we saw change. i think, tragically, the cumulative nature of this, however after horror, is starting to move people -- -- ror after we have to put the pressure on senators in swing seats. i don't think this is business as usual anymore. i think this horrible -- these two tragedies have made people feel something different. your survival on the democratic ticket -- [indiscernible] what action is appropriate for the president to take when it comes to gun legislation? >> in general, not the things that have the biggest impact.

we've seen on environmental issues. we've seen it on climate issues. there are always some executive powers that can be used meaningfully. what we need is something much bigger than that. the solution is political. i don't believe that this current circumstance is going to last that much longer. we have gotten so used to a far right republican party that is not willing to move on these issues and a divided congress. that's not our whole history. it does not have to be that way. i think the american people are moving right now. i think you see a whole lot more movement in an aggressive direction. you look at the public opinion solidly ins moved favor of background checks and waiting. and an assault weapons ban -- and waiting periods and an assault weapons ban. it's only time before that leads to change. we have to work on the ground. we are hoping for instant

gratification, but what's really going to change america is a whole lot of grassroots organizing, like the sparkling students -- those parkland students did, a whole lot of organizing like in alabama. i think we have to do that over and over again, and in a matter of years, it will be a much different country at a much more predict -- progressive one. >> [indiscernible] >> look, i think in a world where there are twentysomething candidates, there has to be some kind of structure, right? so, even though i worry about horses getting excluded, i also appreciate the fact that such a premium is put on the grassroots donations, which has never happened before. it's not how much money you raise.

its how many people you raise it from. i think that's a very good thing. it's an imperfect reality. youink it's a reminder that have to get out there and reach as many people as possible. to some extent, that depends on resources. i never had the kind of resources some of the others have. i'm hoping message and ideas ultimately spread farther and bring those resources in. >> [indiscernible] >> i don't buy into any of those hypothetical questions. the idea is to keep building. we are in a country right now that -- our political system has changed so much we don't even recognize it anymore. in your heart, did you expect donald trump to be president? i would think only a handful even could've conceived of it. i think the fact is that all over this country we see the most amazing things happening. some are good, some are not so good. the predictable is no longer

predictable. we are in a whole longer -- whole different time now. i know what i'm talking about because a lot of people agree with it. i did these things. i can prove it. i think that's an appealing idea. i will keep getting it out there. thanks, everyone. >> thank you. >> on felonies, i do not. i think people should serve their time and be able to vote again. >> [indiscernible] >> sorry about that. ok. >> hey, mr. mayor.

head of american wind energy association. great to have your support. [indiscernible] exactly. iowans, we love our wind energy. >> who wouldn't want that? >> hi. thanks for coming. thanks for running. there, sir?n >> everybody look. 1, 2, 3. one more. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> see you right down the hill, on the right side. >> i want to sign the blade.

>> love ya. >> [inaudible] >> do you have a camera? >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> the iowa state fair in des moines, iowa. it's been a busy weekend of politics.

not only the candidates speaking at the iowa state fair, but friday evening, they traveled to clearlake , iowa, for a dinner. event yesterday with 17 of the candidates. that is posted at c-span.org. in just a couple minutes, mayor de blasio will be joining us. our coverage is available on our website at c-span.org. mayor pete buttigieg will be at the iowa state fair on tuesday at about 2:30 eastern time. the fairgrounds attracting well over one million people. it continues through sunday. more with mayor bill de blasio as he makes his way to the campaign 2020 bus. [inaudible]

[indiscernible] you do something about it? >> yes, sir. >> i want to ask about the centrality of the base in this process. do you think it's too much? do you have any concerns? mayor de blasio: i think -- >> you think it's replacing [indiscernible] mayor de blasio: not at all. you've seen the realities from the debates. they haven't really changed the overall picture that much. i think it's one piece of the puzzle. >> thank you. >> let's try it. >> would you be willing to publicly denounce [indiscernible]

mayor de blasio! >> thank you. >> [indiscernible] >> thank you so much. mayor de blasio, will you answer my question? >> mayor, i'm a national caucus motor. the pipeline was approved, but it took thousands of barrels per day. now they want to increase the flow to 1.1 million. would you be the first candidate to come on and say no, we are not good with that? mayor de blasio: i obviously have real disagreement with what's been done with the pipeline, but i'm going to need to get a bigger picture. >> i'm happy to get you up to speed on that. they want to increase the flow. they want to double it. reducing carbon emissions.

it will mess up our land. we have 350 miles of the pipeline going through iowa. nobody has come out against it yet. if you do, that would be awesome. >> [indiscernible] mayor de blasio: i believe it. thank you. that?n do >> thank you, everybody. thank you. mayor de blasio: who's next? >> [indiscernible] i'm going to college next year. do you have any advice for me? mayor de blasio: yeah. whoa, that's a giant question. ok. i will tell you that i think what a lot of people don't understand about college. the relationships you make are theuch as important as

stuffy learning classes. -- as the stuff you learning classes. cherish the fact that you get to meet so many wonderful people, and stay connected to them. they will be part of your life long-term if you make it happen. >> [discernible] >> excuse me. >> [indiscernible] >> mayor! >> excuse me. please sign this for me? >> can i get a picture with you? mr. biden! >> mayor, can i get a selfie with you? >> here you go. >> thank you. mayor de blasio: ok.

>> mayor de blasio, can i get a picture with you? mayor de blasio: we don't have to be on the show right this second. >> one last picture. one last selfie. >> [indiscernible] >> the mayor of new york city, the democratic presidential candidate, bill de blasio making his way on board the c-span bus. we will make sure he is situated and able to hear us. he will be joining us in just a moment. our phone lines are open.

republicans and democats. -- democrats. an iowa voter -- he's traveling with his son and his wife, at the iowa state fair, and he will be with us in just a moment. all of our coverage is available at c-span.org. we will continue tuesday with the mayor of south bend, indiana, pete buttigieg at the iowa state fair at 2:30 eastern time. nine candidates yesterday, two on thursday, five on friday, all part of c-span's video library at c-span.org. our thanks to our cable partner in the greater des moines area. we will be with governor de blasio in just a moment. [indiscernible]

[indiscernible]

[indiscernible] >> iowa state fair. >> [indiscernible]

>> perfect. thank you.

[ambient crowd noise] to c-span campaign 2020 bus. joining us in just a moment or two is the mayor of new york, bill de blasio. we will first get to some of your calls and comments. sheila from baltimore, good afternoon. >> hi. how are you? >> we are fine thank you -- fine. thank you. what have you been seeing and hearing so far at the state fair from the candidates? >> um, just listening. and iappened to tune in, was excited about the idea of being able to ask the candidate a question. >> stay on the line and we will get you in a moment. >> sure. >> joining us onboard board the

c-span campaign 2020 bus is the mayor of new york city, bill de blasio. thanks for being with us. mayor de blasio: thank you. i love this bus. it's pretty amazing. >> we are glad you are on board. let's get the difficult questions out of the way. mayor de blasio: this is the only cold place at the iowa state fair right now. >> we have to get the tough questions out of the way first. we were watching you as you make your way to the bus. you mentioned some competition with your son and your wife. what are you competing for, and where are the games? mayor de blasio: this is getting really intense. we have a family feud going on here. we did the baseball throw. see how fast you can throw a baseball. we did the football through the target. we did speak -- skeet ball. we did basketball, soccer. the milk bottles, trying to get the softball in the milk bottle. a lot going on. so far, every family member has won something. i won the biggest prize, the soft -- stuffed pig at skeet

ball. so far, so good. >> how is your son doing? mayor de blasio: he is doing pretty good, but dante thought he had the advantage of youth. i'm using wisdom to keep up and surpassed him. >> the other question, how does this compare to the new york state fair in syracuse? mayor de blasio: you know, this state fair is legendary, and i've been wanting my whole life to come here. i have not been to syracuse yet, so i cannot give you the comparison, but i look forward to going. but this one is everything i dreamed it would be. it's amazing. people are so welcoming. so positive. the food is amazing. i had a corn dog within, like, 10 minutes of being in the door. i was a very happy person. >> let's get this of calls. our viewers and listeners are anxious to talk to you. sheila in baltimore, go ahead. >> hi, mayor de blasio. how are you? >> hey, sheila.

>> i, too, am a proud native new yorker, but i now live in maryland. i must say that i've been very impressed with the fact that you seem to be very passionate, authentic. and i love your emphasis on family. but here's my question. right now, i have a 96-year-old auntie in the bronx that is grappling daily with rodents, roaches, broken elevators, and a broken intercom in a building that is owned and maintained by new york city housing authority. aside from the fact that we want that vulgarian out of the oval office, why should we believe that you can effectuate meaningful change in washington, d.c.? >> thank you, sheila. mayor de blasio: sheila, thank you for everything you said, and also for raising this really important point. if you can contact my office separately or through c-span, we want to see what we can do immediately to help your

aunt. what sheila is talking about, new york city housing authority, like every other public housing authority in america, was chartered by the federal government and was supposed to be supported by the federal government permanently. that stopped in the years of ronald reagan and since. the buildings are getting older and older. the needs are greater. the city of new york, not the place that is legally supposed to have to do it, but we have done it for our people. we've literally put billions of dollars into turning around the housing authority. it's going to take some time it's going to take some time. in need -- 30 have about 30 dahlias -- $ billion in need. i hate the fact that it's decades in the makings, but it has been. we finally are showing piece by piece, building by building, we can turn this around, and that's what we intend to do. >> mayor de blasio, we covered

you yesterday at the iowa event center. ehis is the quote, "th president should use his tiny little hands to act on gun control." what, if anything, do you think will happen? mayor de blasio: i think the president has the power to tel mitch mcconnell to bring to the floor of the senate the legislation that passed the h ouse or something of substan assaultgards to an weapons ban or waiting period. there are a number of mitch mcconnell's members, particularly who are in or will be in the near future competitive elections, who could find a way to vote for that, especially if they had some cover from the president. that's my point. he has the ability to move something right now. if he doesn't, he will be doing the right thing -- he does it, he will be doing the right thing, doing his job. if he doesn't, i think you will

find even more people turning away from him. i'm talking as a parent now. what's happening in this country, parents are really worried for their kids. they send their kids to school hoping their kids will be safe. remember, right now in america, it is normal, it is common for kids to have to do active shooter drills in their schools. that's how bad it's gotten. kids now go through that multiple times a year. that's become the new normal in america. there are so many parents, republicans and democrats and independents, who are scared to death for their kids and they want to see something change. if trump does not act, i think even more americans are going to feel he is not on their side. >> you're from new york. when did you first meet donald trump? mayor de blasio: you know, i had no contact with him as i was involved with public life initially.

he was much less involved in new york city in the last decade or two than he was previously. i didn't meet him until the ceremony at 911, at -- 9/11, at ground zero, in 2016. i've just been in shock. as a new yorker, i've seen plenty examples of things he did that were divisive, going way back to the central park five. remember, he called for them to be executed, even though it turned out there were 100% innocent -- they were 100% innocent. we saw such divisive negative behavior, but none of us imagined it would end up being on this scale. i don't have a personal relationship with him. i'm very sad as a new yorker that someone from my city has ended up doing so much damage, especially creating so much intolerance and hatred, which is not what new york city is about. new yorkers pride ourselves on being a place for everyone. we are acutely the most diverse

place -- are arguably the most diverse place on earth. he does not represent us. >> john on the line for democrats from california. >> hey. i'm from california. i wanted to talk to you about -- mayor de blasio: how are you doing? >> great. mayor de blasio: i'm doing good. >> anyway, i wanted just to comment on listening to you. i really enjoy the way you talk like a democrat. you kind of remind me of lbj. we talk about big ideas and taking hold of america and using america as a tool for big things. lbj took 4% of the gdp and sent us to the moon, but yet today nobody wants to talk about him. i guess he is a socialist or something like that, but in my mind he was the greatest president we've had. i think you need to pick up on some of the things he talked about. that's how he won so big in 19

64, by sending us to the moon, doing civil rights, doing the voting rights act. he did so many great things. why don't you pick up on some of that stuff and put yourself ahead of the pack? mayor de blasio: john, i appreciate that. i think you are right about a lot of that history, in the sense that, you know -- i'm obviously someone who, like so many progressives, so many democrats, has the greatest respect for franklin delano roosevelt, but when you think of other presidents who really furthered a more fair and equal society, lbj was one of them. i feel -- it is so sad. i wish he had done something different on vietnam. but when you talk about what he did on civil rights and economic justice, it was hugely important. it was a lot of what catapulted him to that great victory in 1964. i'm trying to do that very thing that you are talking about. i want to get the message out further.

today's examples are things like universal health care and guaranteeing that people have better wages and benefits, guaranteeing the right to labor unions to organize. these are today's battles. and i think when you look at the picture of what we are facing in this country, a lot of people are waiting to hear that from the democratic party, and they haven't been. this is what i hope would come to grips with this election. why did so many people -- you are raising unimportant historical point. -- raising an important historical point. why did so many people in 1964 feel very comfortable with the democratic party and so many have drifted away sense -- since? even though their interests are represented more by the democratic party than the republican. i think it's in large measure because democrats stop standing for something -- stopped standing for something. the democrats who stood for

something bold and clear. today, it's universal health care. there are so many people, everyday americans, working-class, middle-class people don't have health care, don't have enough health care, don't have a health care plan they can use, can't handle the deductibles, can't handle the premiums, don't get covered for so many things. that's today's battle, and i think we energize that battle, we can win a much better american majority. back labor union members who drifted from us because they didn't think we were fighting enough for labor and for working people. i put out a 21st century workers bill of rights, asked everybody to go to my website to look at this. billdeblasio.com. it talks about all the things we can do to empower people. a look at my tax plan, the most aggressive of all the candidates, finally ending the madness of the rich getting richer, but paying less in taxes. we can transform this country. that's what i'm saying.

>> john is on the phone from boynton beach, florida. good evening. >> hey. how are you doing, mayor? mayor de blasio: i'm doing great. how are you? >> good, thank you for taking my call. i just have a few comments. the first thing i want to say is bravo. you did an excellent job out there. it was fun to watch. you did a lot of positive energy. i've been watching the state f air since yesterday morning all the way through now. so, i've seen them all come up there. you were at the very top. i wanted to quickly congratulate you on that, for doing a great job. i also wanted to comment. i did see you on hannity. that was some riveting tv. interview. energetic you did great. you killed it. in my opinion. it almost on the like you guys

were high school buddies. you were smiling the whole time. you both were super charismatic. i wanted to congratulate you for stepping up and doing that. i don't know many other democratic candidates that would get on with him. you got points for that. >> thanks very much. we will get a response from the mayor. mayor de blasio: thank you. i really appreciate what you said about both. i want to say something about hannity, because i think this is important. refused to allow our democratic party to be portrayed as the party of the elite or the party just of the two coast. -- coasts. when i think about the folks who watch the show, separate them from sean hannity. i disagree with him on almost everything. a lot of those people were democrats not long ago, some of them probably still are. a lot are labor union members. a lot would like to hear something different that they

are not hearing from democrats. i went at hannity on the core point that what he's been saying, what his network has been saying has been part of how the rich got richer. we have to be honest about that. he has this big audience that he sells a bill of goods to, but we don't confront him. we don't go right into the lions den and take him on an appeal to those folks. i think they will respect people and value them. you speak to them wherever they are. it's very much like the question of the 50 state strategy with the democratic party. if we don't go to red states, we are telling them we don't care. that's ridiculous. we should never do that. we should go to red states, blue states, red counties, blue counties, rural areas, urban areas, regardless of the political ideology or the voting trends. we need to show people we respect them and we are fighting for their vote. when people see you are fighting for their vote, when they see you are talking about their lives, they can come back your

way. the idea that there is not only a few, a whole lot of obama, oba means a voters, that lot of people had to feel the democratic party was not about them, to follow that pattern and go over to trump. i say, let's go back and fight for those folks. that's why i went on hannity. there was plenty to fight back with, and i'm proud i was able to do that. >> tom perez, the chair of the dnc, did not allow the dnc to have any debates on the fox news channel. from your standpoint, was that a mistake? mayor de blasio: yeah, i think it was. i don't disagree with the notion that fox and news corp. have done old -- untold damage to this country. i want to be clear about that. i think we are a divided country in large measure because of what fox and all the outlets associated with what news corp. have done. it's been a cynical strategy for decades, to divide people.

i've said it before. there's no donald trump without news corp. he never would have been able to get where he got. they laid the foundation long before. but you know what, we still have to respect millions of people who turn there for their news. we should be speaking to those folks. i get really upset when folks treat trump voters like they are not worth talking to. look, i know there are some trump voters who i disagree with entirely and i know there are trump voters who harbor real bias. i'm not at all fooled by that or naïve about that. there's a lot of trump voters that our everyday working people who felt washington let them down, felt both parties let them down, felt like the system was rigged in favor of those who already had wealth and power. those are folks who should be on our side if we would only speak to them and give them a message and a vision that appealed to them and made sense to them. look at the labor

union members. there's a huge number of labor union members who are proud of their union, want to see better for working people, but they are still watching fox. i want to speak to them. i think we need to be there. >> let's go to david in north carolina with mayor bill de blasio in des moines. blasio, good evening from north carolina. mayor de blasio: good evening. >> i want to tell you that i wish you well in your pursuit of this highest office in our great country. but as a republican, i have to say the vote this year goes beyond tribal loyalty. and because of the lack of morality, the ethics, the lying, deception, and the criminal behavior, whoever gets the democratic nod gets my vote over the present occupant of the white house. with that, i wish you well. thank you. mayor de blasio: thank you, david. i want to tell you you are an example of, i think, many americans.

i won't be surprised if it's ultimately millions of americans who are people of conscience, who have a party that they may feel connected to, but that does not mean that they have checked their conscience at the door. i commend you for that. last night i was at an event in eastern iowa where a member of the iowa state house of representatives, a republican member for decades, recently c hanged to the democratic party because he felt that everything from washington no longer represent his values. he had the strength to say, i have to do this as a matter of conscience. he caught a lot of help for it, but he was a man of -- of hell for it, but he was a man of integrity. -- ifd argue that, after we stand for something that is for everyone -- i want to be a president for everyone. i really do. i want this to be a moment where we bring back the notion that

the presidency is supposed to read -- represent everyone. we need to serve every region of the country. we need to make sure that working people are honored and supported wherever they are, whoever they are. that's what i want to restore. people start to have more faith in government and are ready to hope again. in the end, change comes from the people. just what you said, david, as an example -- and everyone listening to you who feels the same way will be heartened by you. change comes from people of conscience like you, and i thank you. >> i want to get your reaction to a tweet and comments about former vice president joe biden. the president said, "joe biden said we believe in facts, not truth. does anybody really believe he is mentally fit to be president? we are playing in a big and complicated world. joe doesn't have a clue." your reaction to the president's tweet, but also some missteps

the vice president has had over recent weeks? mayor de blasio: first of all, what the president is saying is illegitimate. he spentump -- if all your studying wouldn't know -- all year studying wouldn't know what joe biden knew decades ago. i'm somebody who has criticism with biden on some issues, but i will defend to the hilt joe biden is extremely knowledgeable about the world, about this country. he's been a dedicated public servant. yeah, i'm one of the first to say he says some things that confound me, but he was saying those things 30 years ago. what's the issue is not his ability and capacity. he has tremendous ability and capacity. i disagree with him on some issues. i think he is not expressing enough of a vision of change. i think he has said some things that were insensitive and didn't

understand why they were insensitive. i think he needs to answer those concerns and address them and move forward. people don't want a candidate who is unable to move and grow and change. they don't want a candidate who is entitled. no one likes it when someone seems to expect to get the next step in their political career, as opposed to fight for it and humbly work for it with the people. trump is saying about biden is absolutely unfair, inaccurate. if there is someone who does not understand the world and is reckless and fundamentally has no ability to go and learn and understand what the job should entail, that's donald trump. >> on the national stage, what is tougher -- you are now on the national stage. what is tougher, the national press corps or the new york? mayor de blasio: they ask a lot of tough questions, the national press corps.

they are substantive. they put me through my paces all the time. the media in each of the states i'm in is the same. we have a vibrant media in the country. we should cherish and protect it. it is part of what makes america america. that's been truesince the founding of the republic . we've had a vibrant media that kept politicians' feet to the fire. i will also say the new york press corps, they are probably the toughest anywhere. in a lot of ways, that's a great training ground. it really is. mayor of new york city has been called for decades the second toughest job in america. job.roud to have that i'm proud to be the first democrat reelected to that job since the 1980's. i'm proud that we have driven down crime six years in a row. safest big city in america safest big city in america. half a became mayor, million new jobs. we've done big things.

my feet have been held to the fire by the new york city press corps every single day. i think that's helped me to be strong. if you want to be tough enough to be president of the united states, deal with mike ross court every day. it will get -- my press corps every day. it will get you good and ready. >> enjoy the c-span bus. thanks for coming on board. we appreciate you being with us. mayor de blasio: i may not leave. it's too nice in here. thank you. >> thank you, mr. mayor. a live aerial view of the iowa state fair in des moines, iowa. it will wrap up next sunday, august 18. our coverage will conclude for today. we are back with another candidate, people to judge, at the -- pete buttigieg, at the state fair on tuesday. all of our coverage is available at c-span.org. join us again tomorrow morning for c-span's "washington

journal," live everyday at 7:00 a.m. eastern. "newsmakers" is coming up next. >> campaign 2020. watch are live coverage of the presidential candidates on the campaign trail. make up your own mind. c-span's campaign 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. q&a --ght on >> [indiscernible] the halle taken out of and confronted this mob of angry people. >> this political science professor talks about being physically attacked in 2017 after an appearance by an author on campus. >> at the end of your discussion, you left that room and went where and what happened? >> i don't really remember much of it. i couldn't even tell you what

door we went out. but we were taken out of the hall and confronted this mob of angry people, some of whom were in masks. they were shoving and jostling. their target was charles. >> tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's "q&a." >> joining us from las vegas is the president of the service employees international union, mary kay henry. joining us here in our studio is ginger gibson, the political reporter for reuters. and andrew wallender, bloomberg law reporter. thank you for being with us on "newsmakers." let me begin with a question that is front and center in the democratic party, the debate over medicare for all being proposed by bernie sanders versus former vice president joe biden, who is advocating a public option, but also keeping private health insurance. what is your view?