Reporter Bears Unbearable Iowa Weather For Taste of Ordeal Facing Caucus Voters

MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard braved the cold weather on camera in Iowa on Saturday as he reported on former President Donald Trump's campaign plans that could be affected by the  “negative 20 windchill” and icy weather conditions in the state.

“Donald Trump’s support [is] largely in the rural areas, which would require folks to make the extra drive and commitment to go and caucus for him,” Hillyard said.

But "at the same time, we have seen consistently in the data that Donald Trump has the most enthusiastic supporters and, frankly, the most firm support, as well, here. But these are the dynamics," he added.

"Is there much enthusiasm for [rival] Nikki Haley? Frankly, we haven’t seen it on the trail. But in the more urban areas around the Des Moines areas where it’s a little easier to get to places in the suburbs? Could that help boost her? Those are the questions we’re going to be looking at here in the next 48 hours.”

All of the Republican presidential hopefuls had to cancel events in Iowa this weekend before the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus on Monday.

Hillyard discussed the importance of enthusiasm in a caucus state — and a very cold caucus state at that — with "The Weekend’s" Symone Sanders, who said inclement weather is “a campaign’s worst nightmare in a caucus state. Enthusiasm matters."

This is "not just going to a polling place and casting a ballot and going home," she added.

Hillyard also noted difficulties with parking at the polls when some areas haven't yet been plowed.

“Parking is tough,” Hillyard said. “You’ve got to walk over the black ice, it’s going to be after sundown to get in there, and most cases, it’s going to be a secret ballot."

He mentioned some "skepticism" he's heard about whether or not Trump voters will turn out.

Hillyard noted: "I have seen time and again that the loyalty of this movement around him is so stark that folks are willing to wait in, frankly, awful conditions .... The question is, are there enough of them?"