♪ host: good morning, everyone. happy thanksgiving on this

thursday, november 28. we are grateful to all of you who watch and support c-span. thank you for that. this morning, our conversation with all of you is about your thanksgiving dinner plans. will you talk politics? democrats, dial in at (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can join us in text at (202) 748-8003. include your first name, city, and state. or post on facebook.com/c-span or on x with the handle @cspanwj . a poll asked americans what they are likely to do this thanksgiving. what are they likely to talk about? coming in first is watching sports or talking about work or school. 28% said that they plan to talk about the recent presidential election. do you plan to do the same

today? we want to know from you. here are some recent opinion pieces from around the country and newspapers beginning with the atlanta journal-constitution writing, don't let politics ruin your thanksgiving. then there is also this piece from huffington post, my husband and his family voted for trump, so i am canceling thanksgiving and christmas. saying, i needed some space. from the sun sentinelon thanksgiving, let's eat the bird, not flip it. people in our lives have different values, perspectives, and opinions and that ans for us to live together we must navigate those differences in a healthy, productive way. if we are so interested in maintaining the peace that we simply try to avoid those diffences we are not actually

dealing with one another but distancing ourselves from each other. my preference will be to do the opposite. we should deal with our differences by cononting them. i say we should bring up politics, talk about donald trump and kamala harris and if you are happy or sad about the next four years. bring up religion. talk about your beliefs. bring up money, talk about how hard it is to afford kids or how you are struggling with unemployment. bring up anything. talk about it all. we want to know, do you plan to talk about politics at thanksgiving dinner? i want to show you what the vice president had to say recently when she released a video, her first remarks postelection, to her campaign supporters. v.p. harris: i just have to remind you, don't you ever let anyone take your power from you. you have the same power that you

did before november 5. you have the same purpose that you did. you have the same ability to engage and inspire. so, don't ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you. look, this mission that we have, it takes hard work. have you heard me say many times, we like hard work. hard work is good work. hard work can be joyful work. in doing our work we will remain committed and intentional about building community, building coalitions, reminding people that we all have so much more in common than what separates us. we will be armed with the faith in the fuel that tells us what is possible and then drives us to achieve it.

so, let's continue to organize, mobilize, and stay engaged. i thank you all. i thank you all. we are all in this together, all right? we are all in this together. and on this practical eve of thanksgiving, i want to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving with the ability, find the ability at this moment to just remember there is so much to be thankful for. host: vice president kamala harris' thanksgiving message to supporters this week. do you plan to talk politics this thanksgiving dinner, today? another thanksgiving message from the incoming president, president trump, on truth social. happy thanksgiving to all, including to the radical left lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our country but who have miserably failed and will

always fail because their ideas and policies are so hopelessly bad that the great people of our nation gave a landslide victory to those who want to make america great again. don't worry, our country will soon be respected, productive, fair, and strong and you will more than ever before be proud to be an american. a republican, raymond, good morning, happy thanksgiving. caller: good morning. happy thanksgiving to you, too. i will deflect if there is any conversation about politics. several years ago i visited my relatives in the northeast. i have people who are of the opposite party. they brought it up at the dinner table. my wife says we are not talking politics today, this is thanksgiving. we need to work to make this country better. we had a lot of problems and i prefer to just be thankful for what i have and what we should have. thank you.

host: that is how you deflected? you and your wife? caller: my wife deflected. when someone said something about me personally, because i am a republican and they are democrats -- host: why not try to bridge the divide as the bangor daily news recommends? caller: i do that quite a bit. there are a lot of people right now talking about their going to tear our new president to pieces, which means that they are not going to work towards getting this country back to where it could be better. host: robin in cleveland, tennessee, democratic caller. caller: hey. of course we are going to talk about it. we are a multiracial family. i have biracial grandsons. today is his birthday. happy birthday, ajay. he turned eight today. host: happy birthday. caller: his mom is greek.

we will talk about how people who claim to be so moral are following behind an in moral man. and how the bible talks about what god despises and trump is every last one of them. we will try to make that make sense. host: will anybody disagree at the table? caller: well, we have millionaires in our family who do not follow trump. now, nobody will disagree because we are majority black family, so nobody will disagree. we will just be puzzled by the fact -- i went to high school in inglewood, tennessee. i had eight black people in my whole class in 1986. we will be puzzled by the fact that we were let down by the people we grew up with. we thought that they were better people than what they are showing they are. so, we will discuss that. it will be a good thanksgiving, and we will carry on.

black people are built for this. this is not our first adversity, and we will be able to power through this. i hope that republicans get everything that they voted for. host: will you discuss, since you are all democrats around the table, discuss who your party should run in 2028? should the vice president stay in the fight, as she has said? caller: i'm not sure about that. i don't know if america's ready for that yet. i think she gave it a good try. i think of joe biden was that incapacitated he may should have stepped out earlier.i don't think they necessarily did joe biden right. i think he did a good job with what he had. a lot of it might be our own personal karma by not doing right by joe biden. we will talk about that too. to me, he did a good job. now we are going to talk about how all of these prices they

claimed were killing them, trump is going to raise them threefold. like i said, we are built for this, so we aren't worried about what it is going to be. we are going to grab us some popcorn and enjoy the show. that's how it's going to be. host: jeff in indianapolis, are you talking politics today? caller: i am on a wait and see attitude with the new administration. of course, i'm a democrat. i didn't vote for him. yes, there will be some political discussion. probably not much, but some. host: if you will take a wait and see attitude and talk politics today, what policies would you bring up at the dinner table today that you are expecting from the trump administration? caller: they campaigned on the

economy and the border. he says he's going to fix the border. we are going to wait and see. then he said he is going to make the economy better. the economy is already in good shape as far as i'm concerned, so i don't know what he thinks he can do to make the economy better. i think he is selling people a false sense of security. host: democratic caller in indianapolis said that they could talk about the economy and border today at the table. phil in kissimmee, florida republican. will you talk politics? caller: actually no. this is a year-round thing. i can't talk to my wife about it. she's on the others. you don't want to delve into it too much during dinner. host: you and your wife are opposite? she is a democrat? so, you may find this piece interesting. andrea wrote this piece. my husband and his family voted

for trump, so i am canceling thanksgiving and christmas. the day after the election when she woke up she texted her husband saying, i can't do it. i can't go to thanksgiving and christmas this year. i need space. would your wife relate to that? caller: well, a little bit, but she wouldn't cancel seeing her granddaughters or anything. it has been a rough year. it was rough all year. then you had a non-primary, where the leaders walked into the office and told biden to get out. that is not the way it's done. so, you really ticked off a lot more people. host: how did you and your wife navigate that all year? did you not talk about it? caller: she has called me curse words, everything. hopefully we are going to calm

down here. host: today you're going to stay clear of it? caller: i guess we can. host: in your case, it doesn't sound like a bad idea. we will go to silver spring, maryland, democratic caller. help me with your name. silver spring, maryland, democratic caller. caller: happy thanksgiving. host: will you talk about politics today? caller: well, we don't -- we have a code of conduct. no politics at thehanksgiving table. if you want to talk politics you have to go either in your room or excuse yourself from the dinner table. no politics allowed.

host: anywhere but the dinner table today? caller: anywhere else but the dinner table. it's not allowed. resell what happened on the media. we saw what happened through c-span. we don't want to carry it at the dinner table. anywhere else but the dinner table. host: do you think that that will happen? in other places of the house today? caller: maybe in other places of the house, but not at the dinner table. i mean, maybe in the bathroom, maybe in the bedroom. host: thanks, caller. appreciate that. will you or your family talk about politics this thanksgiving day? we will continue talking about bridging the divide over politics throughout today's washington journal.

-- a poll was done about this and 64% of americans said that election-related stress is impacting their holiday plans. 23% said that they are considering skipping thanksgiving altogether. 59% are worried about political disagreements causing tension at their thanksgiving gatherings. 49% want to have a total political conversation ban for all guests and family members. not just at the dinner table but a ban. 52% already had arguments with their family members over political differences. host: mark in louisiana, independent. caller: happy thanksgiving to everybody in america. i want to say, angst giving -- thanksgiving, i know that there

are a lot of people hurting and a lot of people who are celebrating, but i want to put it this way. i feel for those who are hurting. the way that they can heal -- i lost both of my parents to covid one week apart. funerals, one week apart. the only way that i could heal. i was very angry and i was very hurt. it was to always start looking out for others. every day some small act of kindness. it didn't matter. whatever happened in the election, whoever won, i wasn't going to let it change how i was. i went to the school -- i own a plumbing company. i talked to them. i wanted to do something that i could be proud of. make me forget about all of the hurt. they will start introducing the kids in high school to trades. covid not only took away my parents, it took away our trades. we don't have enough people who can work and it is costing everybody. host: is that your advice around

the thanksgiving dinner table? instead you talk about what each of you can do for others? caller: yes. do for others. how can we heal from this? i will tell you how. i 100% know how you can heal. look out for others. every day do some little thing that makes you feel good. when you get angry there is nothing that you can do that will change that. there is nothing that you can do that will change what happened in this election. if you do that, people will gravitate to you and we can come together. that is what we need to talk about. how can we come together even though we disagree on so many things? host: understood. , coming up we will be talking with benjamin includes a -- benjamin klutsey about a movie,

undivide us, that he has been part of. i want to show you the trailer from this movie as we continue to talk this morning about politics on this thanksgiving day. [video clip] >> for the left and its minions in the media -- >> how bad is the gop? >> you call this two america's that are divided. >> how do civil wars get started and how close is the united states? >> the screens and our homes and pockets put forth this story about america that we are on the edge of civil war, that we can't get along. the danger is, we might start to believe that. >> perhaps if we created the opportunity for folks to come together, giving them an opportunity to talk and explore ideas on controversial issues. >> regular people from all kinds of different lives, put them together and get them talking about hard stuff, is that doable? >> i think we should try.

>> we have a remarkable opportunity to create something special that no one has done before. >> there are dozens of controversial issues. we will find people who are leaning one direction and folks who are leaning the other direction. >> leaning democrat. >> liberal. >> how deep does it go? >> does the average person feel that anger all the time, or is it the political elites? are they the ones that are the problem? >> we bring in regular people and ask about tough issues. >> if we don't get regular citizens talking again, disagree respectfully, doing it better than washington does, it seems like there is a lot at stake if we don't figure that out. >> we will jump in together, my friends. host: the undivide us

documentary. we will talk about that on the washington journal with the producer of that documentary. from what you saw, do you think that that is something that you can do at the dinner table today? danny, yuma, arizona. will you talk politics? caller: good morning. it is just my dad and i. i took care of him. he is 92 and bedridden and he cannot see and he cannot hear. to talk to him you have to scream at him. we are both republicans. so there is nothing really to talk about. i am a little disappointed in c-span. the last several days i've been waiting for you to cover what is going on at the border. tom homan getting death threats for going to secure our border. we still have a colossal problem

down here. it seems like you guys are spinning away from it for some reason. host: not at all. we have covered the border issue a lot on c-span, and we will obviously be covering it under this new administration. if you are interested in how much we've covered the border, go to c-span.org. put in the keyword border or southern border and you will find out how much we have discussed it on c-span, the hearings we have covered, etc. david in north carolina, an independent. hi, david. caller: how are you doing? host: good morning. will you and your family talk about politics today? caller: yeah, we will. we will be discussing the things going on and how america is just not america anymore. host: in what way? caller: when i was growing up -- i am in my 50's. for us to have grown up in the

late 1970's, from the 1970's up, you was proud to be that american. you was proud to say that. today, we are so divided into the right wing, left-wing thing -- to me, it is all the same bird. it is the same bird. for us to not be able to sit down and discuss, and be openhearted and minded to issues, because while we are all at each other, then these other countries in the surrounding waters and air, i mean, things can happen. here we sit, arguing and fighting and fussing among each other. we have to be aware of those things. like i said, to grow up in between now and when we were in the 70's and 80's, it's

different. host: you may find this article interesting. political divide is not new to americans. a history lesson for all of you in the washington post. a humble gourd's divisive role. red and blue how we may divide ourselves today but in the 1800s it was sweet potato pie versus pumpkin pie that signified political and cultural discourse. there was plum pudding, custards and pies of every name and description ever known in yankee land, but the pumpkin pie occupies the most distinguished niche. an abolitionist and the 1800s version of a lifestyle influencer wrote in 1827. she championed the pumpkin as a symbol of virtue and small farming that did not rely on enslaved labor. it was an intentional contrast.

the article goes on to write, while the pumpkin pie was an iconic part of new england cooking, the south went another direction. "to this day they eat sweet potato pie for thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie because it meant something different. sweet potato pie was what african-american women under enslavement and afterwards made because sweet potatoes are an african plant." you can find the article in the washington post this morning. minnesota, democratic caller. hi, john. caller: hi. we already had our thanksgiving, but we were all democrats and it was wonderful to be around such highly intelligent well-informed people. i wanted to tell you a couple of little things. one is, one of the cousins told her four-year-old child who was after the election having bad

dreams about donald trump. children know what is going on at some level and it is affecting them. the other was a 10-year-old girl, my niece, who was at the dinner table. we were talking about some subject. all of a sudden she says, well, i saw on 60 minutes about how they are building houses for the homeless. it was so wonderful to see that some young people are tuning into, you know, the ability to learn things that are truthful. that they are interested in the world and what's going on. that was very encouraging to all of us. host: related to what you are saying come here is a headline. one third of adults under 30 say that they are likely to get into an argument about politics on thanksgiving. keith and madison, wisconsin, independent. caller: hello.

host: happy. will you talk politics today? caller: no, because i won't be visiting with my family. they are all maga fascists. i was in a group text with them and i pointed out some things to them, which they should have known if they were paying attention, if they were observant, political persons. they would have understood some things. number one, trump pushed fake scientific solutions to the pandemic and spread the pandemic, and caused over 400,000 deaths. he led a coup in 2020. he has scapegoated immigrants, called them poisoning the blood of our nation, channeling the very rhetoric of adolf hitler. he held a rally at madison

square garden, which they did in 1939. this was after he was called a fascist by two of his generals. host: you sent this to your family? caller: i texted them and i told him that he nearly started a war with north korea. he told one of his generals if it was possible to nuke north korea and blame it on another country. host: any response from them? caller: nothing. host: so you are canceling thanksgiving? caller: i won't even associate with them. anyone who supports this monster. host: that is keth's opinion in madison, wisconsin, an independent caller. are you talking politics that your thanksgiving table today? democratic caller. caller: i feel like i won the lotto to get in today. i haven't listened to your show

in a couple of weeks, three or four weeks, but i have been volunteering five days a week as a grandmother at the local school. being around young people and young children will change your attitude of this country. people need to get off of social media. they need to get off of the news, or whatever. what we will be discussing today as a family is local news and state news. it has been that way for a while. we can argue all day over the school board and what our township is doing here. my unique -- well, not unique. i am retired are i -- retired rn. i worked for year during the pandemic and i had to retire and luckily i was financially able to do it. i just turned 65. due to the mismanagement, or whatever, i belong to a group,

and it has been, since the first of january, of retired medical people, and we are actually in therapy because of what i would call posttraumatic stress disorder from working during the pandemic. it's gotten a lot better, but just seeing donald trump on tv, that night i will have a massive panic attack, or whatever. working with young people in that school -- but, within the last year, and it happened last summer, i had two nieces moved back to michigan. one lived in california. her husband was in the navy long-term. they are in their 40's. they moved back to michigan. i had a niece who lived in the washington, d.c. area, and they moved back to michigan. the reason was because of the cost of living and a lot of

social reasons, or whatever. host: is that what you will talk about today? caller: yes, i will see how things are going. they don't live here. i am in northeast michigan and they are in southern michigan, in grand rapids and ann arbor. one is a nurse and one is a teacher. the teacher in virginia, in her husband did not have -- he has a really good job. she made -- i have a sister who is also getting ready to retire as a teacher -- she made one third of what my sister makes here as a teacher in manassas, virginia. their housing was twice as much. host: it sounds like economic issues is what you will discuss today. mary in michigan, democratic caller. thank you for the call. here are some headlines to share that may come up at the dinner table today. this is the front page of the

new york times. china releases three u.s. inmates. in exchange three have been released in a prisoner swap with beijing the biden administration said. one man was an fbi informant according to senior u.s. officials. here's the front page of the washington times this morning with two headlines. migrants scramble for havens before trump's inauguration. activists plead with biden to protect his legacy. dangerous threats target several trump appointees. the fbi investigating home swatting sand bomb claims.that made news yesterday around the country. that is the front pages of those two newspapers this morning. inside of the washington post there is this headline. president electro's pick -- president-elect's trump, critic of the coronavirus, will lead the nih. he wrote an open letter known as

the great barrington declaration, a critic of the covid response at nih. this in the papers this morning, the vaccine rates stall ahead of likely peak for covid, flu, and rsv. that is also in the washington post this morning. some related headlines. we will get headlines in this morning and continue to talk to you about your plans for this thanksgiving day. does it include talking politics? bernie, howard beach, democratic caller. caller: good morning to you. the answer to your question is, absolutely no. there will be no discussion of politics. we will be talking about silly things. we will enjoy ourselves and make it a very light. talk about the grandchildren,

inadequacies, make fun of ourselves, and just play. besides that, i would like to say that i believe the problem with the nature of politics in this country is the language. the language is atrocious. people have to get along to sit down and negotiate. you can't negotiate with someone who has called you will mo ran. you can't negotiate with someone making fun of you. get rid of that language. host: we need civility in order to talk about politics? caller: that has left this election. also, i am a democrat, but republicans are intelligent. they are not stupid. most people are average, as far as intelligence. some of them are not as well-informed as others. i'm 82.

i've seen a lot of garbage over my life. but i'm totally upset about the nature of the language we use. it is insulting to me and i would think the person who utters that type of language ultimately will think about it. it's not sleepy joe. his name is president biden -- host: bernie in new york calling for civility. on a lighter note, astronauts aboard the international space station recorded this thanksgiving message yesterday. [video clip] >> greetings from the international space station. our crew up here just wanted to say happy thanksgiving to our friends and family on earth and everyone supporting us. >> thanksgiving is typically a holiday where family and friends get together, sometimes that

can't happen to physically be around each other. but today's age, you can virtually tie into your family and friends. >> one of those big traditions is having a thanksgiving meal together. we will celebrate that tradition up here, although our meal may look a little different. we have a container of all of the things that we will enjoy on thanksgiving. it is a feast. we have brussels sprouts. butternut squash. apples and spice. smoked turkey. it will be delicious. >> it is true we have much to be thankful for. from a professional stance, there are not many places that

you can be where you can lay on the ceiling. we are thankful for zero gravity. it's fantastic. from a personal stance, our family, friends, those who are lifting up prayers for us and have been, we are grateful for that. we are grateful for our nation that is a spacefaring nation that lets us live free, let's say what is important to say and other things. so much to be thankful for. to be reminded of that and have a holiday that celebrates that, that is something to be thankful for as well. from all of us aboard the international space station, happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving. host: a thanksgiving message from the astronauts on the international space station. we are asking, do you plan to talk politics when you gather around the table later today? robert in oregon, a republican. will you talk politics? caller: good morning. i will be with my, one of my twin daughters who graduated in

cottage grove, oregon. it will be wonderful, a reunion. i don't have to insist, but sometimes you do, there will be no texting, no reading, there will be discussions. the country, unfortunately, has defaulted to texting and emails, virtual discussions, as opposed to the true exchange of ideas. that is a good place to start when it comes to any discussions. what has happened to the family? what happened to the original idea thanksgiving? i might read -- to my daughter. she knows it. those are good words to live by and they are timeless. that brings us together. we talk about anything. if politics comes up, we will

discuss what issues might exist, but it will be something that we genuinely feel rather than something we get from a secondary source. that is how we are going to do it. host: robert a republican in oregon. david. caller: good morning, greta. happy thanksgiving. host: same to you. caller: yes, we will be talking politics. i am 70 years old. i cut my political teeth on the vietnam war. i was very much listening to what the media was saying about the war. when i began to do research, i began to discover the colonial history behind what was happening in the whole world. we ourselves were born out of

the rebellion against colonialism. we must never forget the values that are in our declaration of independence. i will briefly state them. we hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal that they are endowed by the creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. we must never forget that. this was written at a time when our african-american brothers and sisters were called less than whole people. they weren't given their freedom. and women, obviously very intelligent, just as intelligent as men, were not allowed to vote from 1920. we have to realize that we set these ideals, we set the bar high, which is good. the reason that we fall short is not because our ideals are wrong, but because the hearts of men haven't changed. talking about human beings. we would do well to remember the words of jesus who said, you

can't serve two masters, god and money. when it comes to civility, i think that that's very important that we be civil with people who may not agree with us. civility starts at the top. we have to ask ourselves, if someone is calling, for example, just because i am anti-greed from wall street doesn't make me anti-american. i think it makes me pro-american because i'm trying to be an american who lives up the high ideals. the two streets and the american main street where the work gets done and wall street where the power is, that is the main problem. it's not an american problem, it's a human problem. each and every country deals with this, the greedy hearts of people that they have to -- host: understood. later on the washington journal we will talk with alexander heffner the host of bloomberg's breaking bread and pbs's open

mind. on his series breaking bread, he features conversations with politicians in an attempt to forge civil unity and civility. i want to show you one conversation that he had. here's a clip of him talking with a republican governor of wyoming about partisanship over steak and potatoes. [video clip] >> rodeo is a big deal here. is it like a baseball game where you can have a hot dog and chili? >> yeah, people will have a hot dog, hamburgers, drink a lot of beer. it is good entertainment. the person who runs the pro rodeo showed a metric that rodeo is the only sport that is growing. maybe just because shows on tv. cowboys and cowgirls, there is an ethic to them that is about humility, about being tough in difficult circumstances.

maybe something that america remembers. integrity. >> something you are not credited with, you go to state capitals and break bread with governors. specifically i'm interested in your insight as someone who is a financial expert. it must infuriate you when partisan labels get in the way of making a budget, so much so that we are at risk of default or actually default. >> it is very frustrating. malcolm was a senator from wyoming, a dear friend of families. cheney, when he was there, these were strong republicans. mike kinsey, one of our greatest senators, was dear friends with ted kennedy. in fact, they were trying to work on, how do we reform health care? it seems to me that there was time when republicans and

democrats could sit down and they could have their arguments, but then they would say that we have a job to do. instead of product it is posture. frustratingly, it feels like there are pieces of our political apparatus that believe the only way that i can win is if you lose. host: from breaking bread, alexander heffner, the host of that show from bloomberg, will join us later on the washington journal to talk about the political divide in this country. another clip from that series. here he is talking with senator mazie hirono from hawaii about working across the aisle. here is what she had to say. [video clip] >> your first bill as a u.s. senator involved reaching the heart, or attempting to reach into the heart of one of your colleagues. senator sessions. >> jeff sessions helped me get

my first bill through the senate. it was a bill that would help with the people of the philippines because they had had a huge hurricane. i wanted to have a bill that would enable people to send money to them and be able to get a tax break from it, even if it was the following year. i had to get it done pretty fast. i couldn't get the bill out of committee, to bring the bill out. all it takes is one republican to object. i saw jeff sessions coming to the floor and i thought that he was the designated objector. i went into the republican's room, which we regularly do to

make phone calls and things, but i suggest, i know you are here to object but i think this is important for us to do. to set a precedent for this. i asked why are the republicans objecting? he said, we don't like these kinds of bills. or something like that. it was pretty lame. he would come out and say, i object, and then go off. at least he is consistent. what was telling was, i literally touched his heart. jeff, i know there is something there. he said, maybe we can work something out. and we did. >> i was touched by that story and felt as though you made more frequent trips to the republican cloakroom, you would be warmly received. in time, and with the kind of commitment that you

demonstrated, do you think -- >> it is quite divisive. host: from the breaking bread series, alexander heffner talking with senator hirono over japanese food there. in an effort to have a conversation with politicians about civility and unity, that is with the series is about. we'll talk about on the washington journal. part of that conversation is with all of you. do you plan to talk politics? what is your strategy for talking politics on this thanksgiving day? monroe, connecticut, democratic caller. caller: we have two thanksgiving dinners, one today and one tomorrow. today, there will probably be too much talking about politics. it will be sports and may the godfather trilogy. tomorrow, we are all democrats.

my mother died on november 22 of this year and she was a lifelong democrat. she voted for fdr. she was 98 when she died. one of the problems -- republican presidents right before the depression raised the tariffs. that is what triggered in many people's minds the great depression. the more international trade there is the healthier the world economy is. we are all seeing that tomorrow but not so much today. host: i'm sorry to hear about your mom. when you think about her this thanksgiving day, what about our government would she be thankful for? caller: um, she would be

thankful for helping to kill the nazis. our father fought in world war ii and the japanese theater. the nazis she took personally. that is the reason her family moved here, because of anti-semitism in europe. she would be thankful for that. she would be thankful for america being on the right side. helping to defeat the nazis. host: happy thanksgiving to you and your family. vincent, in tulsa, oklahoma. caller: hello, greta. can i ask you a quick question? what happened to the moderator jesse? host: jesse? i know who you are talking about. he doesn't work here anymore. he was a guest host. caller: a guest.

here is my answer to the question. it could go either way. it could be a verbal argument going on. i've already discussed with a few people. we are having three thanksgivings, wednesday, thursday, and friday. it shouldn't be too bad. we have already discussed it. host: what did you discuss? do you have groundrules? caller: no. i voted for trump and they voted for kamala. host: you don't think that this will get in the way of your thanksgiving dinner? caller: no. host: leo in scottsdale, arizona, independent. leo in scottsdale, it is your turn. leo, mute that television, all right? i will move on to rhonda in pennsylvania, independent.

caller: yes. our whole family voted for trump this year. we will have one less at the dinner table because my daughter died of fentanyl. she had substance abuse during the trump administration. he made it easier for her to get treatments. when biden and them brought back the administration, he let more fentanyl in. they made it seem like it is ok to do drugs. now, our family won't have my daughter because of the biden administration. she died from substance abuse. when trump was there we were hopeful because she looked at it as a bad thing. we got her in treatment when trump was in. and trump gave us hope.

my son got a really good job when trump was in. we are very thankful that trump is here. our families did awful under the biden administration. my kids were having problems in school under the biden administration with the dei stuff and fights in school. trump is finally bringing hope to the world. we are thankful for jesus. trump is bringing everything back. host: rhonda in pennsylvania. i'm sorry to hear about your loss. understood. alfonso in virginia, independent caller. caller: how are you doing? good morning. i was amused when i saw the lady in the space shuttle with her hair flying. that is a wonderful hairdo, i wanted to say. that's all.

host: do you plan to talk politics today? caller: no, ma'am. i disagree with all that stuff. i can't do it. host: why not? caller: i am independent. host: so you don't talk politics? caller: i was between a rock and a hard place with trump and kamala harris. i don't believe in all that stuff. they get together like everyone is talking about. we don't need that tension. let's enjoy ourselves. i am having cornish hen for thanksgiving. i can't afford turkey. host: you might be interested in this piece in the new york times. a turkey for $95. why it is so costly. the turkeys at trowbridge farm in new york that they sell for thanksgiving, most way between 16 and 19 pounds costing five dollars per pound.

this is the new york times. the farm buys the turkeys from the hatchery as babies for $10 each. they spend their first five weeks keeping them warm and heating them up. electricity costs $60 each month. it costs 18-20 five dollars per week on the farm for bedding. there is a lot of work involved is the quote from the farmer. i'm not getting paid $15 to $20 an hour to do this. the cost per bird does not pay me minimum wage. what goes into the cost of your turkey? the new york times breaks it down this morning in the paper. kyle in clearwater, florida, democratic caller. happy thanksgiving. we are talking about politics. will it be discussed at the table? caller: happy thanksgiving to you. thank you for being here.

i think so. there's nothing wrong with a discussion of these things. it is how we talk about them. i would say, if we go back to the trump statement on thanksgiving where he accused half of the country of being fascist idiots, whatever, whatever he called it, and people think we are going to come together i think are being misled. people voted for the fight. let's accept the fight, but learn to fight better. that is the goal. host: is that what you will discuss at the thanksgiving table? how to do that? caller: limited audience that would be inflamed by it, but we certainly celebrate our neighbors who have different views, although we cannot bring it up, because it usually becomes escalated. another story.

we will enjoy thanksgiving. host: let's go to los angeles, democratic caller. hello. caller: how are you today? host: doing well. happy thanksgiving. caller: happy thanksgiving. yes, we will be discussing politics at the table. because it is imperative that we see the reason why donald trump won was white supremacy. it's more important to get brown people out of the country than to make their lives better. host: how do you know that that is the motivation of everyone who voted for president trump? caller: they have been manipulated. this is the -- it goes back to the beginning of this country.

the rich have always manipulated the poor, and stop black and brown people, and white people, from working together so that they can manipulate them. if we work together, it's more of us than the rich, so we would have an advantage. the rich are always working to keep the poor at odds with each other. host: we will leave it there. the washington times with a couple of pieces that you might be interested in. this on the border from the front page of the newspaper. inside to the jump page, they write, mr. trump has been less overt about his plan for daca, the deferred action for childhood arrivals, protecting immigrants who came to the country as children, pursued

education, and kept a relatively clean record. he tried to phase out daca, but then another point proposed rights to fund his border wall and change the legal immigration process. the washington times this morning is taking a look at the current president-elect's plans on border and immigration policy. this from the washington times politics session this morning, mexico says the president-elect's tariff plan would kill 400,000 jobs in the united states. washington times if you want to read more. george in georgia, democratic caller. will you talk politics today? caller: good morning. yes, we will be talking politics and religion before the table, at the table, watching the games. for those who prayed that trump would become president, i pray that god would open their eyes,

hearts, and minds to the truth about trump. unfortunately god answered both of our prayers. in order for them to realize trump or who he is he has to be president again and show us. host: democratic caller in georgia. paul in terry bill, connecticut, independent. caller: why would i want to talk politics with my best friends and neighbors when i have c-span? [laughter] host: true. you can get it all out now before you go to the dinner table. caller: i am still left over from yesterday's question. no to loyalty tests. no to leaders who sympathize with sex abusers. leadership starts at the top. however, our politics are local. most are. if you had someone polluting

your river outside of your door and you are sitting down for thanksgiving dinner, like the pilgrims, and your health is going to be, and your safety, is going to be compromised, is that politics or pure survival? linguistics are terrible thing, because it makes us think, i think that the question makes us think we shouldn't be talking about issues like the war machine, the audit control militaristic opinions that come into our local community center replicated. vigilantism is alive and well. if we don't stand up to it, it doesn't matter if you're sitting down for dinner or standing and eating on the run or not having food at all to eat, is that a political issue or a survival issue?

host: paul's thoughts in connecticut. eric in washington, d.c., democratic caller. caller: young lady, i want to say, do you remember when john mccain told the elderly lady at the town hall, no, ma'am, that's not true? you could have said that to the lady who kept blaming her daughter's addiction on the biden administration. your addiction is your addiction and it's not right for you to let the lady dowhen people got t it because they didn't follow the rules. i don't think that is right. we have to speak the truth. host: will you speak the truth today at the dinner table? caller: my family, we are all supporters of harris. we will just see what happens. all you could do is go out and

vote and do what you feel is right. host: is it too early to talk 2028 at the table today? caller: no, we have to see what happens with the four years coming down the pipe. once you make your bed to you have to lay in it. we chose to go the route of our country to go with donald trump. we have to see how it plays out. so many people work in these industries that there's no way that we will survive. host: i'm going to leave it at that point. we will take a short break on this thanksgiving morning. we will stay on the theme of bridging the political divide with our next two guest. a conversation with the executive director of george

mason's university center with work on pluralism. we will show the documentary we told you about. later alexander heffner discusses his program, breaking bread with civility among politicians one meal at a time. we will be right back. ♪ >> according to brown university professor, the following presidents in history threatened democracy. here are his words from the introduction from the presidents and the people. >> john adams waged war on the national press, prosecuting 126. james buchanan colluded with the supreme court to deny

constitutional prison could to african-americans. woodrow wilson nationalized jim crow by segregating the federal government. richard nixon committed criminal acts during the watergate break-in. he teaches law at his providence based rhode island brown university. >> the book "the presidents and the people" on this episode of book notes plus. book notes plus is available on the c-span now free mobile 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's studentcam documentary contest is here. your chance to create a documentary that could inspire

change, raise awareness, and make an impact. it should answer this year's question, your question to the president, what issue is most important to you or your community? studentcam is your platform to share your message with the world. with $100,000 in prizes including a grand prize of $5,000. this is your opportunity to make an impact and be rewarded for your creativity and hard work. enter your submission today. scan the code or go to studentcam.org. the deadline is january 20, 2025. "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." we are talking about the political divide and how to bridget. joining us this morning is ben

klutsey, you are the producer of a documentary, "undivided us." guest: thanks for having me. it is a documentary that is a collaborative effort actually. the filmmaker, at the state policy network. it is better to talk about this idea -- we talked about this idea about a year and a half ago when i was working at the mercatus center. it challenges the narratives around ways in which people talk about our levels of polarization in the country. we got connected to krista kendall, a filmmaker, she said

this would look like the kind of thing that we should maybe test out. how truly divided our americans? we set out to go across the country. we go to pittsburgh, atlanta, phoenix. we see if we could talk about the most difficult issues of our time. whether it is education, abortion, what have you. it was a fascinating discovery. at the mercatus center iran the civil exchange. the goal is to explore how could you live together among these differences? it was really an effort to explore that question more and more. host: let's show our viewers who may have missed it, the trailer to this documentary. >> for the left and its minions in media. >> just how that is the gop? >> you call there's two americas

that are divided. >> how do civil wars get started? how close is the united states? >> they put forth this story about america that we are on the edge of civil war, the dangers that we might start to do that. >> perhaps if we created the opportunity for folks to come together and talk about controversial issues. >> regular people from all kinds of different lives, get them talking about hard stuff, is that doable? >> i think we should try. >> we have a remarkable opportunity to create something special that nobody has ever done before. we will pick an issue, we know there are dozens of controversial issues and we will find people leaning one direction and folks leaning the other direction. >> democrat. >> independent.

>> moderate republican. >> i'm liberal. >> does the average person feel that anger all the time or is it the means to profit from anger and division? are they the problem. we will bring in real people and ask about tough issues. you will be at the table with them. >> if we don't get regular citizens talking again and doing it respectfully. it seems like there is a lot at stake if we don't figure it out. >> we will jump in together. host: a new documentary starring ben kutsey, he is here to take your questions and comments about political divide. mr. klutsey, how divided our americans? guest: that is a very interesting question.

when political scientists talk about polarization or something divided, i think they are different categories. the ideological distance between the two parties and sometimes whether it is pro-life or pro-choice, pro-second amendment or not. over the past couple of decades most of the data shows they have not differed that much on these. we have moved a little bit closer on these issues on things like the second amendment and climate change. what has really changed is how we feel about each other. it is no longer you hold those views and i disagree with them and we could still move along and get along.

your views are dangerous, the level of extremism, we get into this very difficult that you might be a threat or enemy. that is where the difficulty is. across the board, polarization is affecting how we engage in do things together. especially how much we trust each other. the united states is seeing the deepest decline in social trust. that is a very difficult place to be. host: did you seek out to try to bridge this divide? what did you find out? guest: when we walk into these conversations, we say to them that we are not trying to change

people's minds. we are trying to understand where americans are across the board on issues. it was really interesting to discover people from very different backgrounds with strong opinions come into these conversations with a little bit of fear about what they might get into. after about two hours of talking , folks don't want to leave. they are excited and still engaged, people are yearning for these types of conversations. i was really thrilled. host: when we watch that trailer, you heard anderson cooper ask are we close to a civil war in this country? how would you answer that? guest: i would say some experts

say the levels of polarization are close to where we were during the wars in the country, that is not the case i see americans, most americans who want to engage and connect with other americans. definitely there are some who have strong views, we don't want to be in the same room, it is not the majority of americans. i'm hopeful. host: what is at stake if we cannot come together? guest: i think about so many

important decisions for us to make. so many policy questions to address. if we cannot come together, it makes it difficult for us to solve problems. the next generation and generations after that. we have to try. host: are you talking about the big policy debates in this country? guest: that's right. there are national issues, local issues. sometimes we get too consumed with national issues. there are so many important issues and questions at the local level that we could all get involved with and engage and participate. host: let's get our viewers involved. let's go to karen in alabama. caller: good morning, happy thanksgiving. i have to say i disagree with everything you said in the last 15 minutes while i was on hold.

what i wanted to point out, i don't think it is a divide of the american people, it is, what is dividing us is what the political and local elites are telling us. if the american people would realize that if we come together , we are the ones that are supposed to be running this country and tell representatives, here's what we want you to do, i think it would be a lot better. as a republican, i voted for trump. we have been called everything you could think of. president trump was a racist, etc. i think if people would just understand he's an outsider, he's not part of that group and he will come in and fix america, that is my belief. if we just give him a chance at the end of all this, he will help the american people. he has a family too.

he has a stake in all of this. host: you talked about the political and global elites in washington, d.c. mr. klutsey. guest: i don't disagree with you on that first point, the way in which the politicians are fostering division across the border. not just politicians but in elite circles, in journalism, there's a lot of polarization there as well. when you talk about americans, the challenge you see is we are overestimating how extreme we are because of how we are getting information and what we are seeing with the political class. we see the fights they have in congress. we see the fights they have on our tv screens. we all have this.

i completely understand that. when regular americans come together and we have real conversations, we realize you have a lot more in common. host: what role did misinformation or disinformation play in the comments that you had in the documentary? guest: it plays a big role. people go to different places. the different places and channels that we came into, they highlight different things. often times when people refer to issues in those places, they are talking past each other. that becomes a big challenge. that was the case on the topic of education. that came up a lot.

depending on where you get your information, it definitely plays a role on information ecosystem affecting how we see the world, how we see each other. host: how was it addressed in the conversations that you had? guest: we took a step back and tried to explore what people experience themselves. a teacher will talk about what they are experiencing in the classroom. someone else will talk about what their friends are saying or their kids are experiencing. i think it is difficult to fact check every single platform that someone cites. the goal was to really have the conversation and listen to one another. we go through our game. that always provides a good

framework for having robust conversation. host: andrew in texas, democratic caller, welcome to the conversation. caller: good morning. thanks for having me and happy thanksgiving to you both. i called to just share a little experience and make a couple of comments. i live here in texas. my story is democrat in the houston area. texas is a deep red, republican state. i have been a democratic voters since the george w. bush days. he lived here in texas and texas people were very proud of him. i have kind of been entrenched sort of my whole life. one of the things i have done to cope with the political divide is to find things in common with people other than politics.

whatever that might be. one of the things we have drifted into as a nation is not just political divide but cultural divide based on politics. if you are a conservative and you like xyz, if you are liberal you like xyz. one of the things you mentioned earlier were people were so much more dynamic than that and we have to look past that and see each individual person. american individualism is a huge deal to us. i think we have to not let folks divide us and we have to find some way to come together. if that means moving past politics and getting to policy. host: politics versus policy, what makes that differentiation? guest: that is a really good

point. we are seeing divisions on a political line, if you take marriage for instance, we have seen a 50% decline in cross party marriages. higher than interfaith, interrelation, anything else. the politics is becoming a more magnified identity for a lot of people, increasingly so. the more you get into the issues , not only on the national level but a local level, you begin to realize that there are a lot of things that we share in common. we have solutions that might

work for all of us. we also have to learn things beyond politics and policy. one of the things we could do is foster more friendships. that politics are not important in that circumstance whether it is a volunteering activity or something like that sport. it is important for us as citizens to get together and do things to learn more about each other. host: we will go to ohio, jack is watching us on our line for republican. caller: happy to both of you guys. i just wanted to ask this. i'm a foundational black american. host: we are listening to you, go ahead, don't listen to your television.

caller: i'm a foundational black american. did he go talk to black chicago? all of those foundational black americans. did he go to new york city and find out what is going on with the foundational black americans there? this is a black alpha network. i wanted to ask him, we are tired of people looking like him not coming and asking the real questions. host: what are the real questions? caller: the real questions is he should have been talking to all of these black mayors that have been shutting foundational black americans out all over this country. these politicians, they are the ones dividing us. they are not doing right by us. we want to be treated the way we

need to be treated. we have people like this black man. host: hold on, you don't know that. let's give him a chance to respond to you. mr. klutsey. guest: i did not go to chicago. we went to atlanta, phoenix, a number of other places. i just got back from milwaukee. speaking to people of all racial groups and black -- backgrounds. makes it a good point about fostering divisions. there's plenty of blame to go around. we get to a place where we could foster more across differences. we have an opportunity to engage with each other. it is an important tradition

where americans come together. it is a real opportunity to talk about things that we care deeply about. it doesn't have to be about politics. we could do that respectfully. host: alex in brooklyn, democratic caller. caller: good morning, happy thanksgiving. thank you for taking my call. i don't know where to begin. if we talk about the last caller and his frustrations. i hear people talk about how we should find civility. talking about if we go high, they go low. the reality is this is where we are. going down to the base level of what people really are.

people are just transactional. i think this is the reality. people don't care, people in this country do not care about what democracy actually is. we have ultra society. what i care about is how cheap i eggs are. i don't really care about my privacy. people give up their privacy with tiktok, facebook, online banking. people just don't care. host: would you say after having these conversations across the country that this is who we are? that was his quote, we are transactional. we care about democracy. guest: i think it is a big

country of 330 million people. people care about a lot of different things. they are voting for different combinations of things that we don't always know. that is why having important conversations with people is helpful, we could learn more from each other. it is hard to say. he makes a good point about to what extent do we care about engaging in a political process? when you look at primary elections, maybe about 20% of americans participate in primaries. we could encourage more people to participate in primaries to go for more options across the

board. it separate from saying americans do not care at all. i think people care, we care about different things and prioritize different things. especially at the national level , we only have two options. in many ways, they end up putting all of their chips in one or two options. host: those are for people gearing up for conversations that will happen later today about politics around the thanksgiving table or are dreading them. what is your advice? guest: i would say enjoy each other. enjoy family, friends, thanksgiving is american tradition that brings people together.

have fun with friends and family. if you talk about politics or anything controversial, here are three principles i think will be helpful. the first is respect. we are dignified equals. we have to engage each other with respect. the second is authenticity. we can't pretend to be something we are not. we all have strong views and opinions. we should be able to share those and do that respectively. finally, curiosity. we want to treat each other as we have interesting mysteries to uncover. ask fundamental questions. not in a combative way but in ways that foster curiosity and allow us to learn about each other. engage with respect, authenticity, with curiosity. that i believe will help foster

the conversation. host: john in lake geneva, wisconsin, independent. john in lake geneva, wisconsin, you are on the air. caller: thank you and happy thanksgiving to the both of you. living in wisconsin and being a hunter, it is that time of season where we partake in our annual deer hunting season in the northern part of the state. i'm in the southern part right now. i hunt with people who have differing political views than i have. when i walked into our place where we meet every day and spend our days breaking bread, there is a sign posted on the door saying this is a political free zone, there will be no discussion about politics. thank you for your respectful understanding.

i spent four days and i will spend more time after thanksgiving in that atmosphere. just discussing things that are not political. that's what i think. i don't think the country is near a civil war. i think the biggest thing bridging a political divide is doing something about the media on both sides. i consider myself a right-leaning independent. the people that put that notice on the door i think are to the left than i am. we could get together and discuss things without politics coming up. when i go to thanksgiving dinner today, my brother will say enough and it just will not be discussed, we will talk about football, my hunting experiences, the animals i saw and did not see. host: when you say it is the media on both sides, what are

you talking about? caller: on msnbc and cnn, trump is a nazi. i made deplorable uneducated because i voted for trump. on the opposite side, the fox news side and that, they overplayed their hand a little bit on both sides. the thing with the people around here, i am so against that, marching down with their flags. i'm a free-market capitalist person who paid off my house and i'm living the american dream. i did not overspend. i want the government to cut money. host: is that your driving force behind voting for republicans

and president-elect trump? caller: i believe it was. i retired early. i was counting on a 2% annual increase in inflation. three weeks after joe biden got elected, prices started going up, illegal migrants started coming towards the country. i think things just fell apart. host: he says it's the media on both sides. guest: he makes a very good point. increasingly, americans are tracking news and following the media less and less. they feel like there is so much negativity and it is not objective anymore. it is just disheartening for them. he made a really good point

earlier on about what he does with folks where it is not talked about. going hunting with friends, you could do anything. bowling, whatever it is, volunteering to teach kids how to read. anything that allows you to share the experience with other citizens has nothing to do with politics or the policies. it is always useful. we get to learn a lot more about each other that way rather than learning about each other on the news. host: daytona beach, florida, cheryl is a republican, good morning to you.

caller: thanks for taking my call. it is always misinformation one way. that aside, life is about a heck of a lot more than politics. i'm really disappointed in c-span once again. you could've taken today to spend the entire time talking about the thousands of volunteers spending their day, their time, and their money, all of those poor people suffering in the freezing cold from these horrible hurricanes, there are thousands of people who have literally nothing, they could care less about politics. a warm meal and a warm shelter. thousands of people have gone above and beyond that.

the thousands of nameless, faceless volunteers that get up and help their neighbors. that's what c-span should have spent the day celebrating, those people. thanks for the time and have a happy thanksgiving. i'm thankful for all of those people who give and get out of their own house. host: thank you for the feedback. john in florida, hi john. caller: my first time. i think that what we need to focus on is as a democracy, you have your history.

what happened is we haven't learned our history. it originated with united. host: i miss that last part, what united us? caller: the independent would have this responsibility. what happened is the indians knew about this. that is why they were embracing us. it was about being with the native indians, we reciprocate.

they don't know, they brought most of the food. the other thing too is franklin was inspired by the iroquois indians and they treated him and that's what inspired franklin to unite by bringing the colonies together. guest: he says history needs to inform our future, what would you say on that? it's a good point. we need to understand our history, the good, the bad, the ugly. i think when we remember certain things, we learn to not repeat

the bad stuff. i agree with that. i also think we have to figure out how to move past some of our difficulties when it comes to thanksgiving. when we are having our dinners and our conversations while we reflect on the past. we have to talk about how we could increase our bonds of friendship. i think that is really important . host: our guest this morning, ben klutsey, executive director at george mason university's mercatus center. a producer and star of a new documentary, "undivide us." our guest this morning is taking

your questions and comments. what surprised you given all the work you have done in this area with this documentary? guest: the thing that surprised me the most was the extent to which americans are yearning for this experience, to talk to people from different backgrounds and perspectives. it's almost as if they had a cathartic experience. not just with folks across the country, but with students as well, we have a lot of conversations with students. the same experience where they linger. their twitter handles, instagram , so they could continue having a conversation. they connect with one another after these conversations are done. there is so much hunger in the

country for those types of engagements. i would definitely encourage people to do this, to talk to people who are from different backgrounds and perspectives. you learn a lot. host: what will people learn about how to talk to one another from this documentary? guest: one important process or format is reflective listening. often times to counter what someone says. we could listen to understand what someone else is saying. that always makes for a productive conversation. one thing we do is have one person reflect on how someone might come to a different conclusion. they might ask why do you think

ben loves dogs? you will try to get in my head a little bit and appreciate how a dog lover loves dogs. the same questions, why do you think greta loves cats? we tried to put ourselves in each other's shoes. we could do this beyond these settings. you could say to someone, am i hearing you correctly that you are pro-choice because of xyz, so they understood what you are saying. you actually understand, you see how they are connecting the dots. caller: liam in fort lauderdale, florida. caller: happy thanksgiving to

you both. there's a lot of this in the way we are raised, and our institutions, i was told as a child that you don't know a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. i have found that when i traveled around the country, around that time there was a movie that came out, at the end of it, my hair was always down past my shoulders, all my friends were very worried about me. they said he will get killed, people are horrible down south. they will kill you. i said they are just people. i traveled all over. i say excuse me, i would like to rent some space in your barn for a night or so.

they always invited me into the house because i treated them with respect. we were different in some ways. people were too quick to be so sure they are right. you think everything is going well. you don't know what is going on. if you are so sure that you know what is going on, i think you should examine what you are doing and go maybe i didn't see it all. we taught that more in school. how you do things is just as important as what you do. winning is nice. it is not the only thing. the only thing is people and the relationships you make with them. the thing that brings the most

joy is relationships with other people. if people try to realize that even though you disagree with us , there are real reasons and this is why they believe in that. i will take my answer offline and i hope you have a great day surrounded by those who love you. guest: great points. honestly, where you sit is where you stand. they are shaped by our experiences. that is something we should recognize as we are talking to people and engaging in conversation. focusing on relationships, you

could talk about politics if you want to. it is a rare opportunity to come together as family with relatives and what have you. those moments together, doing the things that you cherish together. if politics comes up, by all means, the respect, authenticity, and curiosity. host: also signed the "undivide us" pledge for respect. guest: it's on the website. you could find the pledge right there. you pledge to be respectful in conversations with others. host: thank you so much for the conversation on this thanksgiving day. you coming on to talk to our viewers.

when we come back we will come back to the question we had for you earlier, do you plan to have politics at the -- talk politics at the thanksgiving day table? coming up, alexander heffner talks about his program, breaking bread. >> sunday on " q and a" the author of surviving my two lives talks about surviving nazi germany. taking steps to conserve his identity and the day's jewish mother was arrested. >> where my mother lived, we lived.

i saw them in front of the building. my brother and i decided that rather than going in, we waited on the corner and we decided to ask our mother as to why these cars were there and what the gestapo was doing. we would go home and ask our mother. after a while, all of a sudden, it was my mother. it was one of the gestapo cars. >> jack werful with his book "my two lives." you could watch on our free c-span now app.

are you a nonfiction book lover looking for a new podcast? this holiday season, listen to one of the many podcasts c-span has to offer. you could listen to interesting interviews with people and authors writing books on history and subjects that matter. conversations with nonfiction authors and historians. bring together best-selling nonfiction authors with influential interviewers. we talk about the business of books with interviews about the publishing industry and nonfiction authors. find all of our podcasts by finding the free c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> "washington journal" continues. host: happy thanksgiving as we continue on this thanksgiving day.

we wonder if you will dish up politics at the thanksgiving dinner table today. if you are, tell us how you will manage that conversation and if you don't want to talk politics, tell us why. phone numbers are on your screen, you could start dialing in. pure research did a poll, they ask us, besides eating, what do you plan to do on thanksgiving this year? the biggest answer, the largest answer says they will watch sports. another 35 percent said they will talk about work, school. politics came in third, 26% said they plan to talk about the recent presidential election. if that includes you, collin this morning and tell us what you plan to talk about with your family. i want to show you from earlier this week, president biden

pardoned two turkeys ahead of the thanksgiving celebration. this is an annual ceremony. he is from the south lawn. president biden: the two turkeys are named after the delaware state flower. delaware has a long history of growing peaches. the peach pie in our state is one of my favorite. peach blossom flower symbolizes resilience, quite frankly it is fitting for today. this white house tradition began when turkey was presented to president truman. the president began pardoning turkeys. the last four years i've had the honor to continue that tradition by pardoning peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and chips, liberty and bell, today peach and blossom will join the free birds of the united states of america. [applause]

born at the valley farm, raised -- i hear you. [laughter] peach wants to speak a little bit here. raised by the family that neighborhood children that help the turkey get ready for this moment. according to experts, peach weighs 41 pounds. loves to eat hot dishes and tater tots. host: president biden from the white house earlier this week. by the way, this annual tradition could be found on our website if you go to c-span.org, click on the box at the top where it says thanksgiving to read more about the turkey pardoning tradition and see videos of pardons throughout the years and many bad presidential puns. bobby and missouri, democratic

caller, will you talk politics today? caller: we usually talk about everything. we never get into fights about politics. host: how do you manage that? caller: i have lived through five democratic presidents and five republican presidents. whoever wins is your president. through the years we haven't had any problems. host: what you discuss about the next administration and the policies that you are expecting? which ones? caller: well -- most people work every day and they are not

concerned about all of the issues other than making enough to take care of their families. host: ron, california, republican. caller: happy thanksgiving greta and the whole c-span team. you do a tremendous job through the whole year, thanks so much about what you do. i want to first of all say that i'm an outlier republican. i'm a reagan republican. when i say these things i hope everybody understands that the message is supposed to be there. congratulations to those that voted for president trump.

you now have four years to figure out what you did right or wrong. the thing about this election that is interesting is there are issues coming up that have nothing to do with name-calling, labeling, anything else. they have to do with the real world. one of the things we have to worry about is ai taking over on january 1. that is just one thing. cryptocurrency, they know within the last 12 months, it has gone from $21,000 to 110 thousand dollars. that's why you see elon musk jumping up and down.

we may be going away from american currency. the third thing is what impacts the trump administration will have on our whole society. who knows, maybe it will all come out fine. we have an immigrant issue. when they do that, they have problems. it goes onward from there. if you think about these issues, they have nothing to do with being a republican or democrat. even an eight day clock that is broken is right twice a day.

they are putting the clown in charge of fema or someone, i have no idea what they will do. that is an in your face thing, a bothersome issue. i am hopeful for the next four years. host: ron, washington times says that sukkot tariff plan would kill 400,000 jobs in the united states. it could hurt foreign countries by making products more expensive and harder to sell. foreign countries don't pay the tariff directly to the united states treasury. companies pay the levees and decide whether to pass along in the form of higher prices. he needs to compel policy outcomes before he is inaugurated.

michigan, independent, good morning to you. are you talking politics today during thanksgiving? caller: happy thanksgiving. as a proud veteran and foundational black american, i didn't appreciate you cutting off the fba caller earlier. his point was the dominant society like yourself has figured out they could get immigrants to speak for fba. they do not speak for us. as far as talking politics today , politics,, i will still -- steered towards three issues, tax reparations for foundational black americans, anti-black crime bill, lastly stopping and deporting the harris-biden illegals. it is genocide for the fba

community, thank you for taking my call. we will go to fort wayne, indiana, your turn. caller: good morning, thank you. in our house, we talk more about history of things. for example, the republican party was created in 1854 as the anti-slavery party. the first 23 black representatives were all republicans. 21 in the house, two in the senate. the first black democrat was not voted in until 1934. also, our family was doing research and we found out that the 13th amendment was about slavery was supported 100% by republicans and 23% by democrats.

the 14th amendment, which gave citizenship to freed slaves was supported 94% by republicans and 0% by democrats. the 15th amendment, the right to vote for all was voted on 100% by republicans and 0% by the democrats. the democrats were the ones who created the jim crow laws, kkk and planned parenthood, which were done to exterminate the blacks. this is history. these are things i wish some of your minority callers would understand. the republicans are not against the minorities. the republicans were the ones that gave you the abolished

slavery, gave you the right to vote, and citizenship for the freed slaves. host: all right, charlotte there in indiana talking about history. that is what she plans to talk about at the thanksgiving table. gary in minnesota, independent. caller: good morning everybody, i wanted to say hello to all of the veterans and all of the ones fighting and overseas. happy thanksgiving. we will talk a little bit about how the voting came out and stuff. i would like to say that i hope that trump does ok. i am independent and i am more for common sense like when biden was letting all of these people -- because they are terribly wrong. not only so many can come in every year because there that not -- there are not that many people who need. -- jobs but we do not me millions coming in at one time. and tell everyone happy

thanksgiving. thank you very much. host: we are grateful for that. for you and others who watch c-span every day, including washington journal and those i call in. even that you do -- even if you do not, we appreciate that you watch and are grateful for your support. coming up alexander sefton or -- alexander heffner will be with us. he will continue this conversation that we are having with all of you about the political divide from his show " breaking bread," i want to show you a conversation about national security with a republican senator of kansas. they were talking over chili and milkshakes. [video clip] >> we live at a time where they are simultaneous geopolitical crises and you have appropriated moneys for the military, defense and also sit on the intelligence committee. from a domestic security

perspective, are you concerned that we are more vulnerable now than we were at any point since 9/11? as americans, laypeople or -- laypeople, if i were to read the things you have access to, would i be freaking out? >> the national security is at risk and the future of our country and what are children and grandchildren will experience are determined by decisions today. it has been a long time in which the forces against us are so well allied. russia, iran, terrorism, and china. one of the arguments that i make to my colleagues and one of the suggestions that i offered to constituents is that maybe this is the time to set aside some of those differences that we fight about and work together because our nation is in jeopardy from a national security perspective. the world is a challenging place. those reports, if you could read them, just like they would me,

would keep you awake worrying about what we could face. >> doesn't make you feel like we are in 1940? >> it we have been a superpower for a long time and pray while we were the only superpower, particularly after the demise of the soviet union. we discovered they were not as super as thought. china is they have a -- is what they call a near peer, which means they are close and they are devoting more resources to their national security or maybe it is there to -- to their ability to change the world and we are to defending ourselves or to protect the world order, by which i mean freedom, liberty, and democracy. [end video clip] host: from the series "breaking bread" which is about politicians and the ability to forge unity. you agree that when it comes to national security or should that

be the motivating issue that brings us together or that unites us because of the threats that we face from countries like china? mike in winston-salem, north carolina. independent. hello. you have got to meet that television, ok. caller: let me do that right now. host: and then go ahead with your comments. caller: well, first and foremost i would like to say happy thanksgiving to america. i am an avid c-span follower and i love this platform. what i would like to say, i do not plan to bring up politics during this holiday season and at dinner. what i plan to do is what i do in the course of my life. i am a vietnam veteran and a black man. and in my business idea with all types of people because i am in the car industry. what i try to do is when i talk

to people i try to sit down and say if you could have enough patients to sit down and talk to people long enough you will find out that you have more in common than differences. i think that is what americans are trying to do, to sit down and talk to people regardless of the color, history and whether you are a democrat, republican or independent. and then you'll find out you have more in common than differences. the main thing i will express to my family, regardless of who is in power or the president, i am a god-fearing man and i believe that i will teach my children to pray for that person and our leaders and for the entire world that the decisions will be made for the common good of all men. i would like to say happy thanksgiving america. host: baltimore, republican. your turn. caller: good morning and happy thanksgiving. thank you for taking my call.

the main thing i will talk about alan the debilitating -- around the dinner table is basically apec, basically trackapec.com. this is going to set the whole world on fire on behalf of israel. host: what evidence do you have of that? why do you believe that? why is that your opinion? caller: this group of people from israel basically have hijacked every country and governments and are against america. host: what evidence do you have? caller: trackapac.com. benjamin netanyahu had an interview and it was recorded and he said that america is a golden calf that we will use up and sell it off until there is nothing left. he's by piece. -- piece by piece.

and this is what we do to countries that we hate, we destroy them slowly. this is benjamin netanyahu's words himself. israel was responsible for 9/11. host: we are going to leave it there. that is his opinion. mike in bethesda, maryland. democratic caller. caller: great show. apologies for miss dialing. i am really an independent patrician capitalist pgi. flat -- pig. i had to correct the record of the i declare republican woman who went on and on about the racially magnanimous republicans of the 19th century. it is ridiculous. those republicans are you know they morphed into democrats and the democrats of yesteryear of the 19th century are the

republicans today. so, they just switched parties. look up the southern strategy under nixon, ok? there was nothing magnanimous about the white southerners back in the 19th century. they hated the idea of blacks getting the right to vote and etc. and the rights for freedom. you know, let the record stand corrected. host: will you talk about politics today? caller: absolutely. how can you have thanksgiving if not talking about meaningful stuff. can i just say this? i just pity the working class and the working -- in the lower class magical thinkers and they are screwed. host: you said that you have to talk about important things on thanksgiving. what will you talk about? caller: how to invest our money under the trump administration,

you know do we go commodities, can we take advantage of the pending or impending inflation coming our way by having so money ridiculous tariffs. and the other record that needs correcting is do not they understand how tariffs work? americans pay tariffs? only americans pay tariffs. and that gets passed off to the peasantry who buy products and services that are manufactured abroad and brought to america. host: going on to martin, chicago. independent. good morning. caller: happy thanksgiving. host: same to you. caller: i'm going to talk about history too. as that lady said the democrats were the party of slavery. what was the ideology back then? it was conservativism which is why it took place in the south.

republicans love to claim that abraham lincoln was a republican, what was his ideology, he was a liberal. host: you will talk about this at the thanksgiving table? caller: do not cut me off will i am trying to make a point. liberal is concerned with individual rights which is why abraham was a liberal. so, do not try to claim him as a conservative. i will be talking about that with my family because they watch opinionated new shows instead of c-span. host: appreciate that. michael, frederick, maryland. democratic caller. caller: how are you doing? host: good morning. caller: we talked about politics every day. i believe that is why we have so many misinformed and ignorant people in the country because they do not talk about meaningful politics. i mean that to say that politics that actually affects your day-to-day life.

host: so, give us some specific examples, what will you talk about today? caller: we will talk about local politics. as far as the legislation being passed that will affect or will not affect your life as well as national politics. what the impending administration as well as the feckless house of representatives republicans that will have the majority, slim majority again and will do nothing for two more years which will affect a lot of people because when you have an administration as ineffective, unfocused, ill-equipped, unqualified as this administration is going to be, you need leverage that will halfway protect as did the what

was the 118th? with nancy pelosi in charge the last time that the assclown trump wasn't, -- was in office? host: 117. this one is the 118. caller: you had covid exasperated by the ineffectiveness which i find so amazing that people just let that two years by and did not punish the republicans. i believe politics is important. host: we want to get some other voices in. 119th congress convenes in january and the republicans have a majority in the house and senate. and president-elect trump at the white house. from the international space station yesterday the astronauts aboard had a thanksgiving message for americans. [video clip] >> greetings from the international space station.

the crew just wanted to say happy thanksgiving to all of our friends and family down on earth and everyone supporting us. >> thanksgiving is typically a holiday where family and friends get together, sometimes i cannot happen to physically be around each other, but today's age you can virtually tie into your family and friends. >> and one of those big traditions is having a thanksgiving meal together and so we are gonna to celebrate that tradition appear. although the meal might look a little bit different. if you would hold the mic. so we have a container of all the things we are going to enjoy on thanksgiving. it is a feast. let me see. we have -- brussels sprouts. butternut squash. apples and spies. >> turkey. >> smoked turkey.

it is going to be delicious. >> it is true that we have much to be thankful for. on a professional stance there are not many places that you can be that you can lay on the ceiling and this is one of them. we are thankful for zero gravity. it is fantastic. our family and friends and those who have prayers for us, we are grateful for that and for a nation that is a spacefaring nation that lets us live free and say what is important to say and so many other things. so much to be thankful for it to be reminded of that and to have a holiday that celebrates that. that is something to be thankful for. from all of us -- >> happy thanksgiving. [end video clip] host: a thanksgiving message from the astronauts aboard the international space station. we will take a break and we will come back and continue the

conversation about the political divide in the country and we will talk with alexander heffner and his program breaking bread that tries to promote stability one meal at a time. ♪ >> american history tv saturdays on c-span2, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. this weekend at 2:00 p.m. eastern, conversations with veterans and historians on world war ii. here from the merchant marines, the last row be the river earlier, the buffalo soldiers of the vietnam war -- the korean war. actor dennis quaid portrays ronald reagan in the film " reagan" and headlines a discussion about the movie. the story is told through the eyes of a kgb agent and is based on the soviet union's real-life

surveillance of ronald reagan. it features several clips from the film. exploring the american story, watch american history tv saturdays on c-span2, and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online any time at c-span.org/history. >> c-span now is a free mobile app fee -- featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with the biggest events of live streams of floor proceedings and hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, court, campaigns and more for the world of politics. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and find scheduling information for the tv networks and c-span radio plus a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play, and scan the qr code to download it

for free or visit c-span.org/c-spannow. c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> sunday on q&a, the author of "my two lives" talks about surviving nazi germany as a half jewish member of the hitler youth, the steps taken to conceal his identity and the day his mother was arrested. >> as we got out from the subway which was right around the corner from where my mother lived and where we lived with my mother, i saw all kinds of gestapo and ss cars in front of the building. this was a large building and there were many families in there. and my brother and i decided that rather than going in and going in there with all of these

ss and gestapo people, we waited on the corner and watched it from there. and we decided to ask our mother as to why these cars were there and what the gestapo was doing once they left. well, after a mother -- after a while it -- while all of a sudden it was my mother bringing -- being brought out of the building important to one of the cars. and they took her away. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. you can listen to all of the podcasts on our free c-span now app. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. joining us is alexander heffner, the host of "breaking bread" on open mind here to talk about bridging the political divide.

describe the goal, what is the goal of this series. guest: the goal has been to incentivize civil discourse and, more pragmatic thinking about how we can achieve a functional democracy. about two years ago he started having meals with elected governors and senators across the country from the plane states, dakotas, kansas and oklahoma to alaska and hawaii and major urban centers in new jersey and north carolina. so 22 plus episodes later of " breaking bread" we have endeavored to forge consensus in talking about issues in a humanizing way and in a way that incentivizes elected officials to forge consensus and compromise in the deliberative

process of our democracy. in short, there are not so many media channels that want to promote how to be effective in governing across the aisle and we try to do that. host: how are you forging consensus? are you encouraging the politicians to do so and if so how do you do that? guest: it starts with being introspective and reflective. there are a lot of media channels where folks will pontificate and analyze ad nausea him. but when you act elected about who they have had successful working relations with, it is often illuminating and insightful to think about where we can find common ground, whether that is improving our electoral processes or individual issues like health care, immigration.

the issues that are on the minds of the american people. overall the goal was to demonstrate this fact, which is pretty indisputable. every state of our union is purple. there are not blue or red states. if you really think about it, every state and i think i have said this on erbil four, is a collage and smoothie of red and blue because even in states that might certify the electoral college votes for the republican presidential candidate, president trump what have for vice president harris, there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands or millions of people who think differently. and that is the beauty of democracy, free speech of pluralism the coming together of ideas in a way that can navigate public policy effectively.

and that was the goal. and i think we provided that stimulant to electeds one talking about issues important to their consent to indices whether it was senator warnock or the incoming majority in south dakota. that platform does not exist. you have the republican and democratic caucus meetings. it is incumbent on all americans now after an election, even if it was and it was divisive and difficult to bear, to reset and that is, in effect, what we have endeavored to do is to reset the discourse and dialogue to be more constructive. host: why politicians? guest: i have always taken an interest in elected office and specifically public policy because i view politics as not some fanciful idea for political

science abstract concept but as the art of survival, and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness every day as americans and our vehicle to achieving that. i have already been -- always been fascinated with how we wrestle with a disparate definition of achieving life, liberty and happiness across the landscape of our country. and it seemed like a natural constituency of elected officeholders who were often motivated by the extremes of the ideological agenda in order to win the primaries that they will have to be elected to in the general election in november. and to me, ever since i hosted a radio program in high school

calling up national figures, this has been an accessible area of political life. that is why it seemed like the idea of bringing food together for meals, disarming and humanizing the discourse in that way, it seemed like a natural fit. for me again, politics has not been jaded and painted in the way that many of us who want to think of it only has a polarizing or cruel thing and it can be something that is life-affirming if we make it so. host: i want to show the viewers a recent conversation with tammy baldwin, the senator from wisconsin, democrat about the political makeup of her state. here's is what she had to tell you. [video clip] >> one thing that confounded me like a state like wisconsin or any state would elect a senator with your values and also

senator johnson whose values clash, up stents of late. i'm sure you work together, but how do you describe a state in that sense that would fill in those polarizing directions? >> we have so many elections decided by a couple of thousands of votes, statewide. that has happened in presidential years and with governors race is and u.s. senate races. these are slim margins we are talking about in an evenly divided state. i would also look at the longer arc of history. think about the folks who have held u.s. senate seat that i am honored to hold. and well over a century ago there was a guy named fighting bob la follette sr. who was a republican who was behind the progressive movement. and then his son and then

mccarthy. >> that is your c. >> and so that evolved. to think about the idea that would have a state that would go some point in time from a progressive maverick to mccarthy and then continue to move from there. i also think that from year to year you have different headwinds and tailwinds. sometimes a slightly different electorate who shows up to the poll. [end video clip] host: you were enjoying beer, cheese guards and fondue. how do you pick the food? guest: i go to the elected and their staff and i asked what they would like. in the case of wisconsin, it was a no-brainer for senator baldwin. she said she wanted to do the classic cheese in a place that

she was familiar with and had some past experience enjoying the food. and sharing it with her constituents. i really lean on the electeds, whether it is chicken and waffles in savannah with senator warnock or in the case of senator baldwin, the cheese curds and fondue platter. there is something inviting about indulging in a food that is making you feel like you are home, and you are home. and it all of these instances i wanted the electeds to invite us to join them in what was a natural habitat for them to enjoy food. host: you called it disarming. so as folks get ready to gather around the thanksgiving dinner table and enjoy food at their home, how can they use that to have civil conversations.

guest: i think the prerequisite is to be fed in a timely way. i know that can be a source of debate in households about what time you are eating. so having some consensus around that before you arrive at a home might be a good idea. and also having your turkey and some robust offerings of sides that are to everyone's liking. have a pretty robust culinary set up. that i think is a starting point. and then i think it is about humanizing the conversation. we just had this election. it is -- it should not be about the people who are elected as much as how our lives will be impacted by that election. and i know it is important to be

evidence-based, but it is also important to listen. and the first ingredient of listening is not just in deliberative democracy that also in life is having a degree of empathy for one's perspective. i think it is fine to that the facts -- vet the facts about someone's experience. my suggestion would be to hear the perspective on someone on how this election will impact them. and then just listen. it might not be the presidential election. it might be who has been elected to the senate. i am happy to say that all the participants in "breaking bread" in two seasons have won their reelection. that says something about the kind of people who want to engage in that discourse and incentivize, not just among the

viewers and american people but among their colleagues those values of consensusbuilding. but that would be my advice. it would be to humanize the conversation and make it about the person you are talking to and trajectory that their life or neighbor or their neighborhood is on as a result of elections to a school council, a county executive, or in the case of federal office a senator or the president. host: we are talking about bridging the political divide. here is how you can join the conversation. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. you can text us if you would like including your first name, city and state at 202-748-8003. you can join us on facebook.com/c-span or x at cs

panwj. what do these politicians tell you after they have this conversation with you about their take away? guest: well, you ask the important question of what goes on in the green room, but it is supposed green room where intellivision when folks are waiting to go on tv, they might have more candid conversations before they see the cameras. again, we try to create a calumet -- a climate where they can speak openly. playing basketball with senator thune, and flying a plane was senator kelly. so, i think the conversation has been about the continuity of change and we are hope all that in a third season of "breaking bread" that we can bring two of our guest together like murkowski and hirono orth and

kelly and over the course of a few meals, maybe that is three or five meals find some policy solution or craft a solution to a public policy challenge or problem. we have seen reality tv in american life and that culture. in every respect, whether it is business with "the apprentice" or love and romance with "the bachelor." and this idea that reality tv is fictional or fabricated or something is not really true, or that is not how americans experience it. there are people who go on that show "love is blind" and they end up married or divorced or what. likewise president trump was on "the apprentice" demonstrating his process and now he is the president of the

united states. this idea that we cannot have a conversation that is having an output and a process that delivers a result is not true. so the conversation usually ends at a point to that i say to the senator let's do this in real life. not on a single episode. part of "breaking bread" is exploring the geography of the state. the proof of concept if will be in this new administration and new congress that there can be a reflection of that reality that i mentioned, that we are all purple states and we govern amongst and represent liberty of -- liberal and conservative values. and it is a challenge to see if this government and it is worth pointing out that president trump's cabinet part two has

more diverse perspectives and viewpoints and is more ideologically heterogeneous, that might help in presenting to congress an agenda that will be more inclusive of both parties. that is what we tend to talk about as we conclude the meals and episodes, what is next and what we could do next to advance the clause -- the cause of sound bipartisan leadership. host: so do you think that john thune will bring pizza and ice cream to the senate floor and make people more happy? guest: well, i think he genuinely would like to have a less divisive climate. he is not a divisive person. he has already established that the legislative branch is a coequal branch. and it will have a role in the participatory democracy and representative democracy of our country. he has demonstrated that he wants to enact the trump agenda.

and i think that those things can be true and still take a conciliatory and diplomatic approach. it is just as much incumbent upon leader schumer or whoever the democrat elected as their minority leader in the senate to do that and show that they are resetting. trump won -- trump 1 was trump 1. trump two could be a different specimen in legislation that is not like the landmark pills that we have seen in the most recent congress. whether it was the obama administration, whether it was the trump administration or the biden administration, the big-ticket legislative victories tended to be ones that had a majority of one party vote and nearly none or totally devoid of republican or democratic support, the opposite party support whether it was the

affordable care act. the point is that senator thune strikes me as someone who would like to play basketball with his democratic colleagues and he mentions a few in the episode, but would like to get down to business and demonstrate that type of leadership in the senate again, which is camaraderie and collective action as opposed to one party rule. he talks about divided government and the merits of divided government. but now, can you bring together ideas for both parties to legislate? in that episode he seems committed to doing that. host: we are talking with alexander heffner about his series "breaking bread." a series of conversations about bridging the political divide and we want to know your thoughts about that. michael in gainesville, florida.

independent. caller: hello. i would love to see elon musk, as would many, in a discussion with you. and should that occur, i would hope that you would be able to sit back and look at him and from a scientific perspective and share with him some of what you have learned that the brains of the elite are changed by their success just like they are changed by trauma. those changes are identical to changes of trauma and you, because you discussed things and see the minds of so many of these successful people, you are in a good position to see this evolution. but that is not the thing to talk to them about. when you talk to him his focus is on optimize asian and efficiency which is growth in gdp which is where science comes in, evolution is not a synonym for survival of the fittest or

competition. evolution works by cooperation. in our society from colonialism onward, our whole focus is that evolution optimizes and competition, free-market competition optimizes. so if you were to sit down with bernie and discuss universal health care, the brains and the culture would change to become more abundance versus scarcity oriented. and you could see the gdp grow by 10 or 20%, unbelievable numbers by our current sense of how things work by moving into that abundance mindset that is enabled by musk embracing the fact that cooperation and helping the least amongst us enables us -- host: let us give alexander a chance to respond. guest: i appreciate that. i think the marriage of

efficiency and cooperation is vitally important and what you allude to. there is a question today about whether our politics can be inclusive. and i think it can to be. and i think it can still be merit-based. and that is a discussion that is ongoing on x and that musk is having about political leaders with what it means to be an american and govern the country. and i think you really identify the most important thesis in taxation with representation. that idea of efficiency, soundness of policymaking married with collaboration, collegiality and it is one thing to have a platform like x that has opened the floodgates to all

speech and another thing on or off x two incentivize values of cooperation. that is what we are struggling to do as a country whether in presidential elections, campaigns or the act of governance. that is the single most important question. i think we should be compassionate towards each other, but it has to be informed compassion that is seeking to have real tangible objectives in the political process. host: robert in burnsville, north carolina. independent. caller: good morning. i am a little bit off topic, but i am up here in western north carolina. and i hear the word compassion and we have people appear that are living intents -- in tents

and automobiles because their homes were washed away. and we are talking about having meals with politicians who do not suffer at all. i think that bloomberg could do a better job if they get out with the people in these areas and talk to some of these people and talk to these volunteers that are out there trying to help. host: we will take that point. guest: i appreciate that point. and i think that devoting ourselves to the rescue and recovery and the care for impacted people by any natural disaster at any point is crucial . the humane thing to do and i will just note that we film season to prior to that most recent hurricane. i do know firsthand living

through superstorm sandy what it means to experience a natural disaster of that magnitude. but illuminating the lives impacted by natural disasters is really important. it is important when electeds want to make political hay and say that where will -- well we don't experience this type of disaster in this corner of the country. no, again, we are a union. whether it is extreme heat or a tornado or a superstorm or hurricane that is who we are as a country and fix that your perception is there is not help or not sufficient help in the mountains. i would want to know why, why that has not happened because

whether it is the florida coast or the coast of staten island in new york. help should be on its way and should be actively engaging in those communities. and to think is -- it is not is troubling. host: another conversation from the series when you sat down with the democratic senator of hawaii over japanese food and you are talking about the legislation that she had for folks to help those in the philippines. interesting conversation and we will talk on the others. [video clip] >> your first bill as a u.s. senator involved reaching the heart or attempting to reach into the heart of one of your colleagues, senator sessions. >> oh. senator sessions helped me get my first bill forward in the senate.

it was a bill that would help the people of the philippines because they had had a huge hurricane that struck and i wanted to have a bill that would enable people to send money to them and be able to get a tax break from it, even if it was the following year. so i had to get it done in a fast time. i could not get the bill out of committee so i just went to the floor to get a unanimous consent to bring the bill out. and all of the republicans were coming to the floor to object and i saw jeff sessions to come to the floor and i thought he was a designated objector. what i did is i went to the cloakroom. we really go into the different cloak rooms where we get to do phone calls and do the great things and i said jeff, i know you are here to object this is why i think this is important for us to do and this is the

precedent for this and i asked him why are the republicans objecting? and he said we do not like these kinds of bills or something like that. it was pretty lame. i know he would just come down and say i object and then go off and i said we need to be consistent. and i said consistency is the problem. and what was really telling was that i literally pushed his heart and i said jeff, i know that there is something there and then he said this. and he says maybe we can work something out. and we did. >> i was touched by that story. and i felt as though you made more frequent trips to the republican cloakroom you will be warmly received. in time and with the kind of commitment that you demonstrated , but do you think -- >> it is a little harder these

days. it is quite divisive. [end video clip] host: your question or suggestion that you make more trips to the republican room off of the senate floor, the same with republicans going -- going to the democratic side, why did you make that suggestion. what was the take away? guest: it seems to me that all of these electeds should have space for their private calls to family and friends, but they should also have spaces for that consensusbuilding. and so, i do not know if it is the cloakroom or some other room that they might design for brainstorming as americans, not as republicans and democrats. that is the point that i was trying to convey. that i feel like in the days of less polarized and polarizing politics that those types of

visits to the opposite party cloakroom were not frowned upon. and that motion senator sessions' hearts, that is the type of human nature and body language that fosters the personality of equanimity and the personality of being together. and so to me, senator hirono, who is a thoughtful and persistent person, is also someone who is seeking neutral ground. and, that is something that can be repeated. one thing that senator booker mentioned in season one of " breaking bread" and you can watch it on the open mind website is the policy proposal of baby bonds.

so for any prospective parent he and some of his republican colleagues want there to be these baby bonds for new parents to have access to childhood care , medical supplies. what a new parent might need and might not have access to because of inadequate health insurance, no health insurance, or not having disposable income to help their kids at a formative stage. and to me that is just a really well-regarded strategic bipartisan idea. that you could have these baby bonds accessible to prospective parents when population growth is in decline and there is a feeling of malaise and lack of affordability for the critical things that people want or need

parents and nurture their children. it is that type of thing where you can appeal to someone's heart and it is not a big government dance up but something at a formative stage that we could feel representative in public policymaking. and it is not a massive program that is hard to track the expenditures and not transparent. it is a check going to every perspective and soon-to-be parent. host: lee in oklahoma, democratic caller. we are talking about bridging the political divide. your thoughts. caller: i will say that quote you just read about the next president was a dividing thanksgiving message because he called us the radical lunatic

left who have ruined the country. do you not think that is dividing? host: what about that? the message at the top? guest: that is a fair point. and i think that the american people have viewed positively so far the transition. and i think that part of it is the diversity of perspectives. but also it is because there has not been as much appearance of the invective -- vindictive and vicious trolling on social media. and that might pause and it might resume. it is certainly not conducive to the health of our citizenry. and this is the newly reelected, nonconsecutive president of the united states demonizing anyone in the country and cultivating a

legacy that is going to be broader than his base. it is not a useful strategy. and i think there is a question here about whether president trump governs and behaves more like ape -- more like crave -- president reagan and nixon. i am thinking about policies as they became more piece oriented in reagan's second term looking to not engaging in militaristic rhetoric with the soviets, but finding some treaties and counter proliferation measures. trump was elected on a platform of ending forever wars, specifically the conflicts that were unleashed with millions of people dead in the middle east and russia and ukraine. the proof will be in the pudding , as they say as to whether the president-elect is capable of

fixing those crises. if he is, and there is a downturn of violence and decline and decrease in violence in those regions, even if he is tweeting as you just described, there will be an objective reality that the atrocities that were being committed over the last four years are coming to a halt. now that remains to be seen. but i think this is a case where you look at the vicious rants of any person including the former president on social media and then you look at the governance of what are the outcomes and you see how they might vary. so, my points to the caller from oklahoma and it is a good point, there is the capacity of both an

electorate and president to reset. and president reagan also made jokes and sometimes those were jokes about the soviets. but, he had a personality that at least, historically has been viewed as a sunny disposition, and happy disposition. and you know, if he was calling the democrats names it was a loyal opposition. it was not that they are trying to ruin the country. he did not speak that way. and whether it is reagan's second term gordon nixon's holter -- or nixon's colts term -- whole term. he became ensnared in a scandal of his own volition. however, this is the father of the environmental protection agency and someone who govern from the center right who believed in environmental

protections, and who was more socially center than a majority of the republican party today. and so this is the question. does trump inform his second presidency by some of the successes of former presidents? it could come out differently. he will have to get off x or truth social more and more and instead point to the american people here are lower prices and here is a declining global conflict. and if you can point to those outcomes, what is the need of tweeting that way or posting that way? there is none. host: steve from florida says " we are divided because we are drowning in a sea of manufactured subliminal disinformation. if we put down our devices for a week we might discover --

rediscover ourselves." guest: i think that is astute. we need to put down the devices. as much as it might not seem this way, television and why we make washington journal and " breaking bread" it is a different mode of learning. it is not a tit-for-tat but giving people the ability to have a platform to speak in sentences and not have the expectation that you are always going to prove yourself to be correct. i love washington journal and i always have since i was in college appearing on air for the very first time in 2008, i think, because of the questions on the people who wake up and want to be part of the great experiment that is our republic. and the great questions from florida to oklahoma to yours.

that is what this is about. and the phone, at least the social media apps, they do not present themselves to be generating that kind of emotional intelligence when senator hirono's puts her hard on senator -- her hand on senator session' heart. this is not what this is conducive to. it just is not. host: sally wants to know if any politicians have turned down the invitation? guest: yes. there have been yeas and nays. and i am constantly looking for new opportunities to engage in this type of discourse. i am hoping that members of the new administration will join me, whether that is eggnog in the coming weeks or opening the new year when president trump's cabinet is voted on and there is a 47th administration.

there are people who have said no and they are surprising people that have said no. we have interviewed some of the self-described most conservative governors and senators in the country or self-described progressive liberals and i mention senator booker, and i joined senator thune. governor stitt in oklahoma is an example of someone who describes himself as extremely conservative and has extremely conservative policies. it is not necessarily what you would expect. governor stitt saw a state in oklahoma that had per capita of the highest rate of incarceration and saw the opioid crisis manifesting around the country and in oklahoma and set i will do something about that. and so put in place legislation that would increase economic

outlook -- output and decrease the prison population. he has shrunk the prison system. this idea that there are not issues on which you can find unity, there are. and the ideological stripes of people can sometimes bolster the case for justice reform as an economic incentive. if you bring economic opportunity to the dispossessed and disenfranchised, are you not creating a positive capitalistic outcome? and yes, i think there are people who said no including those who speak to the center of the politics. and i am left wondering what is their definition of the center if they do not want to break bread. i mentioned that every one of the 22 plus who have appeared with me has won reelection and

it is a streak that i hope continues. host: we are showing the viewers a website. if you could just say it. because j. sanders want to know where you can view the discussions. guest: go to theopenmind.org. or thirteen.org/openmind. host: thank you for this time on this thanksgiving and a happy one to you. guest: you too. host: that does it for washington journal. on behalf of everyone we want to thank you for supporting and watching our networks. happy thanksgiving to all of you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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