presidential transition could affect the pandemic response. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages, and tweets. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning, everyone. welcome to "washington journal" this sunday, november 22. we want to begin with your thoughts on the covid-19 pandemic and how your governor is handling the outbreak. if you approve of your governor's job, (202) 748-8000. if you disapprove, (202) 748-8001. you can text us with your thoughts with your first name, city, and state at (202) 748-8003. or join the conversation by sending us a tweet at @cspanwj. or post your comments on facebook.com/cspan.

we will get your thoughts on what grade you would give your governor on this pandemic, but let's begin with south dakota's governor. take a look at the state. this is from nbc news. a 19% increase over the past two weeks. here is republican south dakota governor kristi noem defending her approach. [video clip] >> across the country and around the globe, cases are increasing. over the past week, cases are on the rise in 48 states. some have said that my refusal to mandate masks is the reason why our cases are rising here in the state of south dakota. that is not true. others have said that my refusal to advance harsh restrictions like lockdowns is another one of the reasons why our cases are rising, and that is also not true. there are 41 states that have some kind of a mask mandate. cases are on the rise in 39 of those 41 states.

some in the media are saying that south dakota is the worst in the world right now. that is absolutely false. i would encourage you to look at the johns hopkins coronavirus reverse -- johns hopkins coronavirus resource center. there are states with higher rates of cases per 1000 people compared to south dakota. i would encourage you to look at our mortality rates over the course of the pandemic. south dakota continues to remain below the national average and far below other states like new york and new jersey. has the seventh lowest case fatality rate in the country, meaning we are doing a great job taking care of people, and our front-line workers are doing their due diligence and the best they possibly can to take care of patients who would get sick. host: the former congresswoman and now governor of south dakota. wherecross to michigan,

democratic governor gretchen whitmer is seeing a 96% increase over the past weeks. here she is thursday, talking about her state's order to limit indoor gatherings at restaurants, schools, recreational facilities, and other places. [video clip] the order the department of health and human services issued limiting gatherings where covid-19 can easily spread went into effect. i want to remind everyone that these actions are both targeted and intended to be temporary. these steps are what the public health experts tell us we need to take to avoid overwhelmed hospitals and death counts like we saw in the spring. doing this will also protect our medical workers, our first responders, and other essential workers who have put their lives on the line to protect the rest

of us. people we usually call front-liners. i would hesitate to use that phrase, because it implies there is a second line. we have to respect the people who have been on the frontline, because they are what is keeping us safe. we must all work together here. we had our weekly data call tuesday evening, where we got an up date from our health experts. this is the fourth call we have legislators onan it, including six democrats and six republicans from the house and senate. i am hopeful that, when the legislature returns from their hunting break, republicans will share their plans for addressing the public health emergency our state is facing. host: governor whitmer in michigan. we will hear from fred of ohio about governor dewine. you disapprove of the job he is doing. caller: yeah, but i will defend

him, too. in a free society, people get the government they deserve. a contentiony have microbes -- do they get a curfew after 10:00 in the evening? get closer people together after 10:00 p.m.? caller: like i was saying, there is always this propagandizing of things. for instance, it just occurred to me -- i started reading obituaries. inever noticed it before, but guess my county loses about 20 people a week. i guess they always have, but i never thought of it that way. but when i say it, it sounds scary to me. we are losing 20 people a week. host: fred, for others who want to know what is happening in ohio, governor dewine, republican, has added

enforcement measures to his estate wide mask order and said ohio may soon have to close bars and restaurants. public gatherings are limited to 10 people. he put a curfew in place from 10:00 p.m. the 5:00 a.m. there is a mask mandate and stay at home curfew in ohio. we go to tyrone in michigan. you like the job that governor whitmer is doing. why is that? caller: yes, i do. i totally support her. i know at least 20 people, personally, who have died from this coronavirus. i work in the transportation industry. i totally support governor whitmer year i think she has done an excellent job. she just needs a little bit of cooperation from the republican lawmakers here. even though i am on unemployment and it is running out in december, but i think she has made some reasonable suggestions on how we can get through this altogether.

i totally support her. to see ald you like national mask mandate? caller: yes, i would. i really would. that is based upon my experience and knowing the 20 people who i formerly worked with who have died from this covid disease. i think that is a reasonable suggestion, and i think we should adhere to it. facebook, kay says great, about governor whitmer, she is working hard to fight the pandemic and save lives, even though she is under constant threat from right-wing militia and their republican enablers. -- you arenitiative in massachusetts, is that right? caller: no, i am in michigan. and i approve of governor whitmer's job handling the

virus. just like the last comment, that is why the fascist, right supremacist right wing -- the white supremacist right-wing 18 to kidnap her and kill her. i believe the republican legislators went to washington ,o try to get bribed by trump they are standing up good against the intimidation. and one more thing, republican congressman upton has come out and said trump should give it up, he lost of the election -- host: alright, we will talk about the election results in georgia, the runoff graces, then we will turn our attention to transition of power. we will talk about the intelligence briefings for the incoming president that also the logistics of transitioning, a peaceful transition in this country. that will be coming up here on "washington journal." but for our first hour, we want

to know how is your governor handling this covid-19 pandemic? do you approve or disapprove? annette in new york, you do not like the job governor cuomo is doing. how come? caller: many people are so upset. -- they areound tied down to their homes. the children -- i deliver food for people, for families. the children are so excited just to answer the door. they are locked down. there are suicides going on. , you know -- what can i say. i am not down there, but it does not look too good. this care tactics -- the children are petrified. it is harmful. i can just say it for that reason. i see it when they come into a store. it is like a big deal, just to

walk through a store. we got to get real with this. only scare tactics are making it worse. and you can check. check the suicides. there are more people dying of that. to yourt's listen governor. wednesday, he talked about law enforcement in new york ignoring the mask wearing mandate and 10fusing to enforce a 10% -- per person cap on in person gatherings. [video clip] >> is it hard to police? yes. but if you see it, stop it. that is really the point of the law. if you see it, stop it. , don't dode privacy any of that. if you see it, stop it, which is different from saying i just

refused to enforce that law because i do not agree with it. that, i believe, violates that person's constitutional oath. iso not believe that person a law-enforcement officer. i believe that person should not be certified as a law enforcement officer. want a law enforcement officer who says i am only enforcing the laws that i like or that i think should be enforced. , a lot of police officers do not wear a mask. how are you supposed to then enforce other people wearing a mask when they see you not wearing a mask? violate the law, but you can't -- no. nobody said you were above the law. cop, i could have a couple of drinks and drive home,

and if a buddy of mine stops me" -- no. the law is the law. nobody is above it. it is the only way it works. host: new york has seen, according to nbc news, a 108% increase in covid cases over the past two weeks. charlene on facebook says governor cooper, north carolina, is doing an outstanding job. north carolina, generally a red state, voted for a democratic governor who believes in science and saving lives. then steve sends us this week -- , ducey is killing people by not having a mask mandate. it is horrible here in the icu. my spouse is a cripple care worker. she knows. not these stupid republican politicians. stay home. many federal officials asking folks to stay home on thanksgiving.

on friday, airports reported a record number of travelers as we approach this holiday season. juliet in massachusetts, what is it like there? juliet, you have to listen and talk through your phone. caller: yes, hi. hello? host: you are on the air. caller: hi. thank you for taking my call. i am in approval of governor baker. i think he has done a great job overall with covid. businesses are doing well. i have a small business. i am doing extremely well. it has been consistent. but on the government website, the massachusetts government covid-19 website, he indicates that anybody who has a medical condition that can include, i guess, and emotional, depressive type of malady of some sort -- but you do not have to prove it. so if you're walking in public

without a mask, an officer might say something or a disgruntled neighbor, you can just claim you ,ave a depressive disorder whatever those -- you do not have to prove it. the only way you have to prove is if you are indoors in a grocery store, where you would have to provide documentation, but on the website, he says all others need to wear masks if you are out in public. however, he says all medical must be reserved for frontline people. isn't that by default saying the masks we are wearing in public are not really effective at protecting from covid-19? host: let me ask, what is your is this? caller: i have a skincare

business. i am in the close contact environment. many of my clients are in the 60's and 70's and 80's, and they trust me. i've been in practice over 20 years. and i am in an area where there are very few active cases. in the north shore, in manchester, the caseload is very, very low. the people who have it are not hospitalized for it. there are very few people who have died from it in their vicinity. and i have a climate -- client on her lungstissue from a pneumonia case. that they know me. i am a very responsible person. i practice social distancing. i am not out in public gatherings where i am in close --tact, i do not go to bars host: let me show our viewers what is in place in

massachusetts. some businesses are closed, there is a mask and eight, and folks are advised to stay home from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. this is from the new york times, what is happening in other states. nbc shows massachusetts has seen a 77% spike over the past two weeks. melissa in indiana, you disapprove of your governor. caller: i do. we have 92 counties and a lot of colleges in indiana and we are going on a county by county local mandate. we do have a mask mandate, however, it is not being enforced. so you can wear a mask or not. certain businesses, you can walk in, take your mask off. we recently had visitors allowed back in our nursing homes, and now we have a spike in nursing homes. we converted a wing and one of overflowng homes to an

unit -- that is pretty pathetic. i have not seen the governor stand up and ask for anything from the local government, although mike pence, unfortunately, came from this estate. host: what do you think the governor should be asking for from the federal government? caller: our schools were forced to open. our state is in the black. our schools are open for about two weeks, then somebody test positive, then we shut down. to spend did not want his own money, maybe he should ask the federal government for money to support students in gradess and in the k-12 -- they have multi generations coming through their household, and when one school is forced to shut down, the other school is still going, that does not seem to make sense. we do not have contact tracing going on. we have a friend who just got tested positive, we have not been contacted.

this is not working out. host: i want to show our viewers iowa, gop governor kim reynolds announcing all people age two and older must wear a face covering. she did this monday in indoor spaces, a reversal after months of saying she did not support a mask mandate. [video clip] >> starting tomorrow, when you are in an indoor public space and unable to social distancing for 50 minutes or longer, masks are required to be worn. the same requirements applied to visitors and employees inside estate buildings. i strongly encourage other businesses to follow this lead. indoor social community business and leisure gatherings and events will be limited to 15 people. outdoor gatherings will be limited to 30. this include weddings and general receptions, family gatherings, and conventions. this does not restrict gatherings that occur in the workplace as part of a normal

daily business or government operations. with the exception of high school collegiate and professional sports, all organized youth and adult sport activities of any size are suspended. this includes basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, and dance. high school sports and extracurricular activities are not prohibited, but spectators at games or events are limited to two people per student and are required to wear a mask. bars arets and required to close at 10:00 p.m. and cannot host gatherings of over 15 people. masks must be worn by staff who have direct contact with customers, and customers must wear masks when not seated at the table. inpatient, elective procedures will be reduced to percent. all measures will be reassessed in a week. additional measures could be added based on what we are

seeing with hospital capacity. wants to do this. i do not want to do this especially as we are coming into a holiday season normally filled with joy. i cherish thanksgiving with my family. this year, we are postponing that. my children and grandchildren will not gather together in my home, as we do every year, and as i had hoped we would do this year. but it is to keep them safe, and it is to keep you safe. i am asking you tonight to work with the knee, to think of your family, your friends, and all of your fellow iowans. think of the health care heroes who have been taking care of us the beginning of this pandemic. host: iowa republican governor kim reynolds there monday. here is a text from one of our viewers in west virginia, saying he is presently -- pleasantly

surprised, saying jim justice is one of the few republicans who actually listens to science. michael in edgewater new jersey, what do you say about your governor? caller: i think he has been doing some pity good mandates. he has been treating our state very well. i support him very much. overall, he has just been doing good. nine you have seen a nady -- a 99% increase over the past two weeks. have you noticed that as you go about your business? say, myself,ld not that i would, but i think it would possibly happen. host: what would possibly happen, the increase? caller: yeagh. host: ronald in massachusetts. you disapprove. what toi do not know

choose -- i am in massachusetts, you're hitting around my state. i was born in west virginia. i served in south korea, in the vietnam war. when i was in west virginia, we had kids with infantile paralysis and polio. that was around 1955. host: and so what you think about the job your governor is doing? caller: i do not know how to rate him. my wife has been in the health center. she has been there six or seven months. host: why is that? in an: because she was accident around 1986 or 1987, had two strokes. and here i am, 80 years old, at home, trying to get the house fixed. i do not know what the governor is doing. my wife is still under quarantine, after all this time, several months. host: ronald in massachusetts.

let's go to new york, linda. you disapprove of governor cuomo. caller: absolutely. this is a guy that went against put covidce, do not positive residents in the nursing home. he has killed over 6000 nursing home residents. but then he has a brother who was supposed to be quarantined who is out looking at his new house while it is being built is positive.and i would like to see him arrested. cuomo has done the worst job of almost any governor. that is my opinion. what if he had listened to the cdc, we would not have over 6000 dead nursing home residents. thank you. maryland, youn

approve of governor hogan. caller: yes, indeed. most certainly. even though i voted democratic, the one thing i give my governor credit for is prudence and wisdom. he is kind of like solomon in the bible. i also want to say it is a good thing that the governor from iowa changed her position and began to rule with prudence and wisdom. that is a good thing. see,st hurts my heart to you know, people disregarding the present things that we are suffering now. rightd leaders who do the thing, like governor hogan. thank you. host: other headlines for you this morning -- this is the philadelphia inquirer -- not how the constitution works, quote talks federal judge who

to trump trying to disrupt pennsylvania's election results. craig caplan, our capitol hill producer, sense of the street with a quote from the pennsylvania senator pat toomey. decision from an unbiased jurist, president trump has exhausted all possible legal options to challenge the results in pennsylvania. it goes on to say this follows a series of procedural losses. after a hand recount confirmed the -- --higan lawmakers

of electoral college electors. these developments together with the outcomes in the rest of the nation confirmed joe biden won the 2020 election and will become the 46th president of the united states. i congratulate president-elect biden and vice president elect kamala harris. pat toomey with those comments. jared in brooklyn, back to our conversation about your governor and how they are handling this pandemic. you disapprove of governor cuomo. caller: very much so. if you think c is a hero. he writes a book about it while going on national tv with his brother, laughing all around. he does not take any blame. he is very arbitrary on problem -- on houses of worship, which is problematic. 10 people maximum when you can hold 400 in some spaces. he shuts down certain zip codes when you can drive five minutes away to another zip code that is open. he ships down businesses without

any consideration and gives out fines -- it is a joke. host: robert in florida, what do you think of the job republican governor desantis is doing. caller: i think the governor is doing pretty good, doing his job. positiveink there is a that does not even get the disease -- host: you think there is what? caller: if you have o+ blood, you will not even get it. my family has it, and they are not even near getting it. my other family with o+ do not get it -- host: are you taking precautions nonetheless or you think you are immune? fromr: yeah, i am immune it. i wear masks if i am in a crowd or something like it, save other people from getting it, but my family, and other families who have o+ do not even get it.

i think that is pretty good kid i think governor ron desantis is doing a good job. you cannot just tell people to stay home and do not go nowhere. that is what biden will probably do, shut down the whole country for a month or whatever. that will not do any good. 95% that would do the virus, that would help it, if they get a shot from it, it will work, why not start giving them out now? why wait two or three months from now? it.ll not get host: the president-elect has said he does not endorse a national lockdown. he has answered that question several times. he did, though, thursday, after a conference call with the nation's governors, talk about the need for a national mask mandate. [video clip] limitationssed the

-- the implantation of a national mask mandate. 10 governors, democrat and republican, have imposed masking requirements, north, south, east, and west. it is not a political statement. it is a patriotic duty. president-elect joe biden. host: bill in connecticut says the state needs to open up. governor lamont is skittish at best. if governors want to do anything, they should shut down all fast food establishments and andthe sale of coca-cola pepsi. viruses feed on sugar. masts are not the answer. carolyn in iowa, you disapprove of the governor. what do you think of her stance on masks? caller: she is a little late. it is so hypocritical she is coming out now, nine months later, to finally realize the fact that the state of iowa is

now listed as number four, i believe, in the nation as high virus contact. she has finally decided that, counties went on their own, our city especially, decided to mask up. they have signs, coming into the city, of "mask up, iowa." so she finally decided that, since they were heading such a death rate, it was time for her to come out and maybe make a statement about how she feels about the deaths. host: carol, what have you learned about the spread in iowa? why has the estate seen this spite, do you know? caller: it seems -- why has the state seen this spike, do you know? caller: it seems to be the universities. there is a large spike in ames.

the students just did not believe they needed to wear a mass, so they were going out to the bars and restaurants, not wearing masks. i think it has come from that. and they go home and spread it. right now, i think we are sort of locked down, as far as wearing a mask, that everybody realizes how dangerous this is. so i truly disapprove of her. she is still in the pocket of president trump, she just couldn't get away from it until finally she saw the death rate going up. host: all right. from georgia, governor brian kemp and his team are doing an excellent job of the virus. we receive weekly updates with flowcharts to show the spread of activity and what we need to continue to improve. coronavirus come in my opinion, is getting better, but some are still not wearing masks.

george in alabama, you approve of your governor. caller: yes, ma'am. doing all theyre can to do the right thing. what we are seeing here is we have lots of science people -- host: you have a lot of what? caller: in a lot of science people. a lot of the businesses are giving them the masks coming in the door. they just refuse to wear them. they wear them around their chin. it is like a total waste of time. and saying you need to limit your gatherings, they give instructions every friday night, where they come on air and tell people. but what i am saying and what he is saying, folks are not agreeing.

take a look at the state of alabama. a 40% increase. this is from nbc news. 40% increase over the past two weeks. take a look at the neighboring state of georgia. i just read the text from georgia, saying she things the governors doing a great job. they are the only state that is green. they have seen a 27% decrease over the past two weeks. the state of georgia there. homeowner inom cleveland, ohio. you like the job governor dewine is doing. caller: good morning. yes, i am satisfied with what governor dewine is doing. people just do not want to cooperate and where the masks. the curfew, we just got a curfew from 10:00 to 5:00, started on thursday, i believe, last week.

, some of theeople small business owners are against it, because they feel it will hurt their business. he has the end to shut down some of the schools. i think some of the increase of our numbers is due to some of the students back to school. are highlymonths contagious, as far as any type of virus. if a kid cannot handle pinkeye, what would make you think they can handle covid, making sure they will wear this mask in school or anything else? so i think we should have held off on sending the kids back to school too soon. but i think dewine is doing a wonderful job. i did vote democratic, but he is a republican. i think he keeps us up to date with numbers, doing the best he can.

people still do not believe it is real, i think. we have frontline workers lineng the lives on the every day. this is real, and we need to respect the frontline workers. thank you. host: pomona in ohio. more from the state of georgia. governor brian kemp, a republican, was one of the first governors to reopen his estate. he also pushed back on local mask mandates but has since backtracked, allowing places like atlanta to implement mask mandates. he continues to extend a shelter-in-place order for some medically vulnerable populations. you can see these are the types of businesses that are open in the state of georgia. steve harrison says of no persons in -- says governor maskn in missouri has no mandates, and some communities

are on fire here in missouri. next from michigan, you like governor whitmer? caller: yes, i think she is doing the best she can. she has had a lot of repercussions from the president, from her own constituents. i would not want her job. host: what do you like that she is doing? what do you agree with and why do you think it is working? i think it is working to the capacity that these are winter months. am 80 years old, live in a small community. i think everyone should get on the ball and try to help her. eva, there has been a 104% increase in the state -- 96% increase in the state of michigan. that theys, i realize

had i watch the news and i watched c-span. but you have a lot of people who do not want to conform to a simple thing of wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands. like it is an imposition to them. i know the economy is bad. everyone is hurting. but we got to learn to work together. host: in the state of missouri, i read that text from our reviewer, who said it is on fire there -- they have seen a 72% increase in covid cases over the past two weeks. on facebook, aaron fairbanks posts this -- indiana governor holcomb has been slow to respond compared to surrounding states and has been deferring to the counties as of late. the response of our local health officials has been incredibly professional in the face of rising infection rates and hospitalizations.

--hy on facebook says this governor wolf in pennsylvania has done a good job, in my opinion. he, and many other governors, how to find their own way when our government would give them no guidance at all. never an easy job and never perfect my but i really believe he did the best he could possibly do with the information that he had. handling of the covid-19 pandemic, if you approve of your governor, (202) 748-8000. disapprove, (202) 748-8001. text us with your first name, city, and state at (202) 748-8003. you can go to twitter, @cspanwj. or post your comments on facebook.com/cspan. washington post has trump privately plots his next act, including a potential 2024 round. in private huddles and phone conversations, mr. trump has

been discussing another presidential run in 2024. he has full confidence he could announce a 2024 campaign before the end of this year, which would immediately set up a potential rematch with president elect joe biden. the president has also been exploring ways to make money, such as giving speeches to corporate groups and holding rallies. and he may try to write a score settling memoir. hime has been stirrings of starting a media company of his own. many believe that is less likely, in part because it would be an arduous undertaking without guaranteed success. his advisors spoke on the condition of anonymity and candidly discussed sensitive topics there is pressure to monetize -- he has payments due over the next four years of more than 400 million loan -- $400

million in loans including substantial legal fees due to investigations and lawsuits. in virginia, you like what your governor doing? caller: yes, i do. i think governor northam has done a good job in controlling the numbers in virginia by influencing mandates and slowly moving us through tiers, where we can do more things and gather in larger groups together. -- and he didted tell virginians that if there was an increase beyond, i think, 10%, that he would go back to implementing whatever measures he felt was necessary to keep the numbers from getting out of control. and so we have had to go back to some mandates. not a complete or total shutdown. we had, during the whole covid

incident, had a statewide mask mandates. it has been hard for a lot of businesses, in the beginning, to board get the citizens on to wear their masks. but i think because it was mandated and there were measures to put in place to hold businesses responsible if they did not enforce the masked mandate, even though people had large objections, i think it has helped to increase more people's usage of masks, where it became less of a matter for them. and i think all of this has contributed to virginia keeping its numbers low, keeping the covid spread under control, and when it starts to tick up, being able to manage it and get it back down. even though he has raised a lot of flak for it, he did a good job by being very forward what theand enforcing

cdc recommended early in the game. host: take a look at what the new york times put together on your state. governor ralph northam reduced public gatherings from 250 to 55, pivoted the sale of alcohol after 10:00 p.m., starting november 15. take a look at what is open in the state of virginia. livesends the street -- i in michigan, and i approve of the way governor whitmer has handled this pandemic. it is not easy and comes with painful decisions that affect our economy and people's lives. the alternative of doing nothing pandemic is the far worse. ernie? caller: i hope you give me enough time that we could tackle this issue. first, wisdom become -- begins with the definition of terms.

everyone is in lockstep, like good communist comrades. the numbers, positive results from the pcr tests. inventor, even by the stated, from the very beginning, that it is not a test to or guard against viruses and all we are doing now everybody --s to the numbers, the numbers, the numbers. they cannot even justify where the numbers are coming from. which hospitals are identified, which homes? nobody has a clue. it is just numbers, block of numbers, that they are pushing. why are they pushing? they want to bring about the new world order. how are they going to do this? through fear. so you people and everybody that is ignorant of the facts, you are going to adopt what policies

they want to impose on us -- host: ernie in pennsylvania. take a look at the state. a judge struck down the distance closures and public gathering limits imposed by governor wolf, but a federal appellate court allowed him to sustain the orders. peter is also in pennsylvania, and you disapprove of the governor. caller: good morning. one thing, before we talk about our governor, i heard one of your callers say that if you are o+, you cannot contract covid. i am living proof that, as an o+, ida contract covid, so i do not know where that came from. the issue up here has been, early on in the pandemic, we had extremely low numbers in erie county. everythingf defied

going on, especially in our state. usernor wolf just kept restrained, so to speak, without , really, any rationale. that even the local ,ounty executives, state reps who are democrats, they called a news conference and expressed their displeasure. my state representative was extremely agitated that, again, by not goingback into the green phase, which i love given a lot more freedom, especially for businesses. secondly, this is really disturbing, he was caught on an open mic with another government official, and they were chatting about, you know, wearing their masks for this press conference, and the state officials, or the

am keeping mine on four political theater. that really does not do a whole lot for making people feel professionalism and the sincerity of their government leaders. so we have kind of had a bad experience up here. we are experiencing somewhat of a spike. bandar they think i have a lot of questions about is they never get granular about this data. there is 100 cases today or 150 up here, that has been what has been, we do not know are those people who are asymptomatic, have mild symptoms? there is no way of knowing. att: just to take a look your state, 114 percent

increase, according to this new york times data that they have compiled. caller: i get that. i am not questioning that. i am questioning what does that really mean? what do all those cases represent? how many of those people are really sick? when i had covid, i was sick and i was home for the 10 days of isolation. i did have to go into the emergency room to get an iv fluid transfusion, because i was getting dehydrated. but it would be good to know, if the media could break that down, so we could understand exactly what those cases represent. host: got it. i understand your point. take a look at the map. from 114% increase in pennsylvania. take a look at vermont. 265 percent increase. the neighboring state of new hampshire, 152 percent increase.

louisiana, 180% increase. you can find this. newyorktimes.com. samuel in alabama. what grade would you give your governor? governor would give my an eight out of 10. afeel like kay ivey has done wonderful job in alabama. i have not seen any cases of covid personally. host: debbie on facebook says governor dewine should be impeached. none of these dictators should be allowed to do what they are doing. they do not care how much a family suffers when you force them to shut a business down, all the other things they are mandating, not law. they do not lose a paycheck, ever. nancy in iowa, you like your governor. caller: i do now. host: because she put a mask mandate in place? caller: yes.

i am a democrat, a registered nurse. governor reynolds was too late, but at least she finally ordered a state mask mandate. that i still see people without a mask in stores or with it under their nose. nancy approving now the governor, who reversed herself maskst in a mandate for in iowa. on facebook, governor edwards in louisiana doing everything he can to stop the spread, despite resistance from many on the precautions. we next go to michigan. you disapprove of governor whitmer. caller: very much so. if someone takes the time to do the mask and that's the math -- if someone takes the time to do the math, it is about 1/10 of 1% of the population. in any given room of 100 people who are sick, only two of them

are going to die, but here the rest of us are, 380 million of us, sitting in our homes, twiddling our thumbs, not being able to work, being unemployed, and all the things that go on from that, from alcoholism to suicide. the number of percent of increases are irrelevant. it only matters that they are going up. people just need to go out and live our lives before we have completely destroyed our country. northlet's go down to carolina. you approve of the governor. caller: i do approve of governor cooper. has considered all situations and everything. he is honestly trying to do a very awesome job for everyone. it is not just about making money. but he is concerned about people's health. he is concerned about the kids.

keep thingshim to open, how are we going to protect each other if some do not want to wear a mask -- what do you want these people to do? either you follow the rules and guidelines will you do not. same as a war or something, so many died. it is just crazy that they are listening to all of this nonsense -- if you do not believe what is going on, go to these hospitals and volunteer. give them a tour and let them see. let them see these things, so they know that this stuff is real. it is not about us. we are talking about the future, our children. we are talking about our children. host: on facebook, governor wolf in minnesota is rate. he gathers facts before making in -- governor walz

minnesota is great. he gathers facts before making the hard decisions. brian in west virginia. good morning. caller: how are you? host: doing well. you disapprove of your governor? caller: 100%. the reason i disapprove business a flu virus. nothing but a flu virus. people are just running in fear. is 98% curable. -- theyardly even have hardly even have any symptoms from it. i've had it. several people have had it and did not even know they had it. this is nothing but a ploy of the democratic party to keep people locked up. host: tim in georgia, you approve of governor kemp?

caller: yes, i do. host: what grade would you give him? caller: very high ratings. host: would you give him an a? caller: i would. host: why do you say that? what did he do or not do? caller: i think he has been as careful as possible, while georgia still rated number one in states to do business. all governors, it is a very difficult thing to do, but i think governor kemp has done an excellent job. to juggle keeping people safe at the same time, keeping people from losing their businesses or going hungry. i think governor kemp has done really good. host: gary in washington says i believe jay inslee is doing a great job of doing what needs to

get done. first to get covid in the nation, he takes action according to medical and science experts. i approve of his job 100%. i wish everyone would take this seriously. how about anyone who refuses to mask up be ordered to work a day in the icu covid ward or the morgue? nicholas in new york, what grade would you give governor cuomo? caller: i have to say i am kind of disappointed with how he has handled this. like it is aems big show with him. you have the press briefings he does every day. he had a book written. he just got nominated for an emmy or something. politicized. very i got to say i am disappointed with him and with the ever governors who sent the positive patients to some of the nursing

homes. i have a very elderly grandmother that i just saw for the first time about a week ago, since this whole thing began. she is now very, very elderly. not a good age to not be seeing somebody for that long. i got to see her about a week ago for the first time, and it was like prison. it was through glass, through a telephone. my governor -- my grandmother couldn't even understand what i was saying. i could barely understand her. it was disappointing -- better than nothing, do not get me wrong. the west virginia caller, he said it is of the flu -- i will not give the cretins of saying this is something that simple. but at the end of the day, i feel like the science is out, we all have this tribalism disagreement. the masks, hearing so much about the masks sort of disappoints

me. i feel like there is surely more to it than this, then just as simple as the masks. i am not saying that is all there is to it, but we put so much emphasis on this idea of a mask. at the end of a day, there will always be people in society who are just not going to wear that mask. another caller said that previously. whether just to be spiteful or some other reason. you will find the same thing with the vaccine. none of these things will be -- end all,, be all be all. christophers from in maine, writing that governor mills is doing a fantastic job. unfortunately, mask wearing has become a heated clinical issue, as it has elsewhere. some still think it is the flu, which science is ruled out. says in kentucky,

governor beshear is doing everything he can do, but this is a trump state. no one here will wear a mask. half my family has covid because they have to work for a living. north carolina, teresa, good morning. what grade would you give your governor? caller: an a+. governor cooper has done an excellent job. he jumped on it way before the president and everybody else did. i do not understand why people can be the stupid. -- this stupid. riverside,, california, you disapprove of governor newsom. what do you not like? caller: i do not like that he think thinkwn for i four months. i couldn't visit my mother for six months. i called her every day. and i understand the seriousness

of it. but it seems like this is what happens in countries like egypt and china that our police states. sayingber the news media they can lock people down in china, they would not do that and america. then they locked people down in america. , he is against church. he was the first guy to do gay marriage before it was even legal. he does not like christians because we stand up against things like that. --t: kimberly from texas ours is pretending it does not exist, hence the reason we leave the case -- the nation in cases. a 45% over the past two weeks. pennsylvania. mary, you disapprove. caller: in the very beginning, he closed everything down and laborers essential

should be working. plant, thaty, his mix cabinets, furniture, state open. but everybody else had to close down. he is very political about it. he put people that were sick back into the nursing homes. me hadsing home near exponentially high deaths because they put six people -- people in there. my one doctor said he had to fight to keep people with covid out of his rehab facility. just like that. wolf has become a tyrant. your workplace does not need to be open, but mine does.

so i really disagree. i really disagree with him. host: what grade would you give him? caller: i would give him 0. also bob in tennessee, you disapprove of your governor. caller: i just this agree with the whole deal, period. ndu go on what dr. fauci, a you watched the other day what they were what they were saying, on fox that, but myby wife works at a nursing home. three people have covid. none of them on ventilators. saying they might've cut a little fever but this ain't as bad as people say. if you have bad health, you may have a thing. i would appreciate it if you let people on the others have a

little more time instead of just hanging up on them. you need to get the people in here that was watching that election and get everyone to have sworn affidavits and then call them a liar. appreciate you. thank you. we will talk to jesse next, rosedale, maryland. you like governor hogan. >> yes, i do. he is on top of things. host: do you think you should run for president in 2024? what hei think that is is trying to do. ok.: joann, rapid city, south dakota.

you disapprove. caller: i do. i disapprove of my governor. i am a native american. our reservation down early because we did not want spread. ourried to make us open up borders and allow people to go through. we are in an epidemic and i am losing relatives. i had a relative work there was an outbreak and didn't let anyone know. let's listen to your governor for those who missed it. the governor defending her approach to wearing masks in public and not ordering

lockdowns. >> across the country and around the globe, cases are increasing. cases are on the rise in 48 states. some have said that my refusal to mandate mass is the reason why our cases are rising in south dakota and that is not true. said my refusal to advance harsh restrictions like lockdowns is another reason why cases are rising and that is also not true. there are 41 states that have some kind of a mask mandate. on the rise and 39 of those 41 states. some are saying that south dakota is the worst in the world now but that is false. i encourage you to look at the johns hopkins resource center. there are other states with far higher new confirmed cases per 100 -- per 1000 people compared to south dakota.

i encourage you to look at our mortality rate over the pandemic. south dakota continues to remain below the national average and far below other states like new york and new jersey. our caseu to look at for tally rate. south dakota has the seventh rate in ourfatality country. front-line workers are doing the best they can to take care of patients who would get sick. thank you offer calling in and letting us know what -- the job your governor's doing. back and focus attention on georgia. we will talk with atlanta journal political reporter andhy and later, journalist

about locations for national security. ♪ >> tonight on afterwards, author deborah stone's about hers -- her book, counting, how we use numbers to decide what matters. >> the good thing is trying to is it is angs, us tose which forces think about what we care about and what is important. >> watch on c-span2 tonight. >> monday, live on c-span2, a

live conversation with barack obama and his memoir, reflecting on his life and political career. live monday at 11:00 eastern -- 1130 clock -- 1130:00 -- 11:00 -- 11:30 eastern. host: ms. murphy, let's begin with the presidential contest. people may have been watching georgia unfold recently. audit of conducted an all 5 million votes in the election. that was required by law.

one governor certify the election results. campaign is taking us up on the option to request a machine recount. handy take longer than a recount. we will see how the results come out. we do not expect any changes. by about 4000 votes. results arewhat the but this is a certified election and our electors are going to joe biden. explain who will pay for it and how much it will cost? guest: we do not know exactly how much it will cost.

but it is outlined election law. the recount is done at taxpayer expense. host: let's turn our attention to the georgia senate runoff races. like a campaigning began radio -- right away. what is it like? >> crazy and getting crazier. because these senate races have gone to runoff and because of the number of senators in washington, now the control of the eunice -- u.s. senate comes down to these two races. colleagues, with my what if it is too late for the recount and we all agreed it was a ridiculous it area but here we are. we have senator purdue.

the difference in that race is there is not a libertarian in the runoff. was on election day. andill see what happens what the turnout will be. because she was appointed to that seed in 2019, that was a special election primary. --she had won there were 21 people in that race. it has now come down to the senator and a democrat in that seat. church, doctor martin luther king's pulpit.

he is working to become better known. are two marquee senate races on any day. control of the senate has come down to these two seats. get out the vote efforts, we are feel.ing in iowa caucuses >> you have the news on the senator testede positive for the coronavirus and it is isolating. how will that impact the race? >> quite a bit. aat senator did not have heavy schedule for thanksgiving week but she is out on the trail in spite of it if she needs to self-isolate for two weeks, that would impact her schedule.

this weekend the week going forward. in the meantime, governors campaigning today and tomorrow and throughout the week for them on the trail quite a bit. health care is a major issue in both senate races. the issue of health care and covid-19 has become the most important issue in these races when it comes to voter issues. senator has tested positive and certainly will be part of that. he.weeted out she had an inconclusive test following her positive test. then was campaigning friday afternoon and got test results back friday night.

tests, the more invasive tests positive. i think the campaign will focus on that. host: we are talking about the election in georgia. if you are a democrat -- republican -- independent -- also, georgia residents. (202) 748-8003. patricia murphy said it is crazy with the election. let me show you the viewers, the campaign ads that georgia residents are seeing.

>> check schumer is trying to radically change america. defund the police, voting rights for illegal immigrants, washington, d.c. as a 51st state. believe them and vote purdue to stop them. >> i approve this message. >> the only way to beat the virus is to give our president the chance to exceed. to rush economic relief for families and small businesses and invest in infrastructure to jumpstart our economy. purdue said he had -- he will do everything in his power to make sure joe biden fails. just like with obama. lives are on the line.

jobs and businesses are online stop what at this time. >> patricia murphy, why are both of those candidates issuing the messages? >> it has really changed the dynamic of what those candidates are running on. donald trump was an outside issue in this state. jon ossoff was running against , acting asresidency a way to stop donald trump in his tracks as president. now that joe biden will be the getident, it is no longer out and help me stop trump. it is help me help joe biden. purdue, he no longer

have someone to run with. donald trump is incredibly popular here. it is the most applause they have probably ever gotten in their lives. those republicans desperately need donald trump voters to come to the polls even though donald trump will not be on the ballot on january 5. each candidate is looking for a way to re-energize the campaign even without donald trump because he is the animating energy in the campaign. they have both had to retool and they are eager to get back to the polls. january 5 is when school is back in session. otherwise, parents will be homeschooling. it will be tough to get people out to the polls.

wanda in california, republican. caller: i just saw a video on newsmax showing sidney powell, who claims that the georgia election was one of the most ,orrupted in the united states and they use voting machines like all the rest of the corrupted ones, and those machines can add both, subtract votes. added subtract votes. you need to put sidney powell on to explain it all. senators warren and klobuchar were complaining about those andines several years ago sidney powell claims it has been decades of corruption using machines that can drag and drop votes. i want you to listen to

patricia murphy. go ahead. that interview with powell. machines.merican-made i would say georgia has conducted a hand recount to give georgia citizens full confidence in their votes. for the first time in nearly 20 years, georgia has machines were people vote but once you vote, paper ballots for you, they can see exactly how it is tallied. the pieces of paper were just counted in the state. they came out with a variance of about 2000 votes in favor of president trump. also, george's governor is a and our secretary of state is a republican and strong trump supporter and two senators

are strong trump supporters in the counties come we have the largest discrepancy -- discrepancies, also run by republicans who are strong trump supporters. to ensure that voters have confidence in the it -- in the election results because they were so close, the secretary decided to have it be the race where the audit was tallied so it was not a machine count, it was a hand recount of paper ballots and those paper ballots had been double checked. i think there were multiple steps to ensure that people can have confidence in the vote here in the state of georgia. the president has a right to another recount. those votes will stand again and that will be a triple check of election results. in georgia, democratic

caller. caller: thank you for taking my call. you have a great show and i really appreciate it. to to to give a shout out hank johnson. i appreciate the hard work he does. i am not in his district but i'm next to it. say that i think our secretary of state did a really good job in the face of a lot of ng in washington, d.c., from that trader, trump. i am glad to see some republicans can actually think with a level head. it is good to see that he could do that. if you want coronavirus, vote for leveler. someone like jon ossoff, his

wife had and yet he never got it. if you want someone who is responsible and governor, full for a democrat. my goodness. theseamazing to me that republicans can say it is just going to miraculously go away. it is just crazy. ask about theo voter turnout apparatus for both parties in georgia, with not a what areial contest, their strategies like to get people out? to invest a ton of money in the state. stacey abrams called it fair million invest $2.7 into grassroots canvassing. multi million dollars, in thellion set aside

state to get voters out. voters -- we are starting to see base of bothat the party, to make sure the most reliable voters are the ones who know to come out and are given a reason to come out. the republican party has a large infrastructure. the national committee said there are staffers to work on grassroots organizing and going into election day, we saw a major disparity between republicans and democrats. republicans have a lot of hand to hand canvassing. meeting voters in person face-to-face, and democrats were doing a lot of text messaging events where they were quite limited in number and attendees were limited in number.

that was all because of coronavirus. and in person face-to-face donald trump had his rallies. republicanore large rallies. little service -- social distancing is just the way it happens but they rely on those to energize their base and energize turnout. , lot of in person campaigning especially from republicans and democrats. >> who are big names expected to come down and campaign on the fifth? >> in georgia, vice president mike pence is here on friday. a number of republican senators and ineady coming down the run-up to election day, we had senator tim scott and

governor nikki haley. we have seen senator rick scott say to john -- tom cotton, those for --sible 2020 for democrats before election on election day, barack obama was in town and stacey abrams was here. biden was here before election day. we do not know exactly who will come. of effort toot give those voters a reason to on january 5.

>> only one person was talking about jobs but i wanted to ask you, do you think more votes will get past the senate if how ists are elected and the food situation? thank you. >> like every other economy in the country, it has taken hits with coronavirus. resilient, the governor was very resistant to having a statewide lockdown. he was the first to reopen in the country. i think economic effects have been a little more muted. they talked quite a bit about making sure [indiscernible]

and senator purdue really are the chamber of congress republicans, both former ceo's of companies. they focus more on .nfrastructure all four of these candidates economictro -- an candidate -- message. host: let's listen to the messaging and the special senate runoff election race between kelly and reverend. >> this is america. will it still be if the radical left controls the senate?

gangsters, hosted a rally for fidel castro, and praised marxism. giving the radicals total control. saving the senate is about saving america from that. >> i approve this message. themagine you knew about deadly coronavirus before everyone else. you could protect your neighbors and family. the senator knew and tatted her stock portfolio. >> sold off stocks after receiving official coronavirus briefings. >> she told us everything is fine. thousands dead and small businesses on the brink. >> as you said, targeting their base and getting voters out.

how much of the population is less than and what messaging works for them? of the campaigns are base elections. it does leave a big space in the moderate republicans and independent voters, the same voters who went to joe biden for the first time since 1992. voters are those primarily in the suburbs of atlanta. the democrats have had their largest gain. a number of very positive -- about themselves.

this caseence about from other senate rates is the the up to election day, senator was really running an aggressive campaign. from georgiaan also running in the special election. -- aere haven't really republican primary. almost no negative ads. the day after election day, we saw a pivot immediately. immediately aggressive and negative message. in atlanta, he was not as welcome statewide.

he is a bit of an unknown factor. negatively before he is able positively. runoff, a number of ads. some term voters are seeing him as a positive campaign while the rest of the campaign is quite negative. he was certainly able to get a positive message out for the senator came in. >> atlanta. democratic caller. go ahead. thank you so much for

craziness ofthe the caller from california with respect to the nonsense about sidney powell, giuliani, and the trump campaign putting out there and whatnot. that sad and dangerous they are doing that to us across the country. you referred to this -- of the negativity of the two republican senatorial candidates is overwhelming, versus the that i see from the democratic candidates. these folks want to manipulate people by fear and fear and probably a lot of lies and misinformation. thisave also referred to

-- both republican candidates had issues with stock purchases made soon after they had seen information regarding the coronavirus. there is debate about whether they actually had done that or advisors did that. it is the appearance of in the reality is both folks are multimillionaires andg what is best for them i think that says a lot about the candidates and the persona of the republican these days since neither of them do not -- have a backbone and cannot stand up to trump. i look forward to your further reporting. >> lets me go to -- let me go to chad. >> so would like to bring the fact that most republicans in the state of georgia are not confident in the recount.

the audit only looked at ballots, not the signatures of absentee applications or the ballot envelopes themselves. it seems simple enough to me ant they could conduct a -- audit and compare those to theatures on file at secretary of state office. >> let's take that point. i agree, the messages i , electionrepublicans -- attacking the secretary of state in the process. when georgia voters sent in their absentee ballots, they

sign an oath saying they are who they say they are. that has been received by county officials. if there -- if there is not a match, that is pulled out and set aside. they need to first go back and resendthey would like to their signature. it was a process that went on afterwards. verified, itatures is separated by the vote itself because the georgia constitution requires there be privacy at the ballot. there is no way to go back to the ballot but the ballots were by hand in the audit. there is no way to match the votes once the signature has

been verified but there is a way to retaliate votes. concerns by republicans they cannot go back together once separated. it will be part of the litigation for the questions raised with the trump campaign. >> follow her reporting on these races or on twitter. thank you for your time. we will turn your attention to the implications for national security. later, the delay could impact efforts to affect vaccine

distribution. leavitt.rnor michael ♪ >> tonight on afterwards, author deborah stone talks about her book, counting, how we use numbers to decide what matters.

she is interviewed by kathy o'neill. >> the good thing is coming up with a system, whether it is an algorithm or a list of indicators. it is just, the exerciser trying to measure things forces us to think about what we care about and what is important. >> watch on c-span2 tonight. monday, live on c-span two, a conversation with former president barack obama and his newly published memoir, a promised land. he is interviewed by washington post opinion colonist and elizabeth alexander. live monday at 11:30 a.m. eastern on book tv on c-span2.

from 1975 to 1979, the regime under pol pot systematically killed over a million of citizens in killing fields. tonight, documentary coast mountain. a story noocused on one has really heard about. a humanitarian crisis that in 1979 after the fall and things spiraled to big proportions and my father and other refugees find themselves that isrifying dystopia really a story that is important and everyone should hear. >> tonight it is :00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> washington journal continues.

and author garrett joins us now. about the white house transition process and implications for national security. transition, what national security information is shared? guest: when the gsa administrator ascertains that a all of thosect -- words being the specific ones in the legal process, that unlocks government transition office space, emails, government cell phones, as well two major sets of information.

theis the ability for transition team to access classified information. agencyond is to allow review teams from the transition to begin to meet with government officials and both of those are very vital assets. a lot of focus on whether president-elect biden is getting access to the president's daily intelligence briefing but in many ways, it is the not taking place that these are national security problem. you have 4000 presidential employees flooding into the federal government over the 2021 and none of them

are learning what they need to learn. all of these different staffers and agencies, how long does it take them to get up to speed? the actual answer is it will take months or a year or so in the best of circumstances. presidential transitions are always fraught, there are always moments of particular insecurity as a new administration and new officials learn the ropes of these very important and complex geopolitical roles. what we have seen now happening not the best case scenario for obvious reasons. in the best of circumstances, the presidential transition would have 77 days to figure

that out. timethan 1/5 of the total has elapsed for these officials to begin to learn their roles before they step into office at noon on january 20. to have you respond to we hamilton, john bolton, the former security advisor to the president, talking about the dangers of not passing on this information from the current administration to the incoming one. >> we need a better process for transitions between one administration and another for national security officials, so its nation does not lower guard every four or eight years. believe the united states is vulnerable to attack or corruption because the transition is not unfolding in the usual way? >> i do not think we should be a -- apocalyptict

about it. every day that goes by that the transition does not proceed in an orderly fashion leaves us more vulnerable. i speak as a veteran of the days werecount, 37 lost with no real ability for the team to interact with the government and the 9/11 said that might have been a factor not being ready for 9/11 attacks. no one can really know that and all like would say is, do you want to take the chance again? >> this is where we have a very clear sense of what the worst-case scenario is. it takes a while and we looked at this along with the rest of in theircommission work and the bush administration

really did struggle through 2001 to wrap its arms around the u.s. government in those initial months. they have lost those days to speak with their counterparts, and they lost those days in terms of access to intelligence, the ability to have classified conversations with counterparts. seen by the 9/11 commission after the fact as a toential contributed factor the government's ability and lack of ability to respond adequately to the threat of al qaeda over the course of 2001. we think about history, i think we somehow separate the 2000 recount in the 9/11 attacks, that warning nine months after president george w.

bush took office but the truth is the recounts had a big overhang. it was a big part of the transition, the way george w. bush's presidency was viewed over the course of 2001. on the morning of 9/11, florida atush was in an elementary school and there were actually protesters outside that morning nine months after he took office, complaining about the recount. this was much more truncated in actuality then i think we viewed historically 20 years later. >> what are the top ones that the president-elect and his team should be concerned about and that trump administration folks should pass along to them? guest: it is a great and

important question. is a historical aspect worth considering, and then there is a specific complexity that joe biden would casefaced under the best transition scenario, which is, he is going to accept the presidency in under two months with a raging pandemic that the u.s. government has all but given up trying to wrestle economy, anding massive and unprecedented logistical paths ahead of distributing what we hope is one or perhaps two covid-19 vaccines over the course of 2021, to the entire country.

any of those three would have been a tremendously challenging moment. president-elect biden, that is plateerything on his geopolitically. if you go back and look at the presidential transition into thousand, the main geopolitical issue on the table was, at the time, really the threat of terrorism. you talk to advisors on both sides of the administration and .hat is what were worried about in 2008, there was the counterterrorism challenge and also a new cybersecurity challenge. the complexity and vulnerability of the internet was coming in

the nation was beginning to realize the problem cybersecurity was going to be geopolitically. when you look at the 2016 transition, you have a terror threat from isis, a cyber threat adversaries of the united states, china, assia, iran, as well as pandemic morning. one thing worth going back and the obamag was administration had lived through and was deeply focused on the pandemic. they ran the obama administration outgoing officials even ran a joint

tabletop exercise with the incoming bush administration counterparts -- the incoming trump administration counterparts, in order to try and prepare them for a pandemic. we know the trump administration took none of those lessons or in the extensive but when youbook look at what the lessons are, they give you a moments pause about what we are living through right now and geopolitical threats we are not talking about between the outgoing administration and the incoming administration. in short order, without getting thereep in any of them, are a handful of top geopolitical threats

president-elect biden will be focused on in the first months of his administration even beyond the pandemic, stalling economy, and one is the rising , which has been one of for theconsistent areas trump administration's forceful policy, probably a policy that in many ways, president biden would pick up and continue. the trump administration spent in a norma's amount of time focused on iran with nothing to show for it. betteris in a

than when the trump its maximumon began pressure campaign. in many ways, iran is a more destabilizing and worrisome force on the world stage particularly in the middle east. then it was when trump took office four years ago. going from obama to trump, president obama told president-elect from that he thought the biggest and most important issue on what was going to be the hardest issue for trump to get his arms around was going to be north korea. that is very much the case today. again, you have a country that programllicose missile that apparently in the last couple of weeks, unveiled new missiles that we do not have a good strategic sense of, and

a keyhis is going to be regional and geopolitical concern going forward. big question of russia, which is something that trump has been very scattershot over over the last couple of years. both in terms of embracing vladimir putin, as well as the instability that russia ukraine anding and a rising tide of cyber issues emanating from actually hitting u.s. hospitals in u.s. health care systems in u.s. schools right now in the pandemic.

will be a challenging geopolitical landscape for president biden and hour-by-hour's they are not doing what they should be doing to allow the transition to move forward is getting harder. the one good piece of news in biden left thee white house just four years ago and if anyone can make the best of a very bad situation and dangerous situation, it is joe biden coming into this with a unique understanding of the role of the president. train in mississippi, republican. to find out,wanted i wanted to talk to the lady that was there before in georgia but ithis pipe breaking

wanted to ask the gentleman, the middle east is in a better since trump got an office than one biden left it. i think you'd be lying to yourself if you say anything other than that. >> let's spend another minute talking about the middle east. the trump administration the push to normalize relations between israel and a number of regional countries, which definitely has loweringin terms of the temperature of the region. see are the two ately destabilizing forces work. iran as the trump

administration holds out on the , that the obama administration and foreign nations jointly negotiated in of the obamas administration and then you have still ann civil war incredible humanitarian toll on spillover ofnd the whichrian refugee crisis, we have seen less of in the news in the last year, but it does not mean the crisis has abated. in some ways, the middle east is apparently more secure and in some ways, the middle east is deeply insecure and one area

where you will see joe biden take a different path is confronting saudi arabia as a regional power. saudi arabia during the trump aninistration killed american journalist, jamal khashoggi, and faced very little cost to that. i think you will see joe biden attempt to reset some of the relationship with saudi arabia. ron, new hampshire, democratic caller. you for your program. an awesome show. i may. question if the obama transition, obama congratulated trump one after trump's win. he had trump at the white house

giving him briefings for two days, and that was a tough loss for obama. onto socialism, it seems that republicans continue to push this thing. if you are for a few socialist programs that help the poor, the sick, the elderly, it will turn our country into a socialist country. do not vote for a democrat because they will turn the country into a socialist country -- host: we will try and stick to the topic here. vicedent-elect biden and president elect kamala harris are getting briefings because of kamala harris's access for members of the senate intelligence committee. is that a good substitution? not and it is worth looking back at the traditions put into place after 9/11. we saw earlier those comments in

the wake of 9/11 and the 9/11 commission report, about unique of aligence challenges presidential transition, which is why george w. bush put intoous time and resources a helpful and collegial and thoughtful presidential transition process in 2008. obama administration was very much prepared to carry on that mission and tradition in 2016. said, the the caller gsa very quickly ascertained was the winner. you saw hillary clinton the morning after the election admit that.

trump was welcomed to the white house very quickly. the briefings began quickly. the apparatus of government was -- preparedly rapidly. the landing teams, from his transition. that was, in many ways, from the obama side, exactly how a transition was supposed to be for -- supposed to be set up. the trump transition at the time did not really fully take it manage of that. you might remember there wasn't a norma's amount of upheaval within the transition immediately after the election. heading the transition pre-election was sort of cast election and it took a while for the landing

teams to arrive across government. triedama administration to make this work at a very specific micro level, putting the incoming officials through fewe talk pandemic just a days before the inauguration to try and prepare them for what they saw as one of the biggest likely threats to face the incoming trump administration. lynchburg, virginia, independent. caller: i have a couple of statements i would like to make and i hope you hear me out. to go smoothly since president trump got his briefing from president obama when he came in, you can tell trump cares nothing about the american people.

that.did, he would do 200 years of transfer of power between one president and the other. problem whohe would rather go y golf then tend to covid-19. host: robert, let me hear from max as well, in naples, florida and we will get a response. caller: good morning. i want to echo what the two previous callers said, the to before me. -- the two before me. i would like to ask the gentleman what harm could possibly occur, even assuming

were.s. results overturned, by giving the president-elect and vice president-elect full access to the information? they are loyal americans and they are devoted to this country and i can't see that there would be any harm whatsoever by there being briefed and the country would benefit against what the risks are. risk: yes, so the literal is that there is a limited funding, transition and so once that money is spent, it has to be replenished. as you say, that seems to me to be a decidedly manageable risk in the grand scheme of the need to understand exactly how the federal government works.

this is arguably the most complex company in the history of the world if you look at it. trillions of dollars in annual spending. millions of employees. and physical presence in every state and territory of the united states. as personnel and needs and equities in almost literally every country in the world. this is a huge enterprise. there are going to be 4000 new will havethat biden to select in order to get his arms around this government, and under the best of circumstance, it takes is smooth transition and possibly still a year or two for his administration to get up and running and be able to

really understand how to do its job well. throughe are not living the best case scenario and hour-by-hour, taebaek day, it matters whether joe biden is day by day, it matters whether joe biden is able to carry out this role or not. the: the headline -- host: headline, why biden is crowdfunding his transition. there, to leave it garrett graff. we appreciate your time. guest: thanks for having me. next we will speak with former bush hhs secretary and governor michael leavitt on the transition and the covid-19 pemex response.

response.c ♪ >> tonight at 9 p.m. eastern on "afterwords," deborah stone talks about her book "counting," how we use data to decide what matters. about numbersing is trying to measure, whether it is an algorithm or a list of indicators. way of deciding what we care about. c-span2. 2, monday, live on c-span

a conversation with former president barack obama and his new memoir "a promise land." -- "a promised land." obama president barack monday at 11:30 a.m. eastern on booktv on c-span2. ruled cambodia and systematically killed over a million of his citizens in areas known as the killing fields. q&a," "ghost mountain," the second killing fields of cambodia. inherent crisis that happens after the follow of the khmer rouge.

--is inspired to really my father and others found themselves in a really horrifying dystopia. i think it's really important and something everyone should hear. >> "washington journal" continues. me, governorg michael leavitt, a former hhs secretary of the bush administration. governor leavitt, you have worn many hats. ae of them also helming transition. you did that for mitt romney. he did not win that election, for whenin the process

these campaigns start thinking about a possible transition of power. it's interesting. in 2010, it provided that there acts and it was majorndidates organizing transitions. it starts as early as april, certainly by may because there's , organizingh to do , so it'snal government quite a sophisticated operation, and large.

host: what do they do? thet: they have to appoint positions. getting that cleared is important. then there's the first 100, 200 days of the administration to fulfill campaign promises that campaign represented to the public. that gets down to riding executive orders. the third is to organize , and lastly, it is what we are seeing with the president-elect today where he is supported by his transition. ory don't have the trappings the normal organization that would go through.

how much money has been involved in this? we just read for our viewers the headline the president-elect is crowdfunding his transition costs, raising $10 million already. guest: the transition begins in the spring and it is funded through private sources. it's regulated, if you will, by the gsa, the general services administration, with a maximum of $5,000 from any one person and i think the biden administration raised $10 million. there is an appropriation of money that is made. i don't know exactly what it is today. it was about $6 million.

i think it's more than that now. ascertainment, which is what the gsa does, they are to transfer that money. because they have not declared the former vice president, now president-elect as the successful candidate, that's not happening and they are appealing to the public in that way. i am confident they are raising lots of money. governor leavitt ran the team for governor mitt romney. you wrote a book about that. what were the lessons learned? a transitionuth is had never been organized under transition act prior to

2012. after that point, most transitions have been done in a much less formal way. , the governments agenciesess to federal . this is the process that we came to understand. mostly it's about how do you soanize a standup in advance you hit the ground running? tos a real relay as opposed how people describe stopping to hand the baton off. you were to walk the transition, you would see a room at the department of state, the department of the interior, the department of the treasury and there would be people who worked who understood how

things worked and you are essentially creating a federal government in miniature where you can begin to get a running start. leavittvernor michael is our guest. if you live in the eastern part ,f the country, 202-748-8000 the mountain area of the country, 202-748-8001. medical providers you can call 2. 202-748-800 governor leavitt, with your health and human services secretary had one as well, what kind of problems can this delay to the for responding pandemic, whether that is distribution of the vaccine or other areas? area thatink the

people are concerned most about at the moment is the handoff of vaccine distribution. i think it would be vastly if there was a handoff between the outgoing and incoming administration. however we can not to see this as a complete collapse if you are a medical provider. behink much of this will conducted by private sector distributorsbig

who are going to every doctor's office on a regular basis to deliver this. i think that it would be better if there was conversation, but i'm confident they are having conversations and there will at least be a degree of assistance they will provide. up first., you are good morning. caller: hey, greta. it's been a long time since i got your voice. there is a doctor i think you should get on as a guest, michael mina, he just had an article published in "new york he's amagazine and proponent of the rapid antigen test, for the government to give a whole bunch to each country and these are almost like home pregnancy tests where you can use them daily. he is saying that she is an epidemiologist among other things, he says to use them at least twice a day for every get them the family, out to at least 50% of the ,opulation and statistically

the infection would decline, the transmission would decline rapidly. that's part one of my question. number two, you need to get alan dershowitz on and this letter basically is called trump's only road to victory which he is expressing the concept that trump has an actual strategy behind what he's doing and that he is not intending for the electors to get to the electoral college and it mimics a situation he says happened twice in the 19th century which was, the example dershowitz used is the rutherford b. hayes electoral vote where the the houseere actually of representatives. i know that may be outside the

skill set. that's why think it would be good to get al-anon to elaborate more in detail. host: ok. question,an's first -- ok. guest: to take alan's first question, this testing is relatively accurate and easy and inexpensive. what he is describing is inexpensive and he mentioned a pregnancy test is an example where, the level we are having with antigen test generally as they have not proven to be as accurate. there are lots of different tests. i don't mean to characterize all of them in that way. rapid testing, abundant testing. .e might get a lot better i'm thinking would never be test if we have the home

and a member of our family tested every morning. would be worth it in certain circumstances and it would be very helpful. with respect to the electoral college, i've actually been an electoral or at one point in time and i know that process reasonably well. i do not see any to killer or trump effort that can succeed, and speaking i find that if we were , ifisrupt that in some way that were not to reflect what happens in those states at the ballot box, that would be a disruption to a critical american institution. i feel quite confident it will work its way out. host: do you think, governor leavitt, the president should

concede? guest: i think the president does have the right to pursue whatever remedy is available under the law. a concession is a nicety. i do think it would be better if he did transition activities. there's no reason they can't coexist. oregon.an in hermiston, go ahead and talk through your phone. brian, you got to turn the television down. caller: ok, just a second. host: all right, go ahead please. caller: yeah, i'm a republican and i'm a little disheartened by president trump, not allowing the transition to proceed because he is putting our country in danger. joe biden won the election. the people voted. i voted for trump.

i think he needs to be responsible and allow the transition to proceed because it , andour country at danger he is continuing to challenge tod there's for him win. i do not understand why he does not proceed and let joe biden have his transition. host: ok, brian. nancy in houston. hi, i have been following on the pandemic and talking about the vaccines and they were saying the transition may not be as hard because the corps of engineers are the ones that will be working on that, so it will not be -- it is not as fact -- affected as much.

is that true? guest: i am not aware of the role the core of engineer will play. it's possible, i suppose there will be certain government assets. i think what they are going to that there'sy have already an infrastructure in place that has distributed the vaccine, these are the , mckesson or cardinal health -- i'm just using those as examples -- who every day have trucks full of supplies. they are part of the supply chain that goes from the warehouse right into the practitioner's office or the hospital and they have been doing that every day now. i think they will harness that thert to say let's use

existing distribution and that would be the natural way, the most effective way in my own judgment and they have have those contracts in place for quite a while. governor, what did you learn after the avian flu outbreak? guest: the first thing we learned was we were not prepared. most of our capacity was on contracts outside of the united now.s. you could see that if the only place we could get it manufactured was outside the united states, there would be -- so, we went to a pandemic, said, it may be another one.

.e are not well prepared this was a good piece of insight by president bush. we spent a lot of time and effort developing what is now reflected as the national pandemic plan. is aof what has happened reflection of that work. host: what is in place to respond to the current pandemic that you saw, that you outlined in your work in 2005? the vaccine manufacturing capacity, we are seeing the benefit of that. if we had not done that and other things that affected it -- the tech knowledge he is that the manufacturers, the type of virus it is as affected that -- we put a lot of work in having the capacity to

manufacture vaccines and it has become a modern miracle in getting to see vaccines manufactured, tested, distributed in just a remarkably short time. we spent a lot of our effort developing laboratories around the world.

learned was this was a public health issue. it's all about cleaning air and health.ng human i think the agency will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next week. that is what i learned.

judy in massachusetts. caller: donald trump does not want to concede for the simple fact that when they were to remain -- doing the investigation on him with the mueller case they said they would indict him when he becomes a normal citizen and he is afraid to leave the white house because he knows he's going to get indicted. host: all right, we will go to susan and fort myers, florida. susan? .aller: yes i have a couple points. i would like to remind all of the politicians all the way up to the white house and the supreme court, they are all employees, not employers and the money that they utilize and throw it here and there does not belong to them. whoelongs to we the people

pay all the taxes and pay zero wages and as far as the covid goes, i was around for the polio vaccine. i grew up in the alleys of , ohio.nd we would be rounded up and get injected. nobody knew why. the other thing you need to understand is this does not happen overnight and the people who do not believe in at least wearing a mask and following the basic request for social distancing, handwashing, these kinds of things, these are common sense. these are people who do not believe in science. my --i am going to have

i'm going to have the governor jump in. guest: she makes a very good point. when we say we are a public servant, that's exactly what we were and are, public servants. with respect to the need for us as citizens to keep the basic rules, it comes down to the government can do many things. it will will go to our willingness as individuals to do what is necessary to fight this virus. john in beaverton, oregon. me, it is ato transfer of power to govern and to serve. governor leavitt, what effect will this have on the agent these to be able to meet their missions and serve the public? guest: i think the most

havingcant problem, not access to the agencies is more of a relationship issue then illegal or logistical issue. people who are running the department's day-to-day have apprehensions. they don't know what is going to , and you can look them in the eye and talk to them. and thesee transition are human beings that want to do the same things that they do and the begin to take it out of political and put it into the more practical and i think that's a very important part of the transition. ohio.elise in vincent, yes, i was wondering how

common is it for senators to join, like they just joined pretrial of pfizer 4 -- joined the trial for pfizer for the vaccine. was interesting because it seemed it was after it was proven it was 95% efficacy. how common is that? you were talking about distribution and i am a senior citizen and have underlying conditions and i would love to have the vaccine right away. for senators to just joined the trials after knowing how effective they are. guest: i am not aware of any direct report your referencing, but i will comment more generally. one of the important things that the federal government must do

in the distribution of a vaccine is to determine how to prioritize a limited supply. we are going to be manufacturing hundreds of millions of doses, but who gets it first. that thety evident first people to get it are the heroic health care workers who put themselves in harm's way. likely the next group will be people who are in special categories and you will be one of them if you have an underlying health condition. the group ofely be those who receive it -- so help is on the way. but there are other groups who have special significance and,

again, i don't know any particular thing that has comment, but it would be a very bad thing for the united states if congress could not function because of the pandemic, so it's not keyrising to me if the government officials, whose performance is required, what possibly that could be. set of priorities. it will happen in phases. governor, she is referring to headlines like this 1 -- republican governor steve daines has antibodies after participating in a vaccine trial. i think senator rob portman as well. guest: they probably

volunteered. host: hey, jeff. caller: hey, thank you, greta. thank you for taking my call. i want to refer to a point you made about the need to always be anpared, even though it was insurance policy to be prepared and to invest in pandemic preparedness and we have seen there's investment and we become vulnerable and it is an existential threats. back in 1913, congress have the wisdom to realize that existential threats are realized with the federal reserve. i am proposing that we amend the federal reserve -- host: governor leavitt, what do

you think? the federal reserve -- i am not acquainted well enough with the federal reserve, the statutes around the federal reserve to know what we need to do, but it's worth reflecting that the federal reserve jumped , and the big way has putgovernment forward a quite dramatic effort , andep the economy going so i have to know more about that. something that is worth commenting on for us as a theration, it reflects effort to prepare the country and you asked what i learned.

what i learned is anything you say in advance of a pandemic sounds alarmist. people can't conceive of it. but anything you have done after it starts to prepare for it seems inadequate. that is the dilemma. when you are dealing with so disciplineving the is a very significant discipline and that is a lesson that i hope will come from what we experience in 2000 and 2001. host: governor, what are your thoughts on the hospital capacity being stretched across the country and in rural areas? it's a matter of eventuality. it's going to happen. -- in march,gh

april, and may -- what we thought was a very complicated and difficult time. in some places it was catastrophic, like in new york and other major cities. but the history of pandemics, almost always there is a second wave and very often it's more widespread and virulent than the first wave. experiencing that. we are in the midst of the second wave and you have to ask the question. what is it that is going to cause it to begin to stop? the only things that will allow there havebecause been people who have not been infected and this virus has an insatiable need to replicate itself -- what will stop it? our behavior. we can stop it by doing the

things we're told by public health officials over and over to do. the second is the vaccine. it's on the way. it will take time for that to occur. and so in the course of that toe, we have got to begin continue to work our way through . headline out of utah, local leaders urge people not to gather for thanksgiving as utah again smashes local record. doublewe are seeing this every two or three weeks and if it were to double again, it would clearly exceed our capacity. we are right at the breaking point now. so i'm asking the question, as i

.id before inc.'s. the state has asked that citizens not rather because the places where it is spreading the fastest is at informal gatherings in homes and that causes a little bit of controversy. people are telling me -- you are telling me what i can do in -- under my own roof? i don't like that. none of us like this. but they're pointing out that this is the reality of that is spreading.isease is all that will allow this to stop is our own behavior. we will beat this. we will get through this.

but the degree to which we have damage and pain will be determined, in large measure cover-up by the way we react. host: former governor, we appreciate you this morning and you taking calls from our viewers. guest: my pleasure. host: we will return to a conversation that we had earlier. your governor's handling of the covid-19 pandemic. do you approve or disapprove? will be right back. -- we will be right back. ♪ c-span2, a live conversation with former president barack obama and his land." he "a promised michelleiewed by

norris and elizabeth alexander. monday at 11:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2. from 1975 until 1979, the khmer rouge regime under its leader, whole pot, ruled cambodia and systematically killed over a million of its citizens in areas known as killing fields. tang talks about the second killing fields of cambodia. andt has been lost undocumented, which happened after the fall of the khmer 1979.in and my father, among many other refugees found himself in a huge, horrifying dystopia.

>> filmmaker james tang on "q&a."'s washington journal continues. do you approve or disapprove of your governor's handling of the covid-19 pandemic? dialu approve, 202-748-8000. if you disapprove, 202-748-8001 . you can put your comments on facebook.com/cspan. noem, agin with kristi republican. here she is defending her strategy. [video clip] across the country and around

the globe, cases are increasing. cases are on the rise. that my refusal to use masks is the reason for the rise. others say my refusal to use harsh restrictions like lockdowns is another reason the cases are rising and that's also not true. there are 41 states that have some kind of a mask mandate. cases are on the rise and 39 of those 41 state spirits on the media are saying south dakota is the worst in the world and that's absolutely fall\sse. i encourage you to look at the johns hopkins coronavirus resource center and you will see that there are far fewer new -- new cases. i would encourage you to look at our mortality rate. south dakota remains below the

national average and far below other states like new york and new jersey and i want you to look at our case the tally rate. south dakota has the seventh lowest in the country, meaning that we are doing a great job taking care of people and our front-line workers are doing their due diligence to take care of patients who would get sick. the associated press has this headline -- governors are ratcheting up restrictions ahead of thanksgiving. here is the michigan governor, democrat gretchen whitmer, about her states's orders to eliminate -- her state's orders to eliminate indoor gatherings. [video clip] the order for limiting indoor gatherings went into effect.

these actions are targeted and intended to be temporary. the steps are what the public health experts tell us we need to take to avoid overburden hospitals and death counts like we saw in the spring. doing this will also protect our medical workers, our first responders and essential workers who put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. people we usually call front liners, but i hesitate to use that phrase because it implies there is a second line. we have to respect the people on the front lines because they are .eeping us safe we must all work together. call onur weekly tuesday evening where we got an update. this is the fourth call we have legislators.igan

i am hopeful that when the legislature returns, republicans address the plan. whitmer.ernor gretchen do you approve or disapprove of governor. curb covid. to let's go to keep in indiana. keith, you disapprove, why? i had the covid and got over it, praise the lord, but there's no consistency with my governor or any of the other governors, you know? but keepe churches

liquor stores open. i don't understand that. i guess my last comment would be a right towe give up stay safe, whether it is guns or to stay home locked up to prevent the spread, we are one step closer to communism. thank you for letting me make my comments. ok, keith. california, do you approve of governor newsom? i do.: yes, i think he's doing a wonderful job and if people all over the united states would do what they are told to do, where the mask, and i live inds, the house now with my daughter home in the house, in the yard, do what you are told

to do. listen to the medical. to god be the glory. i praise for our people all over the night is dates, including in arkansas. i know governor asa hutchinson, who is doing a good job, but it's the people, i saw so many families with the virus, who do and pray. we are here to love each other. in california, and 84% -- californiad has closed some businesses. there is the mandatory mask and stay at home or to or curfew in many of the areas across the state, and a new cumberland,

nn in newnia -- a cumberland, pennsylvania. you disapprove? are you there? caller: i am. can you hear me? host: i can. what grade would you give the governor? caller: i would give him an zero. host: ok. caller: he has not done anything for the nursing homes. he is not doing anything for or businesses. he is leaving bars open. there's nothing, no plan for when the winter gets cold. there's no plan. it's unreasonable and unenforced. it's not making any sense. especially the people in the

nursing homes. there's no way that this shouldn't have in address. every state should have the national guard there. in pennsylvania. most businesses are open. there are mandated masks in the state of pennsylvania. in new york. do you approve of governor cuomo? i would giveand him 100 and he just got an emmy for his press conferences. while rome burned, nero played -- federal and while i'm play the fiddle and while americans die of covid, donald trump plays golf. host: after a conference call with nation's governors, they discussed the need for a national mask mandate.

[video clip] biden: -- president-elect biden: we discussed the need for a mask mandate. north, south, east, and west. it's not a political statement. it's a patriotic duty. host: president-elect joe biden. what grade would you give your governor? rosanne in wisconsin, you approve? bader: i do, but i feel so for this man. we have such political disarray. maskndated a statewide role and our legislative branch is all republican and they were fighting it tooth and nail and now we are in the thick of it with the most incredible amount of covid patients and all i can say is we have to start working together. it is a mask for one thing and

social distancing for another. i do not understand why that is hard for to do. it's not like we are asking you to stop eating. just put something on your face. care about yourself, your family and other part -- other human beings. or money.bout power it's about caring about one another. mandate in is a mask wisconsin and the governor has advised people to stay home. orderned an executive strongly encouraging residents to do so. cleveland, ohio, dan disapproves of governor dewine. caller: yes. good morning to you. and yeah. i want to make a couple comments. first of all, going to win this all started, and president trump said he was going to take care of this, everybody else was kind

of like, well, this is up to this date, so they turned the power -- all of a sudden, you tow, everybody started going trump -- what did trump do? he turned it over to the governors to take care of. obviously they must not be watching the news. aroundernor is sitting without a mask on. i just don't get it. i'm here in ohio and governor there's a little bit of a fence around certain things. certain things i can understand. -- it doesn't really make sense. we have this text -- texas

governor abbott has done a supported a, never mask mandate like new york. rate like newh york. what texans supported same people to be reelected, who support no restrictions on fighting the virus might is beyond me. caller: i support governor brown. i want to respond to an earlier caller. i think there's a difference between the liquor store going in and out versus the church. but she has had to make some really, really difficult decisions around the shutdown .nd it is difficult it's going to impact people. lots of people are frustrated. ultimately i think we have to put health first. and weeed more relief

don't have that because we have a president republican interest in the stock market. that is going to affect his bottom line. the donors and everybody who has the tax rates. it's just the example of the conflict of interest we have with our president. host: what is the economy like in portland because of the pandemic? i think a lot of these small businesses, they are struggling. that -- i think that goes for most places. there's only so much the states can do without having that federal -- democrat,governor, a announced a two week closure.

they reduce their capacity to 75% and religious events to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors. gatherings must be limited to six people were members of two household. andrew in miami, disapprove of governor desantis. very much so. i can't think of a single thing -- i know that he is basically trump in the way he is handling the maskhe is denying , a statewide strategy.

others mayor suarez and with the mask curfews at bars and whatnot, and that's basically the only govern as we are getting. , i shudder at the fact that this man might run for president because he is just awful. right, andrew. steven in michigan. you approve of governor whitmer? caller: yes, i do. she has done everything she possibly can do with no help from the republicans. desperate people do desperate .hings people flying to washington and talking to the president. he is a loser and he needs to go

and that's before the new year starts, apparently. host: what grade do you give your governor? janice. let's listen to kim reynolds, iowa's governor. on monday she reversed or self on a mask mandate. listen to what she has to say. [video clip] reynolds: starting andrrow, if you are indoor unable to socially distance for 15 minutes or longer, you are hired to wear a mask. i strongly encourage other businesses to follow this lead. indoor social, community, business, leisure, community, events will be limited to 50 people. outdoor events will be limited to 30. -- limited to 15 people. this does not restrict

gatherings and the workplace as part of a normal daily business or government operation with the exception of high school, collegiate, and professional sports, all organized and adult sport activities of any size are suspended or is this includes basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and dance. sports andschool extracurricular activities are not prohibited, spectators at games or events are limited to two people per student and are required to wear a mask. restaurants and ours are required to -- ours are required to close at 10 p.m. and cannot have gatherings -- restaurant and bars are required to close at 10 p.m. and cannot have gatherings larger than 10 people. all measures will be reassessed and additional measures will be

added with what we are seeing in hospital capacity. no one wants to do this. i don't want to do this. this year we are postponing our gathering with our family. my children and grandchildren will not gather together in my home as we do every year and as i hoped we would do this year. it's to keep them safe and is to keep you safe and i'm asking you , toght to work with me think of your family, your friends, your fellow iowans. think of the health care heroes who have been taking care of us since the beginning of this pandemic. you: joe in minnesota, approve of governor walz? caller: yes, my wife and i are

both covid positive. and it is tough. we are huge advocates. a couple weeks ago i did not really want them to shut down -- so that's i understand we are in a crucial hotspot and we have to make tough decisions. the disease is the issue, the yous, and people have to, know, right now support their givingls, the people elected leaders advice. mr. biden: joe, -- : host do you know how you and your wife contracted it? caller: my wife is an educator. she has been treating remote

students but has to go in to do so. running out ofre time, so i want to wish you and your wife a speedy recovery. that does it for today's washington journal. we will be back tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. eastern time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] to 1970 nine, the khmer rouge regime, under pol pot, ruled cambodia and systematically killed over one million of its citizens in areas known as killing fields.