Iowa entrance polls show MAGA fans turned out for caucus: Live updates

Donald Trump holds commanding lead over challengers Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy

Trump cancels events in Iowa ahead of caucus as temperatures drop

The 2024 Republican candidates are eagerly awaiting the results of the Iowa caucuses on Monday – though if polling tells us anything, it’s that Donald Trump has a predictable commanding lead over the other candidates.

In a survey, conducted by The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Medicom, 48 per cent of potential voters said the former president was their first choice of Republican presidential candidates.

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley was behind Mr Trump with 20 per cent support followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 16 per cent.

Vivek Ramaswamy had just 8 per cent while only 5 per cent of potential voters said they were still unsure.

Of the survey respondents more than half said they had their minds made up regarding who they would cast their vote for.

But for the 32 per cent who could still be persuaded to support a candidate, the presidential candidates are fighting hard to convince them to join their teams.

Key points

• Nearly half of Haley supporters would back Biden over Trump
• Results of the final Iowa poll
• When will we know the Iowa results?
• The last stand of Ron DeSantis?
• How Trump broke the Iowa caucuses

[4 March 2024 18:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Super Tuesday: When is it, which states are participating and how many delegates are at stake?

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of tomorrow’s big day on which 15 states and one territory go to the polls, which promises to be make-or-break for Nikki Haley.

[4 March 2024 17:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Protester grabbed at Jill Biden event after calling for Gaza ceasefire

A protester was violently grabbed and pulled by the crowd at an event with First Lady Jill Biden after they called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Dr Biden spoke in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday and it was at the Fox Theatre in Tuscon that multiple protesters were removed from the premises after interrupting her speech, which was primarily about Republican efforts to curb abortion rights.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

[4 March 2024 17:05 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: Scarborough lays into Comer over impeachment inquiry

[4 March 2024 16:50 · Oliver O'Connell]

Trump celebrates ‘big win’ after Supreme Court hands him victory

Former president Donald Trump celebrated a personal victory on Monday morning after the Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s decision to remove him from its presidential primary ballot under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.

For months, Mr Trump had been fighting Colorado, as well as other states, for invoking the novel “insurrection clause” to disqualify him from the state’s primary.

The former president was accused of aiding an insurrection through his rhetoric on January 6, 2021.

Ariana Baio has the story:

[4 March 2024 16:31 · Oliver O'Connell]

New poll finds most Americans think Biden too old to be effective as president

Most American voters believe Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College.

As many as 73 per cent of registered voters responded as such to the survey, with 61 per cent of those who voted for him in 2020 saying they believe his age will make him ineffective in a second term.

The poll, released on Friday, is the latest in a string of criticisms concerning the president’s advanced age as the 81-year-old seeks re-election in November, squaring up against likely opponent Donald Trump, who is only four years his junior.

Some 42 per cent of voters believe Mr Trump is too old to be commander-in-chief.

“Polling continues to be at odds with how Americans vote, and consistently overestimates Donald Trump while underestimating President Biden,” the president’s campaign communications manager Michael Tyler told Politico.

“Whether it’s in special elections or in the presidential primaries, actual voter behaviour tells us a lot more than any poll does and it tells a very clear story: Joe Biden and Democrats continue to outperform while Donald Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided. Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win – just like we did in 2020.”

The poll shows Mr Trump has a four percentage point lead over Mr Biden, 48 per cent to 44 per cent.

Were Mr Biden to go up against former UN ambassador Nikki Haley this year, she would beat him 46 to 37 per cent, the poll found.

[4 March 2024 16:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Harris demands ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza

US vice president Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday that would last for six weeks as she spoke in Selma, Alabama, on the anniversary of the civil rights march later known as “Bloody Sunday”.

“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire – for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” she said, standing with her back to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Harris also delivered one of the sternest condemnations of Israel’s failure to allow humanitarian aid to citizens of the Gaza Strip from the White House so far, remarks that came after Israel’s military was widely criticised for opening fire as Palestinians gathered at an aid truck carrying flour.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed in the incident, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to act,” Harris said.

“The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses.”

John Bowden reports.

[4 March 2024 15:49 · Oliver O'Connell]

Trump can stay on 2024 ballots says Supreme Court but ignores ‘insurrection’ role

The US Supreme Court has determined that Donald Trump can remain on 2024 presidential election ballots across the country, marking a reversal of a landmark Colorado court decision that found him constitutionally ineligible because of his actions on January 6.

But the justices ignored the question at the heart of the case, which revolves around whether then-President Trump “engaged in insurrection” by fuelling a mob that stormed the US Capitol.

Monday’s ruling did not include any discussion on the central premise of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision, as well as decisions from officials in Illinois and Maine. The justices instead determined that only Congress – not states – has the authority to disqualify candidates for federal office.

Alex Woodward reports:

[4 March 2024 15:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Majority of voters believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, poll shows

A majority of voters – 73 per cent – say that President Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president, according to a new poll.

But, 42 per cent say the same about Donald Trump.

The latest New York Times/Siena College survey conducted late last month found that 47 per cent of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that President Biden is too old to be effective, while 26 per cent somewhat agreed. Fourteen per cent somewhat disagreed and 11 per cent strongly disagreed.

For Trump, 21 per cent strongly agreed that he’s too old, another 21 per cent somewhat agreed, 23 per cent somewhat disagreed and 32 per cent strongly disagreed.

Concerns about Mr Biden’s age now threaten his re-election effort, even as both he and Trump are showing signs of their age, often appearing confused and making obvious verbal blunders during public appearances.

Biden, the oldest serving president in US history, is 81, and Trump, the third-oldest, is 77.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

[4 March 2024 14:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Haley says she no longer feels bound by RNC pledge to endorse winner of Republican primary

Trump’s rival was grilled by Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press yesterday about whether or not she would stand by the Republican National Committee (RNC)’s pledge she took to endorse the eventual winner of the Republican presidential primary.

Trump is, of course, currently leading in the primary and Haley would be expected to endorse him if he is eventually chosen to be the nominee.

“Do you still feel bound by that pledge?” Welker asked.

After skirting around the question, Haley finally answered her directly: “No, I think I’ll make what decision I want to make.”

[4 March 2024 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump crowd goes silent as he confuses Biden and Obama yet again

The crowd of Trump supporters that gathered in Richmond, Virginia, to hear their hero speak on Saturday night fell silent as the former president appeared to mix up presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama yet again.

“Shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” Trump blustered.

“I know them both very well and we will restore peace through strength. Get that war settled. It’s a bad war. And Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word,” he added, seemingly labouring under the delusion that Biden’s former boss remains in charge.

There were plenty of other moments during Trump’s campaign events in Greensboro, North Carolina, and later in Richmond in which he appeared to struggle to deliver his speech or otherwise appeared confused.

Gustaf Kilander has more.