[silence] with joe budden as president let's, stay with c-span. she spent, your unfiltered view of politics. >> rep. costa: is with us. he moderates the washington week program on pbs every week. thank you for being with us. >>standoff, a trump campaign's strategy in all of this? guest: the campaign strategy is to mount legal challenges. and the republican strategy is to stand with president trump. it was evident on monday at the capital that mitch mcconnell,

senator roy blunt and other members of the republican leadership stand in lockstep with president trump as he pursues different recounts and litigation across the political map. it's an example of the solidarity of the gop despite president trump's defeat, and also a challenge for vice president elect biden who is trying to mount a transition at this point but he doesn't have formal backing from the current administration. host: what are you hearing is the mood inside the white house, officials and sources you talk to? guest: president trump is unlikely to concede this election. he may walk away from the white the electionary if is certified formally for president-elect biden. he becomes president of the united states, the 46th on january 20. president trump still views himself as a political outsider,

someone with grievances against the political system and the establishment. for his own branding purposes he is unwilling to ever call himself a loser or someone who has been defeated. is likely to walk away but not until the bitter end after he has exhausted all legal and political options. also to signal to his own voters ahead of a possible run in 2024 that he did everything possible to stay in power. host: the public faces of the efforts seem to be people like rudy giuliani and others. what role are his close advisors, his daughter ivanka, jared kushner, and mark meadows who was quarantining for covid-19, correct? guest: the role of his advisors is simply to be cheerleaders at this point. to be supporters of a president

who is besieged and facing defeat. what you saw from match lap in hlap, someonet s holding news conferences. same with mayor giuliani. they are holding news conferences around the country. they are alleging widespread corruption and fraud. but based on the washington post reporting, there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud. the new york times's story today is the same point. they called around different state officials, found no evidence of secretaries of state, many republicans, not stepping forward with fraud. anecdotal evidence of election irregularities have popped up with election officials in the states are not saying the election was in some way corrupt.

the biggest flashpoint to pay attention to is georgia where the republican secretary of state is maintaining the election has been done in an honest way without any problems. bothitting senators, republicans who face a runoff on forary 5, they have called the georgia secretary of state to resign even though there is no evidence on their part of fraud. we have this standoff where both sides are accusing the others of bad faith, but it is clear the trump side, and in this case the republican side in georgia, the incumbent senators, are bringing allegations without evidence. host: we will see the president today for the first time since election day at arlington national on this veterans day, playing a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. there was word earlier this week

the president may even go back out on the road to do some rallies postelection. what do we know of that? guest: in my story a few days ago in the washington post, his advisors told us he is interested in doing rallies and having campaign-style rallies. he has delegated much of his responsibilities to surrogates. he wants to stay in the white house and work in his legal strategy without creating a stir. this could change as the georgia runoff nears, as well as the electoral college certification nears. the president has been unusually quiet. it has created a tension with president-elect biden and his transition process. host: our guest is robert costa, national political reporter with the washington post. we are talking about what may be ahead. (202) 748-8000 if you are a joe biden supporter. (202) 748-8001 for those of you

supporting president trump and mike pence. for all others, (202) 748-8002. robert costa, you talked about this momentarily with the losing senater of majority runoffs in georgia drives gop to trump's unfounded claims of election fraud." it is likely we will have a result. how might republican messaging change ahead of that election? guest: that's a good point. if the election is certified as we expected to be in electoral college, what you could see in georgia is a little bit more of a focus on the democrats and traditional flashpoint in these races. republicans told me yesterday they want to when a traditional campaign. that will probably be the closing campaign message. at this point the message is different.

story foratever this today's washington post. what you see in georgia and across the republican party is a willingness to stand with president trump, with his claims of election fraud brought forward without evidence. the reason they are doing this, in part, is to make sure the republican base is energized and activated in georgia. in georgia, it is a fast-changing state. you look at the rising latino population, asian american population, can the influx of white liberals and black americans into the atlanta area. you see estate that symbolizes -- a state that symbolizes the deep south. as theyans want to win have struggled to do so in 2020. they need to turn out in the majority white suburbs of atlanta. to do that you have to stand

with president trump who is so popular with those voters. voters in the atlanta area and throughout rural georgia. you can't start to somehow depart from president trump at this fragile moment in president trump's political career. host: when was the last time he had a chance to interview president trump? -- you had a chance to interview president trump? guest: i had a formal interview with president trump, and i believe it was the last time we spoke, when i did a story a few months ago on lou dobbs. lou dobbs is the foxbusiness news personality. i did not expect president trump to participate as a source, as in on the record source, but he did. this was probably a year ago. lou dobbs is someone who is symbolic of how the trump era works. president trump turns to him for

advice, both on the phone based on a reporting and on television by watching his tv show. dobbs is a hardliner on immigration. someone who is a kindred spirit politically. when historians look back on the could read myy story of the washington post and realize as much as president trump had advisors in the white house, some of his key advisors were tv personalities. they will watch tucker crossan or lou dobbs and take cues about -- tucker carlsen or lou dobson take cues about what is important at the moment. host: we have heard the president may start up a political action committee. we have heard there is considerations of him running again in 2024.

sons having of his greater involvement in the republican party. guest: it is unsurprising. this is a family that since day one in 2017, since the first day of the campaign in 2016, has been at the forefront of their father's political career. jared kushner and evocative white house, donald trump and his girlfriend. along with laura trump, eric trump's wife and eric himself. and tiffany trump, the president's youngest daughter has not been as politically involved but she shows up from time to time. donald trump, jr. has been mentioned as a possible candidate himself whether he runs for senate in a state with the president has a home or run for mayor of new york city. at this point he seems to be most interested in running the republican national committee. he will have some competition though. that is not something his father can just install him.

the republican national committee is full of committee members who will make the decision. many of them love the trump family and love president trump. it would not be shocking to see him take over in a sense. but incumbent presidents have ultimate sway over the party's committee. when they are gone, that falls away and can go to different people on the committee the jockey to power. maybe donald trump, jr. ends up on the republican national committee himself. it seems more to be an aspiration and ambition than something that is actually playing out. mcdaniel, theey current committee chair tries to usher in donald trump, jr., it could happen. many gop lawmakers on the republican national committee for funding, staffing, strategy. they will have a say in if they want donald trump, jr. moving beyond working for his father campaign and has not been a

political strategist his entire life. most lawmakers i talked to would love to see professionals who have been there for decades at the top of the committee. host: we have calls waiting for robert costa. first, joanna damascus, maryland on our supports joe biden line. caller: good morning. this is what i would like to say. trump would have you believe all the states he won were fraud-free. all of them. he has no question about them. but all the states that biden won had fraud and that is why he won. think about the logic of that. i think people need to take a look at that. trump supporters need to look at that. it is preposterous that no fraud was involved in the states he won, but was only fraud in all the states that biden won that put him over the top. i think that is an important thing to remember.

i really do believe and biden believes this election is about who we are. we will continue in this fragile democracy, forgive it up in favor of a strong man? host: robert costa? guest: thank you for the comment. it seems to be more of a comment than a question. host: westchester, ohio. this is deborah, a donald trump supporter. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am retired scientist and quality control. fidelity chemistry and microbiology -- i dealt in chemistry and microbiology. my concern is we are all talking about generalities. i need to know more specifics. i will accept whatever we find is solid based on evidence. when i look into this, for instance, in las vegas, 11% of

the citizens are noncitizens. noncitizens have a place of residency. they have a drivers license and a signature that matches. out i am trying to find maybe you will know. noncitizens' records in such a way with valid data -- the fda would never allow me to give information and say you just have to believe it. i don't have to show you my process or validate my process. in the senses this year we did not allow our senses to separate citizens versus noncitizens. i am not against immigration. i am for legal immigration. i will accept. based on mighty as a scientist for 30 years, i don't think we

have the ability to process and validate a mass mail valid. the states that mass mail already validate. they have lists they check against. i think that is what is missing, evidence on both sides. show me your process that you can verify that noncitizens did not vote. host: robert costa, do you think in the end mail-in voting will be deemed as having been a success? guest: states it is done mail-in ballots for years feel like in 2020 they were successful. what you are seeing with mail-in ballot is a reaction to a global pandemic that has kept millions of americans, especially high propensity senior voters from going to polling places. they are turning to mail-in ballots. there is also an erosion of trust in the u.s. postal service.

president trump has attacked it repeatedly, along with other republicans. we have this situation where mail-in ballot was essentially request -- mail-in balloting was essentially required for health concerns. many republicans were told by the president that the postal service cannot be trusted with the vote on election day. many republicans did vote on election day but we have seen the accounts change and some of the states because mail-in ballots take longer to be counted. this does not constitute fraud. in fact, in all these states you have rules and laws that are set in place about how mail-in balloting will be processed. this is complicated. it takes time. just because something is complicated and takes time does not mean to rush to the conclusion it is fraud. i agree with the caller. if there is evidence of people

andare not citizens voting breaking the law, of course that deserves investigation. it deserves to be reported. speculation about it is just that. host: there was a piece this aboutith your colleagues the relationship between joe biden and mitch mcconnell. long-standing ties between biden and mcconnell could shape an early agenda. where interim period mitch mcconnell is aligned with the president in terms of the vote count, is this potentially harming that relationship or putting a damper on it ahead of the biden presidency? guest: relationships for senator mcconnell, the majority leader, are not a driving force in his own political operation. they are important but not the animus, the animating force. what you see from senate

majority leader mitch mcconnell is a long-standing report with president-elect biden. i used see vice president biden go to the capital. i was reporting on capitol hill at the time. whenever there was a budget standoff, biden and mcconnell seemed to be able to cut a deal at the 11th hour. to me that was always revealing. washington has become broken in many parts in terms of congress functioning and getting legislation done. oldbiden and mcconnell, two pros have been able to cut budget deals together. beyond budget deals it is hard to see how pay biden-mcconnell relationship plays out in a huge way legislatively in 2021. the appetite in the republican conference and senate and house is limited to do some kind of sweeping deal on fiscal policy, on immigration, health care.

instead, keeping the government running becomes a priority. perhaps the loan priority for bipartisanship -- lone priority for bipartisanship. you can do that three reconciliation. my expectation is in 2021 mcconnell and biden will do their best to keep the government open and appropriations flowing and the budget together. beyond that, mcconnell has his eye on 2022. currently he has his eye on georgia and expanding his majority. president-elect biden, as much as he may have the clinician for bipartisanship, he's dealing with a changing democratic party that does not have a huge appetite for working with republicans after four years. presidentsition as

reminds me a bit of the position house speaker john boehner in 2011 and 2012. he liked bipartisanship and wanted to work with someone like biden and president obama but was constrained by the tea party movement and by the right wing who urged him not to cut any deals. biden could face a similar dynamic from the left where he may have the inclination to cut a deal, but an offended left-wing may say hold off until we get everything we want. host: on the majority leader, you know if mitch mcconnell has spoken to president trump since the election? guest: i don't have direct reporting if he has spoken to president trump but they do speak regularly. i have not heard about mcconnell calling president-elect biden. host: robert in riverdale, jordan. -- georgia. caller: how are you doing? votes, that illegal

means split tickets were republicans win and the democrats -- they don't cap either. thank -- don't count either. revote.an do is i will get five of my registered, legal voters of my friends who did not vote, i will take them with me. -- thing is i don't believe i believe donald duck stole the election when he won. i have a degree in engineering and mathematically everything -- they are claiming fraud. votes, he got those would not win. host: richard in montreal, joining us from canada. caller: good morning. there are so many people coming forward with sworn affidavits

saying voter fraud and whistleblowing and even democrats. my seven-year-old son could prosecute this case in court and win. the democrats, now we know why they are against voter id. they want to cheat. the washington post reported does not want to interview these witnesses. he does not want to talk about voter id. he thinks the american people are stupid and we don't see this voter fraud. it is all coming from one side. i don't see democrats accusing republicans of voter fraud. let's audit the states one by one. this reporter does not want people to know that because he knows who will win at the end, president trump. he got 9 million more votes. host: let's give robert costa a chance to respond. guest: where to begin? according to the current popular vote count, president-elect biden is ahead. on the point you made,

unfounded, that the washington post is not interested in pursuing the stories, the washington post is in constant touch with state election officials of the parties to investigate the election and to make sure we are getting a great tally on our website and paper about where the count stands. we are tracking litigation every hour and the different legal challenges from president trump. you can go to washingtonpost.com to read the coverage. host: also the host of "washington week" and events, another coming up today. you will be interviewing senator bob casey of pennsylvania. the keystone, if you will, pardon the pun, on the election. what will you focus the conversation on? guest: it will be interesting to

have senator toomey, who is and senator2022 bob casey of northeastern pennsylvania. he is a moderate democrat. pennsylvania was a key battleground in 2020. it was a state both campaigns competed for. like georgia, it is kind of representative of where this country is moving. you see the new democratic coalition emerging in its berg, in -- pittsburgh and the philadelphia area. northeastern parts of the state as well. this was a state that had long gone democratic going back to the reagan years in presidential cycles. it did go to president trump narrowly and 2016, which stunned not only democrats but many republicans. for it to come back to the democratic column, you see pennsylvania returning to its

democratic roots because the city of philadelphia has returned to its turnout levels necessary to win the state. you need to win philadelphia if you are a democrat see you can overwhelm any kind of republican enthusiasm and the rest of the state. i will talk to them about their own careers as well. toomeyt is to me go -- go? what does the future full for these two men as they navigate all these currents? a biden supporter. caller: i had a question for mr. costa. once the electoral college votes are validated, with trump being a sitting duck president, how can biden move forward without federal funding for the means to transition in a smooth manner in the coming months?

i don't see a good outcome for us if that transition does happen smoothly. guest: there are two pieces in the washington post today, one on the editorial page that reports about the alarm in the national security community about the lack of a formal transition so far and how that could disrupt the intelligence community. there is a story by shane harris over president trump firing mark esper and overhauling the intelligence community and the military complex, the military leadership in the country in the final weeks of his presidency in a way that might be unhelpful to say the least for american stability. those pieces are interesting and worth reading. now president biden, resident elect biden's

--president-elect biden is moving forward even without funding forfederal office space, personnel, planning. you see him taking calls from u.s. allies and world leaders. he is trying to project he is the president-elect because the election has been called. he is president-elect. as the litigation plays out in the trump campaign and president trump continue to push legal challenges it is unlikely his own administration will change their position perhaps until january, maybe until december. that is a real challenge for biden but he is moving forward and organizing in his own way, just without federal support. host: as you mentioned, the legal challenges continue. the clock continues ticking for election certification. several key states that have election certification dates coming up. november 13, georgia. that race will go to a recount.

arizona's certification date is ever 30. michigan, november 23. counties in pennsylvania will certified by the weber 23. wisconsin on december 1. , robertd to guess costa, will we have finality by the first of december? guest: the race has been called. the washington post has called the race. we are looking for formal certification. the one thing to pay attention to is the electoral college. do the electors -- two-state legislatures try to change the electors out of frustration on the republican side? at this point it is hard to see how it plays out in different ways. in pennsylvania, republicans have been frustrated that the state supreme court and the u.s. supreme court last friday has

cap the count going. they have been trying to stop the count because they don't like the mail-in ballots being part of the final count. that has frustrated them but the count continues in pennsylvania. trump supporter in cocoa, florida. caller: good morning. the senateue is in race in georgia, that you have both senators on the same election. one senator was class one. by the was appointed governor. -- ihould have served don't know what the cycle that the senator was on. they should not be on the same ticket because what they are

trying to do for the federal government, the state government has to elect them on the same term to keep it in the class. that surprises me when i saw both senators on the ballot. host: robert costa, correct me if i'm wrong, kelly loeffler would serve isaacson's term legislationut the of the laws in georgia call for the senate -- the race that happened in november, last week. guest: that's right. the caller makes a fair point. it is highly unusual to have two senators in the same state appearing on the ballot on the same time. even more unusual to have a runoff for both u.s. senators in the same state. historicistoric -- an showdown to come down to two seats in the same state and a

runoff election. she would only serve senator isaacson's term. for ar perdue is full six-year term. in 2014. he now faces another six-year term. that race is something to pay close attention to because rev. raphael warnock, senior pastor at martin luther king's church has been under the radar politically from months but is now starting to get a surge of national attention. rev. warnock is running against kelly loeffler, the income it republican senator. she's in a possibly weaker position than senator perdue because he has run statewide, one statewide -- won statewide. she was appointed by the governor. she is in a tougher position to claim she is an incumbent in a significant way with a lot of political capital. rev. warnock will have money to be on the air, cut ads.

it was highly competitive in the initial race before the runoff. is kindtor perdue, he of come from our traditional republican candidate cloth. a businessman from the south. former ceo. but he is running against jon ossoff, who has gotten a lot of attention from the left wing of the democratic party in recent days. he's a younger man in his 30's. he is close to the late john lewis. he always touted his friendship with john lewis, the civil rights icon. he is hoping to win a broad coalition. you will see a lot of big names go down there. vice president pence to announced he will go on november 21 campaign event. you will maybe see president trump, president obama, maybe president-elect biden, senator harris. senator harris has been an

issue. , he is usually a down the middle conservative business type. he said senator, now vice president-elect harris's name manyway -- in a way thought were mocking her name. i will not say how he said it. senator perdue has denied mocking her name. that issue and the way senator perdue enunciated vice president elect harris's name has brought race to the fore. the first black woman, south asian woman to have her name pronounced in that way has put race in the mix in a way it was not part of the discussion beyond the racial reckoning in this country maybe six or seven months ago. host: robert costa, our guest from the washington post. back to your calls. susan in tampa, florida.

caller: hi. thank you for taking my call. great respect for c-span, cnn, as always. my call is the kind of address the elephant in the room. i am an american. i am not going to go to the left or the right. i'm not going to go to a moderate or do any of that. the elephant in the room is you have been dealing with a sociopath for the last four years. that is basically it. if anyone wants to google it, there are 12 things. do it. i guess i'm a little frustrated but aren't we all? for the entire country right now. thank you for taking my call. , presidentt costa trump said from the beginning he was an unconventional candidate. he's been an unconventional president. guest: that is true.

i am not a medical professional so to what president trump's mental state is an psychosis, i will leave that the medical professionals. your prayer for the country is appreciated. that can never hurt. what we are seeing right now is the democratic electorate, and some point the republican electorate frustrated with the disruptions of the trump years. the shattering of norms, to the point where people feel this american moment has elements of a political apocalypse. parties that were once conservative and moored to different values are adrift, in particular the republican party. the democratic party facing its own dynamics and changes internally. the caller voicing her frustration about president trump's personality, his approach to governing, she is

clearly ready to see him leave the white house. comment, while i cannot on the details of what she is alleging, i would say her frustration is indicative of why perhaps president-elect biden got 74 million votes in this election. there was historic turnout, record turnout. not just because of the issue or an ideological debate, but the characters atop the ticket. brett from lafayette, louisiana. the trump supporter. termr: i just hear all the widespread voter fraud. what is the difference between widespread and just voter fraud? is it like a number? i don't understand the keep using that term. term: we use the widespread because we mean the word. when we say there is no evidence

of whites read voter fraud, is -- widespread voter fraud, there are anecdotal evidence -- there is anecdotal evidence of voter irregularities that deserve investigation, scrutiny by reporters and by state officials. but these examples of voter irregularities and claims and allegations don't automatically become a front-page story just because someone says it should be a front-page story. we are looking at the integrity of the elections. we are also talking to election officials and experts to understand as the people who monitor elections, what are they seeing. what are they hearing. what do they believe is the truth. as ben bradlee would often say and carl bernstein decades ago with the washington post, the job of a reporter is to get the best version of the truth. as close to the truth as

possible. the pursuit of the truth often means you hear about anecdotal evidence of voter issues, but then you talk to election officials and they tell you those examples are anecdotal and the election has integrity. you have to reflect that in the reporting. host: robert costa, president trump this morning continuing to tweet about the election results, saying this moment ago. "fake pollsters produced a possibly illegal suppression pull just before the election showing me down 17 points in wisconsin when in fact the race was even. we are now preparing to win this state. many such deplorable instances." wisconsin one of the states that was expected to win but culture joe biden, correct? guest: it was culture president-elect biden. the president's grievance with these polls is hardly new. as a reporter i don't count on

polls to give me the guide every single juncture about where the electorate stands. hopefullya snapshot, based on the best date at the time. any pollster will tell you, whether of the washington post or abc news, cnn, nbc, i don't speak for them but i know these pollsters. i know pollsters on both sides. polling always has outliers. there will always be polls that have challenges because of certain voters. the voters they selected further pool were not a perfect snapshot. that does not mean polling should just be abandoned. at times it is something helpful in understanding where in electorate is drifting on an issue or on an incumbent or a candidate. it is informative but not determinative. host: front page morning of the washington post. no sign of easing with little

help from washington. hospitals are under growing strain with the expanding coronavirus. robert costa, how did the pandemic become such a national political issue? guest: it has been one since february or march. it has been the story of the year. the presidential campaign in my view has always been second fiddle to the global pandemic. president trump's response to it, the response of different governors, that is the story of 2020. hundreds of thousands of americans have been killed. hundreds of thousands. more than 230,000 at least at the last count. i'm sure it is higher at the moment. i have been busy covering the campaign and not tracking the death count. it is a grim story. anything this grim should and would be at the front of every newspaper every day. we are now heading into a fall

and winter season that could be bleak. we see in georgia for example more outbreaks. they are going to the so-called red zone in georgia. that as many voters are preparing to go in january. you see it across the country. i spoke -- i speak to governors all the time. i sat down with larry hogan of maryland, a republican. asa hutchinson, another republican from arkansas. that was yesterday. but he does ago it was gretchen whitmer of michigan. when you ask the governors what are they concerned about, it is not the election. it's about the pandemic. they worry with thanksgiving on the horizon many people are going to be circulating inside, within closed doors, with heat blowing and no masks inside. little social distancing. this could be spreader events. it is hard not to be alarmist

because they are facing more death in their state. they have people have thanksgiving traditions, holiday traditions in december. how to deal with that. they are telling people to wear a mask inside. maybe try to have thanksgiving outside. it is a difficult thing to wrangle people towards making different choices after years, if not decades of doing the opposite. georgiari next up from on the biden line. caller: thank you. i would like to tell mr. costa i look forward to us having a president that is not the disrespectful to the press. referring to them always as fake news. i appreciate the job all of you do. first of all, one thing about like to say is you had some callers talking about some of in things -- information

this other kind of stuff. talking about the post office thing. going online. cnn did a thing a little while ago on reality checks. lies of some of the major trump put out there that have been verified by what was factual and not. .ou might want to look callers looking to fox news would see something else. i wanted to talk about the boat for a minute. in the primary i got the application and i filled out and sent it in. i never did receive my ballot. i talked to a couple of my neighbors that i know would be voting different from myself. they had received them. i called my election place. they looked it up and told me they had mailed me one out. they had documentation they did.

i told him i did not get it. they said they would mail me another one. i was only going to have a few days before the primary was here. i was going to have to hand-deliver it. i did not get it so i voted in the primary in person. a couple of days or so later after the primary was over with i got my ballot in the mail. i called and told him i had received it and so forth. i discarded it. host: i will have to let you go there. we are wrapping up. robert costa, any final thoughts? guest: i hope that ended well and your vote was counted. i appreciate your comment about the press. i'd understand some of the callers have frustrations with republicans, with democrats, and your frustrations with the media at times. you have the right to all of those opinions. i encourage you to be part of the debate.

this ability of c-span is always welcome. i would finish by saying i'm a reporter. i do my best. like all of us we have our flaws but we do our best to pursue the truth and reveal people in power on both sides, the publicans, democrats, independents. i remain committed to that. i appreciate everyone calling in and having this dialogue. host: you can see him weekly at "washington week." robert costa -- weeknights this month, we feature the monthly author program in depth. tonight, highlights from past shows including our interviews with toni morrison, tom wolf and many others. that begins at