>> c-span now is a free mobile lab featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington, live and on-demand. keep up with today's biggest defense with hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics. all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal, and have scheduling information. plus a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and in google play. downloaded for free today. c-span now. your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. facebook.com/ c-span. you can start calling. some latest polling on former president trump and his standing in the republican party, this is the headline from late last week from morning consult.

from's 2024 primary support reaches new heights after the fbi raid on his florida home last week -- trump's 2024 primary support reaches new heights. the highest on record for the support of trump since his 2020 loss. the share of support up 54 percent in july and 53% in june amid the high-profile congressional january 6 hearings. that polling is probably not welcome news to liz cheney on this primary day in wyoming, as the associated press puts it in their headline, liz cheney in trouble in wyoming, the story noting that the wyoming congress omitted -- congresswoman that is seeking to expose president trump's efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, his role in fermenting the january 6 insurrection at the u.s. capitol, cheney plus

determination to prevent trump from ever again serving in the white house has left trump fighting to hold on to the house seat she has now held for three terms. in her final message to wyoming voters ahead of primary day, this is what liz cheney had to say. [video clip] >> my opponents in wyoming have said that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen. no one who understands our nations laws, no one with an honest, honorable, genuine commitment to our constitution would say that. it is a cancer that threatens our great republic. if we do not condemn these lies and hold those responsible to account, we will be excusing this conduct, and it will become a feature of all elections. america will never be the same. nothing in our public life is more important that the

preservation of the miracle given to us by god and our founding fathers, nothing. here is my pledge to you, i will work every day to ensure that our exceptional nation long endures. my children and your children must grow up in an america where we have honorable and peaceful transitions of power, not violent confrontations, intimidation, where we are governed by laws and not by men, where we are led by people who love this country more than themselves. no matter how long we must fight, this is a battle we will win. millions of americans across our nation's, democrats, independents, stand united. we are stronger, more dedicated, and more determined than those trying to destroy our republic. host: part of liz cheney's final message to voters, about a two-minute ad. that message does not seem to be

moving at least the polling numbers in that wyoming race. this from politico, the latest polls show that cheney is garnering just 30% support compared to the trump-endorse cabinet with 52%, just days before the primary. cheney plus campaign has tried to recruit wyoming democrats across party lines to vote for her, but poll numbers are consistent with republican internal surveys from over the past year plus. the washington post looking at the cheney race and cheney plus political future in their front page story on election 2022 saying she is looking belonging -- beyond tuesday to a national future. the two-video appealing to voters probably served much more as a launching point to a campaign that will last for years to come. facing defeat in the primary, she could work to defeat tromp

or run herself, the washington post says. taking your calls, focusing on former president donald trump and talking to republican viewers only in this first hour we would want to know if you think the former president has too much influence on the party, not enough influence on the party, or about the right level of influence. phone numbers for all of those, again, just republican viewers are just in this first hour, but we will get to all our callers. joe, dayton, ohio, is up first. good morning. caller: good morning from beautiful, sunny dayton, ohio. donald trump is perfect for the republican party. i will give you some facts here. his primary win so far, 176, of his people that he wanted to win, just 16 losses. liz cheney will go down tonight.

she will lose. yeah, he is absolutely perfect. again, what happened with the raid was a travesty not only for his family but for this country. and it just made him stronger, is what it has done. host: when you say he is perfect, what policies specifically is he perfect on? caller: i will tell you, number one is immigration. he is a businessman. the economy was flourishing under him. regardless of what people want to -- and he worked hard on crime trying to eliminate -- not eliminate, but reduce the amount of drugs coming into this country. but the immigration right now is a travesty. we see it every single day. my other point is -- shoot, i

drew a blank. i apologize. he saved my life. i had the delta variant almost a year ago, and it was operation warp speed because i was able to get the antibody and fusion, which saved my life. people want to condemn him for a pandemic that no one ever saw in this country. and in my opinion, he did a good job. maybe the messaging was not good, but look at what happened under biden. over 600,000 have died under his tutelage, and he has had all the medications and everything. host: what do you mean when you say "maybe the messaging wasn't good"? caller: when covid first came out -- this is just my own opinion -- i think trump was trying to calm the country down. what really bothered me was he

was banning flights from china, and they called him -- you know, the democrats, nancy pelosi or whatever, said he was being a xenophobic. you know, it is just sad. he sent the navy ship, what i call the ss hope, to new york, and the medical ship, and the reserves put up medical tent. we did a lot. and then the ventilators. and people, all they did was condemn him, condemn him, condemn him. the amount of hatred for trump is what makes me love him more and more and more. host: this is jerry in kansas. good morning. republicans only. your thoughts on the former president's influence on the party? caller: good morning. how are you? host: doing well. caller: i called in on the line

that would normally be the republican line, so i am going to say that this is about rights. so that is what i think as far as my opinion on how much influence he has. i do not think it is overwhelming or underwhelming. just because he is a former president, i think he has just about the right amount of influence in different areas of our nation. host: do you like the fact that he has been so involved in republican primaries this year? are you still with us? caller: well, a lot of presidents do that, whether it be republican or democrat. so yes, i do, i think it is just about the right amount and throughout different areas of our country. i do especially like the fact he

has that much -- little bit more up in -- i think it is wyoming, where liz cheney is running. i do not care for that individual. i would like to see her out. as far as i am concerned, she should be running on the democrat ticket, not the republican ticket, because of what she has done with january 6 issue. she, herself, stated, when this all first started, she made a statement that she never liked trump even before he ran for president. so she has a personal issue with the man, so she should not be in a seat of power, when you have a personal issue with someone. so she should not even be in there. host: that was jerry in kansas this morning on the former

president and his role, specifically in house primaries this year, specifically against those who voted for impeachment during his second impeachment trial. this from politico from yesterday, liz cheney's primary on tuesday will cap buffet to mull to us your for that small band of house republicans who broke from the party to impeach a donald trump for inciting the january 6 capitol insurrection, and almost all of them will be gone when the next congress begins in january. the 10 republicans face the wrath of gop voters back home in trump plus scorched-earth revenge tour, they write, and a final scorecard ahead of cheney 's upcoming race today, four of the republican impeachment voters retired instead of running for reelection, another three lost in primaries to trump-backed opponents, and just two advanced to the general election, though one faces a tough race against a democratic opponent.

we have focused a lot on wyoming , so far. alaska also featuring a primary race for lisa murkowski, one of the seven republicans who voted for impeachment during the second impeachment trial. here is the washington times story on her in alaska. seven senate republicans, after house impeachment charges of inciting insurrection on january 6, she is the only one to face voters this year. that is because of the senate's staggered election cycles. mr. trump is backing an opponent in the 19 candidate primary battle in that senate race in alaska. ms. murkowski, who lost her primary back in 2010 before winning a writing campaign it stands to benefit from the state's new ranked choice primary system in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election. we played liz cheney's final

campaign ad. here is a final campaign at from lisa murkowski and that senate race. [video clip] >> who can best deliver for alaska? that is what this race for the u.s. senate is really about. with my seniority, i get real results for our states. every day i work across party lines to strengthen our economy, expand our energy production, take care of our veterans, and invest in critical infrastructure. i am for alaska, always. i am lisa murkowski, and i approve this message. i would be honored to earn your vote. host: lisa murkowski's campaign ad. alaska voters heading to the polls today, primary day in alaska and wyoming. getting your thoughts on former president trump, his influence on the republican party, talking to republicans only. this is diane in dalton, georgia, who says that the president does not have enough influence on the party today. why?

caller: i do not know what he is doing. all he wants to do is go and have vacations every week. that is number one. number two, everything comes out of his mouth ain't nothing but a lie, and he is destroying the united states. we need to get him out. host: but as i republican, who do you support in the republican party? caller: trump, trump. he's only one that helped the united states. for the last eight years, every who we had is destroying the united states of america. he is making people fight against each other, biden is. shows the difference between the whites and everybody else. then putting people in motels, five-star motels, that's coming in here illegal. that is the problem of it is.

the homeless people, they want help. why won't they help the united states? host: that is diane in georgia. this is david in texas, says it is about the right level of influence. go ahead. caller: hello. i think he has adequate influence on not only the republican party, but the country. first of all, he is an example of one who fulfills the american dream. why not? as successful as he is. when he was president, what did he do really wrong? 2 that is --host: that is david in texas. this is ron in florida. caller: trump is a negotiator, awesome goat. and i would have him defend me on the table for anything.

if i had to talk about real estate or another country, iran or anybody else, the democrats sensationalize what they want and they depress what they want, and it is never-ending. people have to wake up. the democrats have to wake up and try to see what is good about donald trump, and it isn't on the surface. if you can't see it, it is underneath. are you there? host: i am listening. so what is underneath the surface? caller: what is underneath is a good man with a good family, having totally great intentions for this country. although in a world of competition, things aren't always good, as we know how the

democrats operate. it has been going on since obama. he has infiltrated every organization of the country. it is supposed to be separate, and it is not separate. they have strings to everything, and they can call the shots. and biden is just sitting behind the wheel, and he does not know how to drive. trump is the man that can drive this country. he is the best guy in the world. we are so blessed to have a guy like this. like i say, again, it is not the surface, it is underneath. host: joseph thinks he former president has too much influence on the party today. out of l.a., go ahead. go ahead, joseph. caller: hello? host: go ahead. caller: are you familiar with

the term -- [indiscernible] host: sure. do you want to go over that, joseph, or do you want to make your comments? i think we might have lost joseph. this is crystal in tampa, florida. says the former president has about the right level of influence. caller: yes, good morning. i think he does have about the right amount of influence. not everybody likes every candidate he chooses. overall, i think he has had a great influence on the party. i think he has reinvigorated the whole party. i think his populism is a good thing, even though the media tries to paint it as a bad thing. i think he has given us pride in

our country again and given us a lot of things to think about that we were not even aware of. so i think that his comments are debated by right and left, and it gives us a chance to think about what we need to work on as a nation. host: why do you think dr. oz was a mistake in the pennsylvania senate race? caller: well, i think he was pushing vaccine mandates, and i do not think that is a really popular stance. i do not think that is something trump has ever been for. mainly that. host: is there any other mistakes you would point to? caller: that is enough for me regarding dr. oz. i do not think that in america we should be pushing anybody to have any kind of experimental vaccine. but any radical treatment, i

think that is an individual choice. -- any medical treatment, i think that is an individual choice. host: elizabeth out of austin, texas, republican who thinks donald trump has too much influence on the republican party. caller: yes, i feel like the former president trump had several things that he did while he was president that i was pleased, i was proud of him. but i think some things that are coming out about how he ran his government are very bad, not just bad, they are very bad. i know somebody who has worked in most areas of government in the washington, d.c., area. i would say his handling of the secret documents is just abominable, not acceptable at all for anyone to handle documents that way, but

certainly not the president. his underlying dishonesty and willingness to not present himself honestly is what bothers me the most. i do think he had some wonderful things that he could have continued to do for the country though. thank you very much. host: before you go, i do not know if you were listening at the top of the show -- were you surprised by the polling that shows that donald trump's standing in the republican party has gone up since the fbi raid? caller: i am surprised. i am very upset and surprised. i do think that there are many people that will not continue to call themselves republicans. i do. but it is pretty dreadful.

but then, not everybody has had top-secret clearance, so they do not really understand what it is and do not realize to what extent we are endangering our government. host: thanks for the call. can you say where you worked in government? were you working in d.c. or working in texas when you were working in federal government? host: in d.c., in an administration as a legislator. host: what administration? caller: a couple of them, two republicans. but i have worked for democrats also. but only on the legislative branch. host: thanks for they call from austin, texas. a little bit more from that pole we talked about showing president trump's standing in the republican party going up since the fbi raid, his

improvement, they note, has come to the detriment of florida governor ron desantis, whose 2024 support among republicans slumped five percentage points since late july, down to 16%. a record high, 71%, voters a trump should run for president in 2024. ray in elizabeth city, north carolina, good morning. you are next. ray, you are with us. caller: yes, i am here. can you hear me? host: yes, sir. caller: ok, not enough, hands down. here is the reason. people need to remember that trump is not a politician. he is a businessman. and he saw a lot what was happening, what the country was heading to, and he decided very courageously to dive in there and to run and to become

president to help save this country. in my opinion, i believe so many politicians out there -- i was listening to a siren song, and their minds are being controlled by a siren song -- high taxes, open borders, and we are heading for the rocks big-time. and we have got to turn this country away from the rocks. doesn't matter -- a lot of opinions do not matter, because once the ship hits the rocks, the ship is going to be destroyed. so we have got to turn, and trump is the person that will do that. host: talking about the polling, what are your thoughts on ron desantis or some of the other names mentioned as a republican candidate? caller: yes, of course. ron desantis is a good guy, very good guy. i do not know if he is really

going to decide to run. if he does, ok, that is his decision. he is great for florida, and he would be a good president, too. again, it is not about trump, ok. trump has the right ideas. i believe he has the right direction. and philosophy and principles. and as people, politicians, a lot of republicans need to see this and say, ok, we need to vote on principle, this is the right direction. and go with it. because again, like i said, the rocks are destruction, financial ruin or they do not care if you are republican or democrat. host: that is great in north carolina. two along the west virginia/ohio border, on the ohio river, andrea in west virginia. good morning. caller: good morning.

t way for having me. -- thank you for having me. as for trump's influence, i think it is about the same, if not less than previous presidents. previous president obama still is involved with politics and provides influence, and he was president for two periods. it seems odd to me that they are calling out trump for providing influence when, literally, every other president has done that. as for the secret documents that are brought up that were found in his florida estate, i would like to point out that the white house staff are responsible for packing up his belongings, and the secret service are responsible for inspecting the belongings that are moved out of the white house.

and that all happens on inauguration day, within a six-hour period, according to the white house site. host: so you think this is all just a misunderstanding? caller: a misunderstanding, at best, or complete negligence, incompetence. i mean, i do not like to theorize or go into that because you do not know and it is hard to say what people were thinking at the time. maybe it was the stress of the day, maybe they just overlooked it. but my point is -- host: if you think it was negligence, negligence on whose part? you do not think the former president was to blame on any of that? caller: a small part may be, because he chooses the secret service and the white house staff, but the president himself would not have packed up his belongings. so to put all the blame on president trump just seems

irresponsible when there are a lot of parties and a lot of hands that are working on it. host: this is newt, forest hills, new york, says the former president has too much influence on the party. caller: too much. anyone that has been -- bad behavior he has engaged in is ok has too much. he has been able to convince of many people to attack the capital on january 6, he has been able to convince people to deny the results of our election. people to deny the results of our election, and now there are people who are somehow making excuses for the documents that he had in his possession that he should not have had, according to the presidential records. he has that much influence that no matter what bad behavior he engages in, there are people that will go along with that behavior or make excuses for that behavior or somehow minimize that behavior. i think that is a