITY. WE CAN'T KEEP DEALING WITH ALL OF THIS. WE'VE GOT CHINA THAT'S LITERALLY TRYING TO BE AT WAR WITH US. YOU HAVE IRAN BUILDING A BOMB. YOU HAVE NORTH KOREA DETAINING A SOLDIER AND TESTING BALLISTIC MISSILES. WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE DEBT AND THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN SCHOOLS AND CRIME AND THE CRAZINESS ON THE BORDER. WE CAN'T BE SITTING THERE FOCUSED ON LAWSUITS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. >> Reporter: ANA, THE DIFFICULTY HERE FOR THESE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES RUNNING AGAINST DONALD TRUMP FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IS THE FACT THAT POLLING SHOWS A MAJORITY OF REPUBLICAN VOTERS BELIEVE THAT JOE BIDEN IS AN ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENT. IN A CNN POLL FROM MAY, 67% OF REPUBLICAN VOTERS SAID JOE BIDEN WAS AN ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENT. THE NUMBER OF DAYS SINCE JANUARY 6th, 2021, IT'S NOW 923 DAYS. THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUS COMING UP, 181. SEVERAL OF THESE REPUBLICANS HAVE ALLOWED THE NARRATIVE THAT DONALD TRUMP HAS PUT INTO THE ETHER FOR YEARS NOW TO PREVAIL. YOU KNOW, MIKE PENCE, OF COURSE, WHO HAS DEFENDED HIS ACTIONS ON THAT DAY BY CERTIFYING THE 2020 ELECTION, HE HAS BEEN CONFRONTED BY VOTERS ON THE ROAD. JUST LAST WEEK IN IOWA, ADDRESSING AN ANGRY REPUBLICAN IOWA VOTER WHO SAID THAT HE FAILED IN HIS OBLIGATIONS TO DEFEND THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY AND TO DEFEND THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE BY HIS ACTIONS THAT DAY. THIS HAS BEEN TOUGH FOR THESE REPUBLICANS WHO HAVE WANTED TO AVOID TAKING THIS HEAD ON. THE IDEA THAT THE ELECTION WAS RIGGED AND TAKEN HAS BEEN EFFECTIVELY SEEPED INTO THE MINDS OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REPUBLICAN ELECTORATE SINCE THE JANUARY 6th ATTACK. >> GABE, DeSANTIS IS THERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY. HE WAS LOOKING FOR A REBOOT OF HIS CAMPAIGN THIS WEEK. ONCE AGAIN, HE'S FINDING HIMSELF OVERSHADOWED BY TRUMP. >> Reporter: YEAH, TRUMP BY TRUMP. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE RON DeSANTIS CAMPAIGN, AS HE REPEATEDLY SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN. YES, ANA, WE'RE IN COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHERE THE GOVERNOR IS SET TO ROLL OUT HIS MILITARY POLICY IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS. EARLIER TODAY, HE FILED FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRIMARY TO BECOME THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO DO SO AHEAD OF NIKKI HALEY AND TIM SCOTT. AGAIN, THESE HEADLINES ARE COMING OUT ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL TROUBLES. NOW, WE HAVE HEARD NO COMMENT YET FROM THE CAMPAIGN, BUT GOVERNOR DeSANTIS IS EXPECTED TO TAKE QUESTIONS IN A FEW MOMENTS. THIS MIGHT BE AN INFLECTION POINT FOR THIS CAMPAIGN, ANA. GOVERNOR DeSANTIS HAS BEEN RELUCTANT TO TAKE ON DONALD TRUMP ON THIS ISSUE SPECIFICALLY. BEFORE HE TALKED ABOUT THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT, AS RECENTLY AS LAST MONTH HE SAID THAT ON DAY ONE, HE WOULD APPOINT A NEW LEADER OF THE FBI. HE HAS NOT CRITICIZED FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP DIRECTLY ON THIS ISSUE. AGAIN, WE ARE AWAITING GOVERNOR DeSANTIS IN A FEW MOMENTS, AS HE ROLLS OUT HIS MILITARY POLICY. WE EXPECT HIM TO TAKE QUESTIONS, AND WE WILL ASK ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENTS. >> WE ARE GETTING A I DIGSAL REACTION FROM THE CANDIDATES. THIS IS FROM GOVERNOR HUTCHINSON, WHO WE KNOW WE ALREADY HEARD FROM A LITTLE BIT THERE BY VAUGHN. ANYONE WHO TRULY LOVES HIS COUNTRY AND IS WILLING TO PUT THE COUNTRY OVER THEMSELVES WOULD SUSPEND THEIR CAMPAIGN, IS WHAT GOVERNOR ASA HUTCHINSON IS SAYING, WHO IS COMPETING FOR THE 2024 NOMINATION. KASICH, IF ANYTHING, IT SEEMS LIKE TRUMP IS ABLE TO USE THESE INDICTMENTS AGAINST HIM AS POLITICAL LEVERAGE. >> YEAH, IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT HE'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT, ANA. A COUPLE POINTS. ONE IS, WHEN YOU HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE QUESTIONING THE LEGITIMACY OF A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, I MEAN, THAT IS A REALLY, REALLY DEEPLY CONCERNING THING. WHEN SOMEBODY CANNOT LET GO OF POWER, THEN THEY CONVINCE THEIR FOLLOWERS THAT THERE WAS A RIP-OFF OF THE RESULT, THAT IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR THE FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. WE HEARD EARLIER, SOMEBODY WAS SUGGESTING, YOU KNOW, IT IS A SHAME WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO JANUARY 6th. I THINK IT'S FINE WE GO BACK TO JANUARY 6th. WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY WAS AN EFFORT TO TRY TO TAKE OVER CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY BY A CRAZY MOB. TO BE ABLE TO REVISIT THAT, PARTICULARLY WITH PEOPLE TO SERIOUSLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON, CAN BE A GOOD THING. PERHAPS WE CAN BURST THIS BUBBLE. ANA, I HAVE TO ALSO TELL YOU, I AM STRUCK BY THE CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH A VERY INTELLIGENT MAN WHEN DISCUSSING, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN COME OUT THAT WOULD CAUSE YOU TO QUESTION YOUR SUPPORT OF DONALD TRUMP? HE SAID, "NOTHING. THE REASON IT'S NOTHING IS I DON'T TRUST THE ELITES. I DON'T TRUST THE NEWS MEDIA. I DON'T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT." THAT IS WHAT WE'RE FACING, ANA. IT IS A SEMINAL QUESTION IN TERMS OF THE DIRECTION OF THE UNITED STATES, NOT JUST TODAY BUT OVER TIME. DONALD TRUMP LOST THAT ELECTION. THOSE PEOPLE WERE DOWN THERE IN THE CAPITOL. I USED TO SERVE IN THAT CAPITOL. THEY WERE BREAKING INTO THAT PLACE, HARMING PEOPLE. NOW, WE HAVE THE WHOLE BUSINESS OF THESE FAKE ELECTORS, WHERE ACCORDING TO THIS INDICTMENT, WE'LL SEE HOW IT ALL PLAYS OUT, THAT THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO THEN OVERTURN THIS WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR ELECTORS TO CAST THEIR VOTES. IT'S AMAZING, ISN'T IT? IT'S AMAZING. WHAT'S REALLY AMAZING IS THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO JUST SIMPLY ARE IN DENIAL ABOUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. I JUST WOULD LOVE TO THINK, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WE'VE REACHED THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE WILL SAY, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I KNOW HE HAS 30%, 35% OF THE VOTE ALMOST EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, BUT MAYBE OVER TIME, AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER INDICTMENT IN ALL LIKELIHOOD COMING OUT OF GEORGIA, MAYBE OVER TIME, SOME OF THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, ENOUGH'S ENOUGH. WE'VE GOT TO WAIT AND SEE. >> YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TRUMP'S COMPETITORS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE, THOUGH, SAYING ENOUGH'S ENOUGH. THEY ARE TIPTOEING AROUND, YOU KNOW, ATTACKING -- >> IT'S CRAZY. I MEAN -- >> IF YOU EXPECT THE VOTERS TO SAY ENOUGH'S ENOUGH, VOTERS WHO LIKE TRUMP, WHO WANT TO SUPPORT HIM, YET YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO WIN THE NOMINATION AND TAKE THAT VICTORY FROM TRUMP WILLING TO DISTANCE THEMSELVES BY SAYING THAT THIS IS WRONG, HOW DO YOU EXPECT THAT TO TRICKLE DOWN? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, LOOK, A LEADER IS SOMEBODY THAT IS WILLING TO GET OUT AND SAY THINGS AND TAKE THE HEAT. TOO MANY POLITICIANS ARE NOT LEADING INDICATORS. THEY'RE FOLLOWING INDICATORS. THEY'RE LIVING IN THE FEAR THAT THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE SOMEBODY UPSET. ANA, IT ALL GETS DOWN TO WHAT I LIKE TO THINK WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN, THAT PRINCIPLE MATTERS MORE SOMETIMES, ALMOST VIRTUALLY ALL THE TIME, OVER SUCCESS. LET ME JUST SAY, ALL THE TIME. PRINCIPLE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE. YOU ABANDON YOUR PRINCIPLES -- LOOK, WHEN I TOOK ON TRUMP FROM THE BEGINNING, REFUSED TO ENDORSE HIM, REFUSED TO GO TO THE CONVENTION, ENDORSED JOE BIDEN, I'M NOT CALLING MYSELF OUT AS A GREAT LEADER, BUT I DID WHAT I FELT I HAD TO DO. TODAY, WHEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR, I'M PROUD OF MYSELF. SO IS MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS. MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO THE CONCLUSION THAT MAYBE KASICH WAS RIGHT. I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF THESE CANDIDATES WHO ARE AT THE HEAD OF THE PACK WILLING TO STAND UP AND SAY SOMETHING, AND I'D LIKE THE DONORS TO STAND UP AND HELP THEM. THE PROBLEM WE HAVE NOW IS MANY PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO MAKE A WINNER, THEY WANT TO BE WITH THE WINNER. WE'VE JUST GOT TO KEEP WATCHING, ANA. IT'S REALLY SUCH A DISTURBING TIME. IN SOME SENSE, I DON'T WANT TO SAY FRIGHTENING, MAYBE I SHOULD SAY A FRIGHTENING TIME, WHEN WE WATCH WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY. LOOK, WE'LL SURVIVE THIS. WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS. WE'LL GET ON TOP OF IT, BUT IT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME GREAT MEN AND WOMEN TO HAVE COURAGE, SPEAK OUT, AND DO SOME THINGS THEY WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO. >> THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF PEOPLE IN YOUR PARTY WHO BELIEVE TRUMP AND WHO DISAGREE WITH YOU, THAT THIS IS A BAD THING. >> I KNOW. >> THAT HE IS AS POPULAR AS HE IS. >> HEY -- >> HE'S BEEN GAINING GROUND IN THE POLLS. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? >> AGAIN, THEY'RE KIND OF LOOK AT TRUMP IS AGAINST -- THE WHOLE WORLD IS AGAINST TRUMP AND HE IS BEING PICKED UPON. ANA, LET'S NOT OVEREXAGGERATE THIS. WE'VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO. WE'VE GOT DEBATES COMING UP. WE HAVE THESE INDICTMENTS. THIS INDICTMENT IS COMING OUT AND PERHAPS ANOTHER ONE. WE CAN'T THINK ABOUT THIS ONLY IN THE PRESENT. THE THING THAT'S SO INTERESTING ABOUT POLITICS IS WHAT IS TRUE TODAY IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE TOMORROW. SAY YOU HAVE A BREAKOUT STAR IN THE FIRST DEBATE. SAY YOU HAVE A BREAKOUT STAR IN A SECOND DEBATE. THEN THINGS BEGIN TO CHANGE. THE GROUND BEGINS TO CHANGE. PEOPLE BEGIN TO HAVE A DIFFERENT PERCEPTION OF NOT ONLY DONALD TRUMP, BUT TRUMP'S COMPETITORS. I AM TOLD THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WATCHING IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO SEE WHO WILL STAND UP EFFECTIVELY AGAINST DONALD TRUMP. DIFFERENT THAN '16. TODAY, YOU HAVE TO STAND UP AGAINST HIM AND STAND STRONG. IF YOU DON'T WIN, AT LEAST YOU HAVE YOUR DIGNITY AND YOUR INTEGRITY. THAT'S WHAT I THINK REALLY MATTERS, NOT JUST IN POLITICS BUT IN LIFE. >> FORMER GOVERNOR
