washington journal starts now. join the conversation. ♪ host: good morning, it is monday, october 28. just over a week until election day, 2024. the campaigns are trying to convince undecided voters and to get their supporters motivated and out to the polls. there have been rallies, campaign events and interviews by the candidates and their surrogates.

we will show you portions of those this morning at take your calls on campaign 2024. here's how to share your thoughts. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. be sure to include your first name in your city and state. you can also use social media. welcome to today's washington journal, we are glad you are with us. we will stop at former president trump who was in madison square garden in new york city last night, and he unveiled a new tax break policy for family caregivers. >> if kamala harris gets four more years, our economy could never recover. if i win, we will quickly build

the greatest economy in the history of the world. which is what we had in our last term. we will rapidly defeat inflation, and we will very simply make america affordable again. we are going to make it affordable. right? i will massively cut taxes for workers and small businesses. we will have no tax on tips. no tax on overtime. and no tax on social security benefits. and i'm announcing a new policy

today that i will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. it's about time they were recognized, right? they add so much to our country and are never spoken of ever, but they are going to be spoken of now. thank you all very much. host: that was last night. you can watch the full rally as well as our other campaign events on our website and sees and.org. we are getting your -- on c-span.org. dear getting your thoughts on campaign 2024 and we will go straight to vice president harris who is giving remarks at a black church in philadelphia. >> in pennsylvania right now each of us have an opportunity to make a difference. in this moment we do face a real question. what kind of country do we want to live in? that is before us right now. what kind of country do we want

for our children and our grandchildren? a country of chaos, fear and hate, or a country of freedom, justice and compassion. and the great thing about living in a democracy is these people have the choice to answer that question. so let us answer not just with our words, but with our work. yes, with air prayers, but also with our pressing. yes with our faith but also our feet as we walked to the polls. and yes, in these next nine days that will test us. they will demand everything we've got. but when i think about the days ahead, and the god we serve, i am confident that his power will work through us because i know

we were born for a time such as this and i have faith he is going to carry us forward and the road ahead won't be easy. it will require perseverance and hard work, but in times of uncertainty, we remain. because joy cometh in the morning. the path may seem hard, the work may seem heavy, but joy cometh in the morning and church, morning is on its way. god bless you, god bless america. host: let's go to the calls now. bruce in gaithersburg, maryland, democrat. caller: yes, i'm just appalled by the way trump is running his campaign and it's just

absolutely appalling. as far as i'm concerned, he could just get a job at 7-11 selling skoal and lottery tickets. he is disgusting. thank you. host: here's david in riverside, california, republican. caller: good morning america. we've been told that donald trump is the dangerous choice in the selection, but donald trump policies are mostly republican ideas. kamala harris is a san francisco radical rated by nonpartisan polls as most liberal senators and a supporter of the communist fantasy called the green new deal. so the risky choices, larison. yes, trump has a big mouth and says things he shouldn't say. but, is a clear and present danger -- kamala is a clear and present danger to our country. she would be the first communist president.

what made ronald reagan great was his brilliant ideas and his great courage. it's not about left or right, it's only about up or down and only donald trump will bring our country up. kamala harris make us all poor. host: sorry to cut you off but i wanted to ask you since you brought up ronald reagan, what distinctions do you see between ronald reagan's policies and trump's policies, if any? caller: i think the lower taxes. obviously reagan was one of the greatest presidents ever but there are some similarities. they both got shot, that is certainly similarity. host: i'm talking about policy. caller: the lower taxes. i guess generally in america, they are real patriot americans. but i think harris is a danger to america and people don't realize it. host: and hearest stephen in kentucky, independent. caller: yes, thank you for

having me. i've actually gone through the motions, i was a first-time voter back in the past, i was a republican and then as i aged into college, a democrat. just recently my wife and i officially registered as independent. we were tired of both sides, seems like we were on a merry-go-round going around and around without real change. so that's the reason we did that. i do want to see that i see kamala as future. we've done the same dance with the same types of president, old white guys, usually, and look out farther gotten us. it's crazy here. it's time for something different. this country deserves better. this country deserves evolution. this country deserves more compassion. a lot of these older people are so ingrained in the past, they

don't like to let go of the past. it's hard, i did it, you are used to doing the same things the same way. but that is not the way life works. life changes, you've got to change with it. i will say that i do feel confident that kamala will get the popular vote, however it's looking like 2016 all over again and the popular vote doesn't matter. what matters is the electoral college. the electoral college will decide all of this. and that this point with the supreme court being stacked on the republican side, you can kind of see it play out. it's theatrical, really, how you can see it play out. i appreciate you letting me get my thoughts. host: something that has been making the rounds this morning, the washington post says this. trump rallies speakers lob racist insults, call puerto rico and island of garbage.

later trump took the stage and called the gop the party of inclusion. his campaign issued a statement disavowing the garbage,. -- comment. here is that speaker making that comment. >> believe it or not, people, i welcome migrants to the united states of america with open arms. and by open arms i mean like this. it's wild. these latinos, they love making babies, just know that. they do, they do. there is no pulling out. they don't do that. they come inside just like they did to our country. republicans are the party with a good sense of humor. free speech is under attack, people. i host a show and each week i get updates what words we are

allowed to use and not use anymore. it's happening right now the past few years. it's a real thing. used to be able to tell people to google stuff. my mom is a boomer in the state of ohio and there is no convincing her anything. she has eaten a cat. they are eating the pets up there. it is absolutely wild times. it really, really is. there's a lot going on. i don't know if you guys know this, there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. i think it is called puerto rico. ok, all right. ok, we are getting there. host: that was at madison square garden last night back to the phones, ryan, democrat in new orleans. caller: yes, i've got two things to say.

i want to say god is looking at america, and he's really just watching. and when donald trump does get elected, he's going to -- you've never even seen before. and one more thing to say. to these black southerners, the black men of the south voting for donald trump, i want to say your grandfathers would be really, really upset with you. thanks very much. host: ronald next in louisiana, republican. caller: good morning, i've got two things i want to bring up. the best thing for people to do is go vote early. get off the news channels, people are going to be going

crazy after the selection. the next thing i want to bring up, i happen to notice all those news channels over the weekend about trump and harris. are you talking to me? host: where listening. caller: when trump had his rally about 1939, first of all, it is called madison square garden for a reason. the whole building in 1939 was like a box, all squared out. those who were supposed to be in that building 1939, those were democrats. host: ronald, are you voting? are you voting early, what is your plan for election? caller: iphone on election day.

-- i vote on election day. host: william, michigan, democrat. caller: christians have been looking for the antichrist for years and i think they found him in donald trump. thank you. host: denny in ohio, republican. guess we don't have jenny. let's go to new jersey, independent. caller: hello? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: i'm not a conspiracy kind of person, i'm very reluctant, but i've never heard of any american president that has had secret conversations over years now probably starting in the 1980's when he started making his money selling russian

oligarchs and stole their money from the russian people overpriced real estate. and he's talking to putin and getting in with him, and before he's elected president, he's having putin back him up with all the people that were indicted, russian military officers, interfering to get him elected president. and then while he's president, to have secret meetings that apparently his secretary of state and defense and national security advisers, nobody knows what he's talking about. what else could he be talking about?

he's made a deal, a deal probably for his own personal well-being and wealth with putin, and what he has given putin is the biggest thing that putin ever wanted in his life, which is ukraine and to ruin nato. ukraine is the bottle stopper for the poison of russia to come west, and he wants to remove, ever since the got president he's been undercutting the money that our policy, our congress and our administration, including his own administration, was supposed to be backing nato, backing ukraine. and he undermined that and has continued to and now finally, he's the only person with a foreign policy opinion not to support nato. they've given bogus reasons,

like we can't afford it and it is a foreign territorial war. host: we got your point and we are taking your calls. numbers are on your screen. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. vice president harris was on social media yesterday announcing a new policy proposal focused on puerto rico. >> puerto rico is home to some of the most talented, innovative and ambitious people in our nation. and puerto ricans deserve a president who sees and invests in that strength. as president, i will bring down the cost of housing, invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs and fight the finally secure equal access to programs that strengthen the health care system and support children, seniors and working people.

i will create a new puerto rico opportunity economy tax force where the federal government will work with the private sector, with nonprofits and community leaders to foster economic growth and create thousands of new, good paying jobs in puerto rico, including for our young people. and i know that puerto rico's economic future depends on urgently rebuilding and modernizing the island's energy grid. that's why i will cut red tape, inshore disaster recovery funds are used quickly and effectively, and work with leaders across the island to ensure all puerto ricans have access to reliable, affordable electricity. host: and we will hear from melvin in illinois, line for democrats. caller: good morning. i'd like to just say something about kamala.

she set a record for vp, over 32 times. everything that biden tried to put in, the republican senate voted against him. so she set a record, everybody is always talking about some of the things that she wants to do. back to donald trump. last time donald trump had a part of his income tax for anything, he was finding out that he paid over $18,000 -- the united states of america. that's one thing i don't understand. this third thing i'm talking about is why aren't the candidates -- and why aren't they showing their tax returns? they are not doing anything because trump started that and they are not doing it anymore. host: vice president harris did

release her physical and her doctors reports. caller: yeah, i remember that part but i'm saying what happened with his? host: he has not, that's right. caller: he won't. i was in vietnam. i hate to say this, and i don't want to belittle what happened. when donald trump got shot, usually when somebody gets shot at trying to get assassinated, the secret service is covering him. he sits there and sticks his hand back out and waves his hand. when he goes to the hospital, he doesn't even ask them what is wrong. the first thing he wants them to do is sign a nondisclosure. this anybody know if he got hit

in the ear or anything? nobody knows nothing about that. that's just about all i've got. host: oklahoma, independent. good morning. cliff, are you there? in oklahoma? george in ohio, republican line, good morning. caller: yeah, you're doing a real good job, i like the way you handle everything. the thing about the democrats just like the previous caller, my mom was from yugoslavia in world war ii. as a teenager she was put in a concentration camp. if you look at kamala harris, look at her jesters and go look at a tape of hitler, it's identical. they are fascists. they like to put it on the republicans but the democrats have a background of doing this all the time.

and these people get brainwashed. she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. if you look at how the campaign started and look at her now, like when beyonce was in texas with her, beyonce was paid $10 million for three minutes of talking, then performed and there was almost a ryan at the end of that program, of that rally. she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. she's done nothing. article one, section eight of the constitution, democrats and republicans and independents need to read that. why do you think joe biden hired 80 7000 irs agents? because they are not spending the money on the citizens. they're spending the money just like with a hurricane effort, fema, they don't have any money. article one section eight of the united states constitution, general warfare and the use of the militia. read that, people need to read that. host: anthony in las vegas,

democrat. caller: i'm a retired military person. i did 21 years in the military. i joint during some of the most racist times of our country, and i thought we were progressing to a better stage, but to see this man, donald trump out there denigrating every race of brown people in this country, it is just unacceptable, i can't understand it. and i do have a question for elon musk. will you hire him to run one of your companies as a ceo? that is all i have. thank you for allowing me to speak. host: new jersey, independent. caller: good morning. i've got a twist on it, i'm an opinion expert. if we all as americans got

together it would be like the jerry springer show. i think it is not a good idea, so i just wanted to thank c-span. mimi, you are probably the best talking head on tv that i can go because i don't talk that much, but i change the channel, i want to watch my speech, and it's uncut, unedited without a bunch of opinions, and i've become so fond of c-span in recent days because of just letting me watch and listen to whoever i want to listen to without being interrupted by a bunch of opinions. and thank you, mimi. host: something that is making the rounds on social media that you should be aware of is a fake video. viral video of ripped up pennsylvania ballots is fake.

police and prosecutors conducted their own investigation and found that the video had been fabricated. it's on your screen. just a reminder, what you are watching is fake. it shows somebody opening ballots and looking at them and then ripping them up. nbc news, russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent viral video that falsely showed a person care enough alex in pennsylvania. the fbi and to other agencies said. fbi and officials from the office of the director of national intelligence and cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency and the u.s. intelligence community may their assessment based on available information and past activities from other russian actors, including videos and disinformation efforts. this russian activity as part of

moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the u.s. elections, and stoke divisions among americans and jd vance was asked about that on one of the sunday talk shows, and here he is responding to that. >> what price should moscow pay for trying to manipulate american voters? >> i think a lot of countries are going to try to manipulate our voters in our elections, that is what they do. the bigger question is what is in our best interest with russia, not what price russia should pay for putting up social media videos. was in our best interest with russia is in particular for them to stop supporting the iranians of the iranians engage in acts of aggression, and i think when it comes to europe, it is important for the coming to stop to russia and ukraine. i don't think we should set american foreign policy based on a foreign country spreading videos on social media. i think we should set american foreign policy based on what is

in her best interest as the united states. >> you don't consider that election interference and crossing a redline? >> i think it is bad, but social media posts and videos, they want to go to war because the russians made a ridiculous video? >> there are other measures. sanctions, other measures. manipulating voters in our country. >> a lot of the sanctions that we tried, they've gone off like a wet firecracker. we promised at the beginning of the russia-ukraine war that we would engage in financial nuclear war against the russians. by ministration, harris of ministration officials talked about how our sanctions would cripple their economy, they didn't. so we have to be realistic about what america can accomplish, compare it against a national interest and just be smart about this. i don't think that we should overreact to anything. we should encourage our fellow americans to be careful. don't trust everything that you see on social media and of course, we should push back where appropriate.

host: cap estate the nation yesterday, and this is nick in florida, republican. >> good morning. i'd like to make two quick points. the first is tony hinchcliffe, who said about the island of puerto rico, he is a comedian, and sometimes comedy is inappropriate, sometimes it is not done in the best place, but that is comedy. and democrats, i'd like to remind them that there was a time in this country where you could make jokes. he also made a joke about his mother eating cats and dogs. i don't think his mother is eating cats and dogs. tony hinchcliffe has a lot of money, so i think his mother eats pretty well. i think that was kind of another cheap shot. the second point i'd like to make is this narrative about trump and republican being hitler, there are a lot of big

lies throughout american history that are pushed. one is that nazism is a right-wing agenda. that is a lie. communism, fascism, whatever you want to call it, they are all left-wing agendas. the historians got together 60, 70, 80 years ago and decided we cannot have the two greatest monsters of the 20th century both the left-wingers. it is just like the lie that the country was built by slaves, america was not built on the back of slaves, that is a total lie. host: curtis, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning. i watched part of a trump rally yesterday and when i was watching it, all it was about seemed to be nothing but bigotry. and every time you turned around, that seemed to be all

that donald trump is about. he-- he is one of the biggest bigots you've ever seen and people flock to him like he's giving candy every day. i don't know why people aren't turned off by him, but they should be. seems like everyone at that rally yesterday, all they did was just listen to him talk about how stupid he is. thank you. host: brandy, michigan, democrat. good morning. caller: i would like to start by thanking you and all the other men and women it takes to bring this program to the nation, you are doing a great service. one thing that is being missed i think, a personal experience from getting together with the family, most of my brothers in law are trump supporters, but their wives are not in their wives are not talking about it in front of their husbands.

i listen to them on the side wondering how they can convince their husbands that they should vote for them and that they are voting for camelot. so, i really do think the polls are missing that. i still believe in the american spirit and the men and women that voted out the former president who has turned into a clear and present danger in this nation will come together and vote for kamala and put an end to it -- the vitriol that comes out of the mouth of the other candidate running. let's face it, he's a 34 time convicted felon and you want that to represent the country on the world stage? that is not a good look for america, no matter who is the felon running for office.

so, thank you host: very much. -- so, thank you very much. host: lloyd, republican line. caller: this country is in a hell of a mess from what the democrats have done. all that camelot is interested in is being the first woman president of the united states and making a name for herself. that is all she is interested in. she didn't do anything when she was vice president. she's not going to do very little now. if donald trump gets it, i'll be glad. if you don't get it, -- if he don't get it, it might be good for him, many might not get shot

at least. i'm tired of hearing about donald trump being a big bad bogeyman that is going to destroy the world. it's not going to upset me too much if you don't get it. all he did his be like before, they tell a bunch of lies on him. they'll try to impeach him, he won't be able to get much done. it's not gonna upset me if you don't get it. i don't know why he wants it. that's about all i got to say. host: bryan, ohio, independent line, good morning. caller: yes, my name is brian and i'm calling in because of the fact that this abortion stuff we are talking about, men need to stay out of the women's life and let them make their decisions if they are going to have an abortion or not. not only that, everyone thinks that donald trump is so great.

not only that, we need to think about all of the laws and all of the criminal acts that donald trump has done. it's not joe biden's fault that donald trump committed all of these crime. how about the immigrants that trump threatened to set up -- send out of here. how can you vote for him with a great chance that he could throw your family out of the united states. the first immigrant that we need to throw out of here is donald trump's wife. thank you. host: david, good morning. caller: appreciate everything you people do. sometimes it is hard to listen. i listen because i want to hear both sides of the issue. what baffles me is that the people who were in favor of overturning roe v. wade spoke about the sanctity of life. i would think that the sanctity

of life also refers to people living. these same people applaud when they hear certain leaders talk so demeaning the and negatively and viciously about other people who are not like them. i am baffled by that sanctity of life there. i think the golden escalator is the modern version of the golden calf. and i think there is a great quote by a german philosopher sir -- philosopher, go to -- goetha," in me and sees in the world what he carries in his heart." -- " a man sees in the world what he carries in his heart." thank host:.

-- thank you. host: bill, good morning. caller: i thought that donald trump is a sociopath long before mary trump came out with the book. the problem that i have is the people brainwashed by him. it was ridiculous. people in congress showed up dressing like him at his trial in new york city. i haven't seen that since charles manson family, who everybody said was brainwashed. i would like him to smell the coffee in the morning and realize what has happened to them. thank you. host: let's talk to charles in tennessee. democrat, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. if you can give me just a moment, the country is in a mess and we were already in a mess.

[indiscernible] young men out here pushing trump, one day he will only get married and what if she gets pregnant and you have to lay there and watch her bleed out si? look at yourself -- out and die. look at yourself if that happens. women won't have a change under the trump administration. look at what the doctor said the other night. doctors are dropping out of health care for women and stuff and changing professions and i don't blame them. this cannot be good. young black men, white, whatever, think what you very well may be doing to your sister. if you love them, if this happens, she could very well die. please, please young men, stop and think about it. older men, too, this could be

your daughter you are doing this too. the women's issue is just terrible right now. we are in a hell of a mess. women are in a hell of a mess right now. thank you, this could be the last talk i have with you before the election. good luck to miss harris in that campaign. thank you for letting everyone express their opinion. host: vice presidential nominee jd vance was on state of the union yesterday. he was asked about the warnings of john kelly, about mr. trump being a fascist. [video clip] >> let me say two things in response. first of all, a lot of what john kelly accuses donald trump of saying, there were other people in the room, the mike pence of former chief of staff who explicitly said trump never said those things. >> not going to support trump?

>> the mike pence former chief of staff said that donald trump wouldn't say those things. why does john kelly not support donald trump? it's about policy, not personality. >> he said he agrees with trump on most policy. it's about how trump views his role, the fascism and the authoritarianism. >> i don't buy that. if you look at john kelly and liz cheney, the fundamental disagreement they have, they are conservative in the sense that they want america to get involved in a ton of military conflicts, they want america to police the world. >> why are you saying -- i never heard him say. >> i honor his son's sacrifice, his families sacrifice, it doesn't mean he's not wrong about policy. >> specifically -- >> is your argument that someone

who lost a son in afghanistan can't be wrong about public policy? why bring that up? >> i brought it up because you are acting as if he is pro-war. i never heard him say whether he supported the war in afghanistan or iraq. he was a general carrying out orders. >> i know that the people who attract trump the most vociferously on foreign policy say that he's a dictator when what they really mean is they won't listen. donald trump won't listen to the leadership of the military when they wanted him to start ridiculous conflicts. that's a consistent theme. host: here is debbie in texas, republican line. debbie? caller: i don't know where to start. first kelly was fired, not trump . he has a vendetta, i don't believe him. the 34 felonies, these are all set ups by the democrats.

just like, i mean all of it, they are not even, they want to put him in prison and these are not even criminal charges charges they brought up. the rhetoric from the left is what the problem is. they say that trump is a threat. well, the best four years i had was when trump was president. i saw everything go down since biden and harris came into office. day one, it was an executive order that said let the illegals in. we are not talking about people here legally. we are talking about people who come here illegally and they are destroying our country. everything is out priced now. they blame everyone but themselves.

harris blames trump for everything they did in that administration. we had no new wars under president trump. now we have, we are living in world war iii. we cannot handle four years of harris. she won't even tell what her policies are because she knows her policies are the same as joe biden's. they put him out because of his polling. he was polling so low because the people do not agree with where he was putting the country. she is the same way. maybe even worse. trump? they did him tons, the media are going to destroy him, the democrats are going to destroy him. these people talk about us, calling us names. yet they are the ones that fall for all of this misleading things they say. they sit here and they listen to

cnn, msnbc, wherever. they talk about -- i'm just overwhelmed with where everyone is going with, with this election. she did not, harris did not receive one vote and she will continue. she will continue what's going on and make it worse. we will never have another affair. our country will be destroyed. host: richard, tennessee, independent line. caller: i'm like debbie, i don't know where to start. i will be voting against the democrat policies. even though i'm a constitution party member, had to register that popular vote. as far as, i hope you will play the clip of george lopez at the

tim walz rally yesterday, making racist jokes about mexicans. he is being defended because he is a mexican, therefore it's ok for him to make racist jokes at a democrat rally. that's on record, the video is there, please show it. you had a collar recently when you were the host call up, this is how unhinged the election has gotten, everyone i talk to can't wait for it to be over. you had a caller say that trump wants to eradicate the government and eliminate public education. things like that just -- the media, my next point is about the media, the corruption in the media to give examples from all of the major, most of the, the best known names who are media, big names for cnn, cbs, nbc,

msnbc, etc., even the fact checkers during the debate were later found to be wrong and retractions were issued when it was too late. i mean, this is really, i have a journalism degree. i worked for a newspaper for a short time during college. i taught journalism classes. i have never seen anything like this. my main point is always about abortion. quickly, the comment about women dying because of these abortion policies, that is not true. that is not happening. also, the talk about the big lie is that this is not a human being being aborted. we have had over 60 million abortions since 1970 three. that's what the democrats have hung their hat on. they are now officially the abortion party and proudly proclaim it.

tim walz and kamala harris will not make a definite, they will not own up to any limitations. it will be abortion on demand at any stage if they have their way. thanks. host: here's another richard in pennsylvania. democrat, hello, richard. caller: i'm a democrat all my life and i'm voting republican, voting for trump. the big reason, one of the reasons as i watched a little bit of kamala baby in philadelphia. i watched the democrats behind her when she stood and told everybody that she is going to fix everything that they brought

in to this country. she is going to do something about work. she's going to do something about the illegals. i mean like it's a little ridiculous. another thing, as far as kelly goes, he worked with biden for a long time. now he's mad because he got fired and he looks as stupid as he is. host: do you mean that he worked for trump for a long time? caller: i'm sorry. what did i say? host: it's ok. he was the longest serving trump chief of staff, 1.5 years. caller: you know, it seems like i think he was a little miffed, and generals, i was in the military, i didn't have any doings with generals. but i know the higher up they get, the goofier they are.

host: you said you are a democrat. did you vote for biden in 2020? you voted -- caller: no. host: you voted for trump. and in 2016, you voted for trump as well? caller: yes. yes. i turned 21 in vietnam. i came home, i signed up to vote. i've never voted a straight party ticket in my whole life. i am eight now. so, anyway, it was good talking to you. host: nice talking to you, richard. san diego, good morning. caller: a few points. that comedian phony yesterday should have been yanked off the

stage for his comments, which were not funny at all. trump and the republicans would get more votes if they would support women's rights to choose. the government should never be involved in that situation. at any level at all. i think that harris is a follower. she will be told what to do behind the scenes and she will do it. i hate to use the word deep state, but i believe that they will tell her what to do and she will do it. the undecided voters, for them, when trump makes negative remarks, it's to antagonize the undecided voters who might vote for harris because of that. host: what are you thinking, as

a republican? do you want to share with us who you are going to vote for? caller: of course i will share it, of course i will share it. i'm voting for trump. but i'm not a single issue voter. even though i believe in a woman's right to choose, of course, 100%. that's a single issue and i'm not a single issue voter. i want to vote for the greater good of the country, which i think trump does. he already did it in four years. i think he will make real changes. harris will stay the same. one more thing about harris. i think that in the vice president position, i do believe that position was given to her on a silver platter and is now the presidential nominee has been given to her on another silver platter.

i also think harris is not genuine. i find her phony. i think a lot of people can see right through her. that is what i have to say. host: minnesota governor tim walz, the vice presidential candidate for the democratic ticket was at an event in las vegas speaking to native american supporters there. [video clip] >> somebody might say that it seems like you are running because everything is on the line. we are, everything is on the line. kamala harris, for her entire career she has had one client, the people. she stood with women and children against predators and abusers and worked with people against big corporations. she worked against transnational gangs and drug traffickers. when people ask for help, she never asked if they were

republicans or democrats. she only asked how can i help. we recognize the promises made by this country. we will safeguard and strengthen the bonds in this nation, uphold our obligations, honor tribal sovereignty, ensure tribal self-determination. [cheers and applause] let's be clear, if the tribal nations are doing well, the rest of the nation is doing well. i have the privilege in minnesota to work with 11 sovereign nations. in minnesota we have laid out a national model for how state government can work with and consult with tribes. respect their sovereignty by codifying into law government to government relationships. in my conversations with native people there has been an overwhelming call for a fresh

start that taps into the ambitions and dreams of all americans. kamala harris is offering a new way for -- forward. host: joe, louisville, kentucky. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think, really, we need to remember history, ok? if you have read any history of donald trump, if you have read any history of kamala harris, you have to come up with look, harris is a much better fit as a candidate for the united states. donald trump's history, from trump university to his foundation? where he was, with the university he was fined 25 million dollars for basically ripping off students. his whole history has been me, me, me, me, what can i get.

i don't think kamala harris has been that way. she has been someone who has really gone out and really helped the people. i don't really think trump, you know, you have got so many republicans that work for him saying -- look, the guy is unfit to be president. including general milley and john kelly. many others of his staff. it just doesn't make sense to me that these people are all wrong and then you have the courts promoting the big lie about the election? that he was cheated out on winning in 2020. which is, you know, crazy. most americans knew it.

the republicans in congress went on. it tells you something about their character. i don't see how really, americans can vote for somebody with the character of donald trump. host: here is pat in idaho, independent line, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have always been a dedicated democrat until i saw the ways the democrats were treating donald trump when he got elected as president. i understood that he wasn't really, you know, a politician or anything, more of a businessman. i always felt it was wrong the way they would accuse him of stuff. nothing ever came out. all this time he was president and it was a waste of congress.

it was so much issues there that needed to be fixed and they spent the whole time trying to impeach him. i mean, it was one thing after the next. when they put biden there to run for president. i really felt insulted. because here's a man, vice president, he wasn't much of a vice president. obama always had to take him off of stuff that he would say. and his age, that was the first thing i said. he's too old to run for president and i was correct, look what happened. now they put kamala on there. i would love to see a woman president. it would be fabulous to have a woman president. but she's not qualified for that. host: did you feel that hillary

was qualified? caller: hillary clinton was a lot better than kamala, yes, by far. she had a lot of experience. on many issues. so did nikki haley, i believe, would have been a good candidate to be president. kamala, kamala hasn't, she hasn't really come up on the ranks. i think a lot of this has been given to her. i think the democratic party was looking to put a woman in caller . -- color to be trump. host: all right, pat, regarding the gender gap, this is cbs news, the harris trump pole with a closer look inside the gender gap as they draw even. here is the latest on that. it says 55% of women for harris,

43% for tron -- trump. the reverse is true, for men, who are more likely to say that efforts in the u.s. to promote gender equality have gone too far and that when they do they vote overwhelmingly for trump. women are more likely to say the efforts have not gone far enough and women -- voters who say this are overwhelmingly for harris. violette, california, democratic line. caller: i have been listening to the callers this morning and it shocks me how many people are buying all of the lies of harris instead of looking at her record. i cannot say this enough, vice presidents do not and cannot set policies. that whatever she supposedly did or didn't do over the past 3.5

years is not her responsibility. i want people to stop talking so much about trump and start talking about kamala harris is. her vast intelligence, experience, qualifications, and detailed policy proposals that have been available for many months. the way that trump has been declining, they will be taking over in a terrifying prospect as he is bought and paid for by peter steele. project 2025 could conservatively keep trump in office for up to five years. thank you. host: leah, republican line, you are next. caller: all that we hear from the democratic side is abortion. if you are of the christian faith, in the beginning, when god with his spectacular mind

created the woman's body, he even knew how to create her cycle. it was sacred. it was then and it is now. abortion is nothing but a weapon of murder. why don't they speak about the thousands of women that had to seek counseling because they had abortions and it has just bared on their conscience they don't speak of that. host: and coming up we have former gop congressman charlie dent of pennsylvania, he is a harris supporter and a senior advisor to the group called our republican legacy. we will discuss campaign 2024 and the future of the republican party. and later, heritage foundation -- discuss his about election

security, the voting process and the accuracy of this year's election. we will be right back. ♪ this election night, c-span delivers something different. not just the presidential race, but the balance of power in congress. no political pundits, no spins, no commercials. just the candidates, the result and you. follow c-span this election night beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern live tuesday, november 5 on tv, online or on the free c-span now video app. as the 2024 presidential

campaign continues, american history tv presents its series, historic presidential elections. learn about the pivotal issues of different eras, uncover what made these elections historic and explore their lasting impact on the nation. this saturday, the election of 1980. >>-president now for almost four years. i've had to make thousands of decisions. and each one of those decisions has been a learning process. i've seen the strength of my nation and i've seen the crises that they've approached and it had to deal with crises as best i could. >> are you better off than you were four years ago? is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? america has respected throughout the -- is america as respected

throughout the world as it was? do you feel that our security is as safe, that we are as strong we were four years ago? >> republican ronald reagan in a landslide victory defeated jimmy er. watch historic presidential elections saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span 2. washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we're joined now by charlie dent, a senior advisor to the group called our republican legacy and also a former u.s. representative and republican from pennsylvania. welcome to the program. guest: great to be with you. host: you are an advisor to the group called our republican legacy. what is the mission and how are you funded? guest: we are a 501-c4 organization, not a lobbying group, you're not even really

advocating for or against anyone in particular. we are a group in the spirit of republicans who want a better direction for the republican party. we want to create an alternative narrative to maga. those of us in the party who want a different direction have been far too quiet, so what we've done is we've laid out five core principles that we think have guided the republican party and should guide it going forward. the constitution, the rule of law, the peaceful transfer of power. we think january 6 was an abomination. we believe in unions. abraham lincoln was our founder. his objective was to keep this great country together, and unfortunately donald trump and his movement want to divided further. -- divide it further. we also believe in peace as strength in foreign policy,

rejecting autocrats like vladimir putin and kim jong-un. we are in a very different place than the maga movement. we are also for free markets. we are not talking about the 1850's of the 1920's, that the same time we think across the tariffs would really wreak havoc on the country and our economy and not in keeping with the traditions with where we as republicans should be. host: we will talk about tariffs and fiscal discipline. when with the organization created? guest: i believe back in april or march. former senators jack danforth, alan simpson and bill:. -- bill cohen. we thought it was time to really create a strong voice as an

alternative to maga. the republican is divided. not evenly divided, but it is divided. host: what is the ultimate goal, are you going to try to run another candidate for president in the next cycle? host: guest: we haven't even gone there. we are trying to create a groundswell of support. we are looking beyond the selection. about how do we get this republican party a better place? the principles i just laid out, they sustained the party for a seven years. maga, they've been around for 10 years. we understand we are not going to go back to roby were, but we need to get to a better place. we want to help shape the conversation going forward. that those principles will still be respected, and frankly

thriving which should be the republican party. this isolationism and protectionism, ♪. host: what caused that? given the deep roots of the republican party, what caused it to go in the maga direction? guest: a lot of anger in the country. there always have been some dark elements within our nation and sadly i think donald trump helps bring that out with his incendiary rhetoric, how he talks to people in ways that he frankly will bring out the worst in some people. there's no restraint. we've always have these isolationist and protectionist candidates in this country, this is nothing new. but he's the first republican president who has actually embraced others. and i think that is part of the reason why the party has shifted, because the leader of the party has taken these positions and frankly what we need is an alternative voice.

we need republican voters to hear something different than what they are hearing today. host: you've announced that you have voted early in pennsylvania and you have voted for vice president harris. elaborate a little bit on that. was that a vote against trump or do you believe more firmly in her policies than his? guest: it was more a rejection of donald trump. i did not vote for donald trump in 2016 and in 2020, i voted joe biden because at this point it was a return to normalcy. i didn't expect to agree with joe biden on many of his policies but at least he was going to bring back some sense of normalcy and stability the white house. and in the case of kamala harris, she is trying to pivot to the center. i hope she does embrace that going forward. i will certainly have policy differences but she is a decent and honorable person and i think she will put the interests of the country ahead of her own. host: the vice president is

making a speech at the national mall tomorrow. what would you like her to address, what is it that she needs to say that would get republicans like yourself that are not comfortable with donald trump? guest: what she needs to say is this pivot toward the center is real, and it is sincere. a lot of republicans say she is from san francisco, she's taken position that many of us have disagreed with. in pennsylvania she was opposed to fracking and has obviously changed her position. there are other issues where she maybe has gone too far to the left or made statements in the 2019 campaign. i think she has continued to demonstrate that he will try to govern from the center, and resist the urges of many of the extreme elements within her own party. i think she needs to do that. some will say that might quiet her base, but her base is motivated to be donald trump more than anything else.

i think she has a tremendous opportunity not having gone through a primary to be able to govern from the center which is what many americans want right now. they are tired of these rather shrill, extreme voices and there are a lot of republicans out there who don't like donald trump but are just nervous that the vice president will be pulled further to the left by those more extreme elements in the party. so she's got to assure those voters she is going to govern from the center. host: you wrote an opinion piece with the headline donald trump's tariffs plan could bring us back to the 1930's. explain that. guest: in 1930 a law was passed that imposed rod tariffs across the board. it was passed at a time not long after the stock market crash of 1929 and actually the market was beginning to recover. global trade just dropped,

crashed from $3 trillion to $1 trillion every economist of every stripe will tell you that smoot-hawley exacerbated the great depression. it made it much worse. i would argue something similar could happen now, that if we had across-the-board tariffs as donald trump was talking about, he's using across-the-board. the prices everything goes up. one, it is inflationary. it is going to harm american manufacturers and american growers. go to hershey. i represented that community. 70 million hershey kisses a day, that's a lot of chocolate. how do you make chocolate? you have to get that cocoa. last i checked, we don't grow it in the united states, we have to import it from west africa.

that is just one example. people like coffee. we have to import that. your couple coffee just went up in price. you like a banana, same thing. a lot of those big machines are made by a dutch company. to make these chips cost a few hundred million dollars a pop. a lot of what we import is used for making things. ultimately, consumers will pay more. we are going to lose jobs over this, and this going to have a devastating effect on manufacturers. when trump talks about punishing john deere and slapping they tariffs on mexico, they are

going to retaliate against american corn and other agricultural products. and that is what we saw with the chinese. when trump did all the chinese tariffs back in the first initiation, we ended up paying more out in subsidies to farmers then we collected. i get it, there are times you should use tariffs and countervailing duties. if they are a slave laboring place, if they are dumping illegal subsidies, i get it. but across-the-board, devastating. we ran trade surpluses, we had unemployment rates over 20%. host: if you'd like to join the conversation with our guest charlie dent, you can do so. republicans are on (202) 748-8001. democrats are (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. a lot has been made of people

who have worked in the trump administration not endorsing him. john kelly, his former chief of staff saying that he praised hitler and is a textbook fascist. the flipside of that is people saying well, he was fired and he's got an axe to grind. jd vance has said it is because they couldn't control him and they share the same worldview. what is your response to that? guest: first, john kelly is an extraordinary american. four-star marine general. for him to come out and say the things he said wasn't easy. because these are military guys, they try to avoid getting in the political fray. i think john kelly was doing his duty as a chief of staff and homeland secretary doing his best, and he witnessed up close

in person with many of us have seen in our interactions with a foreign president, that he is unfit and he is at times unstable. we've all seen the narcissism, the add, the impulse control issues, the temper. and lack of interest in policy. these are the kinds of things that john kelly has talked about. he saw it probably more than anybody else. we should believe him. not just him, believe rex tillerson. john bolton, mcmaster, all these people worked around him had for quite public. and it's obvious why they are concerned. he's embraced vladimir putin. he's embraced kim jong-il, kim jong-un. host: but explain the word embraced. guest: he seems to be much more comfortable talking to these autocrats that he is with allies.

in other words, he didn't distinguish between friend and foe. he was more critical of angela merkel and justin trudeau and he was of vladimir putin and kim jong-un. we have allies and friends and shared interests and values. you'd think we would embrace them more than people who try to undermine american foreign-policy interest all around the globe. that is what i thought was so stunning. i thought that is probably but those individuals them stunning. host: let's talk to callers and start with bob, atlanta. caller: thank you for your program. sarah, i served in the military and i'm 78 years old and i just got one question for you. you a communist? guest: absolutely not. are you, sir? caller: kamala harris is so far to the left you can even see her.

host: we will get a response. guest: i get it, i have policy disagreements with kamala harris just as you do, sir. but sometimes elections are not about right or left, enters a policy. maybe it is sometimes about right or wrong. one candidate here has demonstrated his unfitness. repeatedly. the other, whatever you think of her policy positions, she strikes me as normal and honorable and i hate to say that that is where we are right now, but i'm going to choose honorable over dishonorable. host: austin, texas, democrat. caller: good morning. i just like to ask, i'm a convicted felon. i can't vote, but donald trump can and he is also a convicted felon. guest: that's a good question, actually.

that's a great question. he's been convicted, but he has not yet been sentenced. i don't know when that sentence takes effect. he is a resident of the state of florida and i think there's rules on felons voting that are really determined at the state level as election law is governed at the state level. i'm not sure what florida's law is on that, i think it might be a bit more permissive than texas. it's a matter of a function of state law. host: derek in minnesota, independent line, good morning. caller: good morning america and c-span. i have a couple points here. i want to walked on memory lane. we had a governor named tim walz who is the vice presidential candidate, he said that he was going to make one minnesota and bring everybody together just like joe biden said. save the soul of the nation.

let's see what happen. minneapolis burned. we surrendered the police station. they took total control of the legislature, and we now have a brand-new flag that nobody likes. joe biden, who you said you voted for for those reasons, he has bragged he is the most progressive presidential president ever. that didn't really work out. now you are doubling down and saying that harris is the one that is going to come to the center? let me give you some news on that, buddy. they said they made -- want to make washington, d.c. a state with two more senators. they want to make puerto rico a state with two more senators. they want it jampacked to add supreme court justices pass the court. they want to end the filibuster. is that going to the center? you are a useful idiot. guest: good morning to you, too.

let me just take a few of these issues. i'm for divided government for a good reason, for the check on both parties, frankly. that would be the best thing that we could have happened in this country. a number of policy positions, i agree with you on some, others i disagree with. but the point i've made is that this country, that my party, the republican party, the republican party needs to move away from this type of maga movement. it is alienating much of the country and a lot of republican voters. that is why we need to get something that is grounded in principles, things that abraham lincoln and many of the others to lead this party over the years aligned with. we should be looking forward. and i don't agree with the democrats on a lot of these policies, some of which you mentioned. but at the same time, we've got to get to a better place is a party and i don't think trump is the right guy.

host: we don't take personal attacks on our desks, we don't allow those. james and buffalo, kentucky, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call, i really enjoy your show. after this fella here, he has no clue what he is talking about when it comes to the economy. he is a rino and a disgrace. host: stick with the policies, what policies are you talking about? caller: i grew up in san francisco, and harris when she was there, she made a mess out of things. her and nancy pelosi. her district was falling apart and the whole time she is more worried about going to a luncheon and getting her hair done. this guy here has no clue what he's talking about. it's amazing. he got himself in office, created a suit and kai -- suit

and tie. host: a lot of vitriol from republican callers. guest: just a couple things. what i find right now is if a person doesn't agree with you on a particular policy, he didn't argue with me about the tariffs, just calls you a rino. ok, great, we are all rinos now. if you don't agree with all trump, you are a rino. some of these folks out there simply don't have the capacity to make an argument so they just embrace whatever trump says, whatever it is. if he changes his opinion tomorrow, they will change theirs as well. but i know them, their friends. they are uncomfortable, many of them, but they want to hear something different. they want something better for the party. host: republicans in this cycle

have been vocal critics of the former president, and then ended up endorsing him anyway. new hampshire governor chris sununu, ohio governor mike dewine. they have endorsed former president trump. guest: they are doing their duties as functionaries of the party, they are both sitting governors. i get that they feel that they have to do that. i suspect they want a different direction for the party. governor dewine has been very powerful in his condemnations of what trump and others have been saying about people eating cats and dogs in springfield, ohio which is not true. and governor sununu was a strong supporter of nikki haley. he wants a different direction for the party. but i think some of them are trying to protect their options going forward if they want to run for something. but, trump world if you are not 100% there, they are never going to be with you. i would say don't try to split the difference, take a strong

stand. it's pretty hard to walk back from what some folks have said. host: if nikki haley with the republican candidate would you be voting for? guest: absolutely. voted for her in the primary. and frankly, she'd be winning this election right now. host: joyce, democrat. caller: good morning. question for mr. dent. how long do you think it would take to rebuild the republican party moving forward? i mean, if trump gets back in, how much damage do you think you will do to the rinos? guest: rebuilding a party is never easy. we've gone through a bit of a political realignment, as you can see. but rebuilding a party is going to take work, it's going to take time and effort to again get back to something, guiding

principles and values. we have to have those conversations once again. part of the challenge, some of the think tanks out there, and i will pick on one of them, heritage is always known as one of the strong conservative think tanks and now many of them have kind of gone all in, they've changed their values, they've adjusted their values to suit donald trump. and i think we have to get back to more principled conversations. that's the only thing i can think of that will help us, but that's going to take time, it's going to take it of a movement and truthfully, how much losing can my party take? i will say one thing about donald trump, he has made losing great again. and i mean since 2016. the republican party lost the house in 2018, the senate in 2020 as well as the presidency. in 2022 significantly underperformed and donald trump

has been leading this party and now he is the nominee. if we had any other nominee, anybody, like nikki haley for example, republicans would be walking away with the selection. parties exist for a reason, to win. why do they want to win? so they can govern. if the party continues to lose, maybe that will force the types of changes i'm talking about. host: kent, ohio, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning charlie. when i listen to mr. dent, i can't help but think about all the things in the past that both republicans and the democrats have done. nafta, they hollowed out on middle class and hollowed out our nations smaller towns. millions and millions of people streaming across the border at taxpayers expense. impacting our great cities and small towns. troops in over 168 countries,

military people all over the world. millions in offshore wars while our people were scraping under and over taxes. my plan would be, i know you don't like this time that i can tell you right now there's a group of us in america that have simply had enough of our towns and our people being fleeced. i think you represent that party. i don't have any animosity towards you. host:host: let's get a response. guest: i don't think there really is a unit party, with all due respect to the caller. there really isn't. i'm concerned about the border, too. i was one of the original cosponsors of the secure fence act that actually authorized the

700 miles of pedestrian and vehicular barriers all along the southern border. i believe in border security and i certainly think the biden administration was very slow in getting to that issue. but the bottom line is our communities have struggled for a variety of reasons, and we can have this great debate about what should the role of the united states be in this world? we could walk off the stage of the caller suggests, but we willcede -- we will cede it all to china and then they will set the rules. if you want the chinese to lead this global order along with their friends, the russians and the iranian, ok. you think we are going to have a better world? you think it might be better if the united states and our friends and allies in europe and asia and japan, australia, south korea and elsewhere, i think that order is much better for americans than the one that i

think you are leading us toward. host: rick in colorado, republican. caller: you act like the maga party is a few people. you seen trump rallies, how many people show up to his rallies? i'd say the republican party has left you and most of the people are republicans now are the maga party. it's the future. you either want our country to be taken over by other people, or you don't. you say that china is going to take us over if trump gets elected, but i think you are very wrong on that. guest: i was responding to a question. that gentleman seemed to suggest our engagement throughout the world is what is causing it. you can bring them home but then you create a vacuum.

who is going to fill a vacuum? are we naïve enough to think it will not be the chinese, the russians, or some other country hostile to our interests? do we think this will be a better world? whatever the fault of the international order established after the second world war, there has not been a big power conflict. we did not go to war with the soviet union. we somehow kept the peace. there have been wars but there is not great power conflict. my parents'generation were part of world war ii. i do not know that we want to the back to great power conflict like that again. if your view is that if we just put up the walls, that was the america first agenda in the 1930's, stay out of it, he

declared war on us, not the other way around. think about it carefully. do we let these autocrats in countries hostile to us determine the international order? do we think we will be as prosperous as we were? i have news for you. it is not going to happen. host: there is an article from reuters in august, it says he has purged his republican party of lawmakers and officials deemed as disloyal. you are a republican. do you feel the threat of intimidation, revenge, anything like that? guest: not really, although he certainly talks about it. he talked about going after his enemies. i personally do not feel it.

but i think disloyalty, what does that mean? disloyal to what, to whom, to him? disloyal to him? i think it is a sad state of affairs in this country when we cannot even have debates about policy anymore. it is hard to have debates about policies. it is about whether or not you are loyal to him. if you disagree with me, i will use the justice department to go after you? this is america. we do not do that here. host: keith in nevada, independent. caller: good morning. actually, congressman, the constitution says either foreign or domestic, there are enemies within. that is what donald trump is talking about, the domestic enemies of america. they hate the constitution. they are un-american in that

regard. that is what he is talking about. guest: who are we talking about? who are the enemies? caller: all the neocons. maybe you are part of it. newt gingrich said live on television many years ago, he said the reason the left and the people of the deep state hate trump is because he has never been initiated into the dark arts. that is why god's hand is protecting him. guest: what dark arts? caller: i'm talking about the secret societies that control much of the world we are dealing with now, think tanks, the rockefeller institution, the billionaires that rule the world with the rothschilds and stuff. on your dollar bill, there is the pyramid, the all seeing eye. is all masonic. it is literally satanic. guest: thank you.

that is all wild conspiracy theory stuff. he talks about billionaires. donald trump has billionaire support. he is a billionaire himself. this guy is talking about billionaires in the conspiracy. which ones? [laughter] host: connie in new hampshire, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i was looking at the differences. biden has a 3.4% unemployment rate at the end of his term. trump had 6.4% unemployment rate. i was like, i do not understand why people do not know that when they are saying everything was better under trump. almost one million people died from covid. he put his son-in-law in charge

of -- he put his son-in-law in charge of covid response and nothing happened for months and months. was watching the interview from fox -- i was watching the interview from fox. when they did not show trump saying that about the enemies within, i thought, well, no wonder they do not know because not only is there misinformation delivered, there is also an omission of information. i do not know how to overcome the differences. anyhow, you know, everybody cares about employment, that is how we built our nation. host: all right, connie. guest: there's a lot of economic discomfort in this country,

mostly because prices have gone up significantly and dramatically a couple of years ago, especially on food. food prices went up at a record rate. housing prices are also very high, with interest rates high, not enough supply of housing, there are a lot of people feeling the pain. even though you are right, unemployment levels are low and other economic indicators are strong, but people feel their money is not getting them as far as it did. that is why there is the economic angst. that is a real issue. the question is, what are you going to do about it? let's have a policy conversation. each candidate has put forward policies that could be construed as inflationary but done more than trump's own tariffs. that would add to inflationary pressure significantly. i wish i had an easy answer for you on the economy, but there is real economic angst in the country and that is driving a

lot of the motivations of many voters who might be uncomfortable with both candidates frankly. host: on friday, we had the american history professor talking about the rural/urban divide in pennsylvania and the rust belt states and how it is impacting the republican party. [video clip] >> we have a real urban divide. we have an urban america dominated by the knowledge worker elite. the economy is working really well for us. what many people in my demographic, when we hear the different left or right populists, we think, what is the problem, our lives are good. out in rural america where the economy is not working for the same number of people, they are more open to populists of the left and right. bernie sanders did better than

hillary clinton in rust belt areas. he won michigan in the 2012 primaries for instance. pennsylvania points to the near-term future of an american politics defined by a rural/urban divide between the college and noncollege. i would argue noncollege americans, and i can fully understand this, they are saying they want the american dream to work for them as well. this is not every trump voter. there are lots of social conservatives. their economic consent, that is different -- their economic concerns, that is different. they have a different reason for voting for trump. small towns and small cities are not enjoying the fruits of prosperity the same way pittsburgh and philadelphia are. we see this across the nation. to get out of the hyper-partisan

spiral, i think we need to have a more shared prosperity. your kids should not have to move to a big city in order to get ahead. we need small cities and small town america to enjoy the fruits of prosperity the same way big cities do. knowledge worker elites have to look in the mirror and say maybe the economy works well for me but it also should work well for people without a four-year college degree. host: what do you think, charlie dent? guest: i think the speaker was correct. the dividing line in american politics right now is maybe less about race and gender and more about educational attainment levels. those with college degrees and those without. he is right. there are a lot of people who feel left out in this economy. they want something better. that is why i think we need to do more to

with noncollege degrees have access to more jobs. we basically tell people you cannot apply for a job until you have a college degree. many jobs you do not need a college degree. we need to continue to invest in smaller middle markets. i do not like seeing kids leave their homes. i graduated college in 1982. the unemployment rate in pennsylvania was over 12% in my area. the steel industry was collapsing at that moment. we have seen it before. this has been going on for a while. the point is, we have got to stick around, we have got to invest. with the chips act, a significant amount of investment is not going into the knowledge areas and big cities, it is being spread around the country which i think is encouraging. host: suzanne is in pennsylvania, republican. are you there? caller: i am here. i just want to say that mr. dent

used to be my congressman when he was in congress. even at that time, charlie, i guess the difference for me between republican and conservative, you have never been a conservative to represent my views as a conservative republican. i will be honest with you. i never voted for you because of that, because you were not a conservative republican. my question is, even if you do not like trump, and i understand that, his personality, i get it, however, why would you vote for the opposition who is so anti-republican and in my book anti-conservative? just do not vote for president. that is what i did when you are up for election. i did not vote for the democrat against you because i did not share their values either.

however, i just do not understand why he would vote for the opposition. host: give us an example of what you mean by him not being a conservative. caller: his stance on abortion. i am extremely pro-life and he is not. that happens to be the one issue i vote. i am a one-issue voter. i am one of these white suburban masters educated women who is staunchly pro-life, and that is very important to me. host: we got it. guest: i appreciate her call. her definition clearly of a conservative is somebody who is right to life. i supported a woman's right to an abortion. i did. i was one of the few. that position is not looking so radical. i never won an election in my

district by less than 10 points. somehow, i survived. i was a more center-right type member of congress. that is how i presented myself. obviously, some people on the far right did not like that. the far left thought i was a right wingnut. the far-right thought i was a total rino and left-winger. most of my constituents thought i was center-center right. and i somehow prevailed. she brought up the abortion issue. i think this is the challenge for the republican party. it is a liability. the party no longer knows how to speak about the issue. we have been told it is a communications problem. i would argue it is not a communications or messaging problem great it is a policy problem. we have to figure out the policy. what some of the states have done, texas and others where

they have gone to these bans with no exceptions but for the life of the mother, that enjoys support of maybe 5% of the american people. if donald trump loses this election, that will probably be a significant part of the reason why. host: liam, a democrat, hi, liam. caller: good morning. i called watching this segment because it was getting a lot of incoming, i wanted to lift you up and let you know i have observed you from time to time when you come on television and you are right in my wheelhouse. we do not govern from the far edges of the left or right. we have to come together in the center. i love the way you have gone

through the pragmatic process of trying to solve problems. what the problem is, what is our solutions, and try to bring everybody to the table because we all cannot get what we all want, but we can get something for everybody for the bigger good of our country. that is how i see you. guest: you are very kind. thank you for those nice remarks. i think you are right. we need to get back to pragmatic governance. people want us to solve problems. they do not want us to ignore them. i witnessed this during my time in congress. it seemed like so much of the time my last few years we spent just trying to get the basics done. can we fund the government for three months at the current level? can we make sure the government

does -- country does not default on its obligation on the debt ceiling? we spent months and months of dealing with fundamental government that prevented us from doing things people wanted us to address. we have a lot of people in congress really good at telling you all the things they can never do. we have a problem. at some point, people have to get to yes, at least enough of them to advance the interests of the nation, whatever they may be. host: charlie dent, former republican from pennsylvania, senior advisor for the group our republican legacy, thanks so much for joining us. later, the heritage foundation's hans von spakovsky discusses concerns about elections attorney, the voting process, and the accuracy -- election security, the voting process,

and the accuracy of the outcome. ♪ >> ♪ >> in his book, he says it is the first definitive graffiti of the 40th president -- biography of the 40th president. he says another author was so flummoxed that he produced "dutch." max boot also points out in his introduction i am fortunate ronald reagan's story can now be told as never before because we possess far more archival sources and more historical perspective.

>> author max boot on this episode with host brian lamb, available on the free c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. attention, middle and high school students across america. it is time to make your voice heard. c-span studentcam documentary contest is here. this is your chance to create a documentary that will inspire change, raise awareness, and make an impact. your message to the president, what issue is most important to you or your community? whether you are passionate about politics, the environment, or community stories, studentcam is your platform to the world with $100,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. this is your opportunity not

only to make an impact but also be rewarded for your creativity and hard work. enter your submissions today. scan the code or vis studentc for all the details on how to enter. the deadline is january 20, 2025. >> with one of the tightest races for the control of congress in modern political history, stay ahead with sanctions comprehensive coverage of debates. -- stay ahead with c-span's comprehensive coverage of debates. follow our campaign 2024 coverage anytime online 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. >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with the biggest events with livestreams of floor proceedings and hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics, all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find scheduling information plus a variety of compelling podcasts. scan the qr code to download it for free today or visit our website. c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with open

forum. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8002, independents. later today at 7:00, a debe to maine's next u.s. senat. you can watch live on c-span2. it will al b on our app, c-span now, and online at c-span.org. we will get straight to your calls and start with diane in maryland, a republican. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. it is like we have three

parties. democrat, republican, and manga. -- maga. there is a long list of people that do not support trump and have had nothing nice to say about him. for secretary of state, even nikki haley has said stuff about him and changed her mind. h.r. mcmaster, who was the national security advisor, there is a long list of people in the white house. trump did pass an executive amendment executive order f they were calling it, about the civil service jobs. host: how are you feeling about your senate candidates? are you going to be voting for larry hogan?

caller: i really like larry hogan. on the other hand, i am concerned about getting republicans -- giving republicans control of the senate. i have my mail-in ballot. i filled out everything but that. i keep going back and forth. i really like hogan. he did a good job when he was governor here. in a democratic state, he was republican for two terms which is unusual. host: a lot of analysts are saying it is looking like the republicans will take control of the senate. anyway, even without maryland. caller: i have heard that. they think it might flip-flop where the democrats get the house and republicans get the senate.

whatever happens, one side needs to be democrat and one needs to be republican just to keep things in check. that is one of the reasons why when they did the constitution and put the country together they set it up so it was hard for anyone person to control things or one party. i think they need to do things more bipartisan and work things out, not my way or the highway which is the feeling i get. actually, both parties have done it. host: let's talk to sue in indiana, democrat. caller: hi. i would like to say i would never vote for a man or woman who aligns themselves with hate groups. trump did say during a debate to the proud boys, stand down standby.

do you remember january 6, 2021, the attack on the capitol? in order for our government to work for all people, states need to vote out maga people. the house freedom caucus, better known as tea party, and any party that does not care about gun control, women's rights, the border. i also would like to say this message will go to the democrats too. it is time for the republicans, in particular the republicans, to take back their party. one last comment. john mccain was a hero. i don't care what donald trump said, he was a hero. thank you for listening to me. host: and he california, independent line -- andy in

california, independent line. caller: very refreshing to see some republicans who get it. this maga drive, and trump who obviously the constructor of it is just the scum of what we have in america. we have a wonderful country, yet we have an individual who through his cons and such made it to the top and therefore has created a platform for this scum to come up. your guest, i commend him for his honesty and bravery. his fellow republicans should

take his example and get some courage. these guys like lindsey graham and marjorie greene who represent this radical group, we really need to get them out of this country so we can become a united states again. host: we are in open forum. if you would like to call in, you can do so in the next 15, 18 minutes or so. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. and 202-748-8002 for independents. nbc news has the latest updates on early voting. early votes at just over 43 million. 42% are registered democrats.

40% registered republicans. about 18% other. paul in birmingham, alabama, republican. caller: here is the issue with your last guest, chris dent. host: charlie dent. caller: charlie dent. almost none of the democrats are concerned about balancing the budget. we need to do what we can to fund the government. not balance the budget. we have $35 trillion in debt. we have a $1.5 trillion annual budget deficit. most of your colors do not realize this and most politicians do not talk about it -- most of your callers do not realize this and most politicians do not talk about it. we need to balance the budget. that is the biggest problem we are facing as a nation. host: how do you recommend doing

that? caller: we have got to cut the expensive. we keep growing the government to shrink the government. the government is not effective, so shrink it. that is what donald trump wants to do. host: do you think there should still be tax cuts, because trump wants to do that as well? caller: joe biden and a lot of left keep saying pay your fair share, the rich need to pay their fair share. unfortunately, the rich are paying almost all the taxes. 41% of the country pays no federal income taxes. how is that fair? it is a lot easier to make the case you are not paying your fair share if you are paying zero. host: here is tony in arkansas, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i have a two part question.

the maga republicans do not understand, when trump was elected, he inherited the policies of obama, president obama. they should ask how it is mike pence and george w. bush are not endorsing trump. host: russell, independent, good morning. caller: good morning, mamie, good morning, america. i do not care if you like or dislike donald trump. all you have to do is look at january 6 when you had a commander-in-chief who refused to send help when the u.s. capitol was under assault. this tells you the man is completely unfit for office. i was out for a walk the other day. we have a national cemetery in

our little town. i walked through there and looked at all of the civil war statues. there was a burial place for people from ohio, illinois, honorable people who stood up for the constitution when we needed it. i am asking this of the republicans today. stop this insanity. vote out trump. vote out the enablers. let's get america back on track. thank you. host: susan, republican in new jersey, good morning. caller: thanks for taking me. i'm looking for some insight, if you have any info about election integrity. over the past three or four days, i am having anxiety. i am hearing how a judge in virginia is allowing 1600

undocumented people here the right to vote. i am born here. the way i have been taught, you need to be 18, you need to be a citizen. whether you are born here or not, you need to have proper paperwork to vote. host: let me give you a little information on that virginia case. that is an "the post." it says the appeal by virginia to purge the rolls is rejected. this is about the governor of virginia has started to purge the voter rolls of those suspected of being noncitizens. the problem is it is within 90 days of an election and there is federal law that states you cannot do that because it does not give people the opportunity to prove that is not true or to

appeal the decision. they will be taken off the voter rolls and not be able to vote. that is what is happening. it is not that a judge is saying it is ok for noncitizens to vote. does that clear things up? caller: a little bit. i am a nurse so a lot of this is over my head. i just feel like, where are we if we are going to allow things like this to happen? but i am glad you cleared it up. i just hope everything is peaceful and safe on november 5. host: another thing, we are having another segment in about 10 minutes, so don't go away, about election integrity with somebody from the heritage foundation, so make sure you watch that. caller: thanks for taking me. host: gary in maryland, democrat, are you there? caller: yes, good morning. sorry. how are you today?

i'm calling because everyone is talking about inflation, and we should, but no one is speaking about the children being taken to these rallies. children who are watching television, their minds are being equipped with this anger and hatred. you want to know why they are picking up guns? because your leaders and the other party, which is republican, they are doing nothing but putting hatred into the hearts and minds of these little people. we need to be thinking about them. and yes, this country is on the wrong track. we are all responsible to some degree. check out who you are voting for all the way down the ballot. for me, we need to get the country back. we are living in a great country. everybody should be welcome.

that is all i have to say. and god bless all of us. host: bernie in ohio, independent, you are next. caller: good morning to get. -- can morning to you. thank you for taking my call. i was dialing over and over again so i could get in. two things. when representative dent was there, can you hear me? host: yes, go right ahead. caller: when representative dent was there, the topic was the future of the republican party. i don't know what the future is but i know right now i consider the republican party criminal organization because of all the voter suppression things going on around our country. the fake electors, on and on, purging the voter rolls. and not letting people know until the last minute so they cannot reregister, etc.

if there's anyone out there in the legal realms, prosecutors, or whatever, who can tell me why donald trump is running around a free man with 34 felonies on his record. two gunmen came to my home recently had a minor felony thing happen, both spent several weeks in jail and were released so they could go to court. why is donald trump running around the world? i would like to know. down in florida, the judge dismissed the papers case. trump gets away with things of this nature that are beyond the pale. and last but not least, character is one of the number-one issues. donald trump's character has been one of divisiveness and violence.

i can see why lindsey graham changed his stripes. he probably got threats and his family probably got threats. these people are activated by donald trump to be violent and threaten people. just look at people working in the polls being threatened. it is amazing. thank goodness rudy giuliani happened. he threatened the lives of two poll workers in georgia. i know our country is not where it needs to be. i made a sign in front of my home it just says, from 1992, "can't we all just get along?" host: steve, good morning. caller: i have been sitting here listening to these democrats talk.

i do not have any idea if they are even -- if they even follow anything other than stupidity. i am just amazed at what they do and what they say. and most of them are from california or something like that. host: give me an example of something stupid they are saying. caller: like we have to get rid of trump, he is the devil. get a life! look at what you are backing. you are backing the democrats. they don't have enough sense to get out of a boot! host: oliver, democrat, hi. caller: i have three points i want to look at here. ok, donald trump [indiscernible] look at what you did -- he did

to the central park five. then we come to president obama. look at all the racist things he been saying lately. he said just taking away black and hispanic jobs. he's worried about them taking light jobs and arab jobs. is anybody paying attention to this man? he is racist to the core. he has got a vendetta against the american government. all the money the government sued him and his daddy out of and he loses trump university. why do you think he charges the secret service more than it cost when they say at his place? the man is no good. we need to wake up. host: independent in michigan.

caller: good morning, mamie, good morning, america. part of the problem with the typical trump voter is they attack and attack like trump himself. we are independent. we can think for ourselves. some of his policies we do not like, but we do not attack, attack, attack. even in my family, the untruths going around like trump donated $25 million to north carolina. that is not the truth. the defense is "that is your opinion." seems the facts do not matter at all. harris is too liberal for me because i am an independent. trump's four years in office were not that great.

the deficit went up like crazy. it went from 14.4% to 21.6%. the murder rate rose. the number of people that lost health insurance rose. the trade deficit was ridiculous. we are giving these farmers all these subsidies. i do not understand. that was three years in his office. the last year was the pandemic. that was a nightmare. i think we need to talk about facts, not how stupid somebody is. i did not notice a lot of callers that called in, talk about policy. that is what we want. host: got it, sue. in about 45 minutes after this program on c-span, you will hear from doug emhoff, currently the second gentleman, and the

co-authors of the book "remember the first ladies" will discuss the possibility of doug emhoff becoming the first first gentleman. you will see that right after this program. paul in naples, florida, republican, good morning. caller: i listened to some of the people discussing what their ideas are and everything. do not get me wrong. i have got relatives in ohio and california. they have been there since the 1950's and the 1940's. my parents moved here to naples back in the 1960's. things have gradually progressed with more wealth. people buying property and doing stuff. a lot of these people do have businesses and they go ahead and

supply more jobs because if they can get tax breaks, they can build their businesses bigger and hire more people to have jobs. i am just not for all these jobs being given to immigrants. all of these jobs are being filled by people that are not american residents. it is kind of like we are backing up. everything is given to them. i do not see how we are going forward with this, you know. you know, the other thing, if you came down the escalator back when donald trump came down, they were going after him before . that is all it has been for the last eight years. they have been going after this guy. they did not go after joe biden when all of the facts were there.

the conspiracies turned out to be true, you know. you know, we all do well to help other countries. i always used to hear my parents say, they used to say stuff like we help all of these other countries, but what do they do for us? my parents are gone. they have passed on. i used to hear them as a young kid, i'm going to be 60, and i hear these people saying this, that we help all of these other countries and none of these other countries help us. but yet we are supposed to endure all of the debt of everybody else. host: got it. richard in delaware, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say i am a lifelong democrat and i'm voting for harris.

i think character is a big issue with the office of the president . it sets an example for the rest of the country. i think there is no question harris has won the contest hands-down in that regard. donald trump has been a con man, crook, his entire career, frankly. i just do not see how he can possibly avoid being tagged with that kind of reputation. host: all right, richard. next on "washington journal," the heritage journals hans von spakovsky discusses the voting process and the accuracy of this year's election --the heritage

foundation's hans von spakovsky discusses the voting process and the accuracy of this year's election. >> listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio is easy. tell your smart speaker, "play c-span." weekdays, catch "washington today at." --"washington today." c-span, powered by cable. >> since 1979, in partnership with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of congress, from the house and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings, and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row seat to how issues are debated and decided with no commentary,

no interruptions, and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it anytime online at c-span.org. videos of key hearings, debates, and other events feature markers that guide you to highlights. these markers appear on the right hand side of your screen when you hit "play" on select videos. this tool 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 points of interest. >> browse through our latest collection of c-span products, apparel, books, home decor, and accessories. there is something for every

c-span fan. every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. shop now or anytime. >> the house will be in order. >> this year, c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979, we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policies are debated and decided always a support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" "washington journal" continues. host: joining us to talk about campaign 2024 and election integrity, hans von spakovsky, of the heritage foundation. welcome to the program.

it has been four years since the 2020 election. to what degree do you think elections are more accurate this year? guest: generally, over all, we are in better shape than we were in 2020. one of the good things that came out of that election was it made a lot of state legislators realized there were vulnerabilities in the system they ought to fix so there were a series of reforms passed in many states. a number of states improved the security and integrity of their election process. host: about 43 million people have voted already for either early male in or in person. do you support the ability for early voting? guest: i support early voting. i think it should not extend too far before the election.

i think the maximum ought to be about two weeks. americans like early voting. they do not think it should happen two months before the election, before the debates have occurred, before some of the news that sometimes comes out right before election day. early voting is not a problem. host: are there some states that are two months before? guest: the longest is about 45 days. about a month and a half. i caution people about voting through the mail. that is a very convenient way to vote but given the fact about a month and a half ago the two leading organizations actually wrote a joint letter to the postal service complaining about the mishandling of absentee ballots, election related mail during the primary season. their biggest complaint was

delays in the delivery of the mail such that absentee ballots got into late to be counted -- got in too late to be counted. if you want to vote early, vote early in person. if you have to vote was an absentee ballot because you are too physically disabled to make it in, you sure you do it early and check with election officials before election day to make sure they have received it. host: do you think it should be counted based on the postmark or when it is received? guest: i think it is a mistake for states to allow ballots to come in after election day. the rule traditionally always was the absentee ballot has to be in the hands of election officials on election day. i think there are many good policy reasons to keep that rule in place. host: the heritage foundation has a website with a database set up called the sampling of

recent election fraud cases from across the united states. it has some numbers here. 1561 proven instances of voter fraud, 1325 criminal convictions. explain the data behind these numbers over what time period, and how many votes. guest: that is about 20 years. it is not a conference of list. it is a sampling of cases. oftentimes, prosecutions are not necessarily reported if it is a local county d.a. doing that. it is hard to track what is happening in 3000 counties across the country. host: this includes local as well as state and federal. guest: that is right. we do not put a case into the database unless it is a proven case. there are no he said/she said claims. it is only if a judge has ordered a new election or there

has been an official finding such as 2018 in north carolina when the state board of elections overturned a congressional race because of absentee ballot fraud. this also does not catch cases where prosecutors do not prosecute. i can cite you many instances, including my own personal expense as an election official at the county level, of criminal referrals to d.a.'s that they did not do anything about. host: if you would like to join our conversation with our guest, hans von spakovsky of the heritage foundation, you can do that. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. guest: we do not know the extent of the problem.

we know there are various surveys that have been done in which individuals admit they are not a citizen and are registered voters and voting. recently, a number of states have been checking finally the dmv records. these are individuals who self identified the fact they were not u.s. citizens when they went to get a drivers license. texas has removed about 6500. virginia about 6300. over the weekend, iowa reported about 2000 suspected aliens on the voter rolls. alabama, over 3000. the numbers start building up. in virginia since 2014, they have removed about 11,000 aliens from the voter rolls. folks may think that is not a large number in a state with several million registered voters. but keep in mind in virginia for example, within the last decade and a half, they have had two

attorney generals races decided by less than 1000 votes. a couple of years ago, control of the statehouse came down to one race because the two parties were evenly divided. it was a tight election. host: let's talk about the virginia case. this is from the justice department. it says the doj sued virginia for violating federal law on systematic efforts to remove voters within 90 days of the election, these are voters suspected of being noncitizens. the federal law states it is too close to an election and people cannot appeal the decision or proof they are eligible to vote in time to vote. guest: that is actually not correct. first of all, the court in that case is misinterpreting that federal law. it is the national voter registration act which i was responsible for enforcing when i worked at the justice

department. that 90-day provision applies to individuals who were eligible to register when they registered. how can you then take them off the rolls if they become ineligible? the judge is misapplying it because it does not apply to an alien who was never eligible to register in the first place and by registering to vote that individual was committing a felony under federal law. the idea someone would not be able to vote if the state made a mistake, and these are individuals who self identified as not being u.s. citizens when they went to get the driver's license. under the provisional balloting requirement, if you show up at a polling place, it does not matter the reason, you have been deleted from the voter registration roles, you show up and you assert you are an

eligible voter and registered to vote, they have to provide you with a provisional ballot. after election day, officials investigate. if they have made a mistake, your ballot gets counted. there is an opportunity for individuals to correct the mistake and still be able to vote. it will not be disenfranchised. the point is the judge made an error. the 90-day provision does not apply to aliens. host: jim is up first, democrat in illinois, good morning. caller: good morning. do you believe the 2020 election was legit biden winning? guest: that election is over with. joe biden was declared the winner. there is no point now in going back to that. my concern is the upcoming election and future elections, making sure every voter, i do not care which party they affiliate with, who is eligible

is able to vote and that their votes are not voided for example by people who are not u.s. citizens registering and voting. host: i think given you are very concerned with election integrity, to say the 20 vote wasx -- -- 2020 vote was fair and free and the results were accurate, are you not able to say that? guest: i am saying the election was decided. there were problems in some states that i do not think were properly taken care of. but overall, the election went through the way it was supposed to and we had a winner. anyone who goes back now arguing about that, you are wasting your time. what you should be concerned with is making sure our current laws and regulations are the best they can be to make sure every eligible individual is able to vote in an honest election.

host: gordon in virginia, republican, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to get a comment from your guest on the recent pennsylvania ruling where i believe they are no longer verifying signatures on mail-in ballots. guest: i am not sure that is correct. they are supposed to be verifying signatures. the state supreme court also said people have to comply with both the signature requirement and the date requirement on absentee ballots. i should mention something that just happened. lancaster county just reported last week they had gotten over 2000 very suspicious voter that is something they are investigating. i could say they caught it. i worry about incidents like

that. host: here is james in atlanta, independent. caller: i agree, we should not go back to former elections. one of the things former president trump has said, is if he loses this election -- guest: the question is what? host: former president trump saying if you loses the election is rigged. caller: i will wait -- guest: i will wait and see on election day and look at the new evidence that comes out on whether there are problems or credible claims to support them. host: let's talk to bob in ohio, republican. caller: good morning. my name is bob, i am a republican. generally i vote for a person

based on what i feel their policies are and not so much the rhetoric i hear in the campaigns . regardless of who you are voting for, what i wish we could have in this day and age is each candidate to be responsible to talk about what they want to do only. not what the other person wants to do. we could stop this name-calling. i think the name-calling whether it is true or not influences people, without any proof of what they are saying is even true. i hear a lot of callers that are just so biased, my goal for america is we all come together and work it out.

host: let's get a reaction. guest: i agree with that. i would like to see candidates dealing with solutions, what are their solutions to the many problems we face. we will not have the kind of attacks and name-calling, that has been going on since we became a country. if you look at the early presidential elections and the attacks being mounted by jefferson, adams, many of the candidates. we have a long history of it, it is unfortunate. i wish we could really stick to the issues, that is the way campaigns are waged. host: here's a democrat in fayetteville, jean, you are on.

caller: i was calling because there is so much stuff going on, they are just fighting against each other. it is not right. the names they are calling each other. if you want to represent someone, you need to learn how to represent it right. there is so much stuff going on. i have never seen anything like this. i pray to god that god will get the right one in there. that's all i have to say. host: there's a video going around social media about somebody opening up ballots in pennsylvania and ripping them up. it is not true, it is fabricated. intelligence agencies have said this is from russia. jd vance was asked about it and

dismissed taking action against russia for that. saying that's what they do. what are your thoughts? guest: he's right about that's what they do. the russians since the cold war have done whatever they can to interfere in our elections. there were many incidents during that time, the reagan election. today, technology makes that even easier. if and when we could actually find and indict individuals for that. the justice department filed indictments against a couple of russians masquerading as belgian bankers. if we could indict them and go after them, fine. we get hackers working in places like china and russia, there's not a lot we could do about it. host: here is frank in new

jersey, republican. caller: good morning. thank you for having the facts on the matter with the voter rolls in virginia. the media could just switch one word which changes the whole outlook. i'm glad you pointed that out. i do agree with a lot of the calls this morning that we do have to unite as a country but it's very difficult when one party is calling another candidate hitler and he's a con man and crook. there are no facts. he would be in jail already. he is not. i appreciate the facts coming out and everybody would do more due diligence. guest: i'm tired of hearing this word, it is an insult to the people who suffered under

fascism like my mother who grew up in nazi germany. if you want to disagree with a candidate on the issues, what they are proposing is really bad, that is fine. those labels are historically wrong and inaccurate. they are kind of insulting to the intelligence of the american public. i wish that kind of thing would stop. host: what's your reaction to general kelly's remarks that trump was praising hitler and saying positive things? guest: i don't believe that. there have been a lot of things that have come out from people, they all come out at the last moment all of a sudden right before the election. there's no way to verify or check that. that is hard to believe. host: recently we had can block -- ken block, who was hired

to investigate claims against the trump administration. >> there's a report this morning that the texas attorney general is asking homeland security to verify the citizenship status of 450,000 names on the voter role. saying that while the majority are likely eligible to vote he wants to weed out those who are not. how difficult is that request? >> it is incredibly difficult. the only database that could be used to identify someone who is not here legally is owned by the department of homeland security. you still have a problem with names, dates of birth, how do you know for sure it is the same person? it is very challenging to identify the unique individual. i have yet to see any evidence that there are lots of votes

being cast by people not here legally. the attorney general is engaging in political theater. there is nothing illegal about engaging in political theater. when the theater causes people to doubt the outcome of elections, that's where we have to take a step back and soberly look at the claims. guest: he's right about it is difficult to verify citizenship of registered voters. that's why texas and florida have sued the department of homeland security. dhs is recruits -- refusing -- federal law says they have to provide access to their database to state officials and they are not doing it. the biggest issue, this could all be resolved easily if they were allowed to put in requirements to provide proof of

citizenship when you are registered to vote. there was a federal bill to do that recently. on a partyline basis, it was stopped. it passed the house. that would easily solve this problem. host: what are the ways you could prove you are a citizen? guest: a number of years ago kansas proposed a statute. they had a dozen different ways to do it. everything from passports, birth certificates, school records. host: a school record will show you are a citizen? guest: certain kinds. you could get an administrative hearing for the many different ways to do it. it is no different from the fact that in many states you have to show id to vote, that is a good

requirement. id requirements would be disproven, it is not true and it is not the same with the required proof of citizenship. host: here is rose calling from virginia, independent line. caller: the circuit ruling misinterprets the law and claims individuals in question are illegally registered to vote. isn't it possible the individuals in question obtain drivers licenses before becoming citizens? my knowledge is when you become a u.s. citizen, one of the common things you do is you register to vote and often people become citizens hold much more sanctity in that process for those of us born in the united states.

therefore, if that is the case and the people are legally registered to vote, wouldn't the fourth circuit decision be proper interpretation of the law? guest: the 90 day provision doesn't apply to this situation. virginia is basing this on individuals that when they went and got their virginia drivers license they identified as being not a u.s. citizen but registered to vote despite that. that was a felony violation of state law and federal law. host: what rose was asking was if you got your drivers license, you checked the box and then you became a citizen and registered to vote, isn't that possible? guest: in the virginia

situation, these people registered to vote at the same time they got their driver's license. if they didn't register to vote, they don't have a problem. they could easily resolve or remedy any question that they may get because they have their naturalization papers and they could show they are u.s. citizen just like my parents were able to do. could i give you an actual example? host: sure. guest: i was on the election board of fairfax county. we found almost 300 individuals who were registered to vote. at the time they registered and got their driver's license, they presented documentation. they were not u.s. citizens.

we investigated every single case, contacted every single voter to confirm they were not u.s. citizens and we got confirmation. this also illustrates another problem. we also sent their files to the local da for possible prosecution because they illegally registered and have had illegally voted. they did nothing about it. host: elise, new york, line for democrats. caller: it is clear that this interview is causing a lot of anxiety and fear.

there are steep penalties which include deportation, confinement , prison sentences, for a person to vote who is not a citizen. i doubt people would seriously risk their freedom in order to vote in the election. the numbers are so small. the person who is being interviewed has been denied placement several times with the sec because of partisanship. he is perfectly trying to mislead the population, an area that does not exist. the numbers involved in the alleged voter fraud. host: we will get a response. guest: there is a great new

website where they are detailing elections across the country that were decided either in a tied vote or one vote. it doesn't take a lot of fraud to make a difference. we do have enough fraud that we should be concerned about it. if you doubt that, look at our election fraud database or look at the recent election. a judicial election in texas was just overturned. one million votes were cast. the winning margin was less than 500 votes. the judge overturned it after finding 1400 illegal votes including 1000 people who registered to vote that lived in that district but didn't actually live there. that shows the problem. the supreme court said in 2000

eight when it upheld indiana's voter id law, fraud could make the difference in a close election. we have close elections all the time. that is the issue when we have close elections, a little bit of fraud could make the differee. host: a question for you on project 2025, which chapter or chapters did your desk to contribute or get credited as an author of? guest: four. do not know what project 2025 is, the heritage foundation once again put together a policy book . the first time we did this was 40 years ago when ronald reagan was elected. it's 900 pages and there was a chapter on every major government agency department. the department of defense. it outlines the reform in those

departments and how they can and should be run. i was a commissioner there for two years. individuals who worked in prior administrations, a lot of people who knew how those department works. i wrote the chapter on the federal election commission. that is the agency that enforces the laws on erasing and spending . kamala harris and donald trump are filing the reports with on how much money they are raising and spending. host: let's talk to michael in michigan, republican. caller: how are you doing today? i have a question. i'm wondering if you did any

investigation into the job of benson in the state of michigan. all of these people on the voter rolls that are not supposed to be but she refuses to take them off. everybody in the state of michigan in the last election vowed that whether they were dead or alive. everybody got a ballot. guest: i have to say i know a lot about jocelyn benson. the last five years, she has been a defendant in the lawsuit. they did an intense audit, they found and confirmed 26,000

individuals who were on the roles. they sent that information to jocelyn benson. she refused to take these individuals off. she has been fighting that ever since. that is an unfortunate comment on the quality of her leadership. host: typically, how do people who have died get off the rolls? guest: the thing states ought to be doing is checking their own state department of vital records. the department of vital records in your state, people move out of the state, you will not have that record in your state department record. for that, you have to go to the

social security administration. they record deaths from across the country. you have to be checking both of those databases regularly. if you don't do that you will unfortunately leave people who have died on the voter rolls, which is what happened in michigan. host: how many states is that happening in? guest: one of the things everybody needs to understand is the situation is different across the country. states are responsible for maintaining and administering elections. the quality varies greatly across the nation. the folks interested in this particular issue, three years ago at heritage foundation we

launched an election integrity scorecard. it is based on the best practices criteria. if you want to know the status of your state, it will present our complete analysis. that includes do they check and verify information with social security administration. host: tina in michigan, independent. caller: good morning. a couple questions for your presenter. he talks about a north carolina case that was fraud. did mark meadows appeal the vote? he committed voter fraud by voting in two states. mike rogers does not live here. the voter fraud seems to be very much coming from republicans

than democrats. thank you. host: what do you think? guest: that is actually not true. election fraud is a bipartisan effort. if you look at our database, you will find republicans and democrats have been convicted of election fraud. you will find these cases, it is not one party stealing from another. many involve primary elections. people in the same party were stealing votes from other individuals in their own party. it is not a one-sided affair. people who are interested in winning elections or gaming the system will engage in regardless of their party affiliation. host: she asked about mark meadows, former chief of staff voting in two states, do you know anything about that? guest: i don't.

if you look at our database you will find convictions for individuals who illegally registered and voted in more than one state. caller: good morning, i have a comment to make here. i'm looking at this -- if they are arguing both sides of the case, this man is saying he didn't believe the staff said certain things about mr. trump. mr. trump said these things. that general did not lie. coming on national tv and saying he does not believe the chief of staff. he lost all credibility. the heritage foundation submitted those judges for the supreme court and they testified before congress and said they would not touch roe. they lied under oath.

what would he do about that? host: is he thinking about the other organization? it can't come to me. does heritage get involved in recommending judges? guest: we were asked for recommendations and published a list. we did not do something privately. we publicly came out with a list that we recommended and thought would be good judges, not on a political basis. we don't want judges that rule based on politics or political objectives. we want judges who uphold the constitution and apply the rule of law, even if the result politically, people may not like. if they don't like the results politically, the answer would be legislative actions. if you don't like a particular law, don't ask the court to

overturn it unless it is unconstitutional. get them to change it, amend it, repeal it. this is the kind of judges we think should be in the federal court. host: maverick asking you to comment on the fake election scheme and isn't that a form of voter fraud? guest: it wasn't fake electors, it was contingent electors. there is nothing illegal about that, nothing criminal. the contingent electors were set up in case either a state legislature or a court found that the election had been wrongly decided. if you believe that was criminally illegal, john f. kennedy should have been prosecuted in 1960. there was a dispute over who won hawaii. nixon was declared the winner by the governor.

a lawsuit was filed by the kennedy campaign. they set up alternate contingent electors in case the court ruled in their favor and that happened . eventually it was changed. hawaii was certified for kennedy. they have to set up contingent electors. they are mandated by law to meet in december and cast votes. if they aren't available and ready to vote at that meeting, there is nothing you could do about it. that is not an illegal scheme, it has been done before. no one considered a criminal violation. host: fran in alabama, republican, you are next. caller: was it a crime or illegal to be investigated about the former president trump, who

asked the judge or secretary of state to get him over 11,000 votes? guest: i have actually read the transcript of the phone call, it has not been reported correctly. if you read what was actually said, the president obviously believed there were ballots that have been counted from individual voters who were not entitled to vote. they had been cast by individuals who were eligible. he wasn't telling the secretary of state to come up with fake or fraudulent votes. he was asking him to deal with that issue, ballots he thought should not have been counted because the voters who cast them were ineligible.

ballots that were not counted from eligible voters. he was not urging any kind of illegal action by the secretary of state. host: just to follow-up on mark meadows, here's what we were able to find, north carolina officials did not charge mark meadows with voter fraud. the investigation began after the new yorker magazine reported mark meadows former republican congressman registered to vote weeks before the 2020 election at a mobile home in macon county where he never lived or even visited. the article quoted the unnamed former owner of the property saying that meadows never visited or spent the night. his wife reserves the house but only spent one or two nights there.

here is bobby in franklin, massachusetts, democrat. caller: i'm a little concerned with how it is being -- somebody we are looking to for advice. he is obviously biased. he is saying that there is a real concern about voter fraud. it could be googled or looked at. if you do look it up, it is very rare and almost never has happened. he's from the heritage foundation which also shows that he is biased. i mean, his comment about fascism, that is biased, because it is fascism when u.s. feeling hate rhetoric constantly toward your opponents, threatening to lock everybody up.

getting revenge. how could that not be considered fascism? >> we will get a response. guest: my mother grew up under fascism, so i think i know what it means, and it means a dictatorship-type government that completely controls your life and a secret police that will go after you, a justice system that will prosecute you for being a political opponent. that is not a situation we have in this country today, and anyone who makes that claim is just wrong about that. it wasn't really a question, but answer that comment, those kind of personal attacks, at one of the problems we have in this country today. we can't seem to have disagreements about substantive issues on a civil basis. instead, you have to go other the other person, personally insulting them, calling them names, saying that they are in

full, terrible i don't say that about my opponents on issues. i think they are misguided, i think they have the long policy ideas, but if we could get back to substantive issues, such as how to make sure we have fair, honest elections for everyone, we would be much better off in this country. host: what do you make of mr. trump's comments on the enemy within, and then naming prominent democrats at the enemy. >> that for kind of rhetoric referred for years now political campaigns. host: you don't think you being serious? guest: i think someone jested an article, for example, about republicans have been called fascist the last five or six. that's just part of the unfortunate rhetoric that we have in political campaigns these days. host: rob in chicago, independent. caller: yes.

why aren't we using computerized voting machines when they can be compromised? guest: i will tell you that my recommendations for the states is to use scanning paper ballots. that is the best way for people to vote. paper ballot, you fill in the bottleneck the person's name, just like the sat test. now, you then run it through a computer scanner before it drops a valid box. the vantage of that is that you have the speed of a computer counting the ballot, but if any questions arise about the computer software used for anything like that, what have you got? you have the paper ballot, they can be hand counted. you can make sure that the county agrees with what the scanner said when it counted the vote, that way you've got the audit trail.

and that to me is the best way of conducting election. host: david, new york, independent line. caller: thanks for taking my call. i would just like to ask your guest if donald trump has denied many times having knowledge of project 2025. i'm wondering how is that possible being his name is mentioned all over that. i've read a bunch of it, and it is scary. i don't believe it is fascist, but i think it is knocking on the door of it. thank you, i will take my message off the air. guest: donald trump had nothing to do with putting together project 2025 which is simply a 900 page policy manual. like i said, the first time we ever did this was when ronald reagan was elected, and every four years since then, we've done a policy manual that is

there for whoever is elected president with recommendations on how the federal government should be run. there's nothing fascist in it whatsoever. in fact, the whole point is to bring in a smaller government, a less powerful federal government, one that is within the confines of the constitution. and i would challenge anyone who was watching the show, if you want to know what it is like, i know you probably can't read a 900 page policy manual, just pick one chapter. a department you are interested in. maybe it is the department of defense. read one chapter and i'm frankly believed that you that you're going to read it and say you know, these sound like common sense reforms. host: that his election longform, the initiative manager and senior legal fellow there. you can find more at heritage.o