guests, that will have concluded this evening's convention program. we will stand in recess until tomorrow >> the republican national convention begins monday. watch every moment live beginning on c-span. c-span, yourtching unfiltered view of government. america's cable television companies as a television service and brought to you by your television provider. this morning on "washington journal," we will talk about the second night of the democratic national convention with political reporter hans nichols, and what to expect on the third night, and a discussion on the role women will play in campaign 2020 with stephanie schriock.

then, naacp president and ceo derrick johnson on black voters and the important issues in campaign 2020. "washington journal" is next. i am pleased to announce that vice president joe biden has officially been nominated by the democratic party as our candidate for president of the united states. vice president biden is hereby invited to deliver an acceptance speech. ♪ thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. it means the world to me and my family, and i will see you on thursday. ♪ that took place after a first ever virtual rollcall vote officiallyn is selected as the nominee for the democratic party.

just some of the activities on night two of the democratic national convention. watch our coverage of night three starting at 9:00 tonight on c-span, c-span.org, and follow along on our c-span radio app. in the first hour bang, you can give us your impressions of the activities. -- in the first hour, you can give us your impressions of the activities. if you support joe biden, (202) 748-8000. if you support president trump, (202) 748-8001. if you are undecided, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. gavel-to-gavel is uninterrupted and here is some of the speakers you will see, senator elizabeth warren from massachusetts, former secretary

of state hillary clinton, the candidate from last election, former president barack obama, and you will hear the acceptance speech of the vice president pick, senator kamala harris, democrat of california. you can watch on c-span and c-span.org to follow along. some of the responses of last , sheilavent on facebook hayes saying -- it would be nice to know their agenda. we already know they hate trump. it is like watching a telephone. alll said -- she loved it and did not expect to. saying -- whyook did they bring bill clinton to make an appearance? morninge a piece this taking a look at some of the highlights from yesterday,

talking specifically about the former president, saying he has spoken at 11 democratic national conventions but has never had a tighter grasp on the party. given how his sexual dalliances , a notoriously prolix president whose 2012 speech for barack obama ran nearly 50 minutes, was kept to five minutes during the tight, all online convention, and he wasted no time scorching the man who defeated his wife. >> with the covid-19 outbreak on a path to killing millions of , how do donald trump respond? he said the virus was under control and would disappear. tvn it didn't, he was on every day bragging on what a great job he was doing while science was waiting to give us

final information. when he didn't like the expert advice he was given, he ignored it. only when covid exploded did he encourage people to wear masks but then, many more were dying. when asked about the surge in deaths, he shrugged and said, it is what it is. did it have to be this way? no. covid hit us much harder than it had to. we have just 4% of the world's population but 25% of the covid cases. our unemployment rate is 2.5 times the united kingdom and more than three times japan. donald trump says we are leading the world. we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple. the oval office should be a command center. instead, it is a storm center with only chaos. one thing never changes, his

determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. bucbook never stops -- never stops therek. you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. if you want a president who spends hours watching tv zapping people on social media, he is your man. it works great if you are trying to entertain, but in a real crisis it collapses like a house of cards. covid does not respond to any of that. to beat it, you have got to go to work and deal with the facts. our party is united in offering a very different choice, a down to earth, get the job gun -- takeguy, ready to responsibility and not blame. our choice is joe biden host: just a portion from last night. you can see the whole speech on

c-span.org. if you support joe biden. (202) 748-8001 if you support president trump. if you are undecided, (202) 748-8002. in connecticut, a supporter of president trump, you are first up. caller: good morning. i thought it was a lot better than the first night. it was well done. i like joe biden, i just don't like the people around him. i don't like all the revisionist thinking, trump was in denial. yes, he does say a lot of stupid stuff. he shoots himself in the foot a lot and makes things worse. i do agree with all that, but to say he was in denial when he was one of the first ones to do it, we are forgetting what happens

or want to forget what really happened. we are forgetting the hospitals he set up in new york, unused beds. there is a lot of blame to go around. an act of god is beyond our control with this virus. we can't control everything as much as we would like to think we can. butally hate to blame, there is a lot of blame to go around with this pandemic. host: cindy in connecticut. mike in south carolina, supporter of joe biden. caller: i am a supporter of the democratic party and since he is our candidate, i am a supporter of joe biden. i am more in support of the , and this isnge the way we get a change. we need somebody who understands what it means to be a leader of

this country. currying favor with the chosen few. it isn't a lot of the divisiveness that he seeks with his words. it is someone who understands they represent all of us, regardless of our political party affiliation, and that is what he works for. you aif i may ask, were supporter of joe biden early on? caller: i did support someone because sheobuchar, is one who would bring people together definitely. when the choice came down to joe biden, i know what joe biden has done in the past. some things i agree with, some things i don't, but i think he is the one -- he does understand what a leader's role is, and i

think he can fit in that role. host: what did you make of his vice presidential choice? in a strongs supporter of kamala harris. wasn't have preferred -- i would have preferred val demings, maybe amy klobuchar. i understand why he selected her and i think the two of them will do a job. they will bring the change we need. alabaster, in alabama, supporter of president trump. caller: how are you? host: i am well. thanks for asking. caller: i didn't watch all of it , i watched a good portion of it, and i still have not heard their agenda even though we heard little snippets of it from bernie sanders.

i am sure joe biden is a very likable guy, but what they are going to do is they are going to have the government take over all the jails, all of our health care. the government is going to take care of everything, free school tuition. it is not free, though. itthe taxpayers will pay for , and how will they do that? they will increase our taxes? go check it out. most people pay 70% of their income for taxes for all of that typicallyf democrats -- that "stuff." -- "free stuff." promise atypically lot. the: did you look at

agenda? caller: i have not read it, but i have heard snippets from bernie sanders. host: the dnc platform at the website for the democratic national convention, there is the draft of it, laying out policy positions as the party stands. from milwaukee, wisconsin, yvonne, supporter of joe biden from the city hosting -- at least one of the hosts of the convention. caller: i am calling to say i have enjoyed the convention so far, and i can't wait for tomorrow, and i cannot wait for thursday. , am along with bill clinton donald trump does not want to accept responsibility for the things that he is responsible for. he is responsible for the

coronavirus. he is responsible for 25% of people being out of work. he is responsible for the schools open and closing. he is responsible for hundreds of cars having to stand in lines to get bags of food to feed their families. he is responsible for children three end up wearing a mask. -- three and up wearing a mask. guess what? if you end up getting the virus, you will not have to worry about taxes or kids or gas because you will be dead. host: when candidate biden talks , talking about a mask policy for the united states, is that something you would go along with? caller: i would go along with it. it is what we need to do to get rid of this virus, but the virus is out of control and it is to

the point where if donald trump gets in another four years, we will be wearing masks for another four years. host: the work on the vaccine is already starting. in leonard towne, maryland, and undecided voter -- leonard an undecidedd, voter. caller: people need to get more involved because here we are making a decision. we have all got opinions, all of these people who have never been involved in politics before because of all of the devices in this and their families' lives on the line, everyone is a politician. you cannot watch one channel. you have to watch all the channels. i listened to hillary clinton the other day, and i love hillary clinton and i love

misses trump and all of them because they are trying to, you would assume protect our country and way of life. ms. clinton said we needs to get our country back in order, it is crazy, other countries are not listening to each other. then i listen to mr. trump. he is saying his things too. for me, it is really tough. it is the two-party system out of control. joe biden 40 years in d.c., trump 40 years in new york. the last thing i would say, right in candidate for me. i think it is a great choice, the real joe. host: why him over others? www. usa. all a -- i have a mother who died in a nursing home due to abuse.

it is serious. we need a change. esther biden, stepped out of the way, sir. -- mr. biden, step out of the way, sir. host: ken, a supporter of joe biden. caller: i support joe biden because he loves his country and it comes from his heart. he is not a rich businessman. he supports his country. donald trump is a draft dodger from the vietnam war and being drafted into it and his four deferments. i cannot see how any veteran would support this man. a lot of his people have been indicted and it is just going to get worse. this coronavirus, we have to get a handle on it. host: as far as joe biden is concerned, does he have military history? caller: i am not sure about joe

biden. host: if he did, would that matter, considering what you said about the president? caller: no. i don't know if joe biden was in the military. i just know when he speaks about the country, it comes from the heart. host: lisa also a supporter of joe biden. seeer: i was so happy to them focus so well on foreign policy, one of my number-one issues. y thee he rehires kerr to renegotiate the iranian deal because they -- enrichingg uranium hand over foot. ourlieve we need to repair relationship with nato allies. i just think that joe biden, and we need to get on track again. host: when it comes to foreign

affairs and that topic, it was john kerry speaking last night as one of the speakers, but the analysis from the new york times offers this -- mr. biden has offered few policy plans on how to tackle this changed world. the virtual convention came down to this, trust the man who ran the committee to take out osama bin laden and iranian centrifuges with a nuclear strike, and would arrive at the white house with an experienced team. supporters, and his that is mr. biden's vulnerability. -- coddlinguing , heartening the russians, and cutting deals for his friends. caller: president trump is the best president in history for

the jewish people. the democrats hate the jewish people. the new democrat -- host: that's a broad brush. ander: i am a jewish guy she is an anti-semite and she wins 90%. democrats, hethe also hates jews. the second thing, because the democrats hate god and i love god. in 40 years, they hate god. the democratic party needs to hate god. host: another broad brush you are applying, but let's hear from one of the speakers last night, former secretary of state colin powell. [video clip] ago, a jamaican immigrant left a dirt farm and

set out for america. a ship pulled into the american harbor and a young jamaican woman gazed at the statue of liberty for the first time. they became my parents. this began a journey of service to take me from basic training through combat in vietnam to chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state. the values i learned in the bronx and serving in uniform are the same values that joe biden's parents instilled in him in scranton, pennsylvania. i support joe biden because those values still define him and we need to restore those values to the white house. our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family. with joe biden, that does not need teaching. it comes with the experience he has with millions of military families, sending his beloved son off to war and praying he

would come home safe. joe biden will be a president we will all be proud to salute. you will never doubt he will stand with our friends and up to our adversaries, never the other way around. he will trust our diplomats, not the flattery of dictators and desperate's. when anyone dares to threaten us, he will stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience and they will know he means business. i support joe biden because beginning on day one, he will restore america's leadership and moral authority. he will be a president who knows that america's strongest when is to lead byin example. he knows the alliances we need to address the threats to our nation from climate change to nuclear proliferation. nancy hollings says when

it comes to the format of the current dnc convention, doesn't like it, and she will support president trump. -- from facebook saying he is saddened by the way the dnc is going. as a democrat, i am saddened to say this is another four more years of trump. -- therom panama city democrats have done a fantastic job rolling out the convention on tv. i have never been prouder to be a democrat, an all-inclusive party. what you'll see next week will be of white faces. that's the republican party. americaer, it showcased that america is more than patriotic evangelicals. wj, facebook.com/c-span,

and you can text us by including your name, city, and state to (202) 748-8003. kathy in carlisle, pennsylvania, undecided. caller: when i look at the issue of as far as who to vote for, when i look at biden, i don't want to just vote for biden simply because i don't like trump. i am not going to go that way. i would choose the individual. i tell myself biden has been in for years, so i go back and look at has passed and see things like the crime bills and stuff like that. i take that into consideration. i am concerned about his health because if something happens, kamala harris may be the president.

we still haven't answered the questions about what happened in it may have some kind of connection with his son but he hasn't answered that. see that he is covering some -- i saw him support -- he has covered some of the opportunities for the inner cities. he did the prison reform and he supports pro-life, and i am not a supporter of abortion. he doesn't carry a lot of the issues i stand for. host: that is kathy in pennsylvania. to those issues she listed, if you stay and watch our program in the 9:00 hour, two guests

will address those issues, stephanie schriock, that group recruiting pro-choice female candidates, and derrick johnson theur last half-hour, of naacp, president and ceo. carol from iowa city, iowa, supporter of joe biden. caller: hello. i definitely support joe. my gosh, we are in the midst of a disaster in iowa. people don't have lights, power, food, places to live. the president stopped in cedar rapids, iowa yesterday and hung gar of the airport talking to the governors and mayors of some of the cities in iowa that have had devastation. he never set foot to talk to the

people to see how they were handling the situation, or getting your power back, or trying to get the national guard into some of these towns. a week later, a week later they show up. nobody declared any kind of disaster until seven days after it happened, and people are still without food and water. i think it's a disgrace. he has no caring for any of the people unless he is campaigning, which is what he was doing yesterday, but he stayed only long enough to go to arizona and campaigned there, the states that he needs. i hope the people of iowa will wake up and vote for joe biden, because joe would have been here the next day to see how his people are doing. host: james in tennessee, supporter of joe biden. caller: good morning.

you are the only program. . would like to have biden first of all, this is the anniversary of the women's to see womennd after 100 years finally get support, biden can pull america back together. that, if they stop pointing fingers at each other and work together -- host: how do you think he will do that? trying by each of them what is right for america. america needs to act with strong leadership, and right now we have a president that plays kindergarten games. i was a kindergarten teacher. they call names and use vulgarity.

that is not acceptable, but we are accepting it and praising him for it, which is ridiculous. i think -- host: go ahead. ok, we will leave it there. if you would not mind turning down your television. speak harris expected to tonight and address not only her nomination by the vice president to become the running mate, but the issues she will deal with should vice president biden get elected, as well as president obama on the platform as well speaking, and former presidential candidate hillary clinton. thishat and more at 9:00 evening on c-span, c-span.org, and on our radio app. "thenew york times" -- kamalaton post" says

harris' husband will take a leave of absence from a law form -- law firm, dl piper. he represented some of the inhest profile individuals complex real estate and litigation disputes. influence has made him one of california's go to lawyers for several decades. if he returns to his job, that would raise questions over whether his work would influence public policies. if harris is elected vice president, she could be subject to the questions of whether her husband was receiving benefits from foreign governments, just as president trump has been the subject of lawsuits on the emoluments clause in his position as president.

to betty from memphis, tennessee, supporter of president trump. caller: thank you. mrs. obama, when she made her keynote speech, she stated that joe biden had pushed back a pandemic and won. what pandemic did he push back and when is what i would like to know? are they talking about ebola? i don't think it was pandemic. i think it was in africa. we had a couple of people get it here because they came from africa here and we cured them. what pandemic did he push back? texas, aar in supporter of joe biden. go ahead. i just wanteder: to say, i have been a republican since i could remember.

the very first time i registered andote, i did my research the thought for me was being a republican. up until this last presidential election that we voted for , i had a change of heart and i knew that the moral partyof the republican was to the point where it could not be put back together. seeing every single republican bend over backwards for this president that has been doing everything wrong since he entered the office just tore my in theecause i believe united states and what it stands for. constitutionthe

and every single form of government that we have. it just breaks my heart to see that people are so in tuned as to what the president does or what the republicans do, what the democrats do. we are made a strong people by the people that live in this country, not by the people that defined as in government offices. when we stopped to see the things thatish people do and concentrate on the things that they actually do, that is when we can decide open mindedly who should run this country. host: that is oscar in texas. for the first half-hour, your impressions from the second night of the democratic national

convention. atther night planned tonight 9:00. one of the features of last night was joe biden's wife talking about her husband and the influence he had. [video clip] >> i never imagined at the age of 206i would be asking myself how do you make of rogan family whole. -- a broken family whole. still, joe always told the boys mommy sent jill to us and how could i argue with her? andigured it out together those big moments that would go by too fast. thanksgivings and state championships. birthdays and weddings. in the mundane ones that we didn't even know were shaping our lives. reading stories piled on the couch, rowdy sunday dinners and silly arguments.

listening to the faint sounds of laughter that would flow downstairs as joe put the kids to bed every night. while i study for grad school or graded papers under the pale yellow kitchen lamp. the dinner dishes waiting in the sink. we found that love holds a family together. love makes us flexible and resilient. it allows us to be more than ourselves together. though it can't protect us from the sorrows of life, it gives us .efuge, a home how do you make a broken family hole? the same way you make a nation hole. with love and understanding. kindness.mall acts of with bravery, unwavering faith. you show up for each other in

big ways and small ones. again and again. it is what so many of you are doing right now for your loved ones. for complete strangers. for your communities. there are those who want to tell us our country is hopelessly divided. that our differences are irreconcilable. that is not what i have seen over these last few months. together and holding onto each other. we are finding mercy and grace in the moments we might once have taken for granted. we are seeing that our differences are precious and our similarities infinite. we have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. the soul of america joe biden is fighting for now. host: again, those complete

speeches available on our website. when it comes to viewership of the events of this week, that dark times takes a look at the readings for the first day. 19 point 7 million people watched the proceedings on tv from 10:00 until 11:15. years ago, about 26 million people tuned in for the first night in philadelphia. the story also reflects that the nielsen ratings do not include online and streaming viewers, a rapidly growing chunk of the american mass audience. jenny, hawaii, good morning. caller: good morning. my being decided is trying to decide where i will cast my vote. i will not vote for joe biden and i usually vote for democrats. --.s because i believe for him to have been accused of rape and all the women in the

party not to be concerned, to see all of those smiling except -- upsets me very much. i can't believe all this time -- itssed and nobody has is sad to me. host: if not joe biden, what are your options? i think it is jorgensen who is the green party candidate? host: the libertarian party candidate. caller: yes. host: you may be interested, she was on this program a couple of weeks ago. if you haven't seen it, you can still check it out. caller: i should check it out again. that is what made me think of her. thank you. host: thank you. from south dakota, a supporter of joe biden, let's go to doug and fairfax. caller: good morning. joe all the way.

trump was talking yesterday. he said he was man of the year in michigan. he said he is the dealmaker. say we spent $40 billion on trump's terrorists. china is buying green from us below cause. we have set north carolina as a nuclear country with iran on the way. food lines, riots in the streets, crime is up. people turning homeless. big street traders making business and doing great from the millions the government is giving them and from printed money. 0% interest rate. everybody lives on their credit card and trump is in charge. host: as far as the stimulus

spending, wouldn't you have to put that to the democrats as well? caller: you have to put that to them, but how are you going to pay for it? he is going to say the tax they put for social security and so forth, he is going to cut that. how was he going to pay for social security? the republicans want to get rid of social security. that is just one way to defund it. that is what they are trying to do there. host: that is dug and fairfax. voter talking about the events of the d&c. this is louise. trump isy concern with not so much what the democrats say about it, it is what the republicans who work with him, who have been close with him watching what he did with

sessions, his attorney general, that hurt me to my heart because that man love to, was the first one to support him, and because that man had a conviction to stand up for the constitution instead of doing what trump wanted him to do, he fired him, he beat him down, he kept them from regaining the seat. host: to the events of the convention we are talking about, what do you think has been going on the last couple of mites? caller: -- nights? caller: i really haven't been following it. up int want to get caught soundbites. i just want to keep observing and just looking. with trump iscern that he reminds me of a

dictator. i woulderned about how be treated under a dictatorship. host: if you are observing or undecided, what are you going to observe as far as you have to make a decision of who you are voting? i'm going to see which one is doing what is best for the people in general. only't want to see worrying about one group or one people. the one thing i like about the democrats, they are more diverse. i like the diversity. i don't like the exclusion of the republicans. i'm looking at things like that. host: that is eloise in california. voter as she talked about and talking about issues of diversity when it came to the speaking program, one of the featured speakers was alexandria ortez.

topic that she chose to address. [video clip] >> good evening, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring for a better and just future for our country and world. infidelity and gratitude to amass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and waiver rights for all people in the united states. a movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. and to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. realizes theat unsustainable brutality of an

economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many. and who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. in a time when millions of people in the united states are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment and lack and out of a love for all people, i hereby second the nomination of senator bernard sanders of vermont for president of the united states of america. host: we will go to joan in myrtle beach, south carolina. supporter of president trump. caller: good morning. i am a 78-year-old woman. up until four years or three and a half years ago, i voted democrat.

i ame him a chance and proud of what he is doing. he has worked hard and he is still working hard. for all people in the united states. not just one group. and what do you think of the case that the democrats are making this week against the president during their convention? caller: i don't like it because to me, it is kind of racist. they call white people racist, but what i am seeing on tv, and programs the democrat for the last two nights. me that they are calling him a racist but yet all they talk about is separation. this world does need to come together and i think we have a good united states. and there is one thing i would like to ask you, when you are

talking to people, when people call in, would you please give the republicans as much respect and time as you give the democrats? i have noticed they are being cut short. i wake up every morning to watch "washington journal." host: we dole it out pretty evenly. at least that is my opinion. as far as the president, you will watch the events of next week for the republican national convention? caller: i watch both parties and try to keep an open mind. host: ok. that is joan in south carolina who watched the events of last weekend this week as well. you can watch along on our three ways of doing so, the main channel, c-span if you want to start tuning in at 9:00 for the coverage there. you can also go about it by our website at c-span.org, our radio app available, too.

will in charlotte, north carolina. caller: good morning. it is amazing sometimes when i hear -- the lady that just called from south carolina said trump wants to support everybody. he tells you, i'm only going to help republican states. help thoset going to blue states, he says it. is he has with trump already destroy just about every institution this country had. he has cracked them real hard. i don't even know what department of justice is anymore. the senate. week to the events of this and the convention, what do you think? caller: i think they haven't brought that out as much as they should.

show,he news, even your you showed a report about what the washington post said. itself, the convention let's take the point of the convention itself. you say they haven't brought out enough criticism against president trump? caller: they have brought out criticism of the president, but they have not detailed it. host: even from the keynote speakers we have seen over the last two nights? caller: no, they haven't. what have they set about trump's effect on doj, what he has actually done? about one halfin of the upper echelon and not one minority was brought in. the doj was formed to protect minorities after slavery. that is why the doj was put there. they put the department of justice there and said look, we are going to protect these black

people from the klan. host: george is in pittsburgh, a supporter of joe biden. go ahead. i am a republican, so i am forced to vote democrat because the president we have in the republicann [indiscernible] trump has separated everybody. party is about establishing domestic tranquility. has trump done that? no. host: it is the democratic party making the case this week.

what do you think about the case they are making? caller: this is the point i am we are usbecause against them so much the only thing that we can do is to create balance now. everybody is on their own opposite side. host: exactly why are you supporting joe biden? trump is notcause interested in creating balance his wealth and the people who are supporting the trade labortill in mode. william is in greensboro. an undecided voter. how are you? host: i am well, go ahead. atler: the message was unity

the convention. the virtual convention. everybody is preaching about bringing the party together. i was just curious about the delicates and how that works. if a congressperson gets to cast a vote? host: she was casting her support as far as the rollcall vote that took place last night from those from states and territories. they did the work of nominating the vice president as their candidate. caller: who did she vote for on her rollcall vote? host: she said it the end she said her support was for senator sanders. caller: that is correct. she cast her vote for sanders so let's get that out there and let's quit saying this is a party of unity when they have a nominee of joe biden but yet she cast her vote for bernie sanders. host: she expressed support for bernie sanders.

she did that in the clip, but what is the point overall? what is the point overall? caller: i don't see the unity. why wouldn't she cast her vote for biden if there is all that unity in there? in other words, she is better because she didn't get bernie in. host: ok, let's go to tom in maryland. supporter of president trump. caller: you better believe it, the greatest president of the history of the world. if anybody who votes for biden, you have lost your mind. you have got to get behind this man. he gave all the money to the black colleges. he is the most un-racial, he is a man who stands by his word. he doesn't tell you the bs, he tells you how it is and people don't like it, tough. you want to be a communist, you

want to get on board, let's talk young white kid who was killed by african-americans as for riding his bike. black on black crime happens every day. wake up america. smell the coffee. host: adele in columbus, georgia, a supporter of joe biden. good morning. caller: joe all the way. the only problem i have with donald trump is that he is not a leader. when you look at the military, everything he had done, the we don'tt he is doing even know if we are going to have health care in the next two or three months. donald trump is not a leader. host: what is it about joe biden

that makes him a leader? caller: health care. he and obama started the aca. every was started to give american the opportunity to have health care. here we are during a pandemic and what we got with trump -- i mean, four more years of trump will be a disaster. host: how do you think joe biden will change the pandemic response if he becomes president of the united states? all, trump gotf away with the world health organization. joe biden will work with the global world. --mp is just trying to push listen to what he was trying to say. the hydroxychloroquine. he was trying to say try bleach. this man is crazy. host: the drinking bleach thing

i think was a misunderstanding from one of the events in the white house. this is not a good leader. look at his base. look at the base of trump next week when the rnc has their convention. there are going to be more of a white face, all white face. america is not all white face. tonight, there has people.ixed race of that is what america is all about. host: one of the faces from last night speaking, the former georgia gubernatorial candidate, abrams. she spoke as part of the leadership matters portion of the program last night at the d&c. [video clip] >> in a democracy, we do not elect saviors. we cast our ballots for those

who see our struggles and pledged to serve, who hear our dreams and work to make them real, who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. faced with a president of cowardice, joe biden is a man of proven courage. he will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. in a time of voter suppression at home and authoritarians abroad, joe biden will be a champion for free and fair elections, for a health system that keeps us safe, for an economy that we build back better than before, and for accountability and integrity in our system of justice. host: theresa, asheville, undecided. go ahead. i am a registered independent and always have been.

but i towards democrats, am undecided at this point in time. why, i amell you confused because i have been watching c-span since 2:30 this morning and i have not gotten up to change the channel. and yet, in the middle of the ,emocratic national convention i saw a trump rally and i was just wondering how could that happen in the middle of the democratic convention? that was my first point. host: probably what you saw during the coverage is that we saw portions of the democratic national convention last night. we also probably showed the president's visit. he was into states yesterday and made statements. you probably saw a portion of that, but his coverage was not part of the d&c overall.

his portion was not part of the dnc overall. caller: i see. was i amnted to say leaning towards biden mainly because i am of trump because i see him doing things that make me feel like he more and more each day almost each hour leans toward wanting to be a dictator , abridgingtry constitutional rights, but most of all, the thing that shocked me most was when the military came out and went against peaceful protesters half an hour before their curfew was up, and he did it for a photo op. i found that just beyond the

that, it when i saw leaned much more heavily towards biden. host: that is teresa in asheville, north carolina. in other news, other than convention news, in issues of the postal service, a couple of things to show you. first, president trump was asked yesterday if he would veto legislation that would prevent changes to the postal service and possibly causing disruptions to the november elections. [video clip] >> the democrats want to make it a political issue. it is really about a corrective vote. you have to get voting right. you can't have millions and millions of ballots sent all over the place, sent to people who are dead, dogs, cats. this is a serious situation. this isn't games and you have to get it right. i just want to get it right. win, lose or draw.

we have to get it right. do somethingg to in congress, but everything they do is political. why don't i do it now instead of monday? they picked another day on monday. that is when the republican convention starts. why don't they do it during the democratic convention? because everything they do, nancy and chuck, they play games. how is it working out? not so good. you, it is disgraceful. we have to have honest voting. that is what this is all about. this is honest voting. of can't take millions ballots, send them haphazardly all over the country or a state and expect to come out properly. if you look at the last 10 elections where they did this universal, and by the way, absenteeism great.

absentee, you request and it comes in and then you send it back. absentee is great, but universal is going to be a disaster the likes of which our country has never seen. it will end up being a rigged election or they will never come out with an outcome. they will have to do it again and nobody wants that. i don't want that. the: yesterday, it was postmaster general announcing he is going to suspend all current activities that were planned. those topics expected to come up at a hearing this friday. 9:00 in the morning on friday with the postmaster general in front of the senate homeland security committee. you can see that on c-span and our radio app. the postmaster general is also expected next week to appear before a house -- the house. cincinnati ohio, hello. say,r: i just want to initially when i turned on to listen, i am always shocked and

amazed that when people are supporting trump, that they really don't listen to his words. what they hear are the trade picked versions of what they envision he is trying to say. when they actually listen to the words he speaks, he says specifically what he wants. he always speaks his truth and his own words. dumpingwant to get on on trump, because he does it on his own. i do want to say i support biden specifically because he embodies a value system which i teach to my five children. i want that world for them to grow up in where they are seen as people, they are not treated as other, they are not looked upon as an obstacle to overcome thea sure fire funnel into criminal justice system based on their luck, just based off of

where they grew up. of the people have referent mr. biden's efforts on the 1994 crime bill and other issues related to criminal justice's. how does that sway your support or how do you take that in in your support for him? host: there does need to be a definition of criminality in the world because we have one in the white house. there does need to be law and order in a sense, but it actually has to be justified law and order. tom not against people going jail when they do wrong. to theldn't be only elite few who get away with it. i'm not saying anyone should get away with it, i am saying money cannot be the reason you can get away with it. not because the color of your skin should be a reason to get away with it. there are criminals of every ethnicity. and when weeople

start looking at people, other nationalities, you take away their actual actions are you look at people for their money. you take away their actions. when people tell you who they are and their behavior shows you who they are, you need to believe them. host: ok. gianna, cincinnati, ohio. night of the dnc will be tonight at 9:00 this evening. we will talk about the events of the dnc later on in the program. first, we are going to hear a little bit more about what is going on behind the scenes with hans nichols. later on in the program, we will be joined by stephanie schirock. she will discuss the role that women have in campaign 2020. "washington journal" continues after this. ♪

theur live coverage of democratic national convention continues tonight with former secretary of state hillary clinton, kamala harris, barack obama. watch live coverage of the democratic national convention 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. "> "washington journal continues. host: joining us to talk about the democratic national convention is hans nichols, a political reporter for axios. what are you hearing about the format and the impression that it is leaving this time around versus previous political conventions? guest: from democrats, i am

hearing a sigh of relief because there is a great deal of concern among party strategists about how they are going to pull this off technically. just the tactics of making sure the delays weren't too long or there weren't any awkward moments. in the first two days, most of the democrats i'm talking to who did have a great deal of concern think they passed the test. of a is a little bit question about the numbers that are coming in from nielsen. how many people are watching this convention at home on their televisions or however they are doing it? they are way down from four years ago. part of that is because people watch tv differently. yes, while technically they feel like it has passed the threshold test, there are still concerns about viewership because the goal of the convention isn't to get the diehards. find those voters who

haven't quite tuned in yet. when he just look at say nbc and msnbc,on the first night which is sometimes watched by those that are more progressive and really believe in democratic party politics, it is 5 million viewers. embassy, the network that tries to cut through and reach everyone, they only had 2 million. that dichotomy may be a little troubling for democrats who want to reach a broader audience. extent, i suppose you can teach us about concerning enthusiasm coming out of this event than previous events? you really saw the enthusiasm calculus take place when they were trying to figure out who to choose. difference between enthusiasm and motivation. normally, those go hand-in-hand. the democrats are enthusiastic

about their ticket and will be motivated to go vote. was thatpolling showed democrats weren't necessarily enthusiastic about joe biden. he didn't tickle them in certain ways, but they were very motivated to vote. the selection they ended up going with was senator kamala harris which was a no mistakes first role of politics do no harm. instead of going with someone that really animated and excited the base. someone like elizabeth warren. is concern about enthusiasm, but it hasn't quite bubbled up because democratic strategists look at their base and these people are so motivated to elect donald trump out of office and simply replace him with anyone. host: senator harris expected to speak tonight about the nomination. do we have any sense of what she will address? guest: it will be a testimonial to joe biden. we saw this in the initial speech that she gave in

wilmington. i was up there on a pretty sticky basketball court and a humid room in wilmington. this will be a slightly different background. she is going to be prosecuting the case against donald trump area that is something that vice president so candidates always do, but she will also be sort of outline the -- outlining the policy proposals and energizing the base on what they really want to hear. democrats are using -- if you saw this last night, they are using this convention to explain who joe biden is as a person. -- i have ake away friend of mine with a piece that says joe biden is a nice guy. americans have known about joe biden for 50 years, but they don't really know him and that is the opportunity of the convention, to introduce your candidate on your terms before the candidate gets defined in 30 seconds and 62nd attack ads.

that is why we get back to the numbers question on how money americans are actually watching. that is why the numbers are so important. host: one of those ways of defining is how much the candidates themselves interact with the press. what is the campaign say about if there will be interviews or more interviews with both candidates? guest: they are not responding to my request for an interview, but that is probably not representative. biden has a different approach on doing interviews then donald trump. donald trump will sit down with just about anyone, if you look at the number of press conferences trump has done up to this point, it is much higher than either of his predecessors. choppersn't include talk where the president is up in marine one and talks to us. there are different approaches. biden has many gatekeepers

before you can get an interview. it is traditional in the sense first jointthe interviews with the families, people magazine. it almost seems like a play from the 1990's, we need to reach suburban females, let's talk to people and then they will do one of the big networks, they will sit down with david mirror. it reminds me a little bit of , the careful rollout we saw with sarah palin, a campaign i covered back in 2008 where palen didn't do much interaction with reporters. she didn't go to the back of her plane and weigh in on whatever the latest that was happening in georgia or what have you. they kept her sequestered until they had these big moments. did all ofson, they these big network interviews and blew up. test.didn't pass that thosek after she had

interviews, i can see russia from my house, it was hard to recover. the biden campaign has done many more interviews in sarah palin, but the taste and pressure to get it right is more similar to a traditional campaign and more similar to what the mccain palin ticket did. mccain talked to his press corps all the time. it was a rolling conversation, but once we got to this stage of the campaign, it was difficult to get time with mccain. it was difficult to sit down with him and they were very tight on candidates time because they knew the precious resource and they also knew there is always a risk reward. the risk is that the candidate gets off message and makes mistakes. host: hans nichols joining us and taking your questions about this week's events at the dnc convention.

our guest is a political reporter for axios previously covered the pentagon and worked for bloomberg. what is reporting like now versus then. guest: i'm in my living room. it is very difficult to develop sources. idon't want to pretend that am -- you can't meet people for drinks. you can't have the sidebar conversations. that said, it can be more efficient because you can be texting, emailing with 20 people. everyone this kind of doing it. last night, you have a rolling conversation with your sources about what you are seeing on the convention. as opposed to if we were there, all of the reporters would be in their newsrooms, we would be working in our -- on our stories

and then digest it. it is a little bit faster and a little bit more efficient. less drinking and you are in bed a lot earlier. last night, i was in bed by 11:30 or 12. things isof the spinning out from a conversation you are having is a conversation about joe biden's appearance but how it relates to the conversation about classrooms reopening. common refrain among republican and democratic strategists is that the virus is going to determine the winner of the election. we are having these conversations in august. a lot of families are on vacation, trying to figure out how they are going to do schools. this is my own theory. it is bolstered by a fair amount of reporting, but the issue of schools is going to be potentially dispositive in the election and campaign. donald trump is squarely on the side of open up the schools.

you see much less hesitancy, more hesitancy, just a different approach on the democratic side. that is partly because the teachers unions, what you saw from joe biden was maybe an attempt to neutralize that. acknowledged that the yearning to go back to school, the yearning for learning is so real, but you have to do it safely. moves maybe a preemptive by the biden campaign. live in suburban maryland where pre-much 90% of the conversations with my neighbors are, what are you going to do about schools? if you look at the different electorates, the way the campaigns are slicing it. senior citizens are very important. donald trump needs to improve his numbers there, but suburban

families and suburban female voters is one place joe biden needs to keep his numbers high. you can slice and dice it different ways, but he needs to win in the high teens and 20's among that demographic. if that erodes, that gives trump a bit of an opening. saw, she isove i also a teacher. i think sometimes we can overthink the choreography of this when in reality, joe biden just said i want to give my speech to schools. i want to be in a library and if there are longer-term political benefits, so be it. host: the story is how jill the schooles conversation. our first color is from harold on our line for republicans from florida. go ahead. caller: good morning. i try to listen to some of the convention last night.

it just got a little old because they kept trying to say what a great guy joe biden was. quite frankly, i understand people like him. he is not exactly honest. done, he has said he has he has not exactly done. honors he said he had, he didn't exactly get. it is very hard to listen to the politics of it all. we are supposed to just believe what they say. if he didn't make so many claims that were proven to be untrue, it would just be better. it was hard to watch, and then all of this stuff about dr. jill. nobody in america who has got a doctorate in education is called doctor. it is not done. for her to keep calling herself dr. just points out she is not a real doctor. there are certain professions that yes, if you have a doctorate, you are called a doctorate. host: ok, that is harold.

on the dr. point, she has a phd. she is not a medical doctor, she doesn't present herself as such. differentprobably views on that on whether professors should be called doctors. that is how she likes to be called. meetpose it should he ever joe biden, he can say professor biden or misses biden or jill, it is nice to meet you. before i was in the states, i was in germany where you have had doctors or professors where you're both a doctor and professor. some people really make you use that title and others don't. in latin america and argentina, some of the attorneys i know are doctors because they have a juris doctor it. we would never call an attorney in this country a doctorate. i think harold would agree with that view. by naxalis malpractice doctor, you don't go to a doctor

of law to sue the doctor. it is just a different approach, but it is probably not for me to adjudicate here on who gets to use that title on who doesn't. host: the collection of speakers you have seen so far, do you think they make the case of why i am against trump rather than why i should support joe biden? guest: that is always the right fuel oxygen mix. i guess we will see in the polling at the end of this. it doesn't seem like trump has really crashed this convention just yet. he tried to. this has been more about joe biden and against donald trump. there have been anti-trump lines. somewhat unusual for upper -- for a former president to attack a current president. donald trump does have an ability of crashing a lot of

parties and making the conversation himself. you can see they are trying to do this by laying out the contrast. donald trump is out there doing these hanger events and joe biden is very unlikely to even get a campaign plane, which is sort of a tradition in presidential cycles were sometime over the summer, you 757, you put 10 selling -- stenciling on the side and you hit four or five and you're just kind of discombobulated. that won't happen with joe biden. if they do end up traveling, it will be more discreet trips. that is a long way of saying that trump is trying to do some counter programming, but he hasn't really seemed to have gotten in the head of convention

planners just yet. host: here is bobby in minneapolis-st. paul. caller: hi. thanks for taking my call. i am retired and i watch a lot of tv. when i look at cable, i look at cnn, a look of fox and i look at msnbc which is double anti-trump. this, it seems to are ignoringables what isgoing on with happening in seattle and portland and what has happened in chicago and new york. i can go on and on. is, don't you think during this convention, and i know they want to keep away from i out in the twin cities and

this is where it all started. i think you raise a very interesting point. it is the question of our times. if everyone is just listening to the media is going to conform or form their worldview, you don't have a great sense of what is happening outside of your bible. is what concerns democrats, their biggest viewers for their convention on msnbc and on joe biden.com or whatever, those are the people that are going to vote for joe biden regardless. their challenge is to reach people like you who, you say you are an independent. and there are issues in your life that you care about. there may be something specific that you care about.

if voters are much more interested in other subjects and you are hungry for news on a different subject that the networks aren't giving you, the campaigns and traditional ways to reach people like you are broken. you will go to facebook, you will go to twitter, you will go to different places looking for this information. how cable isof covering the violence in many american cities. i circulate the channels. i see more of the coverage on fox. the question is, if, for an undecided neighbor of yours who wants this information and isn't getting it from traditional channels, frequencies or broadcasts, where they going to get it and which party is going to put forth a more compelling case on why there presidential candidate should be elected?

there is so much we don't know that is happening during coronavirus. there is so much that national reporters sitting here in our dcu suburban homes don't know. guys like you are closer to it. i am from seattle and i talked to my friends out there. i am genuinely curious on what is it like a few blocks away? what are families saying. i've been hungry for information on that as well, but maybe i need to re-up my subscription to the seattle times which my brother used to deliver. host: nelson in oregon. ander: i'm not a democrat i'm not a republican, but i am voting democrat straight down the ticket because of the fact that lincoln is spinning around in his grave. here's my point. i don't think you are focusing

on the convention. guest: i was in gresham, oregon about three weeks ago. there is a doughnut place. i don't or if i can give doughnut recommendations, but joe's doughnuts makes a pretty good apple fritter. go ahead. caller: ok. because of our wonderful, forever impeached president. i came out here to spend christmas and new year's with my ex-wife and never made it back to georgia because the pandemic hit. georgia, thatnnah is my actual home. anyonever campaign for and no one in my entire life. campaign for stacey abrams kentorgia and i watched

still the election. regarding the convention, i think the convention is extremely inclusive. this has been an unconventional convention. i think they have done a really great job considering the way they have had to do it. and the representation from across the board. we are talking hard-core lifelong republicans that have come out because of their reasons that they gave, but also big, high-ranking military. host: thank you. guest: nelson is kind of about

something that i think rob is talking about and that is that media is not covering issues he thinks are important. that the's case, it is georgia whencover stacey abrams was b. is just another example of why no one knows how 2020 is going to head out. ofon't have any of the ideas nelson and his relationship with his former wife, but he spent six weeks with his former wife on the west coast. that is going to scramble traditional notions on why people vote one way or the other and a presidential election. would you have got your kids sitting in your house trying to distance on zoom and both you and your wife are working. in the house, or if you and your wife or partner or however have to go out, those transcend your typical calculus on whether you

want your taxes to go up or down and how you feel about judges. coronavirus has affected us all so deeply and manifestly, that it is going to be fascinating to see how it scrambles traditional, political patterns. a full why i think only or riverboat gambler would make any real predictions on which direction this is going to go. nelson, go to joe's doughnuts. it is one of the first towns when you come over from the warm springs reservation. get to donates. -- two doughnuts. seal you saw or tossed cortez not only make a presentation, but ultimately say her support for bernie sanders. how did that play out? guest: i missed it because i blinked.

this was obviously very choreographed. the nomination of bernie sanders was sort of pro forma. money sanders got some votes that you had to nominate them. she did not mention joe biden. even though we just heard 60 seconds from her, we will hear atm her for quite some time quite a lot of different venues. she is an important voice in the democratic party that demonstrates an important movement and we are not done hearing from her. we will continue to hear from her and what she represents. be distasteful and disquieting to some americans who don't like her political opinions, but she is here to stay. a point of clarification, according to the bio, dr. biden has a doctorate in education as well as two

masters degrees. some of the folks on twitter's pointing that out. richard in louisville, kentucky. go ahead. listeninghave been and watching for the last couple of months, what is happening to our country and to the democrat-controlled cities. two very learned men, you and mr. nichols. guest: as a bourbon drinker, you can make me scottish. caller: i think you are a straight shooter and that is what we need more from our reporters in this country. i look at the democrat-controlled cities, i see people being killed, i see first amendments being stopped and they will let people say hey, can we talk about this, can we get together?

you have antifa and black lives matter. we all know these people are going to vote for joe biden, but my question to you is, have you got a copy of the democrat platform and what they are going to do to this country? thank you very much. have a physical copy, i read it online. it was four weeks ago that they sort of went over everything in the platform and made sure that everyone was on the same page. is platform at a convention usually an opportunity for lobbyists to make money because everyone is fighting to have their provision in there. rarely is alatform matter of policy statements and really drives the agenda into presidency. what drives the agenda is the two were three issues that the candidate campaigned on. i will come clean on this. i don't know what the republican

platform in 2006 set about building a border wall. i am pretty clear that was -- but i am pretty clear that was one of trump's clear agenda items. now he says he has completed that wall. i take your point that everyone should read -- everyone should read the platforms. the better indicator of which way a president is going to go is what they spend their time on, their big speeches, and what they are willing to lose political capital on. obama had a version of this that did not -- there was some concern inside the obama white house because he was elected on hope and change and all these good feelings, but there was nothing concrete. leave aside what the platform said when everyone gathered in denver. when he is elected, he has a choice. does he do health care first or

financial services reform first? president obama did health care first and a lot of democrats in his party think that was a mistake and they should have done financial services reform first, but then maybe not gotten the affordable care act. you have a finite mind of capital, just like i have a finite amount of time here. on that note, i will sort of wind down. host: we will give you 30 more seconds. we are going to hear from president obama and someone here from hillary clinton tonight, perspectives they bring as far as the activities of this week. has taken the gloves off in a private call that was quickly leaked in may. you will have current -- will have former presidents. obama will give testimonials and probably tell some nice stories, nice anecdotes. i would think hillary's speech is going to matter less because she did not win in the electoral

college. twitter will light me up for saying she did not win. she did not get more electoral college folks. .t is the obama speech you want nichols is a reporter for axios, following the campaign. we will spend the next hour or so talking to you and getting your response about the democratic national convention and the events of this week as you have seen them so far -- what you are expecting from coverage tonight. , if youupport joe biden support president trump, if you are undecided, we will take those calls when we come right back. presidents" -- available presentover and e-book,

biographies of every president, inspired by conversations with noted historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful presidency. in this presidential election year, as presidents 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 all her presidents and the featured historians, visit c-span.org/thepresident. available wherever books are sold. host: the democratic national convention and what you are saying come from it, that is our topic until 9:00. biden, you support joe (202) 748-2001. us.can text you can tweet us.

you can also post on our facebook page. week.convention is next the republican ticket has already announced who will make their speeches. president trump will announce tuesday he intends to formally accept the nomination with a speech delivered from the south lawn that will take place on august 27. if you go lower down in the story from usa today, it talks about vice president mike pence. he is likely to give his acceptance speech at fort mchenry in baltimore, the site of the battle between the americans and the british in the battle -- in the war of 1812 that inspired "the star-spangled banner. a st.ner." you will see louis couple that face felony charges over use of weapons after displaying them at a black lives met her protest. prosecutors dropped to those. , ao a speaker, nick sandmann

teenager in a video of a confrontation between him and a native american. you can watch all of that on c-span, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the activities there. you can watch the democratic national convention, gavel-to-gavel coverage. that continues 9:00 tonight. you can see it on c-span, c-span.org, and our radio app. this is jamaica, new york. good morning. you are first up. how are you? caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i'm supporting joe biden all the way, because i think donald trump is a murderer. i have lost seven members of my family to coronavirus. i think donald trump needs to be in jail. host: what is it about joe biden you are specifically supporting? caller: at least he will have some decency about it. i think he will handle it. he will get smart people around him to get the job done. i know it is going to be very

difficult, because this is a very difficult virus. lose many members of your family to this virus, donald trump has the blood of all these people on his hands. host: what you have seen at the convention -- caller: it is great. i love it this way. i hope they keep it this way. host: has he given you any indication of how the biden administration would handle coronavirus? caller: first of all, he would go to the science, he would listen, and he would get extremely smart people around him. trump has some of the most dumbest people like he is around him. look about 10 minutes away from where he grew up in queens, and his whole family is nothing but mafia as far as i'm concerned. host: in cleveland, ohio, a supporter of president trump. go ahead. caller: good morning, sir. i'm calling on behalf of president trump. sir, i think it is just a shame the way they are going against

our president. he is going to be successful, and he will be president again. mr. trump is just the type of a president the country needs. look at all this stuff that is going on out here. we have got the virus. we've got killing. we've got police that is killing one another and killing our people, all kind of people. people don't like mr. trump. every since he got in the white house -- this is not about democrat or republican. host: we are talking about the democratic national convention. have you watched any of it this week? caller: no, i have not even set my eyes on it because it is disturbing, sir. it really is. they are going after everything. i don't have anything against anyone, but sir, i will not vote for a democrat. host: in california, a supporter of joe biden.

teresa, you are next. you are on. go ahead. caller: i'm for joe biden. host: why is that? caller: because i think he will take us through this catastrophe , and i also feel that trump is totally destroying our nation. he is undermining every bit of decency that we have. he is totally destroying our relationships with our allies. he has completely destroyed our climate. he has allowed the epa to and allowed for conditions and our creeks and waterways. it comes to coronavirus, how do you think a joe biden administration will handle it differently? is honest andden

trump is a liar. undecided viewer in buoy, maryland. caller: i think the ultimate vote for me at this point would be biden. i've got to be honest with you. in the beginning, i was a little confused about biden, because i did not really follow his agenda, but i see it now. i believe the man is going to make america better. because of his agenda. and one of the most important things i looked at, on the insurance, trump has been trying to take that apart since he has been in office. it is amazing how people look at this thing, and they can't see what trump is doing, what he has done. to me, he has done nothing at all since he has been in office. but he has been trying to take

away what president obama has done. this is why i believe i am going to vote for joe biden. he has the same initiatives president obama has had. and i believe -- host: so when it comes to joe biden and his approach to insurance, what is it? caller: his approach to insurance is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to have insurance, and then he is also coupling that with medicare. more, he is trying to do to protect the american citizens , and that is important. all trump is doing is taking apart the american citizens. host: did you gain that about joe biden because of this week's activities at the dnc or beforehand? caller: beforehand. he is working on the same agenda president obama has been working on. pandemic that we have going on, how in the world do

you try to harm people? how in the world can you get the economy going without the assistance of the federal government? trump has been trying to take that away. all the stimulus packages he's been giving the democrats hell. he's been halting that. he's been stagnating peoples personal lives by doing this. and how do you get the market going again except you spend? host: there is a series of stingless packages passed by democrats in the senate and signed by the president. caller: of course, because he knows what america wants, but look what he is doing now, this most recent stimulus package. troublee giving them and making things so difficult for people on unemployment right now? furthermore, look at all the jobs that are lost. get all the companies that have closed down. how do you set up here and talk about people going to the market to look for employment? host: that is jerry.

let's hear from bill, supporter of joe biden from missouri. caller: i'm enjoying the clarity of the convention. i believe that this election will be a litmus test on trump's character. that is what i believe. the convention has showed a lot about joe biden, and that he is an honest man. they have had three years to do something and they have not done anything yet that i have seen. host: when you say joe biden is more honest, what do you base that on? caller: just the stuff all the people say about him. he was in there for eight years, and i know republicans who were very happy with obama and biden. you know, the eight years that he was in there, both of them. john is from washington,

d.c., a supporter of president trump. look, yesterday, someone referred to president biden as president biden, and the host did not correct them. the gentleman you just had on this morning a few minutes ago said that bill clinton referred intrump by name last night bill clinton's remarks, and he said it was unusual for a former president to address another former president by name. trump is not former yet. it seems that the fix is in, because this morning, you did not correct that guy when he said former president, referring to trump. but ii may have not, would not read too much into it as far as "the fix is in." but go ahead. caller: people are referring to trump as the former president, referring to biden as the president, and no one is correcting them. host: it is clear that the president is the president, and

that is president trump, as it currently stands. there may have been a mistake on my part, but don't read too much into it. caller: you had a caller call in that said that joe biden is not a rich is this man. joe biden is rich. his net worth is in the millions. as of now, he is a private citizen. host: what do you base that net worth on? what information do you have? caller: at my fingertips right now, i don't have it to cite. however, his net worth is in the millions, and maybe the low millions, but millions of dollars. as a private citizen right now, he could be collecting money from china or ukraine, as he has in the past. it is not just his son, hunter. it is him. it is because of him that his son, hunter, was getting the money. joe biden is not some blue-collar working guy that he

tries to identify with. he is a wealthy man. ndc -- john in d.c. let's go to georgia, a supporter of joe biden. most presidents that are running did have the wealth. they are not sitting around thinking, "i don't need wealth to carry on my life," so i don't hold that against him. i will be voting for joe biden. as far as trump -- host: tell me why you are going to vote for joe biden, first of all. caller: joe biden is clear. he is precise with what he says. -- as far as i know, i have never heard the man tell a live. if he did, if you made a mistake, he corrected it.

and i have known him ever since he was in with obama, and he's just a man you can depend on. trump, you never know. office, with the post dismantling with people not knowing, and giving checks that you have to make payment on to correct that -- it is just chaos. that is donna in georgia. one of the voices last night from the democratic national convention was from a health or activist. barkin spoke on the importance of health care. [video] throughe been paralyzed a mysterious illness called als. i have experienced how this health care system is broken.

dehumanizing treatment when we are most in need. denying claims. since my shocking diagnosis, i have traveled the country, meeting countless patients like me, demanding more of our representatives and democracy. today, we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing health care system. , nearly 100mic million americans do not have health insurance, and even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long-term care. our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes. andnurses are underwhelmed unprotected, and essential workers are treated as dispensable. we live in the richest country in history, and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. everyone living in america should get the health care they need, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. even during this terrible crisis, donald trump and republican politicians are

trying to take away millions of people's health insurance. with the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act -- not only to vote, but to make sure our friends, family, and neighbors vote as well. we must elect joe biden. each of us must be a hero for our communities, for our country, and then, with the compassionate and intelligent president, we must put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the health care we deserve. host: for a few more minutes, thoughts on the democratic national convention taking place this week. if you support joe biden, if you are undecided, or if you support president trump, pick the line that best represents you. a bipartisan senate report yesterday coming out between relations between members of the trump administration and russia -- the headline from "the washington post" saying there was a security risk from the

trump campaign russia contact. some passages from the paper saying in one of the most startling passages from the report, one of the president's core claims of evidence cannot be credited. prosecutors led by special counsel robert mueller, trump said he could not recall discussing wikileaks with roger stone or other associates, but the senate report says the committee assesses that trump did in fact speak with stone about wikileaks and with memories of the campaign about stone's access to wikileaks. "the washington post" also highlights that the overall portrait that emerges from the report's pages is of repeated encounters between the president's campaign and russian operatives, no formal collisions. the sides shared the same objectives to defeat democratic nominee hillary clinton and bask in one another's admiration. "the washington post" highlights that the panel that studied this found the fbi handling of

russian threats was flawed and that the bureau gave unjustified credence to the allegations about the president's russia ties in the dossier provided by e.eel you can read more of that in "the washington post." we go to richard, a supporter of joe biden. caller: i'm supporting joe and kamala harris. their, anding up in we need somebody who can go on and lead the country. i think kamala is a strong lady that can do that. know, old white man, you but i see intelligence when i see it. one other thing. aree people who say they waving guns around at those demonstrators -- you are allowed to defend your home inside your home, but you can't go out in the yard and threaten people with guns.

that is the most ignorant thing i have ever seen. you are from new jersey. this is patricia. hello. good morning. i'm concerned. i don't care enough coming out of the democratic side about biden's interest in china, ouria, north korea, relationship with them into the future, and with germany, england, i just need to know more of his feeling. i'm undecided. thank you. ways thatre you go, information important to you? caller: for our future. for america's future. are we going to go back and let china start to control everyone, every country? no, i don't think so. economically, all right? and as far as our laws and our

always goingussia to know what is going on? a closer tiehave was north korea, like we have with south korea? and how about getting along with germany? i have a lot of issues. i have not heard that much coming from him. all right, thank you. host: have you looked at the platform of the dnc, as far as how it relates to foreign policy? caller: to be honest with you, i just heard about that this morning. i am just starting to get into politics. isn't that weird? it is important for younger people. it really is. host: what sparked you to start getting involved in politics? don't appreciate our current president. i've been listening to a lot that waser the news --

the wrong word. i want to feel more comfortable with who i'm going to vote for. right now, my age, i don't feel that way. in newhat is patricia jersey. we invite you to follow along with the convention. you can do this a couple of ways. you can watch the events of tonight and the previous night on our website. if you go to our website, you can type in certain phrases if you are interested in certain topics. it will provide you not only video we have aired on these topics -- give you a little more insight into the candidates involved. all of that available to you at c-span.org. we showed you earlier representative alexandria ocasio-cortez in her speech, her nomination of joe biden. we got a viewer call on it. this newsweek article explains about the behind the scenes, if you remember that. the formal nomination of bernie sanders triggered inaccurate claims that she has somehow snubbed joe biden, the

presumptive nominee who became the official presidential candidate after winning more than 3500 delegates. asked tortez was officially nominate under convention rules require every primary candidate who passed the threshold of 300 delegates to be backed in the rollcall. that gives you insight of what happened there. you can watch that from last night at our website. carol is next, from clarksville, tennessee, a supporter of joe biden. caller: yes, i am with joe and kamala. i feel that they are most educated for what we have in front of us, thinking about the children. i have children and grandchildren of my own, and i'm really concerned about their future. host: and what do you think joe biden will do in regards to that? the experience he has had in the past under the obama administration -- i think

he is more equipped and more educated to be able to balance what we have, going forward. coronavirus is the issue. domestic violence is an issue. racism is an issue. heading back to school is an issue. bidenconcerns, i think and harris will be more equipped to handle them in a more educated fashion, and we can get this country back on a roll again. michigan, a supporter of president trump. we will hear from pam. i want to comment. the gentleman that talked about the net worth of joe biden is correct. if you go on google, you will find out that nancy pelosi and her husband own a company. bernie sanders is not broke. he is a millionaire.

areof the ones that standing in front of the camera and talking about how they have -- go to these companies that are hiring you -- these people are those same people. at how they speak up in political arenas and try to sway people's votes. people need to stop and think. if these people thought about you, wouldn't they stop this man theess about police? these are your neighborhoods that those people are tearing up and burning up. neighborhoods where they are running people out, where they are running the taxpayers out. places,re fleeing these

taking their money with them to other states, because their governors and their mayors will not represent them and stop the foolishness. host: that is pam in michigan. we will go to kentucky, a supporter of joe biden. caller: hello, i just wanted to say something about unity. the campaign is based on one of the points of unity. along with unity, i believe in trust. i just want to be able to trust my candidate. that is why i think biden is going to be good. i am reminded in december of last year that we tried to impeach my president, and the things we were talking about were abuse of power and

obstruction of justice, and all of that. of omarosa,minded who wrote this book accusing him of all kinds of things, and he filed a lawsuit against her. what is it about joe biden that will bring unity, do you think? caller: i think honesty. he will bring that to the table, and that is what we are lacking. i'm not saying that trump has not done a few things, but he does so many dishonest things. that is my point. i just want to see some trust. that is sabina in louisville, kentucky. "the wall street journal," if you go to their front pages with coronavirus coverage, they have a story called what derailed coronavirus testing. one paragraph saying it took 21 days for testing to take off from one state and city health

labs detected a problem. gave auary 29, officials solution. u.s. health leaders dismissed other solutions that could have led to national testing, underestimate the risk of the virus spreading, and were overly confident they could fix the problem. previously disclosed emails and other correspondence was reviewed by "the wall street journal." if you want to get a better look at that story, that is where you can find it. the last call for this segment, from california, a supporter of joe biden. caller: good morning, pedro. thank you for taking my call. 27, he hase he was been in politics. he brings the integrity of a statesman. i also think that whenever we come to trying to do something for the people, the republicans turn it into socialism, but when they give corporate welfare, and

they give 80% of the tax to 1%, it is not socialism. wake up, people. understand that things that are helping us as people are not social programs. they are helping us, the working people. biden has been a wonderful convention, and i think that all of the elder statesman that spoke were wonderful. host: that is beverly in california. more speeches tonight, including talkingkamala harris about her goals should she become vice president of the united states. you can watch that coverage on c-span, c-span.org, and listen along on our radio app. in our final hour, we will hear from two guests. we are joined by the president of emily's list. she will discuss the women in campaign 2020. and later, we will hear from the president and ceo of the naacp,

derek johnson, about issues important to african-americans this election cycle. those conversations coming up on "washington journal." ♪ ♪ >> this evening, senator kamala harris gives her acceptance speech as vice presidential nominee for the democratic party. and watch speeches from other women vice president nominees -- geraldine ferraro and sarah palin. pass convention speeches, today at 6:00 p.m. eastern, only on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. "washington journal" continues. host: the president of emily's list joining us to talk about the role women will play in campaign 2020. good morning to you.

guest: thank you for having me. host: remind us of emily's list, the organization. list ismily's celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, committed to electing pro-choice democratic women up and down the ballot. we are the largest political committee in support of electing women in this country. we are looking forward to a very big 2020. host: tonight's keynote speaker, kamala harris, you are quoted in one of the papers about your impressions of her. for those who did not read it, what do you think her being on the ticket rings to the issues your organization focuses on? the most important issue for us at emily's list is women's or presentation. we really do believe that we are going to have a better country, with better policies and more forward thinking when we have an equal number of women and men

sitting at our decision-making table, and in the highest levels of power. to see senator harris rise up and be chosen by vice president, which we were so grateful for, -- you have nominee someone being great enthusiasm, someone with great experience as attorney general of california and united states senator, someone with great passion and compassion for this country, and i am just thrilled by what i am hearing from not just our , but me and a lot of people across the country. she made decisions and experienced on the campaign trail going back and forth on issues like segregation -- those concern you at some level? i think it is probably

one of the reasons vice president biden chose him. last summer, her willingness to stand up and make a statement that was really, really important to make -- you have saying, like joe biden this is the person i want standing next to me to make major decisions who is not afraid to share her opinion, even if it is different from the person she is standing next to. that is clearly the kind of person joe biden is. it is also the kind of person kamala harris is. my guess is they will agree more often than not, and that is what we need. what are your plans or your organization's plans for this cycle as far as money spent and activity you are going to do? guest: the bar is high after 2018.

in 2018, i sat down with -- i sat down with nancy pelosi and promised we would deliver her the majority of the house to the democrats, and we did. we were able to pick up 24 house seats for democratic women at emily's list, phenomenal women. we added another 10 on top of that in safe democratic seats. we did that in 2018. now, we have to go into 2020, and the first thing we want to do is make sure we get this biden-harris ticket elected. we are so excited about the choice and we will be backing up as aor harris and her role vice presidential nominee. we also firmly believe that for anything to work in this country, we have got to have a democratic majority in the united states senate. we have heard of the convention already this week senator cortez

masto, a great senator from nevada, as well as leader schumer, talk about that. wonderful women in pickup opportunities in maine, iowa, kansas, and texas. we'll see a lot of emily's list activity in those regions. we are also looking at the house. i will be honest -- at first, i thought we were in protection mode, now, i think we are in expansion mode. i think we are going to be net gaining democratic women in the house. you look at the democratic congressional campaign committee's best pickups, what they call the red to blue list -- nearly 80% of those candidates are emily's list women. they are hungry and diverse. one more layer as we go down the ballot is we have hundreds of legislative candidates across this country -- great democratic

women who are stepping up to take charge of their legislatures and get their arms around what is going on in these states. it is a big cycle for us. $110 million in 2018. we are looking to do even more in 2020. we will see how that goes. it is a truly wild election cycle up and down the ballot. host: if you want to ask about 2020 and related issues, you can do so on our line. republicans, 202-748-8001. one of the comments that came from president trump after the nomination of senator harris was the term "nasty." how did that affect you when you heard that? guest: i wish i could say i was

surprised. we have been anticipating, particularly from the trump organization, a lot of sexist and racist tropes. spacesort of their safe when you are donald trump and the republican party and you don't have anything to say, particularly after the failed leadership of the covid-19 pandemic, as well as the economy and the systemic racism around this country. you go to fear and dividing the country. and the problem with terms like "nasty" is that they just land differently on women. we are not tolerating it anymore. i don't think there is enough oxygen out there for these kinds of activities, these kinds of language uses anymore, not when families, women voters in particular who are going to decide this election, are concerned about whether or not

their kids are going to be able to go to school, if they are going to stay in school. are their parents going to be able to stay safe and healthy? are they going to have to look at grandma again through the window at the home? this is a really, really hard time for our country. it just shows this kind of behavior by our president as obama --ho, as misses mrs. obama said, is in over his head in this moment. host: this election cycle, what is at the top of the list? dealingo doubt, we are with the pandemic. women care about every issue, just as men do. everything impacts women and their families. but obviously, health care and access to health care, and making sure that that stays in place and improves -- and i thought last night at the convention, there was a good conversation of what else we need to do.

there was a debate in the party. i think it is a good, healthy debate. what we are going to end up with is an even better health care system, building of the affordable care act, we definitely need to do, including adding a public option. i think health care is still very high in the minds of women voters across the country. care andrt of health the economic security is reproductive freedom. the choices they need to make about their families -- they are looking for leaders who are going to stand up for their ability to make these choices. you definitely have a ticket in joe biden and kamala harris who will do just that. caller is from austin, texas. this is nancy. go ahead. imagine a more vacuous reason to vote for someone than the sex that they

are. principles, what their principles are. do they believe in adhering to the constitution? on foreign policy, do we want to bomb more countries that have nothing to do with our national defense? you believe about the bill of rights? do you believe in adhering to that? specifically, which ones do you want to blow over? we have got to this era now -- i don't understand it. it does not apply intelligence. what race someone is, what sex they are, what color their hair are, are they tall -- what is going to be next, the suit they are wearing? what color their hair is? do they have good makeup jobs? what about principles? who can get back to that? host: what would you like the candidates to address? caller: on what aspect is she even talking about sex, a valid

reason to vote for a candidate? host: nancy, in texas. go ahead. guest: we would never suggest that anybody make a choice based on gender, because you are exactly right. it is about values. it is about principles. it is about vision. the reason we do the work we do to uplift women candidates is because there have been, for decades, obstacles in front of women candidates who have made it harder to compete on an equal level as men. the good news after 35 years of the work we have done -- we have been able to level that playing field somewhat, and it is getting better and better. really, that is all we are trying to do, is get a level playing field, so our women candidates can compete. but when it comes to voters, nancy, you should definitely be looking at which candidate,

which family, is going to take care of our country and our constitution. we believe at emily's list that we are supporting candidates. yes, they are women, who will do exactly that. but we also want to break down those obstacles that can still stand in front of women advancing. if it was all equal, if it was all easy, if it did not matter, there would be an equal number of women sitting in congress, an equal number of women and men sitting in all of our government agencies. and there is not. and there is a reason for that, and that is what we are trying to break down. stand byr, you have to people, individuals, who are going to vote for you. we have to think about candidates at emily's list. host: a caller from maryland, hello. caller: good morning to you. how is it that you sit at any

table, which is laid out lavishly, and not have a woman involved? it is impossible. this country should have been doing this years ago. i am a dad of four women. they are grown, raising their own families. they do a great job. but i do know this. when i leave out of my house in the morning and i venture to work, even if my wife goes to work, she makes sure the house is settled for she leaves. i tell you right now, this lost without, so women. we have fought wars. we have never given them the credit they deserve. women have assisted and more. they have taken care of the men and more. they have taken care of themselves. they are doing things they have

not received notoriety four. how in the world do you heal this land without women? host: thank you. guest: thank you so much for saying that. i think particularly as we are celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the 19th amendment that began the process of giving women the right to vote -- it was a good week to have that conversation. we started a country with women who were not part of the process. we are still trying to evolve out of that moment, and we do have these amazing, great women leaders. but you are right, they should be everywhere. it does make our nation stronger. it makes our nation better. let's get really blunt about it. haverations, when they more women sitting at their corporate boards, interestingly,

and there is good academic research on this -- they become more profitable. it is just bringing a different set of perspectives, and you need all of those perspectives. if you have got situations where there is only, let's say, one gender, and then there is only one race, sitting at a table, you are missing so much of who we are as a nation. and we are looking at making ,his a representative democracy and we want all those perspectives at the table. host: you mentioned the anniversary of the 19th amendment. what did you think of the president offering a posthumous pardon of susan b anthony? guest: you know, it was a little strange, but ok. [laughter] it felt like it kind of came out of nowhere, but if you are going to do it, do it. susan b anthony was one of many great women who fought for a very, very long time to get the

right to vote. as i think about the women whose shoulders i stand upon, not just as the president of emily's list , committed to electing women, but as a woman who gets to work in politics, and think about the fact that my grandmother, who we just lost in february at 100 years old, was born the year that women got the right to vote. she was actually born in the moment when women could not vote. it was later that year. i think about the opportunities she did not get. fairbanks had been born even 50 years later, she might have been in the u.s. senate, because she was a tough woman. an iowa farm wife. she did not get those opportunities. but women like her fought for me. i think about that all the time,

the shoulders we stand upon. this did not just come to us. there were so many who fought. and we have to continue that legacy of fighting. i think about congressman john lewis and doing it across the board. have a lot of work to do across the country, bringing everyone back together. i think women, particularly women of country, it is essential in bringing this country back together. host: from massachusetts, republican line, we will hear from eddie. dad, the working breadwinner -- he got some money and brought it home at night to pay for the groceries and discipline the children. now, the big thing is the single mom. i cannot believe it. she has to go out and get two or three jobs. who is going to discipline the kids? we are spending more money on prisons than we do on schools.

now, i hear that in some neighborhoods, children as much as 75%. host: if you want to respond to that. reasonshere is a lot of for the challenges that families, all different kinds of families, are facing in this country. much of it deals with the economic unfairness that families are facing, and the criminal justice department that is putting way too many of our young men, particularly black men, and in prison. things wee of many have to address. new the top of the list is what is going on. host: we will see hillary clinton speak tonight. she ran four years ago.

what has changed and women support, and what didn't she do that joe biden has to do to get support? remind folksd just that hillary clinton did actually win women. the problem was we did not win them by as much as we needed to, and she would have been president of the united states. she did win the national popular vote nearly 3 million votes. the 2016ll say is that election was a time where it felt like there was a need for -- some people felt like there was a need for a change after eight years of democratic administration. sensewas also sort of a that it was said and done, that she was going to win. when you think about what the fall was like, everybody was told hillary was going to win and it was going to be ok. they did not have to worry about donald trump becoming president. i think that maybe some folks took it for granted.

anywe cannot ever, in election, take anything for granted. if anything, we had a massive wake-up call in that 2016 election. we are paying for it every single day under the trump administration, and the damage that the trump administration is causing in all of our agencies across the country and across the world. voters,n now, the women i do believe, as they did in 2018, are going to decide this election. that election, where democrats took back the house in near-historic numbers, the most diverse freshman classes ever seen -- we had an electorate in battleground districts that was 54% women. think about that. it was 46% men in those districts voted. i think we are looking at an election this year, if everybody can get the balance and get them

in and counted, that we could have an election looking at women being 55% of the electorate. that is a game changer, because then are moving toward democratic side. you are seeing huge gender gap ofbers and support of women biden. yes, men are supporting trunk, but i have got to be honest -- if we have 55% of the electorate women, i will take the gender gap the way it is going. host: from wisconsin, independent line, we will hear from connie. woman andsaw this campaigned. old, and i grew up in an error that women stayed home. if they were lucky enough, they stayed home and the husband went to work. but the women being home had to make a lot of decisions -- healthwise for their children, food wise, bill paying wise.

i can remember how difficult it was. i love history. when the woman wanted to be a doctor in an all-male environment -- how much trouble she met. but she was persistent. she wanted to be a doctor. and it was that persistence that the woman gave that was able to make women more noticeable to me. overshadowtrying to men. they are just trying to be part of the world, to make things better. when they cast a vote, they have that right. if they think different than a man, fine. if a man thinks different than a woman, fine. that's their right. i think women have worked real hard from day one to be noticed, and to be independent on their thinking, and if they think

things are right or wrong. they do that in everyday life living situation. why shouldn't they be able to do it moving in other areas? i'm sorry. host: i will stop you. i just wanted to make sure you got your thought across. i wanted to say thank you for bringing that up. i am so grateful to your generation. i am 47 and i feel like i am the beneficiary of all of your work in your generation's work to open up doors, to be the first doctors, the first lawyers, to break through those doors. i will be honest. i did not feel like i had to crash myself through a door to become a chief of staff for a united states senator, which i was honored to do for senator jon tester in montana. the door was open. but somebody had to open it

first. it was my mother's generation. i want to say thank you. for my generation, all of our staff at emily's list -- we have some great staff, and i love them. us, i keep on promoting more and more smart women into these roles. the more we see it, it is just going to be natural. i do think it is about balance. in women and men, you have different opinions on things. not all the time. sometimes not completely in alignment. but they have different likelihoods, and what we go through is different. i think that is what makes it so richer, when you have all those perspectives in the debate, whether it is in government or in business. i think it is the same thing.

it is the richness of that decision-making process to bring in those perspectives. that is the work we do at emily's list every day. host: las vegas, nevada, democrats line, david, hello. caller: it is great emily's list is on c-span. emily's list, i have raised money for the dccc during the obama era. you guys just dropping a name was a game changer. women do make better leaders. living proof. thank you for your hard work come up both of you guys. amy mcgrathis about and the senate race in kentucky with mcconnell. i know that if we win the senate back, mcconnell may not matter anyway. in that election, where are you guys at? she is down big. mcconnell is up. thank you. bringingank you for

amy up. amy mcgrath did not seek the endorsement of emily's list, so i will be honest -- we are not as intimately engaged in her race as we are in iowa, in kansas. back, i will say i do believe that amy mcgrath has the exact kind of profile that is someone who will be able to take down mitch mcconnell in kentucky, it is no easy task. let's face it -- he is a tough candidate. but she has the right persona, particularly as a veteran in this country. we have got a ways to go yet in that campaign. i think she is our best chance at beating mitch mcconnell. one way or another, we are going to make sure mitch mcconnell is not the leader of the senate. but it sure would be nice if you

were not in the senate. host: from madeleine in west virginia, republican line. sayer: i would just like to i am all for women's rights. but women need to follow the bible. speak --f them that realize we kill our babies by the hundreds. right.en, that's their it's their body. no, it isn't their body. god, and we are ,o recognize and protect life see the convention does not even mention the stuff that is going on. democrats, they

kill -- they knock a man unconscious. you don't hear that from the democrats. why? host: ok, madeleine. thank you. guest: i think, madeleine, i appreciate your position. we are going to disagree on this. i think it is important that women have the ability to make the best choices for themselves and for their families. seven out of 10 americans agree with that, that we just have to -- those very personal choices be made by women, as regards what's best for their families. i feel andarly how how the democratic party feels. and it is how seven out of 10 americans feel. i think we have to do it with kindness. he also have to remember that

individuals have freedom in this country, and they should becoune able to do what they need to do to protect their families. the life ofats for america posted an op-ed on joe biden and his position on reproductive rights. thoughtll hardly give a to such policies previously the democrats of 2020 will barely give a thought to policies that make it easier for women to choose life such as government-funded hospital care. the core tenant that abortion is normal. 21 alien- americas pro-life democrats face a choice between staying -- guest: it ensures that they have

access to birth control, which can be a fight from the right. we have seen republican extremists wanting to strip a women of access to birth control , which is not a good way to end abortion, if you want to go in that direction. what we need to do is be mindful of people's perspectives and understand we need to come to solutions that are best for women and their families. that centers around health care. as we roll out additional health ash -- which we have to, we have to center that around women and their ability to make choices, whatever they may be. host: stephanie schriock, joining us. ceo of emily's list. thank you for your time today.

coming up we will hear from the the naacpand ceo of derrick johnson here to talk about issues important to african-american voters in this election cycle. we will have that discussion when we return. ♪ >> you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government, created by america's cable television company as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider.

♪ every minutevered of every political convention since 1984 and we are not stopping now. live coverage of the democratic national convention this week and to the republican national convention next week. watch live on c-span. .atch online and live listen live on the radio -- c-span radio app. sign up for our newsletter word for word at c-span.org/connect. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ presidents, available in hardback, hardcover and e-book. of everyts biographies 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 provides perspectives into the lives and events that forged each presidents leadership style. c-span.org/thepresidents. available wherever books are sold. >> washington journal continues. host: you may have noticed this week in the coverage of the dnc we have been featuring progressive guests here talking about the candidacy of joe biden and other issues. when our coverage happens of the republican national convention, you can expect republicans discussing various aspects of president trump. you can expect that next week on our program.

anding us now is president ceo of the naacp derrick johnson . thank you for being on our show. about where african-american support was for the democratic ticket for years ago and what has changed? what needs to change for joe biden? guest: we had a high percentage voters supporting the democratic party in 2016 but we did see a drop in voter participation, about 7%, which is the first time in 20 years you have seen a drop in african-american voting. i believe as a result of the harris,ment of kamala you will see an increase in voter turnout compared to 2016. down i understood you set with candidate biden to talk

about issues, racial equality at the top of that list. guest: we are in the midst of the george floyd controversy. there are lots of questions about structural racism. i thought it was a good opportunity to talk about how we address racism, something that has plagued to this country for decades. we must grow beyond our negative past to get to a future and perfect this union. what does a biden administration specifically need to do to address issues? and anyny campaign elected official needs to start looking at how their public policy is impacting african-americans and a negative way. we have a real problem with mass incarceration for the same type crimes african-americans are incarcerated at a rate that is

multiples of the rest of the generation. education for our children, where a children is born, the zip code determines the quality of their education. we have seen over the last several decades of resegregation of america. resegregation is based on economic alliance. there is less empathy, less eirection of valuabl resources. there are multiple things that could or should be addressed through public policy to push back against structural racism. host: to what degree does the vice president work on the 94 crime bill or senator harris is work as attorney -- senator attorney --k as an how does that affect every can american support for the ticket?

affectdoes that african-american's support for the ticket? guest: what we have now is a public discourse that is divisive. we are looking at scenarios where xenophobia, anti-semitism, racism have become a standard. many want to get out of where we are so we can start to repair and rebuild some of the ground we lost. look at our economic system right now. we are on the brink of destroying it. thatandemic has been one has impacted african-americans, impacted this nation. we lack of federal response. these are all things people will be more concerned about than anything else. host: if you want to ask him questions, you can call us (202) republicans, (202)

748-8000 fou -- (202) 748-8001 for republicans, (202) 748-8000 independents, and (202) 748-8002. president trump has pulled does -- abysmally with african-americans and hispanics. on recent executive order safe policing encourages law enforcement to adopt stricter standards on use of force. how do you respond yucca -- respond? guest: more could be done. there is a lot of good language, but we need more enforcement. we need to do away with qualified immunity. we need to establish a database

of police misconduct so bad actor officers are not allowed to go from one agency to the next committing heinous crimes and misconduct. when you look at the first step act, there is so much more that can be done. where those two issues exist, there is so much more impacting african-americans. we are over three times more likely to die from covid. we are sitting in the midst of the pandemic. we had to force the administration to release race data. the economic collapse we are looking at, we have so many workers who are essential workers not provided with any ppe. we are not giving them hazard pay. he is forcing kids to go back to school in person without a true plan to mitigate the spread of the virus, which could create a super spreader event. there are so many things we are

living now you cannot point to two things you did earlier this year or last year. what about now? host: the president was touting the unemployment rate amongst african-americans. was that an achievement before the pandemic hit? hest: i didn't see anything did to address the unemployment rate of african american community. what we see in this administration is the legacy of eight years of progress addressing the unemployment rate. you look at the trajectory in 2007 and you see how employment americans, all especially african-americans from 2009 onwards. that was the growth of the market. what i hear is taking credit for work done. i'm looking -- host: let's hear from lawrence

in st. paul, minnesota. independent line. lawrence, go ahead. derrick,erek, the -- the issue of a single family homes in the black community, and the number of black males in prison is skewed towards black males because they do not have fathers or homes. i have yet to hear the naacp or democrat party speak to what is indeed an issue that needs to be addressed. you had black lives matter talk manifestohe -- their talk about how the nuclear family is a concept. that does not load well. you need mom -- that does not bode well. i would love to hear your comments. sayinglet me start by

mass incarceration has had a devastating effect on the african-american community. when you look at crack cocaine, that was an excel rater that broke up the home -- and accelerator that broke up the home. it created a level of trauma and distress in the home that broke up homes. it is not unusual for there to be single family homes in black or white communities. we need to look at the root causes of that so we can address those root causes. i can tell you if you have education, stable job opportunities and it safe and secure neighborhoods that are not redlined, that takes you a long way to address anything dealing with single-family homes and the lack of african-american males in those homes. if we get to the causes we can

get to the outcome of the problem. what you discussed is serious. it is a symptom of several root causes that we must address. host: new jersey, james on our democrats line. caller: the structural racism we see now is not being distressed -- discussed. i know people in new jersey who have the law on their side yet judges are turning a blind eye. great statement. if you have a question, i want to respond, but i agree with you. you look at the number of the foreclosures that will begin to accelerate. african-americans are more likely to be foreclosed on for no other reason than -- historic redlining or targeting zip codes where some homes have less value

by nature of being in the wrong zip code. the homes can be of the same quality. it has been a long-standing people, the lack of wanting to work with african-american homeowners to ensure they can stabilize those properties to -- through hard times has been a problem. african-american homes are being foreclosed on at the same time for white homeowners, the bank will go in and to do a work around so it is not a foreclosure, therefore skewing the numbers when both are being impacted because of the economic downturn. host: there is a story in reuters about the president defending political appeals to american suburban women saying people living in peaceful neighborhoods don't want people coming in and forcing low income housing down their throats. guest: what we see is moving from dog whistle politics to

direct racial appeal. it is truly going back in time. race is one of the most powerful react.o get people to it creates emotionalism. often times that is done to score political points or get people to vote against their interest. at the end of the day, making those type of lofty statements for racial appeal does nothing for the policy impact. you have a president who right now can set a course to address so much of what he stated in appeal,at is not racial that has policy impact, and he has failed to do that. independent line. caller: i was calling about two items. one, public education and that goes in line with the context of housing.

housing value dictates public funding ash do you hear me -- do you hear me? i just want to make sure it is clear. broadband extension, we need that to go through our municipal utilities, as it is right now a public utility. i want to discuss the interest of the naacp and its long stance since brown, which is where we are with public education. the ground the board decision was the manifesto to dismantle the defective jim crow. if youot have the -- would speak to the naacp perspective on disavowing the creation of the diversion of the public tax dollar fund to

charter vouchers, scholarship opportunities for black children now being used as a contact to dismantle and privatize the public education system. it red lines are neighborhoods d grading schools as a d, c, ,b,c,d. host: we will let our guest respond to what you put out there. board ofwn v. education dismantled overt segregation but when it came back the next year, they said deliberatecannot be and with speed at the same time. as a result of that, they gave many jurisdictions into state governments the opportunity to

redesign the funding for education and come up with schemes not to comply with the mandate. --y are fighting to ensure whether you are talking about , inproperty value particular jurisdiction, african-american property is undervalued compared to white property and it is done by jurisdiction. --n you look at the enclave families move out of surrey and -- certain jurisdictions and create an enclave outside of an education system then you have segregated based on how people live. any time you have a tipping point of around 25% of the kids, you see it happen again. the way we fund public education is antiquated and much of it was created to get around the crown mandate. we are the only civilized nation

-- the brown end date. we are the only civilized nation in the world that outsources education. most countries see quality education for all citizens as worker development, whether it is canada or germany, you name it. you do not find people outsourcing elaborate quality education. we have a problem that is part of the structural racism system we have seen. and: we saw senator harris joe biden during the debates go back and forth on the issue of segregation and bussing and now they are together on the same ticket. what does that mean? guest: it means you had someone who had a position, and experience of the reality. it now we have an opportunity if they are elected to a chart a

course forward. what does that mean then? it means we have the opportunity to do something great and big. for citizens across this country, ask american -- this is our opportunity to ensure that people get elected based on a value proposition of inclusion and from there it is upon us to enforce a public policy landscape that reflects that value proposition. just like fdr said, "i agree with you not making me do it." elected, everything -- it is a be fixed day of transition. they have the opportunity to advance in society through public policy. host: stafford, virginia.

democrats line. caller: you are doing an astronomical job. i envy you. support you. i want to talk about voting a couple years back. now, they mark thinkthink -- mark has i illegitimately tried to get elected. the integrity commission of mr. pentz -- can you elaborate on that? guest: i don't know all the details, but i can say north carolina has been an epicenter of trying to subvert the voting process. any you say kris kobach, it

jumps off the page because there was a scheme to suppress african-american votes, a scheme to subvert the micro c, and a scheme to skirt -- to subvert democracy and a scheme to skirt the law. we have a problem in this country where on one side people say they are patriotic and they love this democracy and on the others they do all they can to subvert democracy by limiting access to the voting ballot. host: here is her shard, shard,rd, -- here is ra stafford, texas. caller: i was calling. , withstion was more so the democrats in particular, what would be some key factors to empower black males in our

communities? i guess i am answering the question myself, but how do we get educated about how to establish our own equity and our own selves does -- self sustainability? i want to know how democrats feel about that. nonpartisan.acp is political parties are vehicles. political parties do not define the agenda. individuals make up the political parties that define party platforms. african-americans have to define how to build equity. we hefted define what public -- wees align with our half to define what public policies align with us. host: what will your

organization be involved with in regards to the election? guest: we will be involved with increasing black voter turnout. it is disheartening when you see an erosion of black voter turnout in 2016, the first time in over 20 years. we had a historic turnout in 2012. we need to come back to that level to make sure our voices are heard at the ballot box. naacp does not tell people how to vote. we want to make sure individuals in our community are voting because in order for us to have a representative democracy all of our voices -- everyone needs to be registered so our voices can be heard. host: from jerry in mississippi. caller: i am concerned about the .lection in the near future i would like for you to elaborate on may be poll

watchers, what they watch for and what they need to be concerned because here in mississippi we have to be very vigilant about the boat. -- about the vote. commend all our poll workers. they go in each election cycle, they get a nominal fee for 12 hours a day there. we must support our poll workers wherever possible. with our election administrators to ensure our workers have the necessary ppe equipment, make sure you thank them when you go to the polls. often times they are overworked and underappreciated. this will be a historic

election. it is historic because of all the back and forth in mail-in voting. we ask people -- we are asking people to take a chance with their health in order to exercise their right to vote. they have to exercise their right to vote. we would not have this outcome 2016 were not for the election and the anemic response to the pandemic. we need more poll workers to step up at this moment, poll workers who are in -- younger. wherever you are located support your poll workers by making sure they have ppe. we saw yesterday from the postmaster general suspending the planned changes leading up to the election. what did you think of that response? guest: i think it is good he won't make any future changes. the real question now is how he

is going to repair the harm done immediately. the fact that when we take the opportunity to destroy one of our longest standing institutions in this democracy for the express purpose of the coming election, it completely undermines this process and borders in my opinion on treason. you cannot say you are a patriot on one hand and on the others destroy an institution so you can influence the election. that is what dictators too. that is what we see in other countries we go to war over. a woodland, republican line. maureen. caller: i would like to know first of all i am considering turning into a democrat. the other thing that is

bothering me right now is there are so many things happening in the inner cities. it is really hurtful to see these little kids being killed by back -- black on black crime. is there some kind of plan from the ncaa or your organization to help these people and get rid of some of these dirtbags representing these cities? you have a good day. guest: a couple of things. i am not here representing the democratic party. i am here representing the naacp . i am concerned with what we have seen in many cities and what we know to be a solution is making sure people have opportunities and jobs. hope starts in classrooms.

we need better funded schools so people can understand what is possible. people need to begin fully employed. they need a career path that is attainable. what we have seen in this nation is intentional blighting of communities. you have so many people left behind. you see a level of lawlessness because people lack hope. people lack any way to navigate out of those scenarios and we all have a role to play to reduce the number -- it is not a republican issue, it is not a democratic issue, it is a societal issue. host: derrick johnson, president of the naacp. naacp.org, the website for the organization. thank you for your time today. you will hear from hillary clinton tonight as well as a barack obama and senator kamala harris as she talks about her

nomination as joe biden's vice president, accepts that nomination, all that and more at 9:00 starting on c-span.org and our radio app. that is it for our program today. another one comes your way tomorrow morning. we will see you then. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> coming up at noon, anthony fauci discusses covid-19 in and about -- and event hosted by george washington university. senator amy klobuchar and other democratic lawmakers will discuss mail in the voting. at the center for american progress action fund is the host. at can watch that starting 1:00 p.m. eastern.

conversation with kevin mccarthy looking at republican legislative priorities into the federal response to the pandemic live at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. a live look now at milwaukee, the sight of this year's democratic national convention. last night delegates officially made joe biden the nominee. i will show you some of last night's speeches. here is a look at what to expect tonight at 9:00 p.m. when night three kicks off. ♪ of thelive coverage democratic national convention continues tonight with former secretary of state hillary andton, kamala harris, former president barack obama. watch live coverage of the democratic national convention tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span live streaming and on-demand or listen with the free c-span radio app.

c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ , your are watching c-span unfiltered view of government, created by america's cable television company as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. now a portion of last night's democratic national convention. first, comments from bill clinton then we will show you the keynote speeches. after that, remarks from dr. jill biden. >> good evening. a presidential election is one of the most important job interviews. at the end we will have a leader that will help create opportunities. this year with the covid-19 outbreak on a path to killing 200,000 and to destroying millions of jobs into small businesses, how did donald