with nikki haley and ramaswamy and binkley. watch online at c-span.org. >> c-span now is your free mobile app. keep up with the day's biggest events with floor proceedings and hearings from u.s. congress, white house events, the courts and campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips. you also can stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and scheduling information for c-span's tv networks and c-span radio and a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play. scan the q.r. code to download free today or visit our website, c-span.org/c-spannow. your front row seat to washington, any time, any where.

>> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this, it looks like this where americans can see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source, on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased word for word from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> good morning, welcome to today's "washington journal." we'll start with the poll reported on actionist. the headline says -- reported on axios. republicans happier with candidates than democrats. this was a quinnipiac poll taken last month. it asked two questions, satisfied with the current candidates, republicans, 67%

said they were and 29% said they would like to see other candidates enter the race. satig other candidates to enter. independents, the biggest difference, only 20% satisfied and 72% said they would like to see other candidates enter the race. here is the associated press with this headline, many voters are weary about a election in 2024. families.

their odds are exceedingly long. george washington was the only one to win without party affiliation and an incumbent has not lost his party's presidential nomination since franklin pierce in 1856. abraham lincoln's in abraham lincoln election in 1960 marked the last time someone from a new party, in his case the republican party won the white house. but with the united states deeply divided and somewhat anxious about the prospects of another biden-trump campaign, third party candidate insists voters are restless enough to defy history. wonder what you think about that. the gop primary debate the gop candidates were asked about foreign policy and it led to this exchange among nikki haley, vivek ramaswamy, and chris

christie. >> there is no one happier right now than putin because all the attention america had on ukraine went to israel and that is what they were hoping was going to happen. we need to make sure we have full clarity that there is a reason that taiwanese want to help ukrainians. they know if ukraine wins, china will not invade. there is a reason they want to help israelis. if iran wins, russia wins. but what wins all of that is a strong america and that is what joe biden has not given us. [applause] >> foreign policy experience is not the same as foreign policy wisdom. i want everybody at home to know i was the first to say we need a reasonable peace deal in ukraine. now they are coming along to that position with the exception of nikki haley and joe biden who still support, what i believe, is pointless war in ukraine.

i believe those with foreign policy experience -- something that nikki haley and joe biden have in common -- is they could not state three provinces in eastern ukraine they want to send our troops to fight for. these people -- she has no idea what the hell the names of those provinces are but she wants to send our sons and daughters and military equipment. reject the myth they have been selling you that she has real foreign policy experience. look at the blank expression. [booing] [crosstalk] >> let me say something. his reasonable peace deal -- he made it clear. give them the land they have already stolen, promised putin you will never put ukraine in russia, and then trust putin not

to have a relationship with china. >> that is not my deal. >> it is exactly what you said. >> i will describe my deal. >> do not interrupt me. i did not interrupt you. >> you want to send our kids to die, ok. >> you go out and say something and all of us eat on video, we confront you on the debate stage, you say you did not say it. >> i will say it. >> i am not done yet. [cheering] this is the fourth debate you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in america. [cheering] host: that was from the debate on wednesday. we are taking your calls this our about the 2024 election. marion is up first in new york, republican. caller: can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead.

caller: i am definitely for trump. he has a record of getting this country together again. we had a good three or four years ago. we did not have all these immigrants coming over that we do not know what they are going to do, especially with the thing that happened in israel. it is terrible. i believe trump is the only person, if the democrats do not screw things up and do something stupid like they did the last time -- and they have thrown everything at trump so he does not run, because they know he is going to close the border and start drilling. that is what our country needs right now. biden has ruined our country. he has ruined it. and he is so afraid of the mob that he cannot speak up. he is weak and if trump was

president, this never would have happened. we would never have had two wars. we would not have had open borders with people coming over that we do not know what they are going to do. we heard the fbi -- i forgot his name -- but he has never seen so many red lights for terrorism in this country as he does right now. it is only a matter of time and the only one we can blame is biden. he refuses to go back on his policies. i hope these republicans that were just on stand up and don't go back on what they are saying. don't sign another bill or send any more money to these other countries until we close our own borders and we secure our own country. host: got it. let's go to sterling, virginia.

democrat andy, good morning. caller: i want to say to that previous caller, have you lost your mind? half of this country is bat crap crazy. to think they would get a putin clown to be president again -- he has to be the most corrupt, the most immoral man we have had in the white house. as far as president biden is concerned, president biden is a godsend. he basically has saved this country from falling into a trump dictatorship. he rescued nato. he is helping the people of ukraine fight against trump's favorite buddy, putin. if we do not re-elect president biden as our president, we will become an autocracy. we will become a dictatorship

and the united states of america will cease to exist. i cannot believe the cowards in the republican party. i cannot believe that half this country has such a perverted sense of patriotism that they would re-elect a man who said he did not want any amputees, any soldiers seriously injured, to be at any of his military celebrations because he did not like the site of that. to think he would support this man is incredible. he is a joke. he is dangerous to democracy. i hope he never sees the inside of the white house. host: i want to ask you about what marion said about the borders. she said under trump the borders were closed, now they are wide open. how do you respond? caller: the republicans do not want to pursue any legislation

that makes the borders more secure. they want to use that as a political tool in this year's election. just like they want to use this unfounded impeachment inquiry into president biden. they have no evidence to go after president biden. no ties to hunter biden's business dealings, but once again, they are only good for shutting down the government and giving big cash cuts to the rich and corporations. that is all they are good for. that is basically it. thank you. host: michael in ottawa, kansas, independent. caller: voting 20 years and generally vote democrat on the ticket. i called the dnc this year and let them know i would likely

have to sit these out. pretty sure there is nobody on either side that deserves a vote. host: you are not going to vote this year? is that what you decided? caller: more than likely against biden but i will have to wait and see. host: all right. let's talk to charlie next, republican in massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning, mimi. nice to talk to you again. host: nice to talk to you charlie. caller: i like your nail polish better this week. you started with vivek ramaswamy video from the debate the other night. to beat up on him, i believe, even though you are the fairest person on the show.

i am losing my thought. he is the only guy that tells the truth. when he confronted nikki, she was dumbfounded when he talked about the three regions in the ukraine. the most important reason i am calling is because trump is going to be the nominee and biden is going to be the nominee if he makes it. host: are you happy with that? are you happy with trump becoming the nominee or would rather see some of the out? caller: i would like vivek to be

the nominee. host: tell him why you like him better than trump. caller: because he tells the truth. he is trump 2.0. he is a businessman. he is not a corrupt politician. he tells it like it is. he wants to help the country. why the hell does he need to do this? he might be a billionaire. why would he want to do this? he is an immigrant from india and he knows how the world is so terrible. he knows the only other place -- the only place you can do and live free is america. host: all right, charlie. earlier this week at a fox news town hall in iowa former president trump was asked by sean hannity if he would use power as retribution against his political opponents.

[video clip] >> you are promising america tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody. >> except day one. >> meeting? >> i want to close the border and i want to drill, drill, drill. >> that is not retribution. [cheering] >> he says, you are not going to be a dictator? no, no, no, other than day one. we are closing the border and after that we are drilling, drilling, drilling. host: that was the former president. here is ruth in illinois, democrat. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: i am doing good. caller: thank you for taking my call. i totally believe in president biden. i believe that he should run.

he should be re-elected. as for the republicans, the only person i feel is telling the truth -- and i am old enough and lived on the east coast in massachusetts for many years -- is chris christie. i have voted republican in the past but aa registered democrat. i feel that chris does also tell the truth. the other three that were there -- and i did watch the debate -- would not say they felt 45 was unfit. i doven like to say his name. i get very upset with the media when they refer to him as president. he is not the president. he thinks he is, but he isn't. he is definitely unfit. i know they hated him in new york state.

i am old enough -- i have voted -- i can remember back to my first election when johnson was re-elected. i remember kennedy. i also feel the republicans do not have anyone that could even remotely get my vote. i cannot understand closing the border because, in my opinion, yes, there does need to be more done. however, do they all forget back in 2017 when the dingbat -- excuse me, 45 -- put these people in a concentration camp, separated all those children, and it took them years to find their parents?

they say he did great with our economy. i hate to say this but i was on my husband's's and my social security. i got no relief. i got no help. but i did last year. i received a raise. we will receive a raise this year on social security. i just cannot believe these people that believe the lies that 45 keeps saying. or the people that are also running. that is my opinion. host: appreciate your opinions. ed in ocean city, new jersey, independent. caller: ima third-party candidate for president and we thank c-span for putting on the lesser known candidates in new hampshire. two years they put the whole three hours on 23 times. but a lot of these third-party candidates are some of the most

sincere people you will meet. they play an important role because we discuss issues being ignored. host: like what? caller: one of my issues that gets too little attention is reducing stress in the workplace, especially for the blue-collar worker. making the workplace a clean, neat, friendly place. another one is mental health courses in high schools, which my charity does. third-party candidates play an important role in helping people. these political parties need to be put out of business. they are insincere. host: how was your campaign going? are you raising money? i am assuming this is a write-in campaign? caller: i have run for 38 years -- that is a record -- and i get decent publicity. i am getting the message out.

i know i am helping a lot of people. host: ryan is next, republican in north carolina. good morning. caller: hello. i would like to know something. what are the democrats -- what is their plan for immigration? i would like to know that. i do not think they have a plan for immigration. i want to notice comprehensive immigration reform. what are the details? i am voting for trump. i would rather vote for ramaswamy or desantis but if it is between trump and biden, i have to go trump again. what is their plan? host: ok. joe is in tulsa, oklahoma. caller: how are you? host: good.

go ahead. caller: i have always voted for the person but i am registered democrat and have been since i started to vote. but this year i have pretty much made up my mind that i will vote for anybody other than donald trump. host: why is that, jo? caller: i worked at school the first time he was elected and i was working in a room that there were second graders. five little second graders from different parts of the school because it was a classroom -- it was the computer class. it was kind of an elective thing. they came from five different classrooms. five little children came up to my desk at one time, in unison, and they said, oh, miss jo,

donald trump hates us. i can see with his manners why children would think our president hates me. i said, children, don't worry about donald trump. we love you. from then on i decided i would never vote for donald trump. he has no manners. he has no respect for anything other than himself, if he has respect for himself. host: all right. earlier this week president biden was asked if any democrat other than him could beat donald trump. [video clip] >> do you think there are any democrats that could beat donald trump other than you? pres. biden: i am not the only one but i will defeat him. host: also, some news for you

that we became aware of yesterday evening about the president's's son. here is the new york times. hunter biden faces indictment on tax charges, nine counts of evasion, and republicans on the cost of biden impeachment inquiry vote. we are takg ur calls this morning on the 202leion4. are you satisfied with your choice of candidates? do you wish someone else would run? veou already made up your mind? later this morning we will be getting the jobs numbers from the department of labor and we will share those as soon as we get them. don a republican in st. joseph, missouri. caller: good morning, everyone. donald trump is a natural. he has been president. he was a good president and he has got all the right answers coming out of his mouth.

people that are for biden, they are brainwashed, only listen to one news source, msnbc and cnn, and they do not click around on the cable channels. i got cable -- i am going into fiber -- but the only listen to the old cnn, abc. they are brainwashed. if they listen to president trump for five minutes they would say, man, this guy is with it. ramaswamy is a little bit naive still but he is right about mcdaniel.

i was wanting to hear from perry johnson. i was wanting to hear from pastor binkley, but no, they cut them out. i don't know who makes those decisions but it is ridiculous. only had four people on their this last time -- there this last time. everything that comes out of president trump's mouth is down the line good. anybody who wants to see that ridiculous old, crusty guy joe biden in there, isil sorry for their mental condition. host: liz cheney gave some interviews to some media outlets.

the washington post says, liz cheney weighs third-party nomination. she is determined to stop other trump critics and things third-party candidacy could help him. here is a quot what she said. "several years ago i would not have conted a third-party run. i hao think democracy is at risk at home. obviously, as a result old republican party, and i think democracy is at risk internationally as well. we face threats that could be existential to thed states and we need a candidate who is ing to be able to deal with and address and confront all those challenges. that will be a part of my calculation as we go into the early months of 2024." that was former representative liz cheney. ray is next, rockwood, tennessee, independent. caller: hello.

i am 84-years-old and i never thought i would live to see the day where the tv, radio, printing press, no one would let a man named rodrick kennedy junior be on the campaign trail to be president. what has happened to everything? nobody knows he is running. nobody hears him give a speech unless you go to youtube. why didn't i hear about december 7, 1941 yesterday? not one person on tv and nobody i know said anything. why was that? host: pearl harbor day. that is actually on the front page of the wall street journal this morning. you can take a look at that article. survivors remember pearl harbor.

also about rfk junior, he was on c-span. go to c-span.org and you can watch that entire interview and take a look at other appearances he might have had. it will be in our video library. joseph is up next in virginia, republican. caller: good morning. how you doing? host: good. caller: how many people took donald trump's refund he released to everybody and the democratic people probably took some too. donald trump has done a lot for this country. best president i have ever seen.

i know they are trying to get him out of the voting part so he does not re-run, but what happens to his votes if he is found guilty of these charges? host: good question. but regardless if he is found guilty or if he is convicted, you would still vote for the former president? caller: yes, i would. host: let's talk to lisa next, democrat in new york. caller: good morning and happy holidays. i am a biden supporter. i really do not understand how people can vote for trump. i don't understand. if you are christian, he is talking retribution and revenge on his first day. as a veteran, he tells you that

she serves you like a dummy. he does not respect them. as a black person, he thinks the ku klux klan are nice people. [laughs] as a constitutionalist, he wants to get rid of the constitution. i am just sad the way this country is now where it seems we dwell on sensationalism and things that are not really nice. that's it. thank you for hearing me out and have a wonderful day. host: you too, lisa. let's look at the biden/harris campaign that released an ad last week. [video clip] >> my name is jody. i have been a pediatric nurse 18 years. i love what i do but we need

more support. the last administration's policies were so troubling and our health care system has become a business and people are becoming billionaires off the backs of sick people. i have seen the heartbreak when parents are trying to figure out how they are going to pay for medicine to keep their kid healthy. we are seeing lots of positive changes and thanks to president biden and vice president harris families can afford medication now. the biden administration lower the cost of prescription drugs and passed laws to make health care more affordable. the idea we could go back to policies that help the rich get richer and left so many people behind, i don't want to go back. we cannot go back. >> i am joe biden and i approve this message. host: that was the biden/harris campaign ad. we are taking your calls on

whether or not you are happy with your choices for the presidential election. ray is in henderson, new york, independent. caller: good morning. it is so nice for an old man like myself to be talking to such a beautiful young lady this morning. all my life i have been listening to people say this is the best we can do, this is the best we can do. there has never been satisfaction with the candidates. it is nothing new. i remember eisenhower being called a doddering old man and he goes on and on. i am an independent but i will tell you that in my lifetime no president got more accomplished in four years than donald trump. i will vote for him.

it is sad -- i am not republican -- but it is sad one party wants to talk about the issues and the other party -- and this is all my life -- just wants to engage in character assassination. host: when he said he has accomplished a lot in the four years, what are some of the things you feel he has accomplished? caller: in my lifetime, and i am an old man, there was never a stronger, better economy than the one we had during the trump administration. there was no wars. there is plenty of wars now and say what you want about his personality, he is extremely effective. he got on a plane and went to north korea. you can say what you want about it but our state department and 10,000 people being overpaid never got anything accomplished. whether you like it or not the

world is full of dangerous people. you either find of way to get along with them -- a way to get along with them or we go from war to war to war, and i don't want my grandsons going to war. we are in trouble right now everywhere. joe biden is a flat out criminal. he is a crook. the information is coming out. you can choose as a democrat not to look at it, but his son is a drug addicted, influence peddling -- he has taken bribes and it is coming out. millions of dollars. you cannot hide it. the bank records are there. it is disappointing the mainstream media not be honest about it. if they were as aggressive toward the bidens as they are toward the trumps, he would not be president right now. host: here is a text we got from

jotexas who says, i am satisf overall with the candidates running for pnt . in the primary i would choose marion wson. what i am not with is the dnc not holding debates. it is time we get out of the trump/biden mess. ad marion williamson on and you can check thatut at c-span.org. 2025 when democrats rakthe house and trump is convicted and reelected anyway. get rey r his next impeachment. pamela said, i am extremely country that lifts up men like trump. the mere suggestion of a dictatorship, the criminal allegations, the sexual assault, the university fraud, is this the best the gop has to offer? i wonder what you think about that.

we will hear from kristi next in fairfax, virginia. caller: good morning. i would like to start off this thing in lamentations 5:2. our inheritance would be taken over by strangers. is that not what is happening? 98% of people are coming -- males are coming from other countries. i look at the state of chicago, illinois, california, arizona, new york, and colorado. do people know the history that happened in those states with the south and central americans that are now coming back to these states?

they are not coming back to play hopscotch. they are trying to claim their land back. let's be honest about things. i just want to give big ups to sarah huckabee sanders and kristi noems. these women are not afraid to take the fight to the enemy. i wish what a lot of the lawmakers would follow what these women are doing and take the fight to where it needs to be. donald trump has superseded his duties as president for the american people. donald trump in 2024, hands down. god bless america. host: george is a democrat in virginia.

hi, george. caller: how you doing? host: good. caller: i cannot listen to anymore of this. these cult people following trump is unreal. somebody was spot on when they were talking about dictatorship. and chris christie, i would vote for him because he is telling the truth. he is the only one up there not following everything trump is doing. it is ridiculous. i don't know what has happened to this country. host: here is the headline from politico that says, trump's dictator remark puts 2024 campaign where biden wants it. the president's team used the remarks to showcase wide biden views trump as a threat to democracy.

let's take a look at a campaign ad. this is nikki haley's first of the primary season. [video clip] >> a president must have moral clarity and know the difference between good and evil. today, china russia and iran are advancing. there is chaos in our streets and college campuses. our security is threatened at home and abroad. it is time for a new generation of leadership. we have to leave behind the chaos of the past and strengthen our country, our pride, and our hearts. i am nikki haley and i approve this message. host: we are taking your calls. going back now to virginia, independent. caller: hi. that last ad, what you think she means by the drama in the past? she is talking about the insurrection and all that stuff and all of trump's misgivings. that is what she means by that. i wanted to say about the two

candidates. these are the worst two candidates that could be nominated. i am 30-years-old and i voted democrat most of my life. under no circumstance will i be voting for genocide joe or the other democratic people going. i would like to see marion williamson. not trump. but the thing that really gets me upset the most is i voted early rather than waiting for election day when i did not know most of the democrats would be supporting israel and their genocide. if i would have known that, i would not have voted for them either. i wish we had actual people that cared about the working people rather than the most popular people that can get the votes. that is all i have to say. host: eric in buffalo, new york, democrat. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: i am going to refer to

this as the beast that follows donald trump. i am a supporter of joe biden. if it was a physical race -- not to mention he is killing him on the mental side --trump walked into a good obama economy. he gave all the rich tax breaks. instead of managing covid-19 he says he is not wearing a mask and it is going to disappear soon. and go drink bleach. it is a shame you want to focus on joe biden's son but forget about his son-in-law. donald trump is a criminal. if republicans are law and order, you start and finish with donald trump. you hijack everything. y'all hijack christianity.

y'all hijack law and order. there is no truth to anything republicans do. they vote against everything, everything to help the poor. you hijack the bible. why don't you open it up and read the bible? the bible explains who is more important. it is not rich. it is definitely the poor. when it comes to republican and democrat, if you ever want to get my attention, change your ways. i know it is not happening. donald trump is the antichrist. did not believe it 20 years ago but now i can see from the zombies how revelation is true to every word. host: let's go to the republican line next. north carolina, barbara, good morning.

caller: good morning. are you there? host: yes. go ahead. caller: people talk about trump this and that. i know he is not god but people like him because he is for the united states. i was born here and reared here. if you do not like living here, i suggest you move to another country. but trump's religious. he is for us and he is good for us. host: when you say trump is religious, how did you come to that conclusion? caller: he might not even be christian but he knows who made this world. he gave us our last breath, jesus christ.

people have forgotten where we came from and who put us here. host: let's talk to david next in the iveta, independent. -- in nevada, independent. caller: good morning. this is my first time being on a program like this. host: welcome. caller: thank you. religious freedom was why people moved over here. we all should have religious freedom. trump is the biggest joke i have ever seen. i laid on the couch sick as a dog listening to him for years and years with my mom. i do not believe a word he said and now that he said he wants to be a dictator for one day, no. he wants to be the dictator of america. that is about all i have to say. host: lee is in charleston,

south carolina, democrat. caller: good morning. the lady from north carolina -- [indiscernible] announcer: i hope he democracy does not just look like this? it looks like this where americans can see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed our public lives. get informed straight from the source on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased, word for the word, because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. ♪