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and we're back this week.bar we continue the washington with journal's series on battlegrount states with this election -- this election year with ged political reporters and analysts on the ground. we're examine what's changed since 2016, what issues are motivating voters this year and take a look at recent political trends that could give us clues on how the state might vote in . november. we talked about wisconsin. today florida.at nor and then pennsylvania on wednesday. on thursday, we'll take a look at north carolina, then friday , michigan and saturday arizona. today our focus is florida and joining us is rick, director of the public policy institute at jacksonville university.ound let's begin with what makes florida a battleground state.f d it is the big prize, the path of the white house is through the l state of florida.

it's 29 electoral votes. if you look at the four biggest in the country, we already know that california with the big prize of 55 is going to go to joe biden, texas with 38 is going to go to donald trump. new york and florida both have 29 electoral votes and the 29 in new york will be going to joe biden. so the 29 electoral votes in florida is a big prize. second, florida is a purple state. it can go either way. twice it voted in favor of barack obama. twice george bush. it elected bill clinton and last time by a narrow margin, donald trump. the history of florida is one in which it's close, it's hard to predict, it's very consequential and for donald trump in particular, it's in the must-win category. if he wants to be president, he really does have to win florida. for joe biden, there are other possibilities. joe biden would love to win florida. if we does, most likely, he's the next president of the united states. >> why does president trump have to win florida and where -- and

where does he have to win in florida? >> it's the electoral map, really. in part i just mentioned it because of the big states. california going for joe biden, texas, illinois, new jersey. a lot of the big states. when you look at the battleground states, it's mathematically possible for president trump to win if he loses florida, but he would have to sweep, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan and pick up new hampshire or another state along the way. it would be challenging for him to do that. for donald trump right now, i would say this -- if you look at the real clear politics averages, 1.7% favoring joe biden, it really is a dead heat here in florida. it's going to come down to turnout. president trump knows he has to win florida. he's dedicating resources here. you're going to see an effort to do that. what he's going to have to do is to maintain what has been an historic cuban americans versus

puerto rico population in central florida. donald trump this time around is doing very, very well with the hispanic vote. he's not doing quite as well in the suburbs. florida reflects much of the country when you look at how the urban areas tend to favor joe bidens. the suburban areas are a place where donald trump did well last time and the rural areas favoring donald trump. this time around, joe biden is making inroads into those suburban areas with college educated white voters. donald trump is going to need to do well in that suburban area. he's going to have to maintain that lead with hispanic votes. joe biden is also making some inroads into seniors and donald trump is fighting that. so look for this to be very, very close. >> as you noted, the president eked out a victory in 2016. where did he win in the state of

florida and can he repeat in those areas? >> if donald trump wins this time, i believe it's going to look a little bit different than last time. last time, hillary clinton went by the playbook and she did really well in big, urban areas such as miami-dade, such as broward, the big markets, orlando, tampa. and she should have done well and taken the state, but donald trump last time did extraordinarily well in the suburbs and the rural areas. remember this, the state of florida is made up of 67 counties. it's a very big state. over 21 million people in the state of florida. so just because you take the big five or six biggest markets, it's still a very big, big state. last time, donald trump was dominant in the suburban counties. he was dominant in the rural areas. here in north florida, while it's close and i think we should talk about it, it's a county to keep an eye on, two of the surrounding counties, 93,000

vote plus margin for donald trump in those suburban counties alone. his margin of victory was 113,000 out of over 8 million cast wins by 1%. this time around i believe it's going to be a little bit different. he has an increase in support in the hispanic vote, a little bit of a challenge in the suburban areas. joe biden is starting to make an inroad in seniors. so this is a dead heat in florida, very hard fought. it will be very, very close. >> we're showing our viewers a map of florida. where are those counties that you just mentioned in the state. >> i just mentioned duval county. when you look at the state of florida, generally speaking, people feel that the north is more conservative. there's some truth to that. and the center of the state because of interstate 4 running from orlando to tamp a is the battleground area. and then south florida with

miami-dade and broward end, more liberal where the votes are. if you look at it closely, in north florida, it's the panhandle that is the most conservative and if you look at those counties where pensacola is and out west, you're going to see strong support for donald trump. northeast florida, of course, there's duval county. it's a big urban city, of course. last time, donald trump took duval by 6,000 votes. that was a surprise to many people. that the republican here had had such a narrow, narrow margin. two years ago in 2018, when ron desantis was running for governor against andrew gillum. andrew gillum took the majority here in duval county. and when rick scott was running for senate, bill nelson had typical majority here. so don't be surprised 42 days

from now if joe biden carries duval county. that could happen. but be shocked and don't expect him to carry the surrounding counties. all of those will go for donald trump and they will go for donald trump in big numbers. as you move more to the center of the state, orange county which is orlando, that has become a shifting battleground. that goes -- that's hard fought in that area. you've seen a great deal of immigration there which is more liberal and democratic. at the western end of i-4 is a county that donald trump surprised people by carrying the last time. and that's a good one to keep an eye on this time. if donald trump were to win this time, that would be a good sign for his campaign. unlikely that he will, but if he does, that will be a good sign for him. as you move south in the state of florida on the southeast side with miami-dade and broward,

those are big population centers. also a very big and a very passionate hispanic community and on the southwest side of the state, more conservative. the state breaks down geographically. the northern more conservative. the further south you go, the further north you get in terms of ideology and thinking. the battleground state and the south, a bit more liberal. a very diverse state. with all of that, we want to invite our viewers to call in about the battleground state of florida. we've divided the lines by support for the candidates. if you're supporting the biden/harris ticket, 202-748-8000, trump/pence,

202-748-8001. richard, on election night, if joe biden wins the duval county, do you think he then wins the state of florida? >> not necessarily. in fact, i expect him -- i think there's a good chance he carries florida. that does not mean that he carries duval county. but florida is too close to call. look at duval county, look at the margin of joe biden's victory in miami-dade and hillsborodown. it's so close here in florida, it's really hard to come up with these bright lines. give you an example of how close it can be. two years ago, in the governor's race, ron desantis and andrew gillum, the polling showed that andrew gillum was going to win.

that was the day before the election. and desantis won. it went to an automatic machine recount. rick scott was in a battle with bill nelson, very popular senator. the day before the election outside the margin of error, the polling showed that bill nelson was going to win. rick scott won by 10,000 votes and it went to a mandatory recount. it's hard to come up with a bright line because it's a big state and it tends to be so close. >> on election night, will we know who won the state of florida? >> i think so, by the way, i think this is really important. there's a lot of discussion in the country going on right now about will we know who the president is going to be on election night. part of that conversation, of course, is because of mail-in ballots, a large number due to covid-19, because of a lot of absentees, a lot of mail-in

ballots coming in. and because of that counting, there's concern that we won't know on election night and it could go on for a long, long time. in florida i believe you will know the results by midnight. there's a well developed system here, in part as the result of what happened in 2000 and you can begin counting the boavotes soon as you receive them in florida. florida has developed more -- a better system since 2000. we can talk about what happened then. as a result of that, i do think you will know the results in florida, hopefully by midnight. but you will know on election night. if joe biden wins on election night in florida, he is most likely going to be the next president of the united states. if donald trump wins in florida on election night, it's game on and we're going to have to see what happens in some of those other states and it will be very, very close in the outcome.

>> let's get to calls. renae in michigan supporting the president, good morning to you. >> caller: good morning, how are you? >> good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> go ahead with your question or comment. >> caller: i just want to say that i support president trump wholly and i think florida is very important and i'm from michigan and just like michigan we have different demographics. and the larger cities where they generally -- like the inner cities that vote democratic and are starting to switch because of the good that president trump has done just in the last four years. >> the caller makes a good point. michigan, which we'll be talking about later this week, is an incredibly important state. last time, 10,000 votes decided the state. one of the things about michigan

and florida is the black vote. one of the keys for joe biden is can he turn out that vote particularly in michigan. you saw there were historic numbers in michigan and florida for barack obama. they did not turn out as much for hillary clinton. one of the things to keep an eye on is the turnout in the african-american community in florida and michigan. >> what about the demographics of the state of florida and how they tend -- you touched on it a little bit. but the other populations there and how they tend to vote. >> certainly the african-american community is very strong democratic. but make no mistake, there were some inroads by ron desantis -- this is a little subtle what happened here. but i think it's worth mentioning. at the rnc, the republican convention, on all four nights, you heard speakers bringing up education policy and their support for choice and for charter schools. in part, that plays very well

with the black community in florida. and some believe it helped ron desantis become elected governor. while the black community in florida is going to very heavily go for joe biden, what donald trump wants to do is make inroads into that community and what joe biden wants to do is to turn out that vote. in the hispanic community, of course hillary clinton took it by wide margins. but expect -- do not expect the same margin for joe biden this time. donald trump is doing well in south florida and particularly with cuban americans, venezuelans. the trump campaign has done a good job in defining joe biden and the democratic party as socialism, concerns over socialism. they're concerned. and so that vote is appearing to trend towards donald trump. as i mentioned earlier, it's not monolithic, of course, in the hispanic community. and so the puerto rico community with increasing numbers in central florida, you could see that and you are seeing that go

heavily to joe biden. which is one of the reasons last week joe biden made his first trip to florida and he went to tampa. that's an area he was courting the puerto rican community in central florida. seniors are a big part of the vote and they vote. they show up and vote. on their minds, social security, medicare, covid-19, and so that is a big part of donald trump took them four years ago. joe biden making some inroads into that community this year. and so among college-educated whites, joe biden doing well. among noneducated whites, donald trump doing well. as i said earlier, joe biden in the urban areas, donald trump in the rural areas, edge to donald trump in the suburb areas, but a battle going on there. >> let's go to maria in new jersey supporting the former vice president. >> caller: good morning, people. i'm very hopeful that biden will win. we fear that the republicans and

the supreme court nominee, they will cause mayhem and turn it around as it did in the bush/gore. i find that republicans are very ruthless. they are relentless. we see new jersey, unfortunately, turning into a ghetto. people are losing their jobs. they're losing their homes. the woman who spoke earlier against the democrats, we're not evil people. i fear that the republicans are not thinking straight. all they care about is their money. we fear that, again, we will see a turn -- a wrong turn as they did with bush and gore. i still believe in a gore won. because of republican supreme court mostly, they overturned the winning to their favor. and we all saw what happened when bush, the economic collapse came and they blamed it on

president obama. people have to get out and vote. that's all i can say. vote as your life depends on it. >> okay. richard? >> maria raises some concerns that i think a lot of people have in the country and let me say this, i say this as a biased floridian and i say this as someone who back in 2000 it seems like it was yesterday, but through a quirk in our charter, i was both on the canvassing board-certifi board for the bush/gore recount. it's 36 days i will never forget. and there certainly were a number of reforms that took place. it's stunning for those who don't remember that period. but at the end of the election, on election night, actually, purchase was up by about 1700 votes. we did a mandatory recount because it was within the half percent margin of area and votes swung towards bush.

that happened statewide. ten days later, the absentees came in and that's relevant this year. by that time, bush's lead has increased some. over the next 36 days there were manual recounts, cherry picking going on, there was litigation in the florida supreme court and bush always maintained a lead. when the u.s. supreme court ended, he won by a margin of 537 votes which proves that every vote counts. in 2001, reforms were instituted in florida, we came up with a ten-point plan ourselves that we supersized sup supervised. florida has come a long kay. i want the country to have confident in the results in florida. i have confidence it's going to go well. we had a test run two years ago when you had a mandatory we count with governor desantis and a manual recount with senator rick scott.

it is a big state. and, by the way, over 5 million absentees have been requested in florida. historic numbers. last time, over 9 million people voted. this time it could go 11 or 12 million. the volume will be enormous and contentious. but i want maria and others to have confidence in the outcome. it's important that there be confidence in the outcome. i know the supervisor of elections in jacksonville, i think of the 67 counties in the state of florida, those supervisors are working very hard for a result that has integrity that you can count on and i want people, regardless of who wins, joe biden or donald trump, to have confidence in that outcome. but it is hard if we have 11 or 12 million votes cast, and that could happen this time, when it comes down to less than 1%, which could happen this time too. i'm hopeful that you're going to see a result in florida that you should have confidence in.

>> some strategists are saying if the president picks barbara lagoa as has nominee, that would help him win the state of florida. do you prescribe to that? is this vacancy and his pick that big of a deal in the state? >> let me answer that very directly. i don't know. from what i hear, of course, the president has narrowed it down to dtwo, one is judge amy coney barrett and we had the privilege of hosting her four years ago, about this time, five days before the election. she was number one in her class in notre dame, clerked for justice scalia. went on to be a professor at notre dame and she wooed the crowd here at jacksonville university. very impressed with her

knowledge and how articulate she was and the way she just conducted herself. when it comes to judge lagoa, she's a rising star, of course. she went to undergraduate school here in the state of florida but went onto columbia law school and was practicing here before governor bush appointed her to the district court of appeal. and of course she is the daughter of cuban exiles and that's why your question is important because of, does this appeal to the cuban americans here in the state of florida. she served on the bench for over a decade. at the end of that year, president trump appointed her to the 11th circuit and she joined the 11th circuit court of appeals. there's a school of thought that suggests she would be a popular choice. both judges are conservative. both have strong resumes and backgrounds. and that could appeal to the cuban american community. i'm not sure people are going to cast their vote on that basis. i think, however, the -- what's

going on in terms of moving forward with the nomination and the -- dwrn tthe passing of jud ginsburg, this is going to change the from today in the first presidential debate i suspect this is going to be a big topic with chris wallace. i think the country will engage in this debate. i think it's going to have a big impact on the presidential election in terms of the issues and how people are looking at this race. i'm not so sure picking one candidate or the other will have a big impact in florida. >> let's go to ed in jacksonville, florida. ed, your turn. >> caller: good morning. i would like to know if the military plays any role in the election. i know florida has a military complex there, jacksonville personally has two of them, if that has any bearing? >> yes, jacksonville -- ed, right here in jacksonville, good to hear from you. yes, it does.

the navy base is here in jacksonville. back in 2000, we were the 2,400 oversea absentee votes were coming from the military overseas. 25% of the military overseas were coming from the academy, cecil field has closed since then. but the military vote typically very conservative. typically donald trump did well the last time. i think you can see at the rnc that one of their focus was the military vote. in fact, when mike pence was giving his speech -- when vice president pence was giving his speech, one of the things he talked about was the hollowed out military which he claims from barack obama. that's from marco rubio. he believed it was wrong and with donald trump you've seen a dramatic increase in military spending. donald trump and the republican

party have courted the military vote. it is an important vote in florida, although numbers aren't as big as other constituencies. you can expect that to go with donald trump. but you're seeing inroads with joe biden. certainly the article in "the la atlantic" didn't help the president, but the military vote is very important. >> al in apollo beach, florida. >> caller: richard, you're right on. the whole vote is going to be not about the man but the mission. what trump is going to do with this supreme court nominee is going to change the heart and mind of floridians. we have come, my family, out of a new york background and do not want what's in new york in florida. so, we are hoping that this debate on the 29th will open up the eyes and the supreme court will, again, become the primary issue. your comment.

>> i do believe what's happening with the supreme court has significant consequences. it's got consequences for the presidential debate. it has consequences for the u.s. senate, and it's going to change the dynamic over the last 42 days. as the caller just mentioned, looking to the debate next week, it will be a big topic. for donald trump, this is helpful, i believe, there's a conventional school of thought that i think is fairly accurate that if in fact this election is a referendum on donald trump's handling of covid-19, that is a reference to joe biden. there's also referendum on donald trump's behavior, that's advantage joe biden. but to shift this to a binary choice between joe biden and donald trump and base it just on the policies and what the future looks like, it becomes a much more competitive race, and i think there's a lot to that school of thought. this helps accomplish that. it changes the topic. you are shifting from covid-19 to things that donald trump wants to talk about, the supreme

court and other issues such as law and order. so, the caller makes a very, very good point that it's -- now, how much it's going to affect things? hard for me to predict. there is an opportunity here -- excuse me one second. i can remind our viewers of marco rubio. there was an opportunity here for joe biden and the democrats to seize this moment for their advantage, and already they've done that with fundraising ander in energizing their basing. there's an opportunity for trump to recast the debate. let me define the issue and i'm going win the argument. i think both campaigns here are trying to define the issue. if they're successful in defining the issue, they'll be

successful in defining the argument. the supreme court is a big part of that. >> let me show you joe biden trying to frame the issue with, it's personal, and add -- this is what he had to say on social security. >> i was in the united states senate in a hospital. my wife and child had been killed in a car accident. lying in bed were my two little boys. i couldn't imagine what it would have been like if i didn't have insurance that covered them immediately and fully. 40 years later, one of those boys, my son beau, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, given months to live. i can't fathom what would have happened if the insurance companies had the power to say last few months you're on your own. fact of the matter is health care is personal to me. obamacare is personal to me. when i see the president of the united states try to eliminate

this health care in the middle of a public health crisis, that's personal to me too. we've got to build on what we did because every american deserves affordable health care. i'm joe biden and i approve this message. >> joe biden tried to cut social security and medicare for decades. >> i argued that we should freeze federal spending, i meant social security as well. i meant medicare and medicaid. i tried it twice. i tried it a third time and a fourth time. >> now biden is promising your benefits to illegal immigrants. president trump is protecting social security and medicare, lowering costs, expanding access, keeping his word. >> i'm donald j. trump and i approve this message. >> an idea for our viewers outside of florida, but they've probably seen those ads in their states as well, of what the two campaigns are doing to try to win over voters in this battleground state. >> greta, in florida we're

seeing lots of ads and we've seen those ads. let me talk about the first ad if i could, for a moment. that ad does -- the biden campaign tries to do two things that are very helpful to his campaign. one is the joe biden story. the dnc, during their convention, i thought did a really good job in an unconventional convention, one that was virtual. they did an extraordinary job of telling the joe biden story, and it's an extraordinary story whether you're a republican or democrat. the loss of his wife and daughter in the car accident and later on his son. it reinforces the joe biden story line. he's not only a sympathetic figure. he's a figure of resilience that's come back. what it does is ties it to k had. when you're talking about health care, generally speaking that's advanta advanta advantage joe biden. whether you're in the debates, i

think you're at risk of squandering the benefits whether it's affordable care act or none of the above, but here with pre-existing conditions, universal coverage, and other health care issues it's an advantage for the democratic party. that ad goes to both of those, the joe biden story and health care. for donald trump, the second ad is a little more targeted, pretty much directed at seniors in florida. they care about social security. they care about medicare. and that was a two-prong attack, one suggesting that it would be a jeopardy with joe biden and the other reinforcing the president's message that he had their back and he was going to support them when it came to social security/medicare. he also brings in another message, that they're giving that money to illegal immigrants because the illegal immigrant policy in florida will also play well the notion of illegal immigrants as opposed to legal immigrants which is the strong feeling of many hispanics here. both of those ads very strategic, the biden ad and the trump ad, and we're seeing lots of them in florida.

>> we'll go to orangeburg, south carolina. shirley is there supporting the biden/harris ticket. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i'm a supporter of joe biden because when he comes on my televisi television screen, i feel mad. when yellow head donald trump comes on, i feel bag of scum. have a nice day. >> those are some strong feelings. i certainly think that when it comes to president trump, that some of his support -- some people believe that it's all about his base, and his base is critical to him winning, no doubt about it. they are energized. and as donald trump once said, he could shoot someone on madison avenue and they would still be with him. that's not enough for him to win. there are also others, independents, moderate republicans. and even then, they wouldn't put it as strongly as the last

caller. he would say his tweets and behavior is not necessarily something they approve of but they like his policies and they are concerned about the policies if it's joe biden. on the other hand, the other comment she made was positive about joe biden. i think most people would tell you that joe biden is a likable person. i don't think the republicans, other than pam bondi's kind of at the republican convention going after joe biden and his son for what happened in ukraine, most people and the republicans themselves really have not gone after joe biden in that way. instead, it's been more the argument that he's a trojan horse for the left. the call does highlight that there are strong feelings. partisan divide today, in my opinion, is the worst of my lifetime, and i was a young teenager in 1968 for the convention in chicago. but i still remember those black and white images and the violence back then. of course that the vietnam war and racial strife. but i think today the partisan divide is very strong. it's not simply that people

disagree. the other side has become the enemy. very unhealthy for our country. i wish we could start off with the notion that we're all patriots and want to help the country. we may disagree or not, but there's still patriots on the other side. i hope there's a solution. i'm not real optimistic. but the partisan divide today, i believe, is as bad as any in my lifetime. >> we'll go to steve, north charleston, south carolina, supporting biden as well. good morning to you. >> caller: hello. how you doing, greta and rick? >> good morning. >> caller: quick response to the lady in new jersey. there's a genuine concern in america that within the democratic party there's a faction that's leaning towards socialism. and i think that's not joe but a few that may be very influential on kamala some way or another if she ends up in the presidency due to health conditions. but i want to talk about florida. boy, you guys sure make it

interesting. >> i do agree with that. >> caller: and i predict whoever wins florida is going to win the dad gum thing. with regard to demographics, in south carolina, we're red. let's face it. we could put up a map and pick all but ten states. we're going through a constant state of change. people are fleeing the oppressive tax codes of the northeast and coming here. i'm guessing they're doing the same thing in florida. the problem is when they come here, they're voting blue which may turn it right back into something they just fled. and it's a confusing phenomenon to me. by the way, the same thing is happening in arizona. people are jumping across the border from california to arizona and they're going through a change like this. have you gotten a feel for that in florida and that it may change? and i tell you, it's like a dead heat on a merry-go-round down there except somebody has to win. on a merry-go-round nobody ever does. getting your feelings on the demographics changes down there.

thank you. >> steve, you make some good comments, and you're right, it is interesting in florida and it could determine the outcome. for a number of years, sort of in broad strokes,that i-75 corridor from the midwest has found its way to southwest florida and reflects midwestern retirees and more of a conservative vote. the i-95 interstate comes from the east coast and landing in miami-dade and broward and those counties reflecting more of a liberal vote. i don't have the numbers since covid in particular because i don't know the changing demographics of where people have moved since covid. but those trends have been around for a bit. florida is a very diverse state, and you do have people -- of course a lot of seniors and retirees coming to florida because of the weather. it's a very appealing state. so, there are those changing numbers. for this, for 2020, for 42 days from now, i believe as we've described it during this conversation, i think you're going to see what we have described.

so, you're right. not so sure what the future holds because there are shifting demographics in the country and there are shifting demographics in the state of florida. >> we'll go to greg in florida. greg what's the -- how do you pronounce your city? >> caller: well, the locals say one way. it's an indian term for an upturned base which is the shape of a sink hole which we're very famous for in this area. >> all right. and greg, how are you going to vote? >> caller: it's kind of funny. you know, the older you get, the more you acquire, the more successful you say you become because your children grow up and whatever. you tend to become more conservative. i grew up as a pretty liberal hippy, all gung-ho for the peanut man in 1976.

but in fact i even was in a ceremony back in 1956 when i actually was in a "i like ike" tour. i think i was 7 years old. kind of funny because that was a republican and my family democratic, from massachusetts, pretty democratic except eisenhower. i quit reading the newspaper, the college newspaper outside gainesville, because the lean in all the stories tends to be democratic. now, you know, we're all confused by this division they claim, and sadly i don't see it except in newspaper and in watching the local news on tv or watching the national news. i try to watch all three or four different media outlets just to try to get a balanced view.

and that's my fear is that a lot of people don't watch the different media outlets to get a full picture. how many democrats know what happened last week when we signed the very famous peace agreement, which people are trying to down play and say it was just a business deal. well, sure it is. but what it's leading to is a future. but i'd like your opinion on how you feel media will influence the election. thank you. >> greg, did you go to the university of florida? >> caller: yes, sir. no, sorry. i went to the university of americas down in mexico. i lived in mexico for three years. >> well, certainly when i saw i did know that county. i spent seven years there. that is home to the university of florida where i went to undergraduate school and law school. i appreciate the call. a couple of things you said, however, i will take a little bit of issue with when you talk about the division and that the

divide is just on television or what you read. my experience is that that division is very real. you can see that division at your thanksgiving dinner table. maybe this year it's smaller because of covid-19, but in your interactions with people, the division in the country is passionate, it's real, i believe. do i think the media contributes to it? yes. but do i think it's the cause of it? not necessarily. it's deep seeded, it's real. and it's causing -- and i think it's a cause of great concern. i really do believe that it is. so, certainly, the media, if you're looking at different -- other than here on c-span, you're going to get point of view when you look at all the different cable networks and also some of the news networks, that's true. but i think, as you said earlier, i would encourage people to hear all different points of view to try to be open to them. but where i do take a little bit of exception, greg, is this notion that this is contrived or that it's the media or that it's

something you're reading in the paper. unfortunately i think it's deeper than that. it's very real, and i think it's something we as a country have to address. the first step is recognizing it. i'm confident in your indealings with other people, you've seen the divide raise it's head when politics come up. thank you for your call. >> susan in fort myers, florida is next. >> caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i live in lee county, fort myers, of course. i grew up in ohio. i'm an old lady, world war ii. and i feel left out. there are millions of us who feel left out. i did not vote for trump. i do not intend to vote for trump from the start of his campaigning. i didn't like his language. i thought he was demeaning to everyone, not just women. so, that's -- i -- i just didn't

care for that. and i'm not a conservative. i'm a moderate. now, on the flip side of it, i feel left out. nobody -- you know, all white people are bad. well, nobody complained when i went campaigning for president obama, both campaigns. you know, none of us are perfect, but that was not an issue for me. and also people are forgetting that he's biracial, and it doesn't matter. it was his message and what his thoughts were that led our country. i didn't agree with everything, but i would say 80% of the time, i did. so, what's the answer for people like me? we don't get freebies.

i've been paying into social security for 62 years now. same thing with medicare. and medicare is so crummy that i can't even use it because i don't have the money to come up with the deductible. but i don't get any assistance whatsoever. and, you know, it's just -- there's got to be a different answer to this. >> okay, susan. >> i think what susan raises really is not that uncommon. while the far right is very vocal and while the far left is very vocal, i do believe there are a lot of people in the country like susan who do feel somewhat alone. that's true of republicans and democrats. i think there are center right and center left people in this country who do feel alone. they feel the fracture in the parties, the fracture in the democratic party, the remaking of the republican party, leaves them in a place to turn.

some people say you love donald trump or hate him. but in fact there's a group in his base that is fully supportive and very passionate about him. but there are others that are more moderate. there are those on the left who are passionate against him, but there are others who are less passionate. what she says in her comments about feeling alone and not connected, i think there's a larger number of people in this country who share that issue than you may think. i think that is also part of this divide. so, the sentiment she's expressing i think is one that a number of people in the country would express. >> alex in texas, you're supporting the president. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i have a few comments and then a question. i have noticed that a consistent trait of donald trump is welcoming questions from the media, even if the questions are consistently posed against him from typical news outlets like cnn, abc, nbc, all of these which are liberal networks. i consider it a strange trait

that i can't figure out if it helps or hurts. but it's a characteristic of this president. how does it help president donald trump to take questions from the president whether positive or negative questions are given? i appreciate it. >> my suspicion is he's doing it strategically to contrast himself with joe biden. one of the attacks of the trump campaign is that joe biden for a long time was hiding out in his basement, they claimed, in delaware. he had did that up through the time of the conventions. and they believe they got a little bit of momentum after the convention, and they were trying to flush him out of that basement and to get him out speaking. and part of their argument is that when he has been speaking, he's getting -- according to the president and the trump campaign -- soft ball questions. he's not subjected to difficult questions. and when he has even a little bit of difficult questioning, there's a little bit of struggling or he makes admissions. when jake tapper of cnn was questioning him, for example,

about nafta and about the new agreement with canada and mexico, which joe biden made concessions about the fact that the new agreement under president trump is certainly better. so, i think the caller makes a good point. i'm not so sure it is helpful to the president when he does subject himself to such difficult questions and with some of the answers that he struggles with. but my suspicion is he's trying to draw a sharp contrast and trying to get his supporters to look at this and say the president is willing to answer anything, to be transparent, to take anything on. look at the contrast with joe biden who is not subjecting himself to those types of questions, which is one of the reasons why the debate a week from now, the three debates we're going to have over the next 42 days will get bigger scuteny than they have in the past and could be for significant. >> nate in milwaukee, wisconsin. good morning to you, nate. who are you supporting and why? >> caller: good morning, i'm supporting joe biden. i think he would be a better

president and i think his policies are definitely better. one of the things that does warn me and i've been trying to keep an eye on is the possibility that dirty tricks or rigging the election would happen so that you actually don't get a valid or what the people really wanted result. and in case anybody questions this, let me point out a couple things such as a june 5th, 2012, "politico" article with a 2000 attempt where in 2000, people were purged from the elections and the election was supposed to be decided by hundreds of people. so, we don't know if george bush or al gore was the choice of the majority of people in florida. and rick scott himself had the

senate seat with thousands of ballots not being marked for a u.s. senate race but supporting a democratic candidate through state agriculture. so, there are reasons to worry if the popular vote is really being shown through on a state-by-state basis, and there are people out there who do things that are sneaky to sort of rig the election. i'm from wisconsin. here not only are we gerrymandered like florida is, i believe, but if you go to union certification elections, frequently more union members vote to keep their union than to get rid of it. and yet the republicans get rid of the election -- get rid of the union anyway because they are undermining people's ability to choose for themselves. and nobody called my former

governor out on that when he went before congress. and if you want an article, december 8th of 2011, majority of education unions fecertified and the "milwaukee sentinel" voted -- >> okay, nate, we're running short on time. >> nate raises a concern that both sides raise. you're certainly hearing that from the republican side that they're concerned about the integrity of the election. nate raises he's concerned about the integrity of the election. a lot of times you hear the allegations but don't hear the story behind it. he mentioned one about the ballots in south florida in which rick scott appeared to be irregularity. that was a democratic supervisor of e lebss. there were issues as to how it was supervised. sometimes things happen that

shouldn't. for the election ahead here in florida, as i mentioned earlier, i'm very hopeful. i'm optistic it will be a vote with integrity. i do know that supervisors in the state of florida and around the country are gearing up for this election to try to do the best of their ability to make it fair and accurate. it's going to undergo a lot of scrutiny, that's for sure, certainly here in florida. when the margins are wide, no one really cares. when the margins get narrow, it becomes very close scrutiny and it can be very, very difficult and you begin to question everything. so, the caller is expressing the view that many in the country have on both sides of the aisle here, republicans and democrats. but i think there's a strong effort in florida to ensure the election is one done with integrity and reveals a count that can be trusted. >> amy is in orange park, florida. good morning, amy. >> caller: good morning, i'm actually from clay county, the

conservative county he mentioned. i'm right outside of jacksonville. my concern is just how president trump is dividing the country. we really are very divided. you know, i'm actually going to be voting for biden this time. in 2016, i voted for jill stein because i really couldn't vote -- i couldn't bring myself to vote for hillary. i used to be a republican. the last time i voted republican was in 2012. but -- and i even have to admit, when trump beat hillary, there was a small -- just a small sliver of me that was really pleased that he beat her. but, you know, since he's become president, i really am just very concerned for the country. i feel like we're being torn apart. most of my friends are trump --

my best friend is a trump voter. all of my friends on facebook, they are trump supporters. and it's gotten to the point if i post something about something very factual about what the president did, you know -- for instance, repealing the -- or stopping the payroll tax which defunds social security, you know, i had all my old friends that i went to school and church with, they come out attacking me, calling me a communist and a socialist. and, you know, i want health care for everyone. i feel like our health care system is broken. and if we don't do something about health care even in the midst of this pandemic, i mean, people are just suffering. and i feel like it's just going to tear our country apart. >> amy, can i ask you, is health care your number one issue? >> caller: it is.

it is my number one issue. >> and that is why you favor joe biden and democrats? >> caller: at this point, i'm -- it's really an anti-trump vote. i -- i don't support joe biden. i campaigned here in clay county for bernie sanders. i support bernie sanders. i'm not a communist or a socialist. i really just want people to have health care. >> okay. understood, understood. mr. mu your reaction? >> the concern over health care is similar to the ad the biden campaign is running. they target health care because that's a persuasive one. secondly, i believe donald trump's behavior is an issue for many, many voters. amy is an example of somebody who's not at the extreme right, not at the extreme left, although some people would say supporting bernie sanders is. she would tell you that's not

the case. again, i think there are a number of people like amy who are sort of going back and forth. there's a view everybody has decided and the vast majority have. but there are those people that, as earlier callers felt they were alone or amy says this is a little bit challenging for her and oits really an anti-trump vote. i will say this, in the rnc during the convention, there were a lot of very impressive speakers of women and black speakers that were eloquent in the support of the character and the accomplishments of the president. many people believed that's because he needs to increase support among women. and that's true. he does. and in the black community. that's true. he does. but there's another thought that those speakers also gave comfort to people potentially like amy and others who began to feel like, you know what, maybe it's okay to vote for the president. i do like some of his policies. i am concerned about the alternative. and maybe he's a little bit

better than he's coming across because sometimes his behavior causes a pause among many that are more moderate whether and among independents. amy is a vote that most camps would like to have. i'm not so sure either camp is going to get it. >> do you remember an election where you had that dynamic where voters would say and we've heard them some call up. it's maybe not a large portion of the country, but they say i don't like what he does or tweets, but i don't have to like him. i like what he's doing. >> greta, i don't recall it ever being this way. i was wrong. i was wrong in 2016 in predicting it. he won in a stunning fashion. and the politics today is unlike anything that i've seen. it's nothing new that we have contentious politics. that goes back to jefferson and adams. it's been contentious, nasty. it's been that way for a long time. today is different. i don't recall one with this

dynamic in which you're sort of hesitant but you're voting not necessarily embracing the character or the personality of the person you're voting for, but you do believe he represents a better path forward than the other side. the other side passionately disagrees with that and how could you understand. how could they vote for such a person. the dynamic in 2020 is a different dynamic than we've seen in past races. how that plays out remains to be seen. over the next 42 days, it could take some twists and turns. we'll have to see. in answer to your question, greta, i think it's unlike what we've seen in the past. >> we'll go to warner robins, georgia. good morning to you. >> caller: good morning. >> you're on the air. question or comment? >> caller: question. and comment. first of all, the elderly lady, i'm not in favor of labels, per se, especially since i'm hitting

that one myself. but right now donald trump is suing about co-morbidity and whether or not a person could be covered by insurance. and that would prevent people like my father who is 78 but has retained his private insurance along with -- he got medicare/medicaid of course -- >> i apologize for jumping in, but i am going to stop there because the house is about to gavel in for their morning session. so, just real quickly tell us what we need to watch for on election night before we say good-bye. >> look for turnout. and you're going to hear the vote totals will come in fairly quickly because they're counting the absentees already. in florida you can vote one of three ways, absentee, in person early or on election day. keep an eye out for what i mentioned earlier. i think you'll have a result by midnight in florida and it will

have integrity you can trust. >> he's the policy director at jacksonville university. we thank you for your time. >> thank you. democratic vice presidential candidate kamala harris is traveling to detroit today for a campaign rally. we'll have live coverage for you when it starts, now set for 6:15 p.m. eastern here on c-span3. weeknights this month, we're featuring american history tv programs as a preview of what's available every weekend on c-span3. historians david blight and annette gordon reed talk about recent debates over monuments and whether to remove or contextualize monuments based on historic relevance and public sentiment. watch american history tv this week and every weekend on

c-span3. every saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3, go inside a different college classroom and hear about topics ranging from the american revolution, civil rights and u.s. presidents to 9/11. >> thanks for your patience and for logging into class. >> with most college campuses closed due to the impact of the coronavirus, watch professors transfer to virtual setting. >> gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union, but reagan supported him. >> madison called it freedom of the use of the press and it is indeed freedom to print things and publish things. it is not a freedom for what we refer to institutionally as the press. >> lectures in history on american history tv on c-span3 every saturday '8:00 p.m. eastern.

lectures in history is also available as a podcast. find it where you listen to podcasts. you're watching c-span3, your unfiltered view of government, created by america's cable television companies as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. next, a look at how social media individual recording and other technology is supporting the black lives matter movement. former fcc commissioner minion clyburn begins this discussion by focusing on how technology laz changed over the years with the use of cell phones. >> our first look at a wireless mode of communication, and i can take you all the way through a history with that phone and the like. but the change on the device side came in 2007. do you remember what the significance of that year was?