holds adent trump campaign rally today in great falls, montana. there to support republican candidates in the november 6 midterm election. state auditor republican matt rosen dale and several third party candidates are facing jon tester, running for a third ter m. and forte iseg g seeking reelection after winning a special election to fill the house feet vacated by ryan zinke he. . todaythat rally live at 6 p.m. eastern on c-span. this week, you are watching c-span programs in prime time. at 8 p.m. eastern tonight, racism in america. >> black fears of white people are totally justified, white fears are not. kirk cameron, attorney

general jeff sessions and republican senator cory gardner speaking at this year's western conservative summit in colorado. >> we at the department are hammering the criminals and violent groups especially ms-13, of vicious gang, it is one the most violent and inhumane groups in the world. kill,motto, get this, rape and control. >> this week in prime time on c-span, c-span.org and the free c-span radio app. >> senator john mccain's daughter meghan mccain recently accepted the lbj foundation's liberty and justice for all award on behalf of her father who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year. watch that tonight at 9:30. here is meghan mccain at the lbj library in texas talking about president trump. >> one of the things that none of us understood, i know i can

speak for you and i can speak for this audience is donald trump saying your father was not a war hero. he drew the ire of so many americans. then went on to win the nomination. he apparently called you to tell you that he was no longer going to disparage her father. how did that occur? >> i was with my husband at our house in alexandria and i was in the shower and i came out and i got a voice message that president trump would like to speak with you, please call the summer. i -- call this number. i was like, oh, no. i do not know what i did. i called my dad. what do i do? you call him. i had a lovely conversation with him and melania. he was very confident you my father. i was under the impression -- i think we are going to put this behind us. never going toe

be ok with me, especially at this moment in my life. i'm never going to forget it, i never want to move on personally but i am a critical commentator and i'm trying to call balls and strikes like i see them in this administration and i said publicly i think we are going to at least have some -- some mea culpa. later, heven a month said something disparaging at a rally, and i do not remember what date. now if anyone wants to say anything to me in any way, they have to do a publicly. i don't take private phone calls from the trump administration anymore. a the ceremony includes discussion with rick davis, john mccain's former presidential campaign manager. watch tonight at 9:30 on c-span. listen on the free c-span radio app. tv recently visited capitol hill to ask members of congress what they are reading this summer. >> quite a bit. i just got done with the book

called " friends divided," which was looking at the relationship between jefferson and adams. and before that was a -- there was an excellent book on lincoln and churchill's wartime expenses. lincoln and churchill and an excellent book i also recently on ulysses s.w grant. the next books, will be, one called "unlikely general" about anthony wayne, 1794, takes place in my district where that occurred. the battle of fallen timbers. when i get done with that book, it will be the bird book on lindbergh. a good list getting done this summer. >> book tv wants to know what you are reading. send us your reading list via twitter@book tv or instagram @book_tv or post to our facebook page. televisionc-span 2,

for serious readers. news conference on president trump's soon to be announced nominee to the supreme court. earlier today, representatives from planned parenthood, naral pro-choice america, and the national women's law center talked about their concerns and what they expect from a new justice. the president is set to announce his choice on monday. good morning. thanks for coming. executive director of command justice, which is a part of this coalition. to be hearingng from today. we are proud to be partners with everyone that is gathered here today. as you all know, in four days donald trump will be naming his next supreme court nominee.

these are not ordinary times, not just because the vacancy is a seat belonging to anthony kennedy, a swing vote on so many this isbut also because happening against the backdrop of donald trump having issued litmus tests and publicly released a pre-vetted list of nominees that was curated for him during the campaign by outside special-interest groups. and donald trump, you know, famously said on two key issues that on roe, he was only going to nominate judges that would overturn it. on the aca, he said he would only appoint judges that would "do the right thing," unlike chief justice roberts on obamacare. while these litmus test commitments may have been politically sensible for donald trump at the time when he was running in the campaign in 2016, we believe they will come back to haunt his nominees in this summer's confirmation battle. make no mistake. the future of roe, and the

affordable care act will be the defining issues in this confirmation fight. in the last week, i and so many others have been asked, how can democrats stop trump's nominee when they do not have a majority in the senate? true, that, we say, it is democrats do not have the majority in the senate that we have a majority on these two issues. there is a majority that believes that roe should not be overturned and there is a majority that believes the affordable care act should not be gutted. several of the names on the top of trump's list have records on these two issues that would make them lightning rods out of the gate. i'm video people like judge amy coney barrett who called roe erroneous. and people like brett kavanaugh who praised the dissent in roe and disagree public with. john roberts. even in the case that donald trump nominate somebody that does not have a public record on these issues, donald trump slip tests dos -- litmus

the talking for him. he intended take donald trump is at his word. it is for this reason that several senators from leadheer to senator harris of california have found they will reject any name from trump's shortlist. other have expressed deep skepticism but will wait to hear from the nominee in a hearing part that brings us to the reason for this press conference, to lay down what we believe should be the standard what these nominees have to say when they have to answer to the senators into the public on these quick clashes. because of trump's litmus tests, these nominees will face a higher burden than any past nominee. they already start off having three strikes against them because of the positions trump has already ascribed to them. therefore, this nominee will not have the luxury of trying to skate through these hearings without answering tough questions. a refusal to answer questions

about their views on these key issues and has cases will force senators to revert to trump's own discretion and how this nominee would rule on roe and the aca. that means of a nominee wants to have any hope of overcoming this deep skepticism and winning confirmation, they will need to provide unequivocal assurances on roe and the afford care act. what counts is an unequivocal assertions -- assurance on roe? i can tell you one example that does not count. susan collins has been going around say she wants to hear a nominee to declare roe to be precent. -- precedent. well, that is not enough. neil gorsuch said roe is precedent. last month, he sided with the majority of an owner turning -- case.urning the janus parade for the fourth of july, susan collins that she wants to hear a nominee declare that roe is the settled law of

the land. that is what we heard from john roberts and 20 -- if he had his way he would've upheld the highly restrictive anti-abortion law. past republican appointed nominees have proven that these words mean nothing when they get onto the bench. we need a supreme court justice who will uphold roe, a supreme court justice to believes that 2016 wasen's health in rightly decided and adjusted to believes that a woman has a right to safe, legal abortion, and the standards we want to hear from these nominee will be liad out by t -- olaid out by the speakers here today. in recent days, republicans have been trying to lay the groundwork for saying that a nominee does not have to answer questions, invoking the ginsburg rule.

the situation was entirely different then. it's as it was not happening against the backdrop of then-president clinton having issued litmus test during the campaign saying in advance how he expected his nominee to roll. in any case, we have looked at the record and read what justice ginsburg said. is said this, " this something central to a woman's life, to her dignity, a decision she must make for herself and when government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult, human responsible for her own choices." pretty straightforward, eloquent answer, and to us, the actual ginsburg fule mea -- rule testifying insupportable women's right to choose. anything less should be disqualifying. on the afford care act, the nominee must be clear. the law has been upheld by the supreme court not once but twice. the nominee should be allowed, should not be allowed to avoid sharing their views on these past cases. so, we expect to hear the

nominee will consider these cases have been been rightly decided and it would uphold the affordable care act if it comes before them in the future. this issue is particularly relevant because this nominee's confirmation is happening in a time when the trump administration is refusing to defend the law in court. and is joining a group of states decided to have a lot declared unconstitutional and brought together strange bed fellows in support of the aca. even people like jonathan adler of case western have joined long time proponents of the law -- at yale in saying the trump administration argued in this case is wholly without merit. i'm nominee should be asked about the principle of severability at issue in the trump administration's legal brief in texas. does the nominee for good judge has the power to do what congress decided not to do and strip away coverage for pre-existing conditions? if a nominee will not clearly express his or her views on the aca, senator should assume that trump meant what he said when he

said he would only pick judges who would rule aca was unconstitutional. in conclusion, trump's own litmus tests have raised the bar for what a nominee must answer at a hearing, in other words, and because so many of these people on his short list are scholars of the late antonin scalia, we will not accept any giga report agree on roe versus wade or any applesauce answers on the formal care act. the standard is high, the burden is new because of trump's own litmus tests on these two issues. and we were going to be holding him to that higher standard. with that, i believe we have a quick video we want to play that is just a reminder to everyone of what donald trump himself said during a campaign would be his standard for appointing judges when he came to the issue of roe versus wade in a women's right to abortion. [video clip[ ] ♪ >> do you want to see the court

overturn roe versus wade? president trump: we put another two or three justices on, that will happen automatically in my opinion because i am putting pro-life justices on the court. >> next we will hear from planned parenthood. >> good morning, everyone, thank you for being here. as brian here we are here because donald trump must be taken at his word. that he wants to overturn roe v wade criminalized abortion and punish women who have had abortion. s.s. has clearly established his women test for a potential nominees to fill justice kennedy seat on the supreme court. as any nominee from the trump

list without real evidence to the contrary must be believed to be someone who, in the president trump's own words, would automatically overturn roe v. wade. if donald trump and mike pence have their way, millions will lose the right to safe, legal abortion that has been the law of the land for 45 years. hearings, weenate have heard nominees answered these critical and fundamental questions by saying they will respect precedent, but immediately after being sworn in those justices turn around and rule in ways that ignore prece dent and would have eviscerated our fundamental rights had those justices been in the majority. aloney saying precedent can no longer be -- the standard by which senators can accurately judge. plannedwhy today,

parenthood and our colleagues at this press conference, are calling for a higher standard. we are calling for a personal liberty standard, that the senate must only confirm a justice who affirmatively declares that they believe the constitution protects individual ht of allnd the righ tof al people to make personal decisions about their bodies and their personal relationships, including the rights to use contraception, the right to have an abortion, and the freedom to marry who you choose. the personal liberty standard requires that a nominee affirm that the constitution's due process clause contains substantive protections for individual liberties that encompass people's ability to make personal decisions about their bodies and their relationships, including the right to safe, legal abortion. that is what the american people

want to know. we need nominees to meet this explicit, personal liberty standard, because trump has made his litmus tests clear. we need this higher standard not just to protect roe, but for the whole line of cases that hold that the constitution protects an individual's liberty to make personal decisions. again,ne of cases, affects our fundamental rights from access to birth control to abortion to freedoms for lgbtq people. if a nominee does not meet this standard, then they cannot be counted on to protect a woman's right to choose. we know that meeting this standard is possible. actually as brian said, justice ruth bader ginsburg made clear in her confirmation hearing that the due process clause of the constitution encompasses, in her words, "a constitutional right to make basic decisions about

one's life's course." starting today, the planned parenthood action fund and many of our colleagues in organizations are launching all out campaigns in all 50 states from television ads to town halls demanding any nominee be held to this standard or not be confirmed. with so much hanging in the balance, the american people deserve no less. with that, my colleague from naral. >> hi. thank you to the leaders and demand of the -- justice, planned parenthood, national women's law center and the national women's asian and pacific american women forget women and families are facing a crisis, a crisis of personal freedom, a crisis of control over our futures and a crisis of national leadership at this very moment.ment -- clutch

we are living under an administration that institutionalize an anti-democratic movement that is as cruel as it is extreme. we know, and we know for sure, that any of trump's list of 25 will vote to decimate our rights as enshrined under roe. full stop. let's lay it out. president trump and vice president mike pence ran for office on the promise to -- to only appoint supreme court justices that would gut roe v. w ade. they did it to win the support of anti-choice organizations, but they did it because they share the ideology, they appointed justice courses, a mercenary on the court who after his term has proven his critics true. at the state level, radical state legislators are already passing taccone and abortion restrictions and-- d

raconian abortion restrictions. and we know there were back channels to encourage justice kennedy to retire in this moment. their intent is not subtle. it is not a mystery. it is obvious. they want to turn back the clock, criminalize abortion and punish women severely for living our own lives. let me be clear. as a woman who has been public about my own abortion, i take this personally. for that reason, for the reason that our lives are on the line, the burden of proof is now on them. donald trump changed the rules tothe game and he now needs demonstrate every single senator nominee that is held for hearings needs to vocalize the personal liberty standard. not precedent, not settled law, not no track record.

track record on her's promises a bad track record gut that will -- will gut roe. we believe mike pence and donald trump, we believe their actions. the question is whether this willors -- the senators also believe them, and we believe they must incorporate this personal liberty standard, not only because of what is at stake but because that is what their constituents want them to do. rian is book about the majority of the senators actually being on our side when it comes to. roe v. wade let me talk about the majority of americans between know that seven in 10 americans support legal access to abortion. since kennedy's announcement that 73% of voters 's swing states believe trump nominee will overturn roe. voters, especially

democratic and independent voters the senators need to win are ready to support them if they will protect our constitutional freedoms. the fight, this, this right now today, this is the fight that women have been preparing for since 5 million of us marched in the street on january 21. we knew this day was coming. and we are prepared. this past sunday, naral and partners of the people's defense held a town hall attended by over 12,000 people. we were joined by senators merkley angela brent. people know the stakes. they are asking us every day how to get involved and make sure their senators will uphold their promise to afford us the personal liberty that we know guards our own lives and the lives of our children and our chilton's children. in all 50 states, we are working with these partners to build a movement to fight the supreme court nominee and demand that our representatives in

washington must act. on august 26, we will hold a mass mobilization in all 50 states in order to bring together that diverse set of voices that have one thing in common which is asking every single senator to vote to opposed any nominee that will not affirm the personal liberty standard. the american women know the personal liberty standard is all that stands between us and criminalized abortion and punishing us for simply trying to live our lives. this is not theory. this has been already practiced in many states including my home of texas. this is the standard we need every senator to uphold and they need to examine their conscience standeir moral map and with us and if they don't, they need to examine their political futures. thank you very much. i would like to invite the public policy associate up to the microphone.

ever.d morning, yone. i'm with the national asian pacific american women's forum. o advance social justice and human rights for asian-american girls and women in the u.s. so much is at stake with the supreme court vacancy and we oppose any candidate that trends to overturn roe and the aca. we are not only opposed to any candidate that would overturn roe, but are a poster any candidate that would undermine roe and legal precedents -- that oppose women's ability to -- for especially women of color, who must overcome burdens, traveling long distance, cultural stigmas, immigration status and other obstacles, roe v. wade is not enough. we must fight these obstacles

and fight for women's ability to exercise the reproductive rights and personal liberties under roe. we also expect that any trump candidate will be firmly against the if care act, which has led to significantly more black women, latinas and asian-american women having health insurance. 50 million black million, 70 million latinos and 8 million ian americans have access to health services including reproductive health services. any nominee who is a threat to health coverage is a nonstarter for women of color. we know that none of the candidates on trump's list stand for any of the values of freedom and justice that we fight for daily. not only do they pass the trump roe,and pose a threat to they have records of under -- issues that for women of color are critical. last week we saw the supreme court vote against the women's right to know the truth about

where they are seeking reproductive health services. they voted in favor of a travel ban that targets muslims and separates families. they voted against workers rights that enable workers to earn livable incomes and benefits for their families. all of these cases, in which justice neil gorsuch i voted the wrong way, were attacks can fullyolor and we expect the next nominee to be just as extreme. areother organizations committed to building a grassroots movement and the states fighting for reproductive health rights and justice on the ground for those most affected by the attacks of this administration. we are in this fight -- truly just a supreme court because so much is at stake for our communities. our movement for reproductive freedom must include fighting for judges and supreme court justices that will uphold not only reproductive rights and

personal liberty and the right to bodily autonomy but also some s.vil right thank you. i think we have another short video for you. [video clip] audio] >> i think we probably know what that video was -- would say. i'm president of the national r, working toente protect and improve the lives of women and girls and we know that the role the courts play could not be more critical to that mission and it is all on the line with the supreme court vacancy. the supreme court decisions have

shaped so many of our fundamental constitutional rights and legal protections from the right to make personal decisions of our reproductive health care to our critical health care coverage, to the workplace and in schools, and this they defeat puts all of that at risk. the presidentd, has promised to appoint judges who would overturn roe v. wade a nd dismantled the afford care act. and we need to take him at his word. it will not be enough to simply accept vague references as following precdedent. in addition to the standard my partners have outlined, any of the nominees have a deep hurting to show that they are in fact not fulfilling trump's promise to dismantle the fort care act. e affordable care act has dramatically changed the landscape of women's health care for the better. enabled women to

obtain a formal health care, it has made sure that women's preventative health care is has allowed 62.4 million women to access this coverage. and it has ended a long time practice of treating women as a pre-existing condition. aca has helped over 67 million women nationwide who have pre-existing condition. it was not that long ago that insurance plans treated common conditions like having a c-section, like even having been pregnant, as a pre-existing condition. even receiving medical treatment for rape, for domestic violence, was considered a pre-existing condition. % of the plans, 92 on the individual market charged women significantly more than men for the same health insurance. the aca ednded this practice.

if trump gets his way and his nominees strike a blow at the aca, the door would be open for insurance companies to go back to those battle days to once again indiscriminately charge women more for the exact same health insurance as men. threat take this seriously. opponents of the affordable care act continue to challenge the health care law in courts. weeklast month, the administration refused to defend key provisions of the law increasing the chances this lawsuit would advance to the supreme court. and trump has also made clear that a nominee who meets his standards is one who will allow religious beliefs to override women's access to health care, including birth control. don'ot t be fooled. that is the same antiabortion extreme's that are plotting to bring a case to the supreme court that are attacking birth control now. attack after

attack on birth control access in the last several years, on the birth control benefit india for the care act. we must take trump at his word, and every senator should,, too. the burden is on his nominee to prove that he or she is not as trump promised. women's dignity, their health and even their lives are on the line. thank you. you so much to our speakers. at this point we are going to open it up for questions and answers from any credentialed media and the room. for speakers who would just come up, we'll open it up for questions. [sneezes] >> can you give us a mic, there? >> yeah, we will. >> i have a question about the new standard. why would this be different from the previous --

sorry, why would this be different from the previous statements about settled law and precedent? if you are arguing they can sidestep that, could not be -- couldn't they do the same in new for with this new standard you're talking about? >> what we're really getting at today is the fact that these vague references to precedent have allowedaw people to actually not look more deeply into what is at stake. for we know is at stake here is not only the right to abortion, but all of the things that come with the fundamental right to privacy. so, that includes accessing birth control, that includes the ability to have consensual adult relationships, that includes the freedom to marry. so, what we are really asking the typicalot allow

approach that is happened in hearing after hearing where nominees have said trust me, i understand it is precedent. and look more deeply into it and ensure they go deep and explain whether or not they are also in favor of the critical things that ground that precedent. >> i'm going to give you the nonlawyer answer which is trump change the rules of the game when he became the first nominee and now president putting a litmus test on the supreme court justice. now the burden of responsibility, the burden of proof has moved to him, as well as any nominee he puts forward to affirmatively disproved they will do what he promised that they would do. since we havehat, had the court we have had, we have shown they do not have a deference to precedent all the way through roberts' decision

into women's health, even though he was in the minority there, but he is the chief justice, and that would gut the precedent set out by roe, all the way to janus, with gorsuch on that side. we have a president who promised to do this. and a court that is shown they will. therefore, the burden of proof up on this nominee to demonstrate to the american people and to every single senator who hold our fate in their hands that they will not do that. >> and you have this kind of conversation would be a significant step beyond what you have in most hearings. and so, the american people at least deserve the opportunity to hear them talk about the basis rightly views, the decided miss of these cases, and how the due process clause actually protects our substantive, personal liberties regarding these issues. >> it's possible that these

judges will refuse to answer these questions. in that case, we have their answer because trump has made a guarantee. >> that's right. >> yes? i'm sort of wondering, are there other gop senators you are targeting beyond susan collins to ask for this personal liberty standard? also when you tell, us more about the august 26, whatever you are doing that? >> i can start there and i'm happy to pass it to dawn. the august 26 day of action -- recordedl leave this news conference be you can watch the entire event at c-span.org. president trump is in great falls, montana, holding a campaign rally. he will be on stage after an introduction. it looks like it is by donald trump jr. live coverage here on c-span. >> wow. i