made freedom of speech and freedom of the press. press is only industry in the constitution that is actually protected. the only one, because they understood it was critical to everything. if we don't have free speech or a free press do not have a democracy. unfortunately, when they have been closing down so many conservative outlets, i think it is allowing for this real polarization in society where people are angry about the media and angry about the political situation. i think that we have to reawaken and reignite the principles and the founding documents of this country. host: chris ruddy is the ceo of newsmax. we always appreciate your time so let's not make it so long until the next time. guest: i am the great admirer ever since the start of c-span. you truly are the democratic

free-speech construct -- construct in this country. anyway we can support and inspect the work of c-span, let us know. host: we will be back here tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific. in the meantime, have a great friday. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] >> here is a look at our live campaign 2024 coverage. both presidential candidates are campaigning in michigan today. at 2:30 p.m. eastern, democratic presidential nominee vice president kamala harris speaks at a rally in grand rapids.

then former president donald trump holds a roundtable discussion with voters in auburn hills at 5:00 p.m. eastern. later, democratic senator tammy baldwin faces off against her republican challenger in the race for this constant dish for wisconsin -- in the race for wisconsin's senate seat. you can watch on c-span.org in our free c-span out app. >> will you solemnly swear that in the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> watch the conclusion of our encore presentation of the american history tv series "congress investigates." authors and historians will tell these stories, we will see historic footage from the periods, and we will examine the impact and legacy of key correct --key congressional hearings.

top tobacco industry ceos testified before the house that they did not believe nicotine was addictive. they found themselves under investigation for potentially lying under oath. watch "when gas investigates" tonight it -- "congress investigates" tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including sparklight. >> what is great internet? is it strong? is it fast? is it reliable? at sparklight, we know connection goes way beyond technology. from monday morning meetings to friday nights with friends and everywhere in between, the best connections are always there when you need them. how do you know it's great internet? because it works. we are sparklight, and we are always working for you. >> sparklight suorts c-span as a public service along with

these other television providers, giving you front-row seat to democracy. president biden is in germany today comport he called the death of hamas leader yahya sinwar by israel a moment of justice, and spoke about his phone conversation with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu about a future path to peace in the middle east. >> thanks again for taking the time for this visit. it is a strong signal of our transatlantic unity and our friendship. please. pres. biden: chancellor, it's great to see you again, and i do apologize for having to cancel first time around, but we did have a crisis in our southeastern border with the hurricanes and tornadoes. but we are here because germany is, germany is my countries

closest and most important of allies. in ukraine you reminded us all why this alliance is so essential. under your leadership, chancellor, germany rose to meet the moment. you showed the wisdom to recognize that this war marked a turning point in the history, an assault on the protected principles of peace and security in more than 75 years. and the resolve to act, making germany's foreign policy to reckon with new realities, stand strong and steadfast with ukraine. america and germany are the two largest supporters of ukraine and its fight for survival as a free and independent nation. as ukraine faces a tough winter, we must, we must sustain our resolve, however, and our support.

i know the cost is heavy, but make no mistake, it pales in comparison to the cost of living in a world where aggression prevails, where large estates attack and belief smaller ones simply because they can. today the chancellor and i are going to discuss ongoing efforts to surge support to ukraine's military, to shore up ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure, which is under constant assault and bombardment from russia, and to help ukraine recover by unlocking the value of frozen russian assets. also want to recognize germany's decision to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense. please keep it up, because it matters. our alliance with germany extends far beyond ukraine and europe. it is global. today the chancellor and i will discuss regional security in the middle east, including the ongoing domestic efforts

regarding lebanon and gaza. the death of the leader of hamas represents a moment of justice. it had the blood of americans and israelis and palestinians and so many others on his hands. let's also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, better future in gaza without hamas. and i look forward to discussing iran. olaf and i spoke the morning after iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at israel earlier this month. with our g7 counterparts, we agreed it cordoning our response through sanctions -- we agreed to coordinate our response through sanctions and other measures, and that is what we have done. i'm grateful for germany's cooperation in holding iran accountable for destabilizing policies including providing

missiles and drones to russia tease against ukraine. and just this week, the european union follow germany, the u.k., and france and sanctioning iran's leading airlines. this followed our own sanctions. this coordination is going to have to continue. i also want to thank germany for standing firm against a vicious surge of anti-semitism, hatred, and extremism we are witnessing today. some of it is fueled by foreign misinformation. as democratic allies, we have to remain ever vigilant against what i call the old ghosts in new garments, ancient hatreds resurfacing. her charge is to make sure that the forces holding our societies together and binding us in the common cause of human dignity and freedom remain stronger than the forces seeking a policy part. finally, chancellor, i deeply

appreciate your partnership and the many times you have forsaken the easy choice to make the right choice. your active statesmanship and friendship made possible the safe return of unjustly detained americans in germany and the reunion of brave russian dissidents to their families. thank you, thank you, thank you. i value our conversations, and i look forward to this one in particular. i really mean it, i want to thank you for your friend ship, not only personally, but i don't see how we maintain stability in europe around the world without a tight german-u.s. relationship. thank you. >> [indiscernible] -- ukraine for nato membership, sir?

>> today on c-span, the presidential candidates are on the mpgn trail in the battleground state of michigan. at 2:30 p.m. eastern, we will be live with democratic nominee kamala harris as she released supporters in anrapids fulton after --in grand rapids. afr at republican nominee donald trump will host a roundtableisssion with voters in auburn hills. u n watch on c-span now, our free mobile video app, or online on c-span.org. ♪ >> today, watching c-span's 2024 campaign trail, a weekly discussion on how the presidential, senate, and house campaigns have progressed in the past week. two reporters during each week

to talk about the issues, messages, and events driving the week's political news and talk about the week ahead. watch "campaign trail" today at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or download as a podcast on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts. c-an, your unfiltered view of politics. tonight, incumbent senator tammy bawifaces off against her republican challenger in the race for the wiscoinenate seat. watch the debate hosted by the wisconsin broadcaste associatn ve at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org. t's @cspanwj. on facebook, it's facebook.com/cspan. this morning on the "washington journal," we want to hear from some of you, what are your stories from past election cycles, why you are choosing to

serve this election cycle. give us a call on phone lines split regionally. as you call, a pew research poll about poll workers showing, in part, they are among the most trusted americans in this country. 9 of 10 registered voters said they were at least somewhat or very confident in poll workers in their community, that they would do a good job during the midterm elections. in fact, voters were more likely to express confidence that you're in poll workers then in state officials who run election statewide. that from the pew research report. we are asking why you serve and your comments on the phone and on social media. here's one of those comments from catherine on facebook, writing in just before we started our program, i was a po worker duringhe020 election. never again, she says. the abuse the poll workers take our unbelievable from people

demanding a receipt to show their vote counted or yelling in your face. that was catherine's experience in 2020. we want to hear your stances in that election, in previous elections, and why you're serving this year. danny in hampton, virginia is first. how long have you been a poll worker? caller: i was a poll worker in 2020. that was too much hassle to be a poll worker this year, but i am hosting people to try to cover that house for kamala harris and tim walz. mainly because trump turns around with 16 group sees, had frog university -- host: on the poll worker, why is it too much hassle to be a poll worker this year? caller: i talked to people a lot

about being a poll worker, and at work, the people coming to work and up saying i do not understand why you being supportive of the democratic party, then they give me a -- host: phone lines are split regionally. eastern and central, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific time zones, (202) 748-8001. from the denver gazette just this week, a story about a 90-year-old poll worker in colorado. the headline, meet a jefferson county nonagenarian election judge, with in the supply of energy, they write, it is hard to deny her uncanny ability to bring people together for one of democracy's most on the mental acts, casting a ballot. she said she made her way into the election profession by a way of a serendipitous phone call in

2007. she says i was retired, had an election -- eight relative working as an election judge. she called me because i knew i liked working part-time jobs. i need some help, would you be interested in being a judge? and ever since 2007, she has been an election judge in colorado, has seen five presidential elections. the story featuring her in the colorado gazette. this is tony in brooklyn, new york. how long have you been a poll worker? caller: well, i am 64 now, and i actually, when i was 16, i volunteered in 1976 election, basically helping little old ladies poll -- pull the old-fashioned levers in the bo oths. i've actually worked polls in four different states, south

carolina, arizona, california, and new york. i've been doing a long time. it has been a great experience. i've enjoyed it. it's long days. the one -- you know, the different states do a little differently, but south carolina, arizona was definitely very clean, california was good. there was only one kind of bizarre thing. it's legal. butthis -- but this is in oakland, and a lot of union ship workers. they actually made us post, on the outside of the precinct -- which is also really nice. it was a buddhist center, so you had two priests like tech workers, then ship workers.

it was like two different neighborhoods. they made us post the people that had not voted outside, like a physical paper list. i forget if it was every hour or every two or three hours. so the union guys would come by to find out which of their workers -- these are longshoremen -- host: and that was something you are allowed to do that was legal to do, to say who had not voted? caller: absolutely. what was fascinating was, you know, i lived up in norcal for about 5, 6 years of my life, not that long ago, and it's like, when we went for the day of training, when they set out to the room, 50 people in the room or something, everybody was like, what? but absolutely legal.

when you think about it -- i do not know if it is about thing or a good thing. it was just sort of an eye-opener, where the union said -- i am actually taking a political science course right now. i am an old man, but i never stopped going to college to keep learning. they were talking about this -- the book we are reading now is about the unionization and how they have migrated to trump. but that was sort of wild. you literally have to put the names outside, and the longshoremen union delegates would come by, and they see, as the day goes on, they would be calling the guys up to get them to get down to the precinct to vote. by the way, as a funny note, out of all the places, it was a big, beautiful you just -- buddhist center. they fed us top-notch food,

coffee. it was one of those plush experiences -- host: what is your expectation for this cycle, how long of a days are going to be for you, how are you preparing? caller: oh, yeah, it's a long, long, long day. these people that do it, they are the best people out there. they really are. now i am in a neighborhood, it is all going to be, you know, people my ag-- i am 60 --t will be people my age and older, who are basically -- i live in a neighborhood of immigrants from the caribbean. these women and men are, you know, they're the best america has. they're willing to work -- the day is long feared by the time you have to wake up and drop and get everything ready, then you do not go home until 10:00, 11:00 at night. it's a grueling, long day. the media blows up all this

crazy stuff. i don't see a problem with it at all, what is going to go down here in a couple weeks. host: thanks for the call. 18 days until election day. this is ray and ora, colorado. how long have you been a poll worker? caller: i have been a poll worker for two -- host: try to do me a favor and speak more into your phone. your real hollow right now. caller: sorry. i am taking the bus to work right now. i am trying my best. [laughter] am i coming in clear? host: yeah, go ahead. what is your experience? caller: i was a poll worker during two midterm elections, 2006 in 2002. in 2006, it was essentially just staying at one station by the polling place. and this was really before

mail-in ballots were really a thing. it was pretty interesting for the most part. the most physical labor i did was putting together a tabulator and then disassembling a tabulator. and we would have the results posted on the front door for whoever was working for the supervisor of elections. in 2022, the last midterm cycle, vastly inference, because, in that case, i was paired up with someone else to collect ballots from one of the drop boxes. we had to lock at about 7:00 p.m. -- lock it up at 7:00 p.m. from there, we went to the warehouse to bring the ballots back in.

to give your listeners and viewers an idea about security, there's cameras in that warehouse. as far as i can tell, i didn't see anyone trying to pull a fast one on anybody. in there, there's this idea that we're all in it together, and that we all want to play fair. we all want to do what we can to respect the integrity of our election system. if you're someone who is very adamant or very skeptical about what happens on the inside, be a poll worker, find out for yourself. host: thanks for the call. james in georgia, good morning. caller: good morning. i've been a poll worker since 2000. i've been a manager, i was a

manager for about maybe 12 years . and i gave up my manager slot to move back down to just being a clerk. but the experience, i loved the experience. first of all, let me say i am a 36 year military veteran, and i understand the importance of voting. it's grueling. it's a grueling job, but i love it. i only work two -- worked two precincts in that time, but i like you get a chance to see the same people voting last year that come back this year. i am now in a poll where it is basically an older group. it's not too bad, because most of the voters now go and do the early voting. we probably get about 300

people, tops, is all i ever had. but it's a long day. i enjoy it. we have a good director. she makes sure we are trained well. we are well trained. i just enjoy the experience. host: before you go, you are in georgia. store making national headlines, a georgia judge rejects multiple election rules in the peach state, calling them illegal. the decision, one of those rules protected, a rule passed by the state election board that would have required hand counting of ballot totals. what would have -- what would that have meant for you, how would that have impacted election night for you, if that had gone through? caller: i do not think it would have been a problem. because i understand that we do need voter integrity.

it would not have been a problem at all. you will just have to move somebody else over. the last station you go to is the scanner. the scanner is where your ballots would be. what you would have to do is just move somebody over to the scanner at the end of the night to make sure all of those ballots are counted. it would just be a matter of going into the scanner, taking the ballots outcome and counting them. i didn't see a problem with that, but then again, i'm just a poll worker. i know there's a lot of politics and all of that, but i do not see a problem with that at all. i do not see a problem with what the judge is doing. there's probably somebody influencing the judge. but as far as the training we received, that wouldn't have been a problem at all. host: what does a clerk do? you said you changed jobs to come back to being a clerk. caller: well, there's about six

different stations within a polling place. right now, i work the scanner. that's what they have me doing now, working the scanner. it's about six different spots a poll worker needs to be on the inside of the poll. i've worked every last one of the spots and there, to include being a manager. and we are well trained. we try to be polite. when i was a manager, the thing i would try to impress upon the poll workers within my poll were , your responsibility is to make sure you get everybody in here and get them out, make sure they have a pleasant expanse with their voting. now i'm listening to a lot of these folks calling in, i don't really understand what they are talking about, unions and all -- that has nothing to do with

nothing. you show up with your id, you get checked, you go through the machine, you cast your ballot, and you move on. what we try to do, when i was manager, is make sure you didn't stay within my poll no more than 10 minutes. because we were all well trained. host: thanks for telling us about it. more from that new york times story on the judge in georgia ejecting rules, including the mandates the count election ballots by hand, expand the monitoring drop boxes requiring new -- and expanding pull access for poll watchers that could disrupt the election certification process. it was a ruling from judge cox. if you want to read about it

more in the new york times and other national papers. dan in arkansas, good morning. caller: good morning. i've been a poll worker for the last two elections. i have a couple interesting stories. one guy was temporarily working in california applied for a ballot, when he got it, he realized it was not going to get back to arkansas in time for the election. he drove from california's arkansas just he can vote. the problem is, if you ask for an absentee ballot, you cannot vote on election day. so we had him a ballot that does not go through the scanner, and they give it to the commission, and they decide whether to count it or not. we had another -- go ahead. host: i want to hear your story.

what is your next story? caller: well, we had another one where students were attending college in our town at the local college and did not show up as registered to vote. i took them to the side table and talk to them about what that means. we have been instructed, if somebody comes up to vote, let them vote. if you're not a registered voter in our county -- it turned out they were registered in their hometown, which is a different county. they do not get to vote. they were not registered in our county. ask cling to them is you register in a certain county, and that is where you vote. but i went ahead and let them vote a provisional ballot. they asked me, would it count? it would not, because they were not registered in our county. so they went ahead and got through the process. it was probably the first time they voted. it was good for them to go through that process. host: why do you do it, dan? caller: i think it is an

important civic thing we do, a good people need to step up and take care of it. d i've got a lot of confid in our team. we've got good people and integrity, the way we do it in arkansas on election day. i don't know much about how they do it absene,ut on election day, you show up and we check your name and address and recheck voter role toee, and we look at your id and say the person who showed up in the id -- and then we hand you your ballot that has your precinct marked on it, and you take it to the valley marking machine. it sticks it in and the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before