according to the constitution walls so help you god? >> since the president was sworn into office, there was a desire to see him removed. >> the impeachment of president live, and-span two, follow the process on the man and c-span.org and listen on the go using the free c-span radio at. c-span, your unfiltered view of government, created by cable in 1979 and brought to you today by our television provider. is mark from the trump 2020 campaign serves as their strategic communications director. good morning. >> good morning. >> we've been hearing about the

democratic process play out but as far as specifically what happens for the president what is expectd in iowa today? >> well clearly the president will be renominated by the caucuses here in iowa. but what we're doing is kind of lifting the lid a little and giving folks a peak at the machine that we have built that's going to reelect president trump. we have 80 surrogates here including members of the president's family, cabinet secretaries, former cabinet secretaries as well as key campaign people. we're fanning out across the state today. we'll make sure that not only do folks get the message that the president wants to deliver but they stay fired up. because the real fight is in november. >> we see the surrogates. we saw the president campaign in iowa. so what level of concern are you to possibly losing iowa? is and is that part of the strategy? >> there's absolutely no concern that we're going to lose iowa. this is more of a test run just testing our systems making sure that we're not going to make

the mistake that the clinton pa made during 2016. we're going to be in the states we need to be in. you saw the energy when the president held a rally here. the vice president did a bus tour across the state. and when i look at what i see happening on the other side president trump had longer lines for the concession stand than most democrats do at their main event. so there's no question that iowa is going to be firmly in president trump's column in november. >> speaking of doll lums, it's york who wrote a recent column about the president's efforts. given his success in the 2016 race it's easy to forget that he started out to losing to ted cruz. he wants to make up for that. more importantly he wants to cement support plus take advantage of the increased intensity among support of republicans who believes the president has been treated unfairly by democrats in washington. >> i think he says it very well. again, this is really more of a test for our facility and for our capabilities here in iowa.

it's a great opportunity for us to remind the democrats and the democrat party that i understand the focus is on you right now, it doesn't matter who comes out of your primary, you're going to have to get in the ring and face donald trump with this campaign. i think this is just a sneak peak at what they can expect here in the coming months. >> if it's either bernie sanders or joe biden, what happens? >> i missed part of that. >> when it comes to that if joe biden or bernie sanders wins when it coments to your strategy what should we expect? >> well, i don't think it's going to matter which one of their candidates comes out of their primary process because most of them have endorsed the same horrible flawed policy that is the president is going to be running against, whether it is raising taxes, whether it is reimplementing the regulations that have stifled job growth as opposed to cutting taxes deregulation that

has hit this economy on its full stride. when you look here in iowa what the president has done renegotiating the horrible nafta deal, signing the phase one china deal, thoys are very important to farmers, to ranchers. those are things that we can celebrate and we're going to be celebrating. meanwhile democrats are talking about taking that progress away. >> our guest with us until 8:30. you can ask questions. when it comes to impeachment if i'm object fence about voting for donald trump or maybe considering voting for the first time how does impeachment impact and what's the message to those people who might be making those conversations? >> well, what we have seen is that this impeachment witch hunt has actually unified many in the republican party and has brought many new people into

the party who might have been on the fence before because they saw the fundamental unfairness of the way this process was being played out. so what we have seen in just the last few months we've seen over 600,000 people reach out to the rnc, reach out to our volunteer, to unteer, to donate. we've had fund raising that has set new records both with our campaign, our joint committees and with the republican national committee. it has really brought a lot of people together. then when you add that to the success that we have seen under this president, i think a lot of people see the democrats as opposed to focusing on thing that is matter they've actually just focused on these impeachments, the investigation. and the president is working for them. >> we saw iowa's own republican senator plus tennessee republican senator question the call. is that a problem for your campaign? >> no. i don't think so. obviously i have great respect for both senators and they're

voicing their thoughts. i think it is also very important to remember that what we are actually talking about here is not about the 2020 election. we're talking about the appearance of improprietary, the appearance of unethical behavior by the bidens while he was sitting vice president and leading america's foreign policy in ukraine. i think it is absolutely appropriate that the president looks to see what happened there to make sure that the corruption in that country is being addressed. and as we've all seen the fundamental facts of this case has not changed. the transcript shows no quid pro quo the ukrainians felt no pressure. the aid was released. and despite what the democrats talk about none has changed. >> but it is those republicans that questioned the appropriateness of the phone call itself. what do you think or how much do you agree or disagree? >> well, i believe what the president was doing was sticking up for american interests and making sure

ukraine was fighting corruption in that country which is what it was known for for a very long period of time. i understand that those senators and many otherless have different takes. it's not unusual for a senator and congress people to have varying views on differences but both of them rightfully realize that this sham needs to stop. this is not going to rise to an impeachable offense, that this was the first partisan impeachment of a president in modern history. and we need to move on and get back to doing the work of the american people. >> mark lotter with the president's campaign and soifers as the strategic communications director. we have calls lined up. our first on our independent line from texas. caller: i would like to ask a question. the phone calls makes a difference. what about when trump put a hit

out on the ambassador over there? it's proven by the testimony of the trial where they had to call over there and hurry up and get away. and one got acid thrown in her face and she died. and then they asked on fox news trump a question about why he wanted her out and then he responded saying because he didn't want to put his picture up. so that could be used. if it makes you mad because you want them to do something. guest: well, i think ultimately we've got to remember that the ambassadors of the united states serve at the pleasure of the united states. there was multiple information coming in that the former ambassador to the ukraine was not supportive of the

president's policies in general and so the president made a change which is well within his rights to do it. as it comes to other attacks that we have seen this president has been very strong in making sure that our personnel, our ambassadors overseas are protected. that's one of the reasons why you saw such a strong response by the president, by the united states when our embassy in iraq was under attack and the president took action to defend it. host: from our republican line we'll hear from california. i just want to say that trump is doing a great job and he protects citizens of the united states. as far as anything he's not done anything wrong but protect us. what about obama and hillary in benghazi? he was going to blow the whistle sending guns on the

cartel but nobody talks about that. they should be in prison both of them. leave trump alone and god bless america and god bless trump. host: steve detroit michigan democrats line. caller: i was calling concerning the republicans saying that democrats are not doing their job. they're doing their job. when they go and vote on different things it's not being -- they go to mr. mcconnell's desk. host: you're on with our guest with the president's campaign. caller: i just want to i thought fairness would be that they listen to both sides. in the past they did have what was witnesses. host: ok. when it comes to the other two

candidates in the race, we have a viewer here this is off of twitter saying i'm voting for governor weld in the republican primary. to what degree of concern do those two pose? guest: there's absolutely no concern. in fact they're barely operating campaigns. but that's how america works. in this case, obviously in some cases some states will have a primary where the republicans can choose. the one thing i think is absolutely important is this is a president who has near historically high approval ratings within the republican party. i've seen it anywhere from the mid 90s percentage so there's no question that republicans are going to renominate the president and vice president. but it is also the american system that if someone wants to throw their name in the ring and they can qualify for the ballot then they can make their case. but i think it's pretty obvious that this is going to be a very lopsided affair with on the republican side for the

president. host: we've seen several polls matching the president with various candidates almost in a head to head situation. when you look at those polls what do you interpret? guest: absolutely nothing. we haven't even begun this campaign against a specific candidate. they don't have a specific candidate. i often joke when i'm giving speeches that having these pothetical matchup polls are about informative as polling vegetarians about their favorite cut of steak. once they have a candidate we'll engage and the race will be on. host: one of the questions is whether a more progressive candidate will emerge versus a moderate. what do you think about at least on that side that's going on within the democratic party itself? guest: well, i don't believe there's any moderate lane in the democratic party and none of the candidates are moderates. you sit there and look at joe biden who had been in elected office for over 50 years.

he has long supported the hide amendment which banned taxpayer funding for abortion. but as soon as he threw his hat in the ring this time around he had to flip-flop on that very issue. so he now supports taxpayer funded abortion. he raised his hand like everybody else on the stage and said that taxpayers should be paying for health care for illegal immigrants. that's not something that barack obama said when he was president. it shows you how far to the radical left that this party has gone. so it doesn't matter which one of them come out. they're going to have to endorse these very progressive, very radical policies that the democrat party especially their base is expecting from them. and so i think they're drifting that way. it will be a question of how far. broverages, new york. caller: good morning. i've been listening for quite some time. i appreciate the feedback and your input.

but i do want to just sort of push back a little bit against the progressive nature of the democratic candidates. as a registered democrat i believe that sure we should bolster other democrats up and listen to their ideologies and policies and really try to reason with them. then you have the more radical soirblist democratics such as ernie sanders, so you have the situations where you have the radicals, you have the democratic socialists which are not mutually inclusive. they're mutually exclusive. it's not necessary for a democratic to be a radical socialist and it's not necessary for a radical socialist to be a democrat. you can be radical and have fun good luck but you can run for being a progressive democratic

socialist and republicans and conservetives are not going to like that. that is ok. that is this nation. but i heard a couple callers ago -- >> host: you're on directly with our guest so if you would address a question or comment to him. caller: i greatly appreciate thank you very much. so my question to you yourself is do you believe do you personally believe that the president of the united states of america is in the right for communicating with a foreign leader regarding our electoral process? host: again don't address them to me. address them to our guest. you can address anything you picked up or what he said just now. guest: well i'll take both and go with the last one first. i absolutely do think it's appropriate. the actions that were alleged were unethical behavior that even raised up the red flags in the obama state department, the obama white house about the

appearance for improprietary with hunter biden and joe biden's dealings. they are absolutely appropriate for the president to look into that. it does not matter and if we ever get to a point in our country where running for office will shield you from scrutiny that's a very dangerous part this is about what vice president biden did while he was in office regardless of whether he as candidate. and when it comes to the progressive socialism argument, when i travel the country speaking on behalf of the president and this campaign iffle people tell me they're formerly democrats might still consider themselves democrats, their parents have been democrats and they don't recognize the democrat party any more. and i think you see that. where you see a number of black americans and latino and his panic americans, labor union members coming out in support of this president because the policies are working. and i think we're seeing more and more of those people who are realizing that they can

succeed. their communities, their neighborhoods, their families can succeed under this president and what the democrats have been offering is nothing but lip service. ost: cindy from minnesota. san ll try robert in ose, california. caller: i think the greatest thing to come out of this whole thing that's going on now and i think it will show in the choosing of the caucuses that took place is with the harassing and hah ranging and the hamstringing of the president in future with this

-- the way this impeachment thing has gone on and trying to as speaker pelosi said to brand the president. he's branded from here on. is the fact that any presidents of future stripe will be -- they won't even have to be a threat an open threat of impeaching of taking out of office right away. it will just demass clate what e president -- the president of the country can feel free to do. there will always be that threat of the gun pointed at you from hidden in the closet as it were.

host: ok. thanks, caller. caller: well, i share a lot of the concerns that i think i was picking up from the caller there. this impeachment proceeding i think is going to have very negative impacts on future presidents and the future of our country. when you get into partisan one-party impeachment that's bad for our country. it's something that hamilton warned us against and the reason why you saw no other impeachment in the history of our country was done strictly on a one party basis. i'm equally concerned the fact that the democrats in congress are trying to basically break the executive privilege which has been enjoyed by every privilege going back to george washington. if we ever get to a point in our country where this president, a future president cannot have a robust policy debate discussion, even disagreement with their national security adviser or their chief of staff or any of their senior advisers because they're afraid they're going to get hauled before congress and

forced to talk about that disagreement, then our presidents are never going to get any kind of information except what they want to hear or yes people and that will lead to bad policy decisions in the future. host: as your role for the campaign have you had any acts about the state of the union and what the president will do as far as what he presents? guest: i've seen discussions that have already taken place. the president is going to take thedays tomorrow night and talk about the great american comeback, talk about the great things going on in our country. i'm here where 22,000 jobs have been created since the president took office including 15 thourblings manufacturing jobs. and it wasn't that long ago that barack obama and joe biden were talking about needing a magic wand to bring those jobs back. and the president has proved otherwise. he is going to talk about making it easier for families to get health care, to take care of children while they work. some of the very important work

that's going on in the white house. hoping that congress is going to work with him. but right now obviously it doesn't look like they're going to be working with him on anything, at least for the foreseeable future. host: do you know if impeachment will come up? guest: i don't want to get ahead of what the president may or may not say. i know he will talk about the accomplishments, his vision. it's going to be a very optimistic speech. i'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow night. host: one more question. because of the information that came out about john bolton himself, do you think that warrants some type of investigation about the claims made in his book? guest: i wouldn't say -- i'm not going to say about investigations. i think there could be investigations in terms of how information which has been at least initially ruled as potentially classified and even top secret has been leaked to media outlets. that's something that definitely needs to be looked at. but what it comes to what the president is saying, again these are robust policy

discussions, they're areas where the senior staff the experts in the field can come in, talk openly with the leader, the elected leader, but ultimately the elected leader's decision to make -- it's not the staff decision to make. if we ever get to that time where they can't give honest opinions we're going to do a disservice to future presidents. host: from arkansas, mike. caller: the impeachment ommittee impeefed him and they can they go back and reimpeach him again? and then call all the witnesses they want to? they've impeached him on such little charges. they may need to impeach him and find the crime. guest: i'm not a constitutional law expert but from what it sounds like there are a number of democrats who are saying

already that they are not done impeaching this president and they expect to continue to impeach him because really that's the only message they have. you've got democrats who have been out there since the day the president was elected talking about impeaching him and looking for a reason to do so. they've taken us down this road from the fake russia collusion now to ukraine. what is next for them? they know they're not going to win at the ballot box and i think the only thing they're trying to do is remove him from office because they know they can't defeat him in november. host: by the way that view of des moines, iowa that you're enjoying is courtesy of available studio from downtown there. we want to thank them from hosting us and giving us access that shows des moines, iowa. our guest is mark lotter communications director. he previously served as a special assistant to the president and vice president. there's a viewer this morning

off of twitter. saying can the guest guarantee with 100% certainty that the vice president will be on the ballot with the president? isn't the president planning to replace mr. pence? guest: no absolutely not. the president has addressed this a number of times not just right after the 2018 midterm elections. he's been asked that question multiple times. the president and the vice president make a great team. the vice president is the greatest champion of the president that there is. and probably one of the strongest voices next to the president himself. and when you look at my pin and our materials it clearly says trump/pence 2020. host: ken is up next. caller: the first i'm confused why you said this is a great american comeback when obama took over i think the stock market was a little below 5,000 and when he left it was at 20,000. that's the american comeback.

the tax code, two questions about the taxes. do you think that trump if elected will rehaul the tax code again? because middle america has been hurt by what he did. i used to have a refund and now have to pay. and i hear that across the line from a lot of people. and also as far as paying the thing that is you took out itemization as far as you can only pay a certain amount as far as interest off of your house, that's completely been capped. the last thing. will donald trump release his tax returns before the election? it's been three years and it's been under audit which is not true. something he is hiding something. will he release his tax returns? thank you. guest: well the first thing i would do is strongly disagree with your caller's assertion that middle class is not benefiting. that has been debunked.

all the data shows middle america was benefiting whether lowering the tax rates but doubling the child tax credit. the average tax cut was about 14 to 180 depending on where ou live -- 1400 to 1800. that's a very misleading statistic. we lowered the withholding rates because of the lower taxes. and so that could adjust the size of your refund. but your refund -- the amount of tax that you pay, it was the amount of money that the government held out. and so people shouldn't judge their tax cuts based on the size of their refund. when it comes to the president's return that is something he will make. it's not required by law. the fact that the president as a candidate and as president has to file an annual financial disclosure form which are much more detailed, much more thorough than the tax return. so anyone that wants to know more about that can look at

those. those are on line, since the president ran for election. host: new hampshire is after iowa in the sights of the president as far as the visit and campaigning there? guest: i believe the president is heading there shortly. the second lady is going to be there this week. i'm heading there toward the end of the week myself. we're going to continue to fight for new hampshire. that's one of those states where we have definitely put a lot of resources because we only lost that state by a very slim margin in 2016. it is a state that i believe is absolutely going to flip and go for the president in 2020 along with minnesota. those are two of our targets that we have many but i will have a very big influence -- we will have a big influence in new hampshire leading up to the general election. host:

>> the democratic residential candidates have campaigned throughout iowa. time for the results. watch our live coverage of the iowa caucuses today starting at 7:30 p.m. eastern on c-span come online at c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. >> c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. , maya up tuesday morning mcguiness, president of the committee for a responsible federal budget discusses this year's projected federal budget deficit. -- the the director talks about the federal response to the coronavirus. watch c-span's "washington live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning.

join the discussion. not waiting for our party. victory is winning for our country. [applause] >> president trump delivers his state of the union address from the house chamber live tuesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern followed by the democratic response with michigan governor gretchen witmer and texas restaurant -- and texas representative monica escobar. >> we have had a series of guest join us throughout the morning and we will continue with our conversations. davedes moines, iowa with price. he serves as a political director. mr. price, thank you for joining us and welcome to c-span. dave price: good morning.

nice to be here. host: