party's nomination the next week. watch c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern for live coverage of the democratic convention starting conventionrepublican august 24 on c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> here on c-span, "washington journal" is next with phone calls and a look at today's headlines. at 10:45, nancy pelosi holds her briefing with reporters. at 2:00, our campaign 2020 coverage includes vice president pence speaking to farmers in des moines, iowa. coming up this morning, the national journal's josh kraushaar talks about the political landscape for campaign 2020 with the addition of kamala

harris on the democratic ticket. then, purdue university associate professor nadia brown joins us for more on the vice president of canada and the role of black women in american politics. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. it is thursday, august 13. joe biden and kamala harris made their debut as democratic running mates. with of the ticket now set, harris' biggest moments in the spotlight are set to come next week at the democratic convention and debate with mike pence. we are asking you how much you pay attention to the bottom half of a party ticket. do you think running mates matter? phone lines for you to call in,

republicans, democrats, independents. you can also send us a text. do, please include your name and where you are from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media, twitter and facebook. a very good thursday morning to you. you can go ahead and start calling in as we begin with this headline from yesterday from political. mates don't usually matter, they write." the political story noting with his selection of a running mate on tuesday, biden now has a ticket and republicans have a of attack. attack.a new line of clip]

me,s i said when you called i am incredibly honored by this responsibility, and i'm ready to get to work. i am ready to get to work. after the most competitive primary in history, the country received a resounding message that joe was the person to lead us forward. joe, i am so proud to stand with you. mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women sacrifice,ho determination and resilience todaymy presence here even possible. this is a moment of real consequence for america. everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in, it is all on the line. reeling from the worst

public health crisis in a century. the president's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the great depression. we are experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change. host: senator kamala harris in wilmington, delaware at that joint press conference with joe biden yesterday, some of her first public remarks. you can watch them in their entirety at c-span.org. more from that politico story on the impact that vice president have saying that vice president so contenders don't usually have a rich history of altering the course of an election. suddenly, it is not just biden and trump. the selection of kamala harris

"puts their campaign in the direction of the party and play." president trump yesterday from the white house was asked about kamala harris and joe biden and their joint press conference yesterday. here's what he had to say. [video clip] >> he made a choice, he picked her. i watched her pull numbers go down to almost nothing -- poll numbers go down to almost nothing. she left angry and mad. there was nobody more insulting to biden then she was. she said horrible things about him, including accusations made where she i a woman guess believed the woman. and now, all of a sudden, she is running to be vice president saying how wonderful he is. i thought it was a very unusual pick because she said such bad things. and you know better than anybody -- you all right it.

you know better than anybody. she said horrible things about him. him, openly mocked him. that is why i thought that was a very risky pick because i am sure that will be played back, not necessarily by me, but others. the other thing, if you look, she wants a $3 trillion tax hike, no fracking. how do you think no fracking in pennsylvania is going to play? that is a big fracking state. if you didn't have energy produced that way, you would have taxes that would triple and unemployment that you wouldn't believe. pennsylvania last year, had the best year they have ever had. texas, oklahoma, best year. almost every state in our nation last year had the best year they have ever had, and they are going to have that again next year. you can see that. fuels.ts no fossil

really? tell that to texas. host: president trump the white house yesterday. back to wilmington, delaware. this is former vice president joe biden on the attacks that have been leveled against kamala harris since his announcement of her as his vice presidential contender on tuesday. [video clip] >> you all knew it was coming. you could have set your watch is to it. donald trump has already started his attacks calling her nasty, whining about how she is mean to his appointees. it is no surprise because whining is what donald trump does best better than any president in american history. is anyone surprised donald trump has a problem with a strong woman or strong women across the board? we know more is to come. let's be clear. if you are a working person

worried about whether or not you will have a job to go to, whether or not you will be able to pay your mortgage, pay your rent, worried about the poison in the air you breathe, the water you drink, worried about your civil rights, even your basic right to dignity, which is under attack with this administration, kamala harris has had your back. now, we have to have her back. she is going to stand with me in this campaign, and all of us are going to stand up for her. host: joe biden yesterday in wilmington, delaware. we are asking you this morning, do running mates matter? getting your thoughts. party,split up by republicans, democrats, independents. this from the opinion pages of "the wall street journal." "with the two oldest candidates

ever to seek the oval office, the vice presidential picks matter more than usual, especially for joe biden. it is quite unlikely that if reelected, he will seek a second term. have morerris will scrutiny than most. -- most." getting your thoughts, do running mates matter? brian is up first out of the lone star state. caller: i think it is going to be -- hello? host: you still with us? i think we lost him. we go to brooksville, florida. i do think it matters she could turn his head

so fast because i don't think biden knows what he is doing, but i love pence. i think it means a lot because i think he is working very well with president trump. if anything happens to trump, i would love to have pence in. the only one i would have ever acked for a black woman to be president would be condoleezza rice. oh my gosh. i wish she would have ran for president because she is a good woman. she just knows everything about our country. a country is not easy to run. trump had the virus. people in the states killing our country. he had everything going. i think he is an excellent

president and he is really trying because if we had another president, we would really be under right now more than we are now. i don't think we are under now. i think it is just those states that are making people ryan. -- riot. host: you started off talking about vice president mike pence. what do you think he brings to that relationship with president trump? caller: he just works with him and he goes all around and he helps trump. i just think he is such a good person. he is just good. you don't hear anything bad about him. you don't hear him and trump -- wish when bush i got out or when obama, that condoleezza rice would have ran when they kept saying a woman, a

woman, a black women. host: got your point. this is ken out of aurora, illinois. do vice presidential picks matter? caller: they do. good morning to you, c-span. good morning, america. how are you, to quote a favorite singer of mine. tragedy can both fall natural and unnatural tragedies can befall chief executives. fdr had complications from his polio disease. regrettably, jfk was shot and killed. ronald reagan was shot. although we do our best with the secret service to keep them as safe as possible, unfortunate

mishaps can happen. what i want to point out most is henry wallace, fdr's first vice president was a stellar individual. demoted fromwas the vice presidency, he still was a solid member of fdr's cabinet and went on to serve harry truman. america would have been much better off with henry wallace in than harryfdr passed truman because he was such a a man ofgressive and intellect and imagination. >> so to you, it is qualification to step into the job? a lot of factors go into that, a lot of people talk about, can

they help carry a certain state? california, not a state in play this cycle, but that has been a consideration in the past. for you, it is the ability to step into the role as president? i i would say -- caller: would say it is most prominent, but political calculations do come into play, as far as ms. harris is. the daughter of immigrants, a person of color. that is going to be very supportive to democratic interests. there is nothing wrong with that. the democratic ticket is going to be far more representative of trump-pence.than incidentally, pence is a homophobe. unless you have another question. this i did want to show

gallup poll from a couple of years ago. it applies to vice president over time. the question it asks every four perceptions on's the vice presidential candidates ability to serve as president if it becomes necessary. the green number here on this chart, the percent who said the vice president will candidate was qualified to step in and become president as necessary. back in 2008, 50 7% of those polled said -- 57% of those said joe biden was qualified to serve. 52% said joe lieberman could step in and the 2000 race. also in 2000, when i came to

dick cheney, 57% saying he was qualified to step in. was qualifiedgore to step in and serve as necessary. if you want to read more on their polling going back through all of the most recent cycles, gallup.com is where you can go. oklahoma. you are next. caller: i believe it doesn't say ismatter who they the best fit for vice president or not, presidency or not presidency. me, honestly, i believe if you stick somebody at vice president who knows it necessarily like the president and they come from two separate worlds, it makes things more honest, i think. a little bitybody more true to each other. host: almost like a team of

rivals? caller: yeah. i really think it would make things more honest because you have two people from two separate worlds. you have two different thought process. pick of kamala harris has gotten a lot of attention especially because of the debate moment when she criticized joe biden pretty strongly about his past associations with segregationist in the senate. do you think this was a good pick? do you think joe biden was doing something like that in picking kamala harris? know whatdon't really his strategic reasons were for it. somesure there is strategic underlining to it. i don't necessarily know what all she set about the man, but i know from the news and social media, it comes from both sides.

everybody is attacking each side, so it is a mix of everything. one of my main things that i want to get across here is our younger generations are not even taught that our system is not just a two-party system. it was meant to be more than a two-party system. said she said crop over vice president or president or whatever, none of that should matter. it is easier to control two children then it is to control three or four or five children. going offerybody is the hinge over the pick or who is best or who is not best or who is qualified or who is more qualified. get somebody who has actually worked their entire life for vice president or presidency and stuff will change for the better in this country. host: that is tom in oklahoma.

a few comments from viewers on social media and our text messaging service. dan says the pick of harris will galvanize just as many biden. .t will be a wash michael says running mates matter a great deal as do presidential candidates. what matters most is the presidential culture that sweeps into washington when one party or the other takes power. benjamin says they always matter. when your candidate is older and at increased risk of health adding bidenice, even more so starting older, the vp may have to take over at some point, so it needs to be a good one. another, given biden's age and the work that must be done to get the country out of the ditch trump has us in, biden's choice was extremely important.

you can keep weighing in, twitter, facebook, text messaging service or call like curtis did out of maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. show.you all for the i listen every morning. host: appreciate that. caller: honestly, the vice presidential pick is by far extremely important because if anything, god forbid, happened to the president, the vice president becomes the president. it has to be somebody who is strong. it has to be somebody -- i think biden picked her, one of the main reasons strategically, was that she is not a yes person. she is going to tell you exactly what she feels, how she feels and what she thinks is best for the country. he has to have that alters side because if you have a vice president who is a yes-man, and

i'm not going to say who that is, what happens is there is no checks and balances at the human level for the president. if you look back in history and you look in the modern era, every presidency that we can honestly deem successful, if you look at the two, what you had was a vice president who would check the president. that.you can't do you have got to go about it this way in order to get the things that we want to get. doing -- during the reagan administration. a lot of people don't talk about whenever reagan was a about removing the pell grant. there was a bipartisan movement that said, you can't do that. listen, you have got these people that vote. if you do that, you are going to lose those votes. i think the vice president is

extremely important. i think this guy that we got in office right now has been a national disaster from the day he took office. people, but i my think she needs to do some research on mike pence because nobody talks about his policies that he set forth in indiana when he was the governor. nobody ever talks about that. .eople need to really examine they say people really need to vet this guy because this guy would take over. i can't to see where the country would benefit from his presidency if something was to happen to trump. host: that is curtis in maryland. speaking of mike pence, he was at a rally last week in clearwater, florida as part of the campaign tour.

this is a bit of what he had to say. [video clip] >> it is great to see all of you, bind here for one reason. that is that florida and america need four more years of president donald trump in the white house. that really is amazing when you think of the last 3.5 years. it has been 3.5 of action, results, 3.5 years of promises made and promises cap. -- kept. [applause] day of thisst administration, president trump has cap the promises he has made to the american people, to the people of florida, and especially the people of faith. we have stood for the sanctity of life without apology. [applause]

we have stood for the religious liberty of every american of every faith. [applause] and beyond that, we made the strongest military in the history of the world, stronger still. we rebuilt our military. [applause] this president has appointed more conservatives to our court of appeals than any president in american history, and we revived the american economy in three short years. [applause] vice president mike pence last week in florida. here is a column in today's "usa today" that takes a look at where mike pence and kamala harris may clash, especially ahead of that high-profile october debate that is set for the two of them. among the issues they highlight, lgbtq issues, women's issues,

the abortion issue. one they highlight is betsy devos. floor harris' first speech after joining the senate in 2017 was an explanation of her opposition to trump choice of betsy devos to run the education department. it was pentz who pushed s'sorce's -- devo nomination. it was the first time a vice president how to provide the final nominee for -- final vote for a cabinet nominee. devos had played a big role in developing the largest in the nation, indiana's private school. . janice in indiana, republican. go ahead. commenti just want to

on something that the previous stated since he is not from indiana and really doesn't know anything about vice president mike pence. he was our governor for eight years. years, i'm sorry. he is a good man. i don't know where they get all of this stuff in the media about his actions on lgbtq. understand where all of that comes because he is on honest man. comebecause he doesn't right out and say, i am for it or whatever, doesn't mean that he is -- he treats everybody fairly. kamala, whatever her

oes, she is going to say whatever joe biden wants her to say and the left once or to say. -- wants her to say. she really doesn't have much of -- sherecord as far as was a prosecutor. they are not saying much about that. of the peoplelot of color in her state of california, she put a lot of them in jail. nobody is saying nothing about that. i think that is going to be something that would come up with her. host: that is janice in indiana. mike pence, four years as the 50th governor of indiana.

before that, served 12 years in the u.s. house, including during that time, chair of the house republican conference, six terms in the u.s. house before taking over the governorship. we will stay in indiana. this is jeff, and independent. that morning. caller: good morning. would you mind restating the original question please? host: do running mates matter. caller: thank you. we are up here in indiana, just south of the michigan border. old, born in 1960. maybe you can correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think there has been one vice president that ever became president during my lifetime. that would have been george bush senior after ronald reagan. pickexcited about this

that former vice president joe biden made. i'm happy for the young woman to have been chosen. i am very interested in seeing the outcome. so far, its i see doesn't mean a whole lot saying who your vp pick is unless you are going to promote them to president. maybe that is the play we are going to see this time around. your vp pick is going to be anointed next president right out of the gate. we are hearing joe biden say we are going to stand with her. stand with her for what? kept prettyesidents quiet. it is going to be good to see

how he is standing behind her on a phone call i saw on a tv channel lately, he asked her point blank, are you ready to go to work? she said, oh, boy, am i ever ready. i am so excited. he said, is that a yes? i think sheof all, should have started out with -- just my opinion here -- yes, i'm ready to go to work. and then tell you how excited you are about the prospects of it. i am just teasing. host: before you go, as a hoosier state resident, your thoughts on mike pence. do you think he could step in and serve as president if necessary? caller: i thank you for asking that question. until it ever happens, you don't really know to the extent of what someone is going to be able to fulfill this job.

we do vote for a ticket that has a vice president and a president to be elected. sure enough, you have to give it some thought, that question you asked. i would say he has as qualified ifanybody else to step in there is something that would appear that he would have to step in. host: thanks for the call. this is tom out of ohio. good morning. don't think it makes any difference who your pick is. look what we got out of cycle, don the dictator. we are not going to have no election this year, and he can lose the 20 million votes and will still be there. he will drop pentz like a hot sidekicknd put his rush limbaugh again there. paidalmost 85 years old,

into social security since i was 14, and i will guarantee you in another year, there will be no social security because him and his other sidekick, the munchkin, has printed all of this money and stole it all. nothing.owe nobody when he went in there, he owed billions and billions and couldn't even get a loan. grandkidssorry for my and my seven great grandkids that i have. they ain't going to stand a china man's chance in hell -- host: ok, this is florida. believe vice president matter, but generally, you kind of read comments that i was going to say, which it depends on the health, the risk of the president, where it matters. particularly, in this race, it matters to black people even more. it is not the reason what you

would think. the reason why it matters is because the democratic party knows that they own black women a lot. what do they do? select one for vp. but the vp is really kind of a powerless position. it is almost like a juvenile judge. is, the democratic party and joe biden is preparing for the supreme court. everybody knows that ruth ginsburg might retire soon. if they hadn't picked a black replacement for ruth ginsburg would be an african-american woman. what do you do? you select an african-american so as to mute the

coming appointment of the supreme court. now, they are going to be asking for too much if they demand also a supreme court position, even , they'reu can argue rightly should be an african-american woman on the supreme court. that is the strategy in picking an african-american woman us vice president. host: to follow your line of thinking, do you think joe biden will be president and make the next pick for the next supreme court justice? caller: i think there was a possibility because the environment and everybody is drumming up this whole trump is a racist, x, y, z. i do think there is a slight possibility. i'm not going to be supporting joe biden. i do think there is a possibility he can win. if he does win, this is going to be the narrative.

in florida.s k.j. we are going to talk more about the role of black women in campaigns in one of our later segments. we will be joined by nadia brown from purdue university, political science and african-american studies associate professor there. that conversation coming up in just about an hour this morning. joy is next out of alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. in response to her previous is ar, president trump racist. have -- he hases demonstrated that he does not respect black people. about systemic

racism in america. he feels thathat it doesn't exist. it. everybody else sees vice president mike pence has shown that he feels the same way as president trump. what i see is a man that doesn't have a mind of his own. he just steps behind him, in tune, in-line. i doubt necessarily feel that pentz has a mind of his own. drone orost like a something.

i would venture to say that i would really be afraid of .nything would happen to trump america would be in jeopardy. shown me that he would possess any ability to lead. host: that is joy in alabama on the issue of racism and campaign 2020. a headline from yesterday. trump just promised to protect suburban housewives from poor people. he bragged about eliminating a housing regulation that was designed to address racial segregation. it was this tweet that that story was talking about and got a lot of attention. the president, yesterday morning, saying the suburban housewife will be voting for me. they want safety and are thrilled i handed the long-running program where low income housing would invade

their neighborhood. biden would reinstall it in a bigger form with cory booker in charge. hisident trump was asked at press conference yesterday to clarify that tweet. and what he meant about invasion of suburban neighborhoods. this is his response yesterday. [video clip] said several times that they would be an invasion in suburban neighborhoods. what exactly do you mean by invasion? >> what i mean is people are , they are going to be opening up areas of your neighborhood. they will expand it. in my opinion, they are going to destroy suburbia. just so you understand, 30% plus of the people living in suburbia are minorities. african-american, asian american, hispanic american.

they are minorities. the number is even higher, 35%, but i like to cut it lower so i can never get myself into too much trouble with fake news. minorities living in suburbia. when they go in and they want to change zoning so that you have lots of problems where they want to build low income housing, you want something where people can aspire to be there, not something where it gets hurt badly. that is what happens. with suburban women, suburban men, i think they feel very strongly about what i am doing. it is a very fair question and a very important question. they fought all their lives to be there, and then, all of a sudden, they have something happened that changes their life and changes what they fought for for so many years. host: president trump yesterday

from the white house. back to your phone calls and this question, do running mates matter. rob is waiting from new york. good morning. caller: good morning. they sure do matter. i think biden and the democrats blew it by picking kamala harris. if you watch the debates that took place, tulsi gabbard really ended her career because she talked about how as attorney general general in california, kamala harris had kept people in prison past their sentences because she needed the prison labor to be cheap. on deathkept somebody row that was innocent. she withheld evidence until the court ordered her to release it. this was all in tulsi gabbard's confrontation with her during the debate. i said the democrats blew it anyway. why would they ever pick joe biden? the man is losing it. you can clearly see he is not what he was 10 years ago. host: is there anybody he could

have picked that you thought would have been a good pick? caller: oh god. no. honestly, i can't. i heard his second choice might have been susan rice and good lord. look what her and obama have done to this country. joe biden, when he was obama's vice president, look what he sat through. took obama, he and biden this country from two wars up to cuts, they made bush's tax more and benghazi? host: has there ever been a vice presidential pick that has made or vote for a candidate specifically not vote for a candidate just because of the vp pick? has it ever matter that much to you in any past election? to me, no because i only

vote for third party. i see it as two sides of the same coin. look what the democrats have done as far as handing all of this money to president trump in the military. he is getting $130 billion a year, more than obama ever did. nancy pelosi signs off on all of the stuff. they redid the ndaa so they still have indefinite detention of americans. this is of the country i grew up in. if my father was still alive, he would be disgusted. host: rob mentions the moment from last year, they cnn debate last year, till see gabbard going against kamala harris inactivate. here is that moment. [video clip] >> senator harris says she is proud of her record as a prosecutor but i am deeply concerned. there are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever

smoked marijuana. she blocked evidence that would have freed on innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. she kept people in prison beyond her scent -- their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of california. till see gabbard last year at the cnn debate. rachel is in buffalo, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i do think it matters and it matters incredibly because there is strength in numbers, for one thing. another thing, i have a comment about the last soundbite you just played. the person that, as you put it, in trouble and lost her bid because she told the truth, but that is another

subject for another day. another comment i would like to make is that yes, it does matter incredibly. iam also wanting to know, find it rather interesting that i know that opponents are on the debate stage in one minute, they are enemies, and now, they are yes, i want to run with you and whatever else. i just find that a little hypocritical. one minute they are bitter enemies and now, they are, how shall we say, wonderful friends? i just find that a bit interesting. host: that is rachel in new york. maryland, democrat. caller: absolutely, the choice matters. in thelly

african-american community. i am 57 years old, i am african-american. kamala harris coming out of howard university, and with the to do, she is going what bernie sanders couldn't do. she is going to move the young black vote in a way you have never seen before. it absolutely matters. tosomething were to happen president biden, if he was to that governor cuomo would be the next democratic pair -- president. it absolutely matters. she is going to ignite, kamala harris is going to ignite people who bernie sanders, the young blacks, who we try to get, and the latinas, and the asians, and americans from the black

lives matter groups, you're going to have people voting like before whoever voted are going to get joe biden over the hump. host: north carolina. morning. caller: i am so glad that i left the democrat party to become an independent voter because the democrat party, they are so slick. they have decided, and they have done this before with our previous president, barack obama. i am a descendent of slaves. slaves that have died with the jim crow laws and ku klux klan and all of these things, i'm quite sure they would like to see somebody from their loins become the president of the united states. slick,ocrat party are so

they always put some representative of us black people as president and vice president from some immigrant that comes to our country, made children in our country and put them up as representatives of us. that is not going to be tolerated. i don't have anything against kamala harris, but i have a lot against biden because of the fact that he is a puppet for people of color to threaten this man and say what he better do, you don't own him. he is the product of ku klux klan-ism. host: that is teresa in north carolina. is in henderson, nevada. caller: i really don't think this election, as far as the vp is concerned, doesn't matter.

reason is joe biden said he was going to transform this country. kamala harris, in her speech, said that people are taking to the streets. i watched most of the news channels. i doubt know if people are paying attention, but there is hammer and sickle's painted in red on a lot of the statues and a lot of the buildings. that makes a lot of concern for me. democrat that was elected said anything about the riots and everything else. as far as the news media is concerned with the election, the

communist new network, cnn, withheld news briefings from our president. most of the people don't know that president trump has dropped for seniors,pills called the favored nation status, that the president has made insurance companies accept people with pre-existing conditions, and that the president has said that he is not going to touch social , unlike flex at arm pelosi said recently that he is going to destroy our social security system. host: don, in nevada. here's a few comments from our text messaging service and social media. this is tim and rhode island sang the last time i vp mattered was gerald ford. they only matter when something

happens to the president, which is rare. in this case with biden, it might. he will probably be a one term president. this may be her path to the white house. mitchell saying in this case votebecause democrats will for him to step down because of the 25th amendment. palinr says when sarah was picked, it was quite obvious what happened. picking her and his bid for the presidency must -- much sooner. about 10 minutes left in this first segment of "washington journal." getting your thoughts, do running mates matter? pam, go ahead. caller: i do think it matters, sometimes more than others. this one, i think is probably the most important i have ever seen. i'm 57 years old.

i am proud of joe biden. pence is mike concerned, he might be qualified on paper, but it would take me hours to go through the whitney anti-christian movements that this , andistration has made mike pence goes along with every single one of them. he twists himself into a pretzel to defend them. i believe that kamala harris is an intelligent, very educated and would help joe biden in a lot of areas. one thing joe biden said yesterday that i think made a

big difference was that he, unlike trump, is willing to listen to her and take her advice. and admit that when he is wrong about something, which trump will not do. i do believe it matters and especially now. host: here's more from senator harris yesterday at that event in wilmington, delaware talking about how she got to know joe biden through her friendship with his late son. [video clip] >> let me just tell you about beau biden. i learned quickly that he was the kind of guy who inspired people to be a better version of themselves. he really was the best of us. when i would ask him, where did you get that, where did this come from.

he would always talk about his dad. you, the love that they shared was incredible to watch. it was the most beautiful display of the love between a father and son. beau talked about how joe would spend four hours every day riding the rails back-and-forth from wilmington to washington so he could make breakfast for his kids in the morning and make it home in time to tuck them in bed each night. boys, this so two little who had just lost their mom and sister and a tragic accident would know that the world was still turning. that is how i came to know joe. he is someone whose first response when things get tough is never to think about himself,

but to care for everyone else. he is someone who never asks why is this happening to me, and instead asks, what can i do to make life better for you. host: senator harris yesterday in wilmington, delaware. this is robert out of virginia. independent. caller: good morning. the vp does matter because the person can help bring the ticket along and bring more people out to vote. i would like to also say that they are always saying why do black people vote for democrats. why do the majority of black people vote for democrats? why do the majority of people vote for republicans? the same thing. if you like a party, you vote for that particular individual. as far as vice president's go,

joe biden was a good vice president to obama. obama and joe biden got this country out of the depression it 2008, at the time i was retiring from the post office. if you look at the postal , they are trying to delay the mail and stuff. that is a federal crime and can be prosecuted after trump and , after they get out of the administration. i think that all of them should be prosecuted. another thing, you don't want to have a yes person around you as president. you want different opinions from different people. and then, the president makes the final decision. trump has torn this country apart.

he doesn't go by the constitution. they are always talking about what kamala harris did, look what trump did for epstein and stone and all of these people. people don't view their own common sense. host: that is robert from virginia. this is maggie in pennsylvania. caller: hello. in general, i don't think the vice presidential pick mattered a lot, except does it ever now. in the past, they would pick somebody so that they could win their state, like lbj in texas. since i agree with the folks who are considering biden just a placeholder, i thought it interesting to note what is the reason he picked come alma -- kamala. he said long ago he would pick a

woman. that narrowed the field down a good bit. then, he got the letter from the 100 blacks that said you have to pick a black woman. especially today with the black lives matter movement. i found it interesting that david axelrod, obama's former fella said she was not his first choice. i think they gave a great show yesterday. they made their statement coming out with masks. i think that she is well spoken, good looking. she smiles a lot and laughs. e and sheer hubby ther kind of tugged on peoples heartstrings when she was talking about beau and he found that touching. she didn't mention hunter at all. -- and iso quite a is going to need

that and she went after trump at the show. granted, it started three hours late and the electricity went off on them, but it was really quite the show. since this presidential election be onear is going to of the most important ones i remember, we really have to be cautious that we look at the platform and what they stand for because it seems to be two very different directions they would take us in. so, we have our work cut out for us. checking out people's history and cutting through all of the front show that will be put on by both parties. you, john,c-span and for giving us all of this information where we can see things firsthand for ourselves. host: thanks for that call from pennsylvania. the washington post with a deep dive on their front page about

the process of selecting kamala harris, calling it a grueling gotland -- gauntlet. this is some of the details from the story. the initial vetting was done by a team of four. they logged more than 120 hours meeting with party activists, interest groups and other stakeholders with designs on who could best serve the party and country. the 11 finalists were asked about their past writings, details of arrest or criminal charges, medical records, videos of past speaking engagements. elected officials were asked about their campaign donor policies. questions were asked about complaints against their spouses. candidates were asked to describe the most controversial

matters they had dealt with in the course of their careers. one more call here on this question, do running mates matter. angela in massachusetts, independent. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. this was a very good subject matter this morning. joe biden was in the government for 40 years. recall anything of value that he ever presented when he was vice president and senator. right there, i don't think his rep is very good. election. important as far as the last couple of collars talking about the blacks always needing somebody, i think kamala harris is a token. my daughter lives in california. frankly, the people there do not like her. her record as district attorney and attorney general. they do not like what she has proposed. she put a lot of people in jail that should have never been there.

right then and there, my daughter says this is not a good pick for the democrats. hasar as blacks go, no one done more for the black community than this president. he has put he has put opportunity zones with the help of tim scott, the senator, into a lot of these places, like detroit, and other cities. also the blacks have had more employment under this president than any other segment. the asians and hispanics. and he has done more for them. host: angela, the last caller in the first segment of "the washington journal." next we will be joined by national journal senior political columnist to talk about the newly minted democratic ticket and the battle for the house and senate.

later a conversation about the role of black women in campaign 2020 with purdue university political science professor nadia brown. we will be right back. ♪ --binge watch bush watcho watch -- binge book tv. saturday we are featuring programs with toni morrison, whose books include song of solomon, the bluest eye, and beloved. we feature programs with an award-winning biographer. binge watch book tv all summer on c-span2. ♪ the contender, about the men

who ran for the presidency but lost but changed history. tonight, the founder of several labor unions and five-time socialist party presidential candidate come the last time from prison. "washington journal" continues. host: always happy to welcome josh kraushaar back to the program. he writes his against the grain column. josh kraushaar what did you think of the pic of kamala harris? guest: it was a very conventional pick. whotor harris is someone has appealed to both centerleft democrats and progressive democrats. things that you haven't heard a lot of, if any, criticism from groups.ive

that was a concern for democrats. in her speech yesterday she put out the prosecutorial record against president trump. while she certainly stumbled during her own presidential campaign, her biggest asset is her record and skills as a prosecutor. she certainly showed that in her speech yesterday which laid out an argument she will be making against this current administration. host: we were talking to viewers in the last segment if vp picks matter. do we overstate the importance of vp picks? usually, but this is more significant than most. joe at 77 years old is unlikely to run for a second term. senator harris interestingly alluded to that point. something of an bridge between herself and former president obama, which

was an interesting turn of phrase in her remarks. she is the future of the party. by picking someone who has a bright political future, joe biden is anointing kamala harris as someone to watch going forward. this pick is more significant than most previous vice presidential running mate picks, because she could be a future president. she could be someone biden is passing the baton to, so to speak. host: if this was an obvious or conventional pick, why did you make of the trump team response? was it obvious? was it well prepared? guest: it was all over the map. the trump campaign cannot seem to get its message against senator harris and the biden ticket straight. there are a lot of vulnerabilities that senator harris has. she is one of the more liberal members of the senate, has one of the more liberal voting

records. the trump campaign wants to criticize her for being too tough on crime. s -- for selling divisions in the left because for prosecutorial record. if the trump campaign once points against senator harris, she supported the green new deal, she hemmed and hawed for medicare for all. campaign lot the trump can use against senator harris. they didn't seem to use any of it, and they seem to be unclear on what their ultimate message is going to be against the running mate. host: if you are a political junkie, if you enjoy taking a deep dive into campaign 2020, now would be a good time to call in. josh kraushaar our guest this morning. the phone lines to call in, republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

.ndependents, (202) 748-8002 folks are calling in. let's talk about the house and senate races. has kamala harris had any impact? are there obvious places where house or senate member will want kamala harris to come into their district, or republicans want to use her as a foil in their races? -- guest: theture big picture, the campaigns themselves are very much supportive of the pic. they believe senator harris is at best an asset and doesn't hurt even some of the more red state democrats running for office. harris is someone who will play well in the suburbs. she will play well in a lot of had in theemocrats 2016 2018 midterm elections. there is the question if she will play well in the redder states like iowa, montana.

some of the races that are very close but ultimately lean towards the republican party. harris will do well where democrats have done well for the past two years. she has a broad enough appeal among slightly more conservative voters, certainly soft republican voters. there will be a limitation because of her voting record and the positions she has taken during the presidential primary. she came out against fracking, she supported the green new deal, health care, immigration. she's very liberal in her voting record. ultimately that's not going to matter as much in how the biden campaign utilizes her. she has provided a good partner for the former vice president in a lot of the traditional battleground states. host: against the grain is the name of the column at national journal. one of the recent pieces, why iowa is one of the most important states on the political map.

why? guest: because of the senate and house races. if trump does not win iowa, he is in big trouble. he needs to win iowa. there is a senate race that could determine which party holds the majority. joni ernst is running for reelection, a freshman senator. her democratic opponent is in an extremely close race. three of the four house seats held by democrats in the state are very competitive across the state of iowa will set this will be a big bellwether. a real test about if democrats can make inroads beyond just the bluest parts of the country in the suburbs. iowa voted by trump by nine points, a pretty republican state. democrats continue to hold their game and make inroads in a state like iowa, it's not a good sign for republicans across the board. host: have you talked about iowa or any state across the

political map. josh kraushaar our guest from the national journal. our first caller from lancaster, south carolina, independent. caller: yes. emotions, emotions, emotions. i think the only reason joe biden picked kamala harris is because she is a person of color. i knew he wasn't going to pick a of theack woman, because campaign. the daughter of immigrants and she is married to a white man. black people year after year for votes and that will never change. host: who would you have liked to see biden pick? caller: i would've loved for him to pick the qualified person and not be bullied into picking a black woman, a woman of color.

she didn't identify herself as a black woman. she identified herself as an asian american years ago. excuse me, indian-american years ago. to galvanize the black people to vote for somebody. democrat, but they went too far to the left. it's all about the new immigrant , illegal immigration. host: got your point. josh kraushaar, kamala harris, the daughter of jamaican and indian immigrants, your thoughts on the caller? his speechn in framed the selection of senator .arris as a historic pick he said black and brown girls will be looking up to years to come. they think they can energize african-american voters and

asian-american voters, indian-american voters as well will stop i think it's an interesting point that harris did not get a lot of traction with african-american voters in the democratic primary. in south carolina she was pulling well behind joe biden by the time she dropped out of the race. thee is an open question to degree to which she will energize the democratic base. she is someone who didn't have a record of doing so during her own campaign. her ticket is historic. organizationamong -- i think she will benefit from the historic nature of her selection. host: you mentioned how joe biden framed that. here is that moment from wilmington, delaware. [video clip] mr. biden: her story is america's story. different from mine, but not so different in the sense she has

worked hard, she has never backed down from a challenge, and she has earned each and every of the accolades and achievements she has gained. many of them, often in the face of obstacles that others put in her way, and never quit. this morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up, especially little black and brown girls, who so often ed andndervalud overlooked in their communities. today just maybe they are seeing themselves in a new way, as the stuff of president and vice presidents. yesterday inen wilmington, delaware. josh kraushaar what is the state of the race as we head into the convention weeks for the 2 parties? guest: joe biden holds a

countable lead. what exists in the campaign of the unusual election season is just beginning. if you look at the national and polls there are signs the race is tightening a little bit. job approval going up from 38% in july to 43% in august. 43% is not good, but there is an uptick. there are soft republican voters disillusioned without the president was handling the pandemic. they may be coming home to the republican ticket. the race always tightens as we get close to the election. big picture, trump is down by fairly significant margin. inortantly, he is struggling a lot of the important battleground states from florida, north carolina, and even arizona. ultimately biden is in the poll

position. we have a lot of time left, but there are signs of trump getting the base back. host: crystal is next out of wilkes-barre, pennsylvania in the keystone state. on the line for democrats. caller: good morning to both of you. i want to say that camilla harris -- kamala harris was not my first choice vp pick. however, this woman is very bright. she is articulate. she is well-educated. i happen to like her. i happen to like her. she wasn't my first choice, but i happen to like her. let me say this. manuld never, ever choose a who called women ditzy, who called women all kinds of names.

i'm talking about trump. i enjoy the fact that biden said, i am going to listen to this woman. i am going to have her be the last person in the room that gives me an opinion. trump has his vice president, who is a yes person. who sits around the table and throws accolades of he is a supreme leader kind of thing. i don't want this kind of person.what makes you stronger , and i know in my own experience, is people who give me their own opinions. then i think about things, and maybe i change my mind based on that opinion. plane overhis wilkes-barre, saying vote for me. i would never, ever vote for trump. roach,ould have picked a

and i would have voted for biden. host: in kentucky, his thoughts come independent. caller: thanks, john and mr. kraushaar. thisstill deciding for november. i like what i know about her, but i'm still learning a lot. i wonder what the claims about what she did as a prosecutor in california, keeping people in jail, person on death row, things like marijuana, i wonder of these are the other party playing up on things to tear her down. can you comment on that any? guest: sure. there is a lot of substance behind her tough on crime, even small crimes like marijuana possession when she was the da of san francisco and her time as the attorney general of california. about a decade ago the mood within the democratic party was

very pro-law-enforcement. if you wanted to succeed in national politics you could not be seen and soft on crime. certainly if you are from the bay area. as someone who had brought political ambitions, she was cognizant of that, and that was consistent with her record. she did prosecute aggressively, including crimes like marijuana possession. a lot of progressives find it overly aggressive. i think her record and rhetoric since then and in recent months has been much more to the left. more notably during the argument over defunding the police or increasing funding to police departments, she came out recently in favor of the los angeles mayor garcetti's proposal responding to the los angeles police department. she is moved very much to the left on policing, law & order, and so on.

at the beginning of her career when she was attorney general of california, she took a more centrist pro prosecutor approach. -- caused her detractors to get ammunition against her and criticize her from the left. teresa from gulf breeze, republican. caller: thank you for all you do. i just wanted to comment on mr. biden. a wife, a daughter, and beau. i don't think he is the same man. i think the losses and stress have really affected him. tolly sad to see him try step up for the party. is far to the left. she is very bright, and she is

very effective at holding the little guy accountable in her state. i really and truly believe that the biggest problem with the judicial system starts at the very top with the people making the laws, the judges, and the lawyers. i don't trust her. they're picking on the police, but let's face it. it is where the laws are made. these are the problems that if you want to talk about systemic racism, let's start at the very top. host: do you trust the polling on where this election is? caller: i really don't. i find this to be almost surreal. at i don't trust the polling all. i feel like we are all boxed in, the voters.

everybody talks about how bad mike pence is, but he has been consistent and kind. i didn't know what to think about him when he was running. host: teresa in florida. josh kraushaar, do you trust the polls right now? guest: i do. i think there is always the margin of error. a remarkablen consistency in the national and battleground state polls in terms of biden leading outside the margin of error. even in the battleground states you see a big lead. i think actions speak louder than poll. you can look at where the campaigns are spending money, which states. the trump campaign is spending in georgia, a very red state. that shows they are worried. they are afraid.

they have not been spending in michigan, a state where trump narrowly carried. atimately, i like to look the action and strategic spending by the campaign. the biden campaign is looking to expand and the trump campaign is playing defense, consistent with the polling we are seeing. host: another against the grain headline, not all battlegrounds are equal. can you talk about arizona? guest: the point of that column that i wrote this week, georgia is a much tougher state for democrats to crack than arizona, which is looking more and more democratic by the day. statesf the times two get grouped together. republican states turning democrat get more competitive. they have been moderate and

persuaded suburban voters. that is a trend where we are seeing democrats making big gains in the suburbs of arizona. what happens when you make those gains in persuasion campaigns by the democrats. in georgia the elector is more racially polarized. they are conservative, there's more evangelical component. i think a lot of the times democrats fooled that have support. for a democrat to get 50% support with a solid republican base, it will be tough for biden or any senate candidates, there are two senate races in georgia, it will be tough. even though the races look competitive, it will be tough for democrats. host: virginia, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning, guys. i'm a little bit upset this morning.

i've been watching them, this political show, since 2010 when the tea party took over. they said no to obama for six years on anything he wanted. joe biden was the man that if anything got made happen, biden was the man who made it happen. he worked with the senate to try to get something done. would say yes to help make it grow. when trump takes over they say yes. donald trump has failed. i can't leave my home without a mask. gloves. my wife is sick. it's like i'm trapped. i can see the nation falling apart. it's very disturbing. if we don't do something this

election, we will be germany, hitler's germany, in 10 years. i guarantee it. host: josh kraushaar? reflects acaller widespread sentiment among democrats. if you look at every poll, there are number of people saying we will never vote for president trump no matter what, it's 50% or higher. it's really hard to win an election when almost half of the country won't vote for you no matter what. even if you don't love joe biden and are skeptical of senator harris, it doesn't matter. your voting against president trump. that base of anger and sheer disillusionment with the president is very real, very high, and it makes it very difficult for president trump. host: about 20 minutes left with josh kraushaar.

talking about the campaign 2020. all aspects of it. if there's a race you are interested in, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents, (202) 748-8002. we talked about wave elections before. one of your columns from late last month issued a tsunami warning for republicans. why do you think this might be a political wipeout for the gop? guest: you can see it with the polling and the strategic decisions the campaigns are making. i remember in 2006 when they won the house and senate and followed it with president obama's historic election in 2008. people forget 2008 was not just a historic election for president obama, but democrats made historic gains in states that were never democratic, like alabama and other usual conservative hotspots. we are seeing a similar dynamic in 2020 where democrats won the

house. they are in striking distance to win the senate back. races ineing house indiana, some of the districts that trump won by double digits. there is a district in indiana points thaton by 11 democrats are confident they can pick up. in the house democrats hold a majority.l if you look at the polling on both sides, there are signs democrats can further expand that net majority 10 near historic levels. trump cannt -- if gain points in his job approval rating maybe it won't be a tsunami it'll be a wave instead, but now things are looking bleak . it is not just that biden is favored to win the white house, it means democrats are favored to take back the senate and even expand their house majority. host: democrat committees in the

house and senate, did they do what they needed to do in recruiting for the primaries to take advantage of a wave or tsunami if it were to hit on election day? guest: they did for the most part. there are a few holes, like the georgia races, but for the most part they have good candidates to run. they have raised a lot of money. some house candidates are raising over $1 million per quarter in preparation for a competitive reelection. republicans, some of the races republicans are well-positioned, some of the more conservative districts they should do well in, they didn't get the best candidates that could build on president trump's base. overall, the environment is awfully favorable. the question is is it a wave, a good election for the democratic party, or one of the historic elections that the democrats could get back unified control of power in washington?

rich in kingsport. independent. caller: good morning, mr. kraushaar. i think you are the perfect person to ask since you are against the grain. i have three questions. number one, since the democrats say this is the most important election in our lifetime, with there have been any constitutional impediments to having former president obama run as a running mate for joe biden? think kamalao you harris' past with willie brown will come up, or will that be a third rail? as januaryrecently willie brown wrote an op-ed taking credit for giving her her start. they had a romantic past.

number three, what's up with the many mullets on trump and biden? do they not have anyone that can snap off the hair sticking out the back? hope you can shed some light on this. host: i don't know if you want to take up the barber question, but you want to do the other two? guest: certainly obama would have been eligible, but that was never a possibility. i don't think the willie brown relationship, past relationship in san francisco, i don't think that is going to make any difference. host: walker, west virginia, republican. caller: yes, i would like to know how y'all think biden is going to win when he can't even get out of the basement to talk to everybody. thank you. he did get out of the basement yesterday. he's actually been going between

his home in wilmington and a vacation home in rehobeth beach. he has not been doing a lot of public events. i think that is a vulnerability. the political equivalent of three-meant defense. three-man defense. it's an issue to some extent. president trump is also in his mid-70's. he has shown his own limitations as speaking -- at speaking and a lot of high-profile miscues. one of the challenges the trump biden's age and ability to step up and be president. as of the campaign issue, we saw in the polls and focus groups that republicans did a lot of trump, who voted for

almost by double digits among voters aged 65 and older, they did not like trump was going after bidens age -- biden's age. one place where biden has made inroads is among seniors. he is leading the seniors in almost all national polls. i think they realized that attack -- maybe some agree with it but it does not hold political momentum. when you come out and past cycles you often focus on the fundraising rates. who has the money to last in an election. his money less important in this environment? fundraisersing and and not flying around the country to crowds? guest: i think so. it's a cliche for me but message

is a lot more important than money. -- it did not prevent him from winning the nomination. michael bloomberg. if money meant everything, michael bloomberg spent well over $1 billion to try to win the democratic nomination. he only won delegates in american samoa. a lot of democrats like to ascribe power to people. if i was the case, michael bloomberg would be the democratic nominee. money as a stand-in for momentum and support. in the last few months joe biden and the d&c have essentially -- dnc have essentially caught up. they trailed in july but outraised trump in may and june. at the the challenger --ancial disadvantage die

biden has erased that deficit. money will not be an issue for the biden campaign. he said at the rally yesterday they raised more money in a single day after picking senator harris. they are not worried about money. biden has a lot of money. it will not be a race of who has more money. host: michael bloomberg promised even if he lost the primary a lot of his money would be there for the eventual winner of the democratic primary for the general election. is he donating heavily to the biden campaign? has that money showed up? guest: no. you can interpret why he has not been as involved as he promised he would be. i think he thought his money would go a lot further than it did in the presidential campaign. even for one of the wealthiest the amounthe country of money he spent on the campaign is still a lot of money.

for theot spent presidential campaign or the down ballot races. one of his most influential moves in 20 was spend money to help democrats when house seats and congressional races. bloomberg is speaking. he announced today bloomberg will have a speaking role at the democratic national convention. he is getting some reward for running for president and his past financial reward and donations to the democratic party. host: chesterfield, virginia. dan. caller: i have a couple of comments about some earlier callers. the caller from south carolina harris married a white man. that man is not white. he is a product of people in this country. he is not white.

another think i have a comment about mr. vice president -- what is his name? host: mike pence. caller: yes. he is nothing but a snake in the grass. he is another george wallace. this man set a black man's for six months to 12 months for a man who has been in jail in indiana for 36 to 40 years. walked around he was something stuck in it and acting like he is god almighty. host: that is van in virginia. role mike pence will be playing in the next 80 days? guest: the most important role will be at the vice presidential debate in utah. without a campaign trail it does not look like we will have any campaign events in person.

those debates will take on greater importance. mike pence did well at the 2016 debate against senator tim kaine. a lot of people are raising expectations for senator, harris -- senator kamala harris. they will be in the nationally televised vice presidential debate coming up. host: don in houston, texas. caller: can you hear me? morning. i am trying to do my political math. candidatesite male have lost presidential elections? a black woman or a woman period would lose automatically is preposterous. we live in america. there are many people trying to get to america just to be an american, regardless of their station in life. their station in life in america

will hold much better than anywhere in the world. says testingration is a preventive care. we can get preventive health care or universal health care, but we have people in the emergency rooms putting in astronomical burden on our doctors, nurses, and other health care and economics. united states is leading in covid cases. look at the next four countries, brazil, russia, india, and south africa. the only countries not in there as china, which brazil, russia, india, china and south africa has an economic packet. they are not talking about brexit right now. they are trying to deal with

this pandemic, which is forcing their economy to crash. host: you bring up a lot of different points. josh kraushaar? guest: the most important point is the pandemic is by far the top issue on voters minds across the country. that is true if you are a republican or democrat. you saw that with both biden and senator harris's speeches yesterday. a lot of focus of what senator harris said was to indict both trump and pence and their handling and dismissal of the seriousness of the pandemic. senator harris said once every eight or nine hours a person dies of covid-19. that is a powerful line. this election will be determined whether voters believe trump has a handle on the pandemic. things are getting better or worse. that is an advantage democrats are holding. i think they will continue to hold as we get dramatic

improvement in the final months of the year. host: new numbers out on the jobless claims. the number of americans who filed new claims for benefits last week dipped below one billion for the first time in 20 weeks. labortest figures, the department showed 963,000 people filing claims. americans are dealing with the end of the $600 boost in benefits. guest: without seeing the details and data it sounds slightly encouraging that maybe the worst is behind us. even with the increases in cases down south and southwest that grindonomy maybe didn't to a halt the same way it did in the spring. a lot of people are hurting economically. it has totally disrupted their daily lives and livelihoods. even if the economy rebounds

quickly, i don't think it will dramatically change the political environment going into november. it sounds like there is a silver lining in the data, some encouraging news that things are not as bad as people feared. overwhelmingnd number of americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. even the macroeconomic data will not be enough for that. host: another think the pandemic is done is changed the way americans are going to be voting this november, with many expected to vote by mail. the president was on fox this morning. he was asked about funding for the net essays postal service and the fight happening between the administration and congress about what should be done with that agency. on fox news he will not fund usps. they need the money to make the

post office work so we can take all those millions and millions of ballots. if they don't get those two items, you can't have universal mail-in voting. the president and his concerns about mail-in voting? partisan -- how you vote has become a partisan issue. trump tried to create a lack of confidence with the system. he likes to raise the specter of acting inple malicious ways to tamper with the voting process. the bigger worry given the trump white house has not allocated more money or gotten congress to pass a bill to get more money to states to help administer voting, the bigger question is -- mail gets lost, right? it does not get processed at times. if democrats rely on casting their ballots in the mail and

republicans go to the voting booth, republicans may actually end up having an advantage because even if things were done perfectly, there would be a loss orrcentage of allocated in the wrong way. there is a legitimate concern. so many ballots are being handled by the mail that it could create some ballots that don't go or get processed. it's a legitimate issue. trump has tried to worsen them. he has not proposed ways to fix the problem. it is like he is trying to as surveyed -- to exacerbate the problem. host: a few minutes left with josh kraushaar. a few more of your calls. david, thank you for waiting in sharon, massachusetts. caller: good morning. what do you think of biden's chances of winning the so-called swing states? ohio, pennsylvania, wisconsin? guest: that's a great question.

pennsylvania and wisconsin were two of the closest battlegrounds in 2016 that trump nearly carried. i think biden is favored to win both states, especially pennsylvania given its significance of urban population in philadelphia and pittsburgh. the suburbs have moved dramatically away from the republican party. i think that will hurt trump's chances in pennsylvania. wisconsin will be a stay to watch more closely just because trump has been resilient. there was a poll this week from one of the state's top posters showing a four-point race. biden was up by four but that's not overwhelming. you mentioned ohio, which used to be one of the biggest battlegrounds in the country. it has become more public and -- republican. a larger share of blue-collar workers that support the president.

even ohio is looking like a genuine battleground. both parties spending money in ohio. that is a big bellwether. if joe biden wins ohio. host: alexis in wilmington, north carolina. independent. caller: good morning to you. was kamalaether it or any other person as vice president, as long as they were young enough to take over if he makes it four years. the most important thing is we get morals and ethics back into that presidency. is saving ourtant democracy and not having to go -- not obama -- that trump would love to have. we need to put lack lives on the

back burner. anything but losing our democracy. this is most important. oron't see trump giving way any of his cohorts. they want to command and demand regardless of what our constitution says, regardless of our three -- are you with me? host: yes, alexis. finisher comment. caller: regardless of congress and the separation of the white house and the house and the senate. it is all getting mushed. the judicial is dragging in. host: i think we got your point. josh kraushaar? guest: the one concern i would have is how trump has tried to already, in august, raise questions about the legitimacy of the vote, which is entirely unfounded. it seems like he is trying to prepare contingencies for how he will spin a loss.

you talk to democrats and folks of the highest levels of the biden campaign, that is what keeps them up at night. thishe will try to portray election as illegitimate, use the slowness of the count, raise questions about ballot counting --certain states in and further polarized the electorate. host: we were talking about ohio. kathleen and dayton. good morning. caller: good morning. i was a sanders supporter. still am. his values are my values, as well as warren. i'm having to put my reservations aside in regard to biden and harris. i know biden is essentially a centrist. i'm having to put my reservations aside. i will be supporting them totally. here is what is fascinating.

i live -- i take care of my 92-year-old mother. she lives in a senior community, mostly former gm workers. a lot of trump supporters. however, they are tipping. trump e falling off the -tanic. especially because of this virus issue. we know trump did not cause it but his inept response, his administration's inept response is making them jump off the ship. i am talking to many of them who are heading towards biden. people,o just encourage whatever party you are in, get registered if you are not registered. apply for your absentee ballots. get on it. i am sad for people in the digital divide. i would have been out already registering voters. participate.

get involved. i think ohio is tipping big time for biden. i want to encourage people to participate big-time. thank you so much. joe biden, go harris. this will save the direction our country is heading in. host: josh kraushaar, you have the final two minutes here. guest: you have an example of how united the democratic party is over warren and sanders supporters enthusiastically supporting the biden-harris ticket. that is consistent with all the poles we have seen. llnew york times po showed almost 100% of sanders and warren supporters were behind biden and harris. the notion the left will not vote for their own presidential nominee is not backed up by data. i think that caller illustrated that. ohio is an important one. it will be a competitive

state. trump wanted by eight points -- won it by eight points. a lot of these young working counties, these are areas that swung dramatically to trump in the last election. there is a lot of evidence they are pulling back to the democratic roots. joe biden is a big part of that. he has the blue-collar working class appeal other democratic nominees -- certainly more than hillary clinton did in 2016. that is making states like ohio, iowa, states that normally would be in trump's corner looking a lot more competitive. host: a good twitter follow. like political news --josh genuiner, national senior political columnist. always appreciate you stopping by. up next on "washington

journal," nadia brown. we will talk about the role black women play in politics, in particular campaign 2020. we will be right back. ♪ american history tv on c-span3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. every weekend. coming up, saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern on american artifacts, library of congress curator beverly brannon on life in the 1930's and 1940's through color photographs. sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on reel america, three films on the 1976 election produced for an international audience. 8:00 p.m., except in speeches from five presidential nominees. harry truman, adlai stevenson, dwight eisenhower, john kennedy,

and richard nixon. exploring the american story. watch american history tv, this weekend on c-span3. ♪ c-span has covered every minute of every political convention since 1984. we are not stopping now. this month's political convention will be like none other in history. with the coronavirus pandemic still looming, plans for both gatherings are being altered. the democrats will be to nominate joe biden as their presidential candidate on monday. president trump will accept his party's nomination the next week. watching c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern for this coverage of the democratic convention starting on monday, and the republican convention starting next monday, august 24. live streaming and on-demand at c-span.org, or listen with the

free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ available inents, paperback, hardcover, and e-book from public affairs. presents biographies of every president. inspired by conversations with noted historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. in this election year, as americans decide who should lead our country, this collection offers perspectives into the lives and events that forged each president's leadership style. to learn more about president and historians, visit c-span.org -- c-span.org/the presidents. >> washington journal continues. host: from west lafayette,

indiana, we are joined by nadia brown, associate professor of african vacant studies at purdue university. taking time to focus on the role of black women in campaign 2020. nadia brown, one headline from the opinion pages of the new york times on this topic in the selection of kamala harris. this is not just a victory for kamala harris. millions of black women and their political labor have made this historic moment possible. and putd you describe into historical context the significance of the selection of kamala harris? guest: this is huge. kamala, the first black and indian american women to serve in the senate. the first woman of color to be on a presidential ticket. this is monumental. there is no if, and, or but's about it. two white women were presidential nominees, geraldine

ferraro and sarah palin. kamala harris is the first woman of color to be on the bottom of the ticket. host: i read a story you are quoted. black women in politics are invisible and hyper visible at the same time. what do you mean by that? does this change that at all? guest: i hope it changes some things. i hyper visible i mean black women are ever present. people notice them. we stick out because we are not the norm in american politics. the majority of american politicians are white men. american 26% of the senate are women. whenever there is a body out of place, not the norm of who we are used to seeing in politics, they stand out. this person is hyper visible. on the flipside, they are also invisible. they are easily ignored.

their preferences are usually seen as extreme or out of step with american politics and policies. they are demonized in ways that we have not seen by other groups. because of that they are silenced powerfully. often talked over, ignored, marginalized and not paid attention to as the quality or substance of what they are saying. instead they are looked at as stereotypes in ways that do not give them their full humanity or see their brilliant strategies as elected official. host: how did we get to this moment? steps orkey political cultural forces leading to the selection of the first ofican-american woman and indian ancestry as well on a major party ticket? guest: i think this was the perfect storm for some things that led to kamala being the perfect pick for right now. that theirst thing is

country was ripe for thinking about a different kind of representative. the country, the democratic party saw a huge number. six women running for the top of the ticket. this was previously unheard of for a major political party. the kind of national regret in some ways that we ended up taking throughout our primary -- we knew we were going to send an older white male to the white house. there was a groundswell from women's group who were saying that something did not sit right opportunity ofe not having a woman president. there should be some women reflected in upper echelons of politics. that was last year. at the beginning of this year. the game changer was in the last couple of months with the black

lives matter protests. the renewed attention to police brutality and systemic racism. the pandemic causing an economic thedown that really shaped lives of people of color and women. then the antiracist and , forhobic attacks led by lack of a better word, led by republicans. particularly donald trump. flu.ng this the kung it helped galvanize the country to understand race and racism is something americans are still dealing with. kamala steps in at the right point in time. somewhat able to speak to constituencies that are hurting, whether it is through systemic and different, inequalities.

the country recognizing that not having women's representation is something we are not as comfortable with. ,ost: talking with nadia brown professor from pretty university, playing about the role black women are playing in 2020. republicans, (202) 748-8000. --republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents. (202) 748-8002. some stats we will put on the screen for viewers. 70% of eligible black women voted in 2012 for president obama. slipped toin 2016 64%. where were you peg that number in 2020? guest: that's a complicated question. i think the well will be there.

however, because of suppression tactics, i don't think we will see the same number of ballots that actually cast. energizeamala will african-americans, asian americans, immigrants to vote, women to vote. i think because of covid-19 restrictions, mail-in ballots, accessing or mailing ballots will be a problem. then long lines at polling places that are closed. the lack of polling workers. we will not see the fullness of what kamala might have added to this ticket on november 4. host: the numbers to show viewers. 70% to 64% turnout in the last two presidential cycles. how does that compare to black men? to other groups as well? guest: black women have outsized roles in political participation at the rates they vote and participate in politics, at

numbers that are larger than other demographics. the other thing that is more unique about black women is they do have high levels of cohesiveness. unlike black men who also of high levels of voting in terms of turnout, black women are more likely to be uniform democratic voters. they are the backbone of the democratic party. i have published about this elsewhere. black women turned out in upwards of 90% in supportive democratic candidate. black men have a little flip. it is not huge but there are differences. 6% tolly an election year 12% of black men will vote for republican candidates. black women are usually voting 97%, 90% for democrats. 84%, 86% forl vote democrats. others will go to the republican party. that is where we are seeing the difference.

this group of people who are theurce poor in terms of environment you need to participate in politics, money, time, skill set. they are turning out for the democratic party. host: brenda is up first out of charlotte, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning to you, honey. i agree with everything she said. it is time for obama. this is harris time. the american people need to wake up because we do not need another four years like we went through. a president -- he is not my president. someone who wants to change the constitution, tear down mount rushmore. he does not want to find the postal service. he has got a trick up his sleeve some way or another. connie, you hit it on the head. joe, hee obama told

nailed it real good, honey. it is time. nobody's skinat color. we was all created by god. honey, it is time for the democratic party to take back over the country. going tohose two is make the big, big change in this world. host: brenda and north carolina. nadia brown? guest: thanks for that. also encouraging. points, i think the caller is right. --s is the right political for this particular time. biden has a large number of qualified, successful women he could have chosen from. taking nothing away from any of the other women he was vetting for vp. this was just the right time for

harris because of all the events happening in the world, the identities and adversities she brings, and she is like-minded moderate like biden. i agree it is not just about getting trump out of the white house. for the democratic party they are thinking about ways they can energize the base to turn out people that will vote for down ballot races. those of the things the ticket will have to prioritize. host: janice added to the vista, california. -- chula vista, california. caller: good morning. i am particularly distraught over everything being brought down to race. it is so ridiculous and sickening. obama was our president for eight years and he did nothing for the black community. trump has done more for the black community and black people in four years and obama did in eight.

biden has done nothing for anybody ever. as far as kamala harris is sent more she has black people to prison then biden's crime bill. i don't know why all of a sudden being black qualifies you for everything in office today. insultingabsolutely how the democratic party is always pandering to black people and people of color. basing their issues on people's qualifications and character, it is always based on race. host: nadia brown? guest: i think the caller raises important points and thankful for this opportunity to be able to share the kind of linkages i think are missed in popular discourse around race and politics matter. as, anytime race is used as

sloppy proxy to stand in for preferences or policy needs, that is definitely a problem. essentializedis or a group is seen as a monolith because of racial identity, that is a problem. i agree wholeheartedly. i think that is the work scholars should be out here doing, giving the context of this. hope iwant to do, and i have time to walk through this -- host: we have about 40 more minutes so take your time. guest: i can really put my professor had on. -- hat on. what i went to underscore is have -- groups have different policy preferences. they see the world in similar or dissimilar ways based on their social political history in the united states. this is not a universal claim.

we know there are differences among groups within groups. the history of group formation and racial hierarchy in the united states provides for us some markings of how groups operate in the world. how other groups are treated by those in power and those out of power. the dominant groups versus subdominant groups. because of how groups have been treated repeatedly over the course of several centuries in the united states, certain groups have a level of cohesion or see the world in similar ways. this is not to say there are not differences within groups. i study black women, black queer women, black immigrant women, and generational status, motherhood status. there is so much complexity in the black experience.

one thing that is foundational is america was built on hetero patriarchy, race-based hierarchies and exclusions. it was built on gender exclusions and norms. it was built on a very heterosexual narrative. the state has embodied all these things through making policies and laws. creating who was a citizen and who was not. who has access to resources. who gets to live in certain spaces and who does not. all these things are political, not just social. because of that different groups have different relationships to power and proxy. it is absolutely a shorthand to say this is a great thing for black people, a great thing for asian american people. it's a great thing for immigrants. the nomination of kamala harris. behind this it has to be underscored, the history of white. any time -- the history of why.

anytime history of racism is a -- we see this more played out in the pandemic. i see this with my students and others. race is not going away. gender-based hierarchies are not going away. any time we are able to point to one group of people that are experiencing hardships or difficulties, not because of just their own lack of agency or their own decision-making, but because of institutions and structures put in place to keep the marginalized, that is the problem. that is something the political class should be addressing. opinion, is trying to get at some of this by taking

kamala as his vp. this is not a perfect one-to-one match. republicans and progressives taking aim at kamala's stance, her prosecutorial record. need to bringg we up much more complex conversations around race. x'er wes our first gen would see at the white house. not seenpeople we have as much as national spotlights. this is a huge time. not just because of the racial markers for the gender markers, but the historical marginalization we have seen that has been made more apparent now through the economic meltdown and recession caused by the pandemic, and the health disparities we are seeing in today's climate. host: savannah, tennessee. this is marie, independent.

go ahead. you are on with nadia brown. caller: i would like to lay race aside or skin color and make a remark about character. thats noticeable to me anala has a nerve or affected left arm she cap -- and she kept playing with her hair. it was sloppy and messy. she has an affected nasal voice. foolish smile. it indicates a level of immaturity. great worldsome women leaders. albright, condoleezza to be proud of. andn't think kamala

joe's ticket -- it will be lame. guest: this is a perfect segue for this new book i have. thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my new research. i am interested in the politics of appearance, particularly for black women candidates. the narrative that the caller just shared really plays into how the public has a heightened attention to what women of color look like and their behaviors and linking them to sophomoric responses and how they think it is connected to character. aserestingly enough, kamala, a multiracial black woman, scores high with voters in the kind of research i have done with my co-author out of texas southern university.

-- southern methodist university. beinge show that kamala lighter skin, straight hair, more petite woman actually makes her more favorable than darker skinned, more textured natural hair. not to downplay the caller's criticisms of kamala, but the politics of appearance does matter. popular mainstream culture think is more frivolous. we all have hair and skin. these are style choices and not the serious works of politics or policy, but voters are paying attention to this. it is something i hope to be able to shed light on with this project. host: how do you scientifically test that? guest: experiments.

we have experiments with voters where we have given voters pictures of black women and changed the appearance of the black woman, keeping all the other things like policy positions and things she says -- who she says she is and cares about. voters are asked to assess their feelings about the candidate and what they think her biggest or strongest traits are and attributes. that -- thework quantitative work daniel has done for our project. on my end, i talked to black women and elected officials and voters. i am able to use the richness of their narrative to share how they feel their appearance has impacted how they are perceived in politics. host: do you have a name for the book? the backend is definitely

-- it will not be published until march. it is under contract with oxford university press. we will come out in early 2021. if callers have suggestions, i am all ears. host: we will happy to have you back on to talk about it more. tuckerton, new jersey. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. ms. brown, you are such a credit to us women. i have a thing to say about how they are using kamala as the running mate for mr. biden. be careful, african-american community. they are using her. we are not followers. i always taught my children to be leaders and not followers. she is flamboyant. you have to take a close look at taken inions she has the past and now.

she has been a person who has been a follower in the legal community and the persecution of the poor, taking it away from race. who is forrson abortion and the african american community is being decimated by abortion -- has been decimated by abortion forever. we have to look out for the constitutional rights of the born and the unborn. host: where did you hear she is for abortion? she is strongly supported by planned parenthood. caller: yes, she is supported by planned parenthood. that means she is for abortion. host: understood. go ahead. caller: one of the things to be careful of, african-american community, be wary of the way our constitution could be

decimated, starting with the second amendment. we have a right to protect ourselves. kamala is a beautiful, flamboyant woman, and don't be fooled. so was hitler. host: professor brown? guest: that is a strong comparison. i want to underscore this point -- in a popular construction, and we see this in the media and talking points. groups of americans or americans in general are not politically aware. my own research shows that is not the case. i talking with black voters find black voters have a high level be -- level of sophistication around who they will vote for ny. -- and why. i get pushback from voters who

who likelyicipants voters and they say people think i don't have a brain in my head because i am black. i do have a brain. i am going to show you and talk to you in depth about my policy preferences and positions. i think that is the biggest isnomer i have come across that my participants want to get out there. i think the caller is absolutely correct in reminding us that americans are smart. they are thinking about politics and policy in nuanced ways. big misinformation campaign to think that black voters are going to be swayed just by the color or the racial identification of a candidate. we see this today with conversations around kanye

west's presidency run. you see this around kamala harris. i want to push out there that black voters are smart and sophisticated. they know they have different policy preferences that sometimes align with the candidates and sometimes don't. they are astute enough to recognize there are some political parties or local politicians that have their best interest at heart, even if they don't agree with their policies 100%. and can are pragmatic make calculations to support this particular set of politicians as opposed to these others. they have an overarching policy preference, even if i don't like this one particular thing. i want to give credit where credit is due. i want to move away from overly simplistic notions that believe minority communities will solely vote for a candidate because they share a racial or gender

background. host: nadia brown of purdue university. with us for the next 25 minutes or so. we continue to talk about the role of black women in campaign 2020, and politics in general. we should bring up some of the historical pioneering black women and politics as well. for viewers who don't know, remind them who shirley chisholm was. guest: the first black woman elected to congress. she did so in 1968 from brooklyn, new york. --sholm was a black multiethnic woman from barbados. become the first black woman to run for president under the democratic party. charlene mitchell was the first one for president as an independent.

shirley chisholm was the first black woman to run for president. but she leftet far a legacy of being one of the founding mothers at the congressional black caucus, the national organization of women, and she lived her life advocating for minority communities,, good communities, children, education. to was the first black woman win a seat in congress and become the first black woman to run for president on a major party for president on a major party. -- on a major party ticket. today's black women in congress and leaders? guest: today's women and political leaders owe it all to the early feminist mothers. the black feminist foremothers.

i think there is not much that separates them. all these women were ambitious, smart, capable. unfortunately the times just dictated that there were not that many black women, women of elites.litical thankfully because of the civil rights movement and the feminist movement and opening up educational and professional opportunities there are so many more black women and women of color able to run for congress or elected officials because of the limited opened the door. over 130 black women who have filed to run for congress, the largest number we have seen ever. this is history breaking. the number includes a larger number of black republican women. the same holds true for asian

americans and asian-pacific islander women. this is a watershed year for women of color running. they would not have had opportunities to do so if it were not for their women who entered politics in the early 1970's, 1980's, 1990's. we are still having firsts. there are still whole states that have never sent a woman to congress, never had a black woman governor. there are so many challenges. many have never had a woman governor. r period. unfortunately we are still talking about firsts in this 2020 election cycle. host: connie, independent. good morning. caller: thank you for having me on c-span and thank you, ms. brown. woman.ent is i am a

i happen to be a white woman. i am so tired of being put in the box. because ofmonolithic our skin color or our gender. i happen to love condoleezza rice. i love nikki haley. i did not like sarah palin. i really do not care for kamala harris. it has nothing to do with their race or their gender. i am just tired of being put into the box. proudsee how people are of someone, but i did not care for sarah palin and i am a woman. i would just like to hear your comments on that. guest: of course. what i think i hear you saying is you have more excitement for people that align with your own policy preferences or how you see the world. itt is so important to add

back into this conversation. this is making history because we have never seen -- america has never seen a woman of color vp. what comes from this our conversations around the historic firsts because these groups have been marginalized. what my research is showing, and i think their trajectory of the population demographics are is we will continue to see firsts but they will matter in different and more unique ways. in my own research what i find is that politicians have to now speak to the policy preferences of their particular groups they are trying to reach out to. in the past that was not the case. i started doing research on black elected officials in the early 2000. i was told different things about black voters from black elected officials.

fast forward 15 years. very more highly attuned or more attention paid to policy preferences that are reaching out to groups that understand the nuances and complexities. i think that is the goal of american politics and policies. the understanding that at one point there were basic needs groups needed met. i think there still are. i don't want to underscore -- i do want to play lightly there are groups we have yet to see have adequate representation. there are groups that are absolutely dying and having their policies affected because they have no voice at the table. particularly trans communities of color. centers that are over policed. for the majority of other americans who into at least one dominant identity, seeing their cells reflected in the politics

and policies and beyond other basic needs met when they talk about policy preferences for the things that animate them that might fall along the lines of class and economy, or on the lines of thinking about climate change and justice for children and educational settings. there are nuances. i think these kind of conversations get elevated once the groups have been more fully formed into electoral politics. some groups have that kind of conversation. we can see this event differences in how women vote. we can see this and how women politicians talk about women's issues over talk to women. we don't see this so much and communities that have not had a chance to have their seat at the table. host: william at of lovington, north carolina. good morning -- wilmington, and ocalan.

-- wilmington, north carolina. caller: i wanted to say she has a lot of opinions. she is a professor of african studies. i'm curious as to how she feels about a lot of the people out in the streets right now that are tearing down statues and all stuff whereal type these people were slaveowners and all this. i wonder what the discussion would be with your students concerning all of that, where miss harris and her family were slaveowners. how in the african studies, as far as i going with her being jamaican and not really of african dissent in the family being slaveowners, but with the discussion actually be with the classroom concerning this? is this an ok thing because she is of color? guest: thank you.

put my professor had on a clear some things up. there is an african diaspora. what the caller is getting, as opposed to being from african dissent. someone a descendent of people from africa throughout the diaspora. jamaica, the caribbean, the united states. there are different social and political histories that are different. people from african dissent through forced migration and slavery, whether they choose to emigrate to the u.s. over forced and emigrating or forced labor here in the united states. i wanted to clear some of that up. those things are different. around pullingn down statues or pushing back against the confederate symbols is something that has not necessarily come into conversation with kamala and joe biden when they announced their

vp pick. with my students, avoiding thinking about making the linkages between the two. with my students i want them to understand where these statues came up, why they come up, and the role it plays in continuing systemic racism in the united states. these statues, confederate monuments, came up well after the civil war. the came up mostly during early jim crow period. these are systematic tools. research in history and political science, sociology continues to show these were monuments to terrorize black communities and make sure they stayed in their place understanding racial superiority -- they were not in a position of racial security even though

they gained their -- racial superiority even though they gained their freedom. the legacies of those monuments, not necessarily the disconnect -- there is a break in history. the monuments do not go upright after the civil war. hold in blacke a communities or southern states or northern states as a way to pay tribute to the confederacy. they happen sometimes decades do i think that -- the set --

the question was asked about my own opinion. i want to make sure my opinions or what i'm sharing to you is not just what i think, but as what professor brown thinks, the professor is sharing. they are trying to figure out how to address countries heritage with systemic racism and violence that we have pointed back to the civil war to a rebel nation try to tear the united states apart. to now having this reconciliation process around race and what do we do with these symbols. these are enduring questions that the democratic party is going to have to figure out in conversation with republicans

because this is our national history. are the ideals that harper back to a really painful time in american history where it is now torn apart and is divided household by household, brother by brother. time where we come together and say who do we want to say is coming forward in a way that supports the complexities and diversities in our own background. via. our texton messaging service mostsays i think the qualified and intelligent candidate running was pete buttigieg. consulate, all we heard was that he would not get the black vote, more specifically, the black female vote.

please analyze. was this evangelical inspired homophobia? guest: that was a curveball. think thatessarily this was evangelical inspired homophobia. i think pete buttigieg had an because of the demographics of his city, the demographics of indiana. i think that coming out of a small town, he is not in a major metropolitan, upper nominally white state. haves not in a state to americans of colegio to know him. him. get to know i am saying that as someone who lives in indiana right now, a professor at purdue university.

it would be a different conversation if pete buttigieg had the demographic outreach or if he were on a national stage. mayor being a small town is not something that would preclude someone from running for politics. many people saw this as a strength. one of the downsides was that he just did not have the community connections that other politicians had given the location where he was running from, the position that he held and the state he was hailing from. host: time just for one or two more phone calls. mary in virginia. caller: good morning. this is just a side comment. i appreciate the patience of the people who call in because it really takes a long time. i'm calling to say i don't know how anyone can question the

intelligence of african-american people. impressed with all over the country. african-american women & men who are mayors. they have really impressed me. look at our african-american representatives in congress. they are very accomplished people. we have people in the news all the time. just surprised that anyone would question. how manyate intelligent african-american people i see. thank you. guest: thanks for that call. i find this a bit unsettling anytime that minority groups are

painted as less than equal in terms of their own capabilities to engage in politics and policy because that is clearly not the case. honestly, it makes me sad when i talk with participants in the first thing they want to do is tell me how qualified they are to speak to me about politics or policy when any american citizen should feel qualified to talk about politics and policy. these are decisions affecting their lives. who knows their lives better than themselves. i 100% agree with this. i think that most of this comes from a model that is holding up people in power and comparing those two people who don't have power. using these terms and measures to assess who knows what and

how. host: last call is tj from new jersey. caller: hello. i would like to make a comment. republican, however, i reregistered as an independent. i voted for barack obama in 2009. the only republican i voted for was ron paul. i've been voting for bernie sanders ever since. i don't think joe biden will be qualified at all. however, donald trump has been wholly destructive in his gross ineptitude as president for four years. we definitely need change. this year, i am planning on voting most likely for the green party. on kamala harris as the vice president, as a black person, i can say that we are very galvanized by black leaders and it is very true because with barack obama, we saw ourselves

be represented by this person, so we wanted to elect him as the president of the united states. the problem is, some of these in racialld be black characteristics, but not necessarily represent you. prosecutor,s, as a jailed many black people. we should not vote for identity, we should vote for policy. we would be better off for doing so. she is the reason why many black people are away from their black families are not raising their black children. i think that is wholly destructive to the -- she refused to prosecute steven mnuchin, who is a donald trump's white house right now and is the reason the socioeconomics is so lopsided when it comes to black american homes. host: got your point. nadia brown, last minute or so. guest: i think he really underscored what i was, trying to share this hour with you is that black voters are

sophisticated. everyone fromve the idea that kamala harris's nomination will turn out black voters in droves because she is a multiethnic black woman. instead, people are paying attention to her policy preferences on having berries or detailed conversations around can they support her based on her past records. i will urge people to think about both the symbolic nest of this candidacy and the substance she brings to it and ask them to make their own choices. in doing so, i think it is really important to remember this historic period in which she is coming to us as the right person for this ticket at this moment and why it matters. end on thinking about the need for people to us has her on her own right, to assess this ticket on their own right and do so in a pragmatic way.

you heard the color say he doesn't believe in a donald trump presidency. motivating factor for voting for biden or the green party, i think that needs to come out. in reality, what we are seeing is that we should not take away from this historic first, recognizing that this is something that should be celebrated. we have so much more work to do in this country. i want to remind us all to be vigilant and think about the policies and politics of the person we are voting for. host: nadia brown from purdue university, political science in african-american studies professor. come back and talk to us down the road about the book or perhaps sometime before. guest: thank you for having me. host: stick around. about 20 minutes left on "washington journal" today and we returned to the question we started our program with, asking how much you pay attention to the bottom half of a party ticket. do you think a vice president to pick matters? give us a call.

democrats,, independents. ahead and start calling you now and we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday night, journalist and author elaine wise on her book about the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920 which granted women the right to vote. >> it passes the house by a margin very small. it passes the senate with only a two vote margin. there are senators who are sitting on it, after the house passes it in 1918. it takes until june of 1919 before it passes both houses. and then, the senate knew they were sending it out for ratification in the states, what is called an off year when most

state legislators were not going to be in session. that was sort of purposeful to make it more difficult. the suffragists had to convince 30 governors to call their legislators back into special session. elaine wise sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's "q&a." "washington journal" continues. host: the day after the biden-harris ticket made its public debut, we are asking you in these last 20 minutes whether you think the vp pick matters. phone lines split up by political party, republicans, democrats, independents. one politico headline about this topic yesterday "running

mates don't usually matter, kamala harris might." saying despite decades in government, joe biden remains less sharply defined saying kamala harris might give republicans a better chance to define him. . does a vp pick matter? good morning.er: running mates matter because if biden passes, we know who will be president. her being a black woman would definitely matter here in the united states. being a black female, it would mostly matter because you eat examples like if you were to take a white male baby and put it in a black neighborhood and come back 10 years later, that male baby would be playing with the rest of the children. if it was a white female and you put a black male baby in a white neighborhood, come back 10 years later, that baby wouldn't be there because the white lady will allow the white male to do

that. it is the white female that our biggest problem is, not black females or people because she is benefiting from her children. that is why she allows white men to mistreat everybody else. mississippi.in this is milton in new orleans. i think we lost milton. this is marsha in portland, oregon, independent. caller: hello? ion? -- am i on? i am trying to get my television muted. there it is. thanks for taking my call. what i had wanted to say really i think that martin luther king would be very disappointed because he said that people should be judged on the content of character, not the color of their skin. i will add gender. it is kind of a shame we haven't

gotten there yet. host: to this question we are asking, do you think running mates matter or does it more this year to you? caller: i do think running mates matter and i think that the presidential candidates, they are very calculating and who they choose. largere trying to appease sections of the population, but what they should just wary about is the person's qualification. if they believe that this person can develop -- deliver value and that's it. they don't need to worry about pleasing people, trying to get the black vote and this and that. person you think is qualified for the job. host: has there ever been a vice presidential pick that has changed your mind about voting

for a candidate one way or the other? thinking,u know, i am because i have been voting since , something like 1988. really, the vice president never really stood out until mccain chose palin. that is when that kind of woke me up and said oh, he has chosen someone out of the box. host: and did you think that was a good pick? caller: at the time, i didn't because i was a little bit not understanding the republican situation. but now, i have kind of changed over the years and i think that sarah palin is actually a quite intelligent person. i think she got kind of bashed havee media, but i listened to some of the things she has said within the last couple of years, and she is

actually -- she has kind of got a bad break. host: on sarah palin, this is sue in new jersey who said, i believe running mates do matter, although sarah palin is an accomplished woman, she ultimately hinder john mccain's bid for presidency. sue says i wish people would stop making derogatory remarks and stick to the facts. caller: good morning. i do believe running mates matter, especially in the selection where the candidates are so old. one of the things i do like about kemal a harris -- kamala harris is that she is young. i would have preferred elizabeth warren, quite honestly. the fact that they chose a black candidate to appease people, i think was not a necessarily good thing, but if they were going to choose one, i think kemal is at least very respected as a

politician, and she is very qualified. i think that is what matters most about her. host: how old is too old to run for president? think anyone who is going to reach their 78th or 80 in our presidency is too old. but both of the candidates are too old. trump is too old and anyone who can take trump out of office, to me -- you know is better than trump. host: mary in maryland. joe biden will be 78 in november. donald trump is 74 years old. mike pence, 61. kamala harris, 55 years old. she will be 56 in october. catherine is next out of florida. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to talk about the that the i do believe

vice presidential candidates are important. i believe that even more important is that who are chosen because i feel that in john mccain's case, i feel like sarah palin was a person that inhibited him from winning the election. on the other hand, i feel that mike pence, who donald trump chose, helped him in the election because he brought on the if angelica is that maybe president trump might not have gotten. in this race, i feel that joe biden picked kamala harris to placate a lot of people. one thing i have noticed that no one has brought up is that i think that she might be a turn off for certain black voters only because kamala married a

white man as opposed to a black man. i would think that that would turn off some black voters may be thinking, couldn't she find a black man that was good enough for her to marry. no one is bringing up this part, they bring up the race card, but they haven't brought up about her white husband. host: catherine in florida, this is miriam in wisconsin. caller: good morning. fromme is miriam, i am wisconsin and i am an independent. it came to john mccain, the reason i did not vote for him was because of sarah palin. what concerned you about her? caller: sarah palin? other than the fact that she was a not? -- nut? she had absolutely no experience

in running anything. all things being considered, looking at her history after the campaign, we all knew that. is thehat do you think most important factor in picking; a running mate? in andhe ability to step be able to serve in the office of the presidency, the qualifications? is it the political factors, can they carry a state or bring a certain group along? what do you think it should be? caller: honesty. host: thanks for the honest answer. don in california. good morning. caller: i hear all of these people calling here with all of these morals all of a sudden. how in the world are you going to complain about morals and you have got somebody in office right now that don't care about nothing or nobody but his self?

as far as black people are concerned voting for kamala harris, why not? we have been voting for white folks all this long time. i guess you block people out there, i hear a lot of you calling in. that is the reason why we ain't together now is because elr always coming against each other. first time you get somebody in there that can represent you, now, you want to downplay her. you have this max who don't give a darn about you. host: what about the question we asked? do you think vice president and the vice president pick matters? caller: to an extent it does, but the reason why it matters right now, because i never did like pens. but then, they are going to pick him. was nothingid pence but a racist, but now they picked him and now, to have somebody that doesn't have any morals. yes, it matters.

to this point, it matters even more just because the woman is a woman of color. she is a woman, she is black. she is an israelite. her father is a benjamite from the tribe of benjamin. host: we will go to scott in massachusetts. good morning. good morning. thank you for taking my call. i believe right now that the vice president pick matters more than anything else. i would say with biden's competency at this point. the vice president is going to be the one that steps in. comeind of nervous as to olive because she really doesn't have anything to bring to the ticket. everything's she has said, she has flopped on multiple times. the one thatshe is

was picked. susan rice actually has thoughts and she doesn't waver as much as kemal does. i think kemal is going to hurt the ticket more than she is going to help it and i don't think we should be picking because of color or her gender. i think we should be picking on competency and whether they can handle the job. that was scott in massachusetts. catherine is in minnesota. independent. caller: good morning. i do think i do think that vice presidential candidates matter. casenk especially in this where people have a lot of questions about the strengths of all the primary candidates. i think kamala harris, i think it will help that she is a diverse candidate. i don't think she is picked solely because of that. i feel sad that people are discounting that just because she is a woman or black women that she doesn't bring the strength of both a black woman and a woman and a person in

politics. i am excited to see her join him, and partly because i don't think people have the confidence they want to have in the primary candidates right now. host: do you think people generally are concerned about the level of competence in the vp pick? do you think it matters? caller: i think it absolutely matters and i don't think that most of the people presented for a pick would be confident, -- competent, but we all have different strengths. very outspoken and i think that is a nice strength against joe biden and against trump. think that it makes in a more interesting race. polling, backlup in 2008, but a poll they do every presidential election cycle, perceptions of vice presidential candidates ability to serve as president if it became necessary, according to the gallup polling, some 57% of

respondents back into thousand eight set the pick of joe biden that he would be qualified to step in and serve as president if needed. going back to 2004 and john edwards, 57%. again, at the time saying he was qualified. when it came to 2000, joe lieberman, 52% saying he was qualified to step in. dick cheney, back to 57%. al gore, 60% saying he was qualified. that is actually lower than in 1992 when 64% said they thought he was qualified. dan quayle back in 1992, just 32% of those responding to the gallup survey saying they thought he was qualified to step in and become president if necessary. to eric in ohio, democrat, you are next. caller: i just wanted to say that i think she is a good pick.

oakland,p in california in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's and seeing how drugs , itltrated into the city just seems to me that to hear people attack her about putting blacks in jail for drugs, and i up innking, well, growing oakland and seeing how drugs just came in and started destroying, i was always taught to stay away from drugs and stuff like that. and then, i see them attacking her about putting people in jail over drugs. we didn't care what color you were, we didn't want you sending drugs to our kids. we wanted them to go to jail. she was doing her job. think about how hard it was for her to get that position.

and then, she gets the position and then you want to attack her for actually doing the job. host: a couple of minutes left in today's program. since we are talking about vice president mike pence, he will be delivering remarks today at farmers and ranchers for trump event. that is in des moines, iowa. live coverage begins on c-span at 2:00 p.m. eastern if you would like to watch that. maryland, independent. caller: i actually think vp's very much matter just because of the importance of being second the president. it is entirely scrutinizing to a negative degree. a good example is sarah palin. obviously, she lost the presidential election for john mccain. i think kamala harris, i

probably would have wanted she is but i am thinking a policy extremist, she has flip-flopped on numerous positions. i do feel like she is following, her party, at this point, -- race orknow if it is sexuality, specifically, but i do think that she will be scrutinized for the time we are that governments have changed so much today regards to the extreme deficit spending and just ideas that wouldn't necessarily express race at this time. warren is like this bankruptcy lawyer and all these other things that would have directed an interpretation of government today that we would have obviously in it differently then just maybe being ok, this is a very serious politician.

it is not a gimmick. we are not just interpreting one thing for another. sarah palin was that gimmick. there is a possibility that seen as suchld be and there could be this drawing down on whatever that may be depending on who the votaries, specifically. host: that was our last color in today's "washington journal." we will be back at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific. have a great thursday. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> a look now at our live coverage today on c-span. nancy pelosi will be holding her local -- her news conference. live coverage starts at 10:45 eastern here on c-span. coming up at 1:00, kayleigh mcenany will talk with reporters unanswered questions about issues facing the trump administration. that is at 1:00 p.m. eastern take you at 2:00, we to iowa where vice president mike pence will deliver remarks at a farmers and ranchers for trump campaign. all these events will be streamed online. >> c-span has covered every minute of every political conventions and's 1984.

we are not stopping now. this month's political conventions will be like none history. with the coronavirus pandemic still looming, plans for both gatherings are being altered. the democrats will me too to nominate joe biden as a presidential candidate on monday. president trump will accept his party's nomination the next week. watch c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern for live coverage of the democratic convention starting on monday and the republican convention starting next monday, august 24. one streaming and on-demand c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> the contenders about the men who ran for the presidency and lost that changed political

history all week on c-span. it tonight, founder of several labor unions and five-time socialist party presidential candidate, the last time from pres and that's prison. -- prison. >> marilyn governor larry hogan just finished his term heading the national governors association. he is talking about federal efforts to help states with a coronavirus pandemic. he joined a discussion to open schools and businesses while continuing to monitor hospitalization rates. is the 62ndhogan governor of the state of maryland. the second republican to be reelected in the 242 year history of the state. he has had a number of policy priorities that we will talk about recently during the pandemic, he has been a leader in ensuring that those in maryland have access to testing and they have a set of