host: good morning. it's sunday, october 29, 2023. the federal reserve open market committee is set to meet this week, and members have new data too inform their decision about what to do about interest rates. despite much of the data indicating a strong economy, many americans are worried about their financial future. we're taking your calls on whether you're optimistic or

pessimistic about the u.s. economy. our numbers are 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8002 for independents. if you'd like to text us, that number is 202-748-8003. please make sure to include your name and where you're from. we'll begin with the headline in "the wall street journal." the u.s. economy grew by a strong 4.9%, driven by a consumer spree that may not last. those were g.d.p. numbers that were released this week. economists were expecting more along the lines of 4.7%. if you have a look at that article here, you can see the chart of the jump in g.d.p. growth from q-2 to q-4 here at 4.9%. some of that was driven by consumer spending. here you have a chart showing

real u.s. disposable income, which has also been on the rise. earlier this week on friday, national economic council director assessed the u.s. economy at an event hosted by the peterson institute for international economics, and here's what she had to say. >> after the pandemic years brought an unprecedented combination of negative shots, it's especially heartening that today our recovery is strong, and the disinflation process is well underway. i think what we've seen so far is a testament to the resilience of american workers and consumers and businesses. it's also an indication that smart policy can make a positive difference. every week that goes by, we learn more about the recovery. so yesterday we learned the u.s. economy grew by 4.9% in the third quarter, and today we learned that core inflation came down to 3.7% in september on an

annualized basis. that is its lowest level since may of 2021. for the last three months, core inflation is running at about 2.5% at an annualized rate. there are, of course, risks associated with elevated geopolitical uncertainty and elevated financial market volatility that we will continue to monitor, but it does appear that inflation is coming down while growth remains robust, contrary to what many had predicted. it wasn't too long ago that the economy experienced dramatic supply shocks in labor, input and commodities. that elasticity on the supply side was a sharp and very sudden shift from the preceding nearly three decades when the supply side was highly elastic, both here and around the world. following that massive shock to supply, america's recovery under the president's economic plan

stacks up well in comparison to previous forecasts, recoveries in other advanced economies, and even to the last u.s. recovery. so if we start by comparing the u.s. recovery with earlier forecasts, we went back a year and we looked at the consensus forecast, it was that unemployment would need to go up to 4.5%, and the economy would need to flatline to get inflation down to where it is by today. in actuality, the u.s. economy has grown about 2.9% over that year. unempty has remained -- unemployment has remained below 4% consistently, while inflation has basically fallen to the level in that forecast. host: that was the national economic council head. and just a reminder, call us with your thoughts on whether you're optimistic or pessimistic on the u.s. economy. more on the white house's

response to the g.d.p. report. president biden in a statement said i never believed we would need a recession to bring inflation down, and today we saw again that the american economy continues to grow even ads inflation has come down. it's a testament to the resilience of american consumers and american workers, supported by bide no, ma'am i can, my plan to grow the economy by growing the middle class. let's go ahead and start with your calls. caller: thanks for taking my call. i'm not an economist. i only know what i see and experience. every time i fill my tank up, just like any other american, i go into the store to buy groceries, the prices are still up there. i'm probably paying 10%, to 20%,

i believe they call it the core inflation, it's really disheartening. at the same time i'm looking at all this spending, where trillions of dollars in debt, and i do see the signs as positive. i mean, the inflation coming down and the unemployment being low. but it still doesn't translate into real significant reductions for the common, everyday person when i go out to shop. i'm just hoping somebody out there could explain what's going to happen. and plus all the uncertainty in the world, we're financing the war in ukraine, we're certainly going to finance the war in israel between israel and hamas. and, you know, in the long run, she is is in question and things like this. there's just so much to digest, it's kind of like sensory overload. maybe somebody can explain what the future might look like.

thank you for taking my call. have a good day. host: i think we'd all like to know what the future will look like. alex from texas on our independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm very optimistic. i'm very emotional, things are looking good. i don't make much, but i hope the economy is looking good for those complaining about bidenomics, they have a lot of money. sometimes i do think it's all politics, they want to make democrats look very bad or joe biden look very bad. old enough to know that some of this are politics. people who are complaining still have a lot in their closet, and they're very, very good. i'm very optimistic. i don't make much more. i don't make too much money, but the economy look good compared

to other countries. thank you. i appreciate you. host: president biden's approval on the u.s. economy is pretty negative at this point, 60% disapprove of president biden's handling of the u.s. economy versus 37% approving, according to a real clear politics summary of polls. let's go also to a comment from facebook. cheryl hernandez says she's optimistic about the u.s. economy. hard times, good times, been through it before, a good rule to live by, nothing ever stays the same. let's hear from michael in agora hills, california, on our republican line. hi, michael. caller: the economy in the united states, because the dirty

criminals -- the economy on the whole -- host: sorry, mike, having difficulty hearing you. did you say you were optimistic or pessimistic about the economy? caller: optimistic, but that's criminal -- host: all right, let's go to lee in memphis, tennessee, on the democratic line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: you look lovely. host: lee, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the u.s. economy? caller: well, you have one thing, you know? everybody's acting like, you know, things are high, but -- the employees who are working at places, they're not paying a pay

cut. so for anything to go down from what it was, it would be like, you know, asking your employees to take a pay cut. you know they're not going to do that. so ok. have a good day. host: all right, allen, plymouth, massachusetts, on our republican line. caller: good morning. well, it's hard to tell right now with the economy. you know, we were told by the left-wing media complex how bad donald trump was, and we're not looking back at his economy. he had 30 new highs in the stock market. we had low inflation, good growth. the trump economy was strong going into the pandemic, as we came out, the left insisted on rewarding people with $4 trillion. that caused the inflation. inflation does not go away. where are the talking points to

worry about a livable wage for young people trying to qualify for a mortgage right now? biden's poll numbers are down because the reality of bad policy is hitting this economy. you have to beat inflation by raising rates. i suggest people listen to the late milton friedman on the cause of inflation. it's government that caused this inflation. we're ignoring that, the political reasons. it was not -- it was $4 trillion into a strong economy. you said this morning, it is a strong economy. then why did they spend the $4 trillion? to reward their political people. so we have a political problem right now. is america ready to look at that? i don't know. i don't know if they're ready yet, how bad things have to get. host: al was mentioning how people were feeling about the economy. there was an associated press

poll will americans' financial future, and they found that relatively few americans say they're very or extremely nfident that they can pay an unexpected medical expense, just 26% of people,r ve enough money for retirement, 18%. only about 1/3 are extremely or very confident their current financial situation will allow them to keep up with expenses, although an additional 42% say they're somewhat confident. that was a poll of just over 1,100 adults conducted in the first week of october. now let's hear from josephine in new jersey on our independent line. caller: good morning. the economy is like everything. sometimes it goes down, sometimes it goes up. i guess living this long i've been through the periods of down. down, when i bought my house in 1980, the interest rate was 18%.

unemployment rate was so high that people were on unemployment insurance for two solid years. they don't know what bad times are. we got a momentary bump, that's true. cost of living, true. but is it severe? no. i mean, our economy is the best in the world. but if you're going listen to a certain group of people, political-wise, they're going to complain and say, oh, it's bad, it's bad. it's not bad. you have no clue, no clue what really bad is. i mean, 7% interest rates for buying a house, yes, it's hard, then 3%. my goodness, that's still low. you can always buy a house, because remember, when the interest rate goes up, the prices go down. you have to negotiate. it's like everything in life. my concern is what's going on in the world with ukraine and

israel. that's something to be concerned about, not to be whining about what's going on in your backyard. you can control your spending. i don't see anybody worrying about going off line on a vacation. airplanes are full. restaurants are full. around my neighborhood, the houses are being built left and right. so the economy can't be as bad as it is as what's been put in your head and you're being told something. thank you. host: josephine was just talking about consumers continuing to spend in this economy. diane, the chief economist for kpmg was commenting on this in "the washington post," saying it's enough to knock me over with a feather. we've had the most aggressive credit tightening from the federal reserv since the 1980's, and guess what, the economy is accelerating. we really underestimated how much consumers would keep spending. billy in indiana on our republican line. go ahead, billy.

caller: yes, i would just like to say that, you know, under the trump administration, we were all doing so much better in the united states and all over the world, really. we didn't have no wars going on. we had everybody pretty much in check. we haven't giving out money to everybody. we can't afford to give out any money. what happens when our social security money stops because of all the wasteful spending. we still ain't never recovered the $100 billion that come up

missing from the pentagon. democrats just can't keep track of nothing. everything they do, everything biden's done so far has failed, he hasn't had one success in anything that he's done. i'm paying twice as as much at the store for every product that's out there. host: ok. billy was just talking about president biden and his approval ratings, which we mentioned earlier on the economy, has approval rating was 37%. disapproval rating was 60%. but overall, president biden's approval rating is 41%, and the performance of president biden overall, disapproval rating is

56%. now then on facebook, one comment says i'm a closet optimist, but even i don't see brighter days ahead for this economy. we're days away from a vote on our budget package, and it's not looking good. ok, let's hear from albert in detroit, michigan, our independent line. >> yes, our economy is doing great. look at the numbers. i don't know what the people are looking at. the republicans are doing nothing but trying to destroy anything and everything that the democrats try to do for the people. inflation is down. employment is down. people, i don't know what they're looking at. the republicans do not have the average working person's -- the

republicans are just working people, that's the bottom line. trump is a hater, liar, booking parties, done nothing for the united states but try to tear it down ever since the 1950's. host: so it sounds like you're optimistic on the economy right now, albert. caller: beg your pardon? host: sounds like you're optimistic about the economy now. caller: i think the economy is good. it's going -- people look at the numbers. what are they complaining about? host: ok, let's go to john in brooklyn, new york, on the democratic line. caller: hello. i'm john from brooklyn. let's look at trump. trump got in the office. he told all the lies, he did a lot of phony stuff. he said he was going to put turf on channel, he had to use billions of dollars to give it

to the farmers. he said they were going to build a wall. he couldn't do that. host: john, are you opt misit can or pessimistic about the u.s. economy right now? caller: i think the economy is doing great, because trump, i mean, the democrats don't know how to publish what they're doing, all the infrastructure the weather is doing, they're not telling how much money it's going save and how much money we going to get from that, and the republicans is using that money, and they're not putting the president's name on it. we were losing something like 80,000 jobs a month, because there was other things he didn't do. the economy was in shambles. people don't look at the fight that when president biden took over, the condition that things was like.

afghanistan, for instance, when the president took over, that he made a promise to, that he was going exit at a certain date -- host: we're just going to keep this conversation on the economy this morning. allison in katy, texas, on the democratic line. go ahead. caller: hi, good morning. i am going to comment on the economy, but i wanted to mention something real quick about, i'm kind of surprised y'all didn't start talking about how there's finally someone, a congressman entering the democratic side of the race. i think his name is dean phillips, and this is a big deal, because the media is not really -- they're really defensive about it, like oh, how dare you run against biden. but this is huge, because most democrats -- and i'm on the progressive side -- we do not

want biden to run again. host: we have a political roundtable coming up later in the show, and i'm sure we'll be talking about that. what is your thought on the economy? caller: well, it's been weak about the republican conference, sucking up the oxygen up, and so it's just shocking, to go into the economy, i don't know what people were saying, the economy is not good, but i don't think biden is hitting all the corporations that nobody is talking about, it's so laughable, we see the profit margins, they publish kroger grocery stores, i walk into the grocery store, and i buy certain things, exact things for my son, the same thing over and over, and it literally inches up every week or two weeks. i started exclaiming out loud, you got to be kidding me. they brag about the profit

margins, like 40% over the last two years, and this is what what people are really feeling. and so inflation, the numbers, the talking points, i mean, nobody takes that seriously. and every time biden or the administration repeats this, it makes it, it literally pushes me away from them and almost like i don't want to vote for trump, because i think he's repulsive, but i don't want to vote at all, because maybe we need to do scorchedeth so people can get the message, we don't want a repeat of hillary 2.0, because that is what's going to happen,

guaranteed. so leading up, i'm going to cut it off, but we need to talk about, after all the republicans getting all the attention, it's surprising that y'all don't bring up, now there's a candidate and he refuses to debate him or acknowledge, and i'll cut it off there, thanks. host: thank you, allison. allison was talking about inflation, and this week some of the other data we received was the p.c.e. report, which is the personal consumptions expenditures report, and it showed that the inflation was up about .3%, as expected in september. that does not mean that prices are stopping their growth, but the growth is actually slowing a bit, and this, prices have still been continuing, so here, cnbc is reporting inflation accelerated in september, but consumer spending was even stronger than expected, and that was according to the p.c.e.

report, which came out on friday. core personal consumption expenditures price index, which the federal reserve uses as a key measure of inflation, increased .3% for the month, in line with the dow jones estimate and above the .1% level for august. but even with that pickup in prices, personal spending kept up and then some, rising .7%, which was better than the half a percent forecast. dan in rochester, new york, on our republican line. caller: good morning, c-span. host: good morning. caller: i'd like to make a comment. i don't believe the economy is in good shape. i lost my job about a month ago. i've been in manufacturing all my life. and it's very difficult to find a job because a lot of job positions have been cut. there are fewer people working in the manufacturing industry.

my understanding is if you're an illegal alien and you claim asylum, that within one to two months you can get work permits. before i was laid off, i had trained somebody who didn't speak the language very good, but our company was nice enough to print manufacturing instructions in their language, so i trained that person thoroughly, the best i could, and then i found myself out of a job. i kind of question the employment numbers. i'd like to you break them down at many some point how many american are american citizens working in this country and how many government employees that are working in this country. that are counted in your economic census there. thank you. host: thank you, dan. katie on facebook says in the question of whether she's

optimistic or pessimistic about the u.s. economy, very optimistic. the long-term effects of the pandemic are beginning to rerse, and the economy is starting to recover and becoming far more stable. let's hear from andrea in pennsylvania on our independent line. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i'm fine. go ahead, andrea. caller: i'm extremely, extremely, extremely mess mick particular about this economy, because you know why? i'm living in. i'm living in the real world where eggs are sick, where bacon is $7 a pound, where gas is $6 a gallon. where people are pagan additional $7,000 a year for just basic necessities, where

you can't rent a one-bedroom apartment for under $3,000. people who are saying this economy is great, you're delusional. you're living in delusion. we have far surpassed recession. we are very deep into a depression. and the stock market on friday just gave you that clue if you pay close enough attention. but you know, who's really to blame for all of this? it's not politicians. it's the americans who have continuously let these politicians spend us into this situation. host: thank you, andrea. let's hear from randy, arlington, minnesota, democratic line. caller: i have c-span on my television. they cut me for a while, and i'm thrilled to death to have you back on again. i live in a very red area.

i'm in southwest, minnesota. i live amongst republicans. i can't even open my mouth. i can't even put out a sign. the reason i'm calling is i hear about how wonderful things were with trump. well, if we had a balloon fun of money and it burst, do you think things would get better? yes, they did. does the media bring what is your profession the democrats are doing for the common person? no. i have a comment to make to all these people that complain about eggs, bacon, chicken, cost of that. you don't live where i live. you know who pays the price for that with their bodies and their time? the immigrants are paying for that. i see them going to work at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, barely make it to the dental office where i work for an appointment at the end of the day, and guess what, they get paid nothing. so when you complain about food, i go to the grocery store, and you know what i think? how little this costs. i look around, and i see fat americans going on vacation, and

that's all i have to say. thank you. that was an independent from new jersey, i remember paying -- host: let's go now to another comment from facebook. jimmy mcdowell says they're optimistic. my grandparents ud to say, as long ath trains keep running, the economy will stay strong. i inthe politicians want everyone to believe the sky is falling just to keep us fighting amongst ourselves. on our republican line, judy in west newton, pennsylvania. good morning, judy. do we have judy? caller: yes, you do. can you hear me? host: yes, i can. caller: i'm very pessimistic about the economy. the everyday person is having a difficult time, not only with

groceries, but their bills on a daily basis. the heating bills now, the cooling bills, everything is very hard for everyone, whether you're democratic or republican. it's time for everyone to open their eyes and look. it's not republican or democrat. it's people having a difficult time paying for the everyday things we need. and that's all i would like to say. i thank you for your time. host: republican or democrat, we also to want hear some of your thoughts about whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about the economy. our numbers, again, 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. 202-748-8002 for independents. in west palm beach, florida, independent nate, go ahead.

caller: hi, good morning. i'm calling to say that i'm very optimistic about the economy. a lot of times people put on blinders and think that the stock market is the only looking glass into how things are going. even though down in florida our insurance rates have skyrocketed, normal day-to-day expense have skyrocketed, it blends with the broken window fallacy, even though i can't or other people that i know can't go out and enjoy what we can flag as luxuries in life are still spending to be able to maintain certain habits, certain lifestyles, and i think that's pretty clear cut on a grander scheme across the u.s. optimistic is where i land. host: ok, thank you, nate. dennis in north carolina on our democratic line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: thank you for the

"washington journal" and c-span. i'm very optimistic about the economy. i think the pandemic really took back quite a bit, but you are recovering gradually and slowly. i think we should stop complaining and just put our best foot forward and contribute to our country. joe biden is doing well. my second point is if he's doing so well, why do we want him out? doesn't make sense to me. thank you. keep doing the good work. host: one of our previous callers was just referencing how people are are continuing to spend. the chief investment strategist at state street global also made comment about this, saying going forward, the consumers ar not going to spend at e sight rate. the vernment is not going to spend at the sight rate. businessm toe slowing down their spending as well. this suggests this might be the

peak g.d.p. figure, that 4.9% that we saw, at least in the next few quarters. in dayton, ohio, joe calling on the republican line. caller: good morning from my rainy dayton, ohio. i am 100% pessimistic. joe biden speaks mistruths about the economy, so let me give your audience some true facts. when donald trump left off the inflation was at 1.7%. now it's well over 3%, close to 4%. gasoline prices was roughly $1.89 a gallon. heating oil was also cheap. guess what, we're going into winter, and the poor people on the east coast are going to be spending a lot of money on heating oil, just like they did last year. last year was over $1,000. host: joe, we can't hear so you well anymore. can you come back?

caller: i'm sorry, yeah, ok, can you hear me now? host: yes, go ahead, joe. caller: a apologize. what i'm saying is, the interest rates, we are at a 21-year high under joe biden. joe biden claimed that he reduced the national deficit by $1.7 trillion, and "the washington post" gave him bottomless. joe biden speaks mistruths. if you've got a 401k and you're retired and have a 401k, you're not making any money whatsoever. and then you got to try to live off social security. i feel sorry for these elderly people. it's going to get worse, folks. host: joe, i want to point to an article in "the hill" that talks similar in line to what you're saying, that the g.o.p. actually holds the biggest lead on the economy since 1991. that's according to polling from

gallup, that the republican party held a sizable lead over the democratic party in a poll that was released on tuesday that asked the public, asked which the public trust moderate to safeguard the country's prosperity and military security. that survey showed that both parties remain unpopular, but the g.o.p. leads on major issues. here's that chart, about where the american people stand in terms of which party they think would best position the united states to flourish, and that is the widest gap. the advantage for republicans is the widest gap on the question since mid 1991. it's also up from a 10-point gap in the last year. now let's hear from eric on our independent line from south royalton, vermont. caller: hi, good morning. i believe as long as americans still believe that the economy is going great, it will keep chugging on as it is.

it's employing to take a little while for everybody to accept the fact that they can't afford to buy all the same things that they used to, at the same rates, unless they find a way too generate more money for themselves. the government will be fine in the long run. they'll keep borrowing money from the fed and keep driving this national deficit as high ads possible, and the fed will never shut them up, but that's all going to fall on america's shoulders. i mean, we're all believing the future is going to be great here in america, but when half of the world's positively haitian under the 11 nations are all agreeing to do anything but the dollar in the near future, where our future is going to look. we're banking on our petro dollar, and unless we keep perpetuating war, i mean, that's one of our biggest drivers here. yes, we're trying to bring jobs back to america, because we need to become more self-sufficient and not relieutenant on other countries to get our stuff done cheaper for us, but the reality is we have this currency war

going on right now, and the second the carpet gets pulled out from underneath us, we're all really going to feel it. in the meantime, people can keep spending, but like everybody is saying, you go to the store and everything is costing more. gas prices really haven't moved much throughout the summer, i guess fuel is not the driver as to why prices keep going up. but as long as people keep spending, that would be great. but when you look at the interest rates on it, how much it's going to cost to pay back the $33 trillion and the national debt, yeah, the long-term outlook is not good. if you look at currencies and strengths throughout history, it's about 300-year run, and we're about the end of our run as the dollar dominance with something looking to replace it. unless we change the name of the game, things are coming to a head fairly soon. it all seems to be heading that way. and since the beginning of the pandemic, going from $11

trillion to $33 trillion, that's a big jump in the deficit, and it almost feels like we're being sold up. host: i want to follow up about your points about the debt and the deficit. the chief of the nat journal had a comment about this, writing treasury secre janet yellen said that what truly matters is how muche're paying in intere since it was only about $300 billion a year, everythi fin two years later, debt interest payments have roughly dou to $650 billion. that's approachit wepend on the department of defense, except, of course, don't get one tank or airplane from making interest payments. at this pace, payments on t federal debt are on track to become t second biggest federal program after social security payments are another cost of inflation that the federal reserve has hiked interest rates to tame rising prices, and that was in "the new york post." engineer any tennessee is calling on our -- jerry in tennessee is calling on our

democratic line. caller: yes, ma'am, can you hear me? host: yes, we can, go ahead. caller: very optimistic. there are more jobs to do around here in tennessee than you can shake a stick at. i mean, there's all kinds of work. people need to get up and go to work. at first people were hollering about the debt, well, i'd like to ask them, you going take the money handing out? that was part of our debt. could things be better? yeah, they could pass some down, but farm red raiders finally making some money. they were going broke like crazy during the depression, and i'm very optimistic. everybody i know is working. everybody that wants to work, they're working. there's more jobs than can get filled out here. we got mcdonald's putting signs out, $15 an hour to get workers. get up and go to work. that's the big thing. seem to me like the republicans are more interested in cutting

social security than they are getting people back to work. thank you for taking my call. you're doing a good job, and appreciate a lot. host: thank you, jerry. belinda henry made a comment on facebook, i'd like to be optimistic, but due to certain indicators, i'm not feeling good about the next year. jennifer is in cleveland, ohio, and calling on our republican line. go ahead, jennifer. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i'm a little bit optimistic about the economy, and i know what americans are capable of. i haven't lost hope for our country. i agree with everything the gentleman from vermont said, except i'm not worried about the currency. janet yellen said everything of the fine at $350 billion in interest. i think she's definitely misguided on that. i don't know why she's even in charge of those things. but in any case, i know that americans, when we work hard,

which we always will, everything is going to be ok, except for the debt. if there's a problem, it's going to fall on our kids, and it's something we really should think about. there's no reason for to us spend $7 trillion a year, where covid in connectionwith, that's our baseline now. there's notice reason for that. that's inappropriate. completely unnecessary and wrong. otherwise i still believe that we're going to be ok. we have a stock market was at 6,000 in 2010. look where it was up after that. we're going to come back after this, and then i think the inflation is selling out, and interest rates have been artificially low for 20 years now, they were never going to stay at zero percent. i'm glad we're not having a reckoning, and they're only at whatever they are now. that was never right.

anyways, that's my opinion. host: independent line, ann in easton, maryland. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i am just dumfounded at how people believe what some government officials say. for example, the idea that because personal spending is going up, that it's positive. well, the reason personal spending is going up is because things like gas and food prices have gone up. that's not positive. secondly, if we think about how we have to manage our families, all of us can told never carry a credit card balance, because the interest will eat you up, and yet janet yellen goes out there and says, oh, this is not a problem, because we're able to make the interest payments. think about the real basics, people.

so i am pessimistic, thank you. host: similar to ann's point, albert on facebook says we cannot continue to spend money that we don't have to keep the economy up who it cshg eventually. time for congress to cut government spending and end programs that are not worth the cost. scott is in tampa, florida, and calling on our democratic line. caller: good morning. host: good morning, scott. caller: i just want to say that i'm cautiously optimistic. i think there's a few basic things in this country that need to be corrected. my first comment would be that social security needs to have the cap removed from it. every dollar that i as a worker make, i pay social security taxes on. i believe jeff bezos, whoever it is, should be paying social security tax on every dollar they make, just like everybody

else, and that would first of all end the problem of social security. because it would cause the retirement age to go down, benefits would go up. it would be a flood of money into that, which, by the way, is a trust fund, it is not part of our government budget. secondly, the tax cuts that were installed under bush and trump should be repealed. the people that complain the most in this country about debt and their hair's on fire, are the same people that vote and elect people that remove revenue stream from our government, which is stupid. i'm sorry, but it's just stupid. you want to complain about that, then, you know, be rational about it. host: ok, tom in philadelphia, pennsylvania, on our republican line.

caller: yeah, hi, good morning. thanks for taking my call. i wanted to make a point i just thought about. seems like a lot of the callers here are kind of, i would guess by their voices, are probably over the age of 35 or 40. i don't hear a lot of young people calling in. well, younger, i should say. i did also want to make a point, and again, i'm sorry, that point i made about less young people calling in, i think you would probably hear a lot more pessimism, because i'm hearing in some cases people working two, three jobs just to get by, and they don't even have their own house. they're struggling to make car payments, fuel, things like that, and also a lot of them have student debt. but in addition, i don't think we even talk about, you know, we're talking about spending, and, you know, inflation, things

like that, but we also don't really talk too much about people that are going in debt over their heads, refinancing their houses, credit card debt up the wazoo. that is a sure sign. more people are going in debt, there's less people's money going into savings and investment, which that to me shows a clear sign of a strong economy, when people actually invest and save money personally and businesses, so that's all i wanted to say. good morning. host: michael in new jersey on our democratic line. caller: yeah, how you doing? hi, how are you? host: i'm fine, thank you. or optimistic or pessimistic about the u.s. economy? caller: i'm kind of pessimistic in a way, because three wars,

ukraine, we're spending money like crazy. i know i pay more for gas, and i pay more for food. you know, they said make a living wage, and yet they take the people off of medicaid because the standards, you got to pay for health insurance, people that do have to pay were on medicaid, all the sudden they got a paper, you got a checkout, that's expensive. $3,000 deductible out of pocket, are you kidding me? people are struggling. people got to pay for their healthcare they didn't have to pay. people got to pay for cars. how much does it cost to rent one room? one dollar could stop you from getting any benefits. one dollar over the limits. that means the poor that don't want to get a job like the protesters would make more money

and get better, car insurance and all that crap, you know what, trump ain't a liar, trump aunt a traitor. trump ain't a criminal. check joe biden and his family business deals, with china and all them other places. you know where you better go? to joe selling out this country. nobody believe it, joe's a traitor. traitor joe. host: to follow up on some of your points, michael, we referenced earlier that a.p. poll finding that 40% of americans say that their household debt has actually gotten -- excuse me -- has actually gotten bigger in the last year, close the ad. well, anyway, 40% of the debt is getting bigger -- 40% of americans saying that their expenses are outpacing their income in the last year. and here we go. i think i was able to bring it up again. here, if you look at that chart

again, household expenses, people saying that their household expenses are higher, 69% household debt, 40% saying those expenses are higher, and household income, 23% saying those expenses are higher. but only 15% saying that their household savings are higher, and 48% saying that they are lower than they were last year. david in chadburn, north carolina, our independent line. caller: good morning. yeah, i was just listening to some of the callers. i'm pessimistic. it's kind of ironic that another gentleman was talking with me about whether we were optimistic or pessimistic. he was retired. he was older. he was retired. i think his age, he's in his 80's. and he was talking, and he said

he wasn't worried about anything, that everything was running great for him. he was in good shape. i just made the comment to him, but you're retired, you got a fixed income. you feel good. you've made your money. what about the younger people, the younger generations who are coming up now and thief got to face all this mountain of debt that they have, and the conversation kind of quieted off right after that. but i work in retail. i work in the food industry. and i see daily, weekly price increases. you have more price increases than you have decreases. week to week. gas prices, personally, at home, i'm 60 years old. at home i see everything going

up on me at home. i just -- i'm glad that people are optimistic, and they have faith. host: you said you work in food retail. i wonder, as you're encountering your customers, how you're seeing people react to the rising food prices. caller: every day, every day. in the grocery store, every day. i see it every day. there's comments about it every day. and from older people, too. and younger people. it's just something that we all have to deal with. pray and vote. that's what we have to do. host: thank you, david. on x, we have a comment from dewayne robertson, who says i am pessimistic because all politicians id. are separated from the reality of what people are facg economically. the white house and biden constantly gas light us, telling us everything is better than it'sver been, while we have to

blood or plasma just to buy food. you can also make your own comments on social media as well. we are on x, @cspanwj. also auto facebook.com/cspan. and also on instagram, @ cwj. in buffalo, kentucky, james on the republican line. caller: yes, ma'am, thank you for taking my call. it's kind of funny, i believe with all these pessimistic people calling in, what people don't understand is that we are adding half a trillion dollars every three months to our national deficit. now, if you do the mathematics on that, with the interest, in 10 years the interest will be more than what the government brings in, and then there's going to be a cry in this nation that you've never seen before. and all these blue cities that do -- first of all, anybody calling in that's a democrat,

they deserve what about they get, because that's what they voted for. if the economy is so darn great, then why you got all this criminal activity going on in all these blue cities? way more than the red cities, way more. yet how smart are you if you're going to allow tons of people to come across that border and all the sudden those are your jobs right there? not very smart at all. but they're going to get, when this country falls, they can lie all they want in the streets and ain't nothing going to be done about it. they can start with one of their homes, since they want to destroy what man has worked hard to get. but anyway, the country is going to fall, and when it does, don't complain about it. it's going to be worse than the 1929 depression. host: let's hear from darryl in desert hot springs, california,

on the democratic line. caller: hi, you there? host: yes, go ahead, darryl. caller: hi, i'd like to say that i'm cautiously optimistic, because i try to live optimistic, because pessimism is bad for your health. i've been looking at inflation rates steadily going down n. california, gas has dropped where i'm at by about a dollar a gallon in the last six to eight months. electricity is going back up a little bit. food, something is up, something is down. it's pretty even. so yeah, i'm cautiously optimistic about everything. host: larry in defiance, ohio, on our independent line. caller: it's pretty much like -- hello. host: yes, go ahead. caller: the current card debt right now is at a trillion

dollars. people are spending money that they don't have. that's mainly the problem in my book. we need to drill oil, we're buying oil from ought bad actors around the world, and that's making them filthy rich so they can, you know, they can do bad actors for terrorism all the way around the globe. if we were drilling, it would pretty much bring these terrorist oligarchs to where they couldn't afford the terrorism all the way around the world. my book, we need to drill, baby, drill, just like president trump says. host: all right, ruth ann in dewit, virginia, on our democratic line. can you turn down your volume,

ruth ann? caller: yes. host: once you can turn that volume down, we'd love to hear your comment on whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about the u.s. economy. caller: oh, optimistic. host: we need to you turn down the volume on your tv first. caller: ok. host: all right, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the u.s. economy? caller: optimistic. host: why is that? caller: because they are -- the unions are getting stronger, which is helping the economy get stronger. host: ok. thank you, ruth ann. our previous caller was just discussing credit card debt in the united states, and here's an article from cnn business that

americans ran up $105 billion in credit card interest last year alone. in that case, in 2022, about one in 10 general purpose credit card accounts in the united states were in persistent debt, a difficult to escape situation where borrowers are charged more in interest and fees than they paid down in principal, and that's according to a new consumer financial protection bureau report that was shared with cnn. that is up from 8.4% in 2021, a trend that the cfpb blames on shrinking paychecks after adjusting for inflation and rising borrowingosts. stan is in florida on our independent line. caller: yes, how you doing? under trump, they added $8 trillion to the debt. he passed a packs cut that's not

paid for for the billionaires and millionaires, and it has a lot to do with the war too, and also climate change. we're paying billions of dollars out to hawaii, florida, all the states. they're billing the same amount they were under trump. i believe that trump is going court because he didn't pay his taxes. and the new speaker, i don't trust him as far as i can throw him. he wants to cut social security. he wants to, he doesn't to want raise the debt now. they got to be in there by november 17 or the state is -- the government is going to go into default. i don't trust him at all. i looked at his record. he hates everything. he wants to cut social security. he doesn't like gay people or anything like that, and they raised the debt all the time under trump. and the gas in florida is $3.05

to $2.95. the more you drill, it just goes into the market. you put it out in the world market, and anybody can use it. i believe that we should use our own own gas, but we don't. host: our last caller for this segment, tim in columbus, ohio, on our democratic line. can you turn down the volume on your tv, please, kim? hi there, kim, can you hear me? all right, seems like we don't have kim, so i'll go to a comment on x om andrea, who says they are optimistic that the economy will not crash, but pessimistic beuse democrats spending has created a dangerous debt problem. that's all the comments we're going to take for now, but coming up next, we have democratic strategist nicole brener-schmitz, as well as republican strategic john feehery, who are going to talk with us about campaign 2024, the

house speaker, and the political news of the day. then later on, we have a discussion about u.s. military support of israel, which politico's defense reporter. we'll be right back.>> monday, n partnership -- watching c-span in partnership with the libraries of america. we will feature a novel published in 1918, part of a trilogy that tells the story of a friendship of an orphan boy from virginia and the elder daughter of a family of bohemian immigrants who settled in nebraska. the book addresses the immigrant

experience in women's issues of the time. melissa homestead, exist professor at the university of nebraska lincoln, has taught about the book for many years and will join us on the program. watch books that shaped america monday live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. also be sure to scan the qr code to listen to our companion podcast where you can learn more about the author of the book featured. >> weekends bring you book tv featuring leading others discussing their latest nonfiction books. professor martha recounts being taken as a 12-year-old in 1970 by a palestinian resistance group during a flight from israel to new york city.

someone argues america is a more progressive country and offers his thoughts on how to advance a liberal agenda with his book "justice is coming." what's book tv every weekend on c-span2 and a full schedule on her program guide or watch any time at booktv.org. [video clip] >> the honorable senator mike johnson is elected -- the honorable mike johnson is elected speaker of the house of representatives. >> the house speaker ship vote is over. mike johnson was selected as the new speaker of the house following the removal of kevin mccarthy. c-span brought you every moment from capitol hill as the historic election unfolded. continue to stay with the c-span networks as the house reconvenes and gets back to legislative business. you can also visit our video

library at c-span.org, where you can find out more about house speaker -- find out more about house speaker mike johnson's career in congress. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> this week on the c-span networks, the house and senate are in with both chambers continuing work on 2020 for spending legislation to fund the federal government for next year. this and it will also vote on president bin's nominee for u.s. ambassador to israel. on tuesday, secretary of state antony blinken and secretary of defense oy austin testify before the sate appropriations commte only $106 billion emergency supplemental funng for the support of israel and ukraine as well as other national security risks including the southern border. also on tuesday, theecretary of homeland security and fbi director testify before the senate homeland security committee on threats to the

homeland. and on wednesday, federal reserve chairman jerome powell holds a news conference following the federal open market committee meeting. watch thiseek live on the c-span networks or on c-span now, our free mobile video app. also head over to c-span.org for schedule information or to stream video live or on-demand anytime. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. we are joined now for our political roundtable by john feehery, republican strategist, good morning, as well as nicole brener-schmitz, democratic strategist. i want to start first with the big news in the republican presidential race, which is that former vice president mike pence announced he is suspending his presidential campaign. and he was saying it is not his

time and he has no regrets. let's listen. [video clip] >> in june, i announced my intention to seek the republican nomination for president of the united states because i believe this country is in a lot of trouble. i was raised to believe that to whom much is given much will be required. everything everything our country is facing, i just could not sit this one out. but the bible tells us that there is a time for every purpose. traveling across the country over the past six months, i came here to say it has become clear to me. this is not my time. so after much prayer and deliberation, i have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today. i am leaving this campaign, but

let me promise you i will never leave the fight for conservative values, and i will never stop fighting to elect principals, republican leaders to every office in the land. so help me god. host: so, john, your reaction? were you surprised? guest: not really. i knew when he was in the house and worked with him. i have a personal rule that if you know me and like me, i like you. i like mike but he never had a pathway. i thought he probably read out of money. and i think he is -- a little self reflection. he was right. it is not his time. he had an awkward relationship with president trump and trump supporters. he never really got anywhere in the polls. i think there is somebody out there who can get that evangelical christian vote. clearly he was not getting that because ironically, donald trump

is hanging onto that vote. i think this is the start of the woodland of the process, of the field. if you will take out trump, you will have to have four other candidates drop out and make it one-on-one as opposed to one on eight. host: what does the race look like for you for 2024? guest: i don't think this is a huge shift in what we saw. nobody expected mike pence would take off. he does not seem like what could be the challenge to trump if there ever can be one in their primary. he was not raising money, not getting anywhere in the polls. a lot of his events were very, very lightly attended, even in the state of iowa. i think it was expected he would leave, and this is a time where we will see some candidates dry out because they cannot make the stage, cannot raise the money, but it will be interesting to see if anybody

can make that case to that base of the republican party that trump is not there person. we saw nikki haley come out really hard this weekend, really trying to draw differences between her and trump, which is not the tactic candidates are taking. some are taking a trump light and not attacking him. we don't expect this changes the dynamic much. host: also had a new democratic candidate enter the field this week. guest: we did. from minnesota, he decided to throw his hat in the ring. that brought a lot of different feelings within the democratic party. ultimately, i don't think this is a challenge to president biden not receiving a nomination from the democratic party, but third-party primary, they throw wrenches into plans and what the past for what looks like -- what the path forward looks like.

that is another thing the president will have to address. he already missed the deadline for some states like nevada. he seems to be leaning hard into new hampshire. we will see. nobody knows yet, and i don't think this is a challenge for the nomination. but it is something the biden campaign has to keep an eye on. patrick kennedy is running as an independent. host: what you think of the potential for a third-party candidate and who it may help or hurt more in 2024? robert can become a sorry -- robert kennedy, sorry. guest: i think robert kennedy -- i think bobby kennedy takes as many votes from trump as he does from biden. i have family numbers in my own family who are staunch conservatives, libertarians who love bobby kennedy because of the vaccine stuff.

i think he will get a rise in the polls because most democrats did not vaccines, but i think a lot of republicans do. dean phillips is an interesting guy because he is challenging biden from the center, not the left, so that is pretty good for biden because then he can be more bipartisan and that will help him. i think it is still wide open. i know everyone thinks it will definitely be biden and trump. i remember several super bowls where we thought it would be the patriots. host: i was at that super bowl in 2011. we want to hear your call is a little later. we will be taking calls. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. an independent -- and independents on (202) 748-8002. i want to talk on the end of the

house speaker's race. what did you think of the outcome? guest: i don't really know mike johnson very well. host: do you like him? guest: i like mike. i just wanted a speaker. i did not really care who it was. the dynamics are such that the speaker plays an important role, but it is really the dynamics of the conference that decides how you go. i think he is seen as somebody who is trustworthy. i think he will represent the right very well forget there is some confusion with where kevin mccarthy stood on some issues and the right did not trust him. hopefully what will happen is republicans will coalesce, come up with some better bargaining positions and actually show they can govern. this dysfunction put them off for about a month and a half on getting things that need to get done, which are the spending bills, and they need to show the american people that they can be trusted with power. hopefully johnson will.

i think he will be a good speaker. as somebody who worked for a speaker for six and a half years, it is a tough job you end up making promises to people you cannot keep so the whole goal of being speaker and steak speaker is not making promises you cannot keep but keeping the promises you made and keeping an old relationship. less the job is a speaker and more a listener. he will spend time listening to his colleagues and trying to figure out how to chart a path forward. host: how do they chart a path forward to the spending bill. -- to the spending bill? the deadline is coming up quick. this position was a low ranking congressman. very different than when you are leading the congress and our speaker. we have already seen him talk favorably about trump. he is not only having his home left change with security and detail but he is being innovated

with information you do not have what you are a rank-and-file member of congress so it will be interesting to see how that affects how we approach is governing and the bills. he has said he wants to move forward on the individual appropriations bill and possibly attain a cr that would take us into the new year so they are not at a crisis right before christmas again. but it is a challenge. this is a guy the democrats will be defying him. they will make sure the public knows where he has been on issues. one of those they have leaned into is how very light he is on women's reductive health, that he has supported things that would say women have to have punishment by labor if they sought an abortion. despite will come to the head with democrats not doing anything because the republicans have entered a rider.

consider having a conversation about an ag bill and farm bill, there is a conversation about abortion. it is not popular for women in suburbs or with independents. even in red states like kansas, when abortion comes up and comes to the voters, they want women to be able to have that choice. this is a pro-choice country so they are kind of doing the work for the democrats for them. unfortunately, all of this will mesh in with those issues and i think democrats will sit back and let those conversations happen and say, see, this is not what you want running the country and not the leadership you want happening. host: represented johnson spoke before the congress right after being elected speaker, talking to his gop colleagues. here is a portion. [video clip] >> i think all of our parents are proud of what we are called to do here. i think all of the american people at one time had great pride in this institution, but right now, that is in jeopardy.

and we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust. this is a beautiful country. it is the beauty of america that allows a firefighter's kid like me to come here and serve in the sacred chamber where great men and women have served before all of us and strived together to build and preserve what lincoln referred to as the last best hope for man on earth. we stand at a very dangerous time. we all know that the world is in turmoil, but a strong america is good for the entire world. [applause] we are the beacon of freedom, and we must preserve this grand experiment in self-governance. it still is. we are only 247 years into this experiment and do not know how long it will last but we know the founders told us to take good care of it.

i want to tell all of my colleagues here when i told the republicans in that room last night. i don't believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. i believe that scripture, the bible is very clear that god is the one that raises up the authority. he raises up each of you, all of us. i believe god has ordained and allowed us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time forget this is my belief. i believe each of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gift god has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great country, and they deserve it, and to ensure our republic remains standing as the great can of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it. host: i want to get both of you to respond to that, but you first, nicole. guest: a lot of what he said, i agree with. democracy is precious and important and fragile. he is right.

a lot of the american electorate does not look at washington and say this party is the problem, this party is a problem. there is a reason candidates running against washington are successful. there is a reason that message resonates with the american people. they feel like corporations and lobbyists and whatnot buy, sell, and have undue influence over their own in congress. that is why you see a lot of people on both the right and the left run with, i will not take these kinds of contributions. i am not bought and paid for. but it is how we approach this, and that is what we will see because this is a gentleman who was a big architect a part of the big lie and try to say the election in 2020 was unfair. host: and had president trump's support for his speakership. guest: and had president trump's support. lots of the words, great. lots of the ideas, most things americans agree upon. now it will be about how does

that move forward? what are the actions taken to make sure we are maintaining this democracy that is so fragile? we have to make sure that we are not allowing a man in donald trump to spread lies about elections and have that be backed up because the speaker has a lot of power in how congress handles the next verifying of election results. host: what does mike johnson's selection as speaker tell you about donald trump's role in the party still? guest: that is a good question. i was thinking about the speech and how extraordinary it is that he did not know over the weekend he was going to be speaker and he puts together a speech which i thought was actually very well done. the interesting thing about donald trump's every time there is a secret ballot and trump endorsed a candidate in the secret ballot, his

candidate lost. he exercised an option in mike johnson because they voted for the guy. i think johnson is a good choice. i think that speech was extraordinary and he did a good job of laying out some of the history in the chamber and the challenge he faces and the challenge the country faces. trump is a challenge for the republicans. have to figure out, can they win with him? if they do, what are they going to do? i think the january 6 thing is still something that they have to figure out how to talk to the american people about. what was that all about? we have not really had a conversation about it and i think we are trying to ignore it. host: who is we? guest: the republicans. we need to chart a course forward with trump or without trump. seems like now if you believe the polls, it will be with trump.

so they have to figure out to get together and figure out to do the work american people in a responsible fashion. host: let's hear from some callers. dave from texas on our republican line, go ahead. caller: yes. hello. host: yes, make sure you turn down your tv, but we would love to hear your question or comment. caller: ok. you are guests are probably the most wimpy people i've ever heard in my life. host: that is not very kind to get let's go to carl from new york on our democratic line. caller: good morning, guys. host: good morning. caller: i am a progressive democrat, and i would like to make some statements. they are mostly addressed to your democratic guest, nicole. job, i have been watching -- john, i have been watching you many years. you have a rough road.

i get it. i am not paying attention to you. but nicole, this is what you have to do as a democratic strategist. you have to come out of the gate on this show and start by saying as an aside i hate, have you heard about -- aside, hey, have you heard about biden's numbers for this quarter? they are outstanding. 4.9%, that is crazy. this is a red-hot economy. you have to push this every day, every opportunity, every chance. it is not just you, nicole. i am talking about all of them. host: let us let nicole respond to this, the narrative that biden's not getting credit for the work he has done. guest: i agree with you. 4.9%, amazing, awesome forget it democrat has an economy that i am supportive of as a democrat. he was very clear from 20/20, i am not running reaganomics.

we are seeing that. we have seen infrastructure bill pass. we do not even have all of the jobs that will be created, and we see a strong economy happening and i don't think he is getting credit but i do not work for the biden administration to come out and talk about the issues and answer questions. it is not just to be somebody who toes a line. it is to get what i think is a reflection in strategy. agree that biden needs to sell that economy right and left, but i don't need anybody to tell me how to do my job. host: it is a strength and not a weakness of biden in 2024. guest: exactly. interest rates and inflation are high. when you talk about consumer sediment, people will talk about how they will make their next paychecks, this is a real thing. some people are doing real well but a lot of people are not doing well and they are having a hard time even if they have 1, 2, 3 jobs.

they are having a tough time paying bills. it is high in places that are essential like energy and food prices. my kids, what they go to doordash or whatever, they spent a lot of money for food. people putting food on the table, it is not this great economy people are talking about. this is a challenge for the president. he talks about bidenomics, but it can be a downside too because people are not feeling it is so awesome for them and you see that in the consumer sentiment. that is why his polls are not persistently high. for this type of economic growth, you think he would be doing great but he is not doing that great, and i think people are not feeling like this economy is that great. host: let's hear from jerry from texas on our republican line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: i will try to start click. i want to end with the 2016 elections so please give me a

second to get there. host: go for it. guest: the young lady, the democrat strategist came right out of the box talking about the big lie. i thought that a lie was something somebody said or presents that is an intentional act of dissension. they are lying. they know it is not true, but they say it anyway. i don't believe that is the case with most of the people requesting the 2020 election -- the people questioning the 2020. i am asking the lady to try to think critically about this. whether right or wrong, they believe it is true. by the finishing, that makes it not a lie. as far as mike johnson's involvement in it, his involvement was benign. of course, you failed to mention it. all he did was ask questions basically about the irregularities that occurred, and he was trying to look into it a little bit.

that is all his involvement was. in the 2016 election, i would like to ask the democratic strategist, what do you have to say about that? the russian collusion hoax that was supposedly why trump won the election and all of these democrats -- host: two points there, first of all, the language around the big lie, and secondly, your response to his questions about the 2016 allegations of russia's involvement in the elections. guest: i think the folks that were constructing a a lot of the questions as we are seeing them plead guilty over and over in georgia and whatnot about how to challenge the elections did know this was unfair and were trying to challenge democracy in an illegitimate way. i will agree with him there are a lot of people in the american public who maybe do nothing that i do not think they are lying

and truly believe that, whether they were led to that bias on certain channels or whatnot. i hope we can have a media that the matter what side a host or whatnot sits on can be presenting facts in a fair and honest manner we saw a lot of revelations that was not happening in some places. i don't remember the democrats challenging 2016. i believe hillary clinton fact conceded that race and that we accepted the results even though she won the popular vote because in this country, the way it is set up as there are states and they have electors and those were the final results. not sure i understand the full comparison there. host: with those guilty pleas in georgia at the case regarding former president donald trump, how do you think that affects, if at all, the 2024 race? guest: this is the big question.

also think there is a chance somebody else can beat trump, figuring out how this all plays out. i think when it comes to the election of 2020, there are some gems legitimately raised about the election. you don't necessarily inspire people to march on the capitol. that was a huge mistake by trump , and i think he should have said don't do that and should have said it much earlier. i think that had trump conceded the election or said like andrew jackson did that this is corrupt like that, he could have been in a much stronger position. that being said, the polls show him to be in a strong position against right and because of what we said about the economy and his general dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. trump still has a pretty good chance of winning, and i think that we have to figure out as a republican party how we can make this next election about 2024 and not 2020.

the more we can do that, the better off we will be. host: actually come i want to pull up the polling -- actually, i want to pull back up the polling about president biden's job approval. 41% approve of his overall job approval. 46% disapprove, getting back to what you were just saying. let's go to ken in portsmouth, arkansas, on the democratic line. caller: hi. host: hi. caller: yes, i got a question for nicole. yeah. i think the money we are holding for iran, i think it should go to gaza. and ceo pay, if the company makes a huge profit, 50%, 20% should go to the employees -- 15%, 20% should go to the employees. if trump was still in there, we would be shooting up. i have a story. i am 66 now.

when i was 15 and a half, i got arrested for petty theft, which i should not have done, but i got 22 days in jail, court costs, and two years probation. it was my first offense. and i think the gop has added more to the deficit that the democrats. thank you very much. host: ok. nicole, i actually want to talk about the overall spending situation because president biden has a supplemental spending proposal on the table, including funding for ukraine, israel, border security. i believe we have a chart of the amounts coming up here. what is the prospect of that moving through? guest: i think a lot of this lies with where mike johnson gets his caucus to be. you have obviously seen some very hard in the gop that said they do not want to see funding for ukraine, so time them together is something house

republicans will have to have internal conversations about and see if they can come to a place where they feel like that can move forward. the democrats have something interesting happening around the israel-hamas politics with some very progressive left -- progressives left of the party. i think it is broadly understood as he talked about it in the speech we just saw that the israel funding is incredibly important to have, and that is something the biden administration has made clear as well. obviously, leader schumer in the senate has been crystal clear about that. even mitch mcconnell is around and say he is supportive of ukraine and israel funding happening. i think we will see movement on it soon, but there will have to be that thing where we see the hardliners and what they say on

ukraine funds and if they can be tied together. guest: this is a big question. i think it all comes down to, how is the money in ukraine being spent? i think there is some skepticism among republicans about how it is being spent. a lot it is being spent on weapons systems, which is good for american manufacturers. mitch mcconnell tells you that is a good thing. i think we can bleed russia dry. the republican conference, that is where they want to be. it is about 50-50 now among republicans on the ukraine money. they almost all overwhelmingly want israeli money, money for israel. they all want money for the border. they all see that as very useful spending. you know, i think what you will see for republicans is they will pass that israeli supplemental with border funding, and that

they will pass separately ukrainian spending, which will get democrats and a lot of republicans. and they will send those two packages over and they will be put together in the senate and that will be the final package. i think that will actually help with the other spending issues like the cr, and i think that is how they try to massage this through. host: can they do it in time? guest: i think you will see another cr. i don't know if it will be a week or until january 15. we will see what the system -- i don't think mike johnson wants to see the government shutdown, and i don't think most republicans want to see the government shutdown. there was some desire for that before mccarthy moved his cr, but i don't think anyone sees use for it right now, to shut the government down. host: ok. joe in fayetteville -- excuse

me. in florida on our democratic line. i am so sorry, please go ahead. caller: it is ok. i am used to it. host: i am sorry. caller: it is all right. i would like to ask the republican strategist, mr. fee hery, if trump has charges, how to be president? >> if he is convicted of a felony. what is the other one? >> why is the government trying to shut the government down? host: so there are two questions there, if trump can move ahead while convicted. guest: it is a great legal question and political question. i don't know. i think if you are convicted of a felony, i don't think it bars you from running office but it you politically i think. i think what trump would say is

when they persecute me, they are persecuting you, a very effective tagline in his campaign, and a lot of republicans feel like he is being persecuted by a political class that does not want him to be successful, and he has used that energy very successfully on the campaign trail. it is funny to watch him because he is not doing a lot of rallies anymore. he is actually spending a lot of time in courtrooms and with the courtroom subcommittee seems to get more energy. anytime another indictment has come down, his polling rates have gone up among republicans. a fascinating dynamic that historians will really enjoy chewing over in about 10 years. we have to live through it first. i do think republicans want to shut the government down. host: now to joe in fayetteville on our independent line. caller: yes. considering the news of the week, i would like to ask both analysts what they think about this.

if the united states was a superpower or even a world power anymore, back when woodrow wilson was president in 1912, the united states was in a different place in the world. after world war i and with the presidency, there was application for all the colonies and all the different city states and countries to be independent and have a say in the world. now we have isis and hamas in places where one person thinks they can tell a nationstate what they should do. all the money and stuff we would send to israel or ukraine or nationalist china, who are their enemies? we try to say it is communist

china or russia or something but we have individuals out on their own. in the art of war, it's as if you are on god all the time, how can you win? host: before i get the two of you to respond to that, i want to get to this political type. last week, vivek ramaswamy said israel should do whatever it can to secure its divine purpose, including abandoning prospects of a two state solution if necessary. here he is with the republican jewish coalition. [video clip] >> my view is that now is the moment for israel to return to its founding premise. the jewish state has an absolute right to exist. a divine gift gifted to a divine nation charged with a divine

purpose. israel has an absolute and unequivocal right and responsibility to defend itself to the fullest, applying the only language that its adversaries understand, the language of force. so what would david say today? he would say, don't depend on anyone else's fleeting sympathies or permission to do it. if israel wants to destroy hamas, israel should go ahead and destroy hamas. i am just getting started. if israel wants to destroy hezbollah, israel should go ahead and destroy hezbollah. if israel and mossad want to plop music 2.0 -- munich 2.0 and take out hamas, they should go

ahead and do it. if israel wants to at long last abandon the myth of a two state solution, israel should go ahead and abandon a two state solution. the rest of the arab world can absorb the palestinians just as the jews absorbed their people out of the talking to countries they were kicked out of since 1948. the islamic world cannot continue to condone the slaughtering of jews welcome to doing to disown the palestinians. that is the hard truth that neither member of either clinical party's will and to speak out to the arab world. i will, but these are decisions for israel to make. host: so i will come back to you, nicole, with the original question, what does this conflict say about the u.s. as a global power on the world stage?

guest: i think it makes it very clear we still are. we are in direct conversations with israel. obviously, they have a lot of dependence on our aid. we saw the administration said carriers over as a signal to other countries. we are here. this is a big statement and we are still that power and still are a global force, not just with israel and hamas, but in ukraine, not allowing russia to just walk in, because the u.s. knows democracy is important to maintain everywhere. for our own interests as well. because if you allow countries to just invade or attack and proceed to destroy another, whether it is based on pure hate

of wiping out an entire entity as hamas on israel or a paragraph like putin ukraine which i do not think would end that ukraine if he is successful there. you must understand we are that financial and defensive power in the world that sweeps in and helps. guest: we are. we spend more money on over defense than any other country in the first world, seen as a superpower, seen by other countries that when we we treat, more things happen that we are worried about that cause problems internationally. if you ask people, america right now is preparing for war. they are preparing for war against the chinese. i think there is this great anxiety the chinese will invade taiwan, and so what has happened in ukraine, what has happened with israel, what has happened

in these other places, what we need to show his we are not going to sit idly by if you take taiwan and we need to show peace to strength. there is tension there. we have a huge budget deficit, a huge debt, and at some point in time, it will be hard to pay the troops because we will eventually run out of money theoretically. the other tension is a lot of americans, especially republicans, don't want to go to war anymore. they are tired of war. there is a hangover with what happened in iraq and one of the biggest applause lines donald trump gets is no more war. it is really interesting because ever since i grew up, republicans were kind of seen as the promilitary party, pro-war party, and the democrats were seen as the pacifists. now it is a role reversal here. none of this is clear.

and the future is not quite written yet. but america still is seen globally as the one indispensable power with the largest military, and they are still seen as the one entity that can stop other nationstates from invading. it is why we are in ukraine right now. host: ok. crag is in huntsville, alabama, on our broken line. caller: we are about six to percent of the world budget for defense. but we need to be open to another conflict. when we headed off to desert storm, china, i know it was mentioned that we are 247 years old, 246, something like that, 247. young countries make mistakes. when we went to desert storm, they went to africa, cornered the precious minerals market, owned 93% of the cobalt in the world. we are rushing to ev's.i am

talking on a cell phone. it is ironic that slave labor powers the cell phone of the people who give me a morality check at every turn with google, but it is simple. china, how many wars have they run now? how many places do they have troops that are protecting other countries? we are asked to protect everybody else. we have 10,000 people crossing our border with a lot of people in this world angry with us. we are creating our own trojan horse. we do very little to defend our country right here in our country. we show outrage for so many things that are relatively unimportant, but the fact that we are on so many fronts and spread ourselves so thin, china must be laughing at us. host: i want to get you to respond to this idea that the u.s. is spread too thin and that will cause greater harm to the

economy or redirect attention from other policies. nicole first. guest: this is not something that -- i understand there is a lot of people with concern about the border and this has been a conversation we have seen democrats and republicans make a game of fill in the numbers to try to solve. it has never gotten anywhere. i disagree with the caller that this is our own trojan horse, that joe thinks there is this massive amount of people crossing the border to harm you. most of them are coming here for a variety of different reasons. i don't think those are to attack us, which is what it sounded like to me when you say we are building our own trojan horse, that is the feeling i get but we can certainly continue to be the global superpower, ba part of important issues that are happening worldwide, and take care of what is happening here domestically.

that is something we are capable of doing. his underestimating them. -- capable of doing is underestimating them. guest: we are all over the place and for necessary reasons. what we are trying to do is keep the sea lanes open and keep free-trade throughout the world, and i think america is like the one country that can really do that. but we have a bunch of problems. we spent a lot of money on defense, but a lot of that is not actually for defense. it is for taking care of the troops or a a lot of unnecessary spending within the pentagon. a lot of wasteful spending that we need to focus on. and then i will turn my attention on china. i think china is a threat but i

also think they have some really big fundamental problems. mostly that they are a communist country that has a population problem. they are going through a depopulation issue. they are going through their own internal stuff that we have to be cognizant of. if you think about the future, i think the future is going to be something america can continue to play a very important role and pretty much dominate because we have the system, but we have to make sure we do not get into unnecessary wars that drain us of not only our treasure and blood but our will to go out and defend the rest of the world. that is the thing i see. we don't have the same will that we had during the reagan years to be the global superpower that really kind of defends the sea lanes, so we have to be that. host: rick is in illinois on our democratic line. go ahead, rick.

caller: yes, i have two things to ask john. does he think -- do republicans -- does he think the republicans will win 2024, the house? does he think they will lose seats? i am a great uncle and have two boys who are rangers in the army. they are republicans, both of them. this should fight for this country, they said. it does not matter the man in charge. that is their commander, their chief. that is all i want to ask. do you think they will keep the house? guest: i do think they will keep the house. i don't arguments to that. it will be very tight. they have a four seat majority now. i think looking at it, they should have won a much bigger

victory in the last election. there are some things in their favor in north carolina and some other redistricting things that will help them, but i looked it over and they have 30 seats that they should have been able to win and they didn't. i think they will keep the house, but i don't think it is a done deal. i think it is an open question. host: would you like to provide the counter? guest: it will be tough for them to hold the house. they lost the speaker fight. it was a game of musical chairs. speaker johnson ended up in the right seat at the right time. the moderates set up a big fight against jim jordan, but the reality is he is a more famous version of speaker johnson when it comes to a lot of policy issues. i know i mentioned the abortion earlier but you cannot discount that. i think they will wear people down. this is fighting for a right that was taken away from us and a right that allows us to make

all the decisions about our lives and our families and our children and how we live. this is the most basic fundamental right. women are not going to just say, ok, oh well, and walked away and stop fighting for it. they will not go, squirrel, and start focusing on something else. this will be something that plays. but also, we have president biden, who is building a strong middle class. he is making sure labor unions are able to organize and that these strikes are having an impact and are making ceos not be allowed to give themselves bigger bonus while keeping their workers poverty levels or under what they should be making when you are making record profits, you need record contracts. this is helping the middle class. this is helping the economy. they have a very slim margin. night seats could be voted for president biden -- nine seats be

voted for president biden. a lot of people did not want jim jordan because they knew it is hard for me to win reelection, but we will see if that is different with speaker johnson and how very maga house leadership continues to move forward. this is a tough call for them to maintain this majority, especially when america is seeing this sort of chaos. there is a lot of un-trust, but they have not been governing in a way that builds confidence in a government. we have a lot of good democratic candidates in some really suburban and playable seats, so i think the democrats are going to take the house back on this one. host: tyrone in illinois on our independent light, go ahead. caller: good to talk with you. my first question goes to nicole. i looked at biden and he keeps bringing up the truck family

encryption but there is a lot of corruption in the biden family between the cocaine in the office, the biden laptop, the money from foreign countries. i think that their house needs to be put back in line quite a bit. i really disappointed in the democratic party and how they treat kennedy. i think kennedy deserved a greater shake that he got from the democratic party. on the same token, to john i'll look at trump -- i look at trump and the deals he has done and not showing favor to him either. i believe both candidates are too old. if i had to vote tomorrow, i believe i would vote for nikki haley. she seems to have answers to the questions being asked of her. i understand nicole keeps bringing up the abortion issue, but i think there is common ground there. i don't think as a government we

should have babies being aborted right at birth. i think there will be some common ground by both parties. host: i want to stop you there because i would like to get both of our guests to respond on one of those issues in particular, the age of the presidential candidates, which has come up a lot. even when it comes to the new candidate, when it comes to representative dean phillips, this is something that he was also commenting on in his launch. nicole, go ahead. guest: he did comment on it. the age thing comes up a lot. we have seen it over and over. the caller rightly point out they are close in age although a lot of times we act like president biden is leaps and bounds older than president trump. the american people have every right to say, is this an age i think people should be elected, whether it is president or the senate where we have a lot of people living in the same decade that the candidates are in.

it is the great news about this country or democracy. if you feel that h is a problem for you, you have the choice to vote for somebody else that is the good news. but will those voters when we get to the primaries? i do think they will, but it is their option like you can if you want to come and we can do this in our primaries if you feel that passionately about age being a problem, whatever side of the aisle you are on. you can organize and talk to community and give money and get out there and try to help the camping of somebody you feel is a better candidate, whether from policy issues or because of their age. but the reality is we elected both of these men when they were frankly a bit old to begin with. and they are leading in the electorates in the caucuses right now. host: nikki haley, too. guest: i wish voters would care more about it. they talk about it at the polls

show the voters would rather have somebody else other than trump and biden running. the polls are overwhelming on that. they have a constitutional right to run and are doing better than anybody else. extremely frustrating. mike johnson was asked about the cognitive decline of president biden. clearly he is not what he was 10 years ago, but that being said, ronald reagan when he ran for reelection was kind of slowing down, too, and people thought he did great last four years except for iran. this goes back to, are you old and can you do the job? to biden's credit, and i think he is too old to dig dust old -- old to do the job about he has fined around and show the radiance to and he has made all kinds of gaffes but this has been very consistent. the voters so far disappointed but still voted for both trump

and biden despite the rage. host: in manchester, missouri, on the republican line. caller: thanks for taking my call today. so i want to look back to what really started the era we are in now. back in 2016, there were populist ground swells, both the left and the right. trump effectively executed a hostile takeover of the republican party. a new york liberal from years ago. on the left of a bernie sanders was running strong in the democratic party. the difference was that superdelegates, i don't understand exactly how they work, but i know enough that the superdelegates blocked out bernie sanders and swayed the voters in the democratic party towards hillary clinton. i believe the democrats did not have superdelegates back then.

for our democrat representative here today, if we are a democracy, can you please explain how the democratic party superdelegates really works? does it disenfranchise any other voters? give the republican strategist a chance for his party. host: let's do this quickly and then maybe we can squeeze in one more call before we let you go. guest: there is a lot of people that say the electorate should be the popular vote and whatnot, but they did not squeeze out somebody. this was not a mover on behalf of the dnc with superdelegates to ensure their preferred candidate made it through. i agree that there was a large populist movement in 2016 both sides of the aisle. we actually saw donald trump and bernie sanders converge and look

at oppositions to things like the ppp, which you see former president obama and former president trump -- host: the transpacific partnership. guest: the transpacific partnership. we see more trade deals possibly coming down the line that a couple years, so it is an interesting place where you can see where they met up on some of those issues and it resonated with a lot of middle-class voters, and then it was sort of what other issues drew you one way or the other on where you thought the best leader would be. host: how do you compare the two systems? guest: we don'tguest: have super delegates -- guest: we don't have superdelegates. i wish we did. in 2016, they tried to figure out a way to derail trump's campaign at the convention and it failed. we got our bernie sanders, which is trump, who was a populist

that was going to attack globalism. he got that and had four years of presidency. you know, i do think that the democrats have the superdelegates system. i think she was still able to beat bernie. it was a lot closer than people thought, and bernie is still a big influence in the democratic party. host: keith from denver, colorado, on our democrats like. caller: good morning. i will be quick. bernie is not a democrat, first of all. bernie is a democratic-socialist who caucuses with democrats, so he was never a democrat. no one stole anything from him. and he does not even make that claim. secondly, we really need to put focus on white evangelical --

i don't call them christian, but white evangelical nationalism. it is a threat and we are ignoring it. i don't care what the religion is, islam, judaism, christianity, hinduism, it is fundamentalism. host: just to give both of you chance to respond, i want to start with you, john. especially on the abortion issue, this is really going to be a problem i think for republicans because abortion is a big issue for evangelical christians and a big part of the republican base, but also a challenging topic for republicans right now. guest: it is a big issue for catholic voters, too. the catholic church is a big church so you have a lot of different opinions but the official position of the catholic church, the pope has said that on many occasions, that abortion is wrong.

but the politics are such that we are going to have a very interesting election in virginia because if you look at all the ads, it is either crime or abortion. host: you mean virginia is a bellwether state. guest: a bellwether. coming up in a week i think. the abortion issue for example in 2022 is the top issue of pennsylvania the people voted on, and it i have long said the republicans need to get her act together on abortion. there is common ground to be found, but some need to be advocating for common ground, and so far, the republicans decided they will let the states handle it. the more conservative states

help define more moderate states positions for republicans and that is a problem for them. they need to figure out what the national messaging is and any to find something that is politically feasible. if we don't, we will get beat. host: any final thoughts on this or what the caller was saying? guest: i would say the democrats are coming from a place where that is the middle ground, let women make their own decisions. women are able to make their own health care decisions, they can consult their doctor or someone in their family about it, but let's take the government out of it. it is the most republican thing i ever say, let's take the government out of it. and i'm fighting with them about this particular issue. i think it will continue to be a factor. i think virginia is going to be close. in a week, we will take a look at these races.

people need to remember it is a microcosm of it but it will be indicative of what the voters are feeling. there is also a race in kentucky for governor where democratic governor andy beshear is running for reelection and running on a lot of what the democratic party is about. fair wages, good middle-class, education system. really leaning into those values. and i think that is what the american people ultimately want to be supporting. host: thank you very much, , nicole brener-schmitz and john feehery. later on, the u.s. sent assets to the middle east to offer support for israel to battle hamas. john mccleary will join us later on to discuss the u.s. role. we will be right back. ♪ >> live sunday november 5 on in

depth, the former -- takes calls about civil rights, free speech, censorship and more. she is the author of defending pornography, hate, and the recently published free speech: what everyone needs to know. join the conversation with your phone calls, facebook comments, and texts. "in depth" live sunday, november 5 at noon eastern on book tv on c-span2. ♪ >> c-span's studentcam documentary competition is back, celebrating 20 years. this year's theme is looking forward while considering the past. we are asking students to create a five to six minute video

addressing one of these questions. in the next 20 years, what is the most important change you would like to see in america? or over the past 20 years, what has been the most important change in america? we are giving away $100,000 in total prizes with a grand prize of $5,000, plus the opportunity to share a portion of an additional $50,000. the competition deadline is friday, january 19, 2024. for information, visit our website. ♪ >> john hancock is one of the most famous signatures in the history of the united states. most people don't know much more than that about him. rick barbier, the founder of ye olde taverns tour of boston, wants to change your perception

of this american signer of the declaration of independence. he got the moniker in the middle of the 1700s. the author writes "his stature eventually rose so high that he became known by both his friends and enemies by that name." >> author brooke barber on this episode on the free mobile app or wherever you get your broadcasts. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. i am joined by paul mcleary, a defense reporter for politico -- not quite yet. we will do more of your questions and comments. our republican line is (202) 748-8001. our democratic line is (202) 748-8000.

in our independent line is (202) 748-8002. you can text us, just make sure to include your name and where you are writing in from. we will start with jessica from wichita, kansas on our democrat line. caller: hello and good morning. i'm really worried about the war in israel. the war in the middle east. i hear we could be on the verge of world war iii with the way things are going. we need to start understanding more and put our differences aside before we go destroy everybody and everything. you think about the effects of what you say and you can cause harm to the future. thank you. host: bill is in new york on the

independent line. go ahead. caller: good morning. i was trying to get through to pose a question to your last two people. a hypothetical question. we're going forward to 2024, joe biden wins the election. you still have the house in republican-controlled. what happens when they go to certify the election like they did on january 6 and the whole republican majority votes to not certify? what happens in that situation? thank you. host: ok, sorry we were not able to get you in with the guests. let's go to jose in tulsa, oklahoma on the independent line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: i just wanted to talk about the tax cuts.

you know they cost the united states $1.9 trillion. and they are still going on every year. so, we are still almost $2 trillion in debt without spending any money. that was the first step of the social security tax cuts. i noticed when they came up with a deal and the cr that they had a tax cut in then for the rich again -- there for the rich again and for social security. i do think the democrats and the republicans can work together. it was very nice one week ago. thank you. host: steve in missouri on our

independent line. caller: yeah, thanks. i tried to call in on the other segment, but i guess they ended it too soon. john, the gentleman, he said we just wanted a speaker, no matter if he was involved with taking down the election, we just want a speaker. well, the constitution is more important than the party or any party. i don't agree -- i am an independent. i don't really agree with either party. the constitution is more important and trump is a liar. he didn't win the election. biden won the election whether you like him or not. i don't agree with everything he does either but he does do a better job than trump did. thank you and have a nice day. host: carrie in bellwood,

illinois. caller: good morning, c-span. host: can you turn down the volume on your tv? caller: sorry, yes, i will. give me one second. ok, i have a couple of questions. first, i want to ask the journalist -- host: both of our guests have stepped away already. do you have a comment? caller: just journalists in general when we talk about being fair and balanced. all the action in gaza, but i don't see reporting coming from gaza. as far as the economy is going, i think the biden administration is doing a wonderful job. of course, the republicans are not going to acknowledge that. trump started running the day after biden got elected.

that's all i got to say for now. thank you. host: on the israel-hamas conflict, last week at the republican jewish coalition, 2024 republican presidential candidate nikki haley gay former president trump credit for his -- gave former president trump credit for his israel policies but said the world cannot deal with four more years of his chaos, vendetta and drama. >> america needs a captain that will study the ship, not capsized it. republicans need a candidate that can actually win. [applause] we can't let joe biden get reelected. he's bad enough, but even worse

is waiting in the wings. a vote for president joe biden is a vote for president kamala harris. we cannot survive a president harris. every poll shows that easily beat biden and harris. [applause] but, nbc, cnn, you name it, they don't show that for anyone else in this race. while the polls are notable, principles matter a lot more. as president, i will not complement hezbollah, nor will i criticize israel's prime minister in the middle of a tragedy and warm. -- war. [applause]

we had no time for personal vendettas. i will also not compliment chinese communist president xi, no will i call kim jong-un my friend. host: now to bill in florida on our independent line. caller: good morning, thank you very much. while we're using up all this airtime with the speaker of the house nomination and the election and the war in israel and the war in ukraine and the obsession with president trump, we seem to be forgetting, and i would like to see an explainer on the charges of senator robert menendez who is currently facing trial next year with bribery and

acting as an egyptian foreign agent. host: wyatt in new jersey on our independent line. make sure to turn on your tv, w yatt. hi there, wyatt, can you hear us? all right, let's go to ella in florida on the independent line. caller: good morning, how are you? host: good, thanks. caller: this is on the economy. i just wanted to give you four points on it. steve goldstein who covers the financial markets for "market watch" said the gdp numbers are not as robust as headlines suggest. q3 real gdp grew 4.9%, but inventories accounted for nearly 30% of that gain as companies increased inventories to get ahead of future price hikes.

real private fixed investments, manufacturing plants and equipment for example, remain flat and continue to slow on a year-over-year basis. number two, the chief global economist at the economic outlook group said those numbers are not going to be repeated soon. consumer spending cannot provide gravity much longer. the combination of record household debt, higher interest rates in more than two decades, growing consumer delinquencies, and the prospect of higher energy prices this winter will dampen spending in the next two quarters. two final points, the personal consumption expenditure grows higher than expected -- that's the prices people pay for goods and services is up. finally, j.p. morgan chase and deutsche bank estimates the

treasury will need to borrow about $1.5 trillion during the current fourth-quarter and first quarter of 2024 on top of the $1 trillion estimated borrowing that took place in the third quarter. all of that will be at higher interest rates. so, the american public is being gassed laid it on the numbers and i think the american people -- gas lighted on the numbers and i think the american people need to understand that. host: another comment from the chief investment strategist at e stet global advisors who says "goinard,he consumer will not spend at the same rate, the government will t spend at the same rate, and businesses will be slowing down their spending as well. this suggests it might be the peak gdp figure for the next few quarters." that is from cnbc. bernie is in new york on our democratic line. caller: good morning.

i'm really upset -- other derogatory terms i could use with having president, scratch that, former president trump running step for step with president biden. it's really frightening. and what's more frightening is the american people, this country is supporting it. this is insanity. the proof of the pudding is the gentleman who called a couple moments ago complaining we were spending airtime on such trivial matters as what's going on in israel and the budget and the congress being shut down because we are concerned about menendez -- america, wake up, please. thank you. host: james is in memphis on our

independent line. caller: hi. why is it -- hi -- why is it when government agencies do these contracts, it is not low bid and they use the mask of minority contracts, and they mark it up 10% to 25% above retail? it would help the taxpayer. host: ok, john is also in memphis on the democratic line. caller: thanks for taking my call. i was calling about the ages of president biden and former president trump. if trump wins -- going to be in a holocaust too. if trump wins, all we are

going to have is a bunch of retaliations, the man will still be going to trial in different areas. i think if trump would get out and give someone else another chance in the republican party, we might go a little bit further and do a lot better. but right now, if trump wins this thing, we are going to be in trouble. host: michael is in lakeridge, virginia on our republican line. caller: hi, good morning. yeah, right now, the economy is rough with inflation so high. the burden on the working class. food is more expensive. getting proper nutrition and healthy food is harder to afford than energy prices -- and energy prices are so high with the price of gas going up and staying up. it is harder to get to work and

it also causes prices of everything else to go up. crime is so bad and people are overdosing on fentanyl. the border is a humanitarian catastrophe. we are getting into more and more wars. and with president trump, we had low-inflation. we had low energy prices. we had peace. israel was making peace and for peace treaties with arabs and normalization with arabs. our economy was strong and robust. and biden, all the corruption with him directly, all the corruption with his family, all the malfeasance with intelligence agencies, it is all being ignored and covered up

unless you listen to one source of news because the other agencies are never exposing this corruption. and for people to want to have the election verified, they are being attacked as election deniers. while at the same time, people like leader hakeem jeffries question the elections. it's his right to, just like it is other people's right to want to have integrity in elections. there's nothing criminal about that. wanting audits of ballots, that is not a criminal act. host: we are about out of time. next, we will have a discussion about u.s. military support of israel with politico's defense reporter paul mcleary. we will be right back.

♪ >> this week on the c-span networks, the house and senate are in with both chambers continuing work on 2024 spending legislation to fund the federal government for next year. the senate will also vote on jack lew for u.s. ambassador for israel. antony blinken and secretary of defense lloyd testify before the senate appropriations committee on the $160 bilon emergency supplemental funding for the support of israel and ukraine, as well as other security risks. on tuesday, secretary of homeland security and fbi director christopher wray testify before the senate homeland security committee on trust of the homeland. on wednesday, jerome powell holds a news conference following the federal open market committee meeting. watch this week live on the c-span networks or on c-span now, our free mobile video a.

go to c-span.org for scheduling information or to stream video live or on-demand anytime. c-span, your unfiltered view to government. ♪ >> john hancock is one of the most famous signatures in the history of the united states. most people don't know much more than that about him. brooke barbier, the founder of ye olde taverns tour of boston, wants to change your perception of this american signer of the declaration of independence. her new is book is called "king hancock." he got that moniker back in the middle of the 1700s. the author writes "his stature eventually rose so high, that he became known by both his friends and enemies by that name." >> author brooke barbier on this

episode of "book notes plus." ♪ >> sunday, published in 1918, the novel is part of the prairie trilogy and tells the story of the friendship of a boy from virginia and the elder daughter of a family of immigrants who settled in nebraska, known for bringing the american west to life. the book addresses the immigrant experience and women issues at the time. melissa homestead, english professor, has talked about her and her book for many years and will join us on the program. watch monday live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now,

or online at c-span.org. scan the qr code to listen to our companion podcast. you can learn more about the authors of the books featured. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are joined by paul mcleary, a defense reporter for politico. good morning. before we get to your interview, i want to go to a clip from msnbc. brigadier general patrick ryder was speaking about the ongoing conflict between israel and hamas, and about u.s. resources going into the region, and what would keep them from being drawn directly into a war. this is him speaking on friday. [video clip] >> right now, the forces are going into the region to deter a wider conflict and send a message to any state or nonstate actors to include iran that they

should think twice about trying to escalate. number two is to ensure we have the capabilities we need within this area of operations to protect our forces no matter where they are serving. that is why those forces are there and as it relates to israel, we have a very focused effort to ensure we are communicating closely with the israelis to provide them with security systems they need to conduct their operations to protect the people against hamas terrorist attacks. >> given what's happening in israel, the threat of hamas and hezbollah, and by extension iran, what is the a line for america putting boots on the ground? >> i will not get into hypotheticals. right now, our focus is on communicating with israel to ensure they have the security systems they need, while at the same time, ensuring we have the force presence across the middle east to deter a potential escalation.

no one wants to see this widen. again, that is what we will stay focused on. host: what have you been covering in terms of this conflict in regard to what the u.s. is doing? guest: there's a few things the u.s. is doing. one is sending the uss gerald ford aircraft carrier to the mediterranean. a second aircraft carrier just entered the mediterranean on friday. that will probably join the fo rd and go to the persian gulf. there's also a strike group wishes two amphibious ships full of marines going to the mediterranean to help support the ford. what they would do is humanitarian aid, rescue. they can go to shore, bring people out and things like that.

the u.s. has staged more in the region but there's no indication they will participate in the fighting. host: looking at your reporting, the pentagon is scouring its weapon stockpiles to israel even as ukraine stresses the industry. what did you find? guest: there's a few things the israelis need right away. one is more air defense missiles. more patriot missiles, although they have not been using patriots so much. they need more 155-millimeter howitzer shells. they use a lot of artillery. they need more air to ground missiles. obviously, they have been pounding sites in gaza for three weeks now so they need to restock things like that. hundreds of thousands of rounds of all of these weapons that we can send to israel right away. they have huge stockpiles of those weapons. as the war goes on, they will

need to be restocked. host: i want to have a look at president biden's spdi request for israel, which includes -- i directed towards the transfer of weapons, ammunitions of stockpiles, including ammunition to the iron de. and the package will also include precision guided munitions. many of us have heard of iron dome. what are david sling and iron beam? guest: iron beam is a laser that can shoot down drones and rockets and things like that. the israelis have developed it. there are some reports it has been used, but also those reports were knocked down. there are air defense systems that the israelis have developed. with hundreds of rockets a day coming from gaza and from lebanon now, the israelis are expending a lot of these munitions to knock this stuff

down so they need rapid resupply . the defense industry, it is difficult for them to turn on a dime, so it will be a while before things can ramp up. the stockpiles are pretty deep. no new contracts have been done yet for israel. there has been movement there to build more artillery shells for ukraine but now with two wars going on, the u.s. -- the pentagon calls itself the arsenal democracy. being an arsenal, you need to make investments early for equipment that will arrive a year or two. what's happening now will not go to israel and ukraine right away. that is part of the worry, that the defense industry did not ramp up fast enough. host: does that this function in

congress play role in readiness? guest: it will. there is no federal budget. we are a month into it and there is no budget. everything has to stay on 2023 levels. can't do any new contracts without a budget. ukraine funding is running pretty low. there is no new israel funding obviously -- there is a speaker of the house now so we will see how quickly they can move through this bill. there is talk about splitting the supplemental request for israel's border and ukraine funding, which would complicate the process. it's not clear when this package will actually go through. it seems like it will. it seems like there's enough support in congress to push it through but it could take a while. host: we want to hear your thoughts on these topics and the u.s. role in israel as well as supplying ammunitions and other defense supplies. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. democrats at (202) 748-8000. independents at (202) 748-8002.

i want to shift gears slightly to news that the u.s. made some strikes in syria after attacks on u.s. troops. this is from "the military times." can you tell us what happened? guest: in syria and iraq, for years, sent small drones and mortars to smother u.s. installations in syria. there have been some injuries and things like that, but mostly they have been intercepted by air defense in the region. the attacks have stepped up since hamas' invasion into israel. and the u.s. has tried to rush more short range defenses to defend those sites. president biden wanted the iranians to stop the activity. another attack just happened this morning in syria. no injuries reported yet.

it has been an ongoing concern. the small u.s. facilities are ready for it. there are only a few hundred troops there, so the more it happens, there's a risk of the u.s. having to beef up those sites and further attacks. the pentagon, folks on the record and folks we have spoken to, there is no sense the u.s. wants to get involved in a shooting war in syria or northern iraq. he says they are training local forces. jake sullivan wants them to stop this activity. the sites were ammunition dumps and logistic centers being used by the small militant groups supported by iran. host: there's also news the u.s. was sitting down missiles and drones launched from yemen. guest: the government in yemen, they have a pretty formidable

missile capabilities they have gotten from iran. i sent several ballistic missiles, a few dozen drones -- they sent several ballistic missiles, a few dozen drones north towards israel. a destroyer knocked them all down. we will see if they do that again. the iranians, i am not sure if they want them to get involved, but it's unclear how much iran is directing this and how much they are doing on their own. host: i think before this conflict, a lot of people might have been surprised to see how much u.s. involvement there still was in the region especially after the pullout in afghanistan. guest: 2500 troops in iraq. troops have been training and things like that for the iraqi military. syria, they are training local forces. and also, intercepting and

helping the locals keep an eye on it. there's russian forces. u.s. jets over syria. every two months, there is an incident. there's a lot happening in syria between the u.s., turkey, russia and iran. it is a quiet hotspot. not really aware of what happens there. it is a hodgepodge of international forces. host: let's get a couple of questions in. bob is in north carolina on our democratic line. caller: good morning. what i don't understand is why in the world would the idf need any assistance from us when they are bombing the civilians in gaza? and we should not be in syria anyway. hillary clinton started that whole mess. it appears the warmongers are

fully back in charge. host: let's start with the point about the israeli defense forces, the idf, and what kind of support they need from the united states. guest: there is no support on the ground from the u.s. there is resupply of the stockpiles. i know there is some advising going on, not on the ground, in the idf headquarters and things like that, but there's no u.s. boots on the ground there. there's no reason to suspect there will be anytime soon. i don't think the u.s. has any interest in getting involved. the idf, this is what they do. they can handle this fight on their own with material support from the u.s., that is funding and things like that. the aircraft carriers are there, there's no sense that they will start flying over gaza. it's a symbol. it sends a sign to other countries to stay away. it mostly has to do with iran, i think.

the marine expeditionary unit. host: a lot of the u.s. support is centered around the iron dome. for people who are not familiar, can you explain what it is, how it works, and the role the u.s. plays? guest: it is a collaborative effort between the u.s. and israel. it is a short range air defense system. it knocks down small drones, rockets, mortars, things like that. it is effective. we have all seen pictures of the rockets coming from gaza, the iron dome going up to intercept them. they use radar systems along the border so they can track rockets and missiles as soon as they are launched. the iron dome fires it off. it's arguably the best short range air defense in the world. they knock down pretty much everything that they shoot at. and the missiles they use are

made in the u.s. and israel. that is a joint venture between the u.s. and israeli defense industries. i would assume there will be some ramp up of those missiles. the u.s. marine corps wants to use those missiles as well. they are very interested. i think there is movement to expand to make more of these missile interceptors. host: what companies are we talking about and how ready are they to ramp up production? guest: it's difficult to ramp it up. it takes time to hire people. raytheon in the u.s. and rafae l in israel, they work together on multiple projects. i am sure they are in talks to further increase production. but before the production, they need a contract from the u.s. or israeli governments and that takes some time to do. host: especially when there's no budget. guest: this will take months to do. the missiles will not be rolling

off the assembly line for quite some time, but the line is hot so they are making them now. host: don in amarillo, texas on the republican line. go ahead. caller: hello. i read a book by paul dickinson on the rise of the g.i. army. and fdr, who was the greatest president even though he was a democrat, initiated a draft well before pearl harbor. so, i'm wondering two questions. it has been widely reported that the state of the u.s. military has declined incrementally. there is no draft. there is no call for mandatory military service. and president biden and v.p.

harris, to my knowledge, have ever been asked one knowledge question about the u.s. military and the present state of readiness. so, i would like your opinion on this dilemma. host: do you see a buildup? guest: there has not been a draft since the early 1970's. we fought in iraq and afghanistan for 20 years without a draft. there were some issues with readiness at the time as well because some units were ground down by constant deployments. some of the standards were lowered a little bit to allow people in. a draft would be a tough sell to the american people. it has not been one since the early 1970's. the u.s. is not involved in any shooting wars. we should lay that on the table right away. we are helping the ukrainians, the israelis. the navy, air force, and army are doing a lot in the indo pacific region, but the u.s. is

not fighting anyone right now. readiness is a concern. budgets have been late every year for over a decade. but, the pentagon is getting more money. as they get more money, the things they are buying becoming more expensive. as they get more money, the buying power does not increase by that much because what they are buying is really high-end expensive equipment that gets more expensive every year. there have been reports of readiness concerns as far as some of the equipment being older and not replaced, but that is a work in progress. i think that in peace time, that is the time to get after it. there are new supplementals the biden administration is asking for. there are billions of dollars in there for the u.s. industrial base.

$2.4 billion to modernize submarine shipment yards. several hundred million dollars for more artillery and precision guided weapons and things like that. i think there is a movement to address those readiness concerns in the supplemental which comes on top of the budget. again, it will take several years but making big investments now will address these readiness concerns in two to three years. host: let's hear from patrick in pennsylvania on our democratic line. caller: good afternoon or good morning. paul mcleary, i don't know what planet you are on but when you come from a family at the highest levels of military intelligence and you hear the nonsense you are purveying on behalf of politico and the israeli government. let me be very clear, u.s. special forces are on the ground

in israel. u.s. special forces are on the ground in ukraine. you are lying to the american people about every aspect not only about the weapons systems, about israel's direct access to our weapons depot. this literally happened during the iraq war. israel walked into our weapons depots, they did not even have to sign their name. host: i want to get your reaction to this idea that u.s. forces might actually be doing covert operations in either israel, gaza, or ukraine at the moment. guest: we have seen no evidence of that. if the caller has some information he would like to pass along, please do. there are advisors, obviously. to the top level of the ukrainian and israeli governments. there's absolutely -- the united states cannot hide troop

deployment, combat operations. everyone has a cell phone in their pocket. if there are u.s. forces anywhere, we would see it. people would recognize it. but, there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever troops are on the ground. host: we are also taking your comments on social media or your questions on x. @cspanwj. now, let's go to catherine in new hampshire on our independent line. caller: hi. i have some thoughts. first, the abraham accords, there were dreams of peace and business opportunities and more good possibility. now, we are living in a world of terrorism, which brings death and injury and sorrow. i know it'd be sad leaving your

homeland, but one way to help is please, israelis and ukrainians, come to america and be welcomed and safe. if i were in oracle, which i am not, i would say to the creepy terrorists, i see your future and you have a future of eating weeds and eating sand. thank you. host: anything you would like to add there? guest: i think that israelis and ukrainians are happy to stay in their countries and fight for what they believe in. host: we have a comment on social media from nelson on x, who is in massachusetts and says "i think joe bid nds to make a deal with israel for a cease-fire until the hostages are found and civilians are safe. i would say no money until this is agreed to." what do you think of this idea?

president biden has been putting pressure on israel to try to be proportionate in its response and take care of the civilians in gaza. what about this idea? guest: for a cease-fire to be agreed to and take hold, both have to agree to it, right? it is not clear either side is ready to do that. the massacre of 1400 civilians was just a few weeks ago. obviously, the bombings in gaza are exacting heavy civilian tolls. it is a small strip of land packed with 2.2 million people. hamas has put its rocket launch sites next to schools and civilian areas. as israelis hit these legitimate targets, there is collateral damage. it is a tragedy. people are losing their lives. just look at the map of israel and gaza, how small of an area it is. and so, a cease-fire, i think

the united states would like a cease-fire but i think hamas and the israeli government would have to agree to that first. there are rockets to israel for years and the israelis have struck back. i know there are talks going on about releasing prisoners. it is not clear where those talks are, but a cease-fire would be pretty difficult right now. the idf has gone about two miles into gaza. they are clearing and expanding as they go. this is not the massive invasion that some people thought it would be. it is more targeted raids into gaza to push the hamas fighters back and clear areas and make them no go zones. host: dan is in new york on our republican line. caller: hi, thank you for having me. paul, good to have you on the program. it is good to to see press in

action. i have not heard much about china. i know there were some ships sent from china to the region. i would like to hear your thoughts on their interests in. also, i also think there is not enough education for the american public about the exact boundaries of the area we are talking about where israel and palestine have disputes. earlier in the 2000, we were all aware there were agreements to kind of remove some settlements from the israelis. i think many people in the u.s. feel like this dispute is over israelis reentering those areas and maybe there is some justification for what happened. i'm not saying there is at all, but i think there's a big confusion over this and i feel it is more tit-for-tat. anyone who knows the truth, as i do, recognizes that these brutal

attacks from hamas into israel were really unjustified and it needs to ends, and i support israel and what they are doing. host: let's take the first bit of that. you mentioned it is a small size of the area we are talking about. can you lay out the geography and put that size into context? guest: obviously, there's the west bank and gaza -- sorry, in the east. they are not connected, the west bank and gaza. those are different issues. before the bloody raid hamas staged into israel, a lot of the idf had been removed from that area to the west bank. that is the core of bibi netanyahu's political support. dozens of brigades were pulled and sent to the west bank. there is an opportunity for hamas to pushing. you saw the videos, the idf was

not there. the operations in the west bank had a huge impact. it had an impact on hamas' thinking. it is a tiny area. you drive from one end of gaza to another, it takes hours. any incursion the israelis make into it, even if they go a mile, that is significant ground. it is jampacked with people. it is in an urban environment, which is the hardest type of fighting for anyone. it is a tiny area and flooding it with troops will be incredibly difficult to not harm civilians from both sides fighting because there are 2.2 million people there and they have nowhere to go. host: robbie is in california on our independent line.

caller: good morning, thank you. host: go ahead. caller: first of all, i really appreciate c-span because the other so-called news channels, they lean left or right so hard, it is not even funny, but you guys have a real good way of staying centered and that is what we need nowadays. on the israel thing, it seems to me based on what i hear on the news channels that these palestinians who are ranting and raving about the israelis bombing their country and killing civilians, it seems like they should rise up and go against hamas if they don't do that, seeing as they don't do that, it seems like maybe we are not being told the whole story.

i know there's a lot of history there, but it seems like they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. the other thing i want to mention which is not really being talked about right now is the current situation on our borer with mexico -- border with mexico. left and right politicians, newspeople and everybody seems to be quick to bring up the fentanyl crisis, but they are blind to the fact there is no market for fentanyl in the united states, it would not be killing people because it would not be sold. that is how the drug problem has been for decades. host: let's take the first part of that. how much support does hamas have amongst the population in the gaza strip? guest: it is tough to tell. it did win an election years ago but that was the last election that they had. i'm sure there is widespread

support for it, but i am sure there's a lot of people that wish that hamas did not hoard supplies for their own use. the people in gaza need all of that. i saw a report yesterday, hamas has enough fuel and food to fight for three or four months. most of that comes from international aid organizations. that is meant for the people of gaza. so, they are not getting that support from their own government that was elected. as far as rising up, that is difficult to do and that is a scary prospect. hamas, they corner the market on security in gaza. they have the guns, they have the bullets, they have the rockets. i don't think the average gazan has a gun, so rising up, like we have seen in iran, rising up against the well armed government that rules with an

iron fist, that is a difficult proposition. it is a scary thing to do. throw rocks at armed fighters. i don't know how viable an uprising of the palestinian civilians would be. if i could go back one second about china. one quick comment. i think that beijing is not upset at all to see two u.s. aircraft carriers in the mediterranean as opposed to being in the south china sea. and another expeditionary unit going towards the red sea and not the south china sea. so, china does not mind at all when the u.s. gets entangled in events like this around the world. the u.s. has been trying to pivot to the indo pacific region since the obama administration. every couple years, something happens in the middle east

and resources go there. host: jay is in new york on the republican line. caller: yeah, first thing is i want to say in terms of israel, how do you negotiate with people who want you to be exterminated, that they don't want you to exist? another thing that is pretty scary is the rise of anti-semitism in the united states, especially on campuses in new york city. finally, i want to say i served in the military for almost 30 years and in terms of whether or not we have troops in ukraine operating, i can tell you that before the war started, we did have advisors on the ground. so, when you hear that we are not there, well, the chances of us not being there are slim to none since we were there before. and -- host: that was exactly paul's

point, that it was an advisory role and not troops on the ground. caller: i can tell u.s. someone working in military intelligence, we had advisors up with the ukrainian forces face-to-face with the russians advising them. you can call them advisors if you want, but they are -- murph y's law -- if they are in range, so are you. you can call them whatever you want. we had advisors in vietnam and we ended up getting entangled in that. that is all i have to say. host: any response? caller: before the russian invasion, the united states, canada, and other countries had trainers in western ukraine near the polish border. there are several thousand of them. that started after russia's initial invasion of 2014 of ukraine.

absolutely, there were u.s. troops in ukraine along with canadians, brits, poles, latvians and estonians. they pulled out before the invasion because the writing was on the wall that the russians were going to do this. they went into poland, where they still are, doing some training of the ukrainians. that is where we train the ukrainians on tanks, the bradleys, things like that. training them on the iron dome. we are currently training the ukrainian pilots in arizona. there's a lot of advising on that level. all the advisors on the ground, all were pulled out before the invasion. host: diane is in st. paul, minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to thank you for taking my call. i'm calling because i have not heard anybody talk about the fact that israel is an apartheid

state. i have been to gaza, i have been to the west bank, i have been to tel aviv. everything there is different. these people live under dire -- how do you want to call it? just like slavery was in america because that is an apartheid state. you had streets you could not walk down. i said, wait a minute, what is this? that is how this is. america is not saying anything about it. our tax dollars are going over there supporting an apartheid state. you have all of these americans that israel has taken in. if you can come from anywhere in the country and go to israel and get you one of those settlements on somebody else's land. that is what is happening here. that is why those of us here, i'm protesting the fact that my

money is going towards that. until people change what their policies are and how they treat people, there's never going to be peace. host: paul, there has been a shift, especially according to polling among younger generations and certain communities of color, less support for israel in this conflict. how is that affecting the funding future for this conflict? guest: i think that it will be a complicated sell for joe biden, but congress is fully behind this military support and military aid for israel. there is humanitarian aid for the palestinian authority and for palestinians. i think coming up on an election year, because election years last forever, this will be an issue. it shares wide bipartisan

support. republicans in congress will want to bring this supplemental up, but that is mostly because they want to reduce the ukraine part of it, nothing is really part of it, and boost the border security. it looks like the israel part is less contentious than the ukraine part of the supplemental budget will go through when the hill of gets back together and votes. there's a big pot of money. most of it is not going anywhere in particular or it is very vague. it will take time for appropriations committees to figure out where these dollars are going. host: we will have to leave it there. paul mcleary from politico, thank you for your time this morning. and thank you, everyone, for your time this morning. that is all we have for today's program. please join us tomorrow for another edition of "washington

journal" at 7:00 a.m. eastern. enjoy the rest of your day. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]