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host: this is "washington journal" for september 2, first monday of the new month and labor day. in presidential years it is when we start paying attention to the elections that will take place in just over two months. we want to hear about what topics are of concern to you to decide who you will vote for this november? could be the economy, social issues, other concerns. call and let us know. we will take your calls for all three hours. (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want to tell at your top issue anyone to text it to us, do that at (202) 748-8003.

you can post on her facebook page at facebook.com/c-span and on x reach out to us @cspanwj. newsweek takes look at surveys in so-called battleground states this election cycle and what top issues are for voters in those states. the august survey showed the economy is the number one issue. the seven battleground states of arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, north carolina, pennsylvania, and wisconsin. or than one in five voters in each state continuing it their priority voting issue, abortion being the second or third most prominent issue across all of the seven states. adding voters across the seven battleground states say immigration is in their top three key topics.

16% reported in pennsylvania. it also took a look up all done by emerson college -- it also took a look at a pol donel -- at a poll done by emerson college. the main issue being the economy in those states. the number one issue in pennsylvania with "threats to democracy" a distant second at 11% and immigration third at 7%. in north carolina voters named the economy of their main issue. the economy may be that top issue of yours in considering who you will vote for. there could be other issues. if you can call and let us know, we will put as many over the three hours as we can. (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents (202) 748-8002.

during the three hours we will hear from reporters in battleground states telling us about those states up for play in the cycle as the candidates visit and roll that into the show as well. and it comes to those events it president biden and vice president harris making a stop in pittsburgh that you can see later on this afternoon. 4: o c-span as they hit the battleground states, one of many on this labor day. 4:45 on c-span. watch at c-span now and c-span.org where you can follow along as well. when it comes to the top issues, what are yours? john in new jersey, republican line. top issue this election? caller: good morning. i am 75 years old. so the economy for me is ok at this stage of my life. i worry about my children and my grandchildren. more specifically, to me

immigration or illegal immigration is the top issue. you cannot have people coming in for the last three or four years , you've seen what has happened in all of the major blue cities. they're almost going broke trying to deal with this. that has to be dealt with. i think donald trump is much better to do that. host: i would you say your state of new jersey is dealing with the issue or how has it impacted if it is of concern to you? caller: i live in a semi rural area. we worry about it. i have not seen it personally. i am sure it is here. certainly places like patterson, trenton, camden, newark. more suburban areas.

i do keep my eyes open every day to see who is coming in. that is the way the american people feel. guest: john in new jersey -- host: john in new jersey. let's hear from barney in florida on the democrats line. caller: good morning. this is the only developed country that has a criminal running for president. is that going to be a constitutional right for everyone convicted that they can run for president? host: why a top issue for you? caller: why is it a top issue? don't you think -- you have a criminal who would sell out own country for money.

do you understand me? the man already tried to overthrow the government. he has the supreme court backing him up. the united states is the laughingstock of the world right now. because of one man. go ahead and finish -- host: go ahead and finish your thought. caller: is so-called party, the party of family values. this one man will destroy their party. it is a sign of ridiculousness. host: andrea in buffalo, new york. independent line. top issue. caller: good morning. i am andrea from buffalo, new york. the biggest issue for me and most independents is civics.

i remember a time when we were taught civics in school. the lack of civics. foreign affairs to me is important. keeping america safe. for me, i want someone in the top offices who knows constitutional law, the government, how it works. it is very clear to me that the top of the republican ticket does not have any idea on government, constitutional law. it is basically about making money. just the fact in regards to immigration, immigration is very important but you cannot turn away people that want to come into the country. we have to make sure they come in legally. the fact that people do not know

civics, do not know foreign affairs, do not know constitutional law, anyone them to lead our country? donald trump is the biggest fraud. host: when it comes to the vice president, she has a background in criminal law. why do you think your expertise would extent to constitutional law? caller: excellent point. she has been a senator. she knows how government works. she has been a prosecutor. it would be easy to make that leap or make that jump into constitutional law. also the fact that our former president, barack obama, is known for constitutional law. you can have that person -- not that he will be running the country, but you can consult

with him and the fact that she has been a senator, she knows the government. he has no clue in regards to the government. host: that is andrea. her issue is civics and constitutional law for those occupying the top office. when it comes to matters she mentioned, some have mentioned it was a few months ago that the pew research firm put out top policy priorities. as we have seen in the other ones, strengthening the economy at the top of the list defending against terrorism, reducing the influence of money in politics, reducing health care costs and improving education. those are the top five of that list. immigration coming down after that, dealing with immigration, and that it moves down from there. issues of climate change,

addressing issues around the world and dealing with global trade. that is at the bottom of the list. this was done earlier this year. those might be issues where you find a top one, per tripoli as you consider -- particularly as you consider choosing a president this year. let's hear from pittsburgh, pennsylvania where the president and vice president will be here later on today. this is mimi, republican line. caller: hello. i just wanted to point out you cover a lot of topics and primarily it is trump, trump, trump. did you cover, i did not see it, where mark zuckerberg in a letter to the house committee said he regrets and apologized

for bowing down to the biden administration's pressure to center -- pressure to censure content regarding covid and the hunter biden laptop? host: that story was out there. i do not know if it was mentioned on this program. why does that rise to the top for you? caller: that was ahead of the 2020 election. further zuckerberg said that if the biden interference was wrong and he plans if it ever happens again. host: the topic got a mention according to our producer. there is the headline. is this a top issue for you election wise? how would you answer that? caller: the economy and immigration. there are many issues that are top in my book.

i just wondered whether or not -- it seems like it is all trump, trump, trump and never anything about the biden administration and what they have been doing for the last three and a half years. host: we focus on that as well as the former president as we have gone along, especially towards election day. new york, democrats line, paul. caller: my number one issue is universal health care for all citizens free of charge. which the united states does not have. the rest of the world has had for generations. united kingdom has had it since 1948. all of the industrialized countries have it today. they spend less money than we do , they cover everybody for everything, and have a higher quality health care and i'm not exaggerating when i say tiny communist cuba has a lower

infant mortality rate than the united states. how do they perform this miracle? tax dollars pay for medical care and all money spent goes directly to medical care. what makes medical care so expensive in the united states is the prophets, it is the prophets, not the cost -- is the profits, not the cost of medical care. when obama was making the affordable care act, he laid out the red carpet for insurance companies, anyone who would make a profit. those supporting a single-payer system, which was a large movement at the time wanted a seat at the table, they were denied a seat at that table. when some of them entered the room anyhow and demanded to be heard they were arrested for trespassing and carted off to jail. it is about time we caught up with the rest of the world. host: you think the current vice

president is interested in going further than with the affordable care act provides? caller: she seems to be vacillating on that. she did talk previously about medicare for all but now she is saying not really. she is changing her positions on some things. i am going to vote for her because i think donald trump is so horrible that i cannot see him in the white house again. i am very disappointed in where she seems to be heading. we might get a slight improvement but i do not think we will get under her what the rest of the world has had for decades and generations. as a footnote i would like to quickly add one more thing. host: you already took a lot of space with universal health care. that is a top issue for you. thank you for calling and sharing that.

others, that could be part of your concerns or the top issue when it comes to the election cycle. if you want to call, the line (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents (202) 748-8002. richard is next in illinois, independent line. caller: the list you showed are all important topics. the running of the government needs to address. one of my issues -- i have talked to people and their disenchantment with the choices for candidacy. one of the things is they always say they are all crooks, it does not make a difference, they are all crooks. for me, if you are a crook you should not be running for the presidency.

if you are a crook you should be prosecuted. some of the things -- one of the things i was reading this morning about donald trump saying it is ok for him to interfere in the election so he should not be charged with it. if that is his interpretation of how we run our government, if that is the way people think about the way we run our government, it is definitely an issue that needs to be corrected , that we are doing whatever we want regardless of consequences -- that is not what i believe we should be doing. we should be running our government and doing the best weekend to improve society rather than creating more dissidents and tearing it down.

host: that is rich in illinois. the previous caller had mentioned medicare for all. abc news has an interview with the colorado governor. this is one of the topics that came up. there are some of the story saying "when pressed on harris' past support for medicare for all, the coloradan said the vice president is still focused on making health care more affordable. i think she understands americans want to have their choice of health care. can we do better to say people money on health care, absolutely ." there is more to that interview. you can find it online. when it comes to the topics of medicare for all and related health care that might be your issue. let's get richard in kentucky.

republican line. caller: i just read an article, and this has to do with the transition if trump wins, he comes in to the white house and it is what joe biden and kamala harris do in helping him come in to take over. now i read this article that in 2016, when trump won, we had barack obama, james comey, joe biden, and the whole team who went after michael flynn, not wanting him to be in charge of the nsa. michael flynn was a retired patriotic general it was absolutely a brilliant and wonderful man who they lied, cheated, and absolutely destroyed his life, his family, cost him every dime. this is the fbi in charge of

this. host: you went back in time to 2016. let's take it to 2024. what is the top issue. caller: the top issue is how much shenanigans. he did not want to remember what the democrats did before, are they going to do it again? michael flynn in james comey and the fbi. host: if you can related to the top issue for 2024. what is the point. caller: can you trust the democrats to do the right thing now? they have tried to kill the president of the united states. host: no, no, no. i will leave it right there. james on the democrat line. caller: this will rouse some feathers of the listening group. a long time ago i heard a statement -- i am 74 years old -- i heard a statement made that it does not make much difference

to the president of the united states is and at the time i did not think much of that statement. as time has gone by i begin to think that. then along comes trump and that is all we have heard about since he won the first election is trump, trump, trump. you have to make the best choices you can. the choice today we have is you have to have rules, you have to have guidelines. trump has no guidelines. no matter how much you try to say the democrats are going to do this or that, they are going to do the right thing. trump has not done the right thing. it is not a matter of opinion. you cannot have your own reality. host: are you saying the top issue this election cycle is the former president himself? caller: that is the top issue for me. i have to keep him out of the white house and i have to try to

straighten out the republican party to some extent if possible. they are so far off the rails. host: why is a democrat do you think that is your job to do? caller: i am not necessarily thinking because i am a democrat. i am thinking that because i'm a principal person that wants to do the right thing. i would vote for a republican anytime. i would vote for a republican, i would vote for a democrat. i would vote for anybody i thought was a reasonable person i would not mind having govern me and my family and my children and the community. it does not have anything to do with being a republican or democrat. host: you are a democrat, correct? caller: i guess. that is the line i called in on. host: let's hear from edward in wisconsin. independent line. caller: top issues our economy

and the border. i think the last eight years have proven this government is so corrupt it is on savable. host: when you say the economy and the border, why is that a top issue for you, especially being a battleground state? caller: you would be surprised the illegal workers in the state. there are factories that only hire illegals in this state. host: how do you know that for certain? caller: because i worked in one. i was the only citizen in there. host: ok. immigration being one. you said the economy. what is the economy like in wisconsin? caller: just like it is all over the country. it is scary every day when you go to the grocery store. host: edward in wisconsin. top issues. if you want to participate and

tell us yours, many people talking about the economy, some talking about immigration, some talking about the players involved when it comes to this year's election cycle. you can make that part of your mix. (202) 748-8000 democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, and independents (202) 748-8002. if you want to text us you can do that at (202) 748-8003. as always you can post on our social media sites, facebook and x. myrtle is in georgia, democrat line. you are on. what is your top issue? caller: my top issue is i do not think we should have a convicted felon running. i thought that was illegal. host: the constitution does not clarify anything on that front. why is it a top issue for you?

caller: because if you are already convicted of something you may do other things when you get to the white house. if they cannot prosecute you on what you already did that why can't they prosecute you if you do something else illegal? host: that is myrtle in georgia. we will hear from francisco in long island. independent line. he is gone. let's hear from charles in maryland, democrats line. caller: how are you doing, good morning c-span. my top issue is integrity and character. i look at donald trump and he is lacking all of that. he would still be president if he had an up integrity to tell

the truth about the pandemic. he lied to his wife and children. he lied about barack obama not being a citizen. he has no integrity and no character and people are still going toward this guy. host: if integrity is your issue, how do you apply that to the vice president, assuming you are voting for her? caller: the vice president? you are talking about kamala harris? it is not even a comparison. it is no comparison. she is taking care of other kids, she has been a steady force. donald trump has been deceptive to his family, to the economy, to everyone around him. i will say this and get off the line. if you cannot handle something, if he cannot handle blood you cannot help a man bleed. he cannot handle the truth and

handle losing and he is making a mess of everything he has touched. host: that is charles in maryland concerning the vice president. recent polling where she stands compared to former president trump, this from the hill saying vice president harris to not see a significant boost in support following the democratic national convention, maintaining a slight lead over former president trump. a new abc news poll released yesterday found the vice president edged former president trump out 50% to 46% among all adults and registered voters. when it came to likely voters harris led trump 52% to 46%. pollsters noted the findings are similar and statistically unchanged from a poll in august according to an abc news /washington post/if those poll before the convention. harris had 49% before the convention while mr. trump had 45%.

all eyes have been on polling released since last month's democratic national convention. the poll was conducted the day after the convention's final night. that is as far as polling and you will see a lot of that when it comes to where the candidates stand. it comes to the issues you can tell us what that top issue is. some of you making reference to the people involved directly. others to other issues. edgewater, florida. republican line. caller: happy labor day. there was a caller a few back that was talking about integrity. i guess he was ranting on trump lying and a bunch of other stuff. i do not understand how democrats have a very short memory.

let's go back to 2016 when they came out with the russia hoax. they spent four years perpetuating a hoax. it was not true. it was all lies. it came from the government. they went after trump. that villain eyes tim. -- that villainized him. host: as far as this year's election what is the top issue? caller: the top issue is the economy. period. it is growing at a rate a lot slower than it should be and it is also teetering on not recession, but depression. it has gotten to a point where i see people i have known for 10 or 15 years can no longer afford to live in the house they are living in or can no longer afford the rent. i have friends in their 40's.

i am 66. i own my house. i am lucky i got a 2% mortgage rate. they talk about the economy slowing down. we have inflation slowing down. why do we add this up? 9%? 3%, 3%, 5%. you add all of that up and we are at about 45% increase. when the democrats want to go running around spewing how great the economy is, saying it is doing wonderful, we have it under control, is only 3.9%, that is on top of everything else that has been going on since the beginning of time. host: the new inflation report came out last week. you can see those online. the economy might be one of those things as far as the top issue is concerned. you can call on the line and let us know.

we'll be spending most of our time hearing from you about these issues. you can call in and stay on the line. keep calling. we will also check in on the battleground states across the united states and talk about the issues there and what is at play. joining us to talk about the state of michigan is so it clark, political director -- is zoe clark, political director for michigan radio. tell us about michigan radio. guest: michigan public tells us about the entire -- michigan public covers the entire state so we are able to hear from folks all over expressing the same concerns we are hearing from your viewers this morning. host: we framed it as top issues. the average michigan dark, what would they say? guest: the economy and the price of goods is certainly number one or two. republicans in the state, including donald trump, who has

already been here twice in the last week, really want this to pivot around the economy and also around crime and safety and immigration and how those issues connect with one another. that is really what he has been pushing. republicans down ballot. emme kratz in the state and democrats who come in -- democrats in the state really want to talk about abortion. this state had a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2022 and saw incredible turnout and saw democrats take control of state government for the first time in 40 years. democrats want the conversation about abortion. host: polling from 538 showing a slim margin between harris and former president trump. those are aggregate poles but what do poles you look at within the state tell you? caller: one thing week -- guest:

one thing we can say because we never want to talk about just one poll. one trend is kamala harris has been better for the ticket than biden in michigan. we were looking at as high as seven points for trump ahead of biden. i do not think this would ever be a seven point race, we are the swing used of swing states. what we are seeing is kamala harris being the. -- being neck in neck. this will be a close race and this is about the ground game. for democrats when were folks turn out to vote in michigan democrats win. i like to say that in 2016 eight when folks were so shocked donald trump won michigan, it was not so much that donald trump won michigan but hillary clinton lost michigan.

folks stayed home and did not turn out. that is what the harris campaign has to look like. for trump it is about getting out voters. his ceiling is low. there are only a certain number of folks. host: how would you characterize the ground game for both parties? guest: it is very interesting. it is trump a la 2016, we will take out 2020 because of covid. rallies throughout the state. he was in howell michigan two weeks ago at a sheriff's department. issues about whether or not he was politicking there at the department. he does not have a huge ground game, where is the harris campaign, previously the biden campaign had offices throughout the state. that is whether or not they get out the vote for the harris campaign having these offices

throughout the state are going to matter, particularly in voter rich cities like detroit where voters really stay home in 2016. host: it probably would not surprise you that the vice president plans a trip to talk with labor leaders. tell us about this visit. guest: kamala harris will be in detroit. this is not surprising. there is a long history of presidential candidates or vice presidential candidates or vice presidents and presidents themselves coming to detroit. the state is such a historic state when it comes to labor and unions. the state that put cars in american homes. we had barack obama when he was president for 2011, joe biden he was vice president came to detroit for labor day. there is a rich history and we assume that what she will be

focusing on is the economy, inflation, and what she wants to do for workers. host: in your state we heard about this group of voters, the undecided voters. much influence do you think they still have today as far as who determines the state? guest: this is a great question. the undecideds and those who feel like maybe they know but it is give or take whether they turn out to vote. what is really interesting we have not talked about is the committee boat -- the uncommitted vote. southeast michigan, including places like dearborn, has a huge arab-american population. this is where the uncommitted vote started in february, this idea he will vote in the democratic primary for president but not for joe biden. instead there was a place where you could put in uncommitted, check that uncommitted box. about 100,000 uncommitted votes,

this is because of the protest over gaza. it'll be interesting to see what happens with kamala harris, how she is able to thread the needle around gaza and israel because there is also a large jewish population in the state. 100,000 votes come that is a big deal what you think donald trump won the state by 11,000 votes in 2016 and biden won the state by 150,000 votes in 2020. guest: tell us about the role -- host: tell us about the role governor whitmer is playing in this event? guest: she is one of the national cochairs, previously of the biden campaign and out of the harris campaign. she is a popular -- and now of the harris campaign. she is a popular governor in michigan and a popular brand ambassador in the country for democrats. she is going to be on the ground in the next 60 plus days doing everything she can.

she won her gubernatorial race two years ago. that abortion amendment on the ballot. we believe some of that helped. she ended up winning by 11 points in michigan over a trump-endorsed candidate she was running against. she will absolutely be part of getting out the vote in michigan. host: abortion plays largely in state politics. you think in national politics that is high on the list? where does that rank? guest: my understanding is it depends on each state. in michigan it tends to be economy and inflation number one, and the number two were three tend to be immigration or abortion depending on who you talk to. it depends on the state and the laws posted jobs -- post dobbs each state is creating. it is something democrats want to keep talking about. former president trump continues

to talk about last week over the florida abortion ban and seems not to figure out what his messages where democrats feel they have a solid message and will continue to push it as much as they can for november. guest: talk about what changed -- host: you talk about what changed in the state with the entrance of the vice president. i'm sure that affected down ballot races, including the senate race. tell us about that race. guest: let's say the democrats down ballot are happy about this decision. whether they will say publicly or not there was a feeling of excitement that they were not going to be dragged down by the former president. this is something that does not happen very often, it is an open u.s. senate seat. that is because longtime democratic senator debbie stabenow announced she is retiring, surprising some.

it is an open seat between current democratic congresswoman alyssa slotkin who currently represents the congressional district debbie stabenow did, and mike rogers, a former republican congress person. it is an interesting race because the republican and democrat are the establishment candidate and right now, with the american system of primaries , we sometimes see in these far-right candidates cancer republican primaries, whether it is with a trump-endorsed meant or just grassroots. that did not happen here even though the establishment candidate thought the trump-endorsed meant, even though mike rogers said some things after the 2020 election that were not kind to the former president. this is a close election and one where the u.s. senate candidates are looking to the top of the ballot hoping to help them out.

just last week when donald trump was in michigan, mike rogers was standing right next to him. host: how can folks find michigan radio if they are interested? guest: go to michiganpublic.org. my cohost and i do a weekly podcast on all things michigan if you want to dig in more to all of these crazy things heading into election 2024. host: zoe clark on this labor day. thanks for your time and your input. guest: thanks much for your time. host: will continue talking to reporters from battleground states. listening to you about the top issue. in west virginia, democrats line, good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to correct a caller that called in earlier.

i have been listening. to me the most important issue in this election is that republicans are enamored with an idea of how awesome trump is and they do not look at things he has done, things he has said. what that caller was talking about how general flynn was railroaded in 2016, general flynn was an effective general working intelligence in combat zones like afghanistan or iraq. he came back and left the service he was going to be in charge of the dia or the nsa, one of the intelligence agencies. he tried to run it like he ran the military. it was just not working. he was overly emphasizing --

host: back your idea of the ideal trump republicans have, what you think that is a top issue? caller: they listen to fox news and they believe everything they are told. what i am trying to continue saying is general flynn got into some problems. host: that is in 2016. let's bring it up-to-date as far as the top issue? caller: they all believe there was no connections to the trump campaign in 2016 and there was. the trump tower meeting with russians. paul manafort lobbying for the puppet president in ukraine for 10 years and then he gets chosen to be trump's campaign chair. paul manafort r was given -- paul manafort was giving rnc documents to russians.

host: we will go to ricky in philadelphia. your top issue this election cycle. caller: good morning. happy labor day. my main issue on this election is the border issue. i have relatives that live in chicago and new york city. they are receiving housing, medical, pre-much everything they wanted. i looked at that as not being fair for the rest of the people that came in and did it the right way. the big issue to me, because i'm

a veteran, and you still have veterans in the city of chicago and new york homeless, living on the street, and getting no support for up i know everybody -- getting no support. i know everybody -- drugs and fentanyl and the crime wave. i know in chicago and new york crime went up. they were telling me because of the migrant situation. host: with all of that said, who do you think has the better approach on immigration policy between the candidates? caller: by paper, trump has the

better -- but i don't think he has better because vice president harris, who was the border czar and pretty much people ran amok at the border. the edge goes to former president trump with the border situation. host: ok. ricky in philadelphia. immigration at the border is is issue. in massachusetts, republican line, tony. caller: thanks for taking my call. the issue i'm concerned about is threats to democracy. i know democrats are usually the ones who call about that. i want to say that the way big

government politicians get their power is by making the govement bger and they get a lot ofnfluence in hollywood, in the media, in academia because of the grants they approve, and also from people who are recipients of government aid. anyone who is in any of those areas would be more likely to vote for a democrat. for a time i wondered why so many countries have gone socialist. i wonder why couldn't they see

that the governments that have small governments do better economically and in other ways. i think that has a lot to do with it. basically big government is something that gets stronger as it grows. that is of concern because there are a lot of other things that get stronger as they grow, like fires. host: tony in massachusetts. thanks for the call. let's hear from michigan, bradley, hello. caller: thank you for taking the call and happy labor day. hopefully we'll celebrate and have a good time when you get off this. my main issue is to deny all insurrectionist from running or

getting elected or reelected. that obviously includes trump but also a lot of congressmen including mine, jack bergman. please listeners, if your rep is in insurrectionist vote them out because they are traitors. if trump is elected he will pardon himself as well as the january 6 criminals and probably appoint two more supreme court puppets. we may disinfect and cleanse the country. host: independent line, another michigandar. robert, you are up. caller: happy labor day, america. i want to touch base on what is real important to me for the 2024 election. we are seeing affordable housing -- let me start over. i would like to touch base on

the lack of affordable housing being built in the government funding housing associations using property to create multiple dwelling homes. what is happening is we are seeing corporations in my area by up these mom-and-pop rental homes and increasing the rent. i have lived here a while. saturday i received a letter from my landlord and he increases the rent another 50 this year. along with that -- he sent a letter. it says "due to the significant increases in property taxes and cost-of-living we find ourselves in a position where we have no choice but to adjust the rent. i encourage you to consider these factors when voting in the upcoming election in november. the choices we make an impact the policies that affect our community and financial stability. your voice matters and it is crucial to support your

candidate who prioritize affordable housing and fair taxation." my issue is when i looked him up as far who as who is donating to , he is primarily donating to republican sides. i do not think he has the best interests, i think he is trying to influence or coerce my vote. i know he has another 240 tenants underneath him. my the only person that received that letter? host: the vice president touted a housing plan as far as her campaign is concerned. what you think of what she is proposing and you think that's ways your vote? caller: absolutely. as an independent i am leading towards kamala harris. i like what she is talking about making these corporations accountable. i hope it goes further because this is an llc, i don't know if he falls into the same category being an llc. that is my take on that.

host: mike in houston. republican line. good morning. caller: how are you doing? i wanted to make a comment about kamala harris. in the past she has made a lot of promises that have not come true. i would just like to say i would also like to mention about our border. i think that her being our border czar was a big mess from day one. i am voting for trump. thank you. host: would you say immigration is the top issue on who you will vote for? caller: immigration and the economy. host: can you elaborate why immigration and what specifically -- why overall immigration? caller: is it doing?

they are allowing them in their housing them in government homes and they are letting the taxpayer pay the rent for them. that is it. host: mike in houston. immigration and the economy. those have been consistent. some of you mentioning other things as well, some of you mentioning other people. all of that. (202) 748-8000 four democrats, (202) 748-8001, and independents (202) 748-8002. your top issue this election cycle. calvin in north carolina. democrats line. he is gone. let's hear from jeffrey in kentucky, independent line. caller: i am calling about the

democrats and the republicans. the democrats are always talking about freedom and they would not lo palestinian to talk at their convention. the republicans will not allow palestinians in their convention. we talk about justice in this country? why isn't there any justice for the palestinians? and the republicans always talk about justice saying the system is broke. no. the republican party headed by a criminal and they have become a criminal organization. host: back to your previous point. would you say foreign policy is the top issue for you? caller: yes.

i don't understand the treatment. we are treating the palestinians just like the united states treated the native americans. they are doing the same thing because they cannot solve israel. it is a land grab. this guy cut me off because i said it is a land grab. i thank you for your time and i appreciate it. host: jeffrey in kentucky. there is reporting late afternoon that u.s. officials say president biden's month-long push for a cease-fire and hostage release deal faces renewed urgency sunday after israeli forces recovered the body of six hostages including an israeli american. the united states has been talking to egypt and cutter -- and qatar about a final take it or leave it deal it plans to present.

one that if the sides failed to accept could mark the end of american led negotiations according to administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. buy-in officials say it was not immediately clear -- biden officials say it was not clear whether the discovery of hostages would make it more or less likely israel and hamas would come to an agreement. you can factor that in if that is a top issue. there is in the washington post. you can talk about it as well. those are the lines you choose. if you want to text us, (202) 748-8003. facebook and social media also open. facebook.com/c-span or on x, @cspanwj. randy in wichita falls. caller: my issue is the economy. people were slow to remember that when joe biden was elected

the first thing he said was he will cripple the fossil fuel industry. he has come and if you look at the economy, the price of a carton of eggs, to get that to a retail store, you have to plant the feet which you use diesel, which is now $4.50 a gallon. you put that feed in the ground and has to be grind it and brought to the egg farm. it takes five semi loads of feet a day to feed those chickens. with those -- with that diesel price going up, and then to get the egg to the retail center you have to use diesel will transport it across the united states. also the card and is put in is styrofoam which is an oil-based product. if you could take the price of all of that energy used to get the egg down you'll see the price of everything go down and that is everything on the shelf and walmart.

thank you for taking my call. host: i'm interested how you relate that altar eggs, is this from people you know? caller: from people i know and what i see go down the road to that farm. that is with anything that comes on the store, it takes energy, fossil fuel to move it around the united states to get it there. if you take that price out of it you will get the price of everything to go back down. host: randy in texas with his look at these issues. the economy the top for him. kentucky, democrats line, we will hear from stephen. caller: how are you this morning? happy labor day to you as well. i just wanted to correct something from the last two callers before i go on. i do believe this current administration is seeking a two

state coexistence between the arabs and the choose. that is number one -- between the arabs and the jews. at least they are willing to listen. the gentleman who just called in , the reason for the problem is corporate monopolies. that is what kamala harris is trying to fight against, which donald trump, we talk about immigration so much. donald trump has been exploiting immigrants in his hotels and golf courses for years. this is part of the problem. i want to talk about terrorism. freedom. we have a candidate who is throwing a party for january 6 on september 6? he is showing support for domestic terrorists. how does that help our country? it is an embarrassment that he goes on to that conference and he talks about women and african-americans, journalists,

the widow that lost her husband in pennsylvania at that rally, he has no compassion at all for anybody. you have to have compassion and competence to run a government and the fact is this is not a business. people keep saying he is a savvy businessman. then explain the 34 felony convictions. he says he is law and order. please. these police officers are fools that are standing up supporting this man. how can you support a convicted felon that preach to us about lw and order? what this is really about, and i don't know if anyone has talked about this but i will if not, we have to evolve to the next level to make the american dream a reality. we can't just keep saying we are number one. we have to go the next step to prove it. you cannot keep everything the same and expect different results. donald trump wants to keep

everything the same. before i go, all of these people who gripe and complain about the economy. donald trump has said he wants a dictatorship. what more do you people need to have? host: los angeles, independent line. go ahead. caller: why are we wasting our time between trump and kamala, why don't we just vote for pedro? host: what would be your top issue? caller: vote for pedro. host: that he is in pennsylvania, one of those battleground states, republican line in uniontown. good morning. caller: my main concern is border security and energy independence. it took 19 terrorists to kill

2967 people on 9/11, but our border is wide open and we don't know who is coming in. back in the 1970's, i remember the oil embargo. having to stand and lying to get gas to go to work every day. -- having to stand in line to get gas to go to work every day. it seems oil-producing countries can control our economy and our politics. i think we should be oil-independent. i mean, if we look at the germans, the germans had some of the best tanks and airplanes during world war ii but did not have the fuel to use them. i thank we should make our own fuel and our own -- produce our own energy right here in the united states, which will make a

lot of good union jobs. host: thaddeus, pennsylvania. a little after 8:00 eastern time and we have two hours to go. hearing from you about your top issue this election cycle. if you want to call and express that, it is (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text or post on social media if you want to talk about that like we have heard from at least -- we will continue talking about why battleground states are up for grabs. mainly, we will hear from you when it comes to this idea, top issues for the election. when it comes to election events, the current president joe biden and is vice president kamala harris now running for the house, labor day rally

in pittsburgh. you could see that this afternoon at 4:45. you can watchn our main channel c-span, follow all on our app. robert in massachusetts, democrat line. caller: my number one thing is racism. racism is rampant today because of mr. trump. i remember as a child when they called me colored boy and then they called me black and then african-american. they call me all types of names. pedro, i belong to a black family. pedro, you look like a colored man. you are a person of color. instead of calling black people colored people, they call people like you indian, mexican,

japanese, and chinese, and whatever. they call you a person of color. listen to the black americans, the people of real color. we represent this country, not a white person represents his country as far as i'm concerned. amen. praised god. host: if racism is your concern, how does an election fix it? caller: if you are a senator, you get elected for six years, right? if you are a congressperson, two years. why do we have to have senators always running for president of the united states? think about that. i like hakeem jeffries. from the house of representatives. why don't they have a chance to read for president? let me be honest with you, pedro. harris, i like her.

i have to vote for her because i'm a democrat. but she used her color to gain where she is at. and then on top of that -- host: you talk about issues of race but then you accuse the vice president of using her color to get where she is. isn't there a disconnect? caller: that is what i'm saying, she is using her color. host: but isn't there a disconnect from what you said previous? caller: if you are letter than a brown paper bag come you can pass as a white boy. you can pass as a white man. do you understand what i'm saying? host: i am asking you to clarify because you talked about issues of racism and then you related it to the color of the current vice president. caller: she used her color for her gain, racism.

racism is she used race for her gain. she passes as a white woman, right? host: i don't think she is doing that as all. caller: if you listen to me right now, i will tell you this right now, when she was running for president, she was the first person to drop out because no black american liked that woman. in the black community, light-skinned people get gains. do understand? host: we will leave it there. let's move it onto texas independent line. rachel, hello. caller: the economy. obama passed the recovery act in 2009 that started creating jobs. our economy was good when trump took office. trump passed the jobs act and also passed a tax cut.

now they are saying that none of those created jobs. in fact, obama created a million more jobs than trump did. trump takes credit for veterans choice that was passed in 2014 from obama. he took credit for that. let's talk about the men that were killed or soldiers killed in afghanistan. trump made a deal with the taliban leader. he did not make a deal with the president in afghanistan. host: if those are the issues, what is the top one for you this election cycle? caller: character. trump has no character. he attacks everybody. he is always whining about being picked on. he thinks he's the only 1 -- he doesn't have the backbone. if he can't take a little criticism -- i'm sorry. he does not need to be in office. he talks about the border?

the border was better under the obama administration. in fact, he killed a bill that republicans and democrats put together. he told republican from oklahoma -- trump said, do not pass that bill because it will make biden look good. host: if character is the main issue, who are you voting for and how would you gauge that person's character? caller: i am voting for harris. i cannot vote for a man that has been charged with rape -- host: it was sexual abuse, the go-ahead. caller: same thing. he penetrated with his hand or the other. the judge said he was charged with rape. host: so as far as character is concerned, what to apply to the vice president as far as character is concerned? caller: because she doesn't go out and tell women that they are ugly. trump doesn't care what he says.

i mean come anybody that does not agree with him, he calls them names. what kind of person is that? he talks about grabbing women. he admits to saying it when he was going to court with e. jean carroll. he admitted he was a star and a star could do anything they wanted to. that is why -- host: ray, montana, republican line. caller: hello. host: go-ahead. caller: i am a little bit confused about this election. i didn't know that mrs. harris has even got one vote. she hasn't been through a primary yet. i am still waiting to see that primary. the next thing is i am concerned is the economy. when i go down to buy vegetables or protein, i pay as much for the egg as i used to pay for the

whole chicken. the next thing is fuel and so on. it is so high now, you can go to the grocery store to get robbed by the democratic party. and i just feel that is a little unfair. the question came about, how do i feel as of four years ago? well, everything is more expensive. i think one of the problem is this the people coming across the border. we are a land of law. how can these people be admitted when they are breaking the law by coming across the border? that is not the way that you interpret law. and then if you come across the border come you get rewarded by getting free housing and free food and free whatever else and pick the people who have been here and served our country and

worked for a living, we have to pay for these freeloaders that are coming across the border. host: finish your thought. caller: thank you. host: ray, montana, giving us his thoughts. top issues for you in the audience when it comes to the election. you can call us. if you are on the line, if you would not mind, stay there for a few minutes. as we have been doing all morning, visiting with reporters in these battleground states, north carolina, one of those up for grabs this election cycle. here to talk about it is colin graham out of north carolina -- kyle ingram out of north carolina. political report just moved your state. talk about what you're saying on the ground and what makes it so. >> there's a real groundswell movement here. we have not seen this much

enthusiasm by candidate for quite a while. when kamala harris came here a few weeks ago to raleigh, we had this exuberant crowd, we had our governor cooper say he is having the 2008 feeling again -- which is the last time our state voted for a democrat. it is interesting to see if it will keep this momentum. host: when it comes to the state, give us the makeup of the state politically. guest: our largest group of voters is unaffiliated. she is going to have to be trying to target swing voters and see what happens here. we have not voted for a democrat since 2008, not for senate or president. we have a very republican legislature. but there is still that status nakedness purple and that large group of uncommitted voters. host: if that is the case, in your state, where is the battleground within the state, so to speak?

what does the former president enjoy as far as support and the current vice president? where are the battleground between those? guest: we have blue strongholds in our big cities, reliably voting democrat. the suburban areas, like any other battleground state, is where the election will be spun outpost of raleigh, voters are not sure. they are more swing voters. that is were issues like the economy, immigration, abortion will be deciding factors. >> there is a story late last week, they highlight an area of your state known as scotland county, saying that is a key area. if you would not mind elaborating on what that involves? guest: i am not sure what you're talking about but i believe it is one of our more rural counties. we have a very diverse mix of people, voters in this state. we have a significant portion of black voters determining this

election based on turnout. it also comes to women voters and how they feel about this election. we have a candidate who's been making remarks about women in the past and polls have shown him trailing his democratic opponents. that could be a driving issue among female voters as well. host: tell us about the ground game. what does it look like from both perspectives? guest: you have seen both candidates are coming here quite often before the change in the top of the ticket. truck had not really pay that much attention to north carolina this campaign cycle but now he has been here four times. he is coming to charlotte again this week and kamala harris has been coming here quite a lot as well. it was significant she chose raleigh as a location for her first major policy speech when she unveiled her policies on corporate price gouging and first-time homebuyers. people 11 asking her, what are your palaces going to be. when she finally chose, she did

it here. i think it is obvious both campaigns are taking north carolina very seriously. host: you say it is interesting she chose raleigh. what is it about raleigh? why do you think she chose that area? guest: she was originally scheduled to come here for larger campaign rally. when hurricane debby came through, they had to postpone. raleigh is home to many democrat leaders. again, we have the suburban and outlying areas that are a lot more mixed politically. it could be an attempt to target some of those as well. host: you wrote, "first of it or digital id approved by north carolina election board." can you elaborate? guest: we are going to our first ever presidential election that requires idea north carolina. that bill was passed a while ago. but the state board of elections

did was allow differing student and employee ids to be used for voting as well. the university of north carolina chapel hill has been transitioning to this digital id model for the students where you can verify your identity on an app and use that to access all sorts of student services. they asked the state board of elections if that can be designated as a valid voting idea in the state board of elections gave them direct qualifications they have to me to do so. the university met those and the board approved it, but it wasn't partyline -- it was party-line vote. the democrats voted in favor of it and republicans voted against. i would not be surprised if we see a lawsuit. host: how does it work in practical use? guest: the students will have to go through a verification process with their phone and using the app to get the idea. i believe once the authorized their identity through the app, they will no longer be able to

use their physical id. they have to use the one on the phone. the one on the phone does include their birthdate i believe and has an expiration date, which were two things the state board of election needed to see to approve and. host: i want to ask about some of the down ballot races. before i ask about specifics, you talk about the vice president. i suppose that changes the down ballot as well? guest: we are all interested to see what this effect has on down ballot races if this is a motivating get out the vote issue for democrats or republicans who are opposed to her. host: first district north carolina, don davis, democrat versus republican. can you talk about this race? guest: this is interesting because it is north carolina's only competitive congressional district. right now our congressional delegation is evenly split 7-7. this time around, the republicans had more say over creating the electoral maps and made it more favorable to

republicans. this is one everyone will be watching. don davis is a more moderate democrat. he is had to walk a tightrope in this district, mixed politically. he is going up against lori bookout -- buckhout. the gop was this seat. if we end up having a very close u.s. house race nationwide, this district could be one of the decisive factors. host: there is the governor's race. a lot of credit probably over the last romans concerning this race. talk about those in the race and where it stands currently. guest: josh stein is the attorney general. he is close to our current governor. he is going up against our lieutenant governor.

he sort of came to viral fame after this speech he gave in greensboro about then rights. quite a firebrand. a lot of past comments have resurfaced from him. he said things about the lgbtq community, jewish people, women. he has sort of try to tamped down that rhetoric lately. he recently came out with an ad where he is talking about supporting north carolina's current 12 week abortion ban. it doesn't seem to be working yet at least. polls show stein pretty far ahead of robinson in the race. we will have to see if he is able to take back that lead. host: back to the race overall, particularly for president. what are you watching for between now and november? guest: i want to see -- first of all, the principles in this

campaign come how many more times they will be coming here and what issues they are going to be hitting on. i think you'll see democrats strongly on abortion here because this will be the first election north carolina has held since the state enacted its 12 week abortion ban. we don't know what the electoral consequences, if any, of that are going to be. is it going to be threatening republicans since they're happy with that and maybe want to see further changes or will it drive out democrats who are extremely upset by it? i think you're going to see democrats focused strongly on that. but republicans, trump specifically, will be speaking about immigration, talking -- we are not a border state, but they will be focusing on that pretty heavily here. and the economy. everyone has been hit hard by the rising inflation and i think they will try to bring out north carolina voters on that issue. host: if you want to see is reporting on this campaign come he serves as a politics reporter

for the newspaper. thank you for your time. back to your calls. thank you for waiting. this is frank, florida, democrat line. go ahead. your top issue for this year. caller: my top issue for this year is the economy, immigration , and character. i know i want have a chance to speak on all those issues, but the economy, i am voting for harris because i think 90% or smaller, might be 80%, of the prices, inflation is caused by corporate greed. i like her policy on holding corporations accountable for some of the things they do. immigration is a concern as much as all the misinformation i'm hearing about taxpayers paying for housing for illegal aliens.

i don't like that republican talking points because i think it is a half-truth and one of those buzz issues. that's it. host: and character? caller: character? i can't see what we would ever vote for somebody who has been convicted of crimes and wishy-washy and talk this and tell lies all the time. that is most impossible -- every time i hear are former president go on the air, he has some different angle on this and that. and all the people who vote for him take those talking points and run without researching the truth of the issue. most of those issues are lies. i live in the neighborhood that, i have asians, mexicans, whether

they are illegal aliens or what, they need to have their employers check their verification form to see if they are illegal. they are making money and paying taxes as far as i can see most of property is well-kept. host: ok. george, maryland, independent line. caller: hello. good morning, pedro. my main concern is i want to see some more focus on the solvency of social security and try to eliminate taxes on social security and pension for all retirees. because if you look, the combined income, pension and social security, if it is below

the last salary for retirement, i don't see why they should be taxing it. if you look at some of these municipalities, they are deliberately writing -- raising the value of the property. some of the senior citizens have to pay stack says -- have to pay taxes on the property. some of them have to pay for medication. they have to drive to appointments. they have to do a lot of things with a little bit of money. it is people what some of these -- evin what some mages somehow these are doing. -- it is evil was summing disabilities are doing. if you look historically, when they establish social security, there has been effort to derail it. if you look -- republican party

has been trying to do everything to derail it. i would give it to -- even though i am independent, i would give it to the democrat would probably do something with social security. america is getting old. the workforce is getting old. if you don't do something with that right now, it is going to be a lot of old senior citizens on the streets that can't afford to live because the municipalities, like i said, raising the value of property. if you are taxing social security, a little bit of pension, how are they going to pay -- how are they going to live? host: is george there, maryland? a couple of articles you can pull from the source, financial magazine kiplinger, they have a couple of articles taking a look at social security. they say when it comes to the

one former president how trump addressed social security approaching prices, believed a stronger economy would naturally sustain social security. become a growth and job creation would boost payroll tax revenues, thereby supporting the program. however, experts mostly agree economic growth alone isn't enough to solve the issues that face social security. they have an article taking look at the biden-harris administration under social security that says under the biden administration, harris supported the retention and expansion of social security with the objective to reform the program. also endorsed president biden's plan to raise taxes on americans earning $400,000 or more per year. there is more there on these articles if you want to read it when it comes to social security, kiplinger.com is the website if you want to check those out for yourself. bill, florida, republican line.

the top issue this election? good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? i two top things would be democracy, the way this country has been heading, and the economy. both are intertwined. i hear people calling in, from a general standpoint, everything i hear about trump's personality, whatever he may or may not have done in the past, convicted of crimes come and things along those lines. there was such a fervor to have him convicted -- i don't think people would have been so upset about this. back to my points come couple called in on the prices. the prices are fuel-related.

the other lady and general insane corporate greed, i don't think that is so much of an issue. it is easy to say that. but from an economic standpoint, it is an input of cost of those products. the last thing, everybody keeps talking about the future going forward on the democratic side. this future. i still don't hear a plan. what is the plan for the future? that they try to implement? taxes has been the greatest engine for hundreds of years ever since it started. it is always worked best for the individual, which is what we want to try to concern ourselves with. my final point, c-span is the closest thing we can get your

free speech in this country. fox and the others, they all have their biases, msnbc, the rest. c-span is the closest you can get. with that in mind, would really be great to see the truth come out from two people in opposite sides. i don't know if you have trouble getting people. but if you can get two people to really discuss these issues in a truthful manner, it would be a big benefit to this country. host: bill, thank you. you are a longtime watcher because you know the last point, particularly, at times, we do forums where we have two positions represented whether it be with people who are in think tanks or maybe even legislators legislators and the like come together and debate ideas, sometimes that happens,

sometimes it doesn't. we have individuals on. you are a keen observer of the show and how we do things. thanks for watching. let's hear from sal. connecticut. democrats align david caller: pedro, i have been trying to get in so long, i got in the shower, but i have a parody song that i want to recite to you. happy labor day. host: ok. caller: it is true, it is true, the polls will make it clear, kamala will be our president next year. there will be no more ♪ denying an election no more creating insurrection the votes will clearly show who must win and who will go with kamala there will be no talk of bleach injection

no lies and false this direction no more orange people clan to jerk us all around ♪ host: we will let it sit there. again, as you call in over the morning, the lines if you wish to pick the one that best represents you, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. the chance to express your opinions, i guess you can sing them if you want. i don't know if i want to invite that anyway. we have been joined by reporters in battleground states to give us a sense of what is going on.