discusses the troop withdraw from syria. as always, we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter as well. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, everyone. we begin with the rats only this morning after reports last week that some in the democratic party are anxious about prospects of winning the white house in 2020. democrats only this morning. how satisfied are you with the 2020 field? if you live in the eastern part .f the country, (202) 748-8000 mountain pacific, (202) 748-8001 . you can text us, first name city and state, (202) 748-0003.

we will get your thoughts, democrats only this morning. the first we begin with news. brokeks like the newsweek this story this morning that the president a week ago approved a special ops raid targeting isis these are back daddy and the military is saying that he is dead. the president is going to speak time.s at 9 a.m. eastern livell bring that to you here on c-span. more details coming up on that. first, democrats only. are you with the 2020 field? we will begin with "the new york times." the headline read "anxious democratic establishment asks "?s there anybody else

"the hill" newspaper, "hillary clinton 2020 whisper campaign hits new height." if you take a look at the gallup poll, they ask members of the democratic party how satisfied they are and according to this poll, many of you are satisfied with a candidates running in 2020. what they found was that three out of four are pleased with the field in nearly meant -- nearly as many republicans are pleased and satisfaction is higher than in most recent elections. do you agree with that or with you havehe party that anxiety over the prospect of democrats winning, beating the president for reelection? let's go to brian, illinois.

good morning to you, brian. caller: good morning. i am a member of organized labor and have strong democratic leanings, though i am somewhat independent as far as political perspectives. i think that joe biden is way too old, too feeble. the others are way too left. i findbuchar interesting. what disturbs me is that there is an aspect of the life that democrats will never discuss, personal responsibility. their whole message is that we will give you everything, we will take care of you, don't worry, you can do whatever you want and we will give you stuff and it is just idiotic. the world doesn't work that way. you have to work. you have to be a functional adult. , who brian, do you think

do you think should run in the democratic field that would speak to you? caller: someone i really liked recently was jim webb, virginia. a man with combat experience in the military. there used to be things like conservative democrats, people that were levelheaded and had real answers to life's problems instead of the santa claus theory where we could give you everything. you know? ,ou have got to get real people. you can't live in a fantasy land. that's my statement. host: steve, you are next. are you satisfied with the democratic field? i am.: yes, i plan on voting for bernie sanders. there are several. i like pete buttigieg. not just because of where they stand on the political spectrum,

but the caliber of people that they are. those people who are ready to make tough decisions, make tough decisions and bad times and perilous times. you have to look at that, too. what is the use of winning the white house if nothing changes? that berniee sanders, possibly pete the judge, would implement those changes, would fight for those changes right from the get-go. want to see real change and that is why both candidates appeal to you? >> yes, i don't want to see a moderate democrat come in -- don't get me wrong, i think that joe biden is a high-caliber person. but i think that he is to plugged into the system where we will go through four years and

things might get tweaked here and there, but there will be any fundamental changes. host: how do you respond to this ," "withe new york times doubts rising about joe biden's a multistateunt campaign and skepticism that people to judge of south bend, indiana can -- caller: i think that -- well, first of all, every one of those candidates would be a more viable candidate there who we have in the white house right now. that's obvious.

i think that as time goes on, the president -- i don't think it's a worry that any of these candidates could stand up to president trump. i think president trump is on about his 14th minute and he will be lucky if he even makes it to the elections. i don't agree with that statement. i think that everyone of those candidates would be a viable candidate and they could run against anybody that the republicans could put up there. ok.: more headlines from steve and -- more headlines from "politico."

host: that's the headline in "politico." i top of that, this headline this morning, we are asking you to dig deep -- "we are asking you to dig deep." "reaching out to weary donors to show support. some staff members sleeping at homes of volunteers, embracing criticism on chartered jets --

the money a look at on the democratic side. almostyer in the lead, 50 million. follow by bernie sanders, $28 million. mayor pete, $19 million. the former vice president with almost $16 million. democrats only this morning, how satisfied are you with the 2020 field. ken, aurora, illinois. caller: good morning, greta. good morning to c-span viewers. it's too early in the political race to be worrying about money issues. who is, you know, it's the horse

race. but the main factor, the most important thing is that president trump is going to self-destruct. he is shooting himself in the foot for months. you know? ukraine investigation is going to be his death now because he and his compatriots are so incompetent. and that is becoming more and more obvious to independent voters who are going to be the most important factor. quite a few of that, that, that voting block are going to be taking -- it's going to take a and get theate them information necessary out to

them. but once they start to get a thatre, a concept president trump has only been out for himself throughout his presidency and will continue to be and will drag the united allies,way from its away from economic prosperity in know, the, you independent voting block, he has an unshakable 30% to 40%. that is like having a whole demographic of people that are real-well, let's not be uncharitable, but proto-1930's

germans, so -- host: let me ask you about the field, though. the democratic field. do any of them? anybody in the field could be an acceptable and terrific commander and chief and chief executive. it doesn't really matter who comes to the four, because they all have more qualifications and more competency than donald trump has had or ever will have. ok.: referencedced -- ken the quinnipiac poll. inquiry, 55% said yes, 43% said no. it newspaper reports that 41% found that by a 49% to margin, independent voters said

the president should be impeached and removed from office, a dramatic 14 point shift over last week. state.e, in washington good morning to you. caller: good morning. one comment on what the gentleman just before me said. he is absolutely right. i don't believe that everybody running can be trump. because the republican party is not what it used to be. they are vicious and they will stop at nothing to demonize anyone in the front. just like they did to hillary clinton four years ago. they are doing it to the bidens and they will do it to the next one steps up. a like amy of klobuchar and i don't think she gets enough credit. she is more of a moderate democrat and she is not going to give everything away, but she is not going to leave the poorest

among us out to dry either. to fend for themselves. that is something i really believe in. as far as the joe biden being too old? no. joe biden only has integrity. so muchiden has integrity. you only have to listen to him to get that. i listen to fox news to get an isa of what everybody else listening to. when they get a democrat on there, they constantly interrupt him, they don't let him talk. the democrat sits there politely listening to the republican side. when it is the democrat's turn, he gets interrupted every few seconds by them, by whoever is announcing and whoever they have on to counteract that person.

so, people need to understand that it is not all fox news. you need to listen to other news outlets to get a clear picture of what's going on. trump is the most corrupt president we have ever had. host: which candidate in the field would make you less excited? caller: i like amy klobuchar. joe biden, also. host: i was asking about which you are least excited about. caller: least excited? i'm least excited about a live the -- elizabeth warren, believe it or not. she wants to give everything away. no government can run like that. let's don't be making promises that, you know, things like that have to be done slowly anyway. you cannot just boom, have it all. people should realize that. i want someone who is going to

attack the national debt. to do that, they are going to have to take some of those tax credits away from the multi-rich. more of your calls coming up, but more on the breaking news this morning about the isis leader being killed. the president tweeted last night "something very big has just happened." the white house announced shortly afterwards that the president would be delivering a statement at 9 a.m. eastern time . reports that a takenalue target had been out.

's

host: so, not from newsweek -- "newsweek" this morning. more coming up at 9 a.m. eastern time when the president speaks about this from the white house. we will bring you there when that happens. back to our conversation about satisfaction with the 2020 field. paul, connecticut, good morning to you. caller: good morning. ahead, paul. are you satisfied with the field? caller: i think we have quite a big field. i would like to see bernie sanders for president and elizabeth warren for vice president.

i believe that we should have universal health care. tax supported. particularly in this administration, with trump dropping taxes way down on the rich people, i think that if they paid their fair share it would go a long way towards this. i wouldn't mind paying some taxes just to get something for it. what we have now is very expensive, where people go to the emergency room when they are sick and that is an expensive way to get health care. to have preventative health care that is less expensive, that is money. hmos make it's cheaper to keep people healthy than to treat them when they get ill. host: raleigh, north carolina. bernie, are you satisfied with the democratic field? caller: let's start from the beginning and back up a little

bit. the reason why we have donald trump is the president is very simple. he touched upon something that happens to be true. what is that? rigged.em is it is against regular people and it is for corporations. trump was an alternative to everything and everyone that came before him. problem. is not the he is not the bad man. he may be a terrible whatever, but you are avoiding the issue. you have to look at who's running and there is only one person that is running that is for the people. who is not attached to wall street. to big pharma. to the military-industrial complex. and that person is bernard sanders. and if you cannot grasp that, understand that, you really have to read look at everything.

let me ask you this, why is it that the united states of america is the only civilized nation that doesn't guarantee health care is a human right to every individual? ,id you know that japan, china england, canada, i could go on and on. they do that. not because it's weird, but because it is the right thing to do. secondly, why is it that if you are an american citizen and you are working 40 hours or more per week, two or three jobs, how come you are living in poverty? you shouldn't be making starvation wages. you should be making a living wage. why is it that women don't get paid the same as men? all of these issues and many more are what bernie sanders is constantly trying to tackle and trying to stand up for regular

people. like the midwest, farmers, nurses. onlyo that's why there is one logical, saying, human, fantastic choice. that is the guy who has been saying the same thing over and over and over again. host: what about elizabeth warren? no, elizabeth warren, and i hope everyone is listening to this, elizabeth warren was a republican until she was 47. you cannot be. i could see being a republican until you are 13, 14. weird turnt's a around. her daughter is tied to all of .he big banks elizabeth warren has a fantastic beginning, when she opens up about how the big corporations and banks are against us and that's a terrible thing. then when she goes into private

rooms she votes with the banks and wall street. she's not good. joe biden is your typical run-of-the-mill neoliberal corporatist. i wish him well, but i don't know if he knows what world he is in. then you have all the others were tied to big corporations. oneie sanders is the only who is really a true mensch. you know what that means? a real man who is for the people. i will leave it there. let's show the viewers what elizabeth warren had to say to voters in virginia last week. [video clip] >> when i first started running, people said to me, i go back to washington and experts, also known as senators, would say to me that i saw you were out on the trail. what you are doing isn't going to work. it's too hard.

people do not want to hear plans. it sounds boring, it's complicated, it's not how you run. talk in generalities and smile more. it's true, it's what people told me. it's too hard. what you are asking the people is too hard. the first time i heard that, you know what i thought? what do you think they said to the abolitionists? right? it's too hard. what do you think they said just a little over 100 years ago to suffragettes? too hard, give up now. earlyid they say to the union organizers? too hard, give up now. what did they say to the foot soldiers in the civil rights movement? now.ard, give up

what were they saying a decade ago? to the lgbtq plus activists who wanted equal marriage? right? now.ard, give up .ut here's the thing they didn't give up. [cheers and applause] they got organized. built a grassroots movement. they persisted. changed the course of american history. moment in american history. our moment to dream big. to fight hard. and to win.

[cheers and applause] elizabeth warren in virginia, late last week, referencing when the majority leader, mitch mcconnell, was on the floor a few years ago, saying that she persisted, referring to elizabeth warren there. talking to democrats only this morning. do you like the field? do you like the prospects of one of these candidates beating president trump? tyrone, new york, what do you think? i like the prospect of the candidates running against trump. this is a field that is still making itself visible on who is going to be the front runner. i like the fact that we have the people who have compassion as their core moral boundary. i have complete confidence in the fact that i'm not going to have a thing for one of them has a foreign star, payoff of

foreign star, or do all of the other outrageous things that have happened. i think that donald trump is our,ng our laws and our, our constitution to its boundaries and saying listen, either we the people are going to stand up against someone who irresponsible and not really caring about our laws and constitution, or we are going to get run over and we won't have it anymore. yeah, i like our prospects. tyrone, who do you think is the best candidate to beat president trump in an election? caller: my heart is for elizabeth warren. i know bernie, joe biden, is more the one that will be able to go toe to toe with him.

a still are predominantly male predominate society. we have still got this white man glory going on with us where we don't think a woman could actually do it, because you know, we are still wired that way, a lot of us. not all of us, but a lot of us are still wired that way where a can'tdon't have a chance, do the job, and they shouldn't have the chance or do the job because they are a woman. host: all right. audrey, philadelphia. good morning to you. i'm happy with the field as long as bernie sanders is in it. he's the only candidate am really interested in. i supported him and 2016 and i

have been following for the past four years and he is continuing to do good things. his whole career has been about helping people. , we were told in 2016 and are being told now that we should vote for democrats and letter who, but i severely doubt becomesbernie sanders the nominee that the centrists and neoliberals will support him . or the mainstream media. he is being ignored. his best quotes are being attributed to other people, like elizabeth warren. he is being ignored in treated aptly. if you look back, wages have been stagnant for 40 years while prices have fun up and nobody, republican or democrat, has tried to help regular people, while sanders has been fighting for that for all these years. if you look at all of our presidents, you have had the right, centrists, far-right, but

when was the last time we had a real, honest progressive in this presidency? how much worse can it be than what has happened to us over the last 40 years? host: and if he is not the nominee, would you support whoever it is? i might support elizabeth warren, but i have more reservations about her. i think she is more hawkish and behind the scenes friendly to wall street, but the rest of them? i can't bring myself. the lesser of two evils for decades, this is where it has gotten us. the bottom of the barrel. host: what would you do? stay home or vote for trump? caller: what 89,000 people in michigan did, support the rest of the ticket and leave the presidential part frank -- blank. i'm fed up with the progressives who threaten -- with the

centrists who threaten the progressives. did you know that in 2018 nancy pelosi gave blue dog democrats control over dozens of races, but didn't do that at all for progressives? she has been insulting the squad, demeaning their supporters. i just would like to see the centrists and the media get behind progressivism a little bit. the people have not had true representation for decades and we need help. host: ok. talking to democrats only this morning, how satisfied are you with the 2020 field? includek's headlines this from "the new york times," "anxious democratic establishment asks is there anyone else"?

and in several newspapers, reporting a whisper campaign to recruit hillary clinton in 2020 hitting new heights. friday, politico reported senate democrats told hillary clinton that it was time to move on. how satisfied are you with this field? do you think that somebody or anybody in this field could beat president trump in a general election backup -- matchup? florida, good morning. caller: how are you doing? all, baghdadi, i don't think he's actually dead. it's just something for trump to tell us. my best candidate? kamala harris. prosecute this mess. ok, barney.

geneva, flint, michigan. hello to you. go ahead. i will support any democrat over donald trump. like bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. they sell people on high in the sky and that's not happening. we have to -- we have to pay taxes and professors. we have to lower the price of prescription drugs and fix obamacare. i am for a moderate democrat, for joe biden, right now, to get foreign policy into effect. the man that is in there now, he don't know what he's doing and he got -- he got people helping him to stay in their just so they can have the power. not the common sense. all right. let's listen to bernie sanders, who had a rally last weekend in

new york city. here is what he told voters there. [video clip] >> i am more than ready. [cheers and applause] more ready than ever. [cheers and applause] you the epicith struggle that we face today. [cheers and applause] i am more than ready to assume the office of president of the united states. [cheers and applause] i am more than ready to take on the greed and corruption of the corporate elites and their apologists.

[cheers and applause] tom more ready than ever help create a government based on the principles of justice, economic justice, racial justice, social justice, and environmental justice. to put it bluntly, i am back. the vermont senator there, last week in new york city. scott, minnesota. who is your candidate? like peteactually buttigieg. i see him as, obviously, rhodes scholar, very intelligent person , but every time i see him in debates, he's very measured, he has got intelligent answers and has fought through a a lot of this stuff. the fact that he is gay, a lot

of people think america isn't ready for it? i look at it and i say, grow up. gay people have existed throughout all time. this guy is a bright guy. he really talks well. i like the fact that he speaks seven languages. that certainly would be something to, for young people to look at and say, hey, america, we are pretty much, you know, we pretty much just speak one language in this guy, i think it would be great for foreign leaders, you know, that connection. this guy has been in the military. he has seen that side of it. being gay, i think, being of the outside, like a lot of americans knows what that feels like and it's transferable to thatinds of other issues people have and feel like they are on the outside. host: scott, what are you think

of the rest of the field? you think they could be president trump? we are going to have to. basically i'm looking at it as trump is a dangerous person, alienating, giving permission to bully, the racist comments, bad news. as far as the other candidates, i like a lot of them. i would have voted for burning last time. i did vote for hillary, but i really like bernie. this time i like buttigieg. i always liked joe biden, but he doesn't seem to be in the game. he seems kind of off. again, if i measure him against buttigieg, i like to judge -- buttigieg because all of the intangibles that he brings. host: have you given money to mayor pete?

not, i wanted to throw a couple of suggestions out there. one thing about the climate change, if i can have a second, we are really pushing that. when the republican say that it is a hoax and a hoax, the big issue here is there going to stonewall that, but the reality is that we know it is a pollutant, we know that people wear masks around the world when their cities get congested. we also know it is a finite resource. how would an intelligent person not want to pursue alternative forms of energy? is that your number one issue? number one issue is getting a decent human being in the white house that is going to represent america and its people and i really am concerned about the young people nowadays. what they have is a role model is no good. scott.ll right,

let's listen to the former vice president, joe biden he was at a rally in scranton, pennsylvania last week. biden. he was at a rally in scranton, pennsylvania last week. [video clip] americans -- >> americans are doing their part. working for americans. we don't deserve a department of education that works against public schools. we don't deserve a foreign policy based on lies, conspiracies, theories. [applause] most of all, we don't deserve a president that goes out of his way to make life in america harder, crueler, petty year. -- pettier. he forgot about the forgotten american.

the american middle class deserves the integrity they have to be reflected in their leaders. the challenges we face are serious. i am more optimistic than i was when i was elected as a 29-year-old kid. days to be17 eligible for my was elected. i was characterized as a young, idealistic guy who was optimistic. folks, we have to restore the back one of this nation. we have to remember who the hell we are. this is the united states of america. there's never, think about it. i am more optimistic than i have ever been in my career. productive most workers in the world. our workers are three times as productive as a matter of fact the mar in asia. we have more great research universities in pennsylvania

then all of the other rest of the world combined. every major life-changing thing has come out of a research university monetized by corporate america, coming out of the ones that you own. los alamos or any other place of the country. are in a position where we are the wealthiest country in the world, the wealthiest country in the history of the world. ryan god's name to we walk around with their heads down? we have the most powerful military in the history of the world, no hyperbole. we have led the world not just buthe example of our power, the power of our example. and it is being eroded. democrats only this morning, how satisfied are you with this field of candidates? our previous caller said he likes joe biden but doesn't feel that he is in it and he likes pete buttigieg. are is mayor pete at

university of chicago event. [video clip] >> we have to have real change. the failure of these systems now is what got us here. i guy like donald trump should not have been able to come within cheating systems -- cheating distance of the oval office. the fact that it is possible reflects the failure of our system to deliver for people. the failure of our system to really make everyday life better in america, which is why we need real changes. it's also the case that we need to heal. i'm talking about not just the need to end the trump presidency, but what it is going to be like the first they after the trump presidency. in the debate i asked voters to really picture this. not just savor the idea that he is thank god no longer in office. >> not even for a day? [laughter]

>> maybe for half a day. but none of the problems will have gone away. the problems he exploited to become president. they are not taking a break for impeachment or anything else. meanwhile, we will be even more torn up at politics than we are now. thanksgiving dinners will be a minefield. our communities will be that and pittedrayed against each other. a big part of the job of the presidency is to get people together across all of that. i'm not saying this in some sort of mealymouthed forget our differences and get along kind of way. but we have got to at least agree that we are part of the same country. the president, often through the least well documented functions of the presidency, the symbolic parts of the presidency, can uniquely help make that possible.

is toemise of my campaign enact bold reforms and do it in andy that can unify american majority which, contrary to a lot of the assumptions that i think democrats have had deemed -- time, if weus over have to cheese one or the other, we are screwed. host: we are asking democrats how you like the field. illinois.and park, good morning to you. caller: happy to be on, thank you for c-span. i will take any, any of the democratic candidates as president. why? they are compassionate. they are intelligent. and they understand how government works. they are not disruptors like we have in the president now, who doesn't really know much of anything. i think that biden is great.

i think elizabeth is great. i think that pete is great. which one of them do you think has the best chance of eating president trump in a general election matchup? themr: i believe any of do, i see the democrats as anti-trump. every president doesn't get everything that he or she wants. there will be a narrowing of their preferences. once they get into office, they have to deal with the rest of the congress to get anything done. i will sleep better once a democratic resident is in washington. host: ok, we will go to kathy, in keene, new hampshire. caller: hello, good morning. hello? host: go ahead. caller: i think we have a terrific slate of candidates. if you had asked me earlier this year, i would have thought i was

for clover star, -- amy klobuchar, but i'm strongly for pete buttigieg at this point. host: why? caller: i paid attention to him when he was running for dnc chair. i like that he states his views very clearly, they are extremely thought out and i have been able to see him at many events and he never dodges any questions at all. he doesn't just say what he thinks. -- say what he thinks the audience would be happy about. i think he is direct and intelligent and as scott called up a couple of callers ago, i like the fact that he is multilingual. that he has a worldview. that he has the experience of a veteran. aerall i think he is fantastic candidate. who wantsre for all

it? i'm hearing increasing pushback from people who are concerned that it seems the party is drifting towards medicare for all, college free for all, things like that. i think he's really building and i see that not just in the polls, but in canvassing and in going to events with other people that there is a lot of interest. host: who are you least excited about from the field? gabbard, but i wouldn't really consider her. i have a lot of respect for joe biden, but i feel like his time has come and gone. last time i wasn't really excited for anybody and at the last minute i voted for bernie. but i voted for hillary strongly in the general election. i like clover sure -- i like klobuchar. i think i would be willing to

vote for anybody, clearly i will vote for whoever the democratic candidate is and there is a lot of excitement here. so many people are just starting to pay attention and we are fortunate to have a strong field and i think we need to come together because trump poses such a significant threat to our democracy overall. to the world, actually. i think people will be coming together. i am pleased that pete buttigieg is running i'm glad to be supporting him. host: ok, philip, what do you think? all, i think of that c-span is the most unbiased of any of the news programs. people ask me which ones should i watch. . get confused watch c-span. they are right down the middle. ok, having said that, i wish they would get to the green jobs

. of course we have got tombstones of factories in the midwest. if they returned them to green jobs, that would be the key to winning the presidency. beennow, for years i have watching bernie sanders and his line has not changed since he started out. but his problem, like most of their problems, is how. can they anticipate republican attacks? bernie, he won't make it if they start attacking him on socialism and giveaways. the medicare for all, they don't defend it right. even warren doesn't defend it right. overall't tell you that your costs, the republicans are going to set your taxes are going to be raised. but they are not telling you that overall with your contributions, your co-pay, all

of that but together, you come out net less. ,he only ones i see out there the ones that stand up the most out of anybody besides buttigieg , and he knows all the subjects, amy klobuchar. she's middle of the road, she understands congress, and she has got grit. she is going to be able to withstand these attacks from republicans. she was out there in that snowstorm, you know? the harder you throw things at her, the harder she is going to fight. more of your calls this morning, but i wanted to let you know that in the papers this morning, "the washington post" featuring a forward that elijah cummings wrote before he passed away. "when people in the leadership

of the nation attack the courts, members of the congress, civil servants, and media, they are attacking the glue that holds our diverse nation together. when these attackers do so on the basis of factually unfounded opinion rather than verifiable evidence, they are engaged in demagoguery of the most dangerous sort -- you can read more of that if you go to today's "washington post." mary, richland, washington. good morning to you. caller: how are you?

i'm doing fine. who is your candidate? are you satisfied with the field? host: i like mr. biden -- caller: i like mr. biden, joe. they have smeared him and people are second-guessing him. i like the buttigieg, but i don't think that the american people are ready for mr. president and the first mr.. i'm not being smart. i really hope that there is a dark horse that appears. somebody that can take it and take us away from trump. i don't care for his politics. especially what he did in the middle east. father, mymy husband, they would be turning over in their graves. muchjust that there are so -- i definitely like bernie sanders, but i'm not a socialist.

this is a democratic america i have grown up in. i'm 62 years old and i don't want a socialist for a president. i don't want to stand in line. but the thing is, each and every one of these people, you know, they are trying, no matter who comes in, one thing i was going to say is that i have never listened to social media. i don't get my news from them. i love c-span. i wish people would quit paying attention to social media for their news. host: linda, york, pennsylvania. caller: can you hear me? host: we can, go ahead. host: so glad i got through -- caller: so glad i got through. saying i'megin by 73. i cannot afford a computer or a smartphone. therefore, i have very limited

access to the internet or the media. current candidates i really am getting behind from the very beginning. pete.y, truly like mayor i did contribute a small amount to his campaign. i like him because -- well, first because for so much racism that has been perpetuated by trump, but i am afraid of is that people are going to turn away from pete. because he is gay. that should not matter. do is listen to him. on the clip that you played a few minutes ago, he said that the thing to worry about is that one day after the election, when

trump loses, there is so much on ing that has to go this country. it's going to be a monumental job. president to take care of. but i am so, i'm just asking the american people to listen to pete. get behind him. if he doesn't make it as a nominee, i guess i would go with joe biden. but i truly, truly think that pete would be an excellent, excellent choice. i'm going to run so that i can get in lief and joe. let's start with ohio.

i'm a pretty big sanders supporter. i noticed a lot of people are afraid of the term socialist. they don't want a socialist president. we had one with roosevelt. he was very popular and brought in socialist programs that everybody loves. people don't understand that. they are afraid of the word because they have been poisoned by a capitalist society. i'm also just a cap -- i'm also a capitalist. it's not a choice about being this way or that way. you can have a mix. that is what we have had most of the time when we were most .uccessful i'm upset with some of the media coverage going on. you can see the push for the corporate candidates. it is sad to see that happen. c-span.nn, i love but cnn had a poll the other day that they never corrected.

the numbers were 69% for this and 36% for something else. that's 105%. that's not right. it's a mistake in the polling. they never even correct that it. part of the problem is they are not fact checking themselves enough when they make mistakes. people make mistakes. i understand it. you have to be an objective thinker. when you watch this stuff, i'm pretty liberal, but i'm objective. you can see in the long run their agenda. they are trying to push somebody else. i saw it last time when sanders was winning in the beginning and they downplayed it. they kept putting trump on there and giving trump all the free media and it was just wrong. i don't want to see it happen again. joe, do you like this field of candidates for the

democratic party question mark caller: it's -- party? caller: it's jim, actually. host: ok. caller: i'm concerned about the voters themselves. there is a generational divide between the younger and older african-americans. the older generation seems to be afraid to think outside the box. the difference that we need in evolution of a revolution. bernie sanders represents that. medicare, medicaid, public schools. fire departments, all of that. that's socialism. we already have it. we could benefit more from that through health care, education, things like that. the older generation of black people need to be thinking outside the box rather than being told what to think by the party machine. guest: ok, joe.

ed, florida. go ahead caller:. good morning. -- go ahead. caller: i would support any democratic candidate in the running record out. we need to get to trump. i've been a supporter bernie for a long time. i do think that the best ticket would be a biden elizabeth warren ticket. would be terrific, to have a socialist in the white house. bernie in particular, he has got his own problems, unfortunately. coming up next, are sunday roundtable here on c-span with democratic and republican pollsters discussing campaign 2020 and the impeachment inquiry. later on, the center for new american security on reports

that the isis leader has been killed. we will hear from president trump at 9:00 a.m. eastern. all that coming up on "washington journal." ♪ >> tonight on q&a, wall street trader turned photojournalist arnadi on-- in plight of those living

industrial america. ofher intelligence just kind came right through. hour, andor about an she told me her life. everything cliche of wrong that can happen to somebody. what illy i asked her ask everyone i photograph, how do you want me to describe you? back, as what i am, a prostitute, a mother of six, and a child of god. sunday night on c-span's q&a. today on american history tv, at 6:00 p.m. eastern, john lindberg on his time as a hostage in iran. >> what says in your culture that permits you to hold a guest

against his will? >> at 8:00 :00 on the presidency, ronald reagan's white house political affairs director and historian craig shelley on reagan's campaign for the white house. >> reagan claims up in new hampshire. o-one, and it is a good thing he wins by such a margin. we already spent most of our cash. monday night on the communicators. >> when it comes to facebook, the ftc recently fined that company. how did you come up with $5 billion? where does that money go? >> the money goes to the u.s. treasury. in terms of the monetary fine,

it is only one aspect of the relief we obtained from facebook. $5 billion civil penalty, but also injunctive relief that constrains the way facebook can handle consumer data going forward. >> watch our interview monday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with our political roundtable. , democraticn here pollster, working for the booker campaign and worked for the obama campaign 2008 feet, mcguire -- 2008. mcguire, a republican pollster who worked for the trump campaign to let me begin with the quinnipiac poll.

55% of those polled support the impeachment inquiry of president trump. 43% said no. when they talked to independents, they saw the number jumpe. this is a dramatic 14 point shift over just the last week. you are president trump's pollster. saying. let's say you are. you come to him with these numbers, what advice do you give him? guest: i don't know. i don't know if it would matter. he seems to move to the beat of his own drum. nothing i see him doing is coming from the advice of consultants or people that are

trying to take more traditional ways of winning campaigns. he seems to be doing his own thing. i don't know if it matters what anyone tells him. we are seeing the same types of numbers. we are doing daily tracking on the views on impeachment. we are not saying that big of a jump. the numbers do not look great for where this is heading. i think you see with republicans they kind of know this. the white house seems to think their best approach is to attack the process versus the facts. let's go after the process and make this seem as horrible as possible to make us look better. hypothetical, you are working for one of these democratic candidates, what should they do? guest: really when i look at those numbers, the impeachment numbers, it is kind of just matching up with the

president's approval rating for his job. i think these numbers, like you said this is a big jump from independents. take a look at who are these people that were pulled. a lot of these samples that are being polled, they lean more partisan. when we take a look at more gallup hass, i think 38% of people so identify as independents. these numbers do matchup with the presidents job approval numbers. host: what does that mean for you polling for the rnc? give us the lay of the land for this race. stuck the president has between the low to mid 40's of

approval. that is not changed much. basically this whole time since the 2016 election, we have bounced from witchhunt to witchhunt on the democrat side looking for something that will stick. that has not happened. democrats have their plans, and they will keep to do this same thing. we have some things that are hitting slightly. the progressive democratic voters in the primary, but not the rest of the country. we do see some changes, but i don't think this hits as hard as a lot of democratic pollsters want it to. host: would you agree with that? tracking tove been the beginning of this on

september 23. line, you havel a point or two here or there. that is the case going back to 2016. it is hard to imagine anything will actually change those numbers. fanbase, and that is not going to change. the odds of him winning the popular vote seems close to zero. it is going to come down to wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania. and if story. i feel bad for those voters in those states. nobody is good to be left alone. can the democrats win those three states? if they can, whoever is the nominee will win. if they cannot, trump will win the election. host: why those three states? caller: there are not many states from our viewpoint that clinton won that trump can win.

maybe new hampshire. maybe. there is not much growth potential for trump. he could lose one of those states. if he loses all three, there is no math that gets them back to the 270 that he needs. same thing for the democrats. you just have to win those states. stop worrying about arizona, florida, north carolina. that is gravy. that is just spiking the football. we have to get to the end zone first. we have to get those three rust belt, midwestern states. host: how do you appeal to those voters? wisconsin,sylvania, michigan, that is a lot of blue-collar workers. these are people donald trump talks about a lot. they have been left behind by the democratic party. for years they voted straight democratic ticket.

they were not talked to. issues, but they were not talking about jobs and providing and making sure families could grow their income and businesses. trump started talking about that and talking to those voters. we are looking at bringing call pennsylvania, a lot of blue-collar voters. there are growing jobs there. michigan and wisconsin, these are hard-working workers that understand trump. we saw voters moved from the democratic side to the president's side in 2016. now we need to hang onto those votes. host: is it difficult for democrats to make an argument in those states when the economy is doing well and you have 50 year historic unemployment? yes and no. obviously we did a terrible job of it in 2016, or we would have

won those states. i don't think we have quite found the right way to talk to these voters. we do a good job of talking down to voters. you are voting against your interests. banishedthat should be from the democratic party. just move along. there is a lot that democrats can point to that what trump is doing is talking but not actually doing anything that is helping. we are not seeing a lot of job growth in the areas that are hurting. hurtingff war is farmers, manufacturing areas. coal is not coming back. this race is going to be about trump. i don't think there is any way around that. if we could get past that, democrats need to talk about the is what we want to ge

economy to be, looking forward, not looking backwards. viewerswant to get our involved in the conversation. republicans (202) 748-8001. democrats (202) 748-8000. independents (202) 748-8002. you can also text us with your first name, city, and state at (202) 748-8003. mcguire, the president, or are either voting for him against him this race seems to be. what do you do with that? guest: i enjoy that. i think that is a good place for republicans to be an. we have a lot of the congressman's. looking at african-american unemployment, september is the lowest it has ever been. -- we have a lot of accomplishments. looking at african-american

unemployment, september is the lowest it has ever been. when i take a look at where trump stands against a generic ballot, the generic performs a bit better, but remember this is head-to-head race. it is going to be donald trump against elizabeth warren or pete buttigieg or one of the other candidates. that is when we see what donaldd in 2016 when trump and hillary clinton went head-to-head. we talked about doing things differently. that is what the president has done. he talks about promises made, promises kept. when we talk about looking at terrace and china, the president said he was going to do things differently. he said he was going to

challenge china and take time and be tough. that is why his support has held among republicans. support for the present among republicans. people understand what the president is trying to accomplish is different. host: where do you see vulnerabilities for the president? with which voters? guest: we can take a look at the 2018 cycle. turnout was the highest it has ever been, something that we watched and monitored the entire time. turnout in texas, first predictions were looking at 5.5 million, and they ended up with 8 million voters in texas. making sure the republican party is energizing our own voters. you do see that in a trump election. republican voters came out.

we need to encourage republican voters to turn out for the president. host: where do you see vulnerabilities? guest: one thing 2018 showed us is suburban districts, republicans lost a number of seats. there needs to be a lot of work done there. i think the republican national committee is spending a lot of time there, working with women, working with suburban communities that they did not feel they appreciated how the president spoke about certain issues. that was the response. let's look at something different. once the president continues his efforts to help this country, you might not fully agree with how he speaks, but he is getting things done. is doing better, and that is what matters. host: which one of these democratic candidates appeals best to suburban voters? guest: we are working for one,

but fall caveat, i am not here as part of the campaign. this is why we see so many candidates on the democratic side, and now there has been a little handwringing over the last few days. biden's fundraising is not there, so they are calling in a super pac to help. that is not a great sign. ders are a lot more to the left than other candidates. sanders is like donald trump, where he has his support, and it is hard to see him going higher or lower. is that 20% enough to win? you have buttigieg, who is younger, gay. people are like, i'm not sure if america is ready for that. this is what democrats do. we worry. i don't think there is a perfect

unicorn candidate. a lot of this for the democrats is going to come down to this is going to be a team. democrats have to energize the base, turn out african-american, inpanic, voters of color places like milwaukee, detroit, and pittsburgh. have to get those numbers up. clinton did not do that. we have to go after the suburban voter, especially suburban women. get them to stay with the democrats as we did in the 2018 cycle. it is hard for me to point to one candidate and say that is the one that does it. i can point to a pair and say that is a great team. host: which pair? guest: you are telling me here. basically, i am going to not answer your question. whoever gets the nomination, you

need to look at who you need to bring in. the nomination, i think booker would be a great pairing. if it is biden, i think he needs kamala harris. and not to say, biden is not getting support from the african-american community, but someone who can go in and energize the turnout. hankin is a democratic pollster and strategist who wants to stay employed by the booker campaign so dodging this a little bit. caller: good morning. it's funny that the republican strategist, how he talks about, i think he is correct. let me say, i have been a

democrat since clinton, but i'm in construction. i'm in the trade unions. now the republican person said he talked about how people lean towards trump because he spoke about bringing jobs back from china and stop the flow of illegal immigrants. obviously people want the higher-paying manufacturing jobs back from china. whether that will ever happen is the point. this is a very important thing that i don't think the democrats really address. the republican president spoke directly about that. that is a huge issue. as far as the democrats, i thi nk, just for me, i'm an anti-war person.

this whole issue with syria, i have not heard any democrats say let's get the troops out of syria. 100% rightmp is about syria. i'm very left wing. i am antiwar. it has been a big issue for me. now we have a candidate who is egree,trating, to a d obviously not fully. when i think of democratic candidates, i think of tulsi gabbard, bernie sanders, and maybe even elizabeth warren for her prior work against the wall street banks. host: thank you. guest: we do here this quite a bit. that is exactly the fact that we understand that we need to focus on america first. that is one of the big differences.

when we talk about china, china has been brutal to america, especially intellectual property. that is one thing we need to adjust. it is great to hear that hard-working people understand this, and there are efforts being done. president'sbout the crossover on trade when he talks about being against nafta as he did in 2016 and his crossover appeal on ending these endless wars? a weirdt is like alternate universe where now democrats are appropriate and republicans are left. our economy has been shifting and changing dramatically over the past 10 to 20 years. it is happening everywhere. you see it in the u.k. with brexit and germany and france

with afd in germany and marine le pen in france. you have jobs that are no longer as big a part of the economy as they used to be, a lot of manufacturing and coal. these things are shifting. we are moving away from a time when jobs like that where providing a great -- were providing a great middle-class life in certain areas. that is very scary and disheartening and tough. and talk toin there those people and connect with them and say we understand what you are going through and do something about it? angle thatmp took an i am not going to agree with, but he spoke to it directly and clearly connected with people. that is what democrats did not do well. they did not say, this is how we see you fitting into this new

world. if you are 55 and 10 years from retirement, you are not going to learn to become a programmer. this is not going to happen. we did a bad job of making that connection, whereas donald trump did a good job. i'm not saying i agree with his methods or solution, but he spoke to it. host: chris, you are next. caller: i always think the polls are mixed. biden's video came out before donald trump spoke to the ukrainian president. i think this is starting to come out. obama's plumbers are going to be far worse than anything nixon or clinton had. people want government to babysit them. they are going to vote for the democratic party. manchinnly someone like

is a viable candidate to beat trump. host: what do you think about that, only mansion? guest: sure, some conspiracy theories in there that i'm not sure what they mean. manchin is the only viable candidate who could win to the level that he does in west virginia that has clearly made moved away from democrats. that is the epicenter of the economy moving away from what they are based on. he would not win a democratic primary on the presidential level. he is not going to do well in california, massachusetts, new york, which is fine. we need to be a big tent. we need to have as many different types of members as possible. manchin can be a complete pain in the but and vote against

where democrats want him to become that is fine because we are a big tent. we cannot just be one thing. it is important to have people in the party and people like bernie sanders and elizabeth warren and the party because we need that perspective. i think he is a great candidate for west virginia. caller: hi, greta. hankin, i think i heard you said earlier you are not sure how your party would message the three key states. i have an idea, something simple like reagan. are you any better off? on the stump, i hear him say there are 10,000 new manufacturing plants up. where are those? t.0 miles of wall was buil where? guest: thank you.

you are hired. it is simple, but it's true. they are saying things, and there is actually doing things. what has actually happened? it is the are you better off than you were four years ago? if the answer is yes, they will likely vote trump. if the answer is no, they will likely vote democratic. who democrats need to go after to win those suburban voters, it is good to be a more targeted message. it is going to be a little less about manufacturing and a little less about steel tariffs that don't hit home with suburban voters as much as rural voters depending on the area you are in. it is about winning this thing. we are going to have to be targeted and precise. targeting, and

we have to fix that real quick. host: what about the money disparity between the president and all democratic candidates? guest: i am less concerned about that because if you pool all the money from the democrats, it is still less, but it is not a huge amount. i have no doubt that whoever is the nominee is going to be fully funded. we have to spend in three states. fund those things twice over. guest: i think seeing the amount of money the trump campaign has raised is great. this money is being raised and spent. this is what the rnc does now. the trump campaign announced reelection right after inauguration and got right to work. you see these campaigners in the field out there working and building the digital and data

infrastructure, something the trump campaign does a phenomenal job at. when he says, you are not worried about the differential, that money the rnc is raising is being spent and being used, which is laying the groundwork to hold strong in the states. when you say republicans need to play defense, we are well on our way to doing that. i think that really shows how many voters are trump voters. these people are excited. they are excited to come out and support their president. people like to talk about donated to campaigns. they tell their friends and family members. thanksgiving, they will be telling friends and family that they donated. that is something you saw in the obama reelection. people getting excited.

you are seeing that now. i think that is great to see from the republican side. once again, democrats, there is still a pretty big field. the dnc tries to narrow it down, and they are still shooting at each other. the president coming out at 9:00 a.m. this morning, expected to make a statement about the killing of the isis leader. what do you suspect you will see in the polls when you go out into the field of this leader who has been trailed, who the u.s. and others have tried to kill for four to five years? ine a look at the headline 2011, osama bin laden dead, barack obama given reelection boost. sawt: in that election, you

obama saying osama bin laden is dead. big jump in the polls. i think you are going to see the president today talking about this plan they have had and how it has been executed and will talk about our service members that contributed to this and the work we have done in the middle east and how this fits in well. moving out of the area. host: i just want to show for our viewers, some are making note this morning a president trump's tweet in 2012 saying, stop congratulating obama for killing bin laden, the navy laden.illed bin guest: with the president, there is always a treat that says the

exact opposite of what he is saying now. his numbers are pretty steady. i would be shocked to see any kind of bump. laden was a household name, and i cannot even tell you the name of the isis leader. that is great news, but i don't think people are going to say that changes my opinion. we were joking about this before the show. tomorrow, there is going to be something different. tuesday, there will be something different. the new cycle tends to last 12 hours. in thef you had a poll field right now, you would see a little bump. gene, republican. caller: good morning. i just like to say that this poll business, it is useless. eopleannot take 1500 p

and say they speak for the whole country. it is like reading the bible. you find something that you don't like. you either immediately dismiss it or you start interpreting in a way that is going to be satisfying to you. i have no confidence in polls whatsoever. i don't know where they get these people. 1500 people, are they all democrats? are they all republicans? host: let's have them talk about the work they do and why you do it. guest: the math says that is patently untrue. collecting information from people, if you do the job well, you are going to get a representative sample. that gives you an idea of what people are thinking. host: in that period of time. guest: in that period of time.

firm, thereeputable should be confidence those numbers are somewhat approximate of what people are thinking. it comes down to whether you are talking to the right people. no reputable firm is going to just talk to 1500 democrats and say this is representative. one of the problems we had in 2016 in states like wisconsin were there were a lot of voters who showed up that we did not expect. in that sense we were not talking to the right voters. state senateo in districts where there were 6000 voters who had not voted since the 1990's who invariably voted for donald trump. it is a little bit of a needle in a haystack for us to find these people. analysis and the what you read into the numbers, that is a human element. you have to take who that person

is and who that firm is, are they putting their point out there? you can always cherry pick numbers. how obscure is the group that people are talking about? if someone goes out and says if you hear from democrats who are left-handed who vote in years but not even years and drive a red car, donald's numbers are only a 5%, that makes no sense. groups, they are usually really cherry picking. guest: the caller has a good point. there is a reason to not believe a lot of polls. a lot of it has been building up from the 2016 cycle. there were a lot of bad polls. that was a problem. that losesee firms clout when you are that far off.

it comes down to building out are you talking to that sample? being able to actually identify likely voters. are still using random digit dialing. it is pretty bizarre. most reputable firms are using registration based sampling and predictive analytics to be able to predict how likely someone is to vote. that is really important. being able to understand who is a likely voter, that is what you need to know. if we are talking the reelection of president trump, we want to make sure we are talking to people who are going to be voting. host: are those voters that folks were not expecting to turn out, are they now have -- are they now part of the polls?

guest: they are part of everyone's polls. in the past they would be dead weight. you would not want to spend the resources. polls are expensive. if you are collecting good data, it is expensive and exhaustive. we have to pay attention to these lower turnout groups, both republicans and democrats, because of with ease of voting laws, more people can vote early. turnout is going up. i think we will see high turnout once again in this election. people are excited on both sides. being able to understand that is going to deliver some really good polls that are going to be accurate. most people see public polls. that is not what campaigns are run on. campaigns are run on internal polls. it is that strategy side of

things. that is what is important to us. host: let's go to michigan. how did you vote in 2016? caller: i voted democrat. i am an independent. in 2007, we had the great recession. wages were at x. $10 less19, i'm making than what i was making in 2007. i am a uaw worker. the cut in pay and the strike and everything else, you have a bump in some manufacturing but not all manufacturing. there are more jobs created. yes, but not at a living wage. an individual cannot survive on the wage right now.

hour, you cannot take care of your family. a5 i believe was and is living wage. the question is, if you look at individuals that are not making that wage and those who are and above, which candidate is going to be better? right now bernie sanders talks good. biden is a better choice for an individual that can beat trump. trump said there are more jobs, but there are not more jobs that are living wage. host: we take your point. guest: the point is there are more jobs. there are more jobs. this idea that we need $15 an hour is just a number that was picked. once you cross into that level, you are looking at automation issues that come into play.

that is going to reduce the number of jobs. if you set the minimum wage at $15 an hour, you are going to look at a lot of jobs that young people start out working at mcdonald's, and those jobs are not going to be available. we have our racing mcdonald's put in automation to take your order. now you are reducing jobs. at some point there are more people getting paid at a higher rate. i think that is good. that will happen with growth for the economy and continued consumer confidence based on president trump's plan and not just setting a line and saying here is what everyone needs to be paid. guest: we are not economists. there is no data in cities that have moved up to $15 minimum wage that shows this has had an

adverse effect. the automation is coming regardless of whether you want it or not. a company like mcdonald's is not holding off on automated restaurants out of the goodness of their hearts to keep people employed. they have not figured it out yet. that creates jobs, but it creates different jobs. you have companies that are creating the ai and other kinds of technology, which is obviously very different from someone who is working a minimum wage job. this goes back to the point earlier where democrats need to figure out a way to talk about this. what is the economy we want? we have no answer to the republican trickle-down or reduce all taxes, cut regulation, and let the free market flourish. we have no good answer to that it we attack -- that.

we attack rich people. there are valid points in that. we do it in an angry way so that republicans can say they hate success, which is not winning over people. the frustration on my side is this is not new. this is 20 years of not being able to figure this out. what do democrats want? what do we view the future of the economy to be? how do people fit into that so that we can win these elections and move forward? host: eleanor in michigan, democratic caller. guest: good morning. for the democratic strategist, you could try fairness as an argument and break it down for people. when they hear the ceo of a health insurance company makes $19 million a year, that is nice, but if you tell them based on a 40 hour work week that he

maybeing $10,000 an hour, then they conclude into what you are talking about. think democrats will do well rhetoric fromumps what is happening on the ground. we are bringing the troops home? no, you are moving the troops around the middle east. they are still there. the jobs are coming back. plants closing, laying off workers, manufacturing at its lowest point since the great recession. black unemployment, nobody was hit harder by the great recession than black people. barackhed nancy and try to save our lives, save the auto companies. what has trump done to bring

down black unemployment? guest: african-american unemployment is the lowest it has ever been in the history of this country. i think it is due to making sure the economy has the funds to run, making sure there is consumer confidence in the economy, and making sure we are renegotiating our trade deals to make sure we have products to buy and sell across the economy. i think president trump has done a good job at that. inking at the numbers come september, african-american unemployment was at 5.5%, which is the lowest it has been. i think the proof is in the numbers. host: let me go to clay, republican in louisiana. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

m not onlyke to say i' a senior, i am a super senior. i think our segment of the population is growing faster than suburban females. we go out to vote. i watched some of the democratic debates, objectively speaking, i might addd. -- add. i can understand why the democrats are pinning their hopes on trying to impeach donald trump. that is probably their only hope. from what i have seen, known of these people are going to come close to debating trump and defeating trump in the election. but this isagree, again my big concern for democrats. everything on paper says trump should not win this reelection. host: when you say everything on

paper. guest: he has a tough time going over 42%. you see african-americans are voting 90% for whoever is the democratic candidate. you see where the population growth is. i can chart out why trump is going to lose this election in a heartbeat. in 2016, we saw the same thing. almost too much comfort on the democratic side. we've got this. there is no way he is going to win. we have to go into this election, assuming he is going to win, what can we do to make sure that is not going to happen? we have to win these three states. we have to do whatever we can to win these states. don't even worry about the other states. triple fund these three states. any money left over, go somewhere else.

the new york times had a great article last sunday about the advantage the republican campaigns had in digital marketing. as someone who worked on the obama campaign, that was our main advantage, a once-in-a-lifetime candidate, how to reach people digital at the time. somehow we have stagnated. we are still putting millions of dollars on tv ads that are going nowhere, whereas republicans are eating our lunch. republicans have been spending millions of dollars on facebook and twitter, instagram. we are seeing the numbers, they are being affected. on our side, we are not catching up. host: steve, independent. caller: how are you doing, greta? host: good. caller: i want to get back to the caller that mentioned living

wage. a nationwide $15 an hour minimum wage is going to be an enemy of small business. obamacare was the enemy of small business. i know small business been. it is a losing deal. pany's first obligation is to the shareholders and the owner and his family. we have to make a living to stay alive. that when it comes to november next year, with him throw up a big electoral college map and throw the blue and the red. i have often said that the democrats have five major problems. you have already mentioned three. wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, and i am going to throw in ohio and florida. you never know what virginia or north carolina are going to do.

it is tricky with them. all the people -- i am an independent. i voted for darrell castle last time. when it comes to election day next november, no republican is going to change their mind about voting because some democrat says trump is a bad man. it is just noise. focus on that electoral college map and those states. standpoint, did in 2016 when hillary clinton made her negative points about coal? i will let you speak to it. thanks. guest: i think calling that a strategy is not the word i would use. a terrible statement to make.

i could make the argument that if you look at the larger thing she was saying, but clearly there was a snippet that was terrible. no doubt about it. i don't think that is what lost her ohio. that did not help, but that is not why clinton did not win ohio. there was a lot more going on. this is not just democrats. all politicians have to be careful of the snippet. when you are making your larger point, make sure there is not one sentence that make you look terrible. i did not build that. oft was an in artful way saying the larger point. you are not changing their opinion on trump. you don't have to show that he is a bad person. there is no middle of the road on trump. and in't talk to voters, am up in the air on him.

you either love him or hate him. there is no one who is indifferent. guest: as that plays out across the country, as the electoral college plays out, i find it interesting how democrats are pushing the popular vote idea. hillary won the popular vote. that is not what decides presidential elections. for hillary to still be talking about it now, i think it is really disingenuous. the campai was a smart campaigng. they knew it was the electoral college. for them to go back and say the el toro college is not meaningful -- the electoral college is not meaningful, that is just scoring points with their base. when we talk about democrats, they are being held up by sticking with this primary

democrat conversation in this echo chamber talking about these left-wing progressive things, which make it tough for a moderate democrat to break through. thelma, democratic caller. hi. caller: can you hear me. host: yes, we can. caller: my name is thelma. i am calling to talk about a black agenda. i don't mean people of color. i mean ados. it is american descendents of slavery. we are out here networking. we are talking about the reasons ados people are in the condition they are in now. the reason is because of targeted race programs or conditions. i know the democrats have tried i've always, but

voted democratic. i am 66 years old. i will not vote for the democrat for president without a black agenda. i know you are trying to ignore us. you don't accept what we are saying. the only thing i have to say to democrats, good luck in the election without negroes. it is not about president trump. we are not out here saying we are going to vote for democrats just to get rid of trump. has our best trump interest in mind. i know they say talk about black unemployment, but i don't think he even really cares about black unemployment. it is just something to say. host: what about the argument that some republicans have made, and we have heard it from some callers, that democrats take the

african-american vote for granted? guest: sure, we have. and we continue to do that. the base voter, black, brown, white, purple, gets a lot of attention in the primaries. in the general, it turns to the voter in the middle. we are seeing this now, that gets a little annoying if you are in that base voter group. this is clearly one of the pieces that hurt clinton in 2016 down in saw turnout milwaukee, detroit, etc. someone needs to be able to go in and talk to voters in urban areas, talk to african-american and hispanic voters and turn them out. that is the way the mathworks. candidate isif any

going to make the last caller happy, but we at least need somebody to go into have a conversation. that is something we failed in 2016. guest: trump, when you talk about our base of voters, rural voters. trump does not ignore them. look at all of these rallies. they are in rural america. he is out there speaking to them. i think that is amazing to see that instead of sticking to the big areas where there are large populations, trump is able to bring tens of thousands of people together for rallies in rural america. looking at our people that we have counted on for votes, thatg trump still engaging in making sure that as well these urban areas and manufacturing areas, we are out talking to people there as well.

liff, pennsylvania, republican. caller: i wanted to say that when i was a young man during the watergate hearings, i stayed up. they started at midnight on the television. in theo get up at 5:30 morning, but i wanted to be there to see what was going on where they were trying to go after the president of the united states. going after him. i am a republican for maybe the last six years and in spirit for maybe the last 30 years. see, when you're going after the president of the united states, it is reprehensible. it is just wrong. i don't know how you feel about it. see what is going

on. if there is anything secret, you block that out or go private for that. guest's opinion on that. host: this will have to be the final thought. guest: we are getting to the graham-mcconnell resolution. we afforded president clinton all these measures when going to the impeachment inquiry at that point. house democrats should be doing the same. we are talking about making sure the president's counsel can be there and that republicans can be there. subpoenas, minority leaders should be on the call. if democrats are going to do this, let's do this the correct way. guest: this is just the biggest load of bs, and clearly it is working on voters. saying this is what happened

with clinton or nixon, this is not apples to apples. what happened with both of those is there was an independent counsel during the investigation behind closed doors in private, and then it went to the impeachment hearings. this is the fact-finding. this is not the impeachment trial. this is exactly the way trials work. this is getting evidence. this needs to be done behind closed doors so people are not grandstanding in front of the cameras, just like trey gowdy did who ran the benghazi hearings. republicans are being disingenuous on this. sadly it is clearly working. host: we will have to leave it there. for theyou both conversation this morning. guest: thanks for having us. on thee are waiting president. he will be addressing the nation at the top of the hour. after the president speaks, we are expecting him to talk about the killing of the isis leader,

we will be talking with nicholas hiras. we will talk about what the president just [no audio]

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[no audio] >> you are looking at a live shot from the diplomatic room of the white house. we are expecting the president and a minute to come out and address a news report that the military has believed to have

killed the top isis leader. we will continue to watch now.

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>> we are just moments away from president trump coming to the podium in the diplomatic room to talk about the believed killing of the isis leader. we have with us at the table nicolas who is the program will chat with him while

we are waiting first the president to make his way to the podium. let's begin with the news, what do you make of the killing of this isis leader? guest: abu bakr al-baghdadi is the chief of isis. he is a longtime terrorist mastermind. the al qaeda iraq organization and has been a longtime enemy of the u.s. and its allies. this rate against him and the confirmation that it is him that was killed in the raid would be a big blow to isis, but the organization will continue to present a threat in the middle east and abroad because of the extent of the attack network as broad as europe. host: where do we believe he was killed? nicholas: in a small village in northwest syria close to the turkish border. this is known as a longtime

smuggling route into and out of turkey and is controlled by various factions of the syrian rebels, many of which are tied to the al qaeda. host: how did he get there the you think? -- do you think? what does that say about who might have known where he was? do you think he was there this whole time? nicholas: there is a delicate dance between the u.s. and turkey. the turks have said that abu bakr al-baghdadi and his family were in transit and had only been in that part of syria for 48 hours which means he went several hundred kilometers all the way to northwest syria. the u.s., iraqis, and our local partners that we work with a northern syria are saying there has been a multi-month process of investigating where abu bakr al-baghdadi was. it was the culmination of a series of rating -- rates i'm --

his supporters that gave the intelligence that he had been sitting in this part of northern syria for several months. this is an important point that needs to be discovered by the u.s.. if abu bakr al-baghdadi has been sitting in a safe house near the turkish border, how could turkish intelligence not have known he was there? host: what is the importance of that? nicholas: it would be a bombshell for the u.s. turkey relationship. severeis under bipartisan fire in the u.s. and globally for its invasion of northeastern syria which has led to hundreds of thousands of people being displaced from their homes and over 200 civilians being killed. the invasion has threatened counter isis fight we have been waiting with our local partners like the syrian democratic forces coalition. that are credible concerns war crimes and potential ethnic cleansing of syrian kurds are

being done by turkish backed forces. this would be a massive blow to turkey's attempt to recuperate its losses it suffered over the last two weeks in terms of global opinion. away fromnts president trump addressing the nation from the white house on the news that the united states and its special operations rate has killed a top isis leader. we will talk to nicolas heras until we see the president come out. detonated aadi suicide vest before he could be killed by u.s. special operations. what does that say to his followers? nicholas: it is a massive symbol. he is trying to say he is not osama bin laden. osama bin laden was captured, executed, and put the burial at sea under islamic rights. abu bakr al-baghdadi is sending a grittier and potentially more significant symbol.

which is, you won't get me alive. and all of my followers don't kneel, die fighting. host: how many followers are there of al-baghdadi and isis in general? >> isis is a global organization composed of several local affiliates. ande are affiliates in iraq syria, yemen, afghanistan, pakistan, western africa, southeast asia. isis has an attack network into europe. there may be more than 70,000 with theters globally largest concentration being in syria and iraq, anywhere from 20 to 30,000 fighters. perhaps hundreds if not thousands of operatives in europe. host: who will take over for al-baghdadi? nicholas: most likely what will ispen is because isis composed of iraqi figures,

another iraqi who comes back from the owes -- old days of al qaeda will assume ownership. raised itself from iraq and created this would be caliph that in the middle east, increasingly it is the messaging power of isis. isis as a brand can impact people globally. they represent a do-it-yourself type of jihad. organization with a strong command-and-control of leadership that also leaderless. that makes it very difficult to counter. host: what does this say about the president's decision just weeks ago to withdraw u.s. troops from syria? nicholas: i would give president trump the benefit of the doubt on this. what it shows is that so long as we have strong partnerships, whether with state actors like iraq or nonstate actors such as the syrian democratic forces

theition we can develop intelligence necessary to act decisively, which we did with our forces. the challenge is if the u.s. withdraws fully from syria, but it does not look like it will, but with reduced presidents -- reduced presence how do we maintain the confidence of our partners. ? host: i just saw the press get a one minute warning. back bring you bracken -- into the room as we wait for president trump.

pres. trump: last night the united states brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice. is dead.al-baghdadi he was the founder and leader of isis. the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world. the united states has been searching for al-baghdadi for many years.