>> our live coverage of the democratic national convention continues tonight with congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, former president bill clinton, and former second lady jill biden. tonight at 9:00 eastern on streaming on c-span.org/d&c, or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span. your unfiltered view of politics. , bloomberg'sngs jennifer epstein reviews the first night of the democratic national convention and what to expect tonight. later she the people founder aimee allison talks about the role of minority women in politics and the importance of senator kamala harris on the

democratic ticket. k looks atey beycho campaign news. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. washington journal is next. ♪ good morning, this is the washington journal for august 18. there is the wisconsin center in milwaukee, site of some of the activity of the democratic national convention. a lot of it being done by zoom and other means. day one taking place yesterday. day two tonight and it will feature speeches by bill clinton , alexandria of garcia cortez, and dr. jill -- alexandria ocasio-cortez, and dr. jill biden. you can watch on c-span and c-span.org or follow wrong -- or follow along on our c-span radio

app. we will get your impressions of the first set of the convention. what you think of the format and the speakers that were featured. among them, michelle obama. if you support joe biden, collis that -- call us at (202) 748-8000, if you support ,resident trump, (202) 748-8001 and if you support -- if you are undecided, (202) 748-8002. our facebook page if you want to post there, facebook.com/c-span. coverage tonight is the speech from bill clinton. there also be a roll call from america as part of the nomination process for joe biden. representative alexandria ocasio-cortez, and rounding out the night, the former second lady, dr. jill biden. there will be others within that timeframe.

9:00 is when it will start. those are the platforms you can follow along as well. when it comes to last night's coverage in the speakers, the washington post highlights some of the speakers. senator bernie sanders of vermont, also the former ohio republican governor john kasich, but it was michelle obama getting a lot of attention. a washington post story saying that in "the centerpiece speech of the night, a searing indictment of her husband successor, michelle obama declare the president mishandled the pandemic and failed to respond over outcries over the deaths of black americans and warned the nation would suffer more if he was elected to a second term." you can see the full speech on our website. here's a portion from michelle obama last night. [video clip] >> what we do now? what is our strategy. years, peoplefour

have asked me when others are going so low, does going hi still work? high isr is that going the only thing that works. the we go low, when we use same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we become part of the ugly noise that is drowning out everything else. we degrade ourselves, we degrade the causes for which we fight. let's be clear. going hi does not mean putting on a smile and say nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. going high means taking the harder path. it means scraping and clawing our way to that mountaintop. going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering we are one nation under god, and if we want to survive, we have to find a way to live together

and work together across our differences. means unlocking the .hackles of lies and mistrust the only thing that can truly set us free. the cold, hard truth. let me be as honest and clear as i possibly can. donald trump is the wrong president for our country. he has had more than enough time to prove he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. he cannot meet this moment. he simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. it is what it is. host: that from last night. we will show you other portions of those speeches from last night. you can comment on it and watch tonight's coverage at 9:00 on c-span, c-span.org, and you can

follow along on our c-span radio app. if you support joe biden, (202) 748-8000. if you support president trump, (202) 748-8001. if you're undecided, call us at (202) 748-8002. twitter says it was one giant campaign at good this is bill king off of twitter, saying i liked the new format more than the old-style convention. this move seamlessly from speaker to speaker. this is the future of political conventions. you could let us know about the new format as we go along in the morning. joe starts us off from north carolina. a supporter president trump. you are first. good morning. caller: i am glad you are the commentator today. what the democrats are saying on the convention about the social had 2.9 -- in 2019 you

trillion dollars in the reserve assets. you had $1of 2019 trillion in assets. $1 total income was trillion. oasi wasi -- the reserve money until 2024. relates to last nights's activities at the convention? caller: it was a bunch of rhetoric, bunch of hoopla. , and yes,chelle obama she will stand by her husband. things,d do some good but he really did not. bernie sanders wants to push it so far to the left, and he got joe biden to slide in because the man had two aneurysms in the

brain that were operated on. did you people know that? after that the medical science says he will go ahead and become delusional, sometimes, maybe not. some of the comments from last night. let's go to mitchell in new jersey, supportive joe biden. go ahead. caller: good morning. i watched most of the convention and i thought it was effective messaging. i do not know that it moves the needle for anybody. i do not know that any of the conventions well. i think most of us have gone into our respective corners and we are fairly well entrenched. our minds are made up. we have laid down the gauntlet and we are sprinting towards the

elections. i do not know that it will change. sanders wasbernie probably the most effective speaker last night. of course michelle obama was also o. i do not know how this changes us. there is not much of a middle to capture in terms of people undecided. i do not know that a lot of the people on either side need to be coaxed more. host: when it comes to bernie sanders, do you think he did an effective job in supporting joe biden enough to bring over those supporters who supported him initially and might be hesitant about joe biden? caller: i think he was as effective as he could be. -- i am a center

supporter myself, -- i am a bernie sanders supporter myself, but i do not understand the whotant sanders supporters do not vote and walk away from all this. i think he tried to center them. his communication was effective. host: jessica in maryland. a supporter of joe biden. you're up next. caller: something that most affected me was listening to michelle obama's speech. have not been extremely involved in politics, but i have seeingry disheartened the division in our country and i want anything to happen to bring everybody back together and see more positive things in

this world. listening to her talk about that made a difference for me. do you plan to watch all four nights? caller: yes. host: aside from joe biden, is there a particular person you are interested in hearing from? i am finding it is becoming more important to listen more and be more proactive in politics and i will try to do that. i would encourage other people to do that. bob, victoria, texas, undecided. talking about last night's first night of the democratic national convention. go ahead. caller: good morning. i wonder. they did not show anything about the riots in the killing of

police and this that in the other. they talk eloquently, yes, but to me what i am seeing is a bunch of salesman trying to sell heaters to somebody in hell. they are doing a pretty good job of it. people need to wake up and start looking at these riots and all the stuff going on in this pledged tot trump fix. i am not sure i can stand another night of this. it looks like it was graded by hollywood. host: you classify yourself as undecided. you sound pretty decided. not anything at this point. i cannot get any truth out of anybody of what is going on good i hope people wake up -- i cannot get any truth out of anybody of what is going on.

a lot of people do not see what is going on in this country. it is heartbreaking to see our country go down the drain. host: let's go to jane in brooklyn, new york. a supporter of joe biden. good morning. caller: i just wanted to say i thought it was a great night. i also am excited. i think joe biden is the person for our country. i hear a lot of smear campaigns from that narcissistic base. i'm excited for young people. please vote. we can do better than the sour grapes i am listening to so far this morning. host: when you say last night was a great night, what do you mean? caller: michelle obama, obviously. i thought everybody that was on was important and poignant. they are speaking to america. we need jobs, we need more families, we need the racism to go away.

we are also in a pandemic. i think they touched on everything. i think we have to stop our narcissistic ways and learn to love each other. obama,side from michelle whether speaker do you think was effective? caller: bernie sanders did a great job. and i liked the young lady whose father had passed away from the virus. she touched my heart and i am sure she touched a lot of other people's. host: that is jane in brooklyn, new york. the caller references the speaker whose father died of covid-19 and was one of the featured speakers from the democratic national committee. here is a portion of what she had to say from yesterday. [video clip] has am one of the many who

lost a loved one to covid. my dad should be here today. he is not. he had faith in donald trump. him,ted for him, listen to believed him and his mouthpieces when they said coronavirus was under control and going to disappear. that was ok to end social distancing rules before it was safe, that if you had no underlying health conditions you would probably be fine. in late may, after the stay-at-home order was lifted in arizona, my dad went to a karaoke bar with his friends. a few weeks later, he was put on a ventilator. after five agonizing days, he died alone, in the icu, with a nurse holding his hand. my dad was a healthy 65-year-old. his only pre-existing condition was trusting donald trump, and for that he paid with his life. i am not alone.

, a lot ofd my story people reach out to me to share theirs. they asked me to help them keep their community safe, especially communities of color, which have been disproportionately affected. they asked me, normal person, to help, because donald trump will not. the coronavirus has made it clear there are two america's. the america donald trump lives in, and the america my father the in pure enough -- america my father died in. enough is enough. donald trump may have not cause the coronavirus, but his irresponsibility made it so much worse. we need a leader who has a national, coordinated, data-driven response to stop the pandemic from claiming more lives into safely reopen the country. we need a leader who will step in on day one and do his job to care.

one of the last things my father said to me was he felt betrayed by the likes of donald trump. when i cast my vote for joe biden, i will do it for my dad. host: supporter of president trump, canton, georgia. this is deborah. good morning. caller: hey, pedro. have not talked you in long time. host: thanks for calling. go ahead. caller: i thought last night was extremely boring. they did not say one thing about the platform. party,was was a bashing which has now become incredibly boring to me. bashingu think the takes place at both conventions regardless of what side? caller: i think they do. i am an independent, so i see both sides. i am not happy with republicans,

either. is atre -- donald trump least making positive changes in the country, and joe biden does not have a leg to stand on for any of that. it is not there. they cannot talk about it because there is nothing there. host: i suspect you will watch next week for the republicans. what are you hoping to see from that week? caller: i want to hear some plans for the future. i will watch part of the democrats, as much as i can take. it looks like a hollywood production to me. host: deborah in canton, georgia. she spoke about the platform. if you go to the hill website, "five thingsory, to know on the democratic platform." the point they make is not every democratic is backing the platform.

does the representatives publicly announced they will vote against the party platform, saying it does not go far enough in overhauling the u.s. health care system with the goal of achieving universal coverage. they also say the platform papers over differences, adding democrats tried to strike a balance for a convention that features former republican governor john kasich and representative alexandria ocasio-cortez. in a nod to the nationwide protest and police brutality, the platform calls for major reforms to policing and removing confederate symbols from public safety -- from public spaces, but reflects legislation the house passed in june that would ban the use of chokeholds like the one used by the minneapolis police officer that led to george floyd stats. one says democrats in place the public option -- democrats embrace the public option with a

nod to medicare for all. the debate between medicare for all and expanding obamacare was thoroughly litigated over the course of the primary. the nomination in part by sticking to the center. there is more to this. if you want to see it at the hill website about the democratic platform and read about it. from hawaii, a caller undecided. go ahead. caller: the first thing i want to say is i'm impressed you did say it prickly. -- you did say it correctly. i also told the person who took the call i am not undecided, but you only get three choices. i am voting for howie hawkins, the green party candidate for president of the united states. fortunately, i live in a state -- there are only 10 states that are up for contested election.

40 states will go democrat or republican. candidate, i've been involved with the greens for 28 years, and i have that freedom in hawaii. i know joe biden will win in a landslide. i wish we had a country ranked choice voting. i would vote for howie hawkins first and joe biden second because we currently have the most disgusting sociopathic, lying, xenophobic, narcissistic, misogynist, incompetent president. i thought the democrat convention was a brilliant tv production under the circumstances. it was brilliant. i used to have a talk show on public access. i know what it is like to have a tv show. host: what's sets howie hawkins apart from joe biden? caller: he is more progressive than bernie sanders. the green new deal, if you look at the different between the

democrats green new deal and the green party's green new deal, it is much more progressive. i do not want to spend more time discussing it, but if you compare the two. for example, someone mentioned the platform. there are one or two positions in the green party platform i do not agree with, but if you have a chance to look at that document, it is brilliant. it takes all the progressive parts bernie sanders talked about and democrats talk about, but it presents them in a way that people who want to see a progressive change can support. the sadness is most people do not get to see alternative candidates because the debates are run by the democrats and republicans. we like to say it is a duopoly or tweedledum and tweedledumer. military,orporate, political parties.

biden has that moderate. i thought bernie tonight and michelle obama were brilliant. i like with the person just talked about a few seconds ago, the woman who lost her father. host: let me stop you. i appreciate the call. you mentioned howie hawkins. he was on this program a month or month and a half ago. if you go to our website at c-span.org and type in his name, you will see the interview he did on this program on the positions he takes and the calls he took from callers. you can find all of that on our website. the website is also where you can watch tonight's night two of the convention. you can follow along on c-span. if you're on the go, the radio app might be the best for you. 9:00 is when our coverage will start. might in north carolina, a

supporter in president trump. good morning. caller: everybody knows and can see mr. biden is not all there. he is like a hood ornament on a mercedes-benz. he is just there to show the product, but the people like aoc, bernie sanders, and kamala harris, who has the most liberal voting record in the senate, are the ones that will be running the country, and god for bid if they win. , nobody on the democrat platform has condemned any of the violence in portland, seattle, chicago. that is willie the country -- that is the way the country will be if these people get elected. host: jimmy from kentucky, supportive joe biden. hi. caller: can you hear me.

i'm concerned you may have the tv on in the background. that may cause interference. go ahead. caller: i have it off. everything last night was true. that is all it was. everything last night happened. -- about about it is , the top leaders -- they failed on that. host: what did you get from watching the first night of the convention? i got everything -- i think bernie sanders did a good obama.m and michelle host: when you say senator

sanders did a good job, what do mean by that? caller: he was trying to get his that helped him out in himcampaign to come trail and help him win this fight we are in. we are going to win it. and michelle obama spoke the truth. it is like i say. thereonce to get back in so he can deal with china. he thinks there's a war. i do not want a lot of people from the united states to send troops over there. host: that is jimmy in kentucky.

about senator sanders, part of his presentation last night dealt with president trump's handling of the pandemic and how that impacted the economy, at least in his mind. here is senator sanders from last night. [video clip] not just asident is threat to our democracy, but by rejecting science he has put our lives and health in jeopardy. trump has attacked doctors and scientists trying to protect us from the pandemic while refusing to take strong action to produce the masks, downs, and gloves our health care workers desperately need. burned.dled while rome actions fanned this pandemic, resulting in over 170,000 deaths in a nation still unprepared to protect its people.

negligence, trump's has exacerbated the economic crisis we are now experiencing. since this pandemic began, over 30 million people have lost their jobs and many have lost their health insurance. millions of working families are wondering how they will feed their kids, and they are worried they will be evicted from their homes. how has trump responded? 600ead of maintaining the dollar a week unemployment supplement workers were receiving and the $1200 emergency checks many of you received, instead of helping small businesses, trump concocted fraudulent executive nothinghat do virtually to address the crisis, while threatening the very future of social security and medicare. host: the editor of the wall street journal this morning,

takes a look at senator sanders influence on the convention and the platform of the democratic party. "the bernie sanders moment" is how they title it, saying the manifesto, to the left of the obama administration on nearly every policy area. ,limate recommendations proposals to purge the u.s. of climate based fuels. democrats will spend what it takes to retrofit buildings and households in five years. this piece also adding that the most striking is how the manifesto filters every public policy through the lens of critical race theory. it would provide consumers with a government option that seeks to minimize racial disparities. the federal reserve will have a political mandate for addressing racial injustice in addition to low inflation and full employment. if you want to read more, the

wall street journal is where you can find that editorial. from shire, texas. caller: good morning. how are you. i watch the platform. to say sanders wants rome burned, when nero himself started the fire. the democratic party has started a fire in this nation to pit nationality against each other . they want to use it, all of the riots, people are losing their lives, destroying property. nothing on their line did they talk about. all they want to do, president trump, basham, bring him down,

and everyone in this nation, not only the people of color, as they say, but everyone. party, the entire democratic party is a socialist and terraced party. matter,black lives antifa, and the rest of them. no, it is not president trump's fault about this pandemic and this -- and it is the democrat's fault. it is at their feet because they were too busy wanting to take the president to court over this and that to worry about what is actually going on in this nation. texasthat is tiny in calling. for the first half-hour we get your thoughts on the first night of convention, we will continue on for the second half-hour in the same way. if you've support joe biden, 202-748-8000.

202-748-8001 if you support president trump. if you are undecided, 202-748-8002. on social media that is available. 9:00 is when our coverage starts, gavel-to-gavel with no interruptions and commentary, you can do that on c-span or c-span. org, or our radio app. some of those featured speakers including bill clinton. you will see the vote across america, and how that is done virtually this year for the first time from alexandria ocasio-cortez and then, jill biden also. there are other speakers on the theform -- the program for two hours, and you can watch all of that starting at 9:00. cecil, aflorida, supporter of joe biden. morning, i am a citizen of the united states, born in jamaica.

night,ference to last bernie was articulate, he laid -- hischronicled experience, and he made sure that everybody that he -- everything that he was saying about the president donald trump what is happening with donald trump. then, as far as michelle obama is concerned. humane, she touched americanfiber that an citizen needs to hold dearly. -- only thing that i was not i expected from her but did not hear from her is that she said biden is not perfect, and we know that. she said no one is perfect.

however, donald trump in his campaign said that he is the only one that can fix it, meaning that he is the only perfect person. when barack obama left the white house, he left in place a , persons who were able , pandemics epidemics that would affect the united states. and, it was all torn down by president donald trump. and he is saying to black americans like myself, what do you have to lose? now you see what we have to lose, 170,000 people have died from this pandemic because of his -- so, athat is set supporter of -- cecil, a

supporter of joe biden. michael bloomberg hoping to help house democrats and others. the $60 million equipment which includes $10 million comes on top of other spending he has made to help democrats after funding state parties around the country during a suspended campaign. he transferred $18 million in cash in march and made a $35 million commitment to create a data form to support democrats and a separate group that mr. bloomberg funds, every town for gun safety committed to spending an additional 60 million for elections this year. joe from charleston, west virginia. a supporter of donald trump. go ahead. caller: i want to start off by saying i used to be a democrat, and a result of the way that the democrats have been conducting themselves for the last three years is the reason i became a

republican. in terms of what we saw last night, cuomo disappointed me. when this pandemic first started he complimented trump, openly complemented him. last night he did a 180. and i no one, because the parties said we are trying to get rid of this bomb, -- bum, we do not want him anymore. we cannot have the people complementing him. that is a very wimpy move. protests calling these -- peaceful? are you kidding me? children are dying. beingpeople's places are woken into. black people are being killed by other black people. this is as much hogwash as it gets, not mention -- not to mention i have had it up to here with the protests. we have got the point, a certain amount of police officers out of

control, deal with them, but to defund them, are you crazy? watchwill you continue to on the additional nights, or was last night it? caller: i have to watch the full thing because i want to get a full feel for what they have, that the same time, are you kidding me? there is nothing different than what they have been saying. they are not tackling any of the real issues. first of all, these people will vote for -- i called him bums because they are. they will be the first one that complains when our gas goes up to five dollars a gallon. donald trump, because we are producing our own oil, we are selling it rather than buying it. oil is at two dollars a gallon and internationally we have respect. north korea will not mess with us. joe biden & co. gave iran billions of dollars to produce nukes against us. i want this guy is my president?

he cannot complete a complete sentence. host: gel from west virginia. voter,go to an undecided danny from west virginia. caller: thank you for taking my call, there is a lot to unpack, so i will make it quick. i watched last night and i do not know that i want to say that i had high expectations but i understand we are in weird circumstances with the coronavirus, but, i am not going to lie, it was painful to watch, so hearing people say that they enjoyed the broadcast, i do not know. maybe we watched something different. painful to you specifically? old,r: so, i am 37 years and i kind of watched politics my whole life. i try not consider myself any part -- in any party, i voted

obama twice and i did not vote in 2016, but the democrat party has changed so dramatically. to usehink last night, the term they use all the time, it was fear mongering and divisive. they tried to pin things on trump, i do not see that those are his fault. bizarre, andind of for it to be prerecorded, you think it would be more polished. --t: parts were alive and parts were alive and parts were recorded so it was not all prerecorded. caller: i am going to watch the rest of the night, but it was, i do not know, i would say that i am underwhelmed and expecting a little bit more. host: you said you voted for president obama twice, if i recall correctly and you are undecided now.

where is your hesitation? or why are you hesitant? caller: i want to see our country move in a good direction, one where people have more opportunities for jobs, people potentially get paid more. i think that there are racial injustices in this country, but to make that the cornerstone of your platform, i do not see that being the way our country needs to go, we are making everyone a victim. people, notmpower make everybody think that there is a bogeyman out to get us, which i do not think that is the case. i think that is what the democrats have been doing lately. obama, he wasor inspirational and started out wanting to bring us all together, and i do not think that is where we are at right now. isre is always somebody that trying to bring you down, whether it is the police, the white man, or the one thing or

the other. it is hard to watch. host: danny, who was undecided. washington from state, melissa. hello. caller: that was kind of painful. they actually do not even realize the fact that one of the greatest presidents ever was democrat until 1962, reagan was a democrat. and then, he became a republican. affiliation, democrat or republican, it is about taking care of the country. host: so, your thoughts on the first night of the convention? caller: i listened to all of it. host: what did you think?

caller: i thought that michelle obama was pretty amazing, and i think that she is right. he is the wrong president for us, and he has no skills. he has no concept of what it takes to run this country. he had a reality show, for reals. next, ach is up supporter of president trump from new jersey. caller: good morning. before i get on the convention i want to say one thing about one of the snippets that you showed, which i thought was totally disgusting. the woman that said trump killed it washer, i thought very unprofessional of c-span to put that on their, for all the things that they could have -- put that on there for all the

things that they could've put on. i do not have anybody stating that cuomo killed people for putting them in nursing homes. i thought that was totally partisan, and you guys keep saying you are not partisan, but to put that woman on like that, and let me get to bernie and the rest of the liars that were on. first of all it was dark, divisive, they say they are a party of uniting and they could not get anymore divisive by calling trump everything in the book and his voters. bernie put a throwaway line in there that nobody will report on the big three, or you, that bernie said that his radical ideas of three years ago are now part of the mainstream of the democrat party, and that is all you have to know. host: we just read an editorial that implied just that. caller: i said the big three, nobody reads "the wall street journal" anymore.

host: i was just clarifying. caller: the lies that bernie said, and michelle, do fact checking on them. the divisiveness was so terrible last night, and i watch c-span because i will not watch the big three, and i appreciate c-span, but what you did this morning with that woman, i suggest, call the person that works for fox news. she was supposed to testify in new york, and cuomo took her off the list when they had a thing last week of children coming to testify against cuomo, and he took that woman off of the list because her parents died in new york. i would appreciate you would not do that stuff anymore. host: her name was kristen, we showed that clip as part of the program last night and we showed it last night when it aired. if you want to watch her comments again, you can make her

own judgment -- your own judgments at c-span.org where you can see that and all of the other speakers. it continues tonight at 9:00, that is how you can watch the program. eastern standard time. if you are going to sit in front of a television do so at c-span. our radio app you can download and listen along too to follow along with the speakers including bill clinton, and alexandria ocasio-cortez and dr. jill biden. you will also see the rollcall of states of how they will do that virtually and all of that available on the program. gus in ohio, a supporter of joe biden. go ahead. caller: i watched the platform yesterday, the democratic platform and i found that it was right on, and the callers, the disrespectrs that

about, and michelle obama their comments about what is going on, me personally i think they cannot handle the truth. they are a bunch of hypocrites. rallies and trump's the things he said about other andle, and yet they come on these ladies -- or this girl that did testimony about her dad, and yet he found it disgusting. that is disgusting. i find that insulting that this guy would get on here and find the truth about what is going on in this country. focus, pay attention. this country is going down the tubes, it is turmoil. host: what did you think of your former governor speaking last

night? john kasich? caller: i will tell you what. i am a democrat, but when i heard that he would speak about the cross roads how he felt, my heart was lifted. somebody onat least the others of the aisle actually paid attention to what trump is turmoil that he is causing this country, and all of these trump supporters that andor his character get on lies to us about they are undecided, and yet they run their mouths about how they hate biden. tough. will will win and they take over and we will have to fix this country like we always do when a republican president gets in there and screws everything up. ohio that is gus from talking about john kasich.

here is the former governor of ohio speaking at last night's dnc. [video clip] >> the stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times. many have been deeply concerned about the path we have been following for the past four years has led to division, dysfunction, irresponsibility, and glowing vitriol between our citizens. continuing to follow that path will have terrible consequences because we are being taken down the wrong road by a president who has pitted one against the other. he is unlike all of our best leaders before him who worked to unite us and bridge our differences, and lead us to a united america. but a lifelong republican, that attachment old second-place to my responsibility to my country. that is why i have chosen to appear at this convention. in normal times something like this would never happen, but

these are not normal times. i am proud of my republican heritage, it is the party of lincoln who reflected its founding principles of unity and a higher purpose. what i have witnessed these past four years belies those principles. many of us cannot imagine four more years going down this path, which is why i am asking you in joining me in choosing a better way forward. i believe the best of america lies ahead, it only when we rediscovered our shared belief in the united states of america, for our children's future, which can be bright and inspiring if we choose to make it so. i have known joe biden for 30 years, i know his story of profound grief that has so deeply affected his character. i know he is a good man, a man unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams

of the common man and woman. a man who could help us to see the humanity and each other. he knows that the path to a rejuvenated america relies on respect, unity, and a common purpose for everyone. [end video clip] host: that was john kasich from last night. by the way, on twitter there is something known as the trump war room part of the campaign meant to respond to instances like the democratic national convention as part of their tweets last night they put out a short clip of john kasich. 2012 republican national convention and a topic at the time when he spoke at the convention was about joe biden. here's a clip. [video clip] >> joe biden told me that he was a good golfer, and i have played golf with joe biden and that is not true, as well as all the other things that he says. [end video clip] host: that was from the trump

war room, you can follow them if you wish. caroline, in massachusetts, a supporter of president trump. caller: good morning. democraticatch the thing, but i am a trump supporter and i am sick of these people saying all of these things about trump. he can only do what he can do about the covid thing and i am sick of people blaming him. it is not his fault. he can only do what he can do. , and eric, in new york undecided voter. go ahead. caller: i watch the democratic national convention and i thought it was excellent. i have been undecided for a while, but the way these trump supporters are supporting him, and like the doctor said, they are taking on his characteristics. all they do is reflect grievance and the republican party is just a white grievance party. runp has no idea how to

this country. when he was asked what were his plans for the next four years, he talked about writing down in a limo with his wife. and justs incompetent, like the x governor said. unifier, not a good man. he does not care about the common purpose of this country. he only cares about himself. host: what are your current thoughts on joe biden. caller: i think joe biden with the selection of kamala harris, he is bringing this country back together. becausepeople dead and one person mentions the fact that they hold trump responsible for their father's death, these trump acolytes or cult members feel like they are disrespecting him, they are being truthful. no other country is going through what they are going through. host: it sounds like you are not

undecided about joe biden then? caller: not anymore. this last couple of weeks shows that trump did not care about the republican party, this not care abouts anyone except himself. he does not care if the whole party goes down. host: let us hear from margarita in hollywood, florida, a supporter of joe biden. and, i amam a nurse here working and i should be out there helping fight covid-19, a neighbor came at me and said that i came from jamaica i need to go back. i went to the chief and asked him for help and they stated that i would help me and they did not. what they were doing, they

actually instigated the neighbor, black on black and told him that i looked like -- and my neighbor broke my cheekbone. host: what did you think of the convention. want what michelle obama said, bring back decency and compassion. when president trump is saying that the police is the hero. lynching, i am a nurse, and why would the police lynch me, and when we went to court, they could not find evidence. they are lynching the black people, and michelle obama is right. if we go to school and become someone they lynch has. if we are lazy, they lynch us. what do we do, why should i be sitting here and not working. host: that is margarita in florida. daniel in texas, a supporter of

president trump. if you want to be living in a socialist country, that get you a one-way ticket to any socialist country you want to go to. america is like no other country in the world. this virus that has gone around his ringing down the whole world. and it will come back around again. host: did you watch the events of last night? are all socialists, they do not love or care about america. host: you said that, but did you watch last night? caller: they do not care, bottom line. host: we will go to jackson in maryland, undecided. hello, i am a liz warren democrat but i am seriously considering voting for trump.

justi heard last night was a long litany of efforts to appeal to center-right voters, and i think the democratic plan is to get joe biden elected, have four years of a center-right administration and then hopefully they will win another eight years to have another eight years of center-right, administration. and i think that what we actually need is four more years of trump so that the economy will be in tatters, homelessness will be at its highest rates ever and we will finally have violence in the streets that will get us the real revolution that we need. host: that is jackson in maryland. a media critic for the publication that covers things has this tovariety" say. saying "for most of its run the

opening night of the dnc is intended to be have held in milwaukee and now is being held on a format unlike assume evidenced a skittering lack of confidence. the evening brought together a mix of elected officials and real americans giving neither the chance to make the case until the closing minutes with complement tree speeches by bernie sanders and michelle obama. the broadcast topped from theme to theme not giving the spot -- time or space for any speaker to allow thoughts to blossom anything more than an -- unfortunate randomness, not to discount the travails of the citizens, that it discounted among those the party brass had the idea to give the proceeding a celebrity host with the task of keeping this rate -- train barreling through a new stop creating the experience of a celebrity talking more and over the people whose challenges are meant to be hearing out." that is one of the thoughts.

you can find more about variety.com. and fitzgerald, georgia, a supporter of joe biden. hello. caller: yes. and, last month i lost my sister to covid-19 in jackson, florida where the governor followed the direction of donald trump not to shut the state down. would'veel that if he decided in january, there are 170,000 people whose lives would not have had to go through the pain-and-suffering that i am going through now. ishink that donald trump incompetent, he has no andassion, he has no love, the country is going in the wrong direction. uses the white house as a

bully pulpit to bring down people instead of trying to bring us together. he qualifiesk that to sit in the oval office to make slurs and to bash other people. i think he should be able to bring the country together. host: linda in georgia. we will take this topic again later on in the program, so if you did not have a chance to call in, make sure you do that in about half an hour or so. coming up next we will continue on talking about the events of last night. -- mr. epstein a bloomberg jennifer epstein of bloomberg joining us to talk about what to expect as the days progressed. that is coverage starting at 9:00. one of the things that took place last night was the brother of george floyd thing part of the activity, one of his roles was to introduce a moment of silence for his brother.

[video clip] >> my brother george was selfless. he always made sacrifices for his family, friends, and complete strangers. spirit, a a giving spirit that has shown up on streets around our nation and around the world. people of all races, ages, genders, backgrounds, peacefully protesting in the name of love and unity. it is a fitting legacy for our brother, for george should be alive today. breonna taylor should be alive today, a mod operation be alive , or tatyanaan clark jefferson, sandra bland, they should all be alive today, so it is up to us to carry on the fight for justice. our actions will be their legacies. we must always find ourselves in what john lewis called good trouble, for the names that we do not know, the faces we will

never see, those who cannot mourn because their murders do not go viral. please join me in a moment of silence to honor george, and the many other souls we lost to hate and injustice, and when this suret ends, that is make that we never stop saying their names. [end video clip] are live coverage of the democratic national convention continues with alexandria ocasio-cortez, former president

bill clinton and former second lady, dr. jill biden. live coverage tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span. live streaming and on demand at listen withdnc or the free radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. you are watching american history tv. every weekend on c-span3 explore our nation's past. public, created as a service and brought to you today by your television provider. the presidents" available in paperback, hardcover, and e-books. 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 perspective into the lives and events that forged each president's leadership style. to learn more about the president and the featured historians visit c-span.org /thepresidents. paperback,n hardcover, and e-book wherever books are sold. washington journal" continues. host: we have been showing you shots of the wisconsin center, but this is the chiefs -- chase center in wilmington, delaware or joe biden is expected to accept the nominated -- the nomination as well as kamala harris expected -- accepting the nomination. also joining us from wellington to talk about the events of the convention,ational jennifer epstein, from bloomberg, thank you for joining us.

rating, what was the what is the sense of those watching or those reporting like you about how the first night went? itst: you know, i think depends on the perspective that somebody has, if they are a political insider they might say that this was not enough leastcians speaking, at until the end of the evening, i think both bernie sanders and michelle obama have gotten high marks for their speeches, which were a bit complementary and kind of both talking about the ultimate goal of defeating donald trump, michelle obama talked about the line that was kind of central to her convention speech in 2016 when they go low, we go high, and saying that still applies despite everything that has happened in these last four years, and she stands by it. so, it was also just a mix

of different people from around the country, which you will see a little bit less over the next few days, but there were powerful moments in there as well. there is the woman whose father was a trump supporter and ignored all the warnings around the coronavirus and he died a couple of months ago and she said that the only reason he is gone because of the president, and i'm going to vote provide and because of in his memory. and that was a striking emotional moment. so, it was a mix of things. i think you will see more focus on the politicians in the days coming forward. bidenbviously, harris and will be the central. and former president barack obama will be the core of the next couple of days. caller: in -- host: in the lead up to

yesterday you talked about senator sanders and posted a story about his role turning a sand from the firebrand role as a party unifier. is there any sense that what he said last night made any impressions about the bernie's supporters that may have not come to supporting joe biden yet? it is a process, a lot of them have been unhappy with the dnc or the process for four or five years, and they have deeper place aboutrns in the democratic party, but at the same time, sanders has been working since he endorsed biden in mid april to bring those people on board as much as he can because he is aware of the people who voted for jill stein in wisconsin, and that that really affected the margins and could have been the difference in some places between hillary

clinton winning or losing the state. and, he is trying to convey to his supporters that there is a clear choice in his view in this election, and that does not include voting for anyone other than joe biden. host: jennifer epstein joining us to talk about the events of last night. if you want to ask a question. 1 -- 202-748-8000 for republicans -- for democrats. facebook alsond available. a story about going forward. you also wrote a story about joe biden, and i will read you the first line and you can expand. "joe biden will send a message about the vision for the democratic party tuesday night and it will sound a lot more like him that his party's progressive wing." can you go forward from that? guest: yes. the keynote address will be different than recent ones.

people remember barack obama's a little bit further and richard gave a memorable speech a couple decades -- decades ago. they have 17 young leaders. stacey abrams is the oldest at 46 and the most well-known of the group. a lot of them are state legislatures with a couple of mayors. is, the idea behind that really for the biting campaign and the democratic party to lift up young leaders, but we are seeing in the mix of people that they have chosen are a lot of people who are not may be as moderate as joe biden is on policy issues, but they were not people who were endorsed by democrats for the most part, or are really aligned with bernie sanders, these are people who largely endorsed joe biden before the iowa caucus, people

who were -- you will sound a bit more like him. the speech will be a quick speech where they are all doing a line at a time, so you will not really get that much of these people's individual personalities, but if someone is intrigued and google someone they will see that these people moderate, iy more do not want to single anybody who is not or are. but just that it really is joe biden's vision of a democratic party versus bernie sanders, elizabeth warren, the justice democrats, or sunrise movement. it is a way for the biden campaign to reward some of the people who went out on a limb and supported biden when it was not popular with young voters or even in their state to be supporting him, but they were on board. vision, peopleof

will be watching alexandria ocasio-cortez for the time that she will get, any sense of what she will address? guest: i think she just has a minute so i do not think there will be a whole lot that she is able to say, which is something that has productive -- provoke some protest, there is a petition effort to get her more time, and just some general complaints that she is not getting more time considering how she has helped galvanize the movement of younger people, so i think that will have -- we will have to wait and see how she uses that, i guess to try and inspire young people to engage in the process. host: joining us from wilmington, delaware is jennifer epstein of bloomberg year to talk to us about the democratic national convention. the first is from frank, democrat line. you are on with your guest --

with our guest, go ahead. caller: thank you. if our country stands half a wence of staying on top, have to get rid of this president. he is just no good for this country. i heard him just yesterday saying that if he should lose the presidency and the election has been reg. who else could rig it against -- but him. anything that man says is the opposite of the truth. there's is just no truth in him. god bless you all and thank you. please do not vote for mr. trump. host: thank you. of whatoint, how much we will see going forward is about getting president trump out of office, and then the other side the idea that the democratic party has -- or what they should do should they gain the white house. that is something that

the democrats and abiding campaign and all of the outside groups involved are very sensitive to. they do not want to be seen as the party of being against trump, you heard a little bit of joe biden's biography last night and you will continue to get more of that. biden, his wife is speaking tonight. there was a video about amtrak and how he commuted back and forth from washington, and respected and was kind to the workers on amtrak, and i think you will see more about the pieces of his personality that is well known to us who pay a lot of attention to politics but may not be as well-known to people who are not as engaged on it. just give a sense of really the key piece of biden's political brand, that he is a good guy, a guy with a heart and empathy

that he is going to work hard to fight for every single working person and not just for the rich or other elite. that is at the core of how he is running. host: pittsburgh, pennsylvania, barbara, democrat's line. barbara, good morning. sorry, thanki am you very much. i want to get my thoughts about the convention last night, which i would say in my words, polite. not the usual screaming, and i will be doing that and that. thathing was, the photos they give you this polite message was that the photos of the common people throughout that program last night were were's,, because they they were me and, the ending of

misses obama's touching words were especially helpful to the ending on that convention for last night. common people only want a civil life of education, work, livelihood,a good and definitely no war. this president's administration and its leaders have done a very bad job of providing any of that. and, especially this representative presidents who says nothing but terrible language, embarrassing simple

people, in my day, i am 88 years , a lot of is a saying talk, nothing said. host: thank you. jennifer epstein, i think we have seen how the dnc will incorporate those faces of people across america as the nights go on and as the vice president and senator harris will be set to give their speeches later this week. guest: yes. we saw a lot of different kinds of faces. that was one piece of it to show that it creates diversity in people who support the democratic party, and that is -- it is not just a white party and shows young and old and all sorts of situations, and you could tell a little bit of the socioeconomic background from the homes that were shot in

this. you also saw some of the other real faces in this where people who died of the coronavirus. memorial montage, different from what you would see at the oscars or something like that. people, nurses, doctors, workers and grocery stores, and all of the rest, and that was another way real people were brought in, and i guess it was unlikely that the republican convention will draw attention to people who died of the virus while donald trump has been in office. host: you covered hillary clinton's campaign and the 2012 campaign of president obama, candidate obama. do you see any fundamental changes in joe biden's approach it versus the others you have covered? thing that is

different is that hillary clinton spent a lot of time boarding voters that donald dangerous, donald trump will do this thing that you will hate and this other thing that you will hate. to some extent, i think the voters or people leaning away from donald trump did not believe that he would win that so, she came off sometimes as just delivering a and negativeoom, worst-case scenario, and some people really did think that the presidency would bring dashwood rein -- would rein donald trump thes he has exploded out of traditional position of the presidency. joe biden is able to campaign on all of the ways that the things that hillary clinton predicted that he might be driven by his personal interest in making certain decisions or that he

might take decisions without deep knowledge of foreign policy issues, all of that we have seen now over the last few years, and that is what a big piece of the biden campaign is about. biggest obviously, the difference between this campaign and every previous one in the course of u.s. history is the pandemic and the lack of in person campaigning, which i think has been difficult for joe biden, because i think that, like barack obama, is someone who feeds off the energy of crowds, and people. then really enjoys one-on-one interactions, meeting somebody, taking their cell phone, calling their mother or grandmother. none of that is possible and i think he has had trouble with that. they have tried to replicate it by doing photo lines via zoom,

but it is not the same. continuallyhe is starved for that energy and you have seen him a few times that he went to church near his beach house and he was taking selfies they are couple of weeks ago, and you could see how excited he was to be in person with senator harris last week, and that is obviously a big change as well. host: beverly in pennsylvania, independent line. go ahead. jennifer appreciate mentioning how people have , and is about the dnc say on categorical he that they are -- categorically that they corrupt organization and the strings are being pulled somewhere. i was a huge bernie supporter in 2016 and i lived in

philadelphia, and i saw the democratic convention up close and personal. how hillary was a burial -- was able to steal so many states from bernie. then i finddone and that bernie was controlled opposition. he has a nice puppet out they are to bring in people who think that he is actually anti-corporation. he certainly stopped talking about citizens united along the way. but, he was big on that for a while. and theirnc machinations are unbelievably corrupt and, to think that anybody could support this party is just beyond me. they have complete amnesia, and i would like to know what jennifer thinks about the murder employeeich, the dnc

in the summer of 2016, in july when he was shot in the back in washington, d.c., and they proclaimed that it was a robbery. nothing was stolen from the young man, and -- host: we will -- host: we will let her answer as she pleases. certainlyhink there has been a lot of energy, you have just heard it. i am not going to areinto the theories accurate or not, that is not something that i really studied or dog in on. -- dug and on. i believe there is no real evidence, and maybe i am wrong about this. complicatedas any

conspiracy around this, and i i do that the one thing know, because i know some people who were friends with seth rich because i am the same age, is --t he did not want people to see democracy undermined in any way. he was obviously devoting his life to partisan politics. he believed in the democratic party and what it stood for. and so, i will just believe you on that, that if you want to honor his memory, it is best to think about ways to be constructive in the political world. aboutlet me ask you this the party itself, and its platform. i know it is inside baseball and there have been concerns about the current state of the platform, but what do you sense about the party's unity based on what is going on with the principles that it is guiding

itself on? guest: the platform process was different when it began not really with the formal process that started over the summer but earlier than that in the spring that wereorces created between the sanders campaign in the biden campaign as a way to bring the sanders of and voice into what biden was doing, and this is part of that outreach that i am talking about earlier and that what we wrote about. an biden campaign made effort to bring on board can -- progressives, sanders, and warned supporters. en supporters. that fed into the recommendation for the platform. not everything was adopted, but that was a way to allow more thought and more aeration of

ideas, and that i think was an unusual thing to see and i do not think we will see it again, but it was a way that there was an effort to more fully unify the party and make sanders supporters feel like they were brought on board. ishink, ultimately, this agenda- maybe biden's does not line up perfectly, that it is in general what you are seeing because of the top of the ticket. there is no adore cement of medicare for all and agree new deal. there is more of a discussion for instance around universal health care and that being a goal, which is something that biden supports using a public option to end private insurance. this has been an effort to bring the party together, but biden

was the winner of the primary, so he has the prerogative to direct where the platform went. california, democrat line. go ahead. caller: yes. dncve been watching the from last night, and i was impressed with all of the speakers. been for this whole four years and this is what i knew when president trump was he was, i knew that .oing to lie -- i support joe biden,

and when he was working with obama, everything was -- you know, up and up. they were getting the job done and they were doing things right. i know that this time with kamala harris, i mean she can do, as his vice president, i am sure that they can get the job done. pandemic, we should have gotten an early vaccine instead of waiting too long. in.: california calling sincele of kamala harris,

the announcement that was made, what is her and her team doing? how are they preparing? guest: they are preparing for her big speech tomorrow night which will be a chance for a lot of the country that does not know her to get to know her a little bit better. she has also been doing outreach, particular to black americans. the biden campaign pointed out that the first three interviews she did were with black women journalists, and that was an with theal choice magazine, and" that is what some of what you will be seeing, and that has been a traditional role for a vice presidential running mate or a vice president himself in the past, maybe herself going forward.

that is to be doing a lot of outreach to constituency groups that are important to the party. so, i think you will see more of that from senator harris going forward. reaching out to women's groups and black groups and asian american groups, and latino groups. there is one thing that has not been talked about with hair -- senator harris' alexion -- selection is that she has and there has not been a lot of polling on this yet, but there are latinos drawn to her because of her immigrant story, because of the politics of california are similar to a lot of the western states as far as some of the issues around immigration or people who are first or second generation in the country, and i think that that has been an area where a dividing campaign -- the

biden campaign has struggled. he does not -- he had not done well in the primaries with the latino voters where bernie sanders blew them out of the water in the nevada caucus. you will see more of that from senator harris and see her own in pretty intensely on all of the voting issues, whether it is the vote by mail and the post long lines at polling places, especially because of is pandemic, and because she a member of the senate judiciary committee she has an aggressive prosecutor, she has these appeals to all of these important groups of voters that one way to use her is to say, hey, if you go to a polling place, stay on the line. the same thing michelle obama did, bring a lunch and breakfast in case you have to stay there

all night, and that is a way you will see senator harris speaking. host: north carolina from mike, the republican line. go ahead. caller: i am calling about all of the violence going on, you know. they keep claiming that they will pull everybody together, then why aren't they doing that now? there is a little white child and wilson, north carolina that just got shot in the head by a black man. there was another hate crime -- there was no hate crime charge against the black man. publicity or celebrities out crying about this. and there was the couple that got pulled out in portland and got senseless just because they are white. if the democrats can stop the violence, then why aren't they doing it that? they are more like encouraging the violence. those are my thoughts.

i will let you answer. host: jennifer, we saw black lives matter referenced an george floyd reference. are there any plans from the democratic party to address what is going on in some of these cities? guest: you did see a little bit of it last night with >> speaking from above the spot on 16th street near the white house that has been painted with letters that read "black lives matter." that is much more of the focus what democratsf see as the positive energy of the protests, not getting into violence so much. i do think that there may be references at times to president trump's use of federal forces. you actually did hear that from

mayor bowser as well around the incident at lafayette park with the teargas and all of that when he was trying to go to the church. more of have be the democrats are spending this. they are much more focused on message andultimate ese protests, which they believe are fighting for justice and against police brutality. they have their concerns about things like the federal officers who were sent to portland, for example, and that is really much more how they are framing this them what you are seeing -- this them what you are seeing from republicans, the president, the fox news, which is more roof of this image -- which is more of this image of violence.

i looked at it last night. i really saw inner strength in each of the participants. they said what was in their heart. they are going for all the people in the world. the world is looking at the nation, but ias a enjoyed what they said. they are giving us hope. the main thing i am concerned pity thethis -- i president, president trump, because he is in the hotseat. is president, i am praying is a christian woman that strong holds in washington

dc people down. it is division. and we, as people in the united states, as christian people -- this is a praying nation. it does not look like it. it looks like a divided nation. host: that is diane in new jersey. part of the process is to motivate people towards election day. dat is the framework from the nc to make that happen? caller: -- currently discussion around the post office, putting my mail, and those potential issues. i think they're hoping this group of really dynamic, big-name speakers will kind of

fortify and excite democrats who may not be thrilled with the ticket for whatever reason, but they will say, ok, i may not be a fan of joe biden, but barack obama is giving this powerful endorsement of his former vice president. michelle obama did the same thing. i'm on board because they are on board. that is certainly one piece of what they are going to see. there is also just to continue to be a tremendous amount of effort around the voter education and explaining how voting is going to work this year. and that if you do go to in in person polling place -- go to an in person polling place, wear a but also be prepared for even longer lines than you might have experienced in the past because of social distancing and perhaps some level of cleaning up surfaces that might not have

happened in the past. so those are ways that i think they are going to try to -- and said,ust michelle obama request an absentee ballot now. do not wait. send it back right away. those very clear messages, instructions, i think you're going to hear again and again from democrats over the next couple months. host: jennifer epstein covering the campaign for bloomberg. joining us from delaware this morning. thank you for your time. for the 25 minutes until 9:00, we will resume the topic with which we started the program. night'sughts about last presentation, the first night of the democratic national convention. (202) support joe biden 748-8000, if you support president trump (202) 748-8001.

allisonuthor aimee will talk about the role of minority women have in the upcoming election. all that coming up on washington journal. ♪ >> our live coverage of the democratic national convention continues tonight with congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, former president bill clinton, and former second lady dr. jill biden. democraticge of the national convention tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span, live streaming at c-span.org/dnc, core listen with the free c-span radio app. -- or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ >> the presidents -- available

in paperback, hardcover, and e-book, from public affairs. biographies of every president come inspired by conversations with historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. in this election year, is americans decide who should lead our country, this offers perspectives into the lives in the lives and events that forge each president's leadership style. for more, visit c-span.org/the presidents. available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book wherever books are sold. washington journal continues. host: the wisconsin center in milwaukee. one of the sites from the democratic national convention. night two taking place tonight. c-span,watch at 9:00 on c-span.org. speakers include former

president bill clinton, former second lady jill biden, representative alexandria ocasio-cortez. you can see a gavel-to-gavel starting at 9:00. if you want to text us your thoughts about the first night of the convention, it is (202) 748-8003 by the way. "a in elizabeth city saying bash."uing hate trump gary and minnesota "the first night was overwhelming. it made me realize the compassion and dignity that has been lacking in our discourse." again, that is just some of the thoughts. about a little bit more last night. [video clip] >> i know joe. he is a profoundly decent man

guided by faith. he was a terrific vice president. he knows what it takes to rescue and economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country, and he listens. he will tell the truth. and trust science. he will make smart plans and manage a good team. and he will govern as someone who has lived a life that the rest of us could recognize. joe's father kid, lost his job. when he was a young senator, joe lost his wife and daughter. and when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. of sittinghe anguish at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents. joe knows what it is like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to

kids overcoming a stutter of their own. his life is a testament to getting back up. he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal, and guide us forward. and he wouldrfect, be the first to tell you that, but there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president, and his ability to learn and grow, we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us you're in for right of us yearn for right now. joe biden has served his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is. more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us. host: many democrats speaking last night.

the washington times highlighting four republicans who also spoke at the first night of the convention. john kasich. you saw him earlier, the ohio governor. susan bollen area of new york, one time the vice chairwoman of the house republican congress -- caucus. of thee administrator epa under the george w. bush administration from 2001 to 2003. and meg whitman, former ceo of hewlett-packard, a republican candidate for california governor and chairman of chris christie's campaign. we will start with curtis, baltimore, maryland. a supporter of joe biden. go ahead. caller: good morning, sir. glad to be on the air with you. i want to start by saying that i am an independent voter, but my support will be behind the i hope allticket, as

independent voters will be. i think we did an outstanding job. i did not get to see the entire of the show last night, but i was listening to it at 5:00 this morning on the radio. i think michelle obama and bernie sanders both did outstanding jobs. i am just hoping that we can make a change for the positive in this country this election and vote this creep out of office. host: if you missed the events of yesterday, you can go to our website at c-span.org and see if there. -- see it there. from california kevin. a supporter president trump. caller: thank you. . am so happy

michelle obama did an outstanding job. they went with anyone except for her on the ticket. biden, if he goes up against the thinkent, donald trump, i if he had michelle obama, he would not have to go on the debate stage. he would automatically cruised to victory. her --t he does not have the republicans have done a good job of convincing me that there might be something not all there with the vice president. i think people will be to microscopic, which is not really fair to him. have thee 74, you opportunity to miss a couple things here or there. it is natural. i think it is great. i think president trump is going to win. thank you for taking my call. host: maggie in georgia.

a supporter of joe biden. you are next up. caller: i have not been becauseg the convention my mind was made up like three years ago. we have to do everything we can to get president trump out of orice or what we'll not -- we will not have much of a democracy left. i can tell you that my husband, a longtime republican voter, has absolutely changed his mind and cannot wait to vote for biden. kamala --choice was was not kamala. because ian rice think she has a better chance, if something does happen to inen, that she can separate -- that she can step right in. but it does not matter. we are writing with biden and

harris -- riding with biden and harris. host: tom, a supporter of president trump. caller: i was a geriatric nurse at the v.a. and it is apparent to me that joe biden is suffering from some kind of organic green syndrome -- brain syndrome. by the time the election comes around, he will be a drooling idiot. he should -- they should be held on charges of elder abuse. host: we will go to linda in maine. hello. caller: good morning. i supported donald trump in the past, donated and voted for him in 2016. my husband and i went to his rallies, purchased items, t-shirts, hats. gave them as gifts. donated to his campaign. we were so full of hope.

i remember his plane leaving the tarmac in new york and the water hoses over the plane. we were so excited, so full of just -- het is promised to hire the best and look what we got. host: why are you supporting joe biden now? i am so totally disgusted with donald trump. i am a former new hampshire state representative, a republican, and the veterans affairs committee -- in the veterans affairs committee. just so disgusted. it is our life at stake here. i went to see my grandchildren again. i want to be able to visit them. host: the events of last night, the first night of the democratic national convention. what was the standout for you? caller: that young woman who

world, held trump's lives, but my father died. -- senatornator said sanders said nero fiddled while rome burned. and when michelle obama said trump is what he is. i am not 100% happy with kamala harris, but i'm going with joe biden all the way. host: what is it about harris that gives you pause? caller: i just love senator duckworth. and other possibilities. but that is who he decided to go with. that is what it will be. i donated to his campaign and support him. thank you, pedro. god bless. host: we will go to virginia. a supporter of president trump.

caller: i think the american people need to realize and i am sure that they know that, before this pandemic, we had the greatest economy in the history of the united states. we had the lowest unemployment rate in the history of united states. i think that both parties need to denounce these rioting and looting. people,ng the american and especially republicans, if you have a trump/pentz sign on your car, you are in danger of having your windows broken or your car burned, but people that support trump, we can let people that have a biden sticker on all. car no problem at host: did you watch any of the vence last night -- any of the events last night? caller: i did not and i do not

care to. host: ok. we will go to brent in michigan, a supporter of joe biden. caller: i have to say i am not ,n love with biden and harris himi would vote for before trump. republicans,or ignorance is bliss. if they cannot believe john , then who said in his book room where it happened, trump does not do anything that is not in his own self-interest. host: in regards to joe biden, did you watch the events yesterday? did you gain anything from the convention? caller: i watched. everybody was well spoken. it was well done. i have to say that. host: who did you support before joe biden? caller: bernie sanders.

go ahead. host: what did you think of his speech last night? caller: bernie speech -- bernie's speech? he did well. he reiterated the points he ran biden will golly more in bernie's direction. host: that is printed in michigan. here's a little bit of bernie sanders from last night. [video clip] >> this election is the most important in the modern history of this country. in response to the unprecedented crises we face, we need an unprecedented response, of movement -- a movement like out

people ready of to stand up to fight for democracy and decency, and against greed, oligarchy, and bigotry. and we need joe biden as our next president. let me take this opportunity to say a word to the millions of people who supported my campaign this year and in 2016. my friends, thank you for your trust, your support, and the love you showed jane, me, and our family. together, we have moved this country in a bold new direction, showing that all of us, black latino,e, asian-american, gay and straight, native born and immigrant, you're in for a foron based on the -- yearn a nation based on the principles of love, justice, and compassion. our campaign ended several

months ago, but our movement continues and is getting stronger every day. many of the ideas we fought for, that just a few years ago were considered radical, are now mainstream. but let us be clear. if donald trump israel elected, all the progress -- if donald trump is reelected, all the begress we made will raised. host: concerning the postal service. chairman and administrator agreed to testify before the house according to chairwoman carolyn maloney. times go to the new york profile of the postmaster "mr. dejoyey had continues to hold 25 million to company.n in a

he also received millions of ,ollars in payments through xpo a $16 billion logistics and transportation company that involves moving bulk shipments postalages to local service centers." more on that in the new york times. an op-ed about the postal service. the headline "the postal service disaster has been years in the making." he writes "a lot of what the agency does turns out to be a federally underwritten service for a profit taking -- for profit taking businesses. material the usp is handled in 2019 was junk mail. something must be done to

send the postal service's losses, reduce its underfunded pension and health-care liabilities. in the 21st century, the physical items, can be valuable enough for some government support. considerations weren't saving the usps sustainably -- warrant saving the usps sustainably." op-ed. lane with the ab undecided voter, good morning. caller: good morning. oh my god. that show was awesome. wow. it was so beautiful.

i just want to say one thing. i am praying for him to win. i am speechless. to watch iti wanted over and over and over again. wife, it was awesome. it was really awesome. host: ok. that is liz. caller: keep up the good work. i will vote for him. i want him to win. i am praying for him. host: ok. that is alicia in hollywood, florida. again, if you would not mind turning on the television to avoid the background noise. if you want to watch the events of last night again, go to our website at c-span.org. you can see the proceedings there.

you can also use that to watch night twoproceedings, at 9:00. that is when our coverage starts. from tampa, florida, a supporter of president trump, this is liz. hi. caller: i did watch last night, and of course michelle obama was so poignant, but i hope the country is paying attention, seriously, to whatever country needs. so many issues. and trump's presidency, the first two years, full on, was nothing but harassment and it drove our country down. still, he was productive. i feel like if the democrats get forffice and the adjustment biden and his female counterpart, who will probably

end up being president. if that is the case, will they be harassed for two or three years, the holy term -- hold term almost, wasting everybody's time. everybody's touched hard last night is because the country is tired. host: atlanta, georgia, supporter of joe biden. go ahead. caller: first of all, i watched the d twice to make sure i heardn everybody's opinion. office,y one of trump's he has done nothing but destroy and split the country. he split the country and try to make sure that anything that had obama's name on it was off the record. he cut it out. that is why the pandemic killed so many, because of what trump has done.

he is a racist. i am a black american women with children and i had to tell my children to watch what they say, what they wear. what the d&c pointed out -- what outnc -- what the dnc pointed out does that trump's character is not ours. the fact that trump supporters are still with him is ludicrous. said biden ist crazy needs to be sitting on somebody's couch. those trump supporters that say that harris and biden are going to hurt us, we are already hurt, already divided. people used to depend on the usa is now laughing at usa because of what trump is doing. host: we will go to the linda in st. petersburg, florida, also a supporter of joe biden. go ahead.

caller: hi. thank you for having me on. i have been a lifelong republican my entire life, 40 something years, and i just want to say that i could not imagine voting for trump right now. i do feel like he is destroying the country. i am 100% biden/harris. i am thrilled with harris. i think she is wonderful. i thought the convention last night was very well done. having peoplelt in different places and stuff, but i thought they did a very good job and the speeches were amazing. i also have to say one thing that was said earlier and that trump keeps repeating over and over again about the economy,

having the greatest economy. it would be like borrowing off your credit card and buying a house and car in jewelry and then -- and car and jewelry and then completely discounting the debt you owe on that credit card. host: ok. that is linda, st. petersburg, florida. last call for the segment. coming up, we will be joined by aimee allison, founder of organization called she the people, talking about minority women in this election. later, a conversation with bradley beychok about his group's role in the money race for november. that's coming up on washington journal. ♪ >> our live coverage of the democratic national convention continues tonight with

congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, former president bill clinton, and former second lady dr. jill biden. live coverage of the democratic national convention tonight at liveeastern on c-span, streaming and on-demand at c-span.org/dnc, or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ >> the presidents, available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book, from public affairs. presents biographies of every president, inspired by conversations with historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. in this presidential election year, as americans decide who should lead our country, this offers perspectives into the lives and events that forged each president's leadership style. to learn more about all our

presidents and the book's featured historians, visit c-span.org/thepresidents. available wherever books are sold. continues.journal host: our first guest of this hour is aimee allison, the founder of she the people. joining us from oakland, california. good morning. thank you for being on the program. for those not familiar with your organization, what is it? guest: she the people is a national network of women of color, black, latino, asian-american, and indigenous from all over the country. women of color who are united in a common cause around gender, racial, and economic justice. host: who supports organization financially? combination of foundations and individuals.

certain there a political structure? -- doesave progressives there have to be progressives, conservatives? guest: most women of color are democrats and most definitely hold progressive or a social justice frame of mind in voting. but is not required. the issue we deal with is bigger than party. it is bigger than politics. it surrounds helping to shift the culture to make space in our multiracial democracy for the group of voters, 20% of the population, who are least represented, but who the country needs desperately. host: leading up to the announcement last week of senator harris being joe biden's vice presidential pick, you called it a watershed moment. can you expand on that? guest: you cannot understate how important it is to a woman of

color personally and how strategic it was to put kamala harris on the ticket for the democrats. to women of talking color in battleground states such as arizona and texas and florida and georgia, and what we heard a month and a half ago was that there was an enthusiasm gap, which kamala harris on the ticket, evidenced by how strongly the polling and the numbers in terms of fundraising shot up since the announcement, she has deepened enthusiasm amongst a court of voters, women of color, who will be the margin of victory in these swing states. it is a very exciting move and also something that represents this new place for women of color, who have never been at the top of the ticket. it bodes well not only for women -- of color, that

executive leadership, but the number of candidates they represent in down ballot races in november. host: in terms of the strength and ability she brings to the ticket, how cheap -- how would you clarify those? strengths are how she has shown up in this moment in the wake of calls for racial justice. she has been an advocate. she has one of the most repressive voting records of any senator, supporting and cosponsoring bernie sanders's bill and showing up in a lot of different ways to advocate for a $2000 a month cash payment for the people suffering during this economic crisis. i think that is her selling point. and she brings to the ticket and ability -- an ability to navigate racial politics. in california, we have 40 million people, and she already

demonstrated she knows how to speak to and motivate a multiracial coalition. that will be key for the ticket, for the democrats to win in states, to bring together people. trump has been so divisive, separating people by race, pitting one group against the other. it will take a ticket like a biden/harris ticket to reach across to bring people together to vote in record numbers in november. host: our guest is with us for the half hour. if you want to talk to her and asked her questions, it is (202) 748-8000 for republicans. .emocrats (202) 748-8000 independents (202) 748-8002. (202)n text us at 748-8003. when it comes to senator harris, what do you think she has to do going forward?

what do you think is best for her as far as making the case for her not only as vice president but for the ticket overall? guest: one of the things i saw at the dnc last night and what i think she will carry forward campaigning is an embracing of and acknowledgment of the need to address racial justice. it is one of the things we heard in our national network of women of color, the concern people continue to have about how hatred, bigotry, and racism, seem to be unleashed, and what kamala harris and joe biden planed to do about that -- plan to do about that. that is one of the big issues that need to be addressed. in terms of issues, we have heard that women of color are motivated by plans to address two things. one is health care and the other is the economic crisis.

women of color are most likely ande essential workers, have put themselves in harm's way doing their jobs without adequate protections. and now people have lost their jobs, lost federal moneys that would help them pay their rent and buy food. people are starting to be in desperate situations. so i think those of the two big issues that people want to hear from kamala harris going forward. host: you talked about being in oakland. some have expressed concerns about her record as a prosecutor. one of those concerns was shared last week on this program. there was an independent women'' forum. they talked about senator harris's record in california. [video clip] rights and unfortunately her criminal justice record. from the criminal justice side, she has promoted being a top cop. law and order is important.

we want to ensure that if you are breaking the law, you are held accountable. the question is, when you look at her record, whether she has withheld important evidence against people being prosecuted, whether she is prosecuting individuals for crimes they did not even commit. prosecuting parents for truancy. kids ine wants to keep school, but are you really for the black and brown people, the people that will be targeted by the policy? from a workers rights standpoint, she supported a california law, which squarely hits at independent contractors, eliminating thousands, potentially millions, independent contractors. one of your guests mentioned landscapers, people who own small businesses, manicurists, translators. it runs the gamut of vocations.

-- middle-class americans trying to build their own lives. laws that kamala harris supported would see those opportunities disappear. those are examples i find in we find concerning about kamala harris. host: how would you respond to that? guest: i think some of the criticisms of kamala harris and the leadership she offered in 2011 are valid. we should talk about the way forward, but it is not 2011. we have to look at the way kamala harris has shown up in this moment. the justice in policing act, federally addresses some of those same concerns. she has evolved as a leader and nobody is perfect. michelle obama said it at the dnc last night.

there is no perfect candidate, perfect person. the sun does not rise and set on one person. harris'samala leadership and legislation and agenda showed up in 2020 is meeting the need. arentioned that people suffering economically. that racism is tearing our country apart. she has legislation to address that. she has legislation that addresses parts of the electorate that have not previously gotten a lot of attention. for example, a couple weeks ago, submitting legislation to have something thatn affects a lot of black women. i think in terms of the solutions for forgiveness of student loans and cash payments for people who are unemployed, which is millions of people, those of the kinds of things we see.

the short answer is, without oaklandfrom people from or other places who hold criticisms for the way she led, policies she had 10 years ago, she is the leader we need now. offer aand joe biden ticket for the democrats that will unite a multiracial coalition and keep some enthusiasm amongst black and brown women, who democrats need to turn out in high numbers in order to win. host: the website for the organization is shethepeople.org. aimee allison. your first call is from robert. he is a democrat. go ahead. say, kamala isto representative of immigrants.

our country is a country of immigrants. the section of people she represents, the indian and the jamaican, i have been here since the founding. -- have been here since the founding, and they have been ignored. for her to be here to represent immigrants is really a change in america. the way this president has done to immigrants all over the world is disgraceful. country of immigrants and he tried to make thing ins the worst this country when his father was an immigrant. so, thank you for kamala and for joe biden. host: ok. miss allison, go ahead. guest: i think there is a lot

about her story people can relate to. the fact that she is a child of immigrants, it does matter to so many people. asian american people are the second fastest growing voting block in this country. story of being black and asian, that is important to people. we saw a whole new wave of birth tourism being unleashed -- a new wave of birtherism being unleashed. and attacks on black women we heard so frequently from trump. i think people are tired of that. i think people want decency. they want respect. immigrants and the children of immigrants in the country, it gets acknowledged in a new way with the candidacy of kamala harris. host: mary from potomac, maryland. independent line. good morning.

caller: good morning. know aling because i bunch of republican women. educated,em are privately educated, and they feelrofessional women who that trump is nothing but a con anybodywants to remove -- who is ang patriot. removing them from office. out of 34, 27 have, for the first time, they will be working for biden -- voting for biden. and that says a lot. thank you. host: anything in response?

guest: we have never seen republicans in these conventions, democratic conventions. i believe it was four, meg whitman, john kasich. i have my issues and i do not personally of color do not agree with anything the republican agenda has, but one thing we agree on is we need leadership that is going to bring back this country's sense of decency, and to bring people together and move forward, so -- you know, i want to say a lot of people are hoping it will be republicans that change their votes that will actually carry biden/harris. that is not going to happen. most people who voted for trump in 2016 are going to remain loyal or stay home. but for the never trump republicans, some of them have

found a home with the biden/harris campaign and joined the coalition, but the core and most important votes are votes of women of color who are, in some cases, places like florida , 25% of the voters who will go to alexion -- go to the elections. percentagewise, they beaufort immigrants overwhelmingly -- they vote for democrats overwhelmingly. increasing turnout 1% to 3% in these key states will make a big difference for the democrats. host: from oklahoma, we will hear from jim, republican line,. kamala harris joe biden as a racist when she herself has proved this with her actions as a prosecutor. she was very racist towards

minorities. keeping 1500 blacks in prison for marijuana convictions and then laughed about it. she kept a black man on death row until she was forced to release him. sleeping with a 70-year-old twice her age only to gain power, and she attacks president trump for his morality. she will do anything, say anything, to gain power. that is all she cares about. she has no -- host: jim in oklahoma. miss allison. caller: i have heard a lot -- guest: i have heard a lot of the stories. they are just stories. kamala harris, the second woman of color to be in the senate. she has been elected statewide twice in california, our largest, most populous state. she is not perfect, but all the stories are but -- stories being

told about per our told about her, a lot of them are falsities. she has evolved as a politician, as has joe biden, as has everyone in the senate and congress, where the issues of criminal justice, the issues of justice in policing, black lives matter. all of those are part of a movement she has responded to. so look, i think the movement continues to push everyone in the senate and congress to adopt policies that a lot of people support. you know, moving resources from policing to housing and social services. many people, over time, have gone from believing that marijuana should be -- that marijuana possession should be a

or now,o a misdemeanor in california, 100% legal. i think kamala harris is a leader that has evolved over time. her presence on the ticket is incredible. she has the most or one of the most progressive voting records, up there with elizabeth warren is bernie sanders, and that who she is in the moment. for that reason, i think she is the right leader to help us get through this crisis. host: from georgia, democrats align, next up is lanice. hello. caller: my question is for miss allison. and yourself. "whitee of those suburban housewives" that

supposedly support trump. we do not. if i am an example. i believe to some extent i am. and ar, living in rural small city in georgia, i am trying to reach out to my neighbors. they are of all colors, from to a deep chocolate brown, and i am meeting resistance because, again, this republican state and the lies that your previous guest talked about our so prevalent -- about are so prevalent in my community. and believe. they truly believe. just hit google up so you can ask the question. well, nobody wants to do that. they will tell you they do not want to know.

i do believe this is the vote we missed in the previous presidential election that we need desperately right now. so, please, give me some ideas about reaching out to my neighbors of all colors, but women. host: ok. we will leave it there and let the guest respond. spent some time in georgia in 2017 and 18 when stacey abrams was running for governor. i learned a lot about your state. georgia, because it had not had any democrat when statewide, there was this assumption about who lives there and that the state was a red state, but stacey abrams and a slew of other candidates and leaders who have one in the last two years have demonstrated something different about georgia, which

is that the population has evolved. it is a multiracial population. and like you said about your neighbors, it is every color, creed, and nationality who lives in georgia. there are a number of people in enoughte -- there are people in the state to swing the election, to turn that state blue through activating multiracial coalitions. there is an organization in georgia that i respect a lot called the new georgia project, led by an amazing woman. is goal of this organization to register and get people out. originally, it was going door to door to do events. the quarantines messed up all of our plans to do field operations in places like georgia, so now it is calling and texting neighbors. my bet is that reaching out to the new georgia project might be a good start in figuring out how to reach people in your town and statewide. reallyt is georgia is a

important swing state that donald trump one, but there is the population -- that donald trump won, but there is the population, enough to flip the state. it is all about turnout. for the next 80 or so days, it is all about getting people to commit to vote info early. voting starts four weeks before november 3, early october, turnout starts in a few weeks. this is a chance to plug into those kinds of efforts. concern youevel of might have about motivation from here on out, through election day. usually conventions motivate people. are you concerned because of the new format? share concerns with people like stacey abrams and fair fight. i share concerns about the voter suppression tactics that have

different states doing different things like voter consolidation and creating massive lines by removing people from the voter rolls. and now the attack on the post office makes people unsure whether, even if there is a vote male, whether that will be counted and countered on time. i think we will see people showing up at the polls in massive numbers. our lesson from 2016, and a place like georgia or texas or florida, turnout for women of color, black and brown women who have in previous cycles elected and reelected barack obama, had the highest turnout of any race and gender. in 2016, it was on average, and therefore democrats lost. i think women of color and everyone who wants to see donald

trump out of the white house is going to have to make a plan to vote and understand the rules of the state and make sure to register with a verified toistration right now -- register or verify the registration right now and vote early and make sure their counts. people i know are willing to crawl through glass to make that possible despite the fact that people are facing these challenges, job loss, trouble paying rent, all the problems with covid-19 -- that covid-19 has wrought. people are still committed to voting. host: our guest has a bachelors and masters from stanford. it says in your bio that in the 90's, you were the first woman of color to be honorably discharged for being a conscientious objector. medic inwas a combat

the army reserves. a lot of times when they recruit i was 17 when i enlisted, and i went to fort jackson south carolina. in thed in palo alto v.a. taking care of veterans from the three previous wars at that time. in my ownut who i was moral and religious beliefs, coupled by my learning about the very proud tradition of social , led to ad peace significant and profound change as a young woman. a lot of people do not know because most people are not in the military. only about 2% of americans have ever been in the military. they do not understand it do not know that the uniform code of military justice allows military a difficultpply for

discharge, but a discharge called a conscious objector discharge -- conscientious objector discharge. i earned an honorable discharge. i am proud of that. host: you talked about the postal service. this is just coming across the wire. the hill reporting the postmaster general is said to testify before a senate panel this friday. we will go to jean in illinois. republican line. hi. caller: good morning. thank you for being on. i am an old lady near chicago and i admire mayor lightfoot. i have two questions. i hope you will let me have them. i was disappointed that the main street media was covering the donald. they are doing what they did in 2016.

they are giving him a lot of free media. my question is, what can we do to stop dangerous donald from manipulating the news media? my other question is what example can we bring to light about dangerous donald discriminating against women? and please stop using his last name. that is his brand. shortonly because we are on time, i will leave it there and let argus respond. -- our guest respond. guest: i appreciate the question. we have been struggling with trust in our media that is so critical to democracy. that trust to eroded over time. so much so that people do not know what to believe. part of the reason i started she the people was that not enough voices of enough people were being heard. if we rely only on facebook or

instagram or twitter, the challenge with tech companies is that they can be manipulated from the outside. i am a really, really big fan of and believer in the influence we have over our friends and neighbors. and politics needs to return to that. the bigger questions about holding the media accountable for the way that they cover politics, -- talk to me is because the story in 2016 where people dismissed donald trump or they laughed at him or they didn't think he would be really dangerous, wasn't serious about the things he said, i think the people who were reporting wanted to report a different story. new streams of analysis have emerged. there needs to be a level of

scrutiny and a commitment to the country.t we as a thank you for your time. guest: thank you so much. host: one more guest before we end the program, bradley beychok with the biden pack american bridge. we will have that conversation when "washington journal" continues. ♪

>> our live coverage of the democratic national convention continues tonight with congresswoman alexandra anacostia cortez, former president bill clinton, and dr. joe biden. the democratico national convention tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span, live streaming and on-demand at the span.org/dnc, or listen on the free radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government. created by america's cable television companies as a public service and brought to you by

your television provider. "the president's," available in hardcover and e-book, prevents biographies of each president, conversations with noted historians. in this presidential election year, as americans decide who should lead our country, this provides perspective into the lives and events that forged each president's leadership style. to learn more, visit c-span.org/the presidents, available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book, wherever books are sold. "washington journal" continues. host: bradley beychok serves as president and cofounder, good morning to you. guest: good morning.

thanks for having me. host: what do you do? guest: american bridge is a research and communications organization and we try to win elections to build back democratic electoral power. this cycle, this last two years, we have been focused on defeating donald trump using local stories of local people in the ground zero battleground states. host: was this always intended for joe biden, or were you open until a candidate emerged? guest: good question. we were always going to support the democratic nominee. when we started this campaign, it was last november we aired television ads in this -- these battleground states. the lesson from the 2016 election is we can't run a typical campaign against donald trump. we wanted to plant early seeds

with voters in these states starting last year and continuing through the election. host: one name that emerged was a young woman, and now american bridge features her in a new ad. is there a connection between her appearance last night and what you are doing? guest: no, surprised to see her. our condolences to her on her father's loss. this is what we have been doing for 18 months, looking for people with powerful stories that are local and able to share them, about why they may not be supporting trump. she wrote a powerful obituary about her father that we found in local media in arizona, and we contacted her and a couple of weeks ago allowed her to share her story. you will see her airwaves -- her story on the airwaves and digitally starting next week.

this crystallizes that donald trump's failed leadership under this pandemic has had dire consequences, and her story is a powerful message. , where doesper pac your financial support come from? guest: we have supporters that all level, grassroots and higher levels. we are fortunate we have been supported from all spectrums and publicly available for our super pac. we are thankful for our supporters. host: until 10:00, if you want to ask about the role they are taking on in campaign 2020, (202) 748-8001 republicans, (202) 748-8000 democrats, and independents, (202) 748-8002. you can post on social media. there is always the discussion of big money. when people ask you about that, how do you justify the spending

of that kind of money in a campaign season? guest: when we started american bridge, it was after the first cycle that citizens united made it where there were unlimited contributions in politics. we think that is not a good thing for democracy and we would rather be playing by different rules, but until that changes we have to fight on a fair battleground. this is one of the most expensive campaigns in history and we have to play by the rules that are set forth. we are planning to spend close to $100 million to defeat donald trump in the next 77 days. host: one thing featured on your ad is in opposition research book. can you talk about that? guest: opposition research has been around a long time, everything knowable about your public -- opponent in the public domain. twitter, there is a

lot more transparency about where people stand. we try compile everything on republicans running on the state, local, and federal level, and share that with the media, and with donald trump, we have published thousands of pages of research for everyone to look into, because we believe in transparency and authenticity. host: how do you vouch for the research? guest: 100%. we take it very seriously. host: can the democratic party you something from an expenditure group in that manner? guest: with the trump research we posted online, trump research book.com, once we make it available to the public, anyone can use it. if we do the best research, we want to make sure the biden

campaign, dnc, and any group is able to use and weaponize it. host: when you talk about the states you are concentrating on, what is at the top of the list? guest: michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin. if we win these states, donald trump is going home. andida and north carolina georgia and texas and ohio and minnesota are all coming online and could be competitive, but at the end of the day in 2016, we loss these three states by 77,000 votes and change. we are focusing on voters that supported obama and support trump. in 2018 got back over 40% of those voters by talking about local economic issues or something that affects all of us like health care and prescription drug prices -- we

cannot chase trump's tweets. host: meeting those voters, will this be done primarily through ads and digital media, or retail politics? digital earned media and paid communication. during a pandemic, retail politics is a hard thing to do. before the pandemic, we knocked over 80,000 doors, not asking for a vote, simply asking to share their stories. we found thousands of stories where people voted for trump in 2016 and will not and here is why. they thought they would see something different, and as we sit under this pandemic with failed leadership, they want to support joe biden. ist: american bridgepac.org the website. jack, ciao lamar, florida, independent line. caller: i have been very

interest -- impressed with the anti-trump republican pacs that have come forward attacking trump. are you going to supplement their attacks, or are you going to take a different approach? guest: i think it is very similar. republican voters against trump is a strong ally of ours, a similar style. you have seen some of their ads. we are targeting 80 counties in these three states, talking about something locally, culturally identifiable so people know this person is from the area, authentic, and they share their story about why they are not voting for trump, so a rising tide lifts all votes. organizations like ours and others are on this mission because we think it is important. host: we hear the lincoln project mentioned a lot. alliances with them?

guest: they are a great ally. everyone has a certain lane. the top 10 to 15 independent groups, there is a lot of coordination. donald trump has made cohesion of these efforts. we have strange bedfellows these cycles, but are happy to have them. we have been the largest spender in michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin, and have made that our ground 02 defeat trump. trump.nd zero two defeat host: palo alto florida -- palo alto, florida, chris. caller: good morning. my quick comment is this -- don't you think -- i tweeted as soon as kamala harris dropped out, i thought she was going to be the vp -- i always thought if joe biden would have picked michelle obama as his vp he

would have created way more have created way more enthusiasm and may have raised more money. i don't think joe biden is going to win. i think he is going to lose because he picked the wrong person. person. host: thanks. guest: former first lady michelle obama showed why she is one of the most admired figures in politics and one of our most powerful messengers. i think you will see her more on the campaign trail. she is not so into politics. i don't think she wants to be in so we arevice, excited about kamala harris being the vp pick. everyone at a grass levels -- grassroots level is excited, and she and joe biden will make a very powerful 1-2 team. i politely disagree that biden is going to louvre -- lose, and we have had a good week. host: who is david rock?

-- brock? guest: a former conservative who came over to the democratic, progressive side, long journey, colleague and cofounder of our organization. host: kathy, texas, republican line. caller: how are you? guest: good, how are you? caller: good. you are searching all about president trump. he is out there to see. , joesorry, sir, your guy biden, cannot think. my son is a doctor. everyone can see his faculties are gone. it is very sad what you have done with this man. he should not have been the candidate. how do you think your party, the marxist party will win if you are going to defund the police? you are pretending there is a terrible, terrible scam with the mail-in ballots and this and

that you want to vote, people can vote for two weeks previous to november 3. you are a scam and your guy is a scam. host: we will let our guests respond. guest: that was a mouthful. what you will see is that joe biden is a very strong candidate. there.e seen him out we will see him debate donald trump. i disagree with everything you there. we will see him debate donald trump. i disagree with everything you characterized, but i think you bring up some points that are exactly what trump is trying to push, that mail-in ballots will not work and joe biden is in up for the test, and i think he will be disappointed because as joe biden likes to say, we are going to beat him like a drum. host: what convinces you joe biden is up to the task? guest: we have only seen a gajillion debates and a field of

candidates. , people act like it has been since march and there has been no campaign cents. that is not true. he has compassion and people want normalcy. nothing we are in in this moment feels normal, and joe biden will provide the vision and leadership. i think that is where voters will go. host: theresa, ormond beach, florida, democrats line. , have: i am a 76-year-old been a democrat 50 something years, grew up in new york, new all about donald trump. these red states haven't a clue he is a liar and crook and con artist, but what disappointed me last night, that young girl -- and she was right on and had every right to blame the death of her father on trump -- 176,000 people are dead.

we should have white-hot anger at trump. he is a criminal and the people behind him are as well. guest: i share your criticism and compassion for the 170 some thousand americans we have lost in this pandemic. those,'s story is one of and i think you will see our democratic base and the biden campaign are motivated to beat trump because of all of the anger you talked about. this is night one of the convention and they did a strong job under difficult circumstances, highlighted by michelle obama who did an amazing job, and bernie sanders, who may be the mvp of unity. when you hear about senator sanders, this is not 2016. he says joe biden believes in my policies and we have to come together as a party. this is the most important mission we have been on, and i

was excited about the performance of our all-stars. joe: what encourages you biden can merge with bernie sanders? guest: senator sanders laid it out last night, climate change, free college, fighting for the working middle class, all of these things senator sanders fought hard for, joe biden has decided to listen. he is a unity candidate. he will listen and bring folks together, and we will be better as a party and nation if we can bridge that divide. john kasich bernie sanders to michelle obama, this is a strong team. host: dilbert in texas, republican line, hello. caller: how are you going to pay for all of this stuff? medicare for all. guest: that's a good question. i don't believe that we talked

about medicare for all last night. our spending, our deficits are at record levels so what i can tell you now is where we spent the last four years have been out of control. when biden is elected, you will see a sense of normalcy not only in the tone of the country but in the priorities. that is a change that is needed. host: is it your opinion that medicare for all is the approach or adapting to obamacare? guest: we need a decision that gives people affordable health care, especially under the pandemic. obamacare is strong and we need to keep it and make sure that trump and his allies cannot rip it away, at a time that many of us are hurting. we have to remain cognizant of that, health care is a fundamental right and needs to remain so. bay, --om doris, polity

holiday bay, florida. caller: you are publishing everything about the republicans. i think it is to your advantage to publish everything about the democrats, what they have and have not done, so we can have a comparison. you are one-sided and we need to compare both sides. guest: certainly, and i would agree with you that people need to see all the information and all the side. we are openly a democratic super pac with the goal of defeating republicans on all levels. we cannot be more transparent than that. host: sam in washington state, independent line. caller: i would like to say, i think what the democrats currently are doing to biden is elder abuse, because i am a senior citizen myself, and i have seen this same attitude

towards seniors. slow.re a little they are using him. i think in reality, they are using him more or less as a steppingstone to get another democrat in office, because joe but i i'm not a doctor have relatives and friends who are in the medical field, and they have all seem to think that the man is in the first stages of dementia or alzheimer's. i have no faith in what they are doing. two guy -- to have a guy who never answers questions, who stays in a basement months and months at a time and blaming it on this coronavirus crop -- and and to me, it is

a bunch of crap. host: should they be doing more interaction with the press in these early stages? guest: they are doing plenty of interaction with the press. at johnjoe biden lewis's funeral. no one can -- repaired for a campaign where as i sit here in my -- prepared for a campaign where as i sit here in my basement, no one thought we would be here. , joe bidene pandemic was out on the campaign trail around the country doing cnn town halls and 15 million debates, and is up and ready for this challenge. trump and his allies may want to smear him with he is not ready for the challenge. they will be sorely disappointed as we move on, and hopefully we get back to some normalcy so we

can see what we all know is there, and energized candidate and a nominee that can take on donald trump. host: in kentucky, republican line, you are next up. caller: i want to know if he is going to try to get everything on donald trump, he should be doing it on biden too, and trump has done everything he can to do about this virus. , not saying anything about all this stuff on violence , you see that on the channels. i think we could do a little something about biden. host: thank you. guest: i would say this -- under this pandemic, president trump has not followed the facts and has downplayed the severity. as we were talking earlier about

kristin, we are told to follow our leaders in the time of crisis and her father did that and it cost him his life. all you need to hold donel trump a donald trump accountable is camera and a calendar because he told us it would go away, this was a hoax. these things have not been true. this is a serious matter, not a partisan, political matter. we are all linked arms in this pandemic and we need to follow the facts, listen to the experts, and get on the others of this. host: we heard the convention address black lives matter's. cities -- should this be addressed by the campaign? guest: donald trump made a bet that if he brought unmarked unrest,n two so further

-- as this campaign goes on, trump will continue to press to divide, to distract from what is right in front of us, his failed leadership in front of this pandemic and around his presidency, pre-pandemic. hopefully now he is unable to distract folks and joe biden will provide the alternative. host: mark, rome, georgia, democrats line. caller: i have in a democrat about all my life. of, about what is going on at this time. it has me worried about vice president biden's health. i don't see voting for president biden this year because i pray a womanwill have

president and i don't know if she is qualified to be president or not. biden, i don't know if he will last four years or no -- not. is,: take it for what it but another question about joe biden's health. guest: we have answered the question about the health. i strongly disagree with everyone, and all the evidence points to that. senator harris is certainly qualified to be president, and ran a strong campaign to be so, to be our nominee. i am excited about both of them on our ticket so i strongly disagree with the caller. host: pennsylvania, frank in greensburg, independent line. mr.er: i wish we could get obama out. there would have been a speaking crowd. if they are going to start pushing this dementia issue with

mr. biden, you should run the sequence that morning joe ran last week or so showing mr. trump not a king in the best light, or looking relatively feeble -- not looking in the best light, or looking relatively feeble. i would run that add right away, because if they want to see incoherence and the early start of dementia, that would appear to be much worse than anything mr. biden has done. host: ronald in port richie, florida, republican line. caller: i am a korean war vet from 1951 in 1952. i am 92. the democratic platform is a socialistic or graham. -- program. socialism does not work. can you tell me how it is going to work? guest: thank you for your service.

i disagree with you that the democratic platform as a socialist platform. the democratic party is fighting for the middle class, the working class, and have done that for the history of the party and will continue to do so. trump and his elks may want to throw labels, but at the end of the day, facts are facts. i am proud to be a member of the democratic party. host: american bridge pac .org, thank you for your time. guest: thank you for having me. host: 9:00 this evening is when our coverage starts on c-span, the democratic national convention on c-span and c-span.org, and follow along on our c-span radio app. we thank you for giving us your time today and watching. see you tomorrow. ♪

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> here is what's coming up on c-span on the second day of the democratic national convention. nancy pelosi will discuss campaign 20 and legislative topics, a virtual event hosted by politico starting at 1:30 on c-span. the members of the house of representatives will discuss mail-in voting. the house is set to return to washington to debate and vote on a postal service bill. coverage ath live

2:00 p.m. eastern. this afternoon, president trump makes remarks in yuma, arizona on immigration and border security on c-span two and c-span.org, or listen live with the free c-span radio app. a live picture from milwaukee, where the democratic national convention kicked op -- off last night. here is a look at some of tonight's speakers. ♪ thelive coverage of democratic national convention continues tonight with congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, former president bill clinton, and former second lady dr. joe biden. live coverage tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span, live streaming and on-demand at c-span.org/dnc, or listen with the free c-span radio app. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics.

and now speeches from the first night of the democratic national convention, we will show you remarks from governors andrew cuomo and gretchen whitmer, and speeches from former ohio governor john kasich, bernie sanders, and michelle obama's keynote address. >> hello. today is monday, day 170. new yorkers were ground zero from the covid virus and of gone from one of the highest infection rates to the lowest. we climbed the impossible mountain and are on the others. we did it with the kindness and assistance of so many. new yorkers want to thank everyone who came to our aid, 30,000 americans volunteered to come and help in our hour of need. your love gave us the strength to carry on. we went through hell, but we have learned much.