Over a third of his supporters have said they would happily go to another candidate. They just need more time to look at them. So that's where Trump's weakness really is. It's not a fate of complete. I know a lot of the, not you per se, but a lot in the media are like, oh, this is over, this is over. It's really not. Remember this guy named Barack Obama who they said had no chance against Hillary Clinton in the Clinton machine

and all of that back in 08. In about six months, things got very, very different. So you have to

let the process play out. That's New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu pushing back against new national

polling that shows Donald Trump's lead only growing in the Republican presidential primary.

We'll have a lot more on those numbers in just a moment.

Meanwhile, half of Congress returns to Capitol Hill today with a long to-do list, including a new federal budget.

But demands from far-right members of the House could complicate getting a deal

done before the end of the month. Plus, Vladimir Putin is turning to yet another dictator for more

weaponry for his war in Ukraine. We'll have that brand new reporting straight ahead.

Good morning and welcome to way too early on this Tuesday, September 5th.

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend.

I'm Jonathan Lemire.

Thanks for starting your day and week with us. New polling shows that Donald Trump's Republican primary lead is growing as support collapses for the person who was once viewed as his most viable opponent. In the latest Wall Street Journal survey, 59% of GOP primary voters say that Trump is their choice for 2024. That's up from 48% in April. In second place, down a whopping 11 points from April is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,

who now stands at just 13%. All other candidates earn just a single-digit support. The poll also shows that

most Republicans think the criminal cases against Trump are illegitimate, especially the two

relating to election interference. More than 70% say those cases are without merit, while just over 20%

say the charges are legitimate. Overall,

48% of Republicans say the charges against Trump make them more likely to vote for him.

16% say the charges make them less likely to support them, while 36% say the charges have no impact on

their support for the former president. Now, Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is waiving his formal

arraignment in pleading not guilty in the Fulton County election interference case.

Late on Friday, Giuliani's legal team entered a court filing with the plea.

...