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facing the united states in 2024. republicans can call at (202) 748-8000. democratst (202) 748-8000. independents on (202) 748-8002. and if you would like to text us, that number is (202) 748-8003. please be sure to include your name and where you are calling from. you can also reach us on social media, facebook.com/c-span, and on x. first we will begin with more information about that attack on ukraine that happened on friday. here is the cover of the washington post this morning with an image of one of those strikes. the caption reading, "smoke rises over a residential building in kyiv after a russian missile and drone strike." the scale of friday's attack confirmed what many had feared for months. that russia was conserving its missile stocks throughout the fall for strikes in the winter.

more from the washington post. ukraine says the least dirty were killed and 160 injured in that attack. russia fired more than 150 missiles and drones at ukraine on friday, in one of the largest bombardments of the war. officials said, hitting schools, parks, and hospital, and other civilian infrastructure, and rupturing the column of an otherwise quiet winter on the front lines. another story we are following as a potential top story in 2024 for the united states is the ongoing crisis at the u.s.-mexican border. border security was a major focus of a tense household -- homeland security hearing in november, with secretary alejandra mayorkas. here is a portion of that. >> mr. secretary, you know, there was an austin swat officer killed in my hometown, who is on

the terror watch list. the swat officer, murdered by someone on the terror watch list, and the family involves mohammed nasser. do you have any information about this? >> mr. chairman, we would be pleased to provide you with whatever information we have. >> please do. whoever commits an offense against the united states or aids in a bed, induces, or procures its commission is punishable as the principal. human trafficking, a criminal enterprise in this country now with people of no legal status, an entire population seven times over to be killed by fentanyls, 12 billion total, 300,000 people dead due to fentanyls.

sir, i would argue that you have been aiding and abetting the deaths and criminal enterprise that has occurred in this nation. >> i ask to yield just to respond to something that my distinguished colleague from texas just said. who i know has served for a long time as the federal prosecutor, as have i, and has secretary mayorkas. i think it is incredibly dangerous to accuse secretary mayorkas of aiding and abetting crimes. as you well know, you need to have the intent to do that, and it is clear that whether you disagree or not with secretary mayorkas' approach to dealing with the border, that to accuse him of aiding and abetting crimes is very serious, and is, i think, unwarranted in this situation. >> the gentleman yields?

>> yes. >> look, i live in a border state, you don't. i have dealt with this issue for 25 years. i have never seen it this bad. it is his dereliction of duty that has created this problem in the united states. 7 million people. how are we going to deal with that? no legal status. human trafficking, fentanyls. you will disagree on this one, but i have to say that the change of policy has created this problem, and he knows better. he was a u.s. attorney in los angeles, like you were. he knows better. host: and now to your calls on the top challenge facing the united states in 2024. we will start with jim in missouri on our democratic line. good morning, jim. caller: morning. talked about this subject

yesterday, but the 14th amendment and a trump's bid for the presidency. again, not to belabor the point, but the argument seems to be about whether or not he can be on the ballot. section three says he cannot hold office. it doesn't see anything about being on the ballot. you break the oaths, you cannot take the over. -- take the oath. that is the bottom line. unless the supreme court acts to protect our democracy i think we are going to lose it. thanks. host: thank you, jim. a bit more on that from the washington post. a story from yesterday that the supreme court faces pressure to decide if trump will be on the 2024 ballot. now that a second state has decided to keep donald trump off their primary ballot for his role in the january 6, 2021

attack on the u.s. capitol. there is increased pressure to act and do so quickly. other states could soon follow the lead of colorado and maine, said legal scholars who have been tracking the issue. and there is a risk of a patchwork of decisions, with trump appearing on ballots in some states, but not others. the supreme court could determine for all states whether trump is qualified to run. next up, let's go to cynthia in florida on our independent line. good morning, cynthia. caller: morning. thank you. i think it is disgraceful that biden is going to ask congress again to find israel in this war, this genocide. biden is a war criminal. independents must keep him out of the white house, with the rest of these folks who are running for the presidency. it is a disgrace on this nation, what israel is doing to the palestinians. enough is enough. this nation must stand up.

c-span, you need to start showing these protests across the globe. please. please. thank you. host: thank you, cynthia. top story here from the new york times on this issue. top israeli official is set for talks in washington. ron dermer, a member of israel's cap net, is expected to meet with two biden administration officials on tuesday amid differences with the device over the war in gaza. he is set to meet with the secretary of state and biden's national security advisor. this, according to the new york times. the meetings come amid differences between the united states and israel over the scope and timetable of israel's war against hamas, and plans for future control of gaza. next up, benny in stockton, california on our democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. my big issue is, mexicans are

invading this country. you cannot go anywhere and see a person of caller -- of color. they will not hire african-americans and they treat us like third class citizens. i think that is going to be our big issue. they should close the border and stop the invasion of mexicans into this country. i do think ex-president trump should not be on the ballot. he is inal and i think joe biden is just, he is evil. he has given our money to ukraine and israel. and ukraine is not going to win the war. so, why is he feeding money to ukraine when we have people sleeping under the bridges? it is amazing to me how joe

biden is spending much -- sending money to other countries and we are not getting money here. there is people sleeping under the bridge in the wintertime. thank you, and happy new year to each and every one of you. host: matt is in new york on our republican line. good morning, matt. caller: good morning. yeah, the top challenge, whatever you want to call it for 2024, is the left. the left has totally destroyed this country the last three years. james carville, the author of this saying "it's the economy, stupid," has recently said that the woke left is both stupid and naive. which hollers back to nikita khrushchev, i believe it was around 1959 or 1960 that he

called u.s. left "useful idiots." but i don't understand is the loyalty of both black americans and jewish americans to the democratic party. what has happened in these democrat-run cities? they are just a total mess. they don't punish criminals because of whatever they want to call it, eei or whatever -- dei or whatever. it is ridiculous. black males are being killed in record numbers by other black males. as far as the jewish community goes, you have seen what is going to happen in the future with the democratic party. chuck schumer will not be around forever, so who is going to take his place? one of the squad? you know, it is ridiculous. they say that we that vote for republicans vote against our interests, but yet it is totally the other way around.

how can you vote continually for left people in these cities that are destroying these cities? it is ridiculous. i did appreciate the democrat they called in about the borders. the borders are totally wide open, and, yes, what is going to happen, they are already talking about it in chicago, black people, how they are putting -- how they are being put to the back of the bus for these new wave of people coming in. yet you blindly follow the rule that, whitey republicans are out to get you. it is just ridiculous. host: thank you, matt. next up we have keith in madison, wisconsin. go ahead, kate. caller: that last caller, that was a lot of airy nothingness. the left doesn't control anything in this country. what is he talking about? as far as immigration goes,

there is an easy fix to this, if you want to call it a problem. i don't see it as a problem. we can easily absorb 7 million immigrants. we could provide tax incentives for americans who want to house these immigrants. these immigrants, they have traveled a long way by foot. i think most americans cannot even get off the couch to go change the channel. they have to have a remote control. but these immigrants, they went rough the darien cap, -- gap, which is extremely dangerous. many people die, and they have to take a train across mexico. there should be compassion and these politicians should appeal to our hire angels by, you know, encouraging us to open our hearts, open our minds, and open our doors to these immigrants. these are people that we should show compassion towards, and i

just don't even listen to this program very often because i hear so many hostile comments about immigrants. these people will purify the blood of this country. they can make us better. again, i cannot stand listening to some of these callers calling in, and these republicans who grab this issue and run with it because they want to be demagogues. because they don't have anything else. there is nothing else they can deliver on. he cannot raise your standard of living. they just want to give tax cuts to the rich. that's all i have to say. thank you. host: thank you for your call. on x, funding government programs and services without proper irs iestigation into tax code abuses as a major challenge facing the united states in 2024. donald is in golden valley, arizona on our democratic line. go ahead, donald. caller: you know, i cannot

hardly believe the quality of people we are considering for the highest office in the world. and i think we are just scraping the bottom of the barrel. and i think prophecy is absolutely coming true. i think people should read second thessalonians, chapter two, and revelations, chapter six. host: what specifically is in those that you think is relevant? caller: i believe god it is absolutely giving these people that follow trump a deluded mind. that's about all i have to say. thanks. host: thanks for your call. another message we received from larry in new jersey, global warming and a constant litany of deniers.

next up, marshall in nashville, tennessee on our republican line. go ahead, marshall. caller: good morning and happy new year to everyone. i am a proud deplorable, and a proud delusional trump supporter. i don't always like his language, but i love his policies. my biggest issue is democracy. your caller from wisconsin said the left does not control anything. for the last 30 years the democrats have taken over our university system and has now taken over our k-12 and preschool system in this country. and the left always talks about democracy is under attack. i want to show you how i believe our democracy is under attack. we have a current president who

stood before everyone in america , when parents were upset about crt, to talk to their children, and whole or mom blockers given to their children without consent, and he said, these children do not belong to you, they belong to all of us. minimizing parental consent of their children. this same president stood before the whole world and told american workers, if you don't get vaccinated, you will not work, you will not go to a restaurant, you will not be able to go to a theater. of course, that was knocked down also. when the democrats talked about the attack on women's rights, they never talk about men, biological men, who are in women's sports, demolishing records that women have taken

decades to accomplish. all they talk about is abortion. i am for abortion to a point, but when you have a viable baby, breathing and living in your body, i do not believe you should have the right to end its life. the other thing want to talk about was democracy once again. you look at the party in this country who is attacking our education system, they are attacking law & orders. now the democrats -- i hope people -- host: i want to follow-up on your point about democracy. there is an article from the associated press that americans actually agree that the 2024 election will be pivotable -- will be pivotal for democracy, but for different reasons. some americans seem to agree on one issue, underlying the 2024

elections. worry over the state of democracy and how the outcome of the presidential contest will affect its future. they just disagree over who poses a threat. a poll from the associated press found that 62% of adults say democracy could be at risk, depending on who wins next fall. majorities of democrats and republicans feel the same way, but for different reasons. here is a chart getting into some of those differences. so, when it comes to the future of democracy in the u.s., you have 60% of republicans who say it will be extremely important. almost 80% of democrats. but here is a quote here. i think from the side of the left. it is pretty obvious that they are concerned about electing a president who is authoritarian. someone who clearly wants to reduce checks and balances within the government, to

strengthen the presidency, and to do so in ways that gives the executive branch unprecedented reach across sectors of government. from the right, the republicans think about government overreach. big government, threats to freedom, and mandates to act in a certain way or adopt certain policies, he said. steven in gladstone, michigan, also on our text message line, says, the biggest problem we have is a republican congress who has not passed a single bill that was signed into law. there were a couple of those that were signed into law this congress, but i understand the point. next up, duane is in somerset, kentucky on our independent line. caller: yes, i think the biggest concern we have right now is a president that don't know where he is at half the time, don't know where he is supposed to leave the stage from.

i think he is the biggest idiot i have ever seen in my life, and i'm 63 years old. i have seen a lot of idiots, but he is the biggest idiot, and anyone who is voting for him, i just can't imagine why anyone would vote for joe biden for anything. and, you know, he is being protected by the fbi. he is being protected by the cia. he is being protected by the department of justice to -- just is. he is the most corrupt president we have ever seen. all of this stuff going on with his son is not fake omma it is the real deal, and they all say that trump was doing this, but all of his kids went and testified when they were called. i think donald trump, jr. testified for 18 hours in front of congress.

there is anybody who says joe biden has been a good president is an idiot too. that's all i have to say. i appreciate the opportunity to express myself. host: duane was mentioning the fbi. there was an exchange between republican senator john cornyn and fbi director christopher wray at a recent hearing on fbi reform and the rule of law that gets to some of those points we just heard. >> let me start with some basic concepts. if you walk into the supreme court of the united states over the arches in the entryway there are inscribed the words "equal justice under law." i think there is a perception, unfortunately, that we are not living up to that ideal in a number of respects. senator whitehouse mentioned the

shameful treatment of hillary clinton, somebody who i do not support from a political standpoint, but who was subjected to the release of derogatory information of an investigation that director comey and the fbi conducted involving her. and the fact that he usurped the authority of the attorney general when it comes to charging decisions, and made the statement he did. i think there is also a perception that president trump was not treated fairly during his time of office, particularly because of opposition research, things like the steel dossier, the russia gate investigation, all of which ended up amounting to no charges being filed. i want to just say, personally, i appreciate your willingness to take on important tasks of

restoring and rebuilding the reputation of the fbi. i believe the fbi is an indispensable institution in our government, but it is also a big, unwieldy institution. i think you have about 35,000 people who work at the fbi, somewhere like that, right? >> it is closer to 38,000. >> 38,000. i am personally convinced that overwhelmingly these are good, patriotic, hard-working people sacrificing, putting themselves in harms way to protect the rest of america. but, like any other large organization, there are going to be some bad apples. people who abused trust and misbehave. can you just take a minute and describe what steps you have undertaken at the fbi to try to restore the fbi's reputation as

an institution that the american people can trust to pursue equal justice under the law? >> i appreciate the question. we start with a statement of principle i hold near and dear, and explain concretely what that means. my message from day one, and probably said every day since i have been in the job, is we need to make sure we are doing the right thing in the right way. in everything we do. and that means the importance of process and following our rules. that does not mean -- and sometimes this is frustrating to people of all shapes and stripes -- that does not mean we can guarantee the results or outcome somebody would like in a case. so, how do i implement that principle? i have directed all sorts of changes in relation to the hurricane matter, for example. in that one matter alone i directed over 40 corrective measures, went above and beyond anything the inspector general recommended, and have

implemented dozens of changes since then. host: that was fbi director christopher wray speaking there. another message that came in on our text message line. top challenge in 2024 has to be the border. people. just not all mexico they may be people from p like china, iran, and other not so from the places. we need to know who these people are. mrident biden, please get the border mass fixed. next up from pennsylvania, jerome is on our democratic line. go ahead, jerome. caller: yes, our biggest problem for 2024 is mega. mega is choosing to sell this country out to a dictator, which would take away every freedom they would have. they are saying the left is the problem? no, donald trump is the problem.

if we continue to sit back and let him manipulate the courts, the justice system, and all of that, this country will go under. and the biggest problem with the maca -- maga people is americans do not want brown skinned people here. that is the problem. all of these magas choosing to sell their freedoms to donald trump, which will erase and take every single one of them. and that is my comment. host: next up, robert is in aurora, indiana on our republican line. good morning, robert. caller: yes ma'am, i wish i could talk and get some of these idiots strained out. out trouble is going to be israel. because it tells you in the last days israel will be surrounded by all nations. we are coming to one world government, a one world church. biden is getting all of these

nato countries together. they are going to have an all out war, and it tells you we are going to have a battle of armageddon. and people will ride in the streets, the young people will be lined up to the truth. and look what we've got. if you people think that the democrats are so great -- host: would you mind turning down the volume on your television? you're getting a little feedback. caller: i have it down, that's why i called. i know the rules. but you are just trying to take me off because i'm teaching. she just -- jesus says, you will be persecuted for my namesake. and that's what we have. we do not have god in the government. people are so stupid. if you do not believe in god you are doomed. host: ok. next up we have mike in alaska, on our independent line. go ahead, mike. caller: thank you for taking my

call, and happy new year, i hope, for everybody. in my opinion america is already toast. the united nations is coordinating a massive multimillion, may be a billion-man immigration. it is coordinated down in the panama canal at the darien gap. we need to invade mexico. we need to take control of their cartels, wipe them out. stay away from the foreign wars like israel and ukraine. it is a never ending bottomless pit of hell. and why our politicians will not follow the lead of the united nations? well, it is not surprising, because of the warmongers and military complex demanding war, to keep sapping our tax dollars.

our interest rate alone is $1 trillion a year. however we going to pay that? in my opinion we need to arrest and imprison mayorkas. he is a traitor, like this administration, and like most democrats and republicans. i'm sick of both of them. look at it. we have 100 million missing children in texas alone being reported by ngos. do you know what an ngo is? host: non-governmental organization. caller: i listened to alex jones the last couple of weeks. he has ngos coming on their crying, saying he can't do it anymore because these children are being raped. where is alexandria ocasio-cortez, the biggest female hypocrite on the planet? crying about one child in a cage

that was actually photographed during the obama administration? where is she? i am sick of washington scum. i am sick of my people on the street dying, crawling in the gutter, looking for more dope. bent over, they cannot move. host: thank you for your call. let's go to maurice in bellwood, illinois on our democratic line. caller: yeah, good morning. the one economics [inaudible] seven dollars a pack, bread is [inaudible] the interest rates were so high that it took most of the people who can barely buy a home out of the market, because the rates are too high. you cannot afford to get in.

number two, the other problem is, in chicago with migrants they have literally displaced black people from the shelters. in chicago they had shelters where you stay overnight. as soon as the migrants came, now they put them in hotels, they are doing all of these special 24 hour shelters. and, you know, it is a slap in the face of the black community. the democratic party in chicago has already been taking advantage of the black community through the unions. hiring police and instruction in all of that. the last thing that is a problem is, internationally -- because i know we can go there -- the senators and congressmen do not

cry about what is going on in darfur and sudan. their blood is precious too. to me it is. black sisters and brothers being displaced in darfur. there is a war going on there. how come your media -- because you were in the media -- how come you are not putting that out there? that there is a crime against humanity there? why is it just certain groups of a different hue? host: thank you for your call, marise. marise was mentioning the situation at the u.s.-mexican border. there is an article from cbs news about that issue. with migrant crossings at the u.s. southern border reaching a

record monthly high, in december, border patrol has processed more migrants who entered the u.s. illegally in december than in any other month in the agency's history. internal federal statistics show the magnitude of the extraordinary migration crisis the biden is grappling with. u.s. border patrol agents took into custody more than 225,000 migrants who crossed the southern border and between official crossings during the first 27 days of december, according to the preliminary department of homeland security statistics. the figure does not include legal entries at ports of entry, where the biden administration has been processing roughly 50,000 migrants each month, mostly under a process powered by a smartphone app. next up, tony is in bedford, texas on the republican line. go ahead, tony. caller: hi, ma'am.

i love c-span. i wish i could get it in hd. the 2024 big problem is going to be, how do you heal the fracture of the republican party? because, as a republican, it is disgraceful to associate myself with that party. so, basically trump had broken that party into two pieces, and the only way that our democracy works is that there is a strong democratic party and a strong republican party. that is how they can negotiate, especially in congress. but if there is no way to heal that, then unfortunately in 2024 it going to be just the same vitriol. host: ok, thank you for your call, tony. in our text message line, in bakersfield, california, who

n independent voter says, the survival of our democracy is a top challenge facinghe.s. in 2024 and this preial election could be our last free anfa election. do we americans value democracy anymore? barry is in plant city, florida on our independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i think a lot of people realize that the border is not only just a strain on some of our social services programs, but also has increased our human trafficking. it has increased the strain on r social services programs and hawed not onl, you know, fentanyls the border in record numrsbut it has ao, you know, they have retrieved

people who are on the terrorist we are ope it up because other countries pray on our humanity. that is what they hoped for, that we are going to go out and extend ourselves, helping this person, or this person, yet we are stepping over our own veterans. i don't know why we are all sitting here recording the border, why we just haven't stopped it. just physically stopped it. we are still continuing, and in this interim, while we are waiting for biden's competency test, i gus. who knows? but even the interim of the election, lo what we are allowing. you arsaying a record number of children, aouple of calls before, in human trafficking. the drugs and human trafficking are how a lot of people come over here and there pretty much

making their money. i know it is cheaper for people to use immigrants. plant city is known for using immigrants, but it is all legal and above board, you know what i'm saying? everybody gets the opportunity that does at the right way. and i think that if they can get control of one of the major problems and stop sending money over to other countries -- help them out, by all means. let them use our planes, let them use our special ops, let's teach them what we can. let's give them 1000 trailers to start with on the others of the border, and get them to build their own. by taking people over we are straining this country. instead of coming you know, giving them back their own. host: barry mentioned the people crossing the border on the u.s. terrorism watch list. there is a story about that in

the new york times, that more migrants on the terrorism watch list watch -- crossed the u.s. border. the numbers are a minuscule percentage of the total arrested after crossing the border, officials said, but macron increasing number of migrants arrested over the past year are on the united states terrorist watch list, according to government data. from october of last year until this september officials at the southern border erected 169 -- arrested 169 people's names matched those on the watchlist. and 15 in 2021, according to government data. but that is a minuscule fraction of the total number of migrants who were apprehended at the border over the past year. more than 2 million. the increase in peers -- appears to reflect two factors. a surge in crossings and a -- and people arriving for me wider variety of countries.

next up we have carl in augusta, georgia on our democratic line. caller: good morning. host: morning. caller: yes ma'am. our biggest problem that is going to be next year is the mag a party. donald trump has taken over the republican party, and those people are against everything. as far as the president of the united states go, whoever the president is, why we are so negative against each president that we put in office. i mean, i like history and i read some stuff about roosevelt. the republican party was just terrible. they were against everything he done, trying to put people to work, anything good come out. republican -- come out republicans are against. i thank you for accepting my call, but i want to and with this. now we know how the indians felt.

thank you and have a happy new year. host: on x, duane robinson says, the biggest challenge, inning our president and licians to want to secure our owboer as much as they want to secure ukraine and israel's border. back in october president biden delivered a rare prime time oval office address, calling for a new aid package for israel and ukraine and discussed why he thinks it is critical for national security. pres. biden: american leadership is what holds the world together. american alliances are what keep us, americans, safe. american values are what make us a partner other nations want to work with. to put all that at if we walk away ukraine -- from ukraine, turn our backs to israel, it is not worth it. that is why tomorrow i'm going to send to congress a budget request to fund america's security needs, to support our

critical partners, including israel and ukraine. it is a smart investment that is going to pay dividends for american security for generations. help us keep american troops out of harm's way. help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous for our children and grandchildren. in israel we must make sure we have with -- they have what they need to protect their people. the security package i'm sending to congress and asking congress for, is -- will sharpe in israel's qualitative military edge, which we have committed to. the qualitative military edge. we are going to make sure iron dome continues to guard the skies over israel. we are going to make sure other hostile actors in the region that israel is stronger than ever, and prevent this conflict from spreading. at the same time president netanyahu and i discussed again yesterday the critical nature to

operate by the laws of war. that means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can. the people of gaza urgently need food, water, and medicine. yesterday in discussions with the leaders of israel and egypt i secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance from the united nations to palestinians in gaza. hamas does not divert or steal this shipment. these shipments, we are going to provide an opening for life-saving humanitarian assistance for the palestinians. as i said, as hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. we cannot give up on a two state solution. israel and palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity, and peace. host: let's get to a few more of your comments on social media. on facebook, kevin tran says, the biggest challenge facing the

s. in 2024, clearly maintaining integrity of our democratic system. our democratic system ia reflection of aspects and values of our country, and losing or compromising our systemeans we would not have a country at all. on our text message line, larry in milford, michigan says, the number one problem for the u.s. is the millions of illal aliens invading our country. this will be a negative economic pa on our country for the rest of our lives. and also on facebook, lucy howard says, environmental conservati for preservation of wildlife and natural infrastructure, such as tlds that filtered water and forests that filter ouai a sustain the hydrological cycle, and conservation of our natural resources, like unpolluted drinking water. on the issue of the climate, here is an article from science news about the record-setting

heat we experienced in 2023. here is how 2023 became the hottest year on record. the year was marked by record-high temperatures, record low antarctic sea ice, and wildfire. this year did not just shatter records, it changed the scales. graph after graft tracking this year's soaring temperatures revealed not only with the numbers higher than ever recorded in many places around the world, but the deviation from the norm was also astonishingly large. the margins by which records are being broken this year have surprised not just me, but other climate scientists that i trust. even my very un-alarmist friends. as of late november months of sweltering global temperatures easily put 2023 on track to be the earth's hottest year since recordkeeping began about 100 50 years ago. the 12-month period from

november 22 through october 2023 is officially the hottest such period on record. a record that is likely to be broken in 2024, according to the nonprofit group climate central. now back to your calls. donald is in raleigh, north carolina on our republican line. go ahead, donald. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i would like to say this, first and foremost. republicans, calm down. you cannot get a republican without them being enraged. it is tiring. it is pathetic. just calm down. everything going to be all right. as long as we keep our democracy. and you need to make sure you do not vote for donald trump. have a nice day, you trumpers. host: next up is ralph in new york on our democratic line. go ahead, ralph. caller: good morning.

i am a uaw worker from upstate new york. my hope for 2024 is to continue the advancement of america's working men and women. we have seen a good collective bargaining agreement with my fellow workers, and the teamsters got a good collective bargaining agreement. and in 2023 we flipped michigan back to a free collective bargaining state, from a low-wage right to work state. so, we have a pro-worker administration in washington, and a pro-worker united states senate with bernie sanders as chairman of the labor committee. but our workforce and education committee, she is anti-worker. as soon as we can flip the house back and remove her as chairperson americans can really move forward, and i thank you for your time. host: thank you for your call. robert is in lake jackson, texas on our independent line. caller: good morning, miss

kimberly, and thank you for allowing me on today. i think there is not a single challenge as there is the confluence of major challenges. on the economy and the political sphere and in the poor -- the foreign policy issue. economically you have increasing use of automation and ai that is going to take over an increasing number of jobs, and leading to -- well, to put it bluntly, it is going to lead to congress having to debate a national income policy for americans, because jobs are going to be taken over. and on the political rights, you have ever-increasing extreme ideologues on both sides of the political spectrum. you have maga party on the

right, the squad on the left, and inflamed political opinions on both sides, to the point where they will have people calling for the elimination of political opposition and political opponents, and instituting one-party rule, no matter which side it is from, right? you are eventually going to people saying that, unless people learn how to compromise. that is what we are going to say. on the foreign policy front, you've got increasing threats on war in china and russia. you already have war in gaza against israel. and, well, really you can pin it down to one nation, the islamic republic in iran, not of iran. they are pretty much behind all of it, behind the hamas and hezbollah, their proxies.

and they are selling oil to china. they are buying weapons from north korea. they are selling kamikaze drones to russia for use in ukraine. what the u.s. really needs to do is, congress needs to issue a formal declaration of war against iran to liberate the people and redress all of these grievances. you will see stability in the middle east increased drastically. host: robert, i want to follow-up on the point you made earlier about china, if that is all right. earlier this month top u.s. and chinese military officials actually spoke for the first time in over a year, and this story is from cnn. the top u.s. and chinese generals spoke earlier this month for the first time in over

a year, marking the end of a strained silence between senior u.s. and chinese military officials that had deeply concerned the pentagon. chairman of the joint chiefs of staff had a video call with his chinese counterpart on thursday, and then brown spoke with the people's liberation army of china chief of the joint department, also marking the first time the two have talked since brown became chairman. on to our text messages again. bill in new york city, new york says, the biggest challen the u.s. elections in 2024 is racism. which is white supremacy. avoiding the mention ofveryy is a continued effort to eliminate the true story of the foundational black americans of slavery in history is crippling our country and needs to be dealt with by both parties. next up, deandre in baltimore,

maryland is on our republican line. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i appreciate it. by the way, your hair looks amazing. i wanted to address what the last caller said. i think declaring war with iran is the last thing our nation needs right now, and our economy. since we have the logistical capability to support proxy war efforts in the middle east i think has run out. we need to declare a national emergency for our border crisis. we have 30 million enemy combatants from god knows where coming every day. israel, us supporting israel will lead us into a conflict that will never and and essentially would bring in all regional world powers, and it would be a bloodbath. israel has its plan for greater israel, which would encompass jordan, lebanon, into syria and iraq. they are trying to expand the region, and it would behoove

america and our politicians to stop funding israel and withdraw all of our troops from that region, and let israel do their own greater israel plan by themselves. israel essentially bombed the uss liberty in 1967. we have been funding them since 1971. in 1982 they sold some of our top national security secrets to the soviets at the height of the cold war. and also come to find out they have ties with saudi arabia in orchestrating 9/11. we need to stop funding israel. we need to withdraw our troops from the middle east, and we should not declare war on iraq. we should be allies with iran in combating terrorism, because iran purchased -- elaborated with our air force in syria. declaring war on iran is the last thing we need. thank you very much. host: shirley is in new york city on our democratic line. caller: good morning, and thank you for taking my call.

i called in about the board. i believe all these politicians would get together, if all of these people coming over here, they had just made the united states look like we are easy for taking in people. a lot of people that really, truly are coming in for asylum, that is one thing. all of these other people that are getting jobs because of why? they say everybody is walking. no, they are taking trains, they are taking buses. they are coming by ship. however they are coming. if you would have these people that bring these migrants in here, it would stop. you find the companies that have these buses, that have these trains. you find the planes bringing these people here. you find them, -- fine them, or

they go to jail. they would stop, because they would be losing money. and the politicians know it. thank you for taking my call. host: thank you for calling, surely. another article from cnn about a meeting earlier this week that u.s. officials described as productive, a meeting with mexico as aydin feels pressure over the migrant crisis. senior u.s. officials held a very productive meeting with their mexican counterparts wednesday. secretary of homeland security alejandra america's said -- alejandra mallorca said, as america seeks to drive down southern border crossings that have placed pressure on joe biden the regional challenge of migration requires regional solutions, and we appreciate mexico's commitment to continuous efforts alongside us and with others. following a bilateral meeting also attended by secretary of

state antony blinken and white house homeland security advisor liz sherwood randall. officials from both countries said the talks might well, although the initial statements following the meeting were somewhat light on details. next up, erica is in tucson, arizona on our independent line. caller: good morning. i am a retired air force veteran of 24 years. i've been around the world and back, and back, and back again. my biggest problem is the ex-president. this guy is a loser. he has been a loser when he was growing up, and i am around his age, and we had games called war, games, monopoly. and he always lost.

he went to school and dodged the draft. you know, he is a loser. he is a loser, and he tried to buy a football team. they would not let him have that. he is a loser. ever since he became president, they lost elections. he is a loser. people were stronger together than we are apart. and we all know this dude is a loser. and that is all i have to say. host: next up, kendrick is in lancaster, south carolina on our republican line. go ahead. caller: please give me enough time like you gave the previous gentlemen. america, you still can't see it? or feel something is not right in your soul? can you hear me? host: we can hear, kendrick. go ahead. caller: the biggest threat to back -- to black americans is

not white supremacy, it is illegal immigration. this man, president joe biden, had done everything in his power to hurt the middle class americans and the working poor americans. 200,000 illegals a month from around the world are entering american, without any background check, checking for diseases. going to compete with low income people for jobs, housing, and services. and black americans are the smaller -- smallest minority in america who are going to get affected the most. talking about president donald trump, president joe biden is the president, and competent. communist china stated they hated our guts, and we them up through the 1990's with special trade status, semi conductors. and now we are talking about the

military-industrial complex? let me finish, ma'am. when afghanistan for 20 years accomplish nothing. osama bin laden was in pakistan. we paid $10 billion on the war. all of congress signed a pledge to israel. now we are beating the drums for war with iran. saying every other year we have to have a bogeyman. ukraine was not allowed in nato because they were so corrupt, and ukraine was moving in on russia, getting close to the russian border. we have nuclear weapons in poland. host: ok, we are going to try to get one more call in before we have to go. -- jenny undemocratic lynn -- on the democratic line. i am nervous -- caller: i am nervous, please

forgive me. my biggest issue is abortion. i am 80 years old, roe became a law in my 20's. it was a nightmare. no matter what you had planned for your lives, if you got pregnant, you were in mother. it does not mather -- not matter if women have abortions, the question is if they're going to be safe one. so many women died and so many older people discovered their granddaughters in morgues when they found their bodies because they tried to have abortions. there were a lot of places you could have abortions. one out of four women have had abortions. the ones that i talked to are the ones who lived. this is really important.

this is not political. it does not matter what you think, women are going to have abortions and they might be a granddaughters. we need to keep it safe. thank you so much for taking my call. i am sorry i am so nervous. thank you. keep it safe. host: that is all the time we have for calls but we are going to continue our annual authors week with psychologist and former republican covers min tim murphy here to talk about his book "the christ cure." we will be right back. ♪

>> the house and senate have recess for the holidays but will be back for the second session of the 118th congress. descendant convenes on generate and the house on january 9. both chambers face funding deadlines to avoid a government shutdown. to first on january 19 and the second on february 2. >> descendant is ready to do the work but we are awaiting the other chamber to come forward with a number we can agree upon. >> macconnell and i will figure out the best way to get this done quickly. >> follow the progress when they return at c-span or c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of government.

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leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. at 8:00 p.m., then cynic shares his book "big fiction come go where he examines how book publishing monopolies have changed fiction. then, -- looks at george santos's rise in politics to his removal in congress. watch book tv every sunday on c-span2 and find a full schedule under program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org. >> a healthy democracy does not 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 capitol, to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. ♪ >> "washington journal" continues. host: for the next hour we are going to continue our annual authors week series in which we feature top writers from across the political spectrum discussing a variety of public policy and political topics. joining me now is a psychologist and former republican congressman tim murphy to talk about his book "the christ cure: 10 biblical ways to heal from tragedy, trauma, and ptsd." guest: it is good to be with you. host: you served in congress 15 years and are also a psychologist. tell us about your background in

treating mental illness. guest: right now i work with veterans and first responders, men and women with ptsd and trauma. i also served in the navy working at a traumatic brain injury unit. it is my love of helping people, especially those who serviced in our military. they have seen the worst of what can happen. as one paramedic told me, the worst day of your life is everyday for me. these are folks who need healing and need a way of doing it. counseling is part, getting medication. i know there are other ways to help them get through that trauma. host: i want to talk about your work with veterans. you wrote a piece for the american spectator about this, veterans and suicide is worse than the v.a. reports saying the administration is excluding a number of veterans from its annual report on suicide prevention.

can you talk more about that? guest: people often hear the number 22 suicides a day. the veterans administration did their report in 2021, the number dropped down to 1780. how did that happen? --to 1780. how did that happen -- to 17 a day. how did that happen? they said they're not going to count national guard unless the served 90 days active duty. there is a significant number of people to say we are not going to count anymore. i think that is wrong. when you take the oath and serve, everybody should count. the army national guard has among the highest suicide rates. they have a job -- a family at home and access to weapons. anytime you use a gun for a

suicide attempt, lethality is a short. if the v.a. is going to use a claim that using v.a. services such as counseling makes a difference, why not count those --? if they're not 90 days deployed, they cannot get buried in a v.a. cemetery. there are a number of things they cannot have access to. if you want to compare does the v.a. make a difference, they are not -- they are not allowed to go to the v.a. but they deserve to be counted. there are a lot of suicides. if we go back to counting them, i think it will make a difference. a member of congress has introduced a bill to tell the v.a. you must count everyone. host: let's talk about your book "the christ cure." can you explain the role of faith as part of healing from trauma? guest: we know we can change the

way we feel if we change the way we think. that is one of the premises of psychology and counseling. that is not enough. life is not fair, things are going to be difficult. recognize that there is hope for us. where does that hope come from? faith is an important part of that. even my own struggles, people i know who have struggled, those who have a strong faith, a strong religion, do better in recovery because they recognize there is something over the horizon. there is something there to believe. i began to look at the life of the apostle paul. for those who may not be familiar, he was a man who was a jew, he did not care for christians. he hunted them down because he did not want to see the jews wondering off in the desert for many years, they had to look out for blasphemers.

he went to damascus hunting these folks and so i bright light and the voice of jesus saying why are you perceived to be -- why are you persecuting me? he had to change everything he was doing. he was beaten with rods, given 39 lashes, stoned and left for dead, he was shipwrecked, bitten by a poisonous snake, run out of town. i am only mentioning some of the things that happened to him. i am thinking here is a man who should have had poise traumatic stress disorder at the level of suicide, alcoholic, angry, but he did not have those. his writings give a story of why, it was his faith that said i can be offerings -- all things through him who gives me strength. he understood suffering is not an end point, we have to see it as having some meaning.

anyone i work with who has struggled at times to say -- instead of saying we are overwhelmed by our struggles, why don't we look at as a way to inspire saying i am going to use this to make me better? that is where faith is a big part. host: in some religious communities, traditional psychology or psychiatry is sometimes frowned upon. the argument is that your faith should be enough and you don't necessarily need therapy or medication. how do you square these? guest: among many of my colleagues, half of them are agnostic or atheist and they say let's not talk about faith at all. why would they not talk about something that is very powerful? among clergy and strong members of the faith, it is important to understand that the words in counseling is important, talking over something is valuable.

having someone reflect back and say let's look at a different way of handling it, faith is powerful. the fact that we are able to talk through things, even apostles at times when they were feeling bad talked to jesus. they said let's talk about this. it is not -- it does not work alone. medication can change how we feel but it does not change how we think. the whole person's mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. those are the four key ingredients that if we drop all this out, we are not healing the whole person. that is why those who say i am just going to take this medicine prescribed to or the self prescribed with alcohol, drugs, gambling, whatever their vice is, they say i am going to do this to feel better. that does not mean you are getting better. it is looking at the whole person.

host: in your book, you allude to your own struggles. can you talk about those and why you feel it was important to include those? guest: it is important to admit one's troubles. dealing with depression, my own troubles, it is important to say i know what it is like to be in hell. i did not like it. it is possible to emerge from that, i had to rebuild my life, rebuild my strength, rebuild friendships. those are the things that people that struggle with tragedy and trauma find as well. people abused in their lives, people have been through the most awful circumstances and wonder can i get out of this? yes you can. there is hope. no matter how bad things are,

there are people who have fought back and emerged faster, better, stronger not despite their problems but incorporating their problems and becoming better. host: we are going to have special regional lines and a line for mental health professionals for people who would like to call in. we are going to put this up on your screen. we will be taking your calls in a bit. i want to talk to you about the country and the mental health crisis we have. we know over 70% of american adults have encountered some kind of trauma in their lives. can you explain what that means, trauma, and why that number is so high? guest: trauma is something we experience in ourselves or witness which is life or limb threatening. it can be a terrible accident, a diagnosis of a disease,

something that shakes us to our core. it could be a sudden breakup of a long-term relationship. it could be kidnapping, murder, a number of things. part of the human condition is we are going to face tragedy. looking at that, 20% of those folks will linger with significant symptoms. most will do okay overtime working through it. about 10% will have deeper symptoms of ptsd which is insomnia, broken relationships, perhaps suicidal, depression, anxiety. a wide range of problems that go deeper. host: we have a poll from the kaiser family foundation that found any overwhelming majority of the public thinks there is a mental health crisis in the united states.

what do you think of that figure? guest: absolutely. for multiple reasons. in the post-covid era, we saw big increases in depression and anxiety, the loss of our routines, the loss of jobs. a big impact. it is also a country that feels animosity, the anger that is out there. even in everyday life, there are constant stressors out there. i think we have lost a lot of things that support good mental health. churches, institutions, clubs, organizations, people spending more time on social media which is anything but social. often attacks and negativity and rudeness. we have lost our stamina for stress. we have lost our focus on what is good and decent in us. loss of faith and religion is a big part of that.

the other part of this is we don't have enough people to help. i pushed rick -- pushed legislation when i was here. half of the counties in america don't even have a child or adolescent psychiatrist. they don't have psychologists that work with people with things like screw the veneer. without those, it is hard to get treatment because many of these emerge in adult and adolescent -- young adult and adolescent years. we need guidance from adults working with youth, people helping each other. a number of things are deteriorating and that is why the crisis is getting worse. host: some of the data from that poll saying, people seem from his and doctors with mental health problems with 90% of americans the same u.s. faces a mental health crisis. the broad majority say individuals and families or

health care providers should play a measurable in addressing health care problems -- mental health problems. to the point of your book, i will focus on religious organizations. 39% say churches and religious organizations have played a major role. 46% say it should play a minor role. 50% say no role at all. that is in kadesh 15 percent say noble -- 15% to say noble little -- no role at all. do you think that is an appropriate balance? guest: many health care providers have little or no training. many clergy have no training. 60% of people who have a mental health issue say i would like to be able to talk about my faith. most counselors have no training in it. only -- percent of clergy say

they have training in it. it is important to have the training. host: much of your book focuses on ptsd. i would like for you to talk about that but first i will bring up a definition from the american psychiatric association saying ptsd is a psychiatric disordermay cur in people who have experienced or wid a aumatic eve, series of events, et o circumstances. individual may express this emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening and cial, and/or spiritual being. exples include natural disasters, accidents, terrorist acts, sexual assault, historical

trauma, partner violence, and bullying. can you talk about how ptsd, why you felt that was the important thing to focus on? host: -- guest: it is something people are more aware of. during wartime, we became aware of what happened to veterans. the doctors and nurses in emergency rooms see trauma all the time, people who work in burn units and icus. even among counselors who burnout from dealing with deep emotions of this. it is important because along these lines when it comes to faith issues, there is not really guides for this. i refer to this as a handbook for the broken and those who love them, but also a guide for clergy who need more training in

understanding psychology and for psychologists who need and understanding of the role faith plays. i try to incorporate those to provide a method people can learn about healing, that there is hope for them. host: we are going to be taking your calls. 202-748-8000 for those in the eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8001 if you are in mountain or pacific. if you are a mental health professional and you would in with a question or comment, that number is 202-748-8002. let's start with cliff in san angelo, texas. caller: i am so glad you are spotlighting mental health. if you would give me 10 minutes, it puts it into context. i wonder three davis cup titles

with arthur and i have two books both published and book on amazon. i have been a mental health advocate and have spoken nationwide everywhere. the disease is so much in the -- and there is still so much stigma that it is really sad. we spent so much money on so many things. for myself, i am a christian, i am a believer. i believe it has helped me with my depression that i had in the 1990's and had all of my life but i had a three year breakdown. i did not know if i would come

back from it at all. i did. now i am being healed and tended to by helping others and becoming a mental health advocate. because of my tennis career, i have a platform to stand up. host: think for sharing that story. i am wondering if you have a question. caller: in addition to christianity, do you believe that medication -- i call it the three legged stool, medication if needed, lifestyle, which is no street drugs or alcohol, and counseling and middle health --

and mental health christian entity. caller: b hundred -- guest: let me address that. it is important people speak up. depression is something that can break us down, lead us to the point where some are suicidal, waking up and cursing the don. so much is working on recovery. you mentioned a couple of elements. we know when it comes to dealing with depression and anxiety, there are six things that are important. one is fitness. we know that working out, cardiovascular and strength training is important and can be as effective or more effective than medication. mental attitudes. sleep is critically important. the worse a sleep pattern, the more depression and anxiety gets. keeping your mind sharp, taking

courses, learning, doing something to stay mentally active. many times people with trauma, depression, or anxiety pullback from the world. healthy eating is the next one. a good nutritious diet. many people struggling with mental illness will eat garbage food. some of the foods people take our bad drugs and alcohol. marijuana has had a huge impact on increasing anxiety and depression. it is not the positive drug people talk about. the last one is relaxation and meditation and mindfulness. encompassing all of those things is prayer as well. i want to say this about medication. it can change how we feel, it does not change how we think. those who take an antidepressant out of 100 people who may take them, it may only help 30 or 35 of those. they try a third or fourth drug but by the time they get to the fourth drug, it may only be

helping six out of 100 people. that is why you need to do a wide range of treatments. host: makeup from both bill and says i was raised as a b and i have kept some of the values such as do unto others as you would have them do unto you. i also suffer from pom a few sources, army related events andng a sexual so from a relileader. how can returning toots of christianity help with ptsd if it is probably the source of my ptsd? guest: they say god made man and woman, they made religion and god cried. it is not all people within that. there are some as with any profession who have done bad things. it is important not to write off the whole part. continue to seek and find people who can be trusted.

i feel for her and kudos to her for being able to say that out loud. there are a lot of good people there. there are good people entity military. -- people in the military. never give up trying to find those people. they are out there trying to help. host: next we have liz in crystal lake, illinois. caller: i am someone who has mental illness and it is upsetting when people say you can pray mental illness away. i appreciate you wanting to provide other options for people like myself. disorder such as ptsd are serious conditions that don't just go away with speech reality. -- with spirituality. the real issue is a lack of care, specialty free care, lack

of options, and options -- and resources for people with mental health. we need more rehabilitation because people with ptsd struggle not just with things going through our heads but struggle with daily tasks and to get through the day. you can likely hear my struggle to even get through this call. i work hard and try each day, i cannot get the care even with insurance. i have been suicidal before and have gotten treatment but was told to leave the facility after 12 days of care because insurance would not cover it. the care was not enough. therapy is agreeably supportive -- is incredibly supportive and most psychologists encourage spirituality. i can speak to that as i have been to multiple programs to get myself to a better place and there was not a place that i

cannot embrace my spirituality. it is about a balance between spirituality, listening to our doctors and our own work at home, the lifestyle change. host: you, liz -- thank you, liz. guest: it is a mixture of all the things you mentioned. having good caring people around. you also mentioned something which is important which is the number of days someone gets in the hospital. a battle i-5 for use is that the federal government has limited the number of days someone can go into the hospital with mental illness. insurance companies may say we are only going to give you two weeks which can be externally harmful. there was a tragedy of a shooter in the state of maine. it was said he was in the

hospital two weeks and released. i don't know his particular case but that is not any uncommon factor because many times hospital stay we don't have enough beds. the federal government says you can only have 16 beds, an absurd concept developed because they wanted to get rid of the massive institutions that had thousands of people in them. we need people who can treat and we need insurance to pay for it. you are limited the number of days you can be in there. if you have cancer, you are not given a limited number of days. we know it takes time for the brain and the body to heal. i still hope we can get this through one day. i hope congress can mix some changes. -- can make some changes. an organization i am on the board of did a study a couple of years ago. the cost of schizophrenia in

this country if you look at the direct care, the criminal justice system, because many are arrested or in jail, the wide range of things, over $450 billion a year. a massive amount of spending. if it came to helping these people instead of arresting them or ignoring them or letting them wander the streets, we would save massive amounts of money. it is more caring and passionate. host: liz was mentioning insurance and the has tried to increase enforcement of parity laws demanding that insurance companies provide mental health care provided at the same level of physical care. i wonder if you have seen that show up in your work? host: is a problem -- guest: it is a problem. it is still a battle all of us fight. insurance companies say we are only good to give you a certain number of days.

that is a problem. people need care. it is not something you just healed with six or eight sessions. many times people continue to see someone for a while because they have to rebuild a life that has been torturing them for years. you win the nobel prize if you figure that out. it costs less to care for someone to heal because a person with depression and anxiety and schizophrenia and psychosis, they have a host of other illnesses. the way stress hormones work, more arthritis, more heart disease, more likelihood of cancer. all of these things happen when you are not treating the person. i believe someday what congress will get to, you have to look at the whole person. when you ignore mental health, would you ignore treating illness, you're making all of the other diseases worse. host: sean is in senate on you,

texas -- is in san antonio, texas. good morning. caller: i wanted to say thank you. i agree with his views and all of that. america really needs to help us because it is hard out there. host: let's hear from craig in pleasant grove, alabama. caller: thank you for taking my call. have you done any research about generational ptsd or historical ptsd and the effects it has on the black community? with us only being 60 years removed from jim crow, how does that affect the black community it's self -- itself?

the criminal justice system, how does that affect the black community? guest: there were studies reported about people who survived the holocaust and how their grandchildren even though they may have had no direct exposure continue to have symptoms of tremendous stress. it has some impact on the person. the issues you're describing, many are still there. we have not figured out how to care for each other. there are traces of racism and bigotry across many levels that continue to affect us. we need to fundamentally transform a way of working with each other to care for each other, to follow the golden rule , to stop the way that we are treating each other in harmful ways. the generational aspects -- research suggests there are aspects that may affect us. we pass those down, how that

impact the next child, the next generation. the way to resolve this is we cannot go back and change the history. we have to focus and rebuild that with each other. host: angie is in evansville, indiana and is a little health professional -- a mental health professional. caller: thank you for taking my call. as a mental health professional and obviously not a pastor, number one, i recognize that you gave goodness to the comorbidities of mental health such as diabetes and heart disease, the things that can be horrible and interfere with traditional treatment.

i agree with all of your information on organic mental health. my question for you is i am seeing a lot more acute distress related to covid, including myself. how do you help someone who is coping with acute? my example would be covered distress, getting out in the workforce. since that is the holidays, someone dealing with grief? i lost a family member and i am shuttling right now. i am curious to see if you have any insight, spiritual or otherwise, on acute grief and

acute distress? host: before you respond, i want to ask -- add statistics that back up what angie was saying mental-health.tute of mental illness common in the u.s.. it is estimat in five u.s. idols lived with mental illness. middle illnesses include many conditions that vary in degree of severity from mild to moderate. any mental illness and serious middle illness. angie was talking about grief and covid and the hard time of the year. guest: covid certainly brought up a lot of grief. it was a separation from each other. it was so strange during that time that you could go to a strip club, get liquor, but you

cannot go to church, school, kids could not out with peers. a lot of people are healing from that. but there are residual effects, the number of kids that did not recover academically will linger for a while. grief is an important issue. when we lose someone close to us , someone we have had a bond with so long, it is important to deal with that grief as far as enlarging the person, the positive impact they have had, and keep those parts alive in us. we cannot change -- you cannot onset design. it is a matter of looking forward. what are the strengths we can have going forward? that is why i wrote this book, dealing with that grief and going forward. i hope those are things that can help you as we go forward. host: john is in pensacola,

florida. caller: my name is john edwards, i am at the hospital where my girlfriend just recently had an overdose. after that she plummeted from a bridge. she is okay. she is alive. we believe in love, we believe in spreading love. love is the most important thing christ caught us. child abuse victims are suffering. sexual deviancy is one of the most overcoming things for abuse victims. i believe that is one of our biggest problems in the world, sexual deviancy. it has spread and it is incomprehensible.

i know christ taught us that love conquers all things and through that love i believe we can overcome anything that is before us. i am a victim of sexual abuse from when i was a child. i am very nervous, i am sorry. guest: that is okay. caller: i believe loving somebody and showing them that love will help them in any situation. as i go further in this situation i am in with my girlfriend here and teaching her more about christ and what he taught us, i believe it will save her from the outcome she has created for herself. guest: let me comment on that because i can tell you are nervous and you are still feeling the effects of this. we hope for both of you you have

strength. with people face trauma and assault, one thing people feel is guilt. it is my fault, i did something wrong, perhaps i deserve this. soldiers who see someone killed will constantly question themselves, is there something i could have done to stop this? there is a difference between guilt and shame. shame is saying i am broken, i cannot be reconciled, everybody hates me, god has turned his back on me. guilt is saying i did something wrong but i can overcome that. sometimes it is important to understand you may have had nothing to do with it at all people will blame themselves. it has to do with forgiveness. when people try to harm themselves, we feel i cannot get out of this, i cannot be forgiven. what happened to me will punish me for ever. you talked about faith, but what

is also there is forgiveness. here are six words. god forgives, others might, i must. the idea that we can give god one million reasons to hate this and he will say i do not hate you. others might be the idea that if we hold out for others to forgive us, they may or may not do it. we cannot rely on that. their hearts may not be in the right place. the third part, this is critically important. to be able to forgive ourselves even when people try to beat us up, to say i have to forgive myself for these things because without that it is almost impossible to go forward. for you, your girlfriend, other people, think of those things. forgiving ourselves for our own problems is key to be able to

get the strength to get up and move forward. host: another john in illinois. go ahead. caller: unlv -- you and all the callers have stolen my thunder. what a great program. i was in vietnam, i got friends to join me, we came back with all of her fingers and toes. when i was in second grade, a girl accidentally hung herself and that summer my brother fell into a fire and burned himself. i guess i have been dealing with ptsd for a long time. when i was 16, i stood on a street corner and i -- about a

black guy. host: watch the language, john. caller: that very winter i went to see the temptations. i had a very fortunate life. talk about the resilience that human beings have got. i guess i have an a on around me. i am 73 years old and still blessed. i have grandchildren that are happy. host: let's let the cumbersome respond. guest: thank you for your service. we in the navy love our marine corps brothers and sisters. i know the vietnam war was tough for people who felt they were not welcomed when they came home. you brought up something important and that is resilience. we are talking about ptsd about how it negatively affects us but trauma can also strengthen us. we have a choice in building our own resilience by focusing on how do i build strength or move

towards weakness. building strength in everything we do is part of that. another part of self-discipline, making sure on a databases we are doing things to make ourselves stronger. don't spend our days thinking of negative attitudes. life is tough, everybody is picking on me, that is continuing to dwell. how we think so we feel so we act. if we think life is tough and i'm going to find a way to face these challenges, disciplining myself every day in mature, physical, spiritual, emotional activities. the part of the community -- be part of a community, people who enforce. that strength. find someone if not more than one who can be part of reinforcing those messages. that is part of resilience. in my book i talk about building resilience before the battle,

having resistance to fight the battles, where you learn about endurance and persistence, recovery after the battle and are aspects of hope and guilt and forgiveness, but the fourth one is the aspect of how we remove ourselves with faith, trust, understanding that we are blessed with grace. also have a mission moving forward, a purpose in life. those are the things that are going to help us overcome and rebuild and restructure our life. host: kenneth in south portland, maine. caller: i was calling to let you know that there was a time where i had to go to the hospital for mental health issues. this was a catholic hospital. i was set down in front of a burnt flesh in front of a bunch

of crosses -- set down in front of a bunch of crosses. they did not really do anything to me. my bill was sent to the v.a. just for them to tell me to suck it up. my question, more of a statement, any veterans if you are suffering through mental health crisis or you have not been able to speak to the vsm -- uso, the best way would to go to the website and they will get you a representative. if you are not able to do that, your local steakhouse will be able to accommodate one. i am just saying. it should not take someone to go into a uniform to get mental

health treatment. the v.a. here is pretty good but it is flaky everywhere else. if you are going to try to preach and health -- preach mental health, just remember not everybody is christian, not everybody believes the same as you and not everyone has the same struggles. it is physically impossible to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. guest: i recognize the things i am mentioning are valuable to a lot of people in terms of looking to their faith. for some people who do not have faith, i look upon this book as whether or not someone is a believer, there is a lot of good information. of the veterans in this country, less than half use the veterans administration. many people we do not qualify to use the veterans administration services. the congress has tried to deal with this by saying if your

certain number of miles from a va hospital, you can have the v.a. pay for that. that means a lot more counselors need to be trained in military aspects. i would love to hire someone in my practice who is a veteran or first responder who was also trained in counseling. they are rare out there. it is important that someone has this sense, they have been there, they know the language. good advice to people who know that who is a better. if you are not, keep searching and find the right people. host: the website for those services, at least a starting point, mentalhealth.va.gov which has links to different resources and direct support. are you a veteran and a crisis or concerned about one? his ability to find resources

day or night and a list of topics to explore and options for finding support if you are a veteran. that is mentalhealth.va.gov. guest: i have a website which is drtimmurphy.com. i have a list of podcasts and blogs with issues i write about, mental health from the perspective of psychology and faith and interviews i do with people, many of them veterans, who have overcome these things. host: you have your book there listed at options for the podcast and events and lots of things in your blog, including topics on veterans and suicide. now let's go back to your calls. greg is in fayetteville, north carolina. good morning. can you give us? -- can you hear us? caller: i can hear you.

good morning. this is not directly addressing ptsd, but i did a lot with kids and young people. i am seeing a lot of anxiety disorders with kids. i wonder if you could talk about the relationship between that, social media, and addiction to cell phones. a lot of these kids and young people, you are seeing a decline in church attendance, kids not go to church anymore, a lack of social capital. all of this is tied together. i know you talked about prayer, but let's not underestimate prayer in dealing with anxiety. i was wondering if you could address those issues? guest: there have been several issues when it comes to adolescents.

they value and need good groups working with them. one of the problems with social media is kids spend several hours a day working on social media, they are more lonely, more isolated, and less social. there is good reason to get off of those. once i was visiting rome, there is this magnificent bridge that is thousands of years old and si group of students sitting there and everyone was on their cell phone texting someone else. i thought, why would you not talk to each other? i have seen kids sitting across the table from each other at restaurants texting each other instead of talking out loud. that is important to get kids to reengage, put those away, talk to each other. what is also there is the fellowship and camaraderie working with others. sometimes we keep kids so busy with sports and other activities, they also need to

have time working with each other and working with responsible adults to teach them to interact. the mentoring, which we have lost, it is important to bring it back. host: i want to bring in some data about youth and mental health. more than one third of high school students have reported mental health challenges during the pandemic. that is among u.s. high schoolers in 2021. within that, girls and lgbtq students were most likely to report feeling sad or hopeless in the past year. mental health tops the list of worries that parents express about their kids' well-being. that is from the fall of 2022. among parents of teenagers, roughly three in 10, 28%, are extremely or very worried their teenager's use of social media could lead to problems with anxiety or depression.

guest: it is scary. a. who is interacting with their child has minutes a day where the child could be on social media. you have no idea what they're looking at, there could be predators posting -- posing as a friend. they could be heading down the wrong road. it is important to say let's put that away and do something else. there is also the aspect of drug use. i know a lot of people present this issue about marijuana and cannabis, let's legalize it. several states are going to vote to legalize it. between 2022 -- 2000 and 2022, marijuana use has grown and only about one third of students think is harmful. two thirds of kids are getting this idea that marijuana is okay. the cannabis industry is telling people it helps treat anxiety and insomnia and depression. it is the opposite.

there was a study done in colorado where women posed as being in the first trimester pregnancy saying they have nausea and they said have marijuana, it is good for you. it is disastrous. there is any increase use among people who use marijuana of its venue. coarsening systems, more days in the hospital -- is not safe and effective for people. states may decide to do this for political purposes. i believe that you have to look at the other aspect. over 450 billion dollars a year what it costs to treat all of the aspects of that. people say marijuana is bringing revenue to states. that is ridiculous.

i went percent increase in schizophrenia costs $4.5 billion. any state to look at this, understand it is going to cost more. more automobile accidents. more intensive care unit visits. look at the aspects -- those aspects as well. host: marianne is in ohio. can you turn down the volume on your tv please? i think we will try to get back to marianne later. let's go to elvis in little rock. caller: i have a theory. i am a 70 five you'll black man from little rock, arkansas -- 75-year-old black man from little rock, arkansas. ancient history was telling me that all of this hit and stuff

started in ancient times when europeans were cut off from the rest of the world because of the climate. the cold and stuff have the behind. host: did you have a question for the congressman? caller: i am trying to get this out. host: we are going to keep to the topic of mental health. let's get to lorraine in ithaca, new york. caller: hi, mr. murphy. i am extremely pro-bittle health having been a clinical social worker all of my life -- extremely pro-mental health having been a clinical social worker all my life. i am concerned about the conflation of kush entity and mental health. psychology was made by human men who worked hard to make methods for people to learn and learn

about psychological literacy, how to keep your mind healthy. christianity, a book like this would be great if you are in the christian club but i am concerned about america where we don't believe in pluralistic religion anymore. our country was founded on the fact that your religion is your private matter and it is up to you. it is something inside of you, not something we do. we have secular values in the united states. meaning that all religions are okay. the bible has a number of cruel passages in it were used on people, i for an eye, there is a negative stuff in the bible related to somebody taking care of their consults when they are hurt and entered -- taking care of themselves when they are hurt and injured. i don't think the conflation of

religion and psychology is good unless you are in the club. right now, having a white christian nationalist nation, there are people who want that. that is the opposite of what america was founded on. guest: i disagree with you, respectfully. i don't think it is a clubber, i think it is important. the bible has a lot of stories from the historical context through all of the time that people have lived. people have been cruel to each other. it is not just in judeo-christian religions, it is everywhere. you look what happened to various empires when they went out at her people, tortured them, awful things. that is when people have fallen away from godly issues or essence of morals. i don't believe people themselves have a good set of morals, they need a guide, they need something to look at to give them that guidance.

this book i have written is not a panacea for everybody. there is a difference between a secular nation, one that is not taking athe constitution says wl not have one religion for this country. we respect multiple religions here. antireligious is a problem. christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. it continues to be. we attack people who have faith. look was happening with the push on issues with regard to israel. we have turned this into attacking religion instead of helping people to go ahead and practice their religion. that is the concern i have. host: congressman murphy, that is all the time we have today. thank you for your time.

psychologist and author to im murphy. the christ cure: 10 biblical ways to heal from trauma, tragedy and ptsd. thank you for your time. coming up, we go back to our question of the day. what is the top challenge facing the united states in 2024? the numbers will be on your screen. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ >> since 1979, in partnership with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress. from the house and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings, and committee meetings. c-span gives you her front row

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the competition deadline is friday, january 19, 2024. for information, visit studentcam.org. >> c-span's campaign 2024 coverage continues with the presidential primaries. watch live on the c-span network as the first votes in the country are cast of the upcoming presidential election. along with candidate speeches and results, beginning with the iowa caucuses on january 15 and the new hampshire primary on january 23. campai 2024 on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. four 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, the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are taking your calls on what you think the top challenge facing the u.s. in 2024 might be. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. if you would like to text us, the number is (202) 748-8003. of the many issues our national security that are likely to come up in 2024. fbi director christopher wray was asked about the current threat environment against the u.s. homeland at a congressional hearing earlier this month. here is that exchange.

[video] >> would you say, putting a fine point on the topic that right now is the largest threat we have faced as a nation from international terrorist organizations since 9/11? >> well, it is certainly higher than it's been a long time. if you just look post october 7, 10 i throughout -- and i thought the threat was elevated before. you have seen a veritable rogues gallery of forward terrorist -- >> october 7 was devastating to our friends in israel. your testimony before this committee since october 7 the urging of foreign terrorist organizations to attack america has gone up. is that fair to say? >> yes, the threat level has gone to another level since october 7. >> ok folks. you are on notice. what are we going to do about

it? host: now to your calls. we will start with carl in west virginia on the independent line. caller: i think the biggest threat is racism. i urge every african-american to arm themselves. because that is where the threat is going to be aimed at. it is better to have one and not need it then need one and not have it. those are wise words from african-americans. host: ok. thank you, carl. let's go to gordon in warner robins, georgia, democratic line. go ahead, gordon. caller: good morning. i am calling about the immigration problem. i just wonder why since we have

closed over 350 military bases over the years they don't open a few of those backup and send the immigrants there where they can be confined and taken care of and maybe even provide food from other supermarkets there. they are disposing outdated food every food and month. that is just my thought on that. thank you. host: thank you, gordon. mike in montgomery, alabama on the republican line. go ahead, mike. caller: just a comment. the divisive political climate at capitol hill is becoming terribly worse. something has to be done. i don't know what leader can come to the rescue, if you will, to look at both parties across

the aisle extending an olive branch. i know politics is something there is some give-and-take but we have lost sight of the give and take in the negotiation. we need to reach mutual agreement for both parties in order to resolve all the terrible problems happening here in the country and the world. thank you for taking my call. host: thank you for calling. mark in hackensack, new jersey. independent line. caller: thank you. my biggest issue, and many people's is the open border since mr. biden took down the wall. there are currently over 250 americans dying every day from fentanyl poisoning, which is like a major airline crash every day in this country when you

think of it. also, sex traffickers, criminals they know of, and terrorist on the watchlist. plus, a million who they don't know who they are. like an earlier caller said from chicago, the immigrants -- ask the folks in chicago how they like this. they are flooding the schools and hospitals, the public schools, the criminal justice system. which is why more minorities are looking at trump as a better option. host: ok. thank you very much, mark. we also dashed to the point mark was making about deportation and also the border issue, there is a story in the washington post saying deportations of migrants

rose to more than 142,000 under biden. u.s. immigration deported more than 142,000 immigrants in fiscal year 2023. nearly double the number from the year before as the biden administration ramped up enforcement of illegal border crossings, according to a report published on friday. nearly 18,000 where parents and children traveling as family units, surpassing the 14,400 removed under the trump administration and physical 2020. -- fiscal 2020. the supreme court upheld the strategy in june. migrants who cross illegally and those who commit violent crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat our priorities for removal. the ice report covered from october 1, 2022, to september 30.

to a text message we have received. our biggest threat is catastrophic climate change. you are much more likely to die home from a heat wave or other catastrophic weather event than a migrant. that is kristin in portland, maine. president biden talked about the impacts of the changing climate at the release of the national climate assessment report last month. here are some of those comments. [video] >> with the reports made clear, the devastating toll climate change and the existential threat is the ultimate threat to humanity. climate change. i walked the streets of louisiana, new jersey, new york, florida, puerto rico where historic hurricanes wiped out homes, hospitals, houses of worship. just wiped them right off the map. there were families in texas, kentucky, mississippi were catastrophic winter storms and

tornadoes devoured everything in their path. schools, businesses, police stations, firehouses. i have seen firefighters in idaho, maui and new mexico, california, colorado, wildfires destroying whole neighborhoods. a smoky haze spread thousands of miles that forced millions of americans to shelter indoors because of the unsafe air to breathe. i have flown over these areas and helicopters. more of our forest land has burned to the ground that makes up the entire state of new jersey. the entire state. some say maryland, new jersey. that is gigantic. it has an incredible impact. record temperatures in texas, arizona, and elsewhere affecting lives and livelihoods of more than 100 million americans. this summer, this fall have been earth's hottest since records

were kept in the 1800s. think about that. the hottest we have ever recorded in history. it's an impact decades in the making because of an action -- inaction for much too long. we have been acting. we have come to the point where it is foolish for anyone to deny the impacts of climate change anymore. it's a simple fact there are a number of my colleagues on the other to the aisle, republican leaders who still deny climate change. still deny it is a problem. my predecessor in much of the maga republican party feel strongly about this. anyone who denies the impact is condemning the american people to a dangerous future. the impacts were only going to -- are only going to get more frequent, dangerous and costly. host: back to your calls.

mike in springfield, massachusetts. democratic line. caller: hi. i see one of the greatest problems we are faced with is obesity in this country. the fact we advertise how much food every year we throw away. we are throwing away last year i believe it was 23 million tons of food away. so now we wonder why people are coming from poverty ridden areas south of the border to the united states. what do you expect them to do? i also see the possibility that her health care system will be severely affected if we don't find a way to put a lid on this obese epidemic. supposedly it is 33% of the nation. i find that tough to believe it is that high.

if it keeps going up the way it is, we have big problems. maybe we could find a way to redistribute some of that 23 million tons of food south of the border to all these countries that have been affected by climate change and are not able to grow their food like they used two anymore. -- to anymore. host: what he think of these new obesity drugs and things like that? caller: in -- in lieu of taking drugs to reduce wait i don't know much about them. i don't understand that. what i've read recommend and has helped me since the early 1970's is you go to the gym and you work out hard, as much as you can when you can. you getting good shape. you won't need drugs or alcohol or anything to cope with life, including weight. i would highly recommend it.

i wanted to call earlier to the man you had on your show about dealing with mental issues. i find that at 77 years old working out hard has kept me over the top in life. that is basically what i want to talk about. we can't have people coming over the borders that are hungry and throw food away by the millions of tons. host: thanks for your call, mike. jay in louisiana on the independent line. go ahead, jay. caller: can you hear me? host: yes i can. caller: i'm a first time caller. i'm an independent. i voted democrat and the publican. -- republican. watching the various news channels that are on my cable,

there are five things that are hurting america that have been a tremendous impact or potential impact on america. one is russia. i think everybody would agree with that, with their invasion of ukraine. another is red china. it speaks for itself. another one is iran. in fourth place in no particular order would be korea. north korea. that guy over there, whatever his name is, he is a dangerous human being. the last and fifth one that's a potential hurting of america is a guy named joe biden. this guy is unbelievable.

i hope he remains healthy enough to stay alive throughout this term he's in. if he doesn't, you will find somebody worse to take his place in kamala harris. who is a complete, total embarrassment and idiot. probably the worst vice this country has ever had. and joe biden is the worst president this country has ever had. and, there is my two cents worth. i hope i did not offend anybody. host: thanks for your call. elaine and frederick, maryland. republican line. caller: hi. i'm so glad to be on today. i am very concerned about this country and the borders that the people are coming over. i'm also concerned about our military --

host: can you turn down the volume on your television a bit? we are getting feedback. caller: -- to combat the china and russia and all of them. we need them in this country, our military. i have had family who have been career -- host: clarence in logan, ohio. democratic line. caller: yes. this is clarence from logan, ohio. the biggest thing i hear on this tv, and i hear it all. i'm a christian. yes. my name is clarence right. host: if you can just turn down the volume on your television. caller: ok. there you go.

host: go ahead, clarence. caller: i believe in jesus christ. he is god. these republicans and democrats fight amongst themselves and half of them don't even know what they're talking about. it is common sense. the bible tells you there is going to be a drought. storms. things are going to get worse. if they do not turn around and listen to god they are not going to make it. a lot of people think the bible is a bunch of bull crap. i do christian writing. it don't come to me from people on earth. it comes to me through god. i'm sitting at work one day and god told me sketch out these pictures and i did. one was the rapture. one was a choice of going to

heaven or hell. host: what do you think is the top challenge facing the united states next year? caller: people does not want to read the bible and understand. host: ok. thank you, clarence. we have another comment from the text message line without a name. please ensure you ilu your name and where you are front. -- from. 240,000 physicians retired, yet there are jt 40,000 residencies per year. we are facing a crisis physician shortage as congress has faid to proposed reduction acts. next up is tom and wisconsin on the independent line -- in wisconsin on the independent line. caller: i sent that text message in. the last five years they are retiring.

i would like to see function in everyday government when we fight over this physician crisis we are facing. a friend of mine had openings for seven primary care physicians. he has only filled one. that needs to be brought by sea and the front burner -- cnn to the front burner. host: dan in arkansas on the republican line. good morning, dan. caller: thanks for taking my call. america's greatest challenge, pure and simple, is socialism. i don't care what you look at, whether it is illegal immigration, welfare problems, the crime situation, education, the federal debt. all of it comes from socialist inspired policies.

the democrats today are closer to communists than they are the democrats of yesterday. america needs to realize the situation we are in and i firmly feel america is the greatest place in the world to live. people have got to take advantage of the opportunity instead of the government and the democrats especially giving them whatever they need in life. america is still the greatest place in the world. otherwise these people would not be wanting to come here. what the democrats want, and the problem we have with illegal immigration is intentional. the democrats want america to become -- to look like the rest

of the world. they are all problems, whether it is from other countries or from within. it is socialism. all the socialists are political cousins. host: beverly and casper, wyoming. -- in casper, wyoming. democratic line. caller: it is all the heat everybody shares and the democrats did it and the democrats did it. it is crazy. get together, find a solution, quit fighting with each other like kids. i love my strangers. i am alerted of my dangers -- alert of my dangers. all these people with mental problems, that is why they are all stirred up. these people keep saying -- the

people that have these mental problems need to realize everybody makes mistakes. but they keep boosting hate, that is not for americans. host: is that what you think the top challenge facing the country and 2024 is? -- in 2024 is? caller: blame it on the next person. don't wipe your butt on somebody else. change it and make it better. host: gary in oregon on the independent line. go ahead, gary. good morning, gary. caller: good morning. i am calling about all the fires going on. last year it was real bad. we had 106 degrees temperatures and fires burning all around us. pretty tough down here in the northwest. there was concerns with the

smoke coming in from canada. when they restrict fire danger restrictions are enacted that means you cannot run the power equipment. they shut it down completely sometimes. that was the extremity of a. -- of it all. i told my neighbor to stop. there is brush and everything. i went there to say this might disturb people. he deals i don't care about anything and chased me off. i went home and i called -- they can't do nothing. it was 7:00 a.m. on a sunday morning. host: how does this affect the broader country as you consider the major challenges? several folks have mentioned climate change as well. you think the fires are going to be a big part of the issues in

2024? caller: absolutely. fired a gun. i'm living at my sister's house. they went through the window three feet from my head. host: really frightening but we will keep it on topic here. sandy in indiana on the republican line. caller: good morning. i wanted to bring up some of the ideas of the religious issue. i think it is a big problem. in the 1960's, the dems took god out of schools and religion -- nobody is making anybody be lutheran or methodist or hindu or anything. it does set a morality for our country. it teaches us right from wrong and good from evil. when i went to school in the 1960's i had to take public

transportation. the rotc guys brought their guns back and forth to school and back. nobody had mass shootings. none of that was happening. all of a sudden one god was taken out of school all of a sudden we have all these mass shootings. i think people no longer know what is right and wrong and good and evil. i think they are doing what is right in their own eyes and they are not doing what is good for the country. i believe that god has removed his hand of blessing from our country. he has given us free will and the choices people are making are not for the best benefit of this country. one last thing i wanted to mention was all these people calling up about trump. they all hate. the woman before just mentioned that. so full of hate. how about all the wonderful

things that trump did for the black people? he did the universities for the black people. he did -- gave them the music so they would get copyrights. he did so many things. he let people out of jail early when they were put there by joe biden's ruling in the 1990's to put people in jail who did exactly what hunter is accused of doing. host: thank you for your call, sandy. let's go to janet in ohio. good morning on the democratic line. caller: i don't remember the young man that posted all those documents on the internet. that young boy found them.

i think that is one of the worst things that people can do to america, is to sell them out like that. what did trump do? he took all the secret boxes to his house, to his home. that is the worst thing i ever heard of. i don't know what to say about it really. but i know that you cannot betray america. one other thing. when you come to america and you want to be an american you should be an american. you give up your country.

you live by the rules in our -- host: i want to follow up with what you were saying about the leaks of the military confidential information. i believe what you are referencing is the story of airman first class jack t exia's leak on a discord server. here's the story from military times about that where 15 air national guardsmen have been disciplined in that discord server leak. the air force has taken action. this was posted a couple of weeks ago. monday, december 11. the air force has taken action against 15 members in the chain of command for their roles in the security breakdown that enabled the 21-year-old national guardsmen to remove classified information from his office and post it online. while the service maintains he

acted alone, the air force's campus taken turned up four instances where he was observed looking at or discussing intelligence a person in his role would have no business accessing. the supervisors were aware of the issues but chose not to report him to security officials until months into his activities, according to an investigation. let's go to mary lou in new york on the independent line. caller: [inaudible] host: we are struggling to hear you. if you are cutting in and out. caller: can you hear me a little better now? host: go ahead, mary lou. caller: i think it is the climate. there are so many [indiscernible] people believe whatever -- host: maybe you can try us again

from a more stable connection. let's go to alan in connecticut on the republican line. caller: good day to you and all the viewers of c-span. this is what i think. partisan politics. i went to analogize an old star trek movie, the search for spock. captain kirk says, why are you doing this? because you do not wish it. i look at the border consequences. i look at us being not energy independent. even from the right side, i'm an old road dog. when i'm behind a car which has a lot of exhaust it gives me a headache and nausea. where is elon musk when you need him? to cost too much to put in electric charters. what is good for america? not people haggling with one another saying why are you doing

this. because you do not wish it. partisan politics. what is good for america, both sides? thank you for sharing the time with me today. host: we go to a message we received via text. the top talent is a lack of respect for the rule of law b congress and all government officials. america has become a lawless nation. that is from margaret in rockton, illinois. from garand philadelphia, the top challenge for 2024 is keeping trump from becoming a dictator. we have a clip from attorney and frequent trump critic george conway who was a guest on this program earlier this month. he talked about the mission of his new group, society for the rule of law institute. [video] >> the mission is to protect the rule of law at a time when it is

seriously under threat. we have a likely presidential nominee in the republican party who basically will forsake the rule of law and basically promising he wants to use the government should he become president again as the instrument for his revenge against his enemies. that is very much a -- almost a third world country kind of thing we are seeing. we want to get the message out about what the dangers are that we face and about how important it is that the rules be respected, the rule of law be respected. the rules governing representative democracy be respected. to get people to understand what is at stake. host: lawyers like yourself? guest: there is a group of us that are core members who formed the group once under a different name in 2018.

that long ago. we have sort of revitalized the organization for this year. we did not think we would be here in 2023 with presidential candidate under indictment, with 91 counts against him and after he tried to incite an insurrection. we did not think our mission was going to be necessary after donald trump went on the airplane and conceded the election after trying to raid capitol hill. we are back. this is more of a long-term effort, because there seems to be a problem. it is not just one person anymore. it seems to be a problem throughout the country at various levels of government and among the public where they don't understand what america

means. we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box. we don't engage in conspiracy theories. we look at facts and reality. we just think it is time to go back to basics. a longer-term civil education program. host: now we have kyle in clearwater, florida on the democratic line. caller: good morning. merry christmas, happy new year to everyone. i think the biggest issue for 2024 and beyond is definitely disinformation. information and disinformation. there is a lot of it. it's been monetized. the people in control of some of the ecostreams are feeding people a narrative because it

generates a lot of money. fox own, newsmax, they are feeding the narrative that is not based on truth. i think it's important we don't put this in a republican or democrat or left or right. this can change over time. if we don't get to a point were we can have a common set of facts and understanding and get back to what conway was saying about normal discourse and discussing policies and the best ways to attack them we are never going to get through this. right now you have people that are calling democrats commies and socialists, that hate more than 50% of the country. they don't realize that is making america weaker. it is putting us at risk. i encourage people to do more research on their information, where they get it. make sure they doing fact-checks on how factual the reporting is. don't be afraid to go outside

that but understand where your information is coming from. host: thank you. jose in new york on the independent line. good morning. caller: hello. good morning. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. the biggest challenge facing us is the voters have a lack of understanding of the people they are voting in. there is a lack of character in the republican and democrats. the whole system itself, the judges, the whole thing. if we don't demand truth, because they are not honest, and we don't demand -- people call and say they are taking our country. who? who is taking the country? it is the politicians ruining the country with false information or racists. everyone is becoming a racist now. there is so much hate being built. if we don't face the truth that

if we can't stand together as a nation and we can't have people representing us with the truth and honesty that are running the country, we are in trouble. the voters keep voting these people in with no character at all. everyone is pointing the finger like a teenager. the democrats did this with the republicans did this. you can't trust those people. now it is coming from the new station. it is supposed to be independent. one news is for the democrats and one uses for the republican. you can't trust them at all. host: queens, new york on the republican line. good morning. caller: yes. how are you doing? god bless america. happy holidays, everybody. can you hear me very well? host: quite clearly. go-ahead. caller: when i was 23 years old i was working at taj mahal with donald trump. in my cafeteria we had every nationality in the world you can say.

there was no racism. i did not see that at all. now that i'm 56, i was incarcerated. i got college. the bill of rights was passed through cuomo and i graduated successfully. i have an associates in management. i am an honor student. now i'm a free man. i just want to say that the way the world is -- for my situation, i'm a light-skinned man. i don't represent my age because they look younger. i take good care of myself. host: i wonder what you think the top challenge facing the country in the coming year is. caller: well, i just want to say that i wish donald trump was president again. when he was president we did not

have no wars going on. america was going quite well. i want to say that. i wish we could get this man another chance. maybe things will get better. i do want to offend nobody. i just want the world to get organized again. living in new york, even myself i'm going through it even with my own kind. last week i was dealing with another black brother. it is hard for me. host: thank you very much. let's keep to the topic on the top challenges facing the united states in 2020 for. let's hear from richard in cumberland, maryland on the democratic line. caller: hello. you can hear me quite well i believe. my tv is muted. host: thank you. caller: i believe it all trickles down from education.

the political environment, the social environment. i believe everything trickles down from education. get the r off your chest. get the d off your chest. put an a for american. i feel this way but it should be based on actual facts. do you think i'm correct? host: thank you so much for your call. let's go to dee in california on the independent line. caller: good morning and thank you for your time. i think one of the problems with america today is people are getting their information. two colors back some but said during donald trump there was no wars. afghanistan was a 20-year war. so it's out there and everyone

knows, the war ended under the agreement of donald trump from an 18 month period where they were not kill any americans so he could run on a good record of no americans killed. that is why we left afghanistan, because of that deal donald trump made with the enemy to not kill americans. there was a war going on under trump. but richard said before me about education, i think that's an excellent point about what's going on in america. we are many people -- where many people is getting information is skewed and they don't realize that. education is key. i have two bachelors degrees. i live in california. i'm watching stations tell listeners you don't need an education. you don't need to go to college. they are trying to tell them things that are completely misleading. if they don't get their education proper, they will not have what they need to expand their knowledge and education. maybe not college but you have

to expand your education. the main thing for 2024 we are facing is people are -- where people are getting information. people talk about how donald trump is so good for the country. i grew up in a christian household. everything i learned was that you should not support a sexual abuser, you should not support a liar, you should not support someone who is a convicted fraud. you should not support someone that lies. but these christians -- sorry, people that believe they are christians keep supporting this guy. i do think any religion that i'm aware of would say it's ok to support a person that does those three or four things i named. there is plenty more on top of that. that's the first thing that came to mind. host: thank you. let's go to brian in west union, ohio on the republican line. go ahead, brian. can you hear us?

go ahead. caller: i can hear you. can you hear me fine? host: go ahead. caller: one of the most important issues we have coming up is voter integrity. the dollar bill has an id on it. we all have ids. we also what happened. there was so much messed up in that whole election. we need some transparency. bidenomics, i think that will be the big issue. they say they are creating all these jobs. creating millions of jobs. yet they are letting in millions and millions of illegal immigrants. it is like shooting yourself in the foot, wouldn't you think? host: on the issue of election integrity, what sorts of steps do you think could be done at the state or national level to give you more confidence in the integrity of the election? caller: voter id.

period. that's it. host: what do you mean by that? caller: you going with your id, a paper ballot. you have to show id to vote. show your id to vote. if you are an american citizen, here's my id and vote. that is the only way to get it done and do it right. that's it. host: let's hear from morgan in reading, pennsylvania on the democratic line. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i just had a call when that woman talked about what donald trump was doing for black people. you have got to be kidding me. donald trump who made a hero out of kyle rittenhouse, a teenage double murder who murdered those guys that were marching with black lives matter. donald trump who has helped mainstream white hate groups, who employed them on january 6 to commit treason against our capitol. are you kidding me? some things people need to get a

grip on. if he did do good things, so what? at what cost? look at the people he has done and the people he brought in. he called nazi and klans good people after they murdered that woman in charlottesville. the top issue for you the united states is to stop calling out people for their people hatred and bigotry. that is what is destroying this country. bigotry and hatred for people who are different. thank you for c-span. host: we have a text message from michelle in illinois. e allenge for 2024 is all of us coming together to agree to an objective reality instead of the subjective realities fabricated by donald trump. now from north carolina on the independent line we will hear from mike. good morning, mike. caller: hello. host: hello, mike.

we can hear you. caller: look, i really want to applaud first of all c-span. i have heard in the last four or five speakers. the last guy -- everybody's angry but the three before them were really, really honest. i am honest to stay you i'm not going to give my opinion. i'm not going to give anything that is favoritism. i thank god for c-span. this is where people -- i'm so impressed with the fact we have an open forum three c-span. --

through c-span. the right or the left or the democrats or republicans, it doesn't matter what you are doing -- it doesn't matter. what you are doing is wonderful. i wanted to call and thank you for being available for people to expand on their emotions, their political knowledge, their historical knowledge. we have to realize, you know, with the civil war. if i have to go all the way back -- host: i want to thank you for your comments about c-span. specie a -- c-span receives funding from cable and satellite affiliates. we also do take donations.

you can find that on a website where you can donate yourself to support c-span if you so desire. let's go to rick in crawfordsville, indiana on the republican line. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: doing well. go ahead. caller: my name is rick hood. we are talking about the climate change. well, climate change has been around for millions and millions of years. we have had cold. everybody is blaming -- they are blaming all the cars and stuff going around. yeah, that's it. [laughter]

what are they going to do with the volcanoes? are they going to put catalytic converters on them and mufflers and smog control? not only that, the border. it's really bad. i can understand -- everybody's feeling sorry for the immigrations. the south has rise again because democrats want these people over here for cheap, cheap labor. another thing is that i am not going to support ukraine, because they are losing the war. they lost over 600,000 people. not only that, if we got in the war do you think ukraine would help us? i believe they would. if we would give the money to help us. look at the guy. he just built a $550 million

mansion over there with our tax money. i want to tell you god bless you all. free democrats, i would like this -- free democrats you like to sit there and put down god, this is the end time. god is trying to wake up the country. if you don't understand that, well, just keep on blaming it on climate control but it's not so. thank you so much and god bless all the people in america. host: thank you for your call, rick. lewis in north carolina on the democratic line. go ahead, lewis. caller: for a black man such as myself in america i look at racism. i look at how we have -- please, i'm not throwing punches at anybody. i want to let the people see. the gentleman told you about how trump reacted.

let me tell y'all something. i hear a lot of white people talk about this and that and the border, but they would not talk about racism. they would not talk about how neo-nazi children go into the schools and they be jewish themselves, like that last one of florida. they had the neo-nazi sign on one of his clips. he was just killing kids. any white child he saw. people have to understand when they hear neo-nazi, neo-nazis do not like white america. they will kill anybody but they do not like white america and jews, because white america helped bring down hitler. we have a problem in the united states. i don't know why congress and the senate don't get together and outlaw them and have them as terrorists. it is getting out of hand. white people are afraid to talk about trump because they know their neighbors love trump. they need courage like we did

back in the 1940's and 1950's and the 1960's when the white man was burning crosses in our yard and hanging our family members from trees. it did not stop us. we kept right on marching and let the people know we are not afraid. we have a lot of scared white people in america that won't talk about trump and know how people he is -- evil he is. thanks for c-span for the opportunity. they are afraid. host: let's hear from walt in south carolina on the independent line. caller: good morning. i want to say my greatest concern in 2024 is our major political parties would come to their senses and offer us up two candidates for president that can actually serve as president and have the ability and the resources to get the job done. i'm afraid we have actually

become a laughing stock in the world where we have had donald trump and now joe biden as our presidents for two consecutive terms. neither of which were capable. my feeling is biden was at least the lesser of the two evils. our political parties need to come up with the courage to understand they have got to provide the american people real choices for the highest office in the country. thanks. host: let's hear from chris in san antonio, texas on the republican line. caller: thanks for taking my call. the man a couple of minutes ago talking about white america, taking down hitler, the musky airman. there were blacks and airmen. all kinds of races helped down hitler and served in the u.s.

army. the people should remember everybody got behind that war. the main thing is climate change. all we have done for 20 years is lower carbon. the storms are getting bigger with the reporting. maybe we should put more carbon in the air and that would slow the storms down. we don't know what's causing all this. people make this stuff up. maybe we need more carbon out there. host: the last call for the day is robert in nevada on the democratic line. good morning, robert. caller: good morning. my concern going forward is when we going to get something for our money out of our congress? not knowing all the facts and everything our congress costs us in wage and everything involved. doing basic math, we just spent a quarter of a billion to half a billion dollars just in wages to

get a coin minted. that is all that was accomplished. it is going to be the most expensive coin in american history and the future of the world. it is ridiculous. we need to do something about our congress. we need to start ther ande clean house because nothing is getting done for our money. americans out here are starving. thank you. host: thank you, robert. thank you everyone who called in today for today's edition of washington journal. we will be back tomorrow with another episode. that will be at 7:00 a.m. eastern. thank you all and have a wonderful day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] ♪

c-span's washington journal our live form inviting you to discuss issues from washington to across the country. sunday morning journalist jerry dunn leaving talks about his book on the 2021 u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. c-span's washington journal. join in the conversation live at 7:00 eastern sunday morning on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> next, or from the campaign trail with 2020 for gop

presidential candidate nikki haley in north conway, new hampshire. then the supre court hears an oral argument in a case concerning the bankruptcy of purdue pharma and its potential impact on compention for opioid victims. later a ceremony to honor member of congress and staff for constituent services. >> all this month watch the best of c-span's q&a. sunday journalist and historian craig fairman analyzes american presidents through the lens of the books they have written in his book "author in chief" sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. listen to q&a and all our podcasts on our free c-span now at. --app. c-span is your unfiltered view and government funded by these television companies add more including cox. >> this syndrome is extremely

rare. but friends don't have to be. when you are connected you are not alone. >> cox supports c-sp as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> gop presidential hopeful nikki haley clarified her recent statement about the cause of the civil war during a town hall in new hampshire just three weeks before t states first in the nation gop primary ection. in response to an audience question, e former south carolina govnor also mentioned whether or not she would pardon form president trump if elected. th is about an hour and a half. ♪