time but i think we have your point. thank you to everyone who called in for open forum and this segment on the show today. stay tuned tomorrow for more of our battleground state and we will be back with another edition of washington journal at 7:00 a.m. eastern. have a great day. [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]

washington journal start now. ♪ host: good morning. sunday, october 20, 2024. with close races for

congressional seats all over the country, voting everywhere will matter the selection. and when it comes to control of the white house, the decision of voters in just a handful of states will likely determine the next president of the united states. so this morning we are kicking off our battleground state series. every day this week on washington journal we will focus on one of the key swing states in this election. today, michigan. tomorrow, georgia. tuesday, arizona, wednesday, wisconsin, nevada, thursday. friday, pennsylvania. we will round out the focus on north carolina on saturday. and this morning we want to hear from folks in battleground states specifically. so if you are in one of those states, give us a call and let us know your thoughts on this election. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002.

if you'd like to text us, that number is (202) 748-8003. just please be sure to include your name and where you are writing in from and if you would like to reach us in social media, that is facebook.com/c-span and on x. now why is it that just a few states determine the outcome of the presidential election? reuters has an explanation of this exact issue arthrotec -- on its website pointing at that only seven of the 50 states are truly competitive this year with the rest all comfortably democratic or republican according to public opinion polls. among the seven valid grounds, pennsylvania, the most populous state stands out as the most likely to determine whether democrat kamala harris or republican donald trump is the next president. the candidate strategies reflect this reality with the vast majority of their ad spending in campaign events directed at those seven states that swing

through glitter party - -political parties. unlike elections or other federal candidates in statewide offices, presidential contest does not solely rest on the popular vote. instead under a system known as the electoral college the winning candidate in each state as well as washington received that states electoral votes which are largely based on population. a candidate needs to win a majority of the 538 electoral votes, or 270 which is possible even when losing the overall national vote as trump did when he won the white house in 2016. in the event of a tide, the u.s. house of representatives chooses the winner with each state delegation getting a single vote, a scenario analysts say would likely favor former president trump. every state aside -- it every state aside from the battlegrounds votes as expected, that would give vice president harris 226 and trump 219 with

the remaining 93 up for grabs. both campaigns have been blanketing the battleground states with ads this cycle, and ad impact posted on twitter saying that democratic presidential advertisers outspent republica across every battleground since july 22. and if you look at that chart, and pennsylvania democrats spent $159.1 million on ads vs. 120 point $2 million for republicans. michigan, 120 cap .6 to 78.1. let's have a look at some of these ads including this one from the trump campaign focus on taxes. >> kamala harris is going to

significantly raise taxes. her plane will raise family taxes by nearly $2600 a year. prices have already soared. now she'd make it worse with even higher taxes. >> taxes are going to have to go up. >> president trump would cut taxes again. no taxes on tips, overtime or social security. >> i'm donald j. trump and i approve this message. host: and here's an example of an ad from the harris campaign. >> i believe in small government, low taxes and stay out of my life. i am a republican. i voted for donald trump and they went to his inauguration in 2016. we tried it for four years, it just didn't work. all these billionaires are coming out of the woodwork to support trump. while they want their tax breaks on the backs of the middle class. when i'm looking for any president is people like kamala harris and tim walz.

i think she's going to do a great job for people like me. host: now let's get to your calls. looking to hear from folks in battleground states this morning. we will start mcdonald in golden valley, arizona on the line for democrats. caller: good morning, america. i'm a 76-year-old man and i tell you what, trump is going to raise taxes on people with social security, or lcs going to end up cutting benefits. now what do you think he's going to do? i can tell you right now that man is not going to raise taxes on the wealthy. is going to cut benefits. that's the only two options he has. kamala harris, i believe she will work hard to save social security and save your income. so don't vote against your own best interest. host: what has it been like

being in a swing state in terms of the attention you've been getting as a voter and what you've been seeing in terms of ads? caller: i tell you what, we live in a very conservative county, probably the reddest county in arizona. the neighborhood i live in here, there is a trump sign on every other guard. host: i believe early voting has started in arizona, is that correct? have you already voted? caller: we voted three or four days ago. host: what were the lines like? caller: we just mailed in our ballots. host: ok. well now let's hear from karen in the swing state of michigan on the line for republicans, good morning. caller: good morning.

i definitely prefer donald trump. we are being inundated of course with ads from everybody in donald trump does multiple substantive visits throughout the day. he shows up in new york city for catholic charity events, he flies in in the morning for town halls. he's open to questions from everyday citizens. harris, she has seven minutes of prepared statements. she insults catholics just yesterday. she called out jesus, something about jesus and she literally says that they are at the wrong event, hanging out with gretchen whitmer who does terrible tiktok things, just really

disrespecting the catholic voters. she saying that they will give $750 to hurricane victims, while trump raised millions of dollars in minutes. he provided communication. that was one of the biggest threats to life down there in north carolina, was the lack of communication and water and supplies. host: i wonder how if it all you've been participating in the campaign, did you get involved in any kind of rallies yourself, or do any canvassing or anything like that? caller: absolutely. i am working for -- because jennifer connelly is again, another radical who has no real work, no real experience. she claims to know about people because she has a history of

writing articles. she lives in a mansion in ann arbor. brian is a working-class man, he owns his own small business, he has his own children. i work with the wash and county republicans, i'm going door-to-door, i'm writing postcards. we are delivering signs, those sorts of things. host: very busy. caller: yes, and i'm a full-time nurse. so i'm watching coworkers who are being written up for things within our institution, like mist jen during somebody accidentally. a black nurse who accidentally says something to the effect of

hey, man just in a normal conversation is written up. host: i'm going to stop you there, we are going to stick to the battleground politics. michigan, line for independents. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'd like to discuss -- escaping the democratic plantation. so as a proud american whose ancestors built this country, because of cultural indoctrination, i've historically voted democrat. well, i've finally broken the chain and i will not vote for the dixie-crat party. i will support the party that addresses at least one out of three issues. lineage based -- for black americans and anti-black american hate crime bill, and stopping and deporting the harris and biden illegal immigrants.

and if you allow me, lastly i would implore you and your listeners to please stop referring to foundational black americans as african-americans. it kind of helps create -- against black americans. we are not africans. some black people were here prior to slavery. after genesis has taken place. host: i wonder if you have already decided then if you don't want to support harris who you will support in this election? caller: so i was looking at cornell west who is looking at lineage based -- for black americans and also donald trump says he would deport the illegal immigrants who are flooding the black american communities, so i'm taking a look at both of those options. host: but you haven't decided yet? caller: i have not decided. host: what do you think could swing your vote at this point? caller: at this point, if

someone sat down with someone like philip scott and talked about lineage-based cast reparations or an anti-black hate crime bill, that would sway my vote. caller: next up is charles in pinehurst, on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i'd like to share with all the other voters some of the things i'm looking at when i get ready to go out to vote. first of all, i'm looking for as best as i can tell someone who is honest, someone who is morally upright, someone who is reasonably intelligent, someone who cares about the american people, and someone who will work hard for the american people. if you go to the polls and you've made a decision, and i know who that person is, that's

kamala harris. if you go to the polls, that's what you need to go with. use those kinds of things to make a decision about who you will vote for. take you so much. host: the charlotte news observer points out that day one of north carolina early voting saw record turnout with no clear partisan edge, but then breaks down some of these numbers, saying that the state board of elections reported that 353,100 66 people voted in person on thursday, slightly breaking the first a record set in 2020 by about 4500 votes. yesterday's turnout is a clear sign that voters are energized about the selection, that they trust the election process and that a hurricane will not stop north carolinians from exercising their right to vote here in --.

brian is in mesa, arizona on the line for democrats. caller: good morning, i supports c-span. i concern as we have a border crisis in arizona and i see more kamala harris signs than from signs. last election in 2020 we have problems with the maricopa county ballot that hasn't been counted accurately since kari lake was running for governor. my concern is we have a border crisis out here, and it's flooding the country. my concern is i am near trump or harris, and i want to know how

can we solve the border crisis, especially the homeless crisis. host: how is that determining what you will do in terms of voting this year? caller: what is that? host: how is that impacting how you are going to vote this year. caller: i'm just concerned about health and safety. i haven't voted for a long time. i may probably lean toward donald trump. host: wha a facebook message fromomarshall who says i just traveled across nnlvania to visit family in tturgh and i wore a shirt that saidon't normalize trump. i got not only a thumbs up but quite a few people stopped me and thanked me for spreading that message. i think harris is going to win pennsylvania and the presidency. joe is in georgia on the line for republicans. good morning, joe. caller: hello c-span,-calling

your great network for 30 years. we've got a big rally for trump down here november 2. i think trump is going to win georgia and all the battleground states and will be elected president, and he will be the best president for all stockholders and the economy in the history of the world. we are so fired up. i'm so fired up for trump i'm having a hard time sleeping, but i think trump is going to win big. like i say we will have the best economy and stock market i think in the history of the world, so i just cannot wait. but i've got two. we have that big rally november 2, three days before the election. we are all fired up and energized down here in georgia. host: i see that more than one million early votes have been cast in georgia, setting a record looking here to cover from newsweek as well, several other places. have you already voted?

caller:: i tell you what, i've been voting 50 years and when i went to the polls early, i could vote in about five minutes. this time my wife and i had to wait 30 minutes and this is a huge trump county, so i tell you what, i predict trump will win at least 75% of the vote in my hometown, and all the counties in north georgia. i've never seen such passion, energy and enthusiasm for any candidate as there is for donald john trump in georgia. host: enjoy your barbecue. keith is in madison, wisconsin on the line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. my choice would be for cornell west if there is rank-choice voting. he is the obvious choice. he's a good man, he's an intellectual, and he would be a great president. however, he can't win. and if there were rank-choice voting, i think he would be the

choice of most people. most people who are adults. that would be the choice of a nation of adults, but we don't. and so i will be voting for harris because she is not a fascist demagogue. she did put a lot of my people in prison when she was ag of california, but we can't have these fascist demagogues as a president. enough is enough with him, he should be in prison. he actually said at a rally to his own supporters, he said i don't care if you die, i just want your vote. that's his actual quote. so the people who support donald trump ought to think about that. have a good day. host: another facebook mment from keith who says pennsylvania here, red ticket.

stop sending billions of our tax money to fd an unwinnable war. i have voted blue in the past t they are just too far out there now. patrick is in pittsburgh on the line for republicans. good morning, patrick. caller: morning. i voted democrat up until the year 2020. and i recognize what a train wreck biden was going to be and then of course, we saw what a train wreck the election which took place. followed by where we are now. when elon musk came forward, who has complete reverence to the constitution, the bill of rights and most importantly, unhindered by the corporate cartel in the media and social media oligarchies. so the american people have two

choices. you can literally choose the constitution of the united states, or you can just hear any. donald trump did absolutely -- took no actions whatsoever during the entire duration of his presidency to subvert the constitution in virtually every way. the man who just called talking about defending the constitution , the cabal that we are looking at of destroyed free speech, john kerry has announced it. host: i wonder if you could tell me a little bit about what it's been like in terms of what you've seen the ads and other kind of campaign events in pittsburgh because obviously pennsylvania is getting so much attention. caller: it's stunning, and i hope elon musk comes here. this would be a great base for him and the surrounding area because if i drive around not

just in the pittsburgh area, if you drive anywhere north, i am property up there, you will see nothing but trump signs, it is stunning. it is literally like 2006 on steroids. so i can make a proclamation. i didn't until this morning, that trump is going to win without even hesitating, and tim walz basically admitted it. host: you mentioned elon musk and i want to point you to this article in the hill. musk says he will award $1 million every day to pennsylvania voters who sign his petition. elon musk announced he will pay up to $1 million per day to pennsylvania voters who signed his america petition leading up to election day. so it looks like elon musk has given some attention to pennsylvania, as you said. caller: look at the emphasis on this reality. he's the wealthiest man in the

world, he could have sat back and counted his trillions of dollars, but he's literally in my view the greatest american that's ever lived and he's going to be essential in the coming administration of donald trump. i'm a technologist. just imagine as an intellectual property business, just imagine the technology with robots that can be taking care of the elderly. it is so phenomenal the contribution -- host: i want to get to a couple of other swing state voters. tommy on the line for democrats, good morning. caller: i just want to say here in georgia, the reason why kamala harris being madam president is called of custom atlanta and surrounding areas of atlanta. and when atlanta delivers thereto million votes and

everybody else has stopped counting, guess what, she don't even need georgia. she don't even need north carolina because we know now the blue wall is going to hold. and when the blue wall holds, you are going to need just one more vote and that is kansas. host: i was talking earlier about the record early voting in georgia. have you already voted? caller: i have. host: what was the experience like? caller: i voted by mail because i'm an older gentleman, and i feel that my ballot at home and then i took it to the post office there at the election headquarters and dropped it in the mailbox. host: harris, by the way turns 60 today, but she was in atlanta yesterday and was highlighting abortion rights, specifically mentioning amber sermon, a woman

that died after delayed medical care because of the abortion restrictions there. >> donald trump still uses to take accountability, to take any accountability for the pain and the suffering he has caused, or even to just acknowledge the pain-and-suffering that is actually happening. in a foxed town hall earlier this week, he even mocked amber's family for sharing their story. play the clip. >> and amber sermon's family have come out, and they are doing what is called a pre-buttal to our town hall. >> we get better ratings, i promise. >> you know, we talk and we care

about things like dignity. we understand -- well, i hear you, we are going to take care of that in november. [applause] but here's the thing, here's the thing. a grieving family, a grieving family sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation, part of what has been happening in this so-called trump era is that there is this backward notion that somehow the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. instead of what we know, which

is that the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. it is based on who you lift up. and while we seek continually for donald trump is entirely what that clip shows. he belittles the sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. it is cruel. and listen, i promise amber's mother we will always remember her story and speaker name. amber nicole thurman. host: next step from the balaguer and sid of georgia, wilhelmina on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span audience.

i just want to speak about the gentleman that called from ellijay who said they are going to have a barbecue on november 3 for donald john trump. if he thinks that trump will win georgia, i have a bridge in georgia i want to sell him. also, we'd like for him to continue. we want him to continue to ramble for two hours and let the other voters in georgia hear exactly what he is saying which is not coherent, and we will see who will win georgia on november fit or six. that's my comment. host: heavy voted already in georgia? caller: i have, i voted the very first day. host: what was the experience

like? caller: i am a voter for years, but it was in and out for about 10 minutes. and my granddaughter and i were out. host: were there a lot of people? caller: yes, but the process was very smooth. we had a great experience. that's my comment. host: gym in pennsylvania, also on the line for democrats. looks like we lost him. there you go. are you there? go ahead. caller: i wanted to really agree with the caller before the last one about when you leave the big city area which is really reminiscent of when trump ran against clinton, the hillary clinton signs that you see, some

of them handmade, it's very different than when he ran against biden. and i think that is really -- host: what do you mean by that? caller: there just seems to be much more enthusiasm in the outskirts away from the cities for trump. host: have you decided how you're going to vote or started early voting? caller: i haven't voted yet, but elon in the mix definitely changes the dynamic for me. host: how so? caller: if you look at what he's been able to do, it's just amazing. host: so are you planning to support trump or harris this time? caller: i would not support harris. i'm definitely considering trump because of muska. host: ok. next up is greg in burton, michigan. good morning, greg. caller: good morning, kimberly. the important thing for me is

mental health, and for the first time ever in my life, i voted straight ticket democrat to combat the maga-ism. my big issues are donald trump is showing a lot of narcissism, dementia, and antisocial personality disorder. and he really does not belong in the white house. host: what has it been like being in michigan and being targeted by so many ads and attention than the candidates the cycle? caller: who doesn't love attention? i don't do a lot of tv watching. i see a fair number of ads from both sides. most of them that i see, however, are on c-span. when you guys show clips from the various candidates. host: next up is jeff in north

carolina, line for republicans. forgive me if i mispronounce the name of your town. caller: its head not. host: what has it been like? caller: what do you mean, the weather? host: in terms of the election. caller: ever since mail-in voting and everything changed, i don't hold lots to voting. i think it's corrupt. i think this election will probably be settled in court. i just ain't got no faith in the system. host: are you planning to vote yourself, though? caller: no, i don't know what i'll do yet. i mean, to me it's a joke. i've just got no faith in the

system no more. host: what would make you have faith in the system? caller: if anybody that thinks the election is free and fair, they are lost. when you can send in a ballot, and all they've got to do is somebody matches signatures, it's just too much larceny to be had. i've got no faith in the system at all. host: what would you need election officials to do to make you have faith in the system? caller: just go back to where you've actually got to go in and vote. give everybody a thing to scan or there is no doubt or there is zero chance of stealing. did you see the biden administration in virginia? they want illegals to vote. you can't make this stuff up. all these people getting over

voter rose, it's illegal. this stuff is happening. it's not sanctioned. host: let's hear from steve in atlanta, georgia on the line for democrats. caller: i was on the voting line who was very, very slow and then all of a sudden, the woman in front of me, she looked like kamala harris, it was unbelievable. and then all of a sudden the smell of gas, she must have far did. host: ok. stephen is in pennsylvania on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: that may be a tough one to follow, but i will. i travel regularly up to the buffalo, new york area and the pittsburgh area. my son lives in the pittsburgh area. just right outside of pittsburgh, greentree, pennsylvania.

he works as an engineer. and he says that the overwhelming majority of rank-and-file union members are donald trump supporters. i recently drove from buffalo down to pittsburgh, didn't take hardly any interstate whatsoever, and back up to where i live. but trump sides were overwhelming. people have to get out and vote, republicans have to get out and vote and democrats have to get out and vote. support in western pennsylvania, even up in the. area, it's overwhelming trump support up there. that is one of the reasons why you see kamala harris with a continual camp set up in the

pittsburgh area. she's trying harder between western pennsylvania, but i think she is fighting a losing battle. i fully support donald trump and dave mccormick to the bob casey. when they were running against each other for senate, continually said almost every answer was rick santorum, he supported george w. bush for 95% of the time. the fact is, bob casey supports joe biden 98% of the time. he said we don't need a rubberstamp, senator. he's right, we don't need a rubberstamp senator. time to throw out mr. bob casey and elect dave mccormick. thanks for your time, i appreciate it. host: former president trump is campaigning in pennsylvania yesterday and here is a portion of his speech where he focused on immigration and tariffs. >> this will be america's new

golden age. 100 years from now, the presidential election of 2024 will be looked upon as america's greatest victory. i hope that's true. [applause] because we've been through so much together, the is finally in sight. after four horrendous years, kamala harris can't say one thing that she would do differently. you heard that. if you vote for me i will lend inflation, i will bring jobs back to our country. we will flood, we will flood our shores with companies and jobs. we will seal our borders immediately, and we will let people in. we have the safest border in the history of our country. but up favorite sign. of all time. but my favorite graph, i have to use it. my favorite graph. so the red arrow on the bottom,

that is the lowest number of illegal immigrants to come into this country. by the way, we want people to come into this country, but they have to come in legally, just so they understand. we want them, we need them because we are going to have so many companies coming in. just adjustments and tariffs and taxes are going to come pouring in, and they are going to stay here because we are going to protect them with tariffs. the word tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary. more beautiful than love. more beautiful than respect. less beautiful than religion though, right? i don't want to get into that argument. but it is the most beautiful word in the dictionary, remember that. it's going to make our country rich. host: just a reminder we are looking for calls for folks in battleground states today.

republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. if you are in one of the seven battleground states. a couple of comments from social media. jennifer jones says georgia resident, i voted for harris-walz on tuesday and then he a text from stephen in gladstone, michigan. i receive about 15 emails a day from the harris-walz campaign. zero from the trump campaign. this shows who really wants to win, and she has the ground game. susan is in pennsylvania on the line for democrats. good morning, susan. caller: good morning, i support kamala harris. i'm 75 years old. i've always respected the president, republican or democrat open hearted until donald trump came in. when donald trump came in, he

was not the president of all the people. i felt like he was just there to destroy our government, all the institutions, and i feel he is from russia the way he lets all of the putin-like dictators, which is what he wants to be. he is a liar, he will lie to you and for you, because he is a great reality star. the apprentice. the producer of the apprentice came out saying he is so sorry that he made trump look good because trump is the, i think, the biggest liar and he is fooling americans. please america, wake up. we don't want a dictator like putin or in north korea. host: i wonder what you've seen in terms of canvassing or yard signs or ads in pennsylvania. as we mentioned earlier, it is getting so much money flowing in from the campaign.

caller: not a lot where i live, there is one from sign. you do see if harris signs when you go out the community, but i went through a very tough month. i do pray and hope for kamala harris because i see that humanitarian in her. i want somebody who will care for the american people. that's what i want. host: sorry for your loss, susan. judy is in georg othe line for republicans. good morning, judy. caller: good moin how are you? host: i'm good, how are you? caller: i'a little hoarse, i'm sorry. host: take it easy, what is your comment? caller: i would like to give

trp d harris some advice. the are 130 countries on this rtright now where women are not allowed to speak or vote or go out in public or show their face or anytng i wonder, i've been going door to door and i would ask him this question. if a woman called you from putin in russia and started to threaten and put -- to put a tariff on you, what would you say? he said i'd listen to her and then i'd hang up the phone and

start world war iii. they are not going to listen to a woman in those countries. so trump had better win. and by the way, i approve of trump one -- 100%. host: have you already voted in the election? caller: no, my voting day is on the 26th of this month, and i'm voting on the 26th. there's nothing but signs for republicans out here. there is not one. hillary clinton, i like harris. but there's going to be a third world war if a woman gets involved. it's ok to be a vice president, but at this time in history it is not the time for a woman to

be in charge of the country like iran, china, japan. they're not going to listen to us. host: matthew, life or independents. -- line for independents. caller: yes, i'm an independent voter. i've been a republican all my life, 35 years old. i lived in one of the reddest counties, there is a lot of change going on. i see a lot of kamala harris signs. host: matthew, what made you

decide to switch from being republican to independent? caller: ever since donald trump took the reins of the republican party, it's gotten out of hand. host: they started early voting in north carolina, have you already voted? caller: i voted on the 18th. host: and who did you support? caller: kamala harris. host: what was the experience like when you went to vote? caller: very excited. host: were there a lot of people? caller: i went to vote with my mother. i believe if trump gets back into the white house, this new supreme court ruling, all this unchecked power, i believe it's going to be a travesty.

host: michigan, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i've already voted, i voted absentee ballot. this election is like no other we've ever experienced. we've never had someone who outright lies and caused all of this hatred. we've never had a president, elon musk is paying people, people who call on the phone are probably getting paid because it doesn't really make any sense what they are trying to say.

they know it's not true, it doesn't make any sense. all he talks about is the border. how can he, when he is the one who stopped the border bill? host: guest: what have you been seeing in detroit in terms of canvassing, rallies? have you been to any, because i know detroit is getting a lot of attention. i believe harris was there just yesterday. caller: i went to a meeting yesterday, michigan united. they had a presentation, and it was about the indoctrination of christians, that this is a religious war, that donald trump

is the only way. and you know the go to these christian colleges they grow up believing it a idolizing a person who wants to be a dictator. host: have you seen a lot of ads for the campaign in detroit? caller: yes, i've received a lot of ads, democrats and republicans. i donate. but not to republicans. this election is more important than any other election because if we lose our democracy, we don't have another day. we can't fight another day. we can fight another day for social security, for medicare and frail woman to have the right to choose.

that should be number one. that should be the top, number one. host: david is in eau claire, wisconsin on the line for republicans. caller: good morning, c-span. up here in wisconsin, it's really tight. i see that harris has a bunch of people out stopping the intersection by my house. must have been 10, 15 of them out there with signs and stuff. so they are trying hard, they are stomping hard. i wouldn't be surprised if harris could pull off wisconsin. i'd hate to see it. i'm a trump supporter, i'm not what you would call a maga guy i guess, i grew up in there just seeing what politics and stuff has done to our state. it used to be a dairy farm every half mile on the country road,

and bigger cities had lots of factories. it has just changed so much. host: you mentioned that you saw others folks out for harris. have you seen similar activities that folks out and about for trump? caller: not so much this election. previous elections they were people out with flags and stuff. there's trump signs in the yards, there's a lot of those. but not so much people out stopping. host: you mentioned you think that harris is likely to win wisconsin. i'm looking at some of the latest polling. there is a poll that was put out that has harris leading despite 2% within the margin of error.

another one showing harris a little bit further ahead, and the research shows trump ahead by one. all of these looking like they are pretty much within the margin of error. is that similar to what you are hearing in conversation, david? caller: most people i talk to, probably because of what i do for a living and stuff, but most of the people i talked to, there seems to be a lot of harris. i noticed there is a union hall just outside of town, and they have all harris and trump and his pipefitters and stuff like that. i was kind of surprised to see that. i just think if trump isn't ahead by three or four points, he's going to lose in this state. i really don't trust elections,

either. it's a shame. but i still vote on election day. just last chance for fraud. host: what would make you feel like a trust elections? caller: i just think having everybody vote on election day. there's enough voting places around, at least around this area. there's bosses. there is a way to vote, everybody could get out and vote. i don't think they will do that, but i just think it is a civic duty for everybody to get out and vote. no matter if you are a, independent or republican. you've got to make a choice. host: kevin is in michigan on the line for independents.

caller: i just wanted to call to let most of the democrats know that there is a department of defense director, 5240-01, section three, level c to authorize the government to use deadly force against their citizens. and i know there ain't a lot of people out there that knows this. host: are you going to bring this back to what is going on in terms of the election? caller: yeah, i think that this has been put out there so that if there's any kind of issues after the election, such as uprising or something, they would authorize the use of deadly force on american citizens. it should have never happened in our country ever. i don't think the people even know about it.

people have gotten us to be able to kill our own citizens now. i just want to say i think everybody should look at this, read this, and understand what is going on. thank you. host: atlanta, georgia, line for democrats. caller: that previous caller, obviously there were a lot of republicans that voted for the same bill and obviously he's conveniently forgetting the attack on the capital on january 6, 2021. however, i'm really calling because i'm saddened by the amount of misinformation and disinformation that has really, really taken over this country, and i think the uninformed among

us, and me being one of them, of course, but i try to inform myself with great shows like yours, but i hear so many things that just are not true. and have become accepted. in one of the thing that really disheartened me about my fellow citizens is that they will attack the government and its institutions, without fully understanding that we are the government. this is what the united states of america is with the rights that we've been given. the right to vote, the right to assemble, the right to come in and comment on shows like yours, and thank you for your show. these are precious rights. we are the government.

and when you attacked the institutions of this great country we live in, it really says a lot about yourself and your inability to look inward and be a participant in a democracy. you've been voting for people and your government has gone sideways, then switch party. host: and heavy voted already? what was it like at polling place? caller: it was very simple. in this whole thing about miscalculating early votes and how there is this chance -- see, the polling place i went into, i can tell you half of the poll workers were republicans and half democrats. and this goes back to my point about a lack of participation in

properly informing yourself as a citizen. host: speaking of which, i do want to follow-up on something a previous caller mentioned about the authorization of the use of deadly force. i was trying to find where that came from, and i found this fact-check about this use of deadly force that seems to be coming up around an fbi document relating to the mar-a-lago search. so former president trump pointed to standard language and unsealed fbi documents, basically claiming that the biden administration wanted to kill him during a search of his mar-a-lago estate in palm beach, florida. the claim was also boosted online by his supporters, but the language trump referenced as a standard policy statement used for issuing search warrants and it is not unique to the fbi search of his property.

it is actually meant to limit the use of deadly force, so the claim with that the biden administration authorized the use of deadly force against former president donald trump during an fbi search of his mar-a-lago estate in 20, but the fact is the policy statement on the use of deadly force which adhered in an operations order for the mar-a-lago search is not evidence of a plot to kill trump, it is a department of justice policy the standard to include in such documents. let's get another call in before we finish up the segment. mike is in michigan on the line for republicans, good morning. caller: yes, i already voted, the reason i voted for miss harris is because the ukraine war. in 1994, the united states signed a treaty saying that if they gave up their nukes, if they were ever invaded, the united states, nato and russia would come to their defense.

and everybody forgot that i guess, i guess we don't live up to our word when we make a treaty with the country, but they gave up their nukes. they had the third largest inventory in the world and gave them up. if they had them, i imagine no one would have invaded them. but i voted for miss harris because she supports the war in ukraine. host: final call this segment, tina in north carolina, line for democrats. caller: yes, i'd like to say i've not yet voted, i am a poll worker and i will do so probably next week. but my main concern, and i'd like to ask every republican in the united states, what has china, russia, korea and all strongman-lead countries done good for america? and have done lately, and how have their contributions helped make america great?

we are holding onto enemies who really hate us, and they didn't come to talk about how to make america great. they came together to try to cause discord as we see today, and they are involved, as we can see. and i cannot vote for mr. donald john trump. he is weak and weak minded, and very influenced that vladimir putin complements him and access though he is beholden-- i am fearful, very fearful of that situation. i will not be voting for trump. last but not least, this is sunday. my great-grandfather told me that a lie is a dangerous thing and a liar is a dangerous person.

that lie would get halfway around the world before the truth gets started. worse than that, someone will believe that live. he would say i would rather someone to strike me than to tell a lie on me. but we have been inundated with today is lie after lie after lie. host: i have to end it there, tina. thank you to everyone who called in this segment. after the break, we are going to kick off our battleground state series. we will hear from reporters and analysts in key swing states to get a sense of the political lay of the land 15 days out from election day. this morning, we are going to put the political spotlight on the state of michigan and its 15 electoral college votes. first up, rick pluta and later, david dulio.

we will be right back. >> tonight on c-span's q and a, john mackey and steven pinker discuss their books. john mackey's book, the whole story, talks about the rise of the whole foods grocery store chain. >> lst was the first psychedelic i ever did when i was 19 or 20. that took me off the conventional path. i realized the universe was so much bigger, more complex, more awesomely magnificent than i recognize. >> and steven pinker shares his book, rationality, which looks at the role of a functionality -- functioning salary and irrationality in the united states.

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>> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. over the next seve days here at washington journal, we are going to be focused on key battleground states in this election. today, michigan. monday, georgia. tuesday, arizona. wednesday, wisconsin. and thursday, nevada. we will -- friday, pennsylvania. saturday, north carolina. we will examine what has changed in these states since 2020. we will be talking to reporters on the ground in the states as well as political analysts who can explain the nuances that are going to be factors in this election. we are starting off today with michigan. it is a battleground state and we are going to hear today from rick pluta, the senior capital correspondent from michigan public radio network. he is joining us now from ann arbor, michigan. good morning, rick. guest: good morning.

host: thank you for joining us. what is the energy like in michigan around the election? guest: it is very high. at least among the people who are engaged, volunteers, certainly politicos were coming in and doing surrogate visits for candidates. i am already hearing the perennial complaints about how many ads and that is magnified by the fact that people are also adding social media advertisements and texts on their phones. sometimes in the middle of the night. and so there is a certain amount of anxiety about what the result will be in michigan. and that is all the way up and down the ballot because we have some competitive congressional races and a competitive u.s. senate seat that is vacant or heading to the vacant control of

our legislature all at stake. i think we are at the point with the election this close that a lot of people would like to have it done and their anxiety relief. host: you cohost a weekly segment on michigan radio. politics with zoe clark. you have co-authored a piece on your website. presidential candidates keep coming to michigan. here is where and why. can you explain that, why the presidential candidates are spending so much time in michigan and where? guest: well, they are spending most of their time in the population area, the most populated areas as you would expect. that is primarily metro detroit, the city itself. but also, its outlying suburbs in wayne, oakland, plus some time in grand rapids on the west side of the state, the second

largest city and urban area in michigan. they are focused at this point, i would say, less so on persuadable voters although the race is so tight that anyone small thing can make a difference. but, it is also very much a getting your supporters out to vote right now. and in some parts of the state, early in post -- in person voting has started. people are mailing in their absentee ballots. so, the election, not just election season but the election is underway in michigan. a vote that you can get a supporter too now is one that you don't have to work on as you get closer and closer to election day itself. host: michigan is a swing state. we call it that because it goes back and forth between one party and another.

in 2016, trump won thereby the closest margin of any stay, just over 10,000 votes. it flipped to biden in 2020 by 124,488 votes. how close is it this time? guest: it is well within the margin of error. much of the pole aggregations show it somewhere in the range of a point or two. and we are talking about the thousands and tens of thousands of votes that make the difference once they are all tallied up. but if you break it down to how many votes per precinct, that is in the single or double digits. if you have one really active precinct worker who can get 10 people to the polls who would not otherwise vote, if that

plays out across many, many precincts or theoretically all of them, that alone makes the difference. host: can you talk about some of the voting changes that have happened in michigan since 2020, especially since the election was contested? guest: we have a constitutional amendment that is supposed to make voting easier and more accessible to more people. this has played out over a few election cycles. that includes no reason absentee voting, you don't have to give a reason. you can say i would rather vote or drop off and mail in my ballot than wait for election day to show up at the polls. there is now what is called early in person voting which started in some cities today, where you can show up at a

voting place or a clerk's office and there is a station set up for people to go and fill out their ballot and drop it off themselves. for some people, that is a higher level of confidence that they know their ballot has arrived. if you use absentee voting in michigan, you can sign up to get notices about when you're ballot has arrived and when it has actually been tallied. i'm trying to think, we have the early voting period. we have in person voting, absentee voting. i think that mostly covers it. there is just a lot of -- and same-day voting registration, which can be a big deal. that sort of helps you scoop up the people who may be delayed there decision -- their decision. there is an endpoint to voting

but until the polls close, there is not an in point to registration. host: how long do they usually take to count the ballots in michigan and what is the process around that? guest: the counting can go into the morning. especially in a close race. we sort of have this idea when we see on television that a network has called arrays, it does not mean all the ballots are counted. that just means that their prognosticators inc. they have enough information in hand to safely say -- think they have enough information in hand to safely say this is where the boats will and when they are counted. back in go all night sometimes into the next day -- that can go all night and sometimes into the next day. in michigan because we have so many new voting options that the legislator has also --

legislature has given clerks a little bit of leeway to start preprocessing ballots where they can open the votes and ready the ballots to be fed into tabulator's on election day and the hope is that will cut down on the amount of time that it takes for all of the ballots to be counted. and then, once they are counted, they have to be certified. that takes place a few days later and starts out with county boards of canvassers. what they are doing is checking the math, making sure that the number of votes matches the number of ballots cast in each race and they may formally certify it. when that is done, the same thing is repeated at the state level with the board of state canvassers in michigan. host: who are the swing voters in michigan this cycle? guest: well, suburban women are

usually high on that list. i think that is the case again in this election. that african-american voters, especially african-american men seem to be in play. not that there is an expectation that most african-american men aren't going to vote for kamala harris but we are hearing a lot in this race called lose my less. republicans would like to carve into some core democratic constituencies that they typically lose and just peel off a certain percentage of those voters to move over to the republican side and hope that will make a difference. and that really matters a lot. i think especially for republicans because according to polling, support for trump has kind of topped out. for republicans in particular,

it makes it a get out there voters race as much, maybe even more so than a persuade undecided voters race. host: -- guest: a huge issue that michigan, southeast michigan, the city of dearborn has the most muslim voters and arab-american voters of any city in the country, i think. there is a real division there. we have a former president, the republican candidate, who has had some pretty anti-muslim messaging, during his presidency and during his campaign. but arab-american voters in southeast michigan are just so outraged and heartbroken by what's going on in gaza, they feel like they can't support the

administration that is in power right now. and so, they are not just talking about voting for donald trump or even sitting out the race which is one of the concerns and part of the messaging. there is also the green party candidate, jill stein is making a play for those voters as well. as we have talked about so much, when a race is this close, you have even a small collection of voters who change their allegiance, that could be a major factor in who wins the state of michigan. host: we are going to be taking your calls soon. we have special phone lines for this segment. if you support trump and vance, call (202) 748-8001. if you support harris-walz, call (202) 748-8000.

if you're undecided or support some of these other candidates, that number is (202) 748-8002. we have a special line for our michigan residents, (202) 748-8003. back to you, rick. what are some of the top issues for voters in michigan this cycle? you mentioned the war in gaza and for some of the folks in southeastern michigan, what are other issues? guest: in a state like michigan, where it is a manufacturing and agriculture economy, the economy is just high up there. we like to talk about the economy as if it's a singular entity and of course it's not. people are concerned about the cost of housing. if you want to buy your first home or you want to move to a bigger home, then the cost of

housing is a big deal. it is expensive to buy another home in michigan right now. rental costs are the same thing. our inflation rate, our overall inflation rate is not bad in the state. but if you are looking at buying an automobile or you talked about housing costs and the costs of some types of groceries, then you are experiencing the economy and the cost-of-living may be differently than someone who is not looking to buy a home or is it buying serial in bulk because you have young children at home. host: just to follow-up on the point you made about housing costs, in swing states, typical homebuyers payments have nearly doubled since the last presidential election. is that the case in michigan?

guest: yeah. people look at interest rates for homes and what it takes to pull together the down payment for a home. housing costs are a big deal. grocery costs or at least the costs of some types of grocery are a big deal. the candidates are making a big deal of manufacturing, especially as it relates to the auto industry, that republicans are feeding into concerns about electric vehicles. talking about an ev mandate that doesn't exist but that if democrats have their way, more people will be forced into buying ev's. there is no ev mandate. that cuts across all the sectors that we are talking about. that the cost of something that you need to buy, people in michigan need to have cars to get around.

but also, employment security. ev's don't take as many people to put together. at least in the end, so republicans are making a play for union voters. host: you mentioned the ev's. we have and add the trump campaign is running in michigan, attacking harris on her plans for gas powered economy and endg inflation. >> i'm donald j. trump and i approve this message. host: rick, this is that

messaging you were talking about. guest: again, we should point out that gasoline powered cars are not going away. certainly not anytime soon. there is no ev mandate. but, that messaging is out there. and it is playing into concerns about what the economic -- how the economic evolution is going to play out in michigan. this is something that goes back decades. when you go to the 1980's, when we saw foreign cars making better, bigger inroads to the u.s. vehicle market. this is just that playing out in a new way. host: let's go to your calls. we have another rick in jackson, michigan. good morning, rick. caller: good morning. host: what's your question?

caller: the question i have is when early voting, when will we find out the results on the early voting? not until after the elections? host: go ahead, rick. guest: not until after the elections. those votes do not get counted until the polls have closed. so, we are not going to -- this is a concern for a few reasons. but there is not going to be a rolling total during the early voting period that says how the races are coming out. that matters in part because there are different types of voters that use different types of voting methods and so -- we will even see this on election night that because the ballots that have already been cast are probably going to be the ones that are tallied first and then we will see the in person votes

counted at the same time. so we are going to see the trend sort of seemingly shift from the republicans to the democrats in ways that we are not used to seeing. and that is going to give -- the expectation is that is going to give some people who are following the returns on election night some anxiety. host: wanda is in chico, california and supports the trump campaign. good morning. caller: thank you. i remember the e. jean carroll accusations against trump and i know that cvs covered -- cbs covered that story. i'm wondering if you are going to cover the accusations against tim walz regarding the accusation of a 14-year-old boy -- host: did you have a question specifically for rick about the election in michigan? caller: this is a question

regarding the election. and what causes winners and losers, ok? accusations of pedophilia against tim walz. host: rick, any response to that? guest: um, those are -- there is nothing backing that accusation that i'm aware of. but those are the sorts of things that get thrown out, especially in the final days of the election. and certainly partisans care a lot about those things. i see a lot of it on social media but the vast majority of voters are looking at either how they are feeling about one candidate or the other in terms of things like dangerous to democracy or, more commonly, how it is going to affect their

daily lives, which brings it down primarily although not exclusively to the economy. host: teresa is in petoskey, michigan. caller: i'm a first-time caller. i want to express my full support for kamala harris and tim walz. this is -- i'm 67, this is the most important election i'm certain that i've ever voted in and i've voted since i was 18. i am so frightened by the politics of donald trump and persons who support him. because it's not what america needs. what we need is jobs, jobs, jobs. i know he talks about that. health care for everyone.

and education for everyone. both parties need to pay attention to that. but, to me, from what i read and what i see on television or here on the radio, the republican party does not support that. they seem to think that everyone has their hand out asking for something. the truth of it is if you look at other countries worldwide, the countries who support their citizens are the ones that succeed. and i know about poverty. i was born and raised in flint, michigan. spent the last 10 years there, helping with tens of thousands of dollars so people can survive, literally. educate, offer jobs and don't incarcerate. host: therese mentioned fear about former president trump and

the aftermath of the election. i'm looking at an article on nbc news that says the republican national committee has promised to field an army of poll watchers targeting cities with majorities of democratic voters. it's the second consecutive election in which the rnc -- they have this big election integrity program and they also have filed -- republicans have filed a lot of lawsuits in advance of this election. can you talk about those? guest: yeah, i guess i will start with the last one, that we have seen lawsuits filed in state and federal courts, dealing with ballots and voting processes and also registration efforts. at this point, we are into the voting period. so, they are probably either

resolved or not going to go anywhere. although i anticipate that once the voting has ceased and the counting has started, that we will start to see litigation resume on some methods and where and how ballots are being counted. in the last election, we saw some people who were election plays watchers or people watching the vote counting who were creating problems, pressing into areas that they are not supposed to be. and democrats are certainly reminding people of that and trying to make election integrity and protection of democratic processes and issue in this particular election. your caller obviously has some

concerns about that as well. host: mark is in massachusetts and undecided. good morning, mark. caller: good morning to kimberly and the guest. guest: good morning. caller: good morning. i will get to my question in a second. i am a pro-life democrat, basically. so i guess it is just me and jimmy carter who are the only two. it used to be a thing, they're used to be pro-life democrats but i guess the democratic party abandoned them. so i'm very pro-central americans, migration, because of the 200 year history of the united states intervention into supporting government down there. my question would be to you,

sir, what is the migration situation in michigan and is there still -- in the 1980's, there was the sanctuary movement. does that still even exist? guest: i mean, yes. the sanctuary movement itself isn't a huge issue, although certainly there are republicans who are trying to make a out of sanctuary cities. immigration is a huge issue in michigan, which some people might find a little puzzling because we are a northern state and our international border is with canada, not with mexico. but we do have a large mexican american population in western michigan and around the city of

detroit. we have a lot of middle eastern immigrants in michigan. as a matter of fact, you go all across lower michigan, i would bet you that we have some of the best middle eastern cuisine you will find anywhere on this continent. so, immigration is a big issue and it's a big issue for people who have immigrated here or are immediate descendants, children or grandchildren, they can relate to that. immigration changes culture and that gets people upset. i would point you to a microcosm of that, a city which is an enclave of detroit. it is adjacent to it. that used to be a polish american enclave. and it is still evidenced by

polish restaurants and grocery stores but it is primarily a middle eastern city at this point. including city government. so, i guess i will just circle back and in where i started, -- end where i started, when you have immigration changing communities, that creates anxiety from people who remember it as it was or think they remember it as it was. but also, to the people who are moving in and establishing a new culture, they want a place where they can live and feel safe. host: rosie is in saginaw, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning and good morning to your guest today. i'd like to know if he could answer me. i'm in saginaw. what are you hearing about

[indiscernible] and what are you hearing about plans for senior social security? host: rosie, your line is breaking up pretty badly. i believe you asked about health care and social security. rick, do you want to respond to that? guest: sure. i will point out she is in one of the areas, we talk about detroit and metro detroit and grand rapids. she is in saginaw, which is further north but it is an industrial area, saginaw and flint and that is a place and a region that is being targeted by both campaigns with sort of a similar economic message with the changing economy, ev's, jobs and economic security. and -- i'm sorry -- remind me,

rosie asked me about -- host: health care and social security. guest: ok. so, it seems like donald trump rolled back a bit on the rhetoric about scrapping obamacare and then coming back and making something -- making it into something better. although the availability of health care and hospitals is an issue across the state. and then the -- i haven't finished my coffee, what was the other one? host: social security. i think we got the idea, i want to get to a couple more colors. guest: social security, republicans are peddling the idea that social security will be cut in areas and there is no evidence of that. host: joyce is in houston and is a trump supporter. good morning, joyce. caller: yes, good morning. first, let me say i am a black

senior citizen and in a few months, i will be 92 years old and i want to give my thoughts to be black community that is going all out for harris. i remember when harris was running for senator and she likes to cook. she was on a program with an indian lady and they were talking about indian food. she did not even recognize her -- host: joyce, we are focused on this election. did you have a question for rick about the campaign or election in michigan? caller: well, you know, that's just the way it is. if you are talking positive about trump, you can't talk to them, if you are talking negative, you can stay on. have a good day. host: margo is in highland, illinois. a harris supporter, good morning. good morning.

-- caller: good morning. guest: hi, margo. caller: that's highland, indiana. i voted last week. there are a lot of republicans voting for kamala. everyone is going to be ok. justice is going to prevail. the only people who won't be ok are all of us. just urging everybody to get out and vote. it will be secure and safe as last time. republicans learned their lesson from the last election. we will be intact -- democracy will binct. host: we ve question from kristinn portland, maine. does the flint water crisis and its aftermath come into play th election cycle?

do the democrats and republicans defer in how they responded to it? it's not as much in the news anymore. guest: is still in the news in michigan. the further you get from the initial events, the less attention it gets. there are still people who are dealing with the health effects of the lead poisoning in the water. flint, like saginaw, is in the central urban zone that is considered a territory that both parties are fighting for. democrats have not necessarily targeted flint but are making infrastructure an issue. gretchen whitmer talks about infrastructure all the time in the context of -- she's a democrat -- of what her administration has done but also

promises from the harris campaign about infrastructure and development in states like michigan. so, there is that. it kind of plugs into that message about economic security as well. so, people get hired to do the infrastructure work. its construction and it is an appeal to blue-collar workers. it is there. i don't think it gets the same volume as other things. but it is definitely there. host: paul is in kalamazoo, michigan. good morning, paul. hi there, paul. can you hear us? sorry, now. caller: can you hear me? this is cj, can you hear me? guest: yeah. host: go ahead. caller: i have a question for rick.

last time trump got in office, there was a lot of scaring the fruit pickers who come up to michigan. i'm wondering in this election cycle, all this talk about the immigrants, has that affected the people who come up here and pick our fruit and a lot of the crops? guest: that is such a michigan question and such a west michigan question, which is kalamazoo, which is where the caller is from. and you know, that is -- we talked a bit about that because that is always a concern. michigan agriculture in the western and northern parts of the state does rely on migrant labor to do a lot of that harvesting. i have not heard that it is affecting the migration route so

much. but those are people who very often, after a generation or two, families start out coming up and spending time working on different farms. eventually, many families are here and they take jobs in retail or manufacturing and in terms of people who reside and their primary residence is in another country, are not eligible to vote in michigan. but once you become a citizen, you are. that's where i say that's how it plays out. we are talking about the culture change that can cause some people anxiety. host: good morning morning, ron. caller: two quick points. when trump talks about the union workers were mainly white who

support him and trump picks elon musk as one of his supporters, a known union buster scab, how can those union members even think of voting against their own wishes? they do because of racism. i understand that. i'd like to ask this question, when trump loses and loses big time, do you foresee the insurrectionists trying to kidnap our governor? i hope they do so we can squash them once and forever. guest: i don't want to predict insurrection or violence. it is a concern. election integrity and threats to democracy are definitely an issue in michigan that kamala harris and governor gretchen whitmer, who is sort of her top surrogate in the state talk about that often. we had both candidates here and

the vice presidential nominees here as well. when kamala harris comes to michigan, she talks about the threat to democracy that democrats are trying to make an issue here of appealing to voters like you who think that is a big deal. host: that's all the time we have for this segment. rick pluta, the senior capital correspondent for michigan public radio, thank you. guest: thanks for having me. host: we will continue our discussion of the battleground state of michigan, coming up with oakland university political science professor david dulio. we will be right back. ♪ >> brenda calls them two gladiators. the year was 1925, talking about william jennings bryan and

clarence darrow. each of them, national celebrity's for decades, were going into battle over god and science and the classroom. not incidentally over what it meant to be an american. brenda's book is titled keeping the faith. focused on the state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in the schools. >> also, brea th her book, keeping the faith on this episode of book notes plus with our brian lamb. book nes plus is available on the c-spanree mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> with one of the tightest races for control of congress in modern political history, this

fall, c-span brings you access to the nations top house, senate and governor debates from across the country. the debates that are shaping your states future and the balance of power in washington. follow our campaign 2024 coverage from local to national debates anytime online at c-span.org/campaign. and be sure to watch tuesday, november 5, for live, real-time election night results. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. powered by cable. ♪ >> listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio is easy. tell your smart speaker play c-span radio and listen to washington journal daily at 7:00 a.m. eastern, daily important affairs throughout the day and catch washington today. listen to c-span any time. just tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues.

host: welcome back. we will continue our battleground state series, focused on michigan today with david dulio. and oakland university political science professor and director for civics engagement and author of the book michigan, government, politics and policy. welcome to washington journal. guest: thanks for having me. host: why is michigan a swing state? guest: it's incredibly competitive. that's when it comes down to. i think there has been a misunderstanding of michigan politics for many years when we go back to 1992, we get this string of democratic presidential candidate victories until trump flipped the state in 2016. from 1992 through 2012, democrats had this string of victories.

and frankly, that is what led michigan to be part of that vaunted blue wall that came crumbling down in 2016. underneath that string of victories was -- it was really just a veneer over a very competitive state. michigan on multiple stretches during that time had the qualities of a very purple state. the last couple of cycles, it has been incredibly close. it has exhibited those characteristics of a classic swing state. voting for one candidate -- the candidate of one party in one election and flip-flopping back and forth. host: now, we give so much attention to the presidential race. but you also have some pretty competitive congressional races there. can you lay that out for us? guest: absolutely. michigan is either very lucky or

cursed with the fact that we have a fabulous mix of incredibly significant races at the congressional level. obviously, the presidential race speaks for itself. but we have a eunice -- u.s. senate race that is close and seems to be getting closer between alyssa slotkin and mike rogers. the seat is vacant now that debbie stabenow has announced her retirement. they are both great candidates, lots in common in terms of their background. we have seen, i'm sure the callers will want to get into this but the differences between these candidates on important policy issues could not be starker. we have these competitive u.s. house seats. first in the michigan seven

where slotkin holds that sea. she has given that up. that is a barnburner of a race between tom barrett and curtis retell, two members of the state legislature who are duking it out to the end. we have a competitive race in the eighth congressional district. there is a flint based district where christian mcdonald rivet -- kristin mcdonald rivet is running against paul junge. not to mention, the 10th congressional district, john james, the macomb county district with a little bit of oakland county in it. that is a race in 2022, a rematch. john james and kolmar linda -- carl marlinga.

it was closer than everybody thought it would be in 2020 two and appears to still be competitive now but you would have to give the edge to james because of incumbency, maybe. host: i wonder, so much of the discussion this cycle has been about early voting and voter turnout. early voting started in detroit yesterday. the rest of the city does not -- state does not start until later on, the 26th. why is that? guest: this is just the second election cycle where michigan is dabbling in early voting. it's the first, my apologies. the constitutional amendment that was adopted in a recent ballot initiative requires that there be nine days of early voting. other municipalities can go beyond that if they wish. in detroit, they have extended

that time. host: on friday, kamala harris spoke in grand rapids, michigan. she was talking to supporters and attacking trump on his record. very important in michigan, auto industry and manufacturing jobs. let's listen to that. >>'s track record in the auto industry -- his track record in the auto industry was a disaster. he promised the auto industry would not lose one plant during his presidency. those were his words, not one plant. then, american automakers announced the closure of six auto plants when he was president. including general motors in lawrence and stellantis in detroit. thousands of autoworkers lost their jobs. and donald trump's running mate

recently suggested that if they win, they would threaten the grand river assembly plant in lansing. ok. the same plant our administration protected earlier this year, saving 650 union jobs. [applause] 650 union jobs. his running mate -- we fought hard for those jobs and we believe you deserve a president who will protect them and not insult them. host: david, what is union support looking like in michigan in terms of the breakdown where that support is going? guest: it's really a fascinating element to the campaign in michigan which may be different than in any other state because of the centrality of the auto industry. michigan is well known as the

auto capital. detroit is the motor city. trump came here in 2016 and talked to voters in places like macomb county and as the vice president said, in places like warrant. and talked to them in a way that they had not heard before or at least in any number of years. and really, we can go back to the 1980's and macomb county is the home of the famous reagan democrats. these are voters who liked ronald reagan because he talked tough. these are their perceptions, not mine. he said he was going to advance american interests abroad. he was going to stand up for the little guy, talk tough, say what he meant and mean what he said. macomb county voted in large nor

voters -- numbers for ronald reagan. trump comes in 2016 and lights the fire under many of those similar voters. when he came and talked about nafta and the transpacific partnership as a bad trade deal that he was going to extricate the united states from and was going to stand up for blue-collar workers. he was going to bring their jobs back and fight for manufacturing jobs in michigan. he's got some credibility on the issues. he said he was going to renegotiate nafta and he did. the usmca has taken the place of the north american free trade agreement. whether it is good or bad is almost irrelevant. he can come here and say i told you i was going to do this and i did. a lot of voters in places like macomb county give him a lot of credit for it.

he has credibility. i would also say in 2016 when he was first here in the primary, trump and bernie sanders had a similar message when it came to trade and manufacturing. it was fascinating to watch. you fast-forward to 2024. trump is trying to re-create that magic. he strung to re-create the success he had with union workers. and he appears to be making some serious inroads. the fact that the teamsters did not make an endorsement is i think an incredibly significant move. we have started to see some data leak out from the teamsters and surveys they have done in their membership where more than half of teamster members are planning to vote for trump. i would imagine if the uaw who has been in the news lately with

sean fain as their president, he is a tough talker himself for sure. i would imagine there are a lot of uaw members, even though leadership has endorsed trump -- even though the leadership endorsed harris, not trump -- that their membership is going to vote for him. host: let's listen to some of the messaging from former president trump. on friday, he held a rally campaign in detroit and was talking about crime, migrants and vice president harris's record on the board. >> as we rebuild our economy, we will restore our borders. did you ever see anything like what is coming in from our borders? criminals, drug dealers, prisoners, people from mental institutions. for four straight years, kamala has imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrants from prisons and jails, insane

asylums and mental institutions from all around the world. from venezuela to the congo. and she has resettled them into your communities to prey upon innocent americans. i happen to think it's the worst thing that has happened. i think it is worse than inflation. i think it is worse than a bad economy. i think it's the worst thing that happened to us. [laughter] 21 million people. when i win on november 5, the migrant invasion e ds and the restoration of our country begins. host: if you support the trump-vance ticket, the number is (202) 748-8001. the harris-walz ticket is (202) 748-8000. if you are undecided, (202)

748-8002. the special michigan line is (202) 748-8003. message we received from jimbo, independent voter, who says can professor julio explained the difference between the upper peninsula voters and the rest of michigan. it seems like it should vote as part of wisconsin. guest: jimbo has asked about a fascinating element of michigan politics. i will start abroad and get back into the up. michigan has an incredible diversity when it comes to politics and political culture. southeast michigan has got three very different areas, just in one small region. you have wayne county, which is the home of detroit. but even within wayne county, you go further to the west and it is more republican. go north of wayne county into

macomb county, which we have talked about, home of the reagan democrats and trump republicans these days, just west of macomb is oakland county. and it is a mirror image of the shift that has taken place in macomb county, which has gotten more republican over the years after being a democratic stronghold. oakland county used to be republican territory and it is now a democratic county. it is full of suburban areas, heavily white, highly educated, wealthy individuals that are now a key component to the democratic coalition. southeast michigan has got three very different places. if you go over to west michigan and places like canned county, being a republican in those two areas is very, very different. kent county is sort of old-school republican.

although it is also changing. demographically and politically. you get sort of to the west coast of michigan, very different in terms of political culture. in mid-michigan, maybe near central michigan university and places like that. you get in midland, different elements are important they are important there, politically. it is more of an agricultural area. and then what we would call up north. oaks can michigan will tell you where they are from. anything from your knuckles north is up north. the northern lower peninsula, very rural. lots of agriculture. there was a question about fruit workers and that's where those come in. the u.p. is its own thing and it probably does vote like

wisconsin in terms of interests that are driven by geography. host: a question we received on x, how influential is the governor in michigan? she won by 54% but abortion was on the ballot so that may have favored democrats. is she a game changer in this election? guest: that's a great question. i don't think she is a game changer. maybe because -- i don't know what qualifies as a game changer in this particular election. since harris has been in the race, the polls have been awfully steady. awfully consistent with in the last two weeks, may be a move toward trump. which is reflected in other swing states and nationally, i would say.

governor whitmer has been doing some surrogate work, of course. i'm sure the harris-walz campaign has tapped into her political operation and political structure. she has not, she has not been a dominant voice here in michigan. i wonder even if the folks get -- are getting enough out of her. host: dean is an undecided voter in virginia. good morning. caller: i don't know if you remember me or not but back in 20 -- two-2005 i was a nontraditional student taking courses in oakland. guest: thanks for calling. caller: i took your advice, clemson then virginia tech. anyway. what i am calling about is this is especially about michigan, the subject here. i kind of see this election being swung more about what you

might call moderate republicans and disaffected democrats. the kind of democrats that tell you i didn't leave the party, the party left me. i could see them actually consciously voting for gridlock government. in other words saying i don't particularly like the harris ticket but i really don't like trump. and then vote for everybody and to put it in a football term. they are punting. and hope for better in 2028. host: -- guest: i think that is a great point and a distinct possibility. i think that voters are strategic and voters are smart,

no what they want out of their government. i think split ticket voting which is exactly as you are describing could be a real factor and especially when we think about michigan and the presidential and those competitive congressional races that we talked about. you can see a voter going insane i'm get a vote for harris and i'm going to vote for mike rogers, or but -- vice versa. because they don't want to give either party a blank check when it comes to control of the federal government at this point. one interesting thing to keep an eye on is we have seen a d crease -- decrease in the instances of split ticket voting, but this year there might be a bounce back. i could see that being the case. host: kim is in flint michigan. caller: hello.

my question is regarding the last three elections including this one that trump has been in, what do you think the increase in support has been especially for this election for him in the michigan area? do you think anything is related to race? guest:, that is another fabulous question. we see shifts in trump support over from 16 to 22 now sort of predicting those levels of support will be in 2024. i think that there are some racial differences. we can draw some distinctions based on racial lines and if we go to 2016, there were some people in michigan especially in

places like oakland county which i mentioned before is this very diverse now state -- county when it comes to demographics, culture, etc.. but there were some voters in 2016 in oakland county who were willing to give trump a chance and give him a shot. and they voted for him. he only lost oakland county by 50,000 votes. which sounds like a lot but is not. you fast-forward to 20 and he loses oakland county by 108,000 votes. which just shows you that people and the same thing was true in 2018 when we had a gubernatorial election, but people in oakland county ran away screaming from trump and said never again. and he was not able to get them back but may be now. a lot of those voters were as i mentioned before white wealthy highly educated voters. you can go to wayne county,

trump got more votes out of the city of detroit in 2020 than he did in 2016. so there has been an increase in support and i think all of the survey data over the last several years has seemed to indicate that trump is gaining among african-americans, and among hispanic americans. and i think the fact that kamala harris and her campaign are bringing out heavy hitters like barack obama and michelle obama, lizzo was here with her yesterday. they are bringing out these folks in detroit two weeks before election day. they transitioned to a mobilization strategy at this point. and i think it's because they are worried about african-american support especially among african-american men who are demonstrating a resistance to

kamala harris. host: indiana a trump supporter, good morning. >> indiana lake michigan has a big heavy industrial fate -- base. i'm in issues oriented voter. and that i like trump's 1.5% inflation, i like the support of heavy industry when he was president. i like the fact he was strong on national security and not getting us into new wars. tamped down isis in the middle east in a manner of a few months. so war is expensive, i like to have the money capture as much as possible. are these issues do you think these are issues that would resonate with republicans and independents in michigan? >> i think it depends on the issues.

the issue space here in michigan and i imagine other states as well that are competitive this time around, of the issue space is incredibly clear. trump is focusing heavy on the economy with -- high prices really is a key component of that. you heard the remarks from him at the rally about immigration. that is a central focus. democrats are really focused on abortion. and i think that that is -- campaigning 101 where the republican ticket is focusing on issues where they perceive an advantage over the democrats. and the democrats focusing on an issue they had an advantage for their opponents. it's about delivering messages. or you can attract i don't think

it's going to shift much in the next coming weeks. >> good morning. i just want to say in general that donald trump has one subject that he is leaning on which is the border. he has given no directions about where he would go on other issues. and i just want people to realize when you say -- people are saying he is getting more black votes. how many black men have been told there's millions of black men.

if they only pull 300, that's not telling you anything. host: is the question about the relevance of the border issue in michigan. >> everywhere. host: let's talk about michigan. how important is immigration in the border issues in the state? >> i mentioned this before i heard rick talking about immigration here in michigan and he mentioned how it may seem odd but michigan has such a focus on immigration given that it's a northern state. but we are a border state and i think the issue is just a little bit more salient here for a lot of folks who travel back and forth over an international border. we see not necessarily the politics of it but we see the execution of border policy here in michigan may be more than

other states. i would also say trump has to focus on it because he's got an issue that works. and the last four years have not been good in terms of illegal crossings and the policies that have been implemented by the biden administration, trump says are leading to these things that he believes are bad. and of course he's going to hammer on that. that is salient with the public, it's one of the top two or three issues that america considers to be important right now. and it's one that he has an advantage where he can rail against the performance of the harris-walz campaign or should i say the biden harris administration and probably make some points. host: clay is in louisiana and is a trump supporter. good morning.

>> thank you for taking my call. i would like to have him comment on the statements which are in two parts. part one is yes i am supporter, trump is for the little guy, the middle class, just look at his -- and you'll see working middle-class voters. i'm a senior citizen. my concerns are crime and high inflation and part 2, comments on ms. harris it seems almost surreal that two months ago she wasn't really on the scene and now the democratic party is trying to have a pr campaign like a bag of doritos. she has no substance, a lot of fluff and no substance.

i'd like him to comment. thank you very much. >> two point square trump support for the middle class or being able to relate well to folks in the middle class are callers concerns were crime and high inflation and then this idea of vice president harris being new to the scene in the way the democrats have been promoting her. host: -- guest: i think the trump campaign has been trying to paint the vice president as somebody who has been responsible for many of the failings that they see as part of the last four years. and when folks come in and say that she is new. trump supporters cannot have it both ways. she has either been part of it or she hasn't. i'm not saying that's where you were going with it but i think that that is an interesting part of the dialogue that's been

going on. and your point about trying to seller like a bag of doritos, yes, for sure. that is nothing new. the earliest campaign strategies borrowed a lot from -- especially in the modern era borrowed a lot from advertising and marketing. so your first point, trump being for the middle class and high inflation. crime. so i think trump is absolutely trying to be the candidate for the middle class. and here in michigan for those union voters, for those blue-collar workers. that may be our disaffected by democratic policies that they don't see is working for them. so he was successful with that in 2016, less so in 20 just

trying to re-create that magic. in terms of high inflation i would say trump is not talking as much about inflation as he is high prices. the inflation that's been present over the last several years. that's really the focus. because people still go to the grocery store, they still purchases in various areas and prices are high. and he is capitalizing on that without a doubt. high crime, he has been criticized for making crime an issue. it has been fact checked to the point where you know it is argued that crime is actually down. interestingly the fbi i think in the last week or so released some revised numbers that show crime is up. and i think he is going to try to capitalize on that in the coming two weeks. >> we've talked a lot about the

different ways that voters are kind of breaking down in michigan but i want to talk about age. we have some aarp polling about likely michigan voters where harris leads trump by 13 points among those 18 to 34 while trump leads by 11% among those 65 and older. why is that? guest: i think young -- young voters are attracted to the harris campaign for reasons that are pretty consistent, young people are typically attracted to the democratic candidate at the presidential level. it's nothing new. i think older americans, they are more seasoned and they have

a lot more to reflect on. i think they are more likely to have an economic focus on when they're trying to decide. >> we have a question specifically. former president trump has made comments at a rally about troit. detroit is the enemy within accordg to trump. that cannot help his campaign. now the harris campaign then released and add touting detroit's recent accomplishments and quoting trump's criticism of the city. [video clip] >> they said we were dead. >> detroit waving the white flag. >> that our best days were behind us. that living here is like -- but you know what we said? we rebuilt ourselves. we look out for each other. got our hands dirty.

and put in the hard work. and this guy he doesn't know anything about that. we are a city of winners, of up and comers. of builders. here we believe in freedom. we do not bow down to nobody. and we never will. and what donald trump doesn't understand or care to learn is >> when he says. >>our whole country will end up being like detroit. >> that he should be so lucky. >> i'm kamala harris and i approve this message. host: can you talk about how trump's comments about detroit landed through the rest of the state and the response to it. guest: i think his comments at a recent detroit economic club meeting where he played the audio, that the whole country

will end up like detroit if kamala harris wins. as i was listening to those comments i thought boy of this is a big mistake. and of course in very trumpian fashion he did not go back on his words he doubled down on them the week after with some remarks in chicago. but of course he is here in recent days and says that he loves detroit. he's going to make it great again, he didn't use those words but you get where i'm going. i think of course it was not well received in this city, but detroit is -- maybe because of the struggles that it has had over the last couple of decades that detroit is an incredibly proud city.

and that pride extends beyond the borders of the city. and extends into places like western wayne county, macomb county where there is great pride in detroit. maybe it's because of the sports teams are the resurgence that's happened in the city, but that as i said that pride has extended beyond that i think even folks who aren't in detroit took offense to that. the vice president, she was wearing a shirt i believe it was yesterday when she was here. and said detroit versus everybody. that is really the mantra we have seen from folks not just in detroit but all over southeast michigan. now is it going to be enough to change some of these minds, maybe a few people. which could end up being a

significant -- could have a significant impact on the outcome but i don't think those remarks are going to move the needle but we can tell at least we can see in polling results. >> good morning. >> good morning. i've listened to a lot of stuff he said and i disagree with it. i'm an independent person. just so you understand. but 1960 i met john f. kennedy. we had about a two or three hour discussion, we talked politics. and this democrat of today is not the democrat of kennedy times. the democrat of kennedy time was strictly very patriotic, they were for their country.

from world war ii and korea had just finished up. this patriotic thing from the democrats today to me the democrats of today i'm talking the politicians are more towards the communist side then they are the democrat side. host: you mentioned you disagreed with some of the things that david has said, what do you do -- disagree with specifically? caller: talking the people in -- there's people of all different backgrounds in oakland county. ok, macomb county, detroit. it's all heavily mixed up. you've got some of the oldest money here in the state of michigan. you have some of the most wealthy people here in the state of michigan. we are no fools when it comes to politics. we know who we are voting for.

and we know what they are about. and one thing for sure is when you get a person that is saying i'm getting give all these kids in college a free education and then blaming the other person in the other party that he's trying to steal all the money from social security, where do you think all of that money is coming from that she's going to be giving away. well it's coming from the social security. and she's good to be the one that's stealing. that's called embezzlement. and i don't trust that woman for nothing because to me she is a flat out -- host: want to respond to some of those. >> we can certainly talk about the demographics of places like oakland and macomb county. she is right. one of the reasons for the shift in political outcomes in oakland

county is it has become much more diverse racially, ethnically, other elements of socioeconomic status. but there is a concentration of, and more so than in places like macomb county and wayne county. it is still heavily in certain areas white wealthy and highly educated. that's a fact of our census data. it's really interesting. geographically the southeast portion of oakland county, the southeast corner is more democratic and more diverse racially, ethnically, etc.. the northern tier of oakland county is rural and largely white agricultural.

and very republican. the sort of middle swath of their, the middle diagonal is the battleground in places like oakland county where in 2022 carried oakland county by 145,000 votes. that is 40,000 votes more than trump lost oakland county by in 2020. so on election night watch oakland county and see what the margins are in oakland county michigan because that tells the story for who carries michigan as a state. >> cheryl in somerville texted us a question. i'm a registered republi and vote down the ticket for a demoats my vote for the democratic electors. many people need to know they can vote for the other party evenh they are not a member of that party.

speaking specifically about michigan there. >> in michigan we do not have party registration so nobody knows in michigan if you consider yourself a republican or democrat. but if a republican, somebody who considers themselves a republican goes in and gets their ballot and vote straight ticket which is an option in michigan they can absolutely vote for the entire democratic side of the ballot. >> in terms of the electoral college when someone votes and i think any time both presidential candidates are on your valid your votes going to go to whichever one. >> absolutely. >> an undecided voter in kentucky. good morning darrell. >> i tip my cowboy hat to you and c-span for doing a fine job. can you hear me. >> when my job went to mexico

thanks to bill clinton. that was the day i quit flying the american flag and standing up the national anthem. you can vote till you're blue in the face but it is over. neither one of these people are going to help us and it is sad. i don't know what the answer is or what were going to do, we are going to have to meet at kings mountain again. i am retired. i'm just -- i don't know what's going to happen. it is sad. that's just my comment. >> darrell reminds me of some of the other voters that were in michigan that were quite disappointed with both party options earlier during the primaries in particular, remember the uncommitted votes in michigan. can you talk about that movement and what happened since then? guest: sure.

80's one element of i think a broader political environment that is different this time around in some ways but also just could not be more important. if we go back to february and the democratic presidential primary. joe biden had some opposition that was basically here in michigan joe biden and uncommitted which i'm sure your viewers who are political junkies like us know was basically an option for the democratic primary voters to say to their delegates to the national convention i don't want you to go there as committed to any one particular candidate in the primary. but it was really a movement by arab-american voters, a american voters who wanted to oppose joe biden and his policy about israel and the war in gaza. and the pro-uncommitted movement

set probably a low bar. they said they wanted to get 10,000 votes. they got 100,000 votes from uncommitted in that presidential primary. there's 100,000 voters back in february who said we are protesting your israel policy mr. president. and that's been a thorn in the side of democrats since then where the arab-american votes has largely been for democrats in the past. and for them to potentially lose even a small number of those voters. if we took those hundred thousand, of course most of them are going to come back home and vote for kamala harris. some will vote for jill stein. really making a play for those voters. she's on her website said that she is for an end to all u.s.

military aid to israel. so some will vote for stein and some will not vote at all. that loss of votes that could potentially go to harris and another development in recent weeks, recent days even, the arab-american fanatic -- political action committee declined to endorse her and that has its home here in michigan in dearborn. which is the really concentrated area of arab americans in michigan. i guess my point would be there's likely to be a small ship away from kamala harris away from that community and that could have an incredibly large impact on the outcome because joe biden won here in 2020 by 154,000 votes. you take small shifts among

arab-american voters away from harris. union voters to trump. maybe even african-american men who aren't as enthusiastic about kamala harris. you start to see the small shifts but when we take them together but have a real big impact on the outcome on election night. host: kay is in twin lakes michigan. caller: hello david. can you hear me? host: we can hear you, go ahead. caller: ok. i feel kind of bad for you when you talk about trump you kind of -- and all people the kind of try to talk about trump have to twist themselves into a pretzel to get to where they want to get or make their point. when if you get into the weeds of everything, the only reason

he is running is because he wants to stay out of prison or jail, or mar-a-lago. i think american people are smarter than that. hopefully. if not, then we will just see what happens i guess. for the next four years. but i cannot go there. i am a moderate democrat. i would've voted for john mccain day any day. but i cannot go -- i cannot cross that bridge with trump. >> any final thoughts david to respond. guest: real quick i am not a surrogate for anybody. i call it like i see them. and i have always done that and will continue to do so. i think folks that are watching michigan politics over the next i guess 16 days until election day. it's close here it's going to continue to be close.

and i think if you watch voter turnout in oakland county and macomb county, and in the city of detroit, watch that closely as we see election results come in. and that will tell you a lot about michigan whether it supports trump or harris. >> thank you for your time. the director of the center for civic engagement at oakland university where he is also a political science professor. thank you very much. guest: thank you. host: coming up after our next break we will have more of your phone calls and open forum. you can start calling in now, those numbers are on your screen. ♪ >> attention middle and high school students across america. it's time to make your voice heard. studentcam documentary contest

2025 is here, this is your chance to create a documentary that can inspire change, raise awareness and make an impact. you documentary should answer this year's questions. your message to the president. what issue is most important to you for your community. whether you're passionate about politics, the environment or community stories. c-span is your platform to share that message with the world. prizes including a grand prize of $5,000. visit -- this is your opportunity not only to make an impact would also be rewarded for your creativity and hard work enter your submissions today. scan your code or visit studentcam.orgll the details on how to enter. the deadline is january 20, 2025. >> friday night, watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail. a weekly discussion on how the

presidential senate and house campaigns in the past week. two reporters join each week to talk about the issues, messages and events driving the political views and to take a look at the week ahead. watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail friday night at 7:00 eastern on c-span. online at c-span.org or download as a podcast on our free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage you can find any time online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates and other events feature markers that guided interesting and newsworthy highlights. these point of interest markers appear on the right-hand side of your screen when you hit play on selected videos. the timeline makes it easy to quickly get an idea of what was debated and decided in washington. scroll through and spend a few

minutes on c-span's point of interest. >> washington journal continues. host: we are in open forum ready to take your calls on news and politics and whatever your thoughts may be on the topics. our numbers were republicans. for democrats, some 48 8000. for independence, 202 8002. also text us, the number is 202-748-8002 -- [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, . --202-748-8003. we received text for our last segment responng to some of the points made about chigan. i live on social security and would never vote for the dictator who has threatened to take it away. what's wrong with seniors in michigan. and then in michigan saying i would just like to remind republicans that are worried about social security, medicare, etc. that your leaders don't want you to have thosfits

any more than immigrants. they still haven't learn economy does better under dems and they are lying to you. facts are facts. its privatization to be worried t. remember bernie made off and the recession caused by the housing crisis under bush. and now we will go into open forum. texas on our line for independence. good morning. caller: can you hear me? host: yes. caller: i have a question. donald trump has been convicted of a felony, sexual assault. so my question is an this is for michigan and everyone, because he's already been convicted is he not required to register as a sexual predator and if he is required to do so has he done so or how do you find out? that's a question, is it a concern for michigan and anyone across the united states.

i haven't heard anyone talk about it at all. host: our guest has already left us but i believe the distinction was that the jury found him liable for sexual abuse in the case with e. jean carroll. and awarded a judgment. that was i believe different from an actual conviction. but apologies we do not have our guest anymore to respond to that specifically regarding how that is playing in michigan. bill is in milwaukee, wisconsin. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a suggestion. i think it is sort of simple but i don't know what the other callers might think about it. why can we give people a password and use a pin number like their tax thing or social, you give them a password.

it can only be used once. and then after they vote it's spent. the approval for the month. a password and a pin number and that's my suggestion. have a nice sunday, thank you. host: ruben is in austin, texas honor line for republicans. good morning ruben. >> good morning. thank you for taking my call. i used to be a lifelong democrat. i didn't leave the democrats, the democrats left me. ever since barack obama, the path that the democrats have taken is very destructive and very destructive path so everything they have touched

they destroy, the boy scouts of america, the changing of all the statues, the changing five-year-olds, three-year-olds from little boys to little girls. 40% of them either try to commit suicide and -- or commit suicide. the path that the democrats have taken, wars all over. fentanyl all over. it's been very disappointing the direction, it is actually a satanic path that the democrats have taken. the weaponization of all the departments the doj, everything they just don't -- nancy pelosi,

the only success that she has made is being an insider for her husband making millions, barack obama if what do you call it, global warming is true why did barack obama build his mansion next to trump in florida. it's all deceiving the people and they have taken a very disappointing and destructive path. thank you. host: aaron is a new jersey honor line for democrats. caller: hello. my question, i don't really have a question i just want to state all of the republicans that are leaning towards, -- kamala harris like general miley and other republicans are saying

they are in fear for their families lives if donald trump gets into office. after the insurrection in january 6, which should have scared half the united states. and made me cry that day i'm 71 years old. and i don't understand why these men in this country can want to vote for a man that is proven to be a liar and sexual abuser and our biggest -- are they just misogynistic or are they racist and don't want an asian black american beautiful intelligent woman in office. >> karen just mentioned the statement from former joint chief of staff general mark milley -- joint chief of staff chair mark milley and governor tim walz spoke about this and said at a rally he did not know

if u.s. institutions would be able to hold if republican presidential nominee donald trump wins the election. [video clip] >> i am an optimist but i don't know if the institutions will hold. if we get another four years of donald trump. i genuinely don't believe it. i say this because something has happened over the last few weeks that is unprecedented in our history. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the top military officer a decorated veteran. he did not mince words. he told us on the record if donald trump, and this is a direct quote, is fascist to the core. in the most dangerous person than america has ever faced. he is not a democrat. he is a lifelong military officer who served his country. and this week, james mattis, trump's own secretary of defense

endorse that very view. he said donald trump to his chief of staff and other fort rucker a four-star general donald trump was the most damaging person he'd ever met in his life. so trump's plan is to see unprecedented power for himself with a supreme court that gives them the right to do that. it's not hypothetical. i said donald trump has no plan. he hasn't plan, it's project 2025. and it's coming right from their mouths. this is what i have to tell you some of you might know who this guy is. he was trump's national security advisor for a short time. his name was michael flynn. trump has said, some of you do not know i encourage you -- i hate to encourage you to look this guy out. trump said he would have a top role in the next white house. this last week mike flynn was asked, this is not some fictional place. he was asked if he would need --

lead military tribunals to carry out executions against those who are against donald trump if trump were to win. that's when he was asked. so america, the answer to that is are you out of your mind. mike flynn's answer was we have to win first. that's the guy he wants. you know what he's talking about. he is talking about me. don't kid yourself about this when he says me he's talking about you. host: that was vice presidential candidate minnesota governor tim walz,e other vice presidential candidate of jd vance is going to be campaigning toy wisconsin in waukesha. and that'gog to be live starti a6:00 p.m. eastern and here on c-span. our mole video app ornline

at c-span.org. also president trump is going to be campaigning in a swing state as well today later on in lancaster pennsylvania this afternoon you can watch that live at 5:00 p.m. eastern in those same places. our video app and at c-span.org. let's go to jeremy in madison wisconsin on our line for independence. >> good morning ma'am. >> thank you very much for that. i'm really confused right now. thank you ma'am it's a pleasure to talk to you thank you for c-span. so due to the last clips but we just heard, obviously we are facing some challenging months. and hopefully we can all sort of chill acts, chill out.

i have a suggestion that might help some probably not all. just chant allegory. 50 times. then try to chant al gore. 50 times. >> honor line for democrats. go ahead. caller: i wanted to say that yesterday -- i'm a democrat, i've been a democrat since 1972. i just voted for my 14th election. and i wanted to say yesterday afternoon i try to watch c-span all the time but i just went down to the trump rally in latrobe pennsylvania.

and i saw two of the senators, with mr. trump and both of them said when they were talking that if trump gets elected we won't have to worry about voting anymore. so that's telling you that there can try to shut the boat down. and i just hope the american people will pay attention to what they say when they're talking. and i appreciate you. and i will call in in 30 days. >> john is in overland park kansas on line for republicans. >> good morning. host: it is rather hard to hear you can you get a little bit closer to your phone please. caller: put up if donald trump

in 2020 they wouldn't have been there. if you look at the rest of the world. in america. people don't look at that. and then the other thing is i will just leave it at that. >> ok. eric is in california on our line for independence. good morning eric. >> independent behind trump pretty much the whole way. i believe that he's got a win. and there's an enthusiasm. and this thing earlier you have democrat saying i can vote for trump. that's a long way from voting for harris. i also think that people have to

realize trump's going to be when he gets elected not a dictator. he will be a lame duck. he's going to be a lame duck. the ability of others hopefully they can work together change immigration system, get more immigrants but we have to do it legally and have people accountable. i'm also in favor of something else a constitutional amendment for the right of privacy. people freaked out about the overturning of roe v. wade, it was based on where they came up with the right of privacy out of nothing. we can all work together for that. everybody have a great day. host: brad is an international falls minnesota. good morning. >> good morning there. i just hear a lot of crazy talk from the left. and as you probably -- you were

an msnbc person. you worked there quite often. host: i've never worked there. caller: cnn then? host: no. caller: you've never been a contributor on either one of them. host: i had an appearance on cnn many years ago once. caller: anyway. they tell these people that trump is an insurrectionist. i've never heard of a group of people unarmed going in and taking over a government. that's just crazy talk. but it's people like you that are pushing this narrative today it's all against trump and it is crazy. you people are crazy. so good day. >> in texas on our line for democrats, good morning. and can you turn down the volume on your tv please. caller: hello. >> can you turn on the volume on

your tv and then go ahead with your comment. caller: here we go. just calling from the economics at the border. on 911 who brought us at the -- the worst thing that happened to the united states it was the democrats. eight years that obama in the last four years he had the best economy we had in american history but anyway trump got elected all he did was just run with it. and then he's running again on the same thing. trying to put tariffs again. we got canada and mexico everybody is mad but then he had to give the farmers close to $30 billion because they could not sell the product, the soybean, corn.

in the border. he separated families and the kids, little children. how they could hear them on cnn when they were crying for their mom and all that. what he said when he had the debate. he said he should've closed the border. well he did that when he was president. and that was a catastrophe. in texas they closed eagle pass texas, laredo texas and brownsville. they got 24/7 18 wheelers coming across fair. so again he hurt the economy. and the last but not least he wants to put a wall out there on our border and that is a win-win

for mexico. he said mexico will pay for the border. and if he wins at that border there we will pay for it. and at the same time he's good to mexico. >> let's move on to tom in illinois on our line for republicans. >> good morning. thank you for taking my call. >> i am a lifelong republican, voted for ronald reagan the first time back in whatever it was when he was elected. i'm 64 years old. i cannot fathom the overall ignorance of the populace, nobody seems to understand that we have a convicted felon running to be president of the

united states. i cannot fathom that. like i said is a lifelong republican, there is absolutely no way ever that that man should even be near the oval office. and that's my take. >> richard is in seaside oregon on our line for independence. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a little comment to make. treasonous trump and his republican friends have a new slogan to live by. it goes like this. while harris and vance have taken the reins, trumps campaign is circling the drain. trump and vance attack women with no refrain. trumps crooked supreme court has no brain. trumps republican party has

washed its way and gone insane. so if you vote red america is dead. so vote blue and freedom is for you. thank you very much. >> murrell is in rockaway new york on our line for democrats. >> yes. i am 84 years old and i just wanted to relate to the american people donald trump, a man who encourages his followers to overthrow an election on january 6, to overthrow the election and they wanted to hang his vice president and i don't know how many congresspeople would have been hurt or killed and then another thing he did he took documents from the white house

and he is charged with that and then he took those documents and some of those documents he gave to putin and talked about over the phone that we don't even know about. he's cheated on his wife with a born star. he is going for sentencing november 6 for crimes. he is a felon and this is the person you want for president, a man who says you use the military, american citizens to do what to american citizens and spanish people can vote for him he wants to round up immigrants and i guess you can put them in concentration camps, you can go to work so i can just grab you up. they'll never see you again. you're going to vote for him. host: bruce in lexington,

kentucky on our line for independence. caller: hello. i wish she would stop playing the clips where you have these democrats saying gd. don't you realize that's not right. host: did you have any additional comments? caller: you are playing that on your channel. trump was not convicted of rape, he was not convicted of sexual assault. he was convicted in a civil court. host: i did correct the caller and point out the jury found him liable for sexual assault. that he had not been convicted. caller: yeah he wasn't found liable for sexual assault he was found liable for defamation. host: i will pull that article back up again. in the meantime let's go to bill in connecticut on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: yes, good morning.

a lot of people are calling up and saying that trump was convicted felon. what they are missing from the equation is the justice department is essentially weaponized. and you need to look no further than roger stone, steve bannon and peter navarro to see that this is clearly the case. they essentially -- the only thing they did was to defy a congressional subpoena which the democrats historically have done as well. we can look no further than eric holder. to see that that's the case. so they are missing that from the equation, that the doj has essentially been weaponized against the republicans. thank you. host: the previous caller was asking about whether or not --

arguing that trump was not convicted of sexual assault. once again here is that article from the associated press saying a jury found trump liable for sexual abuse in the case against e. jean carroll awarding her a $5 million judgment. this was back in may of 2023 when a jury found trump liable for sexual assault. last call her our open forum, ronald in myrtle beach, south carolina on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. it's a little change up here. if everybody would've watched the texas georgia football game last night on tv. they will see how society has changed. in turn, one call, one beer can goes out. a little bit later on, hundreds

maybe 1000 bottles of water and beer because they did not like the ruling. where is the rule of law. people need to follow. it's a game. showing how far society is going in a critical mass or stretch the not wanting to follow it. they correct it later on. that's what judgment is all about. and believe in it. but a football game going that crazy just throwing bottles because they did not like the ruling in texas. against the southern state of georgia. host: we are just about out of time but i think we have your point. thank you to everyone who called in for open forum and this segment on the show today. stay tuned tomorrow for more of our battleground state and we

will be back with another edition of washington journal at 7:00 a.m. eastern. have a great day. [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]