tonight vice president harris will accept the party's nomination. it was last night governor tim walz except of the party's nomination to be the vice president's running mate. all those topics for discussion as we feature guests from chicago and hear from you. here is our plans recovers the last night of the convention. the vice president will accept her party's nomination. our coverage startsh a preview and your calls before the convention convened for the last time at 6:30 this evening eastern. following the acceptance speech will have calls in your reaction startinat 11:00 eastern. you can follow along on her main channel c-span, watch at c-span now and online at c-span.org.

prue in chicago. joining us early from chicago washington post opinion columnist karen tumulty. thank you for giving us your time. guest: it is great to be here. host: your opinion, what does the vice president have to achieve tonight in this speech? guest: the table has been late for her here by a lineup of former presidents, the current president. kamala harris, despite the fact she's been vice president for four years is a pretty unknown figure to most americans. she will be introducing herself. we have seen a lot of her biography this week. she's also going to try to -- it's a difficult thing when you are part of the sitting administration and also

delivering a message of change and moving forward. the chance we have heard over and over again at this convention from the delegates is we will not go back. host: for tonight, i know republicans and other critics will say we know a lot about her. we have seen all the buildup. as far as policy is concerned how much will tonight's speech be that versus more criticism of former president donald trump? guest: i think it will be thematic more than it is -- she will not get into tax policy or specifics. she did unveil an economic plan which itself was not all that specific last week. i think it will be criticism of donald trump, sort of hammering on the keyword of the convention which has been freedom. that is something of a pivot

from what president biden, who only a month ago was thought to be the nominee here, that was about threats to democracy. this is now the watchword, freedom. it is what they want to wrap all of their policy and themes into. host: we saw former president so candidate hillary clinton this week. how much has changed when it comes to the landscape when she ran in 2016 versus what the vice president faces now? guest: i think a lot has changed since then. it was interesting to me that hillary clinton is a reminder of this party. it should not be getting carried away. it should not be getting

overconfident of its own prospects here. despite the almost euphoria we have seen in the air in chicago, it is a very close race and will likely be so to the very end. the other thing hillary clinton was a reminder of his she kept talking about that kamala harris, to see her sworn in would be in some ways almost a culmination of what hillary clinton tried to do. kamala harris a be the first female president. the first black president of south asian descent. what you are seeing at this conviction -- convention is the portraying himself as the face of a multicultural future. host: our guest is with us until 7:30. if you want to ask questions about the events of tonight with

the vice president's speech and other aspects of the convention, it is (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 per democrats. -- for democrats. (202) 748-8002 for independents. a call or a text is (202) 748-8003. when you talk about unknowns one person unknown largely to this point was the minnesota governor tim walz. he gave his acceptance speech last night. what were your impressions of the speech and what people got from him that we did not know before? guest: he managed to be both tough and charming. you saw shortly before he came out on stage a bunch of now grown men who had been high school football players that he had coached all wearing their jerseys. we met his family last night.

basically, tim walz has made it very clear he is going to embrace the traditional role of the running mate, which is to be the attack dog. that is what we are also seeing on the other side with jd vance. i am really looking forward to that vice presidential debate. it is going to be really something to watch. host: one of the reasons the governor was chosen was his appeal to the midwest, the voters in the midwest. karen tumulty has been covering these things over the years. what is the case as he tries to attract those voters? guest: he essentially is talking -- he talked a quite a bit -- talked quite a bit about his governor's record. free preschool meals. he's been aggressive on reproductive rights.

i think the republicans are going to portray him and harris as, you know, far to the left. what governor walz was trying to do was root those policies and american values, midwestern values. host: there were questions about his military record. did he address those in any way, shape or form last night? to what degree did he address that? guest: he mentioned his record. again, he could not get into the debate over whether he had misstated. he essentially owned up earlier. he did not revisit that. governor walz has created several controversies this week. he early on after he was named

indicated or implied at least he and his wife had gone through ivf to conceive their children. it turns out he used a different fertility procedure. he has made a couple of misstatements. i think those are things the republicans are going to pin on him. they are trying to portray particularly the military record, stolen valor. he did serve for two dozen years. i do think that's going to be sort of hard for them to, you know, really do much damage to him on that score. host: karen tumulty joining us from chicago for a discussion, taking a look at the democratic national convention. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. (202) 748-8002 for independents.

in georgia, ed is first for our guest. go ahead. caller: i watched the first day of the convention when biden spoke. he mentioned something he had set in a previous speech -- said in a previous speech about rich people. some rich people are only paying 8% tax. that is an outright lie. if you go to the irs website there are two schedules, married or single. none of it has 8% on it. nobody pays a percent. you pay 37% if you make over $599,000. you have to pay 37%. the other thing is, the democrats want to fix the inflation that biden and carmela

made by stopping everything from did. that's all i want to say. host: karen tumulty, economics will probably be a key factor going forward in this campaign. guest: that is going to be the most difficult issue for her moving forward, because poll after poll has shown people are dissatisfied with the economy. that what people remember of the trump years was a lot of people thought i was doing better back then. we did see vice president harris unveil a set of economic policies last week. a lot of details remain to be filled in there. that is what we are going to see going forward. the republicans will hammer her on this and it's also going to come up quite a bit i am sure in the debates that are going --

the debate or debates that are going to happen between former president trump and current vice president kamala harris. host: we saw yesterday a revision of the job numbers, almost a million jobs, 800,000 plus. how much of that becomes part of the storyline as well do you think? guest: i think jobs are really not the issue at this point. the labor market is pretty tight. what is hurting the democrats is inflation. yes, it has been slowing down but the thing about inflation is prices are still high. people are being reminded of that every time they go to the grocery store. host: gloria in texas, independent line. caller: yes. host: go ahead. caller: yeah. as an independent in texas so close to the border i have to

say it was very disappointing not to hear any -- nothing hear her speak -- not to hear anybody at the convention speak about any topic that's relevant to the southeast region of the united states. it was predominantly california. nothing was said about any economic policies. it is like the last four years never existed. they don't want to talk about it. i know abortion -- i don't know how or when ivf became an issue. to spend so much time talking about just that or trump rhetoric, it was very disappointing. nobody shows up to a job with a resume just to bash the last applicant that went in

beforehand. what is her resume? what is she running on? when is she going to speak? one can a what she's all about -- when can i hear what she's all about? guest: it is lovely to hear from a fellow texan this morning. when is she going to speak? she is going to speak tonight. for one thing, she has spoken already on -- indicating she is going to take a tougher stance on the border than her current boss has, belatedly really. the border is definitely something the biden administration fumbled early on. now they are saying it was the republicans who stood in the way of the toughest portobello they could have got -- toughest border will they could have gotten -- bill they could have gotten. we have heard about her record. the part of her biography they

are going to be emphasizing the most is her record as a prosecutor. including district attorney in san francisco and attorney general of california. you will be hearing a lot of that as well this evening. host: karen in alabaster, alabama. republican line. caller: good morning. i want to talk a little about policies and that i have a question at the end. i think the reason they don't want to talk about their policies, kamala and the vp -- walz, is because they are socialists. socialism. for example, she has said in the past she wants to force a buyback gun mandate, which is not constitutional. she wants is all disabled. she wants to end gas cars by 2025 and forces all to buy electric cars which a lot of

people can't afford. the border policy. she wanted open, just like biden had it open. he recently signed the executive order because we have an election coming up. he could have done it from day one. president trump wants to debate her. asked her to debate to the when she already greets you and abc. she said no. what does she have to hide? host: that is from karen in texas. guest: i did not hear a question but i think you are laying out the case that the republicans will be trying to make. host: as a member of the press, karen tumulty, do you expect the vice president to give more press interviews about where she stands on third and things up until the point she hasn't -- on certain things? up until this point she hasn't. guest: i think she should.

this is not about ego stroking of the press. i think she will pass by the travel pool traveling with her, give a few seconds worth of answers to questions, but she has promised, and i think people are going -- they will be a lot of pressure for her to follow through on this promise -- that she will be sitting down for a serious interview. i think the debate, whether it is one or two, it is going to be a crucial moment for her as well. you are absolutely right. she has been -- her candidacy is only a month old. she's had a lot to pull together in the short time. i think after the convention she has promised she will be doing some of these substantive interviews. i think she's going to come

under a lot of criticism if she doesn't. host: michael is in new york, democrats line for our guest karen tumulty of the washington post. caller: i have two questions. why do you think -- when trump spent four years lying? why every time they talk about helping the people, they talk about socialism? they say this is socialism? host: that is michael in new york. guest: again, i think this is basically the fundamental difference between the two of them. you are absolutely right. president trump has had a well-documented record of, you know, saying things that are simply not true. again, you are right. for the democrats see as

policies that lists people up, the republicans very much portray as socialism. host: karen tumulty, what are your impressions of news about robert f. kennedy, jr.? guest: the supposition he said he will have a major announcement to the country tomorrow, friday, on his way forward. that is being understood that he is dropping out of the race. and that he has implied he may be endorsing president trump. at this point is on poll numbers have dropped so much that i think nationally that is not likely to make much of a difference in the race. he is on the ballot in a couple of swing states, specifically michigan and north carolina. michigan in particular was i believe the closest single state

in the 2020 election as far as the results go. even if this makes a difference of one or two percentage points a could in fact be a big difference in an election that is looking like it's going to be excruciatingly close. host: we have seen some balance for the vice president in polling since her announcement. what is the reality of that balance or those increased polls sustained through november? guest: a couple of things. one of the basic realities of this campaign for most of the year was the fact that, you know, the public was looking at two candidates and they were not really that excited about either one of them. vice president harris is a fresh face. the democrats are enjoying a burst of enthusiasm.

i think a number of people -- a lot of people are giving this race another look. she has made up a lot of ground in the polls. ignore the national numbers. look at the swing states. the other thing that is having her on the ticket has done is lifting the prospect of democratic house and senate candidates across the country. i think after the convention what we will see is what feels like the natural state of this race given the polarization of the country, which is a very, very close race. host: florida is where curtis is on the independent line. caller: good morning to both of you. this is for the dnc and who makes the decisions with them. their theme song should be james

brown's "living in america." thank you. guest: karen tumulty, the music played at this convention has been one of those storylines people have focused on. guest: yes. there has been a lot of star power at this convention. just last night we heard from both stevie wonder and john legend. host: what was your impression of oprah showing up? guest: alas, there were no cars for everyone under their seats. she's a great kind of cultural signifier. i think -- it was considered a very big deal in 2008 when she endorsed barack obama as well. chicago is essentially what she considers her hometown. it was really electrifying the audience. host: from julie in alabama,

republican line. you are next up. caller: yes. i just want to -- i don't understand why it is like everybody thinks that she is a new face, a fresh face when she's been lying to the -- to everybody in america for four years almost. host: how so? sorry. guest: i was going to say she has not been all that visible for most of these four years. for one thing, vice presidents -- that is part of the nature of the job. really for a lot of americans these last few weeks are really the first glimpse they have gotten of kamala harris.

she really began to step out with the fall of roe v. wade with the dog's decision. that -- dobbs decision. that is when her own public profile became that much more visible to americans. that was in part because president biden himself was uncomfortable speaking about the abortion issue, which has become a very potent one for democrats. host: karen tumulty, speaking of president biden, you had a piece this week. the headline was biden was bumped from prime time but it could have been worse. the speech we heard from president biden, what were your impressions from it? guest: it was interesting. it almost sounded like the speech he thought he would -- could have been giving had he been the nominee for much of it. it was a poignant moment to see

him there on the first night. he, you know, the delegates were chanting "thank you joe," and they were grateful. they were grateful for the fact he decided to leave the race. to open the way for his vice president. you are right. he was bumped from prime time on the east coast, the eastern time zone. that is were almost half the population of the country lives. i don't know that was such a terribly huge deal but these conventions -- every night of this convention things have been running pretty late. host: historically, you go back to 1968 to lbj. what is the comparison? guest: i thought it was fascinating historically.

lbj was the last president who abandoned his bid for reelection and handed it off to his vice president. the atmosphere here could not be further from what we were seeing in 1968 when there was violent clashes on the streets. lbj was supposed to speak to the 1968 democratic convention and to give a speech very much like what president biden did, a sort of valedictory. things were so tense and so bad that he was disinvited from speaking on the very morning he was supposed to be coming to chicago to give his speech. he was called and told do not come. to add double hurt to that for him, it was his 60th birthday. they had baked a four foot tall

cake. he ended up having to spend it in a forlorn birthday dinner at the lbj ranch. the comparisons here are you do have a president who reluctantly decided to step aside. he is being lionized by his party for having done so. host: this is a piece you can find online at the washington post. it could have been worse. let's hear from michigan. ken on the line for independents. caller: yes. am i on? host: go ahead. caller: as an independent from michigan i think the democrats have picked the finest team they could ever pick. it's a very good reflection of the democratic values. tim walz let minneapolis burn

for days, burn black businesses and kamala put the -- gave money to the criminals to get out of jail. it could not say more about their values. thank you. host: that is ken in michigan. karen tumulty, the role of the independent and what role they play going forward. guest: true independents, and as you heard from the most recent caller, he does not sound like he is necessarily on the fence here. the fact is, if you define independent voters as voters who are truly up for grabs, who are truly persuadable and the caller does not sound like he is one of them, it's a very small universe at this point. the two sides are deeply dug in.

they are people who have not been terribly engaged in the political process, even interested in it. in places like michigan and in wisconsin, pennsylvania, arizona, georgia, these are the people who are going to be where this election is won or lost. host: democrats line. a.b. joins us from texas. caller: i have a couple of things. i am so proud of the republicans that showed up at our convention for the democrats about trump's situation. i'm proud of the 50,000 people that were online talking about -- why don't they talk to these people that are against something? it seems with kamala and tim

walz, they are a new group to support what we all stand for. i grew up in el paso on the border. the congresswoman talked about what el paso was like at the border. it's always been secure. people come across the border. my question is why they don't talk to more republicans that are against the trump election? why don't they talk to the people that were in the cabinet at trump's selection and get an overall perception of how they feel and why they would not vote for trump again? mike pence said i will not vote for trump ever again and his life. i want the media and the news -- guest: i would quibble with you here. i think those people have gotten a lot of attention. every time i turn on the cable

channels, cnn or msnbc, i see a lot of never trump republicans. the numbers of president trump's cabinet have written books. they have gotten massive amounts of coverage. but the fact is, if you look at the republican party at large today the enthusiasm for president trump is extremely high. he basically owns the republican base. host: karen tumulty, we have talked about a lot of things today. what are you watching for on this last day? guest: i do think -- i covered kamala harris when she ran for president in 2019. she abandoned her bid before even the first caucus votes were cast in iowa. that presidential campaign was

pretty much of a disaster. i traveled with her in early july. i was struck that she has shown a lot of growth as a politician in the past four years. she seems much more self-confident, much more self-assured. she is not the most, you know, -- barack obama. she's not the most naturally gifted politician. it is a big night for her. it's the biggest speech she's ever had to give in her life. for a lot of the country introducing herself for the very first time. host: we are being told you are giving readers of the post the chance to text with you about these issues. tell us more about that. guest: i am. in the traditional media we are just trying to reach out to our readers wherever they are. one of the experiments we are doing is i'm sending out little

texts with little snippets, observations i am seeing on the campaign trail. i find it a lot of fun and a pair of who subscribe have been very enthusiastic. it has been a terrific experiment. i have been doing this for a few months and having a great time. host: how can people subscribe? guest: if you go onto our website -- you can google text with tumulty and that will get you there. host: karen tumulty from the washington post. thank you so much for your time. guest: thank you. host: we have been showing you sights and sounds from chicago. we thank them for access to the building in order to feature gas from chicago as a part of our coverage.

that is one of the shots you will see as you continue on. one thing you saw last night was the democratic vice president nominee tim walz officially accepting the nomination. our guest just talked about leaning on his background as a football coach and wrapped of his speech with a pep talk. here is a portion. [video] >> you might not know what that i have not given a lot of big speeches like this. but i have given a lot of pep talks. let me finish with this, team. it's the fourth quarter. we're down a field goal but we are on offense and we have the ball. we are driving down the field. boy, do we have the right team. kamala harris is tough. kamala harris is experienced and kamala harris is ready.

our job -- our job -- our job for everyone watching is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. [cheers] one inch at a time. one yard at a time. one phone call at a time. one door knock at a time. one five dollar donation at a time. look, we've got 76 days. that's nothing. there will be time to sleep when you're dead. we will leave it on the field. [cheers] that is how we will keep moving forward. that is how we will turn the page on donald trump. that is how we will build the country where workers come first. health care and housing are human rights. [cheers]

and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom. [cheers] that's how we make america a place where no child is left hungry. where no community is left behind. where nobody gets told they don't belong. that is how we are going to fight and as the next president of the united states always says, when we fight -- >> we win! >> thank you. god bless you. [cheers] host: that was a short portion of the speech from last night. you can see that speech at c-span now and c-span.org. you can watch our coverage of this final day of the democratic national convention as the vice president accepts her party's nomination. that will start eastern. our coverage with -- 5:30

eastern. our coverage begins at 6:30 on that day 4 session after it concludes tonight your phone calls again starting on 11:00 eastern and your reaction to tonight's events. we continue with calls until the next guest joins us. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. in michigan, republican. this is jerry. caller: good morning to you both. i appreciate you taking my call. i'm a newly minted republican. i have been leaning democrat most of my life. i voted for obama twice and hilary and then biden. the reason i am planning on supporting trump and vance despite the fact i never really liked trump, i think there are

pros and cons of both sides. the main reason i would point out is our foreign policy. the wars. the interventionalism. the fact that the neocons have taken over the democratic party. i don't know if anybody noticed but all of our involvement in these foreign wars in afghanistan, in russia and ukraine, in the middle east, the arab spring, syria, it leads to a wake of death and destruction in its path. we are borrowing money to [inaudible] they are deeply immoral. i wish there was more discussion about it. biden comes on and brags about how stimulating the economy,

which i find her renders just -- a hermit's justification for getting involved in these wars. -- her renders just for -- horrendous justification for getting involved in these wars. the cia was involved. it is really stupid what we are doing over there. i don't see kamala harris really doing anything different. i don't think she is a serious candidate. host: rebecca in georgia, independent line. go ahead. caller: me? i'm here. i am from georgia. i consider myself a republican. i was excited about the speech last night. it inspired me. i agree with every thing he said. you are a patriot for voting the other way. host: ok.

rudy in ohio, democrats line. rudy in ohio? hello? one more time for rudy. we will hear from kelly in north carolina, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to say everyone who always comes on about trump -- by the way, i have two things to say. the first one is everyone who goes on about trump being a liar, well, they consider us all lawyers on his side. -- liars on his side. the definition of being a liar to them is if you don't agree with what they say, then what you said was a lie. as far as the conspiracy theories go, they usually take

somewhere between three and six months and they become a conspiracy fact. the second thing i wanted to say was that the abortions and vasectomies that they are giving people, they pay as much as they can pay. it is in a truck outside. they have a little doctor's office. the reason they are doing that is to honor the democrat elite'' gods that they care for. that is bal, malik and ishtar. host: the washington post with

background. adam frankel was a speechwriter for barack obama's 2008 presidential campaign and join his white house after taking the lead on writing the speech with harris, according to people familiar with the process. frankel joined harris's office during the first year of her vice presidency as senior advisor. harris's chiefs of staff also have been deeply involved in the process in recent days as harris has balanced public events, including an appearance of the democratic convention on monday night, with her work on a speech that is crucial to her efforts to sustain the energy of her campaign. janet is next in florida, democrats line. caller: hi. i wanted to say i'm really grateful for your network. hearing the calls from all sides, even the democrats side who are not as happy with the current nominees of walz and

harris are quite scary to me. we need to get out and vote. my concern as a democrat with all the hope i saw that's been re-fired and ignited in me from the amazing speech last night is the fact that trump has so many supreme court justices that he was able to appoint. i graduated valedictorian with a 4.0 gpa. i was one of the poor people who i was told by loan to be forgiven and i was prevented and blocked. i hope the hope i'm feeling now will succeed. god bless america and god bless you guys. we must stay strong. host: in missouri, giovanni, republican line. you are next up. caller: how are you doing? host: fine. go ahead. caller: i'm calling about corporate taxes. i have a small business.

21% for my tiny business i have. those people do not understand that america has small businesses more than big businesses. we are the backbone of america. i don't understand how people can be happy about 28% corporate taxes. it isn't the big companies paying the 20% because they can -- 28% because they can handle that. it is the tiny businesses who are now paying 21% and corporate taxes. -- in corporate taxes. we are llc corporations. this is what the make and understand. host: how does that topic relate to the convention we have been talking about for four days? caller: they keep saying her plan is to raise corporate taxes to 28%. that is what they keep saying

about what she's going to do. that is one of her plans. that. has a lot to do with the convention you can't vote for someone that will to 20% -- 28%. it will destroy them in china, businesses only pay 24%. in ireland, 18%. why are we going to pay 28%? it will destroy the american backbone, the small businesses. host: that is giovanni in missouri. north carolina, democrats line. this is harvey. caller: good morning. my concern is as a democrat that i have heard everything from the republicans except for about what the 2025 program is going to do. that program in itself --

host: you have to stop listening to the television. caller: america cannot be going back. that is not making america great again. the republican talking about the tax, i have not heard the taxes going up, that she plans on raising the tax on the small businesses. i don't know where your ears are and what they are doing. if you are not afraid of what mr. trump is planning on doing to america, you don't need to be afraid of what harris and walz are going to do. host: he brought a project 2025. a story this morning saying that will continue on into this coverage -- this event of the democratic national convention. a conviction spokesperson said

in a statement that every night the program will feature speakers and fact-check videos that underscores how disastrous donald trump's 2025 agenda will be for freedom, our families and future. harris and allies leave their effort is increasing voter awareness of project 2025 and that trump will never be able to disassociate himself from it because administration officials and allies wrote it and are going to have a major role in preparing for his administration. more there if you want to read it and watch through it as the convention continues on on this final night. marilyn -- maryland, eddie. caller: how's it going? host: go ahead. caller: how's it going, man? i heard the convention. then people are all the bunch of crock. they talk the talk but they don't do the walk. i hear them talking but you hear

them say one thing and then they go around and they say another thing. mr. donald trump, he ain't no beggar. he does the talk. he ate much better than what they are. -- ain't much better than what they are. to be a politician you have to be a liar and a cheat. i believe in god. god bless america. i wish the best for america. i would not trust any of them. i know which one they want to get in there. i'm an independent and i had no idea yet. i haven't made up my mind yet. host: eddie from maryland. the former president campaigning as theemocratic national convention goes on.

former president trump will hold rally in sier vta, arizona, 15 miles fm the u.s.-mexico border. that's at 1:00 eastern. yocan see that on c-span 2, c-span now and the dot org. running mate senator jd vance is speaking at a campaign event in georgia. you can see that coverage online and our mobile app. it was at an event yesterday the former president was talking amongst the things he talked about was the democratic national convention. here are some of his thoughts from yesterday. [video] >> we have a job to do. we had some very good polls this morning despite their charade. five people in chicago were killed in the last little while since that charade they have going on. they mentioned my name i think 271 times.

they mentioned the economy like 12 times. they mentioned the border maybe none. they don't talk about the border. our great border czar doesn't talk about the border. i'm never category. they had me down today as a category. that's all they talk about. trump. they have trump arrangement syndrome. we have -- derangement syndrome. they have done a terrible job for our country. there has not been a single thing they have done well except cheat and lie. host: denny, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm a long-standing republican that feels the revoking party has lost its way. i have been -- enjoyed listening to the democratic convention when i see the statements put forward that are truth, which is a stark comparison to what i

witness at trump's rallies. people need to wake up, see the messages truly coming from heartfelt middle american values such as tim walz and kamala harris and allow us to be able to get this country on its right footing. we need to get out of the maga movement that's been going on and be able to see us to a brighter future, which i do believe the democratic convention is greatly put forth. thank you for allowing me to make these comments. host: rob in virginia on the independent line. caller: good morning. i want to say to all the listeners who have worked so hard to protest against the genocide in gaza, who have written congresspeople, senators, who have marched,

please do not fall for harris. anything about symphon -- sympathy, there is zero indication or policies will be any different than biden's. she is 100% loyal to netanyahu and the genocide. if you fall for it and go for it -- vote for her, it will all be for nothing. that goes for trump. he's 100% to the cause also. the only uncommitted note is the way going forward. i want to say mimi is an excellent host. she doesn't cut people off like some do. you cut the guy off earlier he was talking about the neocons. that put you in an uncomfortable situation. host: not at all. he made his point and continue making his point and i let him finish and then moved on to the

next call. when it comes to the uncommitted movement, what is it mean for who you will vote for this november? caller: i appreciate your response to that. i think that sealed away. for those of us who are horrified by this genocide and our complicity in it, the only way is to not vote for either party, trump or harris. that is the only way. just to say no. going forward we build momentum. if we vote for either side the momentum is dead at that point. the anti-genocide movement. 's important to don't vote for either side. host: rob i springfield, virginian. nbc reported the uncommitted delegates announced wednesday night that their chief request was denied by vice president harris's campaign to have a palestinian american speak to the convention here. the delegates who were elected in democratic primaries earlier this year in process of

president biden's support of israel's war in gaza said they would commit if a palestinian american was allowed to address the convention. "i have been waiting for a call that a michigan delegate and former congressional chief of staff who is active as a spokesperson of the delegates holding up his cell phone as a prop, they were not getting back to us. they were not getting back to us." this is from richard in ohio. democrats line on the democratic national convention, it's final day. caller: how are you doing? i appreciate listening to you guys on here. you are doing a good job. i have lots of comments. i liked it. i want to say when you are a

president you are a boss, right? just like trump when trump was president. his vice president listened to him and look what happened to him at the end. they went against him because he was doing what was right. let her be president. see what she can do. maybe her methods are going to be different than joe biden's. let a woman do it for once so we can try to change the hate and stuff in this country. host: richard in ohio. this is from jean in kansas. caller: i am a republican and i will be voting for mr. trump. but i am pro-life but only for

medical abortions. i'm a nurse so i seen the difference between a medical abortion and a true abortion. with people lined up tent in a row, young women, young girls waiting to have an abortion. it is a really sad thing to see. i think esther trump has a much better foreign policy -- mr. trump has a much better foreign policy. he's better liked around the world. i don't think he's perfect but i do think he will make the better president. i think kamala harris will make a very weak president and a very weak government. i don't think she knows what's

really going on in the world. host: louisiana's next. haley, independent line. caller: yes. i don't know who i'm going to vote for. i'm leaning towards trump because i have not heard a lot from kamala on her policy and what she is -- it does not stick out to me that she's going to get in and make a real change. i also believe our government in effect is kind of killing our planet and blaming it on the people. i was thinking you don't hear a lot from the libertarians. not liberals, the libertarian party. i thought it was so interesting. i identified with that party. that is not a party you can elect or somebody we can have a candidate. i think through all the things going on with how they talk about climate change. it is all in effect the people that need the attention. as soon as the government can start paying attention to the people and their needs, stop

worrying about foreign wars, worry about people on the ground that are americans, veterans, homeless, until those people get the attention they need no one will have faith in our government. i hate to say it. trump has a good following but i'm 36 years old and i -- nothing has changed. it has gotten worse. we need somebody in the white house that generally cares about the betterment of the people rather than the private sector and corporate america. host: that is haley in louisiana. npr reporting climate and energy policy will be featured on this final night of the convention before vice president harris speaks. the event is expected to include videos and speakers to highlight climate policy from the biden administration and discuss job creation. the speakers will include the interior secretary deb haaland, the first native american to be leading the department. maxwell frost and john russell who were among the content creators of the convention.

russell has 180,000 followers on tiktok and is expected to talk about his home of west virginia and the benefits of the clean energy economy. you can look for that as a feature of tonight's events on this final night of the convention. one more call before the next guest. democrats line. doug. caller: hello. i would like to say to the gaza protesters, i believe trump would be much worse. he would allow bibi netanyahu to do pretty much anything he wants. to the abortion people, nobody likes abortion. the problem is that people do it illegally because they are desperate and we have to help them. it is the same as drinking or smoking or weed or anything.

the people are going to do it. we might as well make it legal and somehow help make it the best we can. thank you very much. host: we will continue on with your calls during the course of the morning. we will be featuring guest from chicago. the next guest will talk about what is expected of the vice president tonight as she gives that speech accepting her party's nomination. political science professor tabitha bonilla joining us. we will continue on when washington journal comes back. ♪ >> hello, i am susan swain, campaign 2024 has involved in -- evolved in unexpected ways and from now through election race span promises unfiltered coverage of the candidates as they battle to win the white house and congress.

c-span is a private company that operates without government money and like many organizations we have been hurt by cord cutting. 100% of your contribution large or small directly supports c-span operations. best of all, an anonymous donor pledged to match your donation dollar to dollar up to $25,000. you can find out more at c-span.org/donate. ensure that the unique longform coverage of politics is he t stay. thank yo watching and thank you for your support. ♪ >> discover the heartbeat of democracy with c-span's voices 2024 as we engage voters of the

democratic national convention asking whether she was the most important to you and why. >> i am from georgia. my top issue in this election is civic education. we need more and better civic education so young people know how this work and how the electoral college works. we have to invest in our democracy and we do that by investing in the civic education of our youth. >> my biggest issue is making sure that we are electing officials who will represent all of us as americans, not just certain people. >> my top issue this election and probably always is the protection of the rights and safeties of women and of queer people, predominantly trans people. and, that really obviously means there is only one clear option for me. >> c-span's voices 2024, be a part of the conversation.

>> washington journal continues. host: that is the shot of supercargo from -- of chicago from pru, who has been racially letting us stage our studio as we feature guest covering the democratic national convention including last night and the last day of the convention and its activities. here to talk about that is tabitha bonilla, a political science associate professor and faculty fellow at the institute for policy research. thank you for giving us your time. guest: thank you for having me. host: can you talk about the course of study that you focus on particularly when it comes to political communication? guest: share. i am a political scientist thinking about how voters understand political messaging from candidates but also how they understand messaging around policy is. host: when it comes to messaging and what the vice

president faces tonight, what do you think the thing she has to achieve on that front? guest: the most important thing is that conventions want to excite the voter base. this is different because she has been visible for 30 days in her position. she has to both excite the base and show them that she is capable and has the experience to do well. so i think she will try to appeal a lot to the groups that the democrats have been worried about showing up and participating, black and young voters. and i think that she will try first and foremost to get excitement and party members out registering voters and people out to the polls. i also think that she will try to remind voters about what democrats know is at stake, the idea that mockers see was

attacked on january 6 and donald trump is responsible. we will see a lot of that reminder. we will see reminders about abortion and what has happened on that front. i do not think we will see specifics on policy which people are asking for because people have not seen her plans, but she will give hints that abided white house is better than the trump white house, she played a part that and will continue the up words trajectory. host: that is a lot to package. what do we know about the way of her communication, what do we know about that skill that she will have to apply tonight. guest: she is a former prosecutor and elected official for quite some time. she is good at organizing her thoughts and in varying what she wants to tell us -- conveying what she wants to tell us and

doing that in a way that is exciting. she can remind us of what happened in the donald trump white house while conveying her plan will lift up the people who are struggling. we saw this last week we talked about her economic plan and how she focused on food prices, housing and rent. i think she will try to do a lot all at once and as someone who has been on a public stage for a long time, she has good at conveying emotion and pithy statements. host: to what degree have the previous three nights as far as the buildup, to what degree will that help achieve what she has to take care of? guest: i think the democrats have tried to build excitement the entire week. they have invited a lot of celebrities and content readers trying to get -- content

creators. i think they have focused a lot on how -- what the alternatives are and what happened on january 6 and donald trump as a convicted felon. they have started to speak to different pieces that set them apart from the republicans. last night they talked about the border and they brought in a lot of latinx speakers to convey that they are confident and even though there are issues at the border that democrats have a better plan and they want to both increase security while also protecting rights and making sure that there is not the same type of rhetoric that republicans have. i think they are trying hard to set themselves apart while bringing back voters that polls have indicated are less excited

about this election they on 2020 election. host: this is tabitha bonilla joining us and if you want to ask her questions about the vice president and what she has to achieve it is 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 four democrats. independents, 202-748-8002. you can text us at 202-748-8003. professor, what should the vice president not do? you talked about the things that she had to do. guest: share. i think -- sure. i think the other thing that we have heard is free democrats to speak to the transition from biden to kamala harris. we have heard a lot of praise for joe biden and a lot of appreciation for what he did and is doing. i think one thing we then heard is a transition to kamala harris. i think she wants to convey that

she had a part in the good pieces of his administration but she will want to distance themselves -- herself a lot of it. a lot of people have talked about gaza and concerns about what is happening there. she will be very careful around that and the border is an issue that she will be careful around. and i think she will both work not to criticize biden strongly, but also set herself apart. host: you wrote a book called campaign promises, what was the book about? guest: it is about how voters understand campaign promises and how they work to polarize voter opinions. people feel really strongly about their own positions so when candidates convey their position strongly, voters react, as you might imagine. when you agree with someone you like it when they promise and

assure you about those positions you care about. when you disagree with them that is a huge turnoff. what it does collectively is that it polarizes the electorate. host: if that is the case, how does that apply to the vice president tonight especially in the area of promises? guest: that is what i was saying before. she wants to assure voters that in her case, assure the majority of voters and particularly these democrat-based voters who are less interested in this election that she is going to care about the same issue positions that they do and will act on them and change policy any way that they care about. again, this is a careful balance because she has to do this while not turning off voters. the issue of gaza is where you see the stands clearly because there is so much disagreement about what is happening and

whether or not israel should be supplied additional military aid. and i think that she will probably avoid having really strong opinions on hot topics like that. and she will spend more attention on topics where everyone is in agreement on like the economy and where she can reassure us that she will have a plan to make food more affordable and to help people find housing and etc.. i think this is how candidates decide which issues they will talk about. although sometimes they are push to talk about things they do not want to. host: mike in new york. democrats line for our guest. mike, go ahead. caller: good morning. i am a lifelong democrat and not only am i democrat, i get

assistance from government programs. i understand the principles and the differences between democrats and republicans. i am trying to vote for joe biden and kamala harris came in and i never heard so much about her. i heard the speeches she gave talking about equity and everyone ending in the same place. it sounds a little bit about communism. but then she grounded her a policy on the economy where she has spending and taking away from the rich and giving it to the poor, putting regulations on people can ask how much -- from projects -- for products. someday called her commuala harris. i am worried that she is taking us on the wrong path to communism. and not only are her policies matching communism but she said

equity and everyone should end at the same place. one thing about the dnc. i was hearing some policy differences and plan how to get out of inflation and the border. they are only talking about trump. they should call it the tnc. host: we will let our guest respond. guest: thank you. first i want to say i think of this more as socialism where it is thinking about how to redistribute resources. i think democrats have been talking about this for quite some time and it happens more than we know. the earned income child tax is a form of this. one of the things she talked about was increasing this. we saw this during the pandemic where families with children received more financial support with those children with the idea that this would help them cover the cost of eating them and childcare and etc.. her plan is a way to continue

this. some people are worried about redistribution and the truth is that this is one of the things that government structures tend to do. they try to figure out a way to make sure that everybody has a appropriate -- appropriate resources. we can see that with streets, sidewalks, police officers, and security. we are very used to the idea that infrastructure is something we should all share. and i think it is a question for some people about whether or not this is true of economic factors. i think this is relatively consistent with some of joe biden's policy is. except we are hearing an advancement of it. host: from nancy joining us from ohio. independent line. good morning. caller: hello, thank you. i see president trump offering voters more of the chance for equality of opportunity the nic

vice president harris offering more opportunity when it comes to everyone getting the same thing. equality of results. i am concerned. i am concerned about the fact that they were offering -- she was offering $25,000 for a homebuyer house payments. i do not see where that is a given in life and i think americans want to earn that money and save up and buy a home that they can afford the first time rather than a government handout. that makes me cringe. i just want to hear what your thoughts are. i am on the fence. guest: a really good question. this is hard to answer without thinking about the historical nature of housing. so, years ago, it used to be the case that you could buy a house for a much smaller portion of

your yearly income than you can now. so housing prices have increased at a greater rate than salaries. i think what kamala harris is trying to do is figure out a way to help people deal with the disparity between the price of housing and amounts of money they are taking home. i think the $25,000 is a way to address it in their minds to think about here is something to help you make up the difference and what it used to cost rather than what it costs now. i think it is a challenge to figure out how to do that. but, one of the things that is happening that we should be all talking about and aware of in the way in which the economy has shifted in the past several years and the challenges people are facing. this is true of housing but also colleges and college affordability. host: fredericksburg, virginia.

republican line. you are up next. caller: jamaica is probably one of the most corrupt nations in the world. i know she has seen stuff that is so corrupt that it is unreal. i did and saw two deaths, all police oriented and it was just outrageous that you guys are even considering -- if you are a surgeon you are probably pretty -- if you are a brain surgeon you are really focused. not a lot of laughter and not a lot of jokeerism type laughter. host: for time's sake, what is a question or comment our guest? caller: what do you believe the illegal immigration is truly going to do to the fabric of the

morals and ethics of our nation and how do you believe mrs. harris, who was never voted in at all, she was the person chosen by biden. she was not voted into anything. she is just there. so in actuality, biden is the one who chose her as the president and then, my personal opinion. the biden family is a crime family. host: thank you. guest: i will do my best to answer that although i have to own that my family is here because of immigration. so, we for multiple generations contributed to this country. i think the bigger question is is that there is a significant crisis at the border. more people are coming in the end have been in the past and we have to figure out a way to deal with it.

frankly, it feels like a humanitarian crisis. i'm sorry, my mike just fell out of my ear. we have to think about what to do because shutting down the border makes sense. and helping to regulate is definitely necessary but we have to figure out a way to do so that is humane and how to figure out how to include people. i know in chicago there are a lot of migrants who will come in laying something at home and who need -- host: i will let you adjust the earpiece and i will give the people the phone numbers. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. independents, 202-748-8002. if you are interested in texting us the questions and comments for our guest joining us from

chicago as part of our coverage of the democratic national convention you can do that at 202-748-8003. also you can feel free to post on the social media sites that is facebook.com/c-span and on x @cspanwj. go ahead and continue your thought. guest: i apologize. trying to figure out this situation. i think that this boils down to there is a crisis at the border and it is very complicated and i think the bigger question rather than how are these people going to change the country which is always stated during an influx of migrants, is what will we do to make sure that everyone in the country has what they need to be ok. and i think the republicans and the democrats have very different opinions of what that is. i think the republican traditional answer is to keep

everyone out and resources in. for the harris administration, i have seen that biden has tried his hardest to shut down the border and demise incoming people. but again, it is complicated, not simple. i think the real question is what will they do for the folks already here and how will they work with latin american countries to solve this crisis, which is bigger than just what is happening here. host: what did you make of former president trump's criticisms or assessment of vice president harris' racial identity? guest: that is a great question. racial identity is complicated and the way that people engage with it politically. the truth of the matter is that she has a south asian and black woman and she has always identified as such. i think his goal is really to continue to disrupt and

introduce doubt in the minds of voters who democrats need to show up and black voters have traditionally been a base of the democratic polity -- party. in polling earlier in the year black voters have been less supporter of -- supportive of the democratic ticket. and that, -- and when i think on the ticket switched from biden to harris there was an excitement. my guess is that donald trump was trying to respond to that and minimize the excitement. with people with multiracial identities people tend to question that. mostly people tend to disagree with his take although there

were some people who were not bothered by it. host: on a larger scale what do you think of the term identity politics? guest: yes. i think i see that term kind of glossing over a lot of what is happening. identity is complicated in this country. we have a history of slavery, of race and ethnic based immigration policies. that has really kind of set the tone for how this country has operated. and i think right now, there are efforts to kind of move away from those and to attack them and among the republicans we have a lot of anti-crt and questioning of identity politics. the truth is it will be a conversation. we are a multiethnic and

multiracial democracy. it is going to come up. as long as people talk about it and associate race and ethnicity with particular policies it will be politicized in a partisan way. i think that is what we are seeing. we are seeing conversations around immigration and how we talk about race in schools and conversations about policing and adverse effects on black and india's the -- communities becoming credit -- politicized in very partisan ways. that is what we talk about when we think about identity politics. it is inherent to who this country is because of how the country was founded. host: tabitha bonilla with us. we will hear from ed in massachusetts. democrats line. caller: i have a question for tabitha. host: go ahead. caller: i have a question for

tabitha. i would like to know how important she thinks the character of the person we are hiring the job that we are putting them into is? guest: i missed the first -- the first part. host: he asked about the importance of character. guest: character. ok. character was the word i could not hear. i think for voters character is always important. i think people care a lot about agreement with policy positions but they want to elect someone that they think of as a strong leader, more honest than not and someone who shares the same values that they do. we see a lot of conversation about character. honestly, because of how democrats have talked about donald trump traditionally, even in 2015 but more so after january 6.

there is a lot of conversation about honesty and truth and whether or not he is presenting the truth. we are seeing a similar response from donald trump about democrats and kamala harris trying to answer this with the idea that democrats themselves do not have the same kind of character. i think people derive and understand character from the policy positions, but also in the way that they are talking about politics. host: mark in maryland, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i am not surprised that you downplayed the caller if you call her back -- a few callers back mentioning communism and it is just socialism. i want to remind the listener that no communist ever called themselves commie lists they call themselves -- communists

they called themselves socialism. we tried socialism and it led to the death of 20 million people, i am talking about soldiers i am talking about governments murdering their own citizens. joseph stalin always talked about democracy. you can watch speeches. communists love talking about democracy. you have mentioned democracy a few times. at -- are you aware that america is not a democracy? host: that is mark. guest: thank you. we are getting down into very textbook terms. you know, i do kind of stand by what i said. i do not think this is communism because what the democrats are talking about our socialist principles of redistribution. i think many democracies have various levels of socialist elements. the united states tends to have much less than european countries.

health care is a great example. that is privatized in the u.s.. there is a public option but it is more private than public. some other democracies have more public option health care which we think of as a more socialist practice. i think the relationship between socialism and communism is definitely one to talk and think about. but to me this is more about socialism and socialist principles and communism. and i also think that it is not necessarily what the democrats talking about, not necessarily against democracy. but i think that that is definitely a question for voters is whether or not they agree with redistribution and what the democrats want to do. i also want to let you know that yes i am aware that we are not a

direct mocker see, we are a democratic republic which is why we have the electoral college, which is why we choose representatives. i think there are democratic principles in play that i find incredibly important both as a citizen and scholar of representation. host: one more call from tony in virginia, democrats line. caller: good morning, i understand that there is a thin line between socialism and communism. vice president harris will redistribute resources. we are talking about socialism. the republicans wants to really have americans uneducated and throw the hard line with regards to voting and dictatorship and not having the right to be equally treated equally. and the democratic party is all about fair, and equality across

the board for everyone, regardless of the people who vote democratic or republican. we use the word trump trying to be a dictator. he has not trying to be a dictator. what he is trying to be is a power and warmonger and integration fear and all of the principles that started in the 1950 in regards to socialism, school education and housing. one last thing about housing. the incentive for the chance to purchase housing because of the inventory and the building of housing. it will create jobs and stimulate the economy what we are doing, giving subsidies for the people who purchase housing. host: you threw a lot out there. go ahead. guest: thank you. i think and i guess i do not know if i heard a question so much. but i think what we are hearing from you is just the complicated nature of how people are talking

about the policy about politics and what is happening. i think one of the things i am reflecting on is that trump is tackett -- is talking less about policy and more about fear. both sides are trying to elicit emotions because we know that emotions affect what voters will do. we know that fear and anger can motor a lot -- can mobilize voters and both parties are trying to talk about policies and the status quo in ways that we will mobilize and get the voters to the polls. and we will see a lot of efforts on both sides. it is interesting as someone watching to think about what types of emotions are being elicited by the different parties. host: what do you think about the idea of labels. this person is a dictator and this person is a communist? how does this complicate political information when people are trying to get

messages out? guest: that is a good question and it is funny because i am also -- also a parent of children who are like we do not label people. this happens in politics because they want to define who the other side is just as much as themselves. if the democrats are trying to convey that donald trump is bad for democracy and worried about the republican party will do in office it is easy to shortcut by saying he is a dictator. there is an audio clip of him kind of denying this but saying he would be a dictator only on day one and the democrats like to play that back. they use he is a convicted felon and they set themselves up to have positive terms on their side. kamala harris is a prosecutor who cares about justice and she will do the right thing. i think donald trump also has labels. it is a shortcut way to remind

people about how they are trying to define the other side. i do not know if it necessarily complicates messaging but i think it is intended to simplify it and quickly get voters to remember what they want you to understand. host: "the importance of campaign promises." tabitha bonilla, not only a political science associate official -- professor but a faculty associate. thank you for your time. guest: thank you for having me. host: our next guest will join us in half an hour. he will take calls until then. if you want to call and comment on the last day of the democratic convention. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. independents, 202-748-8002 or text us at 202-748-8003. we had a chance to catch up with

douglas brinkley at the united center which you are looking at and he talked about the history of political conventions. here is a bit of the conversation. [video clip] >> where the democratic -- we are at the democratic national convention in chicago. they have become a major tv spectacle, what were they before that? >> the big year is the one nobody talks about, 1952 because they brought the tv cameras in. there were a couple of cameras trained right on the stage and if you go back and look at clips, you do not really know what is going on. we did not have the interpretive apparatus around it. cronkite was a very young former world war ii reporter who got the lowest job in the world, tv. nobody cared about it but he made money giving candidates makeup and teaching them how to look on television and he helped

them. and in four years television played a bigger role. by 1960 with so many homes with the tv it would be like the birth of email or the iphone. and that is when john f. kennedy became the tv president. he did it by running with the four debates against nixon and winning. he did it by inventing the modern press conference. it is sad that we did not have john kennedy at 1964. but the kate -- the take away for lyndon johnson was that it was a living tribute film auditing -- honoring john f. kennedy and then robert kennedy came out. and we do not really mention the speech. we do not really have video of

theodore roosevelt's speeches so we cannot compare. but it has been in the election more in the 1960's. there are people who have mastered the convention speech. 1992 put clinton up so high, it is the biggest balance out of convention due to the power of the speech. barack obama was indebted by being the warm-up speaker in 2004 for john kerry. it is a way to get noticed the way that aoc got noticed here in chicago in 2024. her initials are known. she gets maligned by the right, she is loved by progressives but people got to see her charisma in play. thus far in this particular convention, i have noticed a few things. one is the triumph of chicago

people in the big first major modern convention, that was 1932 in chicago. in a couple of the delegates did not come to the convention. and he famously gave in chicago the new deal speech. and, particularly the film footage of this is a major part of politics. i saw jesse jackson and 1984 and 1988 who was put in the shuffle because of john lewis' civil rights. but he was in a wheelchair and just seeing him struck me of what a pioneer he was. and hillary clinton just did a wonderful speech that i felt was impressive. and certainly everybody will be

talking about biden's speech and the oddity of him being a city president coming out and talking for 50 minutes. but he was talking about being an american with an emotional introduction by his wife and daughter. a lot of highlights already. the one thing that chicago has done well is that they have packed a lot of great speakers. >> a lot of people have been comparing this year with 1968 when there was political unrest over foreign wars, political violence and the sitting president not seeking reelection and the democratic convention in chicago. what do you make of those connections. >> it is not really apropos except there is an element of protest over israel and gaza and vietnam in 1968. in 1968 there was a feeling that the party itself was deeply

divided between the anti-vietnam war between senator mccarthy and then the johnson administration represented by uber countries -- hubert humphrey is. in the outside the mayor over policed and they did not have modern security apparatus and they did not have the helicopters telling you where to go. they were not able to use what we are able to do with modern security apparatus. and the cyber world in general. it was just dominated by the protesters and the tear gas the beatings. and counterculture figures became stars. allen ginsberg, carrie southern. you had the hippies, jerry rubin and so there was a circus

commotion in the streets. that does not exist. people are sitting in cafes and it is pretty calm in the main downtown of chicago. what i do think in chicago this year, security. president trump was shot in butler, pennsylvania and the inexplicable domain of where the security was. the police department partnered with the illinois state and homeland security. so they have a cordoned off situation like i have not seen at a convention before. it was intense in milwaukee, but they have a new dimension in the city the size of chicago. [end video clip] >> washington journal continues. host: the inside of the united center as later on this evening the vice president of the united states, kamala harris, expected

to accept the party nomination to become the nominee of the president of the united states. that is coverage starting at 5:30 and go to our website for more information. karen in washington state. democrat line. go ahead. caller: i appreciate the democrat party so far for their convention. i think they have done an amazing job with expressing how the country can move forward and not look back at the last few years of trauma that i believe that the country has gone through, especially during covid. as a registered nurse i appreciate them giving everybody the opportunity to see what they can do. and anyone who is having a hard time thing how we can move forward, they are not looking at what really is in front of us. we only have two choices, to

move on or to go back. and we want the country to move ahead and the democrat has deafened -- the democrat party that has demonstrated me that they will get us there. host: republican line from new york, this is kevin. caller: thank you for taking my call. can i make a few points. i got nothing out of this democratic convention. all i get is divisiveness and hatred, really to tell you the truth and i do not understand how anybody with common sense cannot see this. host: ok. anything else? caller: the anniversary of afghanistan, no mention of the goldstar families. you can get a free abortion outside the democratic convention. they are burning flags outside. all trump, no policy. they say democracy is at risk. she did not get one vote.

it is just amazing to me. not to mention over 10 million immigrants illegally crossing our border. who get more rights than i do. it is sad to me the way that this country is going. i work hard. i just had to take a third job and drive a cab at night to pay the bills in new york. it is crazy. host: independent line in connecticut. caller: hello and good morning i am calling to complain. i just do not know what has happened to c-span. i think i read that you guys are under new ownership. i thought you were independent funded by the cable companies all of these years. host: we are. caller: the morning's program was so far left i cannot take it. the one guy calls and and does not even identify anything and

asks what she thinks of the character of a candidate. and all the woman does is immediately jumped to try. what about this guy, vp walz? he has 50 seniors from both sides of the party complaining about his stolen valor and misrepresenting himself. there is a long list of things this guy has misrepresented. i cannot take it. i am an independent who does not like either candidate. it stinks. you cannot play a role that is bias. host: hold on, caller. if you notice the last three days we have covered the democratic national convention with desk -- guests that reflect the issues and representation. if you watch the coverage in milwaukee of the republican national convention it was the same thing but for the other side. just take those into context as

you watch and always you can watch and view anything we have covered as part of either convention by going on our website at c-span.org ere all of that is kept during the campaign 2024 coverage. with the coverage this week you can catch that at c-span now. barbara in florida. democrat line. hello. caller: hello. the couple of calls a that you had, the republican man talking about the convention and hate. i do not know what he was watching. there was just joy and i do not know what program he was watching. anyway, i do not know how anyone can vote for trump. he never really did anything. he talks about the border. why didn't he do something about the border? he was going to build a wall.

you know and all of that. and these people when they talk about socialism. socialism is not communism. socialism as the democrats describe it is medical care, care for children, you know, lunches and things like that. and it is not socialism. we will have a dictatorship. if trump gets in, he is going to pardon all of the people involved in the january 6 riots. and it is just -- host: jim in pennsylvania, republican line. caller: good morning, pedro. i am concerned about energy production in this country.

i was a boilermaker and worked in several power plants. and refineries, things like that. and they are tearing down the old coal-fired boilers. some of which spent $1 billion just 10 to 15 years ago to clean up their emissions and in order to get any money from the government when they close them, they had to make them inoperable. so what happens if something happens and we have to go back and use those? host: let me ask you how that relates to what is going on with the convention this week? caller: it is energy policy. i have one question. i tried to research mr. walz. apparently he served in the reserves from high school

through 2005. and during that time period, he taught in china for a year. how do you do that and fulfill your commitment to the reserves? host: hector in florida. independent line. hello. caller: hello. host: you are on. caller: i was trying to speak with the lady that was on earlier but i have to make the most of it. trump is bewildering and does not know how to treat kamala. she has the wisdom of gandhi. she has the spirit and joy of bob marley. she has a joyful woman. trump talks about her laughter. have you ever heard trump laugh? you cannot. he knows how to destroy and cannot build anything.

what has he built in the time that he was on? this woman is fantastic. that laughter lifts everybody's spirit and that is what is rubbing him, he does not know how to deal with her. i wish her all of the best. a fantastic woman. and i hope that everybody when they come on and ask them what has trump built. all the time he was there he destroyed. for instance there is another thing too. when you talk about afghanistan, biden did not have a meeting with the taliban. he wanted to have it at camp david and everybody talked about it. trump had a deal about it. afghanistan before we pulled out we had a troop of 12,000. trump removed 9000 and let 2000

-- left 2000 to clean up. host: "the washington times" talked about the influence of influencers, if you will at the convention. mallory wilson writing saying " the democratic national convention committee said it invited 200 creators with a cupola to bridge of 169 million people. over the past week the committee said more than 2200 dnc provided content these have been downloaded. the dnc creators -- gives a creators exclusive access to the guests. the republican national convention in milwaukee hosted its first such gathering of social media influencers. nearly 100 conservative influencers attended. the dnc did not pay for the creators to travel to chicago, many had to foot the bills themselves or work with media company. the convention committee did not establish rules for the amount

of content influencers must share. if you want to hear more about that. memphis, tennessee. democrat line from lee. caller: good morning, pedro. i want to talk about the convention and everybody trying to compare it with 1968. there is no comparison. they are not even in the same book. 1968, i was 12 years old. the crowd that we've been seeing, it is like the night that martin luther king was assassinated. bobby kennedy was speaking in indianapolis and the crowd, listen to me. the crowd in 1968, the crowd that bobby kennedy had looked like the crowd that we had last night.

everybody was in the crowd. not just one of this or one of that. so, there is really no comparison. i know that everybody knows what trump says by now. so people are calling in talking about trump this and that. if you do not know who trump is by now you have been under a rock for a long time. but that crowd makes me think about that in 1968, bobby kennedy told the crowd and they did not know what he told them that martin luther king got assassinated in memphis, tennessee. thank you. host: florida. republican line. go ahead. caller: a couple of things. the main difference between socialism and communism is that they advocate public ownership of means of production but they differ how resources are

distributed. socialism distribution is based on individual contribution while communism is based on individual needs. i do not know. i do not believe in socialism and i do not want it. if you want to go that way that is your deal. i do not know what is going on. who is paying for all of these programs? who is going to pay off college degrees or all of the immigrants? who is paying for all of these things? nothing has been said about that. all i've heard is we are not trump and we hate trump and project 2025. i wish you had pushed back against people when they mention that because trump has said we are not involved with that. yes he knows people and if -- and if they want to know what he plans on doing look up his website and there are 20 different things that he says he wants to do. there should be no discussion. i do not understand why project 2025 is a big bogeyman.

he has not doing those things. he has already said that. host: dan in florida. project 2025 a key aspect of the year's convention and was last night as well. this courtesy of keenan thompson who appeared and spoke about it. [video clip] >> what's up dnc? [applause] alright. you remember this big book from before? jerry ripped a page out of it. this is project 2025. this is the republican blueprint for a second trump term. yes. boo. it is a real document that you can read for yourself at kamalaharris.com/project2025. have you seen a document that could kill a small animal and

democracy at the same time? [laughter] here it is. you know how when you download an app and there are of pages that you do not read and it is just terms and conditions and you just click agree, yes? these are the terms and conditions of a second trump presidency. you vote for him, you vote for all of this. let's take a look. [end video clip] host: as a caller has mentioned the former president has distanced himself from project 2025 along with key members of his former administration. this is thomas and hawaii. independent line. you are next. caller: good morning. i think you are the host last time i called maybe late june. i want to apologize and i am sure you will let me know what programming i have missed that addresses the problem that i see. i think, generally, every time i

tune into open calls or calls about a particular subject, c-span is more often than not contributing to the dumbing down of political discourse in the united states. i have suggested this before. you might get far fewer callers being able to spout off and express have baked opinions and self evidence faxed. but if you do not have fact checking every caller. and when they say that this is a fact rather than this is my opinion ask them the source of the supposed fact. most of them could not give you a fact. they look at you like you are crazy. it is a fact, everyone knows this. that is what i am saying. we have one color saying black is white and another saying no, white is black. host: we are talking about the convention but i want keep it to the theme. what do you think about the coverage? caller: i think the production value is -- i have degrees in

journalism, politics and economics. the production value is great. the value value was great. people are saying it is all negative. what color is the sky? people are calling in and i can tell immediately where they get their information. and it is all -- the whole information silo problem that we have been living in for years. the post-truth and fact world. and every time c-span lets people express all of their half-baked opinions. host: you have said that twice and i will push back gently saying i think we contribute rightly to political can -- political discourse, letting people talk and call in on their various opinions. i know that you might not agree with all of them as they might not agree with yours, that we give them more of an opportunity to do that. will go to ohio, republican line. thank you. caller: hello.

i do not watch this democratic convention and i never watched the republican one either. it is a lot of hoopla. but to hear the guest speakers up there the last couple of nights. i have seen the highlights and low lights. they are going to mess around and get trump get shot again. host: you said you do not watch them and you talk about the guest speakers. caller: i said i watched the highlights and low lights on other news channels. and what they are saying about trump, after july 13 you thought they would have toned it down a little bit. you know? host: charles in alexandria, tennessee. democrats line. hello. caller: good morning. host: you are on. go ahead. caller: it is time for a change. youngblood, also give everybody

their rights. and, this is a great country. i am native american. we were first year. --here. but, the point given, we are all together in one. and, everybody has to learn to sit back, listen and be able to talk peacefully with everybody, regardless of where they come from. this country, the greatest country in the globe is made up of people from all over the world. let's all get together and learn to live together.

and, it is time for the democrats. thank you. host: one more call from eerie, pennsylvania. independent line. caller: is an honor to be able to be heard and express my opinions about this convention. i was a child in 1969, nine years old. the previous caller mentioned about robert kennedy telling that martin luther king had been shot in memphis, tennessee. here we are 40 years later and it is a different environment and a totally different time politically. we have a prettiest -- a previous president independent line. caller: this is an honor to be able to be hurt and express my opinions about this convention. i was a child in 1969. in 1968i was nine years old.

her previous caller mentioned bobby kennedy was in indianapolis and he told a crowd martin luther king had been shot in memphis, tennessee. there is a different environment politically. you have a previous president who failed us miserably during a once in a century pandemic. he has been convicted of 34 felonies. and he is allowed -- that he is allowed to run for president is reprehensible. the supreme court gave him license to run in colorado. i think it is time for people to take a chill pill, step back, and elect kamala harris as president. she is more than qualified. and her vice president is stellar. he served -- he is more than qualified. jd vance and donald trump need to be taken off the picture

entirely. i am sorry he was shot at. i think that was staged. host: we will stop it right there. an expanded program today. we will go until 11:00 eastern. you'll have time to talk about this convention we have been covering, the final night where kamala harris will accept her party's nomination. joining us to talk about her history is san francisco chronicle senior political writer talking about the vice president's career from her time in san francisco today -- from her time in san francisco until today. that is when "washington journal " continues. >> we engage voters asking what issue is most important to you in this election and why.

>> for me it is abortion-rights. i am the author of the women's health protection act which would restore roe v. wade for every woman in every zip code of this country. now women have less rights than their grandmothers and that is not right. >> the number one issue that concerns me is the lack of stability in our politics. i say we are ohioans and americans before we are democrats and republicans and it is time to start bridging the gap and bringing our country together i know our candidate, kamala harris, will do that for our country. >> one of the most important issues is gun control. i fear what would happen if our school had a shooting. that is why i'm voting for kamala harris to ensure universal background checks and make sure we do not have assault weapons in our country. >> c-span voices 2024. be a part of the conversation.

>> on saturday, book tv on c-span2 takes you live to the washington convention center for our annual coverage of the library of congress national book festival. since 2000 one we featured hundreds of in-depth and interrupted author talks, with this year's guests including the library of congress, pulitzer prize winner doris kearns goodwin, yuval levin, and more. the library of congress national book festival live saturday beginning at 9:00 eastern on c-span2. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policy is

debated and decided with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us from chicago, joe garofoli, senior political writer for the san francisco chronicle, a chronicler of kamala harris. things were giving us your time. guest: thank you for inviting me. host: remind our viewers about the extent of your coverage of kamala harris. guest: i cover her throughout her career in california politics and when she started in 2003. as we can see has it has been an incredibly meteor cries. host: when you talk about her career in politics, -- an incredibly meteoric rise.

host: when you talk about her career in politics, what would you say about her past? guest: there are couple of things she has done that were risky moves where she challenge the status quo where the time it seemed like what are you doing. the first thing happened a few months after she was elected san francisco's district attorney. she ran against the death penalty. four months into her first term in office a young police officer was shot by a gang member in san francisco. she said i am not going to pursue the death penalty here because that is what she ran on. she did it before the officer was buried, something she regretted later. went to the church service where the officer was buried. senator dianne feinstein come at the time the most powerful and influential figure in california

politics stood up and said this case absolutely should have called for the death penalty with harris right there. all of the officers in the church in uniform, hundreds of officers stood up and cheered. that was a very difficult moment for her but she stuck by her guns so to speak. it strained her relationship with police officers the years. when she ran for attorney general several years later in 2010 officers supported her republican opponent. one of the first thing she did as attorney general's she went around to every county, met with police unions, and when she ran for reelection she got the support of several police unions. that is one thing. another thing she did was as attorney general, the bank settlement. california was it very hard during the mortgage meltdown in 2008 and 2009.

a lot of people lost their homes . she negotiated with the banks. initially they were posing a settlement of $3 billion or $4 billion. she said that is not enough. we are the largest state and our folks deserve more. governor jerry brown was for many years her senior said i hope you know what you're doing. it was a very risky move. she also went against her friend president obama at the time. it turns out she got over $20 billion in the settlement and it was a risky move that defined her in that way. host: when you talk about the law enforcement aspect of kamala harris. the former president is highlighting the fact that it one time he said she supported the idea of defunding the police. where is the truth in that? host: she has talked about to -- guest: she has talked about different ways of policing.

she has always talked about that. she said it is not -- an officer arresting someone on the street is not always the best solution. sometimes it involves -- she started programs for low-level offenders. one was called back on track. instead of a low-level drug offense, instead of imprisoning these folks she would offer them a path to stay out of prison if they completed certain tasks. this has led to a conversation about harris that has followed her throughout her career. often progressives say kamala is a cop and is too conservative, and conservatives say she is too progressives. one of the things she did, she was concerned about truancy rates.

she noticed a lot of the people who were committing crimes had not finished high school. one of the reasons was they were not going to school. she set up a program where educators would work with young people and their parents if they missed more than 50 days. that is roughly one third of the school year. the parents would be penalized. progressives are saying you are criminalizing poverty and what are you doing? that was something where conservatives embraced her. the truancy rates went down. only a couple dozen parents in san francisco were charged. that said that governor arnold schwarzenegger in california replicated the program statewide and there were some counties where many parents did go to jail because of the truancy of their children. she has always at this duality.

that is why it has been very hard for many people to characterize her. is she a cop and embracing her prosecutor role or is she progressive? another issue where she has gone back and forth is on cannabis legalization. she opposed the legalization measure in 2010, she opposed it in 2014 when she ran for reelection as attorney general even though her republican opponent supported it. she opposed it in 2016 when the rest of california supported it. cannabis is legal for recreational uses. then when she went to washington as a senator in 2016 she embraced it and now she is on the leading edge of the administration's role to make cannabis -- to use it for research and such.

she has changed on that. as san francisco district attorney she prosecuted cannabis crimes. that is one of those issues where she has taken different stances over the years. host: this is joe garofoli joining us from the san francisco chronicle. if you want to ask questions about the political career of kamala harris, you can call on the lines. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents (202) 748-8002. text us at (202) 748-8003. when you hear the term border czar applied to kamala harris, what goes through your mind? guest: what goes through my mind is it is a republican talking point for the most part. the democrats have a hard thing to explain. she was appointed by president biden to what was essentially a diplomatic post to connect with governments in central america,

to address the root causes of crime. she is not responsible for the border. that is the secretary of homeland security come the secretary of hhs, that is their job. she is not the border czar in that aspect. the problem was is the border czar tag stuck with her early and that has become a talking point in conservative media and it will be hard for her to shake. you've seen over the last couple of days for the democrats are trying to push back on that and say there was a border deal on the table, the toughest border deal ever written by republicans, and trump waylaid it. basically because it would hurt his reelection chances if there was a deal in place, he cannot use that as an attack issue. there is a nuance there. she was part of looking at the

root causes of crime. she is not the person deciding how many people will come in and out. now she is part of the administration. in terms of her direct responsibility, i think that is overblown. host: let's hear from linda in maryland. democrats line. go ahead. caller: good morning. the reason i am calling in is because i believe in kamala. i believe she has been a person who went from down and out, pulled herself up and made something of herself. is there more to doing that that she has done that we are not aware of yet that you can make us aware of? guest: when you say aware of, make you aware of her upbringing? caller: more in the way of her

career. guest: i will give you a little bit of background of where she is coming from. that is something i've noticed at the convention, a little bit of it is being scrubbed. i saw the video at the night of the convention played in between speakers and it says -- it showed her home, which is berkeley, it showed her parents, but it did not mention the words berkeley, where she was raised, or oakland, where she was born. i am concerned someone on the campaign or the democratic party might think she is too california. she will be the first democrat from california to be nominated for president. she grew up, her parents were academics. her mother is an immigrant from india went to college at 18 or

19 years old. she was a cancer researcher. her father was an economist. they met at berkeley in the middle 60's. they met at civil rights demonstrations. this is how she grew up. she grew up surrounded by activists. she grew up in berkeley at a time of great intellectual ferment. she meant to a place -- a community center. it was auto -- it was also an intellectual hub for a lot of black intellectuals. maya angelou was there. these people were popping in and out. this shaped her as a child. that is why when you hear the phrase we've been hearing all week at the convention and since she assumed the nomination, "when we fight, we win," this is something we hear commonly at demonstrations, at labor union

rallies and all kinds of rallies in california in particular, which is a hub of progressive activism. when we fight, we win. this is something harris has heard her entire life. she grows up in this family of progressive activists and intellectuals. when she said i want to be a prosecutor her family is like what? these are the folks we are often fighting against because of the actions police take, particular against communities of color. that is going back to the duality, if she progressive, is she a cop, these forces have been shaping her. host: this is from lena in connecticut, democrats line. go ahead please. caller: i am listening and i am taking it all in with all of

this going on. i would love to see a woman president. that would be fantastic. the only thing i am having a hard time trying to place her where she really wants to go. on the border, i don't know if she did anything for the border. that is very important for this country. we have tons of people that we need to support. we all know. the economy is not good. that is very concerning. i am in a certain age where i live a fixed income. the way things are going, i

don't think our country could support all of these expenses they are trying to make. like on the border. where does she stand? host: that is lena in connecticut. you did talk about the border a little bit but if you want to elaborate, go ahead. guest: thank you for your call. what she has said recently issue would implement that border deal that was on the table before trump scuttled it. she would embrace the toughest border deal we have seen in a long time. if that continues to be on the table -- that bill was written by james lankford, one of the more conservative members in the senate. that is where she is on that. you're right, all of this enthusiasm. you cannot get elected on vibes

and good feelings. the economy is the most pressing concern for a lot of people. democrats will talk about everything is getting better, inflation is coming down, prices are coming down a little bit. prices are still higher than they were. a lot of people like yourself are struggling with that. if republicans could focus on that, that would be the most difficult question they have to answer. if you look at the macro economic trends, they are getting better. macro economic trends do not mean a lot if you say i cannot believe eggs are so much or milk is so much or in my case pasta is so much. that will be their biggest challenge. host: she has a background in law. she put out a plan for the economy or at least some principles on the economy. what you think that revealed about her grasp on economic

policy? guest: will largely see a continuation of the biden platform. one thing that is interesting to see it there was a focus on making it easier for young people to buy a house, to afford a house. that is one of the biggest drivers of concern in california. it is phenomenally expensive to buy property in california. that is the cause of the wide income inequality gap. she knows that better than anybody as someone born and raised in the bay area. her family were renters for a long time. she understands that aspect viscerally. we will see how much of a discussion the housing policy will get in the next 70 days or

so. i noticed that when she rolled out her plan the other day that that is something we do not hear a lot about the national level. certainly we are trying to do that in california. it is a struggle. host: this is from david in new york. republican line. caller: i am watching the convention and i'm not hearing any solutions. none of the solutions for the border closing while she is in office. they never close the border, they tried to sue texas. none of her policies are together with the republican party. they voted against each other, they are constantly split. i do not see her reaching across the aisle. i do not see anybody helping anybody get out of poverty. i do not see her plan to make the deficit go down, i do not see any solutions from joe or from her. i she see what -- i see she

wants to snatch patents from big pharma. it does not work in other countries, i do not see why it will work here. i do not hear anything from her. she is not doing any interviews with anybody. she is just out there waving and laughing and smiling and promising everybody anything. i do not see how this country can afford her. host: that is david in new york. let me take on one thing. he said the ability of reaching across the aisle. i want to reflect that to her career in the senate and what it reveals about her as a potential president of the united states? guest: her career in the senate was pretty brief. she was selected in 2016. she thought she would be elected with a democratic president and she immediately went into opposition mode after donald trump was elected. most of her senate career was in

opposition. it is difficult for a junior senator to get a lot done. most of the things we know about her is questioning trump appointees and supreme court justices. some viral moments she made there. there is not allowed to love lead -- there's not a lot of legislative accomplishment. she started running for president in the 2020 campaign. then she returned to the senate after that campaign -- she became vice president after that campaign fell apart. then she was named to the biden ticket. i have a great list of accomplishments in the senate for her. she was there but it was a very brief time and much of the time was spent running for president. host: is a candidate in 2020.

compare that to her ability and what she has to face going forward now? guest: is already backtracking on some of the things she was talking about in 2020. the dynamics are different. it was running against a dozen democrats. she is new to the policy aspect of being an elected official. as attorney general you have a finite box of issues you talk about but now she is having to come up with different policies. because they are the democratic primary, they will always want to elect the most liberal people. she took very left-leaning stances. she gave a confusing answer on medicare for all. first she said do away with all of the private insurance companies, and then she said not really. i am for medicare for all. she went back and forth. finally she proposed a plan that

would roll it out over 10 years. that was some of the challenges she had about nuance policy and coming up with what the specific policy prescription. another issue where she has rolled back -- she is not for medicare for all right now in this campaign. another issue where she has changed her position is on fracking. when she was running for president she says we will ban fracking western pennsylvania, where i grew up in pittsburgh, that is a huge issue. now she has turned around. she realizes it is an important -- important to the folks who live in that area, it is an important industry. as this campaign spools out over the next several weeks, it will be a sprint. the gentleman was right. she has not done a major

interview. she has not down a sit-down interview. she has answered a couple questions from reporters as she gets off a plane or something. she has promised to do one before the end of the month. we will see. host: in virginia, here is ronald. hello. caller: good morning. i see kamala harris is doing such a great job. there is a lot of stuff we need to get changed in our country. the thing we often realize is that kamala harris is not the person creating the most problems we are having. if we take time and look at what is going on on both sides, we can see why we are having so much problems is not just democrats, it is the left-wing people that are not letting things get past.

when we was trying to pass things they would not allow us to pass things. that is why we are having so much problems we are having today. guest: i want to add something to last. nancy pelosi from san francisco. we wrote story the other day that talked about what nancy pelosi's advice to kamala harris is. cover and from the center. you would think that was interesting coming from nancy pelosi, everyone think she is super progressive. she is about winning and she realizes the seven battleground states, the people undecided are generally people in the middle. to appeal to them you say i will govern from the center. i would not be surprised if kamala harris does govern from the center. she has progressive sensibilities but she has made her way to the top of the political keep in two decades, which is pretty fast by being

able to read the tea leaves. i think she is a much smarter politician now. she is had more experience, she has been in the white house for four years as the vice president. it is interesting to hear nancy pelosi say govern from the center. at the same time she says have a democrat run a message that is bold, progressive, and i think she said not offensive or something like that. i asked her, was a policy that is not offensive? nancy pelosi said what works in san francisco will work in michigan. what works -- i am blowing the line. what works in san francisco will not work in michigan but what works in michigan will work in san francisco. stay in the centerline. pelosi -- you can say a lot of different things about her, but she is very good at winning.

host: one more call from chris in florida. republican line. you are on. caller: being a reporter from the san francisco chronicle, i am sure you know the history of kamala harris. you said s grew up in oakland and berkeley. at 12, at nine her parents divorced. at 12 she moved to montrealers, canada where she went to school. from second grade to her first years in college she lived in montrealers, that is where she went up. then she went to howard, then she was a fly girl for montel. then after that she put on her kneepads -- host: we will stop there. alan from hawaii also asked about her time in montrealers. -- in montreal.

guest: her time in montreal is a time we do not know much about, it was a place you made a key decision in her life. that was when she decided to become a prosecutor. it was inspired because a friend she knew was being abused by an adult in her life and she felt very protective of her. she asked her to come live with her family and that is what made her want to become a prosecutor. that was the key moment. even in her memoir she wrote when she was running for president the first time, there is not a lot in that part about her canadian years. it is an area we do not know too much about. host: he has received criticism for her relationship with former

san francisco mayor willie brown. what was that relationship? guest: they dated about a year and a half in the mid-90's. this is unusual for people to hear outside of san francisco. willie brown was married at the time. he was -- i would not say estranged from his wife, they lead separate lives. they had been apart for maybe 10 years before that. they are still married. willie brown is 90 years old. he did appoint her to some state commissions when she was a young prosecutor. it is hard to say he made her career. it is kind of insulting in some ways, when she has been the twice elected san francisco district attorney, the twice elected attorney general of california, elected to the u.s. senate, vice president. there is someone else who billy brown -- who willie brown helped

out with an appointment to the parking commission in san francisco. it was a guy who lived in the marina district, and his name was gavin newsom. they have not had a romantic relationship as far as i know but this is something willie brown has done. he has also helped nancy pelosi, he is also helped dianne feinstein. yes, they had a relationship, but frankly that is sexist and i think the caller from florida should maybe cut his phone off. host: what are you watching for tonight? guest: i am watching what many of the callers have talked about. i think kamala harris needs to introduce herself more to folks who do not know much about her and spell out where she will go. how is she going to be different from joe biden? what policies is she going to keep. it is a lot to ask in a one night speech but she has to mix

the personal, who she is, acknowledge the historic moment of this, given who she is, and explain where in policy -- this is not a big policy speech, but outline where i'm going, what i want to do, does the other caller said she needs to sit down and do serious interviews. host: sfchronicle.com is rate can the worst -- is where you could buy the work of joe garofoli. thank you for your time. host: you can call in for about a half-hour. (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 for democrats, and independents (202) 748-8002. c-span attended a maryland delegate party hosted by democratic congressman jamie raskin at the navy.

in chicago. your is a behind-the-scenes look at that party. -- here is a behind-the-scenes look at that party. >> setting up these types of parties is difficult at first. you have to think about how we will do this. it is a huge event. we have to figure out how can we make this personalized to him? we have a bunch of stuff over here. we have really good merge. he has stopped with his name on it. we have mustered. we wanted to do something personalized. that is how they get that exposure. you can make something personalized and authentic and that is how you make that happen. you do not have anything strong where you can get something out of it like exposure, potential donors, potential people who can network with you to get into committees and get everything you can for voters. we have a lot of people coming out tonight that are newer voters.

we have young people coming out. that is one of the big things we have to do is get that energy out there. that is something we were trying to gear towards. >> nice to see you. thank you for being here. hello freestate people. can you hear me? is it projecting. hi, everybody. hello, maryland. hello to the beautiful eighth district. hello all of our friends from across the united states of america. we will have some fun tonight. we will celebrate the extraordinary spirit that has

overtaken the united states of america ever since kamala harris became our nominee. we have a lot of surprises in store for you tonight, starting with the authentic jamie raskin mustard made by my cousins who have the worlds first and only mustard museum. they brought it. i want to recognize you people. we will do this more extensively -- i want to recognize a few people. we will do this more extensively because we have a lot of politicians here. i want to recognize two very special guests, one of whom helped to save my life on january 6. officer harry dunn. [applause]

also, he ran a very expressive campaign for congress. our friend is here. hello. officer dunn is a force not just in maryland politics but a national politics as he works to get kamala harris elected across the country. i never thought i would get to know this guy. he was donald trump's private lawyer for a long time. he is a patriot, a born-again patriot and a passionate champion and defender of democracy. please welcome my friend michael cohen.

[applause] ♪ >> you are now being recorded. >> so about that toes only onlyfans? >> is the issue with that? >> i got the name rawdog and i enjoy it. >> go maryland. elect angela also brooks. >> these gatherings are important because people can come together and strategize about how we move this country forward. at this gathering led by jamie raskin, it is about how we build up our grassroots, how we strengthen our democracy at a time when you have donald trump trying to eliminate our democracy.

i feel like i am amongst like-minded people actually love this country so much they want to get in the fight and they want to fight to protect our freedoms and our democracy. i am thrilled to be here. >> "washington journal" continues. host: a shot of the city of chicago from downtown ccago where we have graciously been allowed to set up shop as a studio so we can talk to guests through the convention week. it is the final day of the convention. c-span's coverage tonight will start at 5:30 with your calls and convention activities will start at 6:30. we will present those without interruption. around 11:00 you can call and react with the acceptance of kamala harris as the democratic

party's nominee for president of the united states. you can always follow along on our main channel, c-span now, and c-span.org. teresa in chicago starts us off. independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call and i want to say how much i appreciate c-span for 70 reasons, beginning with being able to watch the convention and not have commercial breaks constantly. if you watch any of the major cable stations. i want to talk about the economy because i do often hear people complaining about the economy. being a senior citizen now i want to say i find that a false argument. my entire life has been a challenge when it comes to the economy, even though i am a college graduate. i have always found it expensive to live in our country. i do not see how when people complain about the economy,

everything is so expensive. in my opinion everything has always been expensive. i do not care what generation you are from. i do not see that as a legitimate complaint. i also feel people are struggling with paying for things. they have to get smart about how they work with their money. they have to recognize that some things are more expensive now, let shop around and find out who has the best prices and let's go there. when i grocery stop -- when i grocery shop i shop at a number of stores and i'm always looking for the best prices. when i'm in a grocery store i will get on my phone and if something looks expensive i might google that and see if i can find it at a different store at a better price. as americans we have to get smarter about how we work with our money. thank you so much. host: patricia in minneapolis,

republican line. caller: please don't try to take me off for my points. i've a few to make about the hypocrisy of the convention. they talked about there is no safe harbor for hate, but tim walz led our cities, minneapolis and st. paul burned to the ground, destroyed 600 businesses. he did not call in the national guard for days. the other thing, they talk about democracy and yet not one democrat voted for kamala harris for president. you cannot get in that convention without showing an id about 17 times. they have border walls around their convention. it is very well protected by the police. the democrats have left our border open. we do not get that as citizens but boy are they protected.

the other thing that is hypocritical is they tried to take president trump off the ticket and they tried to take rfk off the ticket. it is the party of hypocrisy. host: roberto in texas. independent line. roberto from texas. caller: i have a jeremiah for israel. oh israel, you are a total disgrace to humanity. the world will never forget the palestinian genocide. you should never been created by united nations. you have become a curse. host: how does that apply to the convention as far as the plight of the palestinians, how much of that has been applied to this week's coverage. caller: i am trying to answer.

israel has too much influence in america. it has too much influence in gaza. kamala harris, i think, will be an improvement over biden. she will be kept in line because she can only do so much to talk for palestinians. she is doing much better than biden but israel needs to be addressed. host: let's go to market in las vegas. democrats line -- let's go to mark in las vegas, democrats line. caller: can you hear me ok? host: go ahead. caller: a couple of things. the woman from minnesota complaining about open borders, i think she is closer to the northern border. i have a feeling that as long as it is white and canadian she

does not seem too concerned. all of these people who call in on the right, very few go there and very few know what is going on because they are listening to propaganda from right-wing politicians and from fox news and oan and newsmax and right talk radio people who have no integrity and no credibility and that is their problem to listen to those kinds of people. the other thing i wanted to note on the economy is everything looks good on the economy, from wall street take here in las vegas, when we go out, everyplace is busy, everybody is spending money, the stores are busy, profits are way up. if you want to complain about gas prices, all of these people on the right need to look at the oil company profits, which are driving lots of this, but they

cannot do that because if they were to acknowledge reality they would not have much of a platform to run on outside grievance for the fact that kamala harris apparently is not the right skin color for them. i am supporting her because she is saying, she is well experienced, she is quite capable of doing the job. she knows how to deal with the border, not because she goes to the border but because she goes down to the countries and talks to the people there about what needs to happen to help. host: that is mark. the caller previous brought up rfk junior. you've probably seen, expected to drop out by the end of this week. also reported their plans for him to endorse former president trump. we will see how that plays out as he is expected to give a speech in arizona tomorrow. let's hear from tom in tennessee, independent line.

caller: thank you for taking my call. the convention is about nominating kamala run for president. some of the discussion in the previous session you had was about the order talking about how she has changed her position over time. i think a key thing that is missing that i think is obvious is in our congress there is no compromise, it is a dirty word. i do not want a person as president who takes a position and that is it. it is their way or the highway. somebody that can compromise, change their mind, get input, think about things, and then adjust to get stuff done, that is what i think the good president does. that is all i want to say. caller: -- host: speaking of conventions, last night we heard

from former president bill clinton. [video clip] >> let's cut to the chase. i am too old to gild the lily. two days ago i turned 78, the oldest man in my family for four generations. the only personal vanity i want to assert is i am still younger than donald trump. [applause] host: all of these speeches from the convention you can find on the app or the .org if you want to check them out for yourself. richard it made, republican line. caller: i have a lot to say. you keep having people on the show about project 2025 and they keep saying it is trump -- trump does not support project 2025.

people come on that show. let's call it what it is. it is not misinformation. it is lies. they keep trying to assign trump to project 2025 and he keeps saying he believes they go too far. i receive stuff from heritage project in the mail. i agree that they go too far. i did not get the whole thing, just to go through it because they want to donations. they keep saying it is trump and it is maga. i got it make america great again sweatshirt and i do not support project 2025. they need to stop having people on that show that lie and say that is a trump thing because it is not a trump thing. i heard trump speak and he says he does not believe in project 2025. he says it goes too far on some issues, especially abortion. stop trying to tie people into

something they are not involved with. host: that is richard from maine. here is reese from baltimore. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am well. caller: i wanted to make a comment if i could. you know they say when someone opens their mouth up -- all the criminal does is lie. if you want to talk about the economy, we need not go back any further than four years ago when we had a pandemic in this country was shut down. the criminal new the covid was coming in and he did not inform the people. also, for those who love him so much, if he ever got back into office and your rights and you looking at your wife, your

daughter, or anybody else and you consider them, you look at them with loving eyes, your rights have been taken away because you are a second-class citizen. i refuse to talk to you. i want to just end by saying if your eyes are not open, if your heart is not there, and if you think democracy is bad now, go ahead and vote for him. when the stuff hits the fan, do not come crying to us saying what happened. you was a part of the problem. host: texas. independent line. hello? if that is you go ahead.

caller: i want everybody to look at the constitution. there are lines of succession. do we want the vice president of the democratic party or even the nomination, do we want them in control of the most powerful country in the world? i think not. i think we need to have someone -- a jefferson, a roosevelt, a lincoln. we have them everywhere. why are we settling for somebody who is not even in the line of succession? have a good day. host: the convention had a chance to hear from one time talkshow host and entrepreneur oprah winfrey. [video clip] >> you know this is true that decency and respect are on the

ballot in 2024. [applause] just plain common sense. common sense tells you that kamala harris and tim walz can give us decency and respect. they are the ones that give it to us. we are americans. we are americans. let us choose loyalty to the constitution over loyalty to any individual. because that is the best of america. let us choose optimism over cynicism because that is the best of america. let us choose inclusion over retribution. let us choose common sense over nonsense.

[applause] that is the best of america. at us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday. we will not go back. we will not be sent back, pushed back, bullied back, kicked back. we are not going back. [applause] not going back. we are not going back. let us choose. let us choose. truth. let us choose honor. let us choose joy. [applause]

because that is the best of america. more than anything else, let us choose freedom. why? because that is the best of america. we are all americans. together let's all choose kamala harris. thank you chicago. thank you, america. host: on the line for democrats from mississippi we will hear from kathleen. hello. caller: good morning. it is kind of sad the way they put down kamala harris and tim walz. if you do not live here in mississippi you do not know nothing. we are struggling every day just to get up and send our children to school, our grandchildren, our childcare, our health care

will stop health care is for everyone. the health department used to let children -- that is gone. we need medicaid expansion. we need snap. they are taking everything from us. then we heard on fm radio this morning the database has been hacked. 90.9 fm radio station. believe me when i am saying this. every state is different. we live day to day, paycheck -- sometimes social security and medicaid. that is it. people need to wake up before it is too late and we have a dictator for a day. we are pushing back and we are pushing forward. host: kathleen in mississippi.

let's hear from jeff in north carolina. republican line. caller: dictator, hitler's, that is the way you need to keep talking. have some other lunatic take a shot at him again. host: go ahead and make your point. caller: is easy to see you are a democrat. why don't they hire republicans and keep this 50-50. you can tell you're a democrat from two miles away. host: nobody knows the political positions of our hosts. if you wanted to comment on the convention, go ahead. caller: tell everybody -- [inaudible] need to go back like they did last time. i am telling you, you are running c-span with your political views.

anyone can tell you're a damn democrat. you are entitled -- host: you are entitled to your opinion. miguel in illinois, democrats line. caller: i would like to talk about what i heard at the convention about the situation in israel and gaza. what i heard is a balanced view that the october 7 incursion was worthy of an israeli counterpoint, which was military. however, what i do not hear is what trump might do if he is reelected. it is my opinion that as trump has said at times, that he would let benjamin netanyahu do whatever he wants to do. it is my opinion that benjamin netanyahu and his government would simply bulldoze gaza into rubble. what leads me to believe that is

trump's other foreign policy positions. i would like to hear more from both sides about what they would really do. keeping in mind that the israeli electorate itself is as divided, if not more so, than ours. there is disagreement within israel itself about how strongly the military should further its incursions into gaza. host: let's hear from patrick in new hampshire. republican line. good morning. caller: my mom voted for biden and she is watching this convention with me and is super disappointed, like "i cannot believe i voted for someone -- joe biden was a moderate is the whole entire career, he was going to unite the country." every time i've seen joe biden

go on stage it's been angry and yelling and constant attacks. then you think about how they treated this man. they literally had him out there half an hour to midnight on east coast time. i'm trying to watch the last speech of joe biden and i to stay up till midnight to watch a good isn't that so disrespectful for the guy? he's been in politics for 50 years, and now he has all of these knives poking out of his back and he is with his alleged friends. this is the democratic party, this is what they do -- host: patrick in new hampshire. you probably as you watch the conventions of the role of music. "the washington post" with a piece, the playlist of walk u musicp. "the music might not last long but it can reflect the wider image they want to portray. it takes a look at some of the

walkabout music from the key candidates. when you look at vice president harris, "freedom" by beyonce, " battle cry of freedom" from bon iver. you look at donald trump's playlist, "it's a man's man's world" by james brown, "god bless the usa" by lee greenwood, "american bad" from kid rock, and "my heart will go on" by celine dion. ronald, democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to talk to the republicans for minute. donald trump is a bad example of being a republican. he ain't even -- do you know the

republicans didn't have a platform? talking about the border. they wanted -- republicans refused, donald trump went there and said stop it. he's a dictator. he's a bad example of being a republican. do you think donald trump can make a statement without talking about the other party? franklin graham, who i respect, tells him to stop the foul language donald trump is out of control -- host: ok, ronald in south carolina. final call of this call-in

segment. we are going to be joined by the founder of the group would with black women from all about mobilizing black women for the harris-walz campaign get that conversation coming up on "washington journal." >> discover the heartbeat of democracy with c-span voices 2024. we engage voters of the democratic national convention asking which issue is most important even the electio. l >> making spaces for more black women. it is very humbling and historical and i'm excited. >> i am a delicate from the great state of -- delicate from the great state of nebraska, and top issue for me are public

schools and public education and making sure we empower teachers and teach true history in our schools and we don't censor materials our students need to learn, and sensible gun violence reform. sensible policies and contribute--sensible policies in our contribute >> right now as someone who struggles paycheck-to-paycheck, housing is the most important issue to me. i would like to be able to own my own home someday. it's important to have a person who cares about working-class families. >> c-span's voices 2024. be a part of the conversation. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browse through a collection of apparel, home decor, and

accessories. something for every c-span fan, and every purchase supports our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: this is our last day of coverage of the democratic national convention. we have been talking to guests in chicago. thanks to them for letting their facilities so we can future guests like jotaka eaddy of win with black women. she is their founder. ms. eaddy, good morning. guest: good morning, good morning for some host: before we talk about the convention itself, talk about your organization. why did you found it? guest: when with black women, we are a collection of black women leaders across the country. we started almost 4 years to the day on august 1, 2020, and we

came together around our collective concern around the racism and sexism that entered the narrative when it was a discussion four years ago as it related to who would be the vice presidential nominee. black women were concerned with the conversation that was very racist, very sexist. we came together that night, 90 of us on a zoom call. we decided to keep meeting, keep moving forward, the work that black women had done many years before. we galvanized around the call for there to be a black woman vice presidential nominee and became now vice president kamala harris. for the last four years we have been meeting most sunday nights around issues to help uplift the power and collective image of black women and to help elect black women up and down the ballot in our personal capacity. on, july 21 we had a meeting

that was already scheduled and it was one of those were if you knew, you knew. that night we had 44,000 women join us on that call, and it's been -- it kicke off a lot of inspirationd around the country galvanizing around kamala harris. it is good to be here on this historic day. host: were you surprised about the popularity ms. harris had once candidate is the -- once the candidacy was announced? guest: you know, i think as black women we always knew there is something special about vice president harris. she has been the governing partner of president biden for four years. we knew that hopefully this moment would come. we didn't know when it would come, because black women had been very vocal about our support of president biden and his candidacy. we signed an open letter saying so. what we did say, though, when

and if president biden decided he was going to step aside, the only conversation we wanted to have was about vice president, harris, because she was capable, she was ready she had been, a governing partner to this dynamic president. on july 21, we knew that president biden made it clear he was going to step aside, that we wanted to show the complete support that black women, and not just black women, but allies and supporters and so many americans have around vice president kamala harris. it was a very powerful moment of joy, but also a powerful moment of action. for the 44,000 that joined us on zoom and the others in other places because they couldn't get on the zoom that night. we have seen hundreds of thousands of other americans join us in that same commitment and excitement for vice president kamala harris and the future she is going to build for

this country and the direction she will continue to take us. host: callers call in, (202) 748-8001 four republicans, democrats, (202) 748-8000, independents, (202) 748-8002, text message (202) 748-8003. what is the strategy for your organization going for to november, besides zoom calls? guest: we are going to continue to meet via zoom. everybody is welcome to our zooms sunday nights at 8:30. we will go into communities. we got to knock on doors, make sure we are registering as many voters as possible, and also we are going to have to meet voters where they are. black women have long been a backbone and strong component of the democratic party, and just voting at 91%. on we go to the polls, we not

only take ourselves, we take our families, we take our communities. you will see black women registering voters and helping them find the right information. there is a lot of mis- and disinformation out there, so making sure voters have the correct information and helping voters understand the process in order to vote in this country. it is not as easy because there is a lot of voter suppression. it is important for people to know where their polling places are and when they can early vote so we can be victorious in november and take this country in the direction it needs to continue to go. host: for those who comprise your group, are there top issues that you find that's important for an administration to attack? if that is the case, what would be those issues? guest: i think it is what we see and hear at the democratic convention, around freedom, all

of our freedoms, the very clear delineation between the two candidates. vice president kamala harris and donald trump, it is two very different americas. when you think about the issues, the freedom to choose how to control our bodies for women, that is very, very important. of course other freedoms, the freedom to learn, economic freedom, continuing to carry on the policies of the biden-harrison administration. --biden-harris administration. when you look at the last four years, it is about having all americans thrive, insulin prices lowered up to $35, and after a mismanaged global pandemic, getting back to a place of economic stability in the country, but other could go issues, whether or not it is for health care, whether or not it

is -- all of those issues are on the ballot box including issues of democracy. fundamental freedoms and ability to thrive as vice president kamala harris has said so eloquently on the campaign trail. host: if that is the case, where has the biden administration succeeded on these concerns, particularly as you look to the vice president at the next leader, where do you want her to expand that? guest: i think we look at the his dark investments in education, -- the historic investments in education, millions of dollars in historically black colleges and universities. when we look at the price of medicine in this country, looking at insulin for $35, expanding that, how do we make that not just for seniors, how do we make that for everyone in this country, access to affordability and connectivity to the internet. that is vitally important. everything in this country is

moving to a need for greater connectivity. how do we expand upon those programs and how do we also look at codifying important measures such as roe v. wade? how do we actually have those fundamental freedoms? that is going to take enactment of congress, but also executive action as well. i think we are going to see under a harris administration the expansion of some of the most milestones and great achievements under the biden-harris administration and we can expect to see more. host: i want to play a short bit from last month's republican national convention, featuring an interview with former president trump's media director talking by the pitch the former president it to people of color. i want to get your response to it. [video clip] >> do you want to be part of unity or separated from everybody else?

the left is preaching a message of divisiveness and what black people feel inferior, and president trump's message is resonating with people because we have had a black president and black vice president and a lot of black people are saying they have nothing to show for it. host: that is their assessment. what is your reaction? guest: that is more mis- and disinformation. if you look at the record, it is very clear. this work investment in historically black colleges and universities -- historic investment in historically black colleges and universities. black unemployment at the lowest levels we have ever seen. we have seen the advancement of black women on the federal judiciary, whether or not it is justice jackson on the supreme court, we have seen the ascension of america's first black federal reserve board governor member in dr. lisa cook. we have seen so many policies and executive orders out of this administration that has touched

this black community in a way that is very clear. what donald trump continues to do is -- he has all flash, f luff, no substance, lies, mis- and disinformation. i believe the american public in november and leading up to early voting are going to be very clear about the direction they want to go in. that is a direction where we have unity in this country and we actually have true -- as oprah winfrey said last night, we have decency and values. that is what we know we need. donald trump -- just look at the project 2025 agenda. that is an agenda that is going to tear down any and all of the advancements we have made not just in the last four years, but quite frankly in the last 50 years. host: i suppose you heard before that the former president has distanced himself from project 2025. some members of his administration have done the same. what goes through your mind?

do you believe that were not?-- that or not? guest: oh, well, i'm sure he has publicly distanced himself, but we know that donald trump has long been someone that is not honest. they're going to distance themselves because it is very clear americans do not want a project 2025. it is not polling well for them, so they will distance themselves. my grandmamma always said you got to keep an eye on someone. when you show you who they are, you gotta believe them the first time. america already knows who he is and we are going to believe them, and americans are making a clear choice. that is why we see so much excitement about vice president kamala harris. this administration and what americans are leading into, joy, hope, and unity, and a leader who has the character and a leader who has the vision, but most importantly, a leader who

leads with the truth and character. host: jotaka eaddy is our guest. win with black women, she is the founder. joe, in tennessee, democrats i. caller: thank you for having me. i want to thank jotaka for her organization. i found them the last couple of sundays, and i've thoroughly enjoyed it, her trying to get us to come out and vote for -- i'm sorry -- for kamala and tim. i just wanted to thank her for everything. keep up the efforts. thank you. host: jo from tennessee. guest: thank you so much. thank you so much. thank you, you, thank you so much. that is the sentiment i've been hearing at conventions. i've heard so many beautiful black women and others, our supporters and allies who said i

was one of the 44,000,-on the sunday calls, i am motivated, i am inspired. it is so wonderful to hear your voice and i look forward to seeing you sunday as well. host: from missouri, republican line. caller: hello. host: hi, you are on. caller: i have two points. the first one is kamala did -- did everybody forget that she was an attorney and she was getting criminals off that was causing riots with antifa and black lives matters and all this stuff she is saying she is going to do when she gets in the white house? if she is going to do all this stuff, why hasn't she already done it? we are going to pay higher prices. and why don't you tell us what her policies are instead of talking about trump all the time? why don't you leave trump alone

and tell us what she is going to do? host: ok. guest: well, vice president kamala harris recently rolled out a very dynamic economic plan, a plan where she is focused on helping to assure that all americans can thrive in the country. some of those aspects of the plan is looking at how to get homeowners $25,000 first-time homebuyers assistance, in addition to helping to build millions of starter homes in this we all know that the pathway to economic freedom and equity in this country is through homeownership. and also having some very clear principles around price gouging, understanding that when americans are going to the grocery store, they are feeling the pinch, and often that is corporate greed that is not checked.

she is going to make sure she checks that. to your first point, vice president kamala harris has led in all of her years of leading as someone who has been justice-centered, as an attorney, whether or not her time as attorney general of california or district attorney in san francisco. it is also very clear that a lot of the policies she has championed, president biden has done as much as they can because there has been for a very long time -- there has just been a blockade in the united states senate from the republican party. this administration has done the most that they can with executive orders, but that is why it is going to be important to assure that there is a democratic senate and house and the presidency so that we can pass these very important measures in the very meaningful way. host: let's hear from diane in

st. paul, minnesota, democrats line. caller: good morning, america, and good morning, c-span. yes, i am a true minnesotan and i've been here since 1967, and mr. walz is my president. the one thing i love about him is he has changed so much of what we didn't have. as an african-american mother who raised five kids alone, we have the lunch program, so much that my kids would not have had had i not had the assistance. i went to college, i got a masters degree. didn't cost me a dime. government paid for it. they cut that program out so other americans could reach where i am. those are the people we need to put in office, to take us from the bottom to the top. we can't get to the top if we on the bottom and don't get no

help. we can't pull ourselves up by her bootstraps if we don't have no boots. that is what the democrat has given me. i'm 75 years old and i've been active in minnesota for the last 40 years, and we are trying to get everybody out that we can to register because a lot of us don't vote, a lot of us don't have no confidence in the system. but i took a young woman to get a house. they gave her $72,000 of money that she won't have to pay if she stays in the house. that came just about a month ago. [indiscernible] -- host: ok, diane in minnesota, she put a lot out there. i will start by asking about tim walz as the running mate. guest: there is so much excitement. last night in the convention hall, when governor walz came out, it was electrifying. i think america has fell in love

with governor walz. it is so clear everyone from minnesota who has shared their experience, whether or not he has been the lgbtq community, talking about how he has put into laws in minnesota policies that see them, that protect them, whether or not it is black women who celebrate the fact that he signed into law the crown act protecting our ability to wear our hair as we see it, or so many young people who talk about their experience with him as a coach, as a teacher, as someone who was a compassionate educator that made sure as the caller just shared that there was food provided to young people who did not have it. that is the heart of what america is about, and i think what we are hearing and what we are seeing is that across the board governor walz, how he leads is the direction we want to take america in and also seeing his family last night, i was able to hug his son

backstage, and just to see the love that that family has and how he speaks so passionately about he and his wife journey with ivf and the importance of that to be able to bring into the world children and just sitting on the other side of those who want to take all of that away, i think there is a stark difference in what america needs and wants and what the other side is trying to bring. it is really great to hear someone, as i've heard so many from minnesota speak passionately about gov. walz, i think america is feeling the same way as well. host: arlene in fresno, california, independent line . caller: yes, good morning, i am an independent who normally leans towards the democratic ticket, and i wanted to say that i appreciate the sister for all she has done to unify black women behind this ticket, and

also i want to say that kamala harris is the personification of a check that needs to be cashed on the of black women. we have been the spine of the democratic party, and we need to understand that we need to get out to vote. voting for kamala is not just a vote for harris-walz. voting for kamala is also a vote for all black women in this thank you for taking my call -- for all black women in this country. thank you for taking michael. -- my call. host: that's arlene in company. --in california. guest: she is making me tear up. as i woke up this morning, i could only think of shirley chisholm, i could only think of fannie lou hamer, who 60 years ago the state went to the democratic national convention and she asked for credentials,

she asked to be seated, and she was denied. and here we are 60 years later, black women for the last 60 years and even before them have toiled, we have done the work, we have been there, we have been the backbone, but we've never been at the top of the ticket. and tonight we will all witness vice president kamala harris, a black woman who stands for all americans, accep the nomination as the leader of this party. it brings so much joy, and across the country -- i am tearing up because i think about my own grandmother, i think about so many nameless black women who are not in books who took their families to vote, who register their children in order to make this moment a reality, knowing that they would never see this day, that this day would actually be a reality. and so it is very emotional for us. so many americans, but

particularly black women today, because we are witnessing something that we know that so many fought for and made a reality for us, knowing that we would see the state.-- this day. it is something powerful, and hearing the caller say that this is truly the day that we are cashing a check that so many have put in deposits, and we are just honored today to be able to cash that check and to witness kamala harris bust through a ceiling and cement and everything else that was put on top of that glass ceiling to make it harder for a black woman to bust through, and we will witness it. what a time to be alive. host: callers, don't forget, our coverage on c-span, you can see the events of the convention including the acceptance speech tonight, and then 11:00 after

the convention activities are over, you get a chance to comment and make your thoughts known there as well new hampshire is next. wayne, republican line. caller: yes, i am calling because i'm not sure who i'm voting for, but i can't vote for a democrat again because we have gone close to four years with them and things are not going that great. i don't know why people want to make this election all about the color of someone's skin, because that doesn't matter. we have had a black president before. this shouldn't be about the color of somebody's skin. this should be about substance. kamala harris hasn't delivered on anything yet. host: ms. eaddy, what is your response? guest: wayne, i would disagree. vice president kamala harris has served this country.

she has been an effective leader from her leadership as a district attorney in the state of california in san francisco, as the attorney general of the state of california, as the u.s. senator representing the state of california, and as the vice president of the united states. she has been a governing partner to vice president biden, and she quite frankly has a number of policies that she has stood on, that she has been a champion of, whether or not helping to rebuild america's reputation with world leaders across the the entire globe, whether or not it has been the work she has championed around maternal health, whether or not the work she has done as a governing partner of the president to ensure we have an historic number of students with student debt relief, giving americans relief around student debt, opening up their ability to be first time homebuyers or to use those resources to further their

economic freedom in this country. she has done much in this country. this election is about all of those policies and those in -- and those principles. we cannot ignore the history, but we also have to understand that beyond what she represents, the history she represents, vice president kamala harris is a capable leader who has been proven in this country time and time and time again. it's important for us to recognize not only the history that we have, but also her dynamic record. we can't take that away from her. it is actually facts. we can ever take that away -- we can ever take that away from her. host: winwithblackwomen.org is the website. thanks for your time. guest: thank you. host: one more segment to go. we will talk to janet murgia

about latino voters. we want to take you to a c-span producer as she went about tourism in chicago and how it is being impacted by the d&c. [video clip] >> tell us who you are. >> and the ceo of choose chicago -- i'm the ceo of jui-- choose chicago. >> choose chicago is in partnership with the dnc, correct? >> absolutely. we competed against other cities, and we were fortunate enough to win. >> what is your goal with bringing the dnc here? >> the goal is to demonstrate that chicago is a wonderful place for people to come for leisure and business and conventions. >> how many people do you anticipate coming?

>> anticipate 50,000 people. of that 50,000 people, about 5000 delegates and affiliate groups, affinity groups. we are expecting 15,000 members of the media nationally and internationally. >> how do those numbers compare to numbers of other big events like new year's, fourth of july? >> [laughter] let's use two weeks ago. we had the air and water show that brought hundreds of thousands of people, we have the crosstown classic whether chicago cubs play the chicago white sox, we had a metallica concert. we had one of the largest african-american back-to-school parades. all this things happened the same weekend pit each of them with the tens of thousands of people. chicago is built for this. what makes the dnc special, it

is a security event so there is a lot more infrastructure and coordination with the federal government and law enforcement and safety committees. >> all those people coming in must have an economic impact. what does that look like? >> past political conventions have had roughly $150 million to $200 million economic impact. because this is a national special security event, you have a lot of homeland security, secret service, fbi, all of our local public safety communities working together and putting security perimeters and those kinds of things in place. it is a little bit more in terms of economic impact than what you would experience in one of our regular conventions because you don't have that same level of security in place for it. but even the other conventions

are in the tens of millions of dollars of economic impact. it employs people from all over the city. >> asked question, what is -- last question, what is your favorite spot in the city? >> [laughter] i have a lot of favorite spots. two of them happened to be in the same building. one of our newer -- in the saint regis there is a great italian restaurant. if you want to get some great japanese food, miru, which is on one of the higher floors with a beautiful rooftop deck that overlooks navy peer in our lake. -- navy pier and our lake. there is fireworks every thursday and saturday, and it is a beautiful view with the weather we have now, it is incredible. rosemary right down the street. nobu is here.

whether it is in our neighborhoods or the heart of the city, we have wonderful james pure toward-winning restaurants -- james beard award-winning restaurants, 60 michigan-recognized restaurants and chefs. the culinary capital of the world. you can fight any cuisine, anything you like in chicago . >> thank you for your time. >> thank you so much, appreciate it. >> "washington journal" continues. alas guest of the morning, janet ric -- host: our last guest of the money, janet murgia of unidosus. guest: good money. host: what do you think the vice president will bring as far as latino voters are concerned? guest: i think they are looking for someone they can believe in, that they can believe offers hope and offers a vision for the

future of this country that includes them. i will say that already we are noting a lot of enthusiasm and excitement among latino voters, just around the whole dynamic of change in terms of seeing a historically potentially first time woman president in the united states. i think a woman of color. and someone who is a child of immigrants. there is already sense in our community that they can identify more with kamala harris. host: if that is the case, what are the top issues for latino voters overall, and marketed can impact or change would you like to see from a harris administration -- what kind of impact or change would you like to see from a house administration?

guest: as you know i'm the head of the legislating of civil rights advocacy organization and -- largest latino civil rights advocacy organization in the country. we've been around for 56 years and have engaged in civic work around elections and voting with our community, and have registered over a million latino voters in the last decade. we've also done a lot of work to poll our community. most recently unidosus has promoted a few of the polls that have come out. we will have another poll coming out shortly. by far the largest and most important topic for our community is the economy and jobs. having economic opportunity and wanting to make sure that our community can provide for families. the economy, jobs, and inflation ranks top of mind for many of

our latino voters. it is access to health care, education, and in particular an issue that is much higher than we have seen it in the past, access to affordable housing and the desire still in our community to achieve homeownership and build wealth. all of those are important topic areas for the community. that is pretty much consistent with a lot of the rest of the voters we are seeing across the country. host: how would you rate the biden administration so far on those issues, and what specific changes would you advocate the vice president to achieve if she does become president? guest: yeah, i think we have seen a lot of investments placed in the country's various sectors

by the biden administration. for us, the inflation reduction act -- i know a lot of folks are trying to figure out whether they can feel the full effects of reduction in inflation yet, but there is no question that some of the key investments that president biden and biden-harris have made are bearing fruit. we are starting to see the economy loosened up in a way where our community and latino voters are sensing more opportunity, and in particular when you compare president biden and the biden-harris administration to the previous administration, it is not even a close call. the on employment rate -- unemployment rate under the previous administration was in historic high of 18% for our committee, and now it is less than 5%. we have seen wage growth occur

under the biden-harris administration. those are important indicators. i think the inflation piece is tricky, but already we are starting to see some movement, getting some of our community much more confidence. one of the telltale signs that presidential candidate vice president harris, i think she is understanding that these economic issues need to be addressed, continue to build on the work that the biden-harris administration have done, and engage in understanding -- and working on policy areas around affordable housing. i think they are looking at a whole set of policy options that they are promoting because i think everyone is feeling the pain of not having the confidence and security around being able to plan for how they want to have access to housing. for us, i'm seeing already

proposals that are looking to address some of those issues. itimportant's -- it's important. host: our guest is with us to the top there were. for republicans, (202) 748-8000, (202) 748-8001 for democrats, (202) 748-8002 for independents, text us at (202) 748-8003. we invited the former trump campaign advisor on the program and he talked about what he thought latinos could be giving former president trump some consideration. [video clip] >> a lot of these hispanics don't consider themselves hispanic -- exceeds me, can -- excuse me, conservative. they wouldn't identify as maga. for they are traditionally minded, personal business --

hispanic -- pro small business. hispanics are the most entrepreneurial by a longshot. they have traditional values, they own small business of their own. they believe they have been politically orphaned by the democratic party, who have been incredibly radical. they are not parents' or grand parents' democrats. that has compelled a lot of hispanics to at least consider moving to the republican party. host: that is his assessment. what is your response? guest: i think he is right about the hispanic community and latino and latina business owners. we are very entrepreneurial. latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the small business owner group. there's no question that there is a sense right now that they

need to be -- there need to be opportunities in a harris agenda that would continue to build on having access to capital and other equity axis opportunities -- access opportunities for some of the small businesses. it is also true that a lot of the investments that the biden- harris administration have made are starting to hit in terms of communities across the country. while there has been an historic outcome by the biden-harrison administration in achieving bipartisan laws put into effect with these investments, it takes the wheels of bureaucracy a while to actually set those funds in motion and have them hit the ground. what we are starting to see now

is even with the infrastructure investments, the opportunities to start to now engage more folks around work in those constructed areas--construction areas. our community is definitely entrepreneurial. they have seen a lot of investments from the department of commerce to the small business administration. gina raimondo panda head of the small business and administration. -- and the head of the small business administration. we have seen engagement and funds. it is harder to get funding directly there, but harris, her agenda, proposals that would build on more support for small businesses. there is no question that with president trump having been a businessman, there is the allure , self-proclaimed businessman,

very successful businessman from his point of view, there is similar to how he has achieved his success in the area of business. i think the messaging that we have seen coming from the republican and from his campaign has been very focused on small business. i'm not sure that has been the case comparably in the biden-harris administration, and i think we are now starting to see the harris campaign really target that. i think it is fair to say that there is some allure around not just republican agenda, but about trump and his role in business and the thought that there would be a priority around that for other business owners. host: janet murgia, unidosus president and ceo. you can call the lines and send us a text. frank in pennsylvania, republican line.

you are up first. caller: good morning. frank in pennsylvania, mechanicsburg, pennsylvania, in the home of district 10, scott perry, ok? i'm a lifelong republican. and i've finally come to believe that i will vote against scott perry, i will vote against donald trump. when i looked at -- i found out i was really a patriot, not a republican. my father, veteran, three bronze stars in the battle of manila. my brother, a navy commander. all of us are republicans. we would never vote for donald trump, nor would you vote for anyone that-- we vote for anyone

coming out of the maga republicans. host: so, caller, sorry to interrupt, what is the question for our guest? caller: the question is what can donald trump do for our country and our patriotism, period? host: ok, frank in pennsylvania. guest: yeah, i think most recently we have seen evidence that really questions the approach that former president trump has taken in terms of defining patriotism. it was in all the headlines this last week when he basically said that receiving the presidential medal of freedom was a much higher honor than the presidential medal of honor.

he has been on record with other quotes disparaging those brave and courageous soldiers who died for our country, and made references to former really highly decorated and praised veterans in former senator john mccain, saying that his role during military service when he was assigned in war duty, the fact that he was a prisoner of war, he was a loser or sucker somehow. there's been some really highly questionable comments made by former president trump in terms of how he sees patriotism. i don't ever want to question someone's heart, but certainly what he has it set the record makes you wonder whether he understands fully the value of the role of not only our

veterans and those who are in military service defending our country, but particularly how he would define patriotism. i think it set a lot of folks to ask that question. i don't think it is something that reflects positively on former president donald trump. i think a lot of folks would question how he views patriotism and whether it aligns with the values of the majority of americans. host: from massachusetts, terry, democrats line. caller: yes, i was just wondering why the hispanic community or anybody would think of trump as pro small business. he was handed $400 million when he was born, and he has been losing his father's money ever since. he spent his life in courts and

bankruptcy courts and being sued for nonpayments for services. i also wanted to know if she thinks the hispanic community is basically patriarchal and the only thing that matters is to have what they consider a tough hombre, whereas actually he's a puffy trust funded little girl, really -- host: that's terry in massachusetts. ms. murgia -- oh, go ahead. guest: no, i don't have much to add to that. i know that's an observation. there's a lot of braggadocio with former president trump that is promoted and messaged out there. i don't knkow that all the folks who are following the presidential election really

know about the records and the business history of former president donald trump. we've started to see some of that messaging a lot not only in the convention, here at the dnc, but even by harris herself. one of her first speeches, vice president harris as a candidate now for president, talked about knowing abusers, cheaters, and fraudsters. i think there is going to be more presented by the harris-walz campaign in terms of what donald trump's actual business record is and how it has not been successful. host: what would you like to see president harris do when it comes to immigration policy? guest: you know, i think for us there has always been at unidosus and among so many latino voters an interest in achieving a broader

comprehensive immigration reform. the polarization in congress today, because it would require congressional approval, this is not something that anyone president can actually do if we are going to fix the immigration system that needs to be fixed. it's broken. because of the polarization, congress has become much more difficult to achieve a broader comprehensive immigration reform. that is required, and there have been various proposals in the past that have achieved bipartisan support. we'd love to see something limote it may not be as realistic as we'd like to think. i think there are other opportunities, though, for some bipartisan reform in our immigration system. we someone recently that w-- we saw one recently that was able

to come to the floor of the senate and be voted on in a bipartisan way, led by both democrats and republicans. there again, former president donald trump very much signaled to the party ed senators that he did not want that immigration reform bill that included elements of voter security and also augmenting enforcement along the border. it was early security-orient -- it was a really security-oriented measure. he did not want to see that approved because he felt in some way it might undermine his chances in how he campaigned, and he has chosen to campaign on this issue and the fact that there's a need for immigration reform and a broken border. and so he has taken more of a political approach and not a problem-solving approach.

we can solve this problem, and for us we have seen latino voters in our most recent poll who have said, yes, we want immigration reform, and we want to make sure the border is secure. the latino community and latino voters absolutely understand the importance of having secure borders. there has been an uptick in concern around that by latino voters. but in the end, they also recognize that america has to live up to its values as a country that can manage a way forward when it comes to working within this hemisphere and around the world today to understand how we can have an opportunity for those who are -- who need a place of refuge and asylum to manage that in a way that our border can still be secure. our voters really want to see

reform and a change in the system and a border policy that is firm, fair, and free of cruelty. when i say free of cruelty, we've seen also donald trump offer proposals in the extreme, where you have had separation of families, children from their parents, at the border that have really been cruel. i think for our community, we want to see secure measures, a well-managed border, but we want it to be firm, fair, and free of cruelty. you can strike that balance. the last thing i will say on this topic is that when you look across the country today, we actually need workers to fill certain roles. and we ought to have an immigration system that recognizes the economic win-wins that can occur when we are able

to have some elasticity in how we look at legal immigration and making sure that we are working with the business community and others to manage what we need in terms of those types of requirements, because we need to see more of the jobs that are right note vacant -- right now vacant filled. and working in the united states to fill those jobs, there are often times needs for other jobs to be filled, and we need to make sure that the system is doing that and ultimately, our hemispheric neighbors, we need to make sure there is investments in those countries and their economies can be strong and that there folks in those countries can see opportunity at home in their native countries and not feel

the need because of political violence, economic and property issues, to feel like they need to flee those countries. there is a way maybe to move forward, but right now it feels like the politics, the toxicity, and the fact that donald trump is making a point of his reelection as president singularly around building fear around the border, it really distorts the ability for folks at this particular moment to to sit down and have an opportunity to engage in a bipartisan solution. host: sunny in tennessee, democrats line. caller: hi, i'm so sick of donald trump i don't know what to do. let me say this. let me say this. some of the -- all of my friends

basically when i was growing up in the military were latinos. a lot of people don't understand, we have a lot of people in the latino community that are in the military. and i -- some of my best friends, when i used to remove asbestos, were latinos. we had a very good relationship. this thing of donald trump saying that these people are coming over from countries, from prisons, insane asylums, and all that, that's silly not true.-- simply not true. so my question to your guest is how deep are you in the -- i know you are, but i just wanted to hear how deep are you in the latino community as far as people being productive in the military and the work areas that

i grew up in that i know these latino people are from? thank you. guest: yeah, thanks, sonny, appreciate the comments of the question. you are actually right. o -- you are absolutely right, our community has had a strong record of military service and sacrifice on behalf of this country. there is no question about it, based on the size of our population, we have disproportionately served at a higher level in these different roles in the armed forces and in defense of our country. and it's true, we have a strong sense of duty when it comes to that and a record to show for it. and so for it is often important for other folks to understand that that is there an air -- and there is a deep sense of patriotism in it comes to our community and our country. for us, making sure that the

country reflects an honors that sacrifice and service. we have been on our own journey in this country to achieve equity and full understanding of the role we played and the contributions that have been made by our community so it can be better understood at some point. there are some folks who just don't know a lot about the latino community and our record of contributions, but it is absolutely there. that is not true just on the military side, but it is true economically. when you look at the total gross national income of our latino community today in terms of our contributions, we are the size of the fifth largest country in the world in terms of our economic power. for us, we want that to be leveraged in the way that is positive as well and an

understanding of our deep and loving service to this country. >> we have the president and ceo, part of our coverage of the democratic national convention. thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you. 5:30 is when c-span's coverage of tonight's events start. continue to call in and give your commes. we will show you the whole eve of the democratic national convention last night starting arnd 6:30 and it is 11:00 after erything is done that you can get your calls and reaction as well. follow along on c-span or at c-span now and c-span.org. on our program today, the special edition of the democratic national convention set to start a few minutes from now. it is the dnc women's caucus meeting, representative nancy pelosi and robin kelly are set

to speak on this final day of the convention. we will show you that event that is set to start shortly. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> waiting for the women's caucus meeting to start here on the sidelines of the democratic national convention. former house speaker nancy pelosi and barbara lee are expected to speak. vice president kamala harris will accept her party's nomination tonight. we will have live coverage 5:30

eastern time with a preview show. >> joining us this morning, washington post opinion columnist, thank you for giving us your time. >> it is great to be here. what does the vice president have to achieve tonight in this acceptance? >> i think essentially the table has been laid for her here by a lineup of former presidents, the current president. kamala harris, despite the fact that she has been the vice president for four years is a pretty unknown figure to most americans. she will be introducing herself.

she's not going to get into tax policy or the specifics. i think it will be criticism of donald trump and then again and again soto hammering on the

keyword of the whole convention, which has been freedom. that by the way is something of a pivot from what president biden, who only a month ago was thought to be the nominee here, that was all about threats to democracy. the watchword is now freedom is what they want to wrap all of their policies and themes into. >> we saw the former presidential candidate hillary clinton earlier this week. how much has changed when it comes to the landscape when she ran versus what the vice president faces now? >> i think a lot has changed since then. hillary clinton is also a

reminder that the party should not be getting carried away, it should not be getting overconfident of its own prospects, despite the almost euphoria that we have seen in the air in chicago, this is still a very close race and is likely to be so until the very end. the other thing hillary clinton was a reminder of his she kept talking about that kamala harris, to see her sworn in would be in some ways almost a culmination of what hillary clinton tried to do. she would be the first female president, the first black president and of south asian dissent. what you are also seeing at this convention, what the democrats want to portray themselves is the face of a multicultural

future. >> our guest is with us until 7:30. if you want to ask her questions about the event tonight and other aspects of the dnc. if you want to call and give us a text, a question or comment. when you talk about unknowns, one of the people that has been unknown was the minnesota governor tim walz who gave his acceptance speech last night. what were your impressions of the speech and what people got from him that we didn't know before? >> he managed to be sort of both tough and charming. you saw shortly before he came out on stage a bunch of now grown men who had been high

school football players he had coached all wearing their jerseys. we met his family last night. basically, he has made it very clear that he is going to embrace the traditional role of the running mate, which is to be the attack dog. that is what we are seeing with jd vance on the other side. i'm really looking forward to that vice presidential debate. it is going to be really something to watch. >> one of the reasons the governor was chosen was his appeal to voters in the midwest. what does he face as he tries to attract those voters? >> he essentially, he talked quite a bit about his own record as governor.

he signed free school meals, he has been very aggressive on reproductive rights. i think that the republicans are going to portray him and harris as far to the left. they are trying to root those policies in the central and midwestern values. >> there were questions about his military record. did he address those last night and to what degree did he address that? >> he mentioned his military record. he did not get into the debate over whether he had misstated. he did not revisit that.

they implied at least that he and his wife had gone through ivf to conceive their children. it turns out he used a different fertility procedure, but he has made a couple of misstatements and i think that those are things that republicans are going to pin on him. they are trying to portray particularly the military record , the phrase they are using a stolen valor. he did serve for two dozen years. i do think that will be hard for them to really do much damage to him on that score. >> washington post joining us

from chicago taking a look at the democratic national convention. in georgia, the republican line. ed, go ahead. >> i watched on the first day of the convention when biden spoke. he mentioned something that he had said in a previous speech about rich people are only paying, he said some rich people are only paying 8% tax. that is an outright lie. if you go to the irs website, there are two schedules, married or single, and none of it has 8% on it. nobody pays 8%. you pay 37% if you make over $599,000. that is one thing.

the other thing is the democrats want to fix the inflation that bright -- biden and carmella made by sapping everything trump did. >> economics will probably be a key factor. what faces the vice president and her running mate on that record? >> that will be the most difficult issue for her moving forward. what people remember of the trump years thought i was doing better back then. a lot of details remain to be filled in. that is what we are going to see

going forward and the republicans will hammer her on this and this is going to come up quite a bit in the debates that are going to be, the debate or debates that are going to happen between former president trump and curran vice president kamala harris. >> we saw yesterday that a revision of the jobs numbers as far as less jobs earlier than reported. how much of that becomes the storyline as well? >> i think jobs are really not the issue at this point. what is really hurting the democrats on this is inflation. it has been slowing down, but the thing about inflation is prices are still high and people are being reminded of that every time they go to the grocery store. >> independent line in texas. you are on, go ahead. >>