1000 community centers to creat1 ■v wr wi-fi enabled list so students from low income families can get the tools they need toe ready for anything. comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other televisionroviders, giving you a front row seat to democracy. on "washington calls and comments life. in mitchell mckinney joins us to discuss the history of presidential debates. he is a political communication scholar and dean of the buchtel college of arts and sciences at the university of akron. "washington journal" is next st: it is the "washington journal" for june 26,y.

e between president biden and former president trump will look at how the cand issues will be debated. participants were asked about what they wanted to hear, with matters about the economy, we will find out what topics you want to hear about it thuryou c, (202) 748-8000. if you support former president trump, (202) 748-8001. if you support neither candidate, (202) 748-8002. you can also tell us what topics you want to hereby text at (202) 748-8003. and you can also post on facebook and on x. an organization put out a poll topics respondents wanted to hear.

overall, amongst the topics they want to hear about it tomorrow n' -- top topic inflation, followed by border security, health careth topic of social security, and the national debt. that is the five topics amongst all registered voters who participated in the poll. biden, here is what they found were the top issues they wanted to hear tomorrow night, abortion and climate change being tied at 62. ■health care followed that with 60. as fars em, the topic of guns ae those are amongst those who supported president biden. among those who supported former president trp,he border securit% is inflation, and then the matter of national debt coming in, with

topics of taxes and other related and corruption being one of those topics they wanted to see debated tomorrow night. for the category of neither candidate, supporter of neier tt amongst those, the top topiclows of health care, national deb and then social security, border security, as well. and it comes to tomorrow night's debate and the things you want toee discussed, whether it be one of these categories that were mentioned or maybe categord let us know. again if you support president tell us debate. if you support former president trump, (202) 748-8001. perhs you support neither

cande and you want to tell us what you want to hear tomorrow night, (202) 748-8002.k and on x. you can always send us a text at (202) 748-8003.a small samplingf facebook, posting from the question this morning, when it comes to those topics. says wheo theng she put, the border. francis says the matters of foreign policy. and then when it comes to ■'gri, he highlights both the economy and the bde tomorrow night. when it comes to matterseconomye they highlight that inirst those term as president, donald trump tied his assessment to the u.s. economy to the stock market,■x d

stocks rose to the new height and he said the american economy was the enemy of the world. of the world is looking at the leads the global economy by many measures. global economic forecasts in 2024 based mainly on the united states. stock ma biden's presidency, but it. he is loongng jobs, and bringing opportunities manu. sorry about that cartoon popping up. there is day,te and will lay out their visions for the economy. mr. trump has floated a variety of economic pr3op. it was president biden on the road in several states, talking night'ss economic record

debate. here is a bit from the president. [video clip] some of my friends on the far right have criticized my invest in aca agenda, which includes9an infrastructure law and the inflation reduction act. a lot of think skey economic gre seeing now. week, recession next week, no soft landing. f÷when the united states decides to invest considerable resources in the new industry we need to buildthe answer overwhelmingly is that it encourages buneinves. that is what we are seeing nowma iseb■dldg our roads and manufacturing, and so much more. so far, we have $866

billion in privateinvestment na1 trillion. historic amounts in such a short time. and 5xcreati h jobs, building nw seco battery factories, and so much more, and that is president biden in ing state, talking about matters of the economy, expecyou may want e matters t economy or other topics. if you support president biden, (202) 748-8000. if you support former president trump, (202) 748-8001. if you support202) 748-8002. let's hear from james in ent trump. what do you want to hear tomorrow night? caller: i want to hear president trump talk about do about the b,

how fast he is going 2ato get t. i also want to hear bidenis he t inflation? host: border or inflation, what would you like as far as things you would agree with? caller:■x■ i want to go back to shutting that bo)prd down■ç immediately. i want to start getting the i am tired of them coming over killing americans, rapg do it t. want up, i want the oil supply. host: ok. this is can't in -- kent in michigan, a supporter of president biden.: i support bide

i think mor administration, and trump, all himself and does not trust anybody else to work. so i guess it is just a matter of fact that biden has a better administration. host:s far as tomorrow night's debate, what do you want to hear from president biden? ■oy you want him to discuss? caller: the plan■r border that s supposed to go through congress. how come that got shut down? why did the republicans pull that would he ministration. so that would be my big point. host: kent in

michigan. texting as is larry from new jersey, i would like to hear candidates discuss universal health care, education for that is reasonable and accessible. eltonsocial security, medicare,d veterans benefs. crime reduction, too, being topics they want to hear. and this one says democracy and women's health. u-gov pl, inflation is top on that amongst everybody. the categories, but amongst all registered vot border security, health care, social security, and the debt are the top topics you want to hear r candidate, anthony in detroit. caller: support either of these two people? trump, biden, no way.

no other candidates, like jill stein, for example, enough balance to get to 70 v so that is wrong, and i will not be watching for that reason. but if i was, i would like to hear about the genocide in gaza. even theators, they all agree on it. they are a■ll with israel, so what debate is there even to be had on this pres iue? host: ok, anthony theher candidate. you can still call to tell us what to hear debated, even though you do not necessarily support either. this is bill and pennsylvania, supporter of president biden. hello. 3wcaller: yes, i am bill. i want them to debate on the economy. i want biden to tell what he

try to help the economy get better. i believe there are certain things you can do. i do not know whether a stimulus is part prices, i want to hear them debate on that. host: what would you like them to say about those thi they goir in some kindyou going to try to get to it. it is true that we can drill oil in texas or other ci have never been touched before. is there truth to that? host:bill with matters of the et tomorrow, one of the that will probably come up in the debate, immigration, saying several voters who supported mr. biden in■é 2020 said he needs to address immigration during the

debate. mr took office in 2021 witrump's restrictive border policies, but he record numberss illegally crossing the u.s.-mexico border on his watch. earlier this month, ban, ud crossings, a hard-line stan centerpiece of hs administration has vowed a wide-ranging crackdown if reelected. over the weekend in philadelphia, donald trump spoke about matters of immigration. here is what he had to say about the topic. [video clip] fmr. pres. tru: day on i will seal the border, stop the invasion, and send joe biden's illegal aliens the hell back home. day after day, week week,

joe biden is releasing illegal criminals into rape, pillage, pd to kill. and by the thing, he does not even havethee that happen to be fascists and communists that surround him in the al office, the beautiful, resolute desk. soiled, that gorgeous, resolute ■5desk. what they're doing to our ■country, they are destroying or country. host: the first presidential debate tomorrow, and we are asking you what topics you want to hear. if you support president biden, (202) 748-8000. if you support former president trump, (202) 748-8001. if you support neither candidate, (202) 748-8002.yg that debate, by the way, is

tomorrow, cnn holding that debate, and we're simulcasting it starting at 9:00 tomorrow■. you can e that simulcast on or at c-span now and our website, c-span.orgin mneither . what do you want to hear tomorrow? caer well, you are r,it is kind of difficult to answer that. i would like them todd why the price of everything is going up. for example housing, when the price of materials went down. what is driving the rise of the cost for housing, groceries? of this, so i would like them to address that. host: from that housing cost is lower on the risk.

some say that is a concern of amongst registered voters when it comes to the cost of in supporter of president biden in tennessee is next. caller: thing i want president biden to do is to daemonic -- debunk the lies and misinformation being pumped out about his economy. when he came into office, gas ices■6 were already low and we were already going through a depression. he left the country in bad shape. ■lhe spent $8 trillion for his g tax breaks for his big rich cronies. now republicans talking about inflation. big tax cut that trump gave. and you worried about the afghanistan withdrawal. all this stuff needs to be straightened out before we go forward into this new administration. about israel, well, is not goind

for israel, whatever biden do andhatever trump do, we are not people who are like that. this guy that came over here and talked to the republican congress, then he went back home and waited for the war to start. and these so-called christiansls republicans, they just supporting the wrong thing under the bible if)ghe host: former president trump in new york abouthat you want to hear tomorrow night, go ahead. caller: yes, i would like to see candidates discuss what pressures they can place on china and india to reduce their carbon footprint, bee though a f pressure is put on us here in the united states&p■w to reduce hours, whether it is driving

less or whatever it might take, reduce our utilities. but the largest countries on the planet we need to put pressure on them to reduce theirs when they are produ 97% of the carbon pollution. thank you. host: china■0 on the list of registered voters overall, 29% of saying china is an important topic to them. of the former president, that drops to 24%. rs of the presi supporters of tr president, that is 40% saying chinthem, and only 17% of those saying that they support neither candidate,ha important topic for them, matters of china. up on the poll. a supporter of president biden, this is tim in new york.

caller: i want to hear trump talk about policies, because he i want to see■ because he don't speak about them, just say everything is bad. and for youto a sports analyst t right on the money, juim and loe what he said. host: since you are a supporter of president biden, do you want to hear anything specific from him? caller: biden has policies. if you matches policies that he passed compared to6( whatr, allx cut. that is all he did. ■,heid do anything else. just match them up, look it up online, see who passed what, people will understand. you have a great day. host: connecticut, a supporter of neither candidate. caller:■> well, as an independet

hes]candidate to address the fon influence of money. we saw one progressive candidate go down at the hands of aipac. they promised to spend $100 million. and other candidates who were notnd policies of israel. i think it ismp to bring up the environment, the and our future belongs to the young people. over. how about journalist freedom, i.e. the julian assange governms

ac a guilty plea for the man to go■5 free after 14 yearsf confinement. andelsea manning issue. should war crimes be, if they areallowed never to reach the lt of day to so-called sources and methods? this tricklesown ?otove town, every hamlet,country. these issues are important. do we have a sovereign nation or will we be under influence of foreign countries, whether they are allies or not? host:■ó ok, a laundry list of topics paul in connecticut would like to see debated between the current president and the foreigormer president. you can add to that list. if you support president biden, (202) 748-8000. if you support former president trump, (202) 748-8001.

if you support neither candidate, (202) 748-8002. charlie warren from massachusetts texted us saying i would ask president biden why h needed to drop all responsibilities for over a week topae? chris in illinys it ■# u ifator, this will be another opity for the candidates to drawping -- talking points and memes, rather thanring direct questions or nobody will learn anything meaningful and swayed. it is a total waste of time. bob er democrat who served two terms in congress, nebr senator, and he has an op-ed in the washington post this morning about the debate tomorrow. under the headline, make the candidates answer this question.

national debt, not the herd of elephants in the room with braying donkeys. now a national nightmare, ever-increasing blight to the economic and social future of the country. the presidential rivals they wo. here are some of the facts he added, 1994, from 48% to 97%, it is projected that the federal spending, the interest of the debt will climb to $892on, interest payments this year will exceed total spention, and transportatn combined. he also budget deficit is expected to be $1.9 trillion, two of three major credit rating agencies have downgraded the u.s. government debt f+.

a supporter of the former president, this is fred in kekyller: one of the tuld like o ask biden■d what kind of drugs e is on to hp debate, and anothe f you got the questions in advance to practice for the debate, like hillary did. and another one, of course, is i noticed that the sliced white bread, the storebrand, when trump was in office, it loaf, a and the storebrand spaghetti sauce, it was 99 cents a jar,

now $1.99 a jar. country were getting their insurance and it was so high after biden took office, and they said that is because they but then i opened my insurance bi too. so prices arewars in asia and e. and we did not have that under host: ok, bter of president bid. caller: goomo yeah, i support president biden and my biggest problem is the economy, these oil companies contributing to party. fuel, it has not changed ifo ye.

where do people -- do the store? it is diesel fuel, period. the republican party is controlling it and the oil companies. host: if it were to become a topic, howouou like president biden to address it? caller: i would like to he hi wo how hcompanies. tax the whole lot ofhem or come up with anbecause the econw that by now. nothing comes by rail anymore, it is all trucks. host: james in north carolina, supporter of presidenten.ví ok,d

talk about how the republican party has ran us up to a $34 trillion have always given massive tax cuts to the rst and the big companies are controllinghe prices. the president cannot raise or lower the price ofne by the big companies. and i would drive that point home, because the republicans have destroyed capitalism, and they have also destroyed the middle cla. the american dream is gone. people cannot afford a new house, newand we can barely survive with two people working now. i would drive that point home because i would love to hear

resolution -- here aolution, how they can't balance the budget and pay -- how they can■: balance the budget and pay down i think it is pathetic. i would love to hear a solution. host: ok, james there in north carolina, with matters of the debt, and the things he talked about. you may#%m[ want to hear that tomorrow night or maybe other topics altogether. you can choose fm .hree lines today. those of you who support president biden, those of you support former president trump, and perhaps those of you who support another candidate. the bate and will be simulcast on c-span2 an dnj c-span now, and c-span.org, you

want to hear new york times other on various in a piecee cost of living, nek timestrump has tried to link his message on immigration to the omy, saying that president biden's handling of it has driven up costs. mr. trum gasoline and energy, which he clawe during his administration and which he promises to address by increasing oil biden's rebuttal saying mr. biden returned to scranton, cuse mr. trump of being a puppet of plutocrats. debate, the president is likely to adopt a similar mainstapproach and highlight his administration's efforts to cut consumer costs on things like

s, and airline travel. this is from trina new york to hear tomorrow night. caller: i have two qu trump, i would like to know if he is to the white house from aisle and how he is going to wwithem. the second question is very much like it, how will he do, particularly if conservatives do t the house and senate? and for president biden, i would like to know what he's going to do about the rampant anti-semitismn our country, which really goes along with crime. i feel like there is a lot of false statistics out there or they stopped tracking some

■;crimes. the second question for him is, did he get the questions before hand for this and if so, did his team create the another team created? host:allace is next in north carolina, supporter of president biden. hello. ca yes, i wanted issue would bl handle the issue as when they be swearing in, when trump is sworn in, how will they handle that when they present biden to him -- when thepresent the bible to him to swear upon the oath he is taking cheating and his back, swear him in knowing a liar all the time? was wondering how they will address that. host: whycaller: because you goo

swear on the bible.i think thaty things, when you swearing on the bible, it is puttingou out there. are really concerned about how you will handle things, your whether his honesty is going to be there,÷■t and you doing that in front of a nationwide group of people. i think it is very important. thank you. host: diane is next, in new york, a supporter of former president trump.nk good morning, america. yes, i would like toe president trump be asked what ty turkey invaded iraq last night or yesterday -- what is going to happen with that? and president, where is

general austin in all these preparations for■= war, and dide ever have a congressional hearing ouith everybody? i know we're just pacifists side, but i think it is also, i believe president will get rid of the debt by /u of the federal employees we do not need. kyi.apparently, president biden increased that tremendously whiland i think that is it. host: when it matters of foreign policy you talked about, why do you think they are important? er because we stick our do police. this is ridiculous other forevet now they got nukes. we cannot understand that as americans.

every day, another country is invading another. and they are being allowed to, that is the problem right now. everybody is afraid of trump, so let's get himn avery's next in. here to talk about debate topics for tomorrow. caller: i wt to see the candidates address overpopulation in our urban areas. know they are not going to address it, so needs to addresss well. it is said we are underpopulated, but that is a misleading statement. c-span needs to bring in a guest to tell us the truth on where our population has been going at likeqion, and overcrowded

prisons. host:why do you think that is important? caller: people have to have space to have a good life. i think it affects a lot of things like accidents,f resources, lack of research andevelopment, because you have people more concerned about having sex then they are concerned about health and safety, playing games with children then they are worried about the quality of life. host: that was a supporter of neitrdate. a topic from jesse in new mexico, trump, do you tnk you lived up to the presidential oath of office? wi y pre-agreed to the econ results for this

electithe next one in ohio, supporter of former president trump. caller:oath, he did not do it oa bi it was a wooden box. the oath says you will do to the be of my ability preserve, protect, defend the constitution of the uted fkhe has done nothit oath of office. in the democratic part are as guilty as he is being a democrat, because the democrats do notrepresentatives to represe people. they represent thedo they alwaye way? host: more on topics you would like to see tomorrow night? caller: yes, and the executive orders. the first day president biden took office, he signed all these executive orders. there should be can -- there should be a ruin the coune day with thoseipeline, stopped

the wall. he has been destroying the country from day one. people cannot see that? it is true. host: gail is next in ohio, a supporter of president biden. caer: yeah, i am talking about money the political parties get fromall that money m corporations, but they are not taxed at the same rate as people. they decided that corporations were yet they are putting all this money in there and not getting taxed the same as people. just don't seem right. that is kind of my issue. host: ok, that was a supporter a in minnesota. caller: yes,v i am trying to fid out if they will discuss each of their points of view of■- how a

felon cannot vote but a felon ca office. i would like each side's point of view. host: why do you think that is most important? caller:qc i absolutely do not se how a■9yé felon should be able to one for the presidency. i do not und that i talk to does not understand it. host: ok, trudy there in minnesota. when it comes to the topics for +n

and the republicans changed their mi he did not want -- they take him to court. what would satisfy them about the bord i would like to hear them talk about tomorrow night. host:ke to hear specifically from president biden about how caller: well, like he is doing he is trying to help the people coming ifrnd make sure they do not have bad people like president trump said. now when will preside trumpe ending the border anymorebiden, curb the border? what will make him happy? and what will he do, put them in cagesgai would like t■k■1o knowe

would do. host: shirley in maryland, thatd ishe topic she wants to hear. you might hear the topic of reproductive rights, the topic of a new ad campaign from the biden-harris team. [veo like donald trump's new saying that some states might choose to monitor women's who violate abortion bans. ♪ two years ago i became pregnant with a baby i desperately wanted, learned that the fetus would have a fatal condition and never survive. because of the new laws in texas, had t flee lyon state to receive treatment. if donna -- i had to my own state to receive treatment. if donald trump is e end of wo's rights. we could lose our rights, and ■ñevery state, even where abortn

is currently legal, that means in every state is at risk. donald trump took away our we need leaders that will protect our rights and not take and that is joe biden and kamala harris. pres. biden: im joe bin, and i approve this message. host: in that story about how each other on issues in the new york times, abti those categories, the author's writing thattion access has a strong appeal across party lines,n red states have shown. pres has made a broader argument that mr. trump for women, monitoring pregnancies and prosecuting the for having abortion a possible rebuttal fromthat h'n rights should be left up to the states not sign a federal ban if congress put one befo hhe falsely insists most

americans are happy toaves lefte state. north carolina, the topics you want to be debated. caller: i have twestions ■ti would like to have the mask president biden -- ask presbide. i cover 2020, and any blinken who was a campaign aide for biden 51 officers, includingas'h ian disinformation, and recently the laptop was used in ■a case against hunter biden as evidence. president biden, do you believe -- do you still contend that the hunter biden laptop is a russian

disinformation? and robert hur calhesympatheticg elderly man with a poor memory and choosing not to charge you for having sensitive senate and white house confidential information in multiple locations, including penn center in c because he called you that. either yo or you are a leader and you should be charged. which is it? and did tony bob linsky die when he told congress that you helped hunter biden take money from4 foreign adversaries -- did todd boblinsky li this is from ben in supporter of another candidate. caller:e world.

we are worried, everybody is. i would hope talk about how the school curriculums are not righthost: what do you ? be taught the basic survival skills of life. not relying on industry and things of that nature. host: ok, stephen up next in washington, d.c., a supporter of former president trump. caller: how you doing? biden, i would like to have a question■ on, what does it take and how much are we willing to lose to support ukraine? and why is it that when russia

to deals tt we had to throw them away just to continue this war? how much are we willing to support ukraine throughout this entire thing? getting ridiculous at this point. ny we can't exert -- why we cannot negotiate with russia table, while we throw them out? that is one of biggest concerns. the economy is just terrible. you know, bread, the basic things you sky rocket. and do not forget that the border was wild,z$ risk. i believe there's terrorists already in this country.

and anotherhá■m concern, most about brics? developing countries do not want u.s. currency. it@o not want to go with the u.s. dollar anymore. what are you going to that is ss concernedthat is a question i h. the topic■oregistered voters, of those saying that isml■ítomorror rising to 41% for those who support the current president, joe biden. for supporters of former president trump. only 19%f neither candidate. the yougov powv issues his firt

topics you would like to hear addresyou can add your own. in maident biden. caller: i want president addrest confidence in your ability to manage the economy because of inflation. so the middle-class is considering to shrink. host: let's hear from patty in new mexico,f former president trump. caller: hi, goodi live in new m. i will try to be real short. i am 78 years old, never voted in my life until trump run for esident. i do not see this as a two-man deal. our country is about to bomb. d intelligent, this country was built based onthe american peopt

is good against evil. when you are running on just how many babies you can kill and they are not even telling the truth on that, they back to the states. the states can make the dst not. host: i reproductive rights the about tomorrow night or other issues? caller: no, no the border. i live 100 miles from the el paso border. i would like to hear about. how come he doing that to our host: tyler and philadelphia, supporter of another candidate. morning, pedro. the reas ineither is because, ou have biden continuing and ongoing genocide in■8 palestine, among other far right policies that young people like■ñ myself cannot subscribe to. and on the others you have trump

just going as far right as po enabling a super far right fascist agenda that biden himself has shown no concn so when it comes to this illusion of biden trump,■n they are practically the same in terms of, like,fascist agenda. that is all i can say. ok. tomorrow night is the the first presidential debate. simulcast it on many fronts, including on c-span2. you can also see it on our app at c-span now and also on c-span.orgone of the topics moso former president took aim last weekend while traveling arod.

lieve this is philadelphia. here is what he had to say on matterof clip] inflation, this is what it does to you. this■w issee? look. it used to be that. [laughter] that isthat is what inflation h. that is what inflation has done. glad everybody in this room has good eyes. but i will end the biden inflation nightmare very quickly. i will stop biden'sions and trillions of dollars in wasteful spending and rapidly turn green new scam,

one of the g will -- how about e and we will drill, baby, drill. host: again, that is some of the topics he might hear, matters of the economy. you can tune in on our network tomorrow night to watch the debate. the topics you want to hear about, whether it be matters of the economy, foreign policy. this is fromsupporter of presid. hello. tim in maryland, hello? go ahead. caller: sir. i do not hav have a comment. donald trump is unquafied be president. he is very stupid -- host: on, the topic is

topics you want to hear tomorrow night. what are those? immigration, of course. the border and the economy and jobs. at is what i would like to hear. host: why is emigration ot list? caller: because the republicans refused to close the border -- confer reform. you have to of the people who were here. that is my belief. i put the blame on the reblic because they did not want to come to the table. joe biden has asked them so many le need to wake up.se. host: joyce is up houston,p. caller: yes, i 91-year-old

i have never been to africa. but i want him -- since more blacks are coming to the realization that we have been usedcof= for 70, 80 years for or hope he will talk more about how we have suffered in our neighborhoods. all you have in black neighborhs and see theve been underserved e years because we have been voting democrat all these years. and i hope he says more blacks are coming over to the republican partynd realizing that immigration, the illegal aliens coming in, it is hurting. i hope he will stress that more so more blacks will come to the realization that we have been used for our vote for all these

years. i have said for many years, the democrat like black folk, they like bla vote. two black citizens, please come , look around in our neighborhoods,neighborhot are ghettos today because of whhe doc don't care anything abt us, nothing but our vote. host: okurt is next in florida, supporter of another candidate. caller: i would like to ask them some simple questions to see how in touch with reality they are. question, what is the price of two meals atsecond queu going tovil disobedience like we with the protesters who go around defacing public property? and the third would be, how

about the deployment ofenial sye have, how about employ that at the border? that would be my three questions. the first question about chicswers would tell you about the candidates? caller: whether or not they are in touch with what the american people are going through as far as how the economy, the inflation ---a, i went yesterday, it was $30. it used took? do you know that? are you inoueople? or are you an elitist and out of to continue following in the footsteps of the people who are aly out and buy a side of beef every ek? host: let's hear from steve in new jersey, supporter of

president biden. hello. caller: morning,first question o ask trump would you doing for the three hours on january 6? that should take about half of the debate right there. i would ask trump, how come every timeou lose, it is fixed? you lost emmys, lost to ted cruz in lost in 2020. and every time you lose, it is fixed. those were the questions. and i would like to ask, would steve bannon be in his next caller: last call in minnesota, a supporter of former president trump. caller: yes, have one.

i would resint biden to be asked, are you going to name harris your running mate again? host: why do you think it is an important question to us? caller because i think he is too damned old, and if he tips over, we have got her. she is a disaster. host: that finishes off this hour of calls, looki 9:00, c-spu can watch the simulcast of that cnn[ debate between president biden and former president trump, and you can follow along ■b app at c-span now and also on the website, c-span.org. we with the discussion, looking at the history of debates, what they produce, a iill show you lips from past debates. our guest is buchtel college of arts and sciences at the university of akron's witchel

mckinney, joining us for that discussion here at professor mckinney will be on "washington urnal"g[■g when we return. ♪ c-span has been delivering unfiltered for 45 years. here is a highlighfrom a we in u ttates in saluting the name and the a boy from abilene, kansas, that led victory in the greatest war of history. heerhe will forever be revered g those n like my own, were his comrades in arms. gratitude by those nations which were liberated under his command from the most monstrous and vile

tyranny that has ever defiled this earth. remembered. [applause] >> c-span, powered by cable. saturday, americanwatch noble y presidential nominees and other political figures from the past several decades saturday. jimmy carter's acceptance speech atconvention aid in the wake of the outer gate and vietnam war era. >> we are a nation adrift to long. o long. we had divided and deadlocked government too long.xk w've been governed by veto to >> watch historic speeches on

c-span 2 and this summer, watch c-span live campaign 2024 coverage of the republican national convention july 15 through the 18th and the democratic national convention august 19 throhhe2. washington journal continues. mh the university of aberrant the university of akron. us now on washington journal. good morning to you. guest: good to be with you. st: i want to ask you in this day and age, why do you >> we see that they still draw a great deal of attention. we've been in the rangen to 80 . we've never had a geral before,o

draw quite a lot of voters. and i think that they matter in the sense that many of■o & those voters, most of those viewers of debates will tune in to cheer on their chosen candidate. there is always a small slice of undecided, weakly committed, those who aren't yet quite sure. and whenr you are in a close race, it looks like we are in oneigestions about the candidates remaining. i think that we have a number of those questions about both candidates. if they■7 are influential in helping those voters make a , and again, we've seen a number of presidential debate cycles where voters will poi whe they made their mind up. and in a close election, debates can be very consequential. you think these are more

events of style or of substances refer to issue learning and image learning. learning about their character, their demeanorthei particularlyn a debate moment. time we see the major party candidates together side-by-side. we areeshow do they treat each ? how do they attack one another? and so i think a great deal, but the issue discussion. as we justsegment, a numbe of q, specifically issue-oriented questibate there is a great deaf discussion of those issues that

éñlearning happens on multiple levels and debate for that opportunity host: one of the best way for a viewer to prepare themselves to get the stm we certainly see ar a lot of free debate commentary. themselves are engaged in settings of expectations. prepare could well to tune into c-span and the kind of discussion that we've just had this morning. thinking about what are those thinha to me, what where to know more about? what haven't i heard? and i want the candidates to dress . and usually, those are the issues f in as a set earlier, unanswered questions it is for both candidates. ■swhether the question is heard from viewers thisf■bó@ morning,t

joe biden's agent is continuing as address that in the debate? questions about donaldáacommitmf his presidency january 6 following his, how will he address those issues? i think it is an assessment of what do i need to hear from the potential leader of the nation and arewilling to address that in a straightforward manner in a debate? host: to go back and tied and taken a look at some of those historical debates. zmare there stand out debates in your mind and the history of presidential debates? -going back to 1960 and drawing some when we began our televised general election presidential debates. when richard nixon and john kennedy met together in studio. and i stress that because in some what was senior in 2024 is back to the future.

we are going to have this debate, the fir ojust the two cs themselves wh the journalists questioning them. that is exactly what we did in 1960. a great deal going back to your question of how do we l fthese debates. if you go back and you at those first debates,very focusee discussions between the two candidates. none of the bombastic■úhe playi, the cheering and jeering. i think that removal of th is gn ■mmthe type of discourse exchanged in the debate. again, what we had in 1960.

another thing we might point to is from the dynamic, the closo m the history of previous debates. host: is with us and if you want to ask them questions about the history of debates and how they might relate to tomorrow night, (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-00 four democrats. mitchell mckinney joini u let's go back to 1960 to show you a little of debate between john kennedy and richard nixon. t you are naive.ent campaign has he has raised the question of leadership why do you think people should vote for you rather than the vice president? the vice president and i came to congress ti thin there now f.

secondly, i think the■eprogramse advocate? what is the party record that we it democratic party in this century ha produced, supported and sustained these programs which are discussed tonight. mr. nixon meout ofhe republican party. he was nominated by it. and foryears, republican leaders medical care for the aging, development of the tennessee valley, development of our natural resources. nixon is an effective leader of his party. i hope he would grant me the same. the question before us is which point of view wh states? >> mr. nixon, would you like to comment? host: so thatfrom 1968. give us a little peek into what

we might expect tomorrow night. guest: we'll see. from journalists in the very first presidential debate in 1960 to john kennedy. interestingly, and we may hear some discussion on this top night, it was a question related to his age. is he too young, his inexperience. would also invite viewers to think about, again,er reflec, and we also heard john kennedy praise his oonrichard nixon di'o follow-up. e#there was a great deal of praising of one another. we've come a long way in our presidential and i think

there are lessons we could be learned as we look at that very first question and the very first presidential debate. host: do you think if you added the audience to the mix, net pon it comes to adding the audience? >> i think what we have learned in our dialogue that happens with theandidates, some of the analysis that we looked at in terms of the name-calling, the attacks, the ridul, that has increased exponentially in our esential debates. and even more so when i think of the one line, trying to elicit an audiencen and certainly for those candidates. 2016 and also in 2020.

and this is what we see in biden did not want a live audience. almost turning the debate state into something of a rally. pand ths where i think that we've seen a straying away fro a focus on issue discussion as opposed to the kind of theatrics between and among candidates. >> you back to 2020, the debate between mr.as d each other and then i'm going to ask you how muted microphone lad to it. >> are you willing to tell the american people tonight whether or not you will support either ending the filibr or packing the court? >> whatever position i take, that will become the issue. the issue is the american people should speak. out and vote. you are in voting now.

>> you're going to back to court. >> let people know. i'm not going to enter the question. i want you as of the question? the raca will you shut up, man? >> who is on your list, joe? >> gentlemen -- we have ended the segment, we are going to move on tohe sond segment. >> that was a very productive segment, wasn't it? aughter] >> people understand, joe. 47 years, you've done nothing. they understand. >> the second sueccovid-19. host: imagine the■ same environment this time, muted microphones added to the mix. guest: certainly. again i'm thinking about1960 cle exchange in 20 that we just saw.

imagininke and nixon going back-and-forth in that manner, and you're right. after that first debate in 2020 where again, the research we were doing and were analyzing that of the issue discussion, well, there was just so much chaos weekly could' tell what someone's position was or what their intention was. that led the debate commission in theon debate to impose the turning off of the microphones. 20/20 was a bit more focused a discussion at the policy we saw inirst debate and of course, that rule will be followed by as we thk ou this on a sort

of broader level of where we ve our presidential dialogue, but we got to control the mic because they can't control themselves. that also speaks to sort of the evolution of our debates. host: mitchell mckinney joining us for this conversation with university of akron, the dean of the college of arts and sciences on the history of debate. patricialine. your first call for the guest, go ahead. caller:this is what igo states,e patriotic act. there is no congressman, no politician saying anything about the organizing, tracking. 400,000 americans in this

suspected terrorists and we are not. so what are you doing it at the organized gang that you call the patriotic act? host: as far as topics are concerned. clearlysed in the debates, but i expect certain ones to emerge. how should the candidates tackle that or in least, what does history tell us about those things? >> and again, the number of issues that could be is÷ me, it seems that the imt job of those journalists that are tasked with interrogating, with questioning the candidates, sometimes i refer■ to it as setting the agenda for the debate. now i can imagine as the caller has just raised, isss relate ime

budget. other that may speak to international affairs. so night the rol issues for the candidates and i thinkae candidates side-by-side,y few ud moments for the candidates are not aware of what they will be and we are there toee how they respond. so i think the issue that was just raid reflected by theists of what issues will be raised in the debate? is always the case that we come out of the debate and we have a critique as well, this

was not asked with this issue is not raised. and i think that for me, at least, do we have a sense of those most important matters in puic in the debate? host: fail in minnetaaner: good. i think i won't be watching the debates, i think i'd rather watch -- because i am 100% modera. i don't see eitherdate being able to drive the country forward because they both kind of have a past tense. one says make amer■cica t again. another is build back tterthat .

host: thank you, phil. usually these debates and up as does command affairs. what about this idea of adding other voices to the mix and what is history tell us about certaiy a contingent to third in the party candidates. we have very limited times in 1992y candidate that appeared. there was a single debate with ronald reagan and john anderson in 1980 but it did not include the incumbent president. so that battle continues every four years. the sponsor of the debate, the

debate will apply their and will say to we have any candidates thatdata thn enough states at e time that the debate takes place to mathematically get to 270 ecl votes? and if not, they are not invited. voices to the debate stage, the threshold i think is just so great for independent third-party candidates, it rarely happens. host: here'from 1992, one of ths that you may remember from watching it. here it is. >> the incredible number of young people are active in supporting my because they are deeply concerned that we have taken the american dream from them. i think it's fitting that we are on the campus of the university

tonight. these young people when they get out of this wonderful uni will have difficulty finding a job. we've got to clean ts me up, leave this country in good shape and give the american dream to them. we've got to collect the taxes to do it. if there is a fair way, a ears. [laughter] [applause] host: hear from jerry in new jersey, democrats line. caller: good morning. i have a couple things. one, we are talking about the bottles. they give you two minutes to speak and then the other person says something and then we may be stock on one topic for five but the other question i have here, it's obvious that the media, mostand i am concerned tt

what i'd like to see is, give t. that debate that everybody keeps saying trump interrupted, they lied. said that the computer, that theop disinformation. that never got corrected. chris waace leat go. so= let's hope there is honesty. let's hope that somebody says bn is going to it and i am hoping they ar honestlet's just. host: dean mckinney, let me ask

you this is far as preparation is concerned. whathe best practices going into tomorrow? guest: you know, i've written that i be the hardest job in all of journalism. sa that we've got journalists in harm's way and danger zones around the journalists that are selected to be çmoderators of debates, most recently they've had threats on their life, attacks. seems to be par for the course now. the notiony biased, are they against one candidate or the other, that has become strategy of candidates no matter who they selected to interrogate the candidates debate. the pre-debate strategy i then to attack those journalists and to question their legitimacy.

a difficult job in terms of preparing.going back to our pres szs no way to cover every issue, every matter to every voter. those journalisted to decide ok, what are those most important issues, and then alsoe candidates have taken, how do i get them to respond and provide the when it comes to evading the question? buttals. and that is important in debate, to try to continue to press candidates to provide information on the topic of the question. now, also in terms of truth difficult issue. we've seen a number of ■s■in and they are then open to

■1just a brage of criticism where if they attempt to do fact checking -- and i say fact checking in real time with 80 ion pe■3le watching, that is a difficult task. when a false claim is made, an inaccuracy, when a candidate makes a claim that is simply not truending of the record knows se said hey, it is not up to, it is up to the opponent. and that is also a feature of rebuttal tied into debate. one of the fact checkers is nt when they have the ability to respond to a candidate has just claimed. f matters i think are important and thee dialoguel take place, and those ave such a significant rolen discussion

and interactcandidates in a ways to educating the voters. that is such a difficult task candidates, iso that we've seent several rounds were unwilling to respond to the question, who perhaps are willing to make any m on the debate stage knowing that, well,corrected tht is going to be under attack. ■tit is quite a tall order for those journalists in charge of thes in the history ofis there n your mind, someo who has=xet all those requirements? >> it is really hard. i will say that before his passin i had an interaction

with -- fromds and i think he still does,■ i at one point hada tally on this, holds the record for moderating the most presidential debates. to his questioning.boutpwas a vy asking candidates yosaid this, when you please explain. ■when you please expand on. a very issue-based approach to his question as opposed comment on your opponent or your opponent hasv&that is sibley want to elicitwe'd seen e deba ssts. i think in our most recent

rounds, we've had several journalists execute themselves very mitchell mckinney joining us for this conversation. let's hear from john in north carolina, republicans. : thank you for calling. hello? ay in baltimore, marynddemocrats line. caller: first ofmics and also nl because these debates have ed into such reality shows. it really should become more low-key as much as we possi thig

, jake and dana are great, i think they are good they do come from cnn and cnn in my opinion is a higher caliber news than si would prefer someone who is not even a celebrity in their maybe they should have people-se direction or the other or people whothat is my opinion. host: anytng offer? guest: what comes to mind is certainly yes, the difficulty of fying journalists■é that no one would find or would object to.

this question led to the demise of the league of women voters who was the first independent te sponsors and then after the leak wd the commission on presidential debates but at one point, they constructed a list of approximately 100 possible journalists for the es to that -- of that 100, no ot acceptable. in some ways, particularly in today's partisan where almost every outlet and journalist seems to be or right, it is going to be a difficult task. mind in the college question, let c-span callers -- we have had the town hall debate in 1992 where a

gallup poll selected citizens randomly from aú■ that the debate was hosted in and then those citizens wou stand and ask questions of the candidates. wee last cycle and i don't believe it will be repeated this cycle. one of the things that we found that the question were much more the issues of greatest concern. that was always an interesting finding. you ask people to stand and ask questns, they are going to ask questions related to the issues that are most important the public. but we also found in that town hall debate is that tends to be the least bombastic today.

in other words, when candidates were answering questions for , they were not attacking each other. the most recent town hall debate in016,nd started to break down a bit. but back to me speaks to the importance of who is selted to set the issue agenda for the debate. host: this is if you were asked the question, whyates actually real debate but we understood in high school and college? i get that question a and sometimes there is a reference to the lincoln douglas debate. and i say you mean the three-hour debate where a candidate spoke for one hour, the other candidate replied for 30 minutes.

typically, the collegiate debate on a given topic, one topic. we had discussion here where issues that are a concern. it would be quite difficult for someone to decide what is the most important issue facing the nation, facing concerned the american public. i think there are several . the ó, no perfect debate format, never will be. ■ç can have the american people address we have a window

to democracy. all of the difficulties what will be thet debate format. host: illinois, republican line. caller: yes. the last p 2020, while i was wat -- : let me ask you this. on presidential debates. that. this round of debates outside of that commiion. it? guest:v an advisor, i followed the commission and the work that they had since i've been the organizer and sponsor of a presidential debates.

but do i think of that movie? that move was probably about from the candidates. our debates a it is totally at the-ue. we typically add an independent debate organizer sponsor, than the commission on presidential debates. going back to 1960. 1960 is when the tv networks camejointly brought ths to the debate stage. 0g then each of the network broadcast debates, we then went to an independent debate sponsor 9uand now we are going again bak away from that based on the

candat desire to not engage in commission-sponsored debates. it was first donald trump and republicans who said didn't like or trust the commission. and so they thought the commission was unfair tohem, biased. most recently joe biden and biden campaign engaged with cnn and negotiated the rules. thought that the debate and the rules would be more favorable to what they wanted in deso that ii believe. it is about control.i often the candidates attend to

. to deal with a cable network to host the debate. host: as far as the commission? le will be a one-off, ife if we will return. some of it has been driven by the particular candidate. particularly again as i said lly, a falling out of favor with the debate commission and then again, the biden campaign saw an opg to engage cnn in a debate that or n future presidential cycles.

i see the need for independent for example, if the candidates with the networks, there jourliagenda, will controk the questions. broadcast network.seme of d so i think in that is some dih creating that are available to the wider all in a that isossible. so i do see a need forgroup thad organize and host debates. host: mitchell mckinney serves as the dean at the university of

akron herelk abouthethanks for . gues good to be with you. host: the house comes in at 9:00. we will do open forum until then. if you want to participate, (202) 748-8001■■7■gknpmo a

trillion dollar tax breakevery'e hype. the convicted felon has no interest gave problems to the breaks, but what we got as a low or middle income person, we got

a loan. c-span, please have somebody on thatill st assess the taxes that suckers and the lt r. host:cv nancy in south carolina, democrats line. caller: my call, pedro. president biden and trump are too old to run. that5; is just reality. an older gentleman or a felon. how take my chances with older gentleman, and this is why. it boils my blood to hear say tf economically withth biden. i'll never understand it because presidency when youinherit yours economy. jtrumd'o do one

single thing on the economy when he became president. then alo cyes, it was on his wah was not qualified to handle a crisis with over one million no food on shelves, no toilet paper, noanontabut how do run a country when he can handle his own financial affairs. let me be clear, we were not better off during trump's during president biden. in closing, i ask please someone, after this question for me. at if not now, and for who was a great? host: florida, republican line, go ahead. caller: good morning,edi was juy who says the economy is better

under biden. well, she'd better wake up and lo a roses because the economy is getting worse instead of better. anybody that calls trump a convicted felon, well, what do you call biden when he brought the troops out of iraq. en what you call mr. biden when he apologizes to a that killed that girl and he apologized to and not the parents. i mean, there is something wrong here. my other question, i wish us wondering about the debate. do you really think it is going to be fair, it is going to be three on one? do understand the logistics. why can't they have someone to ask the questions to

the people? you have a great day and thank you for listening. host: up next from new york, independent line. caller: good morning. i'm trying to listen to these people. i don't understand what is happening to the party of law and order that they are willing to supl. i don't care what they say about he's old, i really don't care. i'd rather stick■&that a crimina racist. thank you. (202) 748-8001 republicans. (202) 748-8000 democrats. (202) 748-8002ndependent. we told you in little bit about those celebrities being on capitol hill today. legendary olympian michael phelps describing an frustration among clean athletes and concerns for the future of

fair competition. phelps and his fellowmmer allist described the length they went to in order to prove they were