>> "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. it is wednesday, january eight. yesterday, president-elect donald trump held the first news

conference since congress certified the election and his second since winning in november. it was just over an hour long and we will show you portions during the program. during the first hour, we are getting your thoughts on the upcoming second trump term. are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic and why? the mike ross, (202) 748-8000 -- democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. include your first name and your city and state and you can post your comment on social media. facebook.com/cspan and x at @cspanwj. welcome to today's "washington journal." we will start with the wall street journal. it says trump ratchets up campaign to gain control of greenland, panama canal.

the president-elect threatens to hit denmark with high tariffs if officials do not cooperate with his bid for greenland. it says the president-elect declined to rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of greenland and the panama canal, ratcheting up his campaign to expand america's global footprint. i am not going to commit to that now. and might be that you have to do something, he said, during the news conference. he was responding to a question about whether he could offer reassurances that you would not leverage u.s. military and economic might to get his way. since winning the election, he has repeatedly raised the idea of taking over the panama canal and taking control of greenland from denmark. he has said that canada should become the 51st u.s. state in an apparent effort to troll justin trudeau. here is what president-elect trump said yesterday about that topic.

[video clip] >> let's start with your reference to greenland and the panama canal. can you explore the world as you try to gain control of these areas that you are not going to use military or economic force? can you tell us what your plan is and how you're going to negotiate? are you going to ask the canadians? what is the strategy? >> you are talking about panama and greenland. i cannot assure you in either those two, but i can say we need them for economic security. the panama canal was built for our military. i am not going to commit to that. it might be that we will have to do something. the panama canal is vital to our country. it is be operated by china. china. we gave the panama canal to panama.

we did not give it to china. they have abused it. it should have never been made. giving the panama canal is why jimmy carter won the election more than the hostages. the hostages were a big deal, but nobody wants to talk about the panama canal because it is inappropriate i guess because it is a bad part of the carter legacy mom but he was a good man. he was a good man. i know him a little bit and he was a fine person, but that was a mistake. giving the panama canal to panama was a big mistake. we lost 38,000 people. it cost us the equivalent of $1 trillion. they say it was the most expensive structure. we call it a structure, which i guess you can, ever built. giving that away was a horrible thing and i believe that is why jimmy carter lost the election even more so than the hostages, those two things. host: you can watch the full

event on our website. we are taking your calls. i want to update you on the wildfires in southern california . the washington post reporting firefighters struggle to contain wildfires in los angeles as thousands evacuated. it says several wildfires are ripping through los angeles county, forcing widespread evacuations as firefighters struggle to combat the blazes. intense wind is expected to create increasingly dangerous conditions in region. the palisades fire has burned at least 2921 acres. a fire which erupted to the northeast has burned 1000 acres and the hearst fire in the north has burned 500 acres. california's governor declared a state of emergency and said today more than 1400 firefighting personnel have been deployed to combat these fires

in l.a.. let's go to the phones now, to pat in pennsylvania, democrat. good morning. >> i am very pessimistic about the outlook from this man that we have elected and i am very fearful of what he will do to the country, to everything. he campaigned on many things and now he is elected and saying the opposite. using force to these people, to greenland or panama? what is he thinking and what is the purpose of this rhetoric from him? i do not understand it. and i am just shocked that the

country went in this direction. host: what are you fearful will happen specifically when you say you are fearful? caller: i think he will cause much chaos within our country. i think all of his -- in his first term, i remember him consistently telling people he better buy guns and hold onto those rights because if the dems get in they are going to take her guns away. now we have some very dangerous citizens in our country that seem to like violence with guns. i sometimes wonder if that is not the reason that our government has not been stronger toward him, because maybe they are fearful of the people, these loan killers that may come out

on trump's behalf. maybe he does not know them, but they believe every word he says. i think he is going to loot our treasury. i think he is going to capitulate to vladimir putin. i think he is going to be lining his pockets. by the time he leaves office, it is possible that he and his entourage of a south african man and indian man -- that is another thing. he is always talking about mass deportation, but now elon musk and ramaswamy have a different view. everything is a lie that this man says. host: i have to move on to john, a republican in portland, connecticut. good morning.

caller: i was listening to a previous caller. this is where your program has to change. give president trump a chance to put his programs in place and his people. stop bad mouthing everything that republicans are trying to do. four years ago, i gave president biden a chance and we need change in this country. give everybody a chance. give his cabinet a chance and please let's stop all this rhetoric. host: what are you looking forward to in the second trump term? >> i am looking for big change in this country, economics. the prices of everything are high right now, especially in connecticut. when i go to the grocery store, i, with three bags and it is over $100 and there is no protein in the bags.

we just need change in this country. let's stop bickering with each other on the left and right. we have to bring our country together with peace, not hating each other and hating the people we have voted for need to try to blend together. host: the bbc says donald trump, jr. arrives in greenland after dad says u.s. should own the territory. it says he has arrived in greenland weeks after his father said he wanted the u.s. to take control of the eponymous danish territory. trump junior said he was embarking on a personal day trip and had no meetings planned with government officials. president-elect donald trump revived a controversy when he said, ownership and control greenland is an absolute necessity for the u.s.. we are not for sale, the island's prime minister

responded at the time. asked whether he could rule out using military or economic force on the matter, trump said he could not. he also talked about changing the name of the gulf of mexico. here is that portion. [video clip] >> we will be changing the name of the gulf of mexico to the gulf of america, which has a beautiful ring. that covers a lot of territory. the gulf of america. what a beautiful name. and it is appropriate. it is appropriate. mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. they can stop them. we are going to put serious tariffs on mexico and canada because they come through canada too and the drugs coming through are at record numbers. host: we are taking your calls on your level of optimism and pessimism. tell us why.

this is julia in illinois, democrat. caller: good morning. i'm going to tell you why trump -- i think greenland is in the western hemisphere, but greenland, canada and the canal. the reason he threatened those countries is because he promised day one he is going to end the war with russia and the name of that country slips me right now. host: israel? caller: not result the country russia is taking over. host: ukraine. caller: he claims he is going to end that are the way to get out of that is to threaten countries in this hemisphere. it is a threat. any time you talk about absorbing canada and taking over

greenland, that is a military threat. and that is why he is doing that. he is not going to do nothing to stop russia and what they are doing and wherever that country is. i forget. i am an older man, so slow so i mind right now. he threatens those countries. he talks about russia and he is threatening to absorb canada and taking over greenland. >> here's what he says about canada. it says trump is open to using economic force to acquire canada . here is what it says. prime minister justin trudeau said, there is not a snowball's chance in hell that canada would become part of the united states, on the same day that

president trump said he was open to using economic force to acquire canada. trump refused to rule out the use of military force to seize control of the panama canal and was asked if he was considering using military force to acquire canada. now, economic force, he responded because canada and the united states, that would really be something. here is gary in arkansas, republican. good morning. caller: i just listened to the last gentleman and the thing he does not realize is this rhetoric is specifically due to make canada lower their tariffs on us and have us more opportunity to the minerals and stuff in canada to boost both companies -- countries and green land is nothing more than an icy rock and right now they are

under denmark but i think denmark once our protection as well as anyone else. i think this is a military necessary for us to be able to protect ourselves and the western hemisphere from china and russia. if we do not have these things in place where we can observe and see what is going on not just by satellite -- it is going to end up where one of those two countries are going to take over greenland. as you can see, with going into ukraine, they will be involved with a military operation. it would not be economic like we are hoping to do. host: if greenland were to be attacked about the united states will be under treaty obligation to defend it anyway.

caller: i do not have a lot of faith in nato anymore. it has been proven they do not pay the percentage they need to and the united states has footed this bill forever and i do not have a lot of faith in these smaller nato countries to carry on their obligations in that capacity either. host: this is what a representative said on x. trump is talking about greenland and canada as if they e lf courses he wants to buy. this inoa sious foreign policy stregy. it is whimsical imperial is him. instead of bullying are partners, let's work with them to address challenges facing our world. and i lost that call. kevin is an independent in omaha, nebraska. caller: good morning. have a happy new year.

let me finish what i am going to say. i know what donald trump is going to do. he has so many crazy ideas. to me, it is ridiculous, all these things he is proposing, like the global america and greenland and the panama canal. it seems like he wants to reverse everything every other president ever did and that is all i really have to say and i want to thank joe biden for the good job he did and getting our country back out of the covid crisis where trump let covid go -- he was so totally irresponsible with the covid crisis, so thank you very much and have a happy new year. host: this is jim in north dakota.

caller: happy new year. i wanted to say i think they are a little overly optimistic having a party done a mar-a-lago , all the people on fox news acting like msnbc is gone and has no more ratings. they will bounce back. fox news i stopped watching in 2020. msnbc ratings will come back up and nobody is going anywhere, but the thing that worries me most is i do not think the resistance to trump on inauguration day will be as bad as it was in 2017. i have to remind democrats sometimes we have a selective memory. you guys do not accept -- did not accept the outcome of the

election. there was an organized resistance in which there was violence all over the country. there was cars on fire in lafayette square and police attacked. people at the inauguration were attacked. you might remember the thousands of women in the streets with the big pink hats talking about storming the white house. that resistance was -- went on through the russia gate and up to 2020, so i do not think it is going to be as bad. i hope the inauguration will be peaceful. the second point i want to make is about illegal immigration. trump is not going to be able to deport 11 million people. i do not know where they got 11 million. we probably have 30 million. this has been going on for 35 years. he can deport some of the criminal people. he can do that, but we slipped

our leash. we have people who have been here so long and had kids. it is not going to happen. i'm concerned about the photo. you might remember they tried to remove that kid. there was that famous photo of the guy with the machine gun in his house, pulling him from his mother. one image of a little mexican kid being pulled from the arms of his mother is going to be the end of trump because i think there will be riots in this country, so you cannot do that. one important point about being a guy who works in agriculture, from the dairy farms of pennsylvania to north dakota, we keep hearing from workers and politicians you have to have these people here or the crops will rot in the ground. they will not. most of our crops are taken from the ground using automation technology. we do not need armies of people bent over picking cotton in the fields anymore. we do have some things that are

picked with hand labor, but we do not need 10 million people to do it. that is a myth and it is an insult to the millions of black guys and white guys who are hard-working people who work with their hands like me who never get any credit and liberal democrats do not seem to even recognize that we also work with our hands and we work -- i worked in roofing for many years. i worked in agriculture for many years. they do not seem to recognize that we exist and it is an insult to the american worker that we need these people to survive. i wanted to say i am pessimistic about trump with the immigration issue and i do not think he will be able to deport 11 million people, nor should he. host: cnn is reporting trump warns all help will break out if

gaza hostages are not leased before his inauguration and here is -- we will get that for you. his middle east envoy talking about that, but here's what the article says. the president-elect warned if the hostages hamas is still holding in oz are not released by his inauguration on january 20 all help will break out in the middle east, offering one more start -- stark indication of how much he would prefer to avoid hair -- inheriting the israel-hamas war. here he is at the -- briefing the press about the ongoing hostage negotiations. >> if there is a deal at all, we have been hearing this. >> it better be. >> i would say the president is

exasperated. i do not want to talk for him, but i do not know anyone who delegates better than president trump. he gives us a lot of authority to speak on his behalf. he exhorts us to speak emphatically and emphatically means you better do this because the alternative -- >> do you think they are waiting for president trump to take office? >> now. i think they heard him loud and clear. >> do i have to define it for you? that all help will break out? if those hostages are not back -- i do not want to hurt your negotiation. if they are not backed by the time i get into office, all help will break out in the middle east. it will not be good for hamas or anyone. all help will break out. i do not have to say anymore, but that is what it is. host: we have 35 minutes in this

segment to take your calls. are you optimistic or pessimistic about the trump second term? tell us why. here is jimmy in pittsburg, california, democrat. caller: god bless you, young lady. i called back to the precinct. i have been volunteering with local law enforcement for 21 years. trump talked about the department of justice as wicked and all this stuff. -- 24 hours a day. if they are as bad as he says -- and he don't have no protection.

but how is he going to keep talking about the department of justice -- i got dyslexia. he has seen the cases of all that stuff at his house. then he says -- [indiscernible] he keeps saying democrats is against him. i ain't against the man. do your job. when you take your hand and put it on that bible, you the president for the whole united states. you not the president for republicans. you're the president of everybody, whether they like you or not. you have to protect everybody, even people on social security, living on section eight.

we are paying our taxes. when he picks on the fbi, i do not like that. i'd i'm not going to say what agency i have been volunteering with but they work together. i cook food for them. that is what i do appear and that is my job. -- i -- [indiscernible] host: this is what fox news says, that trump lasts ongoing law fair -- lawfare. he said he railed against the ongoing lawfare against him during his first public remarks since congress certified his decisive win over vice president kamala harris. "they are playing with the courts, as you know.

they have been playing with the courts for four years, probably got me more votes because i got the highest number of votes ever gotten by a republican by far, actually by a lot. you know, we had a great election, so i guess it did not work." here is president-elect donald trump reacting to news yesterday that judge aileen cannon has temporarily blocked the special counsel jack smith report from being released. [video clip] >> they dropped their appeal because he had no case. they dropped all of that lawsuit against us. he lost the lawsuit. so this is jack smith he dropped the lawsuit. he was told to by the doj. they lost in court in front of a very strong and very brilliant judge. they lost in court. that pertained to other cases in other courts, so he wanted to do

a report just before i take office, probably, so he will do a 500 page report and it will be a fake report like the investigation was a fake investigation and i said, this guy was thrown off in disgrace. he has gone back to the hague or wherever they are going to send him in disgrace because he failed so badly because it was a fake case against a political opponent. they thought they would use this to beat me. so what you are saying is -- i am just hearing that they are not allowed to issue the report. if they are not allowed to issue the report, that is the way it should be because he was thrown off the case in disgrace. why should he be allowed to run a fake report? it would only be a fake report. host: to marshall in louisiana good morning. caller: i am fairly neutral on president trump. but i'm old enough to remember

president eisenhower in office. they seem to think they know what he is going to do. he is going to be a dictator, he is going to tear the country apart. and he does none of that, yet they look at biden, he is such a great president. it is like the last time trump got in. i saw were a doctor and her husband were flying the american flag upside down at half-mast just so they could protest that trump was not doing anything for the poor. i thought he has not been in office two weeks and you are condemning? it is getting ridiculous. that is all i have to say. i support trump more than i oppose him. have a nice day. host: this is at on x from a

represen whoays, judge cannonting more like trump's conciliatory- consiglio ari -- the public deserves to know what trum found before it is buried foreveby theewrump administration. and a republican says, from the start these have been baseless lawsuits led by faceless -- faceless bureaucrats. they need to get ove trump arrangement syndromendet back to serving the american people. we have to focus on the issues americans care about. here is ted in north carolina, republican. caller: i am very optimistic about the trump administration because he knows how to get things done. people get upset about things he says, but they are not understanding he is the master

of negotiation and using leverage. we have suffered through the carter administration who was a total failure. i have no respect for carter because of the way he stuck a knife in the back of the american nuclear industry by prohibiting reprocessing of fuel and now we have spent fuel backing up at power plants and there is still no solution in sight. i think carter was what used to be the worst president but biden worked hard to surpass that level and become our very worst president of all time. host: craig in florida is also optimistic. finally a president that will take care of americans first. our country will be turned around in the right direction. here is rich, new jersey,

democrat. caller: i am not sure i'm optimistic or pessimistic. i have her talk about canada and unfair trade practices. i thought one of the major accomplishments of the first trump administration was the revision of nafta. if he is looking to take over canada or renegotiate nafta, is he admitting that one of the prime accomplishments and his administration was a failure? that leads me to some confusion. you had a prior caller talk about we are not giving american workers enough credit for doing jobs in roofing and farm work and other things, but i think americans would get those jobs. however, people do not really want to pay those type of wages and that is why americans really do not get those jobs, primarily because immigrants will work

cheaper than american workers, so unless -- that is one of the reasons i do not think there will be mass deportation, because i think the american businesses would be opposed to it. host: the u.s. trade representative has information about trade with canada if you're interested in getting more specifics about that. it says in 2022 u.s. business services totaled an estimated $908.9 billion. that is the trade between the two countries and this is john in louisiana, independent. caller: good morning. i am very pessimistic about what is going to happen in america and i am not solely blaming donald trump but i am going to quote maya angelou. when people show you who they

are, believe them. ok. the oligarchs have taken over this country. all i see is big money coming in. they took over the elections. they are taking over all aspects of government and making the laws favor them. in other words, they are using their money to manipulate all the politicians and congress so i am not solely blaming trump but america is in trouble because i do well for myself. i served in the military. i have no problems. i can make it easily, but i do care about the american people in general because people are struggling out here. to me, it is just that i always participate in the electoral process. i vote for who the best person is because i do think both sides of the aisle are in on the take for themselves and the poor

suffering people of america is punished for all of this. i served 30 years with honor. i do not regret anything i did, but i will tell you sometimes i consider moving abroad. thank you. host: we have about 25 minutes left in this segment. we will take your calls. the numbers are by party. if you're a democrat, call us on (202) 748-8000. republicans can call (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will hear from liz in michigan, line for democrats. caller: i have been watching some of this. my life has changed a lot in the let -- last 90 days. i started working actually in the grant area and it is amazing how much joe biden did for this

country. i know people feel he did not help them at the grocery line or the gas lines, but i am telling you the amount of money he has put into law enforcement, homeland security, infrastructure. the people i am with had no idea, so he did make a good contribution trying to improve america. he inherited a mess with covid, but i think people are shortsighted in terms of what he has done. he had to deal with a lot of problems with the republicans. but now we are going to see what is going to happen when they have complete control of the country along with their rich friends. host: what are you thinking about for the future? caller: i am not optimistic. i will give you an example. one of the grants i was writing

in, i had gotten a pack from a new york republican senator talking about the changes coming in programs and that the previous administration had cut -- this is local. the previous administration had cut back on these programs, so again biden had come in and make sure people were able to get funding. i just spoke with somebody from the usda this week that said in michigan they use to get about $24 million for different things in the state. it has now gone down to one million. they are cutting it. when you're looking at negotiations of things that are happening, it is scary because the people who are most vulnerable in our country are going to get kicked to the curb. host: president-elect trump was asked about the way forward with congress on raising the debt ceiling. here is that speech.

it looks like we do not have that. we will take another call and go to stephen in lexington, kentucky. caller: yes. i am on the verge of being pessimistic, just the way he is not even in office yet and the way he is talking to the world and making america feel isolated , trying to buy greenland. his son went there and turn right back around, talking about canada and mexico. just already negative and so aggressive before even getting on the actual ability to do anything as president, so i am feeling pessimistic. if he does say what he is going to do, he is going to do it regardless of what is in his way. things are going to change.

i do not know which way it is going to go, but he is so aggressive as a president-elect and i do not like it. host: there are people that like and for that reason, that that projects strength. caller: it also projects bullying. he comes off as a bully, so he rubs people the wrong way. if you agree with that, then you might be able yourself. host: here is the exchange about the raising of the debt ceiling. >> some republicans say in trade for a bill they want to see big spending cuts. do you agree? >> i am ok with spending cuts. i like spending cuts. i am on the record for spending cuts. the debt ceiling was put in our lap and what i want in terms of debt ceiling is not the ceiling.

i just -- i just didn't want to see a default. i never talked about spending more money necessarily. all i want to see is no default because nobody knows what would happen if there was a default. it could be 1929 and it could be nothing, but that was put into our lap and it should not have been but it was, so we will handle it, but the debt ceiling is not about raising money. it is about extending it. i want to see an extension. host: that was yesterday. if you would like to see the whole event of that news conference from mar-a-lago, you can see that on our website at c-span.org. robbie in florida, democrat. caller: happy new year. am i optimistic or pessimistic? i do not know. the talk is from the first administration when he was

elected, he did not do this, he did not do that. president trump was a great president because he did not blow up the world. i get that. the argument on the others is there were safeguards and we had upstanding republicans that would stand in the way and now we do not. that ship has sailed. we are in a two party or two sided america where we have those americans and other americans. what i mean is when trump says the american people voted me in, all americans want this and that, he is talking about maggie republicans -- maga republicans. he is not talking about independence and progressives. he is talking maga republicans. they are only talking about what their party wants, not the

general. so you started the segment with israel. all hail is going to break loose. all hail has already broken loose over there. there is no help to break loose over there. it is destroyed. host: what would you want to the new administration to do about the war between israel and hamas? caller: he said in 24 hours he could stop everything. he is talking about blowing everything up. it is a hard liner for israel. we do not have a religious president. biden was very religious. he was a zionist, all that jazz. trump is nothing like that. he just wants control. he wants to say i did it, i made this one promise and did it.

personally, i want the 1967 borders back. let the palestinians go. israel -- this is a civil war. this is not a war between two countries. let's get that clear. i know that gets people upset. it is a civil war between these people and we should not be involved and i thought trump was an isolationist or these guys did not want involvement anywhere. let's just get out of there. let's not deal with these guys. that is their country. let them be them. is it going to make it better or worse? i do not know. netanyahu -- this is not against jewish people. this is the israeli government i have an issue with and that is that. in 24 hours, he is supposed to stop everything. the only way he is going to do it in 24 hours is bombing. it is just going to create a bigger war.

you have other regions out there that want to hurt us. host: this is dave in georgia. >> to address the fellow that was just talking, palestine is jordan. that is where the palestinians are from originally. the queen of jordan is palestinian. hello? host: go ahead. we are listening. caller: ok. that is the point with that. as far as dealing with israel, i will let netanyahu. i'm sure president trump knows him well. get with him and take care of it . that is what needs to be done there. besides this idea with president trump coming in and becoming president again, give him an

opportunity and not start this. i am glad to the house at least has a little bit of republican control to give him the opportunity to deal with our nation and also with president trump, he appears to be on our side, the people, the citizens of the united states as opposed to with biden. everything biden seems to do was we can pay for it, the citizen, but we cannot deal with it because they are dealing with it and it becomes something that is negative to the individual and citizenry. so one of these days -- a lot of the citizenry likes with donald trump that he is on our side. so this idea with some of the stuff coming out with buying greenland or canada, i think all donald trump is telling -- there is a hidden message there to

china and russia that we are on the offense now and this is still our world. host: an update from the new york times. fierce winds whip up devastating wildfires in southern california. thousands have fled their homes as multiple blazes engulfed parts of the los angeles area. officials warned that wind gusts could spread the flames to more densely populated areas and that is what has been happening. this is a picture in pasadena, california and we will keep an eye on that and up you through the program. this is alex in new york, independent line. are you optimistic or pessimistic? caller: very optimistic.

we have callers talking about greenland and the panama canal. it was considered a joke at the time that we tried to acquire alaska. look what happened. what is u.s. dollars now? it is a multibillion-dollar yearly income source to the u.s., plus strategic materials. give the guy a chance. he is not even in yet. he suffered from lawfare. the majority of the people vote for him and want to what he is bringing in. as far as millionaires and billionaires go, democrats have those, too. we are not the only ones who have wealthy donors behind us. host: let's talk to tom, a democrat in new mexico. caller: talk about economic inequality. it is been reported 68% of people worldwide say that economic inequality at home is the greatest threat to democracy. it reported that income inequality threatens democracy

by mistrusting political institutions and big tech. the incoming republican administration on january 20, 2025 will not have a cabinet and advisors to the 47th president with an estimated collective wealth of $450 billion. this is probably the largest assembly of the richest to a president who's also a billionaire. the federal reserve as of 2022 said the wealthiest 10% of americans hold more than 88% of all available equity in corporations and mutual fund shares while just the top 1% control twice as much equity as the bottom 50% of all americans combined. host: tell me what you think would happen. what are you afraid will happen with all these billionaires and multimillionaires in the cabinet

and in powerful positions in government? caller: i have a feeling there will be a situation where we will have them, all these individuals directing the president and government in the wrong direction. we do have checks and balances that are essential for preserving democracy. i have a quote by frank and roosevelt saying that government by organized money is as dangerous as governance by organized mob. i have another quote by machiavelli in a book he wrote. the first method of evaluating the intelligence of a ruler's look at the men he has around him. i am scared by these individuals around him and i have a feeling it will lead us into a bad situation. host: this is robin in washington, independent. >> i hope you are doing well

this morning. i am strangely optimistic. i say strangely because -- the words of the song come to mind. i may be crazy, but it may be the lunatic you are looking for. the american people got trump into office are looking for that and i have faith in america. i don't think that everyone is as informed as maybe they should be, but we swing back and forth and we have a democracy and we have a speaker of the house in akeem jeffries who seems to work well together. that gives me faith in what we might be able to do and the

things we might be able to prevent, so it is not just about president trump. it is also about the people we individually elect into offices in our local areas and to represent us at the national level and i live in a place with good representation, so my faith is in the people and -- host: who is your congressperson? caller: adam smith. host: we have a text fro virginia. will be talking to the presst daily and not being hidden to keep americans fro seeing dementia setting in. trump has already had more press

interviews in the past four days then biden had in the past years. and this in illinois. i am complete leap pessimistic about trump -- completely pessimistic about trump. they are spineless sink events -- sycophants who will enable his ideas. here is nikki in south carolina, democrat. caller: i do not understand why people want to be delusional about donald trump. we already know what he is about . he had 34 charges against him. he is a felon. he is unqualified to be president of the united states. he cheated his way into winning the presidency. he paid off to win the election. he is against america. stopping delusional that trump is in the best interests of the

american people. trump is in the best interests of trump. he is a fake billionaire. he probably lied his way to gain this so-called wealth that he has created for himself. he is only for the interests of the 1% and that is his criminal friends like himself. host: what do you think is going to happen? what are you afraid will happen? caller: you know what is going to happen. let's be honest. we know he is going to kill democracy as we know it. democracy is not going to be for all people. it will be for the wealthy white men who are in charge, not for the working-class white people, not for the working-class, uneducated white people who supported and voted for trump. not for black people. people already know anyone who gets in power is not going to be good to us because they do not care about black people.

they want to keep them under the thumb of jim crow. he does not want the hispanics here, but they are the ones doing the work, so he wants to kill democracy and have oligarchy and dictatorship and to be the ultimate god of america. he wants people to bow down to him like hitler's did. host: this is clifton. caller: you are looking exceptionally well this morning, pleasant to the eyes. you always are, but something about today is exceptional. i am not pessimistic nor optimistic. i am in a wait and see mode. there is something about trump this time around. i do not vote for him. i thought he was kind of a weird comment arranged kind of person, but there is something about him

this time around looks like he is going to shake things up and make things happen, so i am in a wait and see mode and see. host: when you say shake things up and make things happen, what do you want to see happen? caller: i think he is going to change the economy. i hope he does not kick to the curb all the things dealing with the lower class. i am one of them. we need help. i think he may turn his attention to it not as thoroughly as i would like. all the other things, infrastructure and the other things in terms of foreign policy and stuff -- he has people around him he seems to listen to. he might just surprise us all, so i am in a wait and see mode. hopefully optimistic.

there is nothing we can do about it anyway. host: let's talk to rosemary on the republican line. caller: i wanted to say we do not live in a democracy as the democrats keep repeating. we live in a republic. just say the pledge of allegiance properly and it says one nation. host: the republic for which it stands. caller: and to the republic. host: explain the distinction between that when you say that this is not a democracy, it is a republic. explain. caller: a democracy is actually mob rule. that would be if there were no political parties, just people -- everyone having a vote and

then you just take mob rule. but a republic as we elect people to represent our interests and those people go to washington and express what the majority of their constituents believe, so that is what i believe and i am optimistic because president trump will do something about the fuel prices, which will do something about all the grocery prices. i am tired of paying five dollars for a dozen eggs and everything else that has gotten out of control with biden. host: you mention fuel prices. we will talk about energy policy , so stay around for that. this is aaron in new york.

caller: i am confused here. because on one hand the people voted for mr. trump and said they are voting because they want more money in their pocket. now they are moving the goal posts and saying maybe he will do something. what did he do the first time? this man inherited one of the best economies in our lifetime period, so as soon as trump gets -- this is the same as biden's so-called dementia guy. can you imagine if he did not have dementia and gave us the best presidency in this country? all this stuff he is dealing with -- republicans did not want to vote for and then go back home and take credit for it. ridiculous. now here we are again, this same man. i am not optimistic.

i am not pessimistic. i want him to show me. do not tell me how he is this and that and show me what you are going to do the same way biden showed us. he did not have to appear on television and say this and say that. he put his head down and did the work as a leader and president. we are importing stuff to other countries, so our economy is one of the best in the world. host: this is lelah in iowa, independent. host: caller: -- caller:i am perplexed that we have a treasonist for president. when all the migrant workers are gone, what will fruit, vegetables, and eggs cost you?

if you do not have people to pick it, the prices will go very high. a man who tried to overthrow the government. i am disappointed in the stupidity of those who voted for the treasonist. how do you spell treasonist? t-r-u-m-p. host: next we have a discussion on energy. president-elect trump says he will reverse president biden's offshore oil and gas drilling. while the large swaths of the u.s. coast. we will dig into the policy and politics with zack colman of politico and then we will be joined by jamil jaffer the founder of the national security and student at george mason university and talk about the ice is terrorists threat after the attack in new orleans. we will be right back. ♪

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>> president jimmy carter, the 39th president of the united states and the nation's longest live leader passed away last month at the age of 100. join c-span for live coverage of the state funeral and today the public will have the opportunity to pay their respects as his body remains and stayed at the u.s. capitol. on thursday the national funeral service will take place at washington national cathedral followed by his final resting ceremony at the carter family home. watch c-span's live coverage of those funeral services for the former president jimmy carter, online at c-span.org or on the c-span now app. ahead of the presidential inauguration on january 20, american history tv prevents a four week series, historic inaugural speeches. listen to speeches from franklin

roosevelt through barack obama. on saturday here speeches by jimmy carter in 1977. >> i believe that america can be better. we can be even stronger than before. >> president ronald reagan in 1981. >> government is not the solution to our problems. government is the problem. >> and president george h w bush in 1989. >> to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. >> watch historic inaugural speeches saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span2. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are joined by zack colman, climate and energy reporter for litter coke, talking about president -- or politico, talking about president biden's plan.

talk about this withdrawing of 620 5 million acres of u.s. coastline from future oil and gas drilling, explain what that means? guest: president biden use the outer continental land shelf act to withdraw future owner -- future oil and gas leases from being put on the market. in the u.s. from federal waters that is all of the coastline. there is a process of putting forward these plots of land and offshore land to bid on. and once a company acquires the rights to the lease they can drill. what the president did is he withdrew those areas that have not already been leased from being considered. we are talking the coast off of florida, the carolinas and all the way up to new york and maine . we are talking about the pacific coast and the eastern gulf of mexico where there has not been

drilling in decades but there is known to be massive reserves but it is a bunch of coastal florida and a lot of floridians do not like the idea of drilling in that water. host: what was the reason he gave? guest: for climate change and protecting the environment. there is a lot of wildlife and aquatic ecosystems and fisheries that depend on these areas being healthy. so, the idea that you would drill and potentially have oil spills which we have seen over the coercive the history in these waters, he wanted to make sure there was no possibility of that happening and disrupting those economies. host: in the press conference yesterday president-elect donald trump talked about the drilling ban. i will play you a portion and we will talk about it. [video clip] >> president biden's actions banning offshore drilling will not stand. i will reverse it immediately. it will be done immediately.

and we will drill, baby drill. we will be drilling a lot of other locations in the energy cost will come down. it will be down to a very low level and that will bring everything else down. that is what caused it to go up along with the ridiculous spending on the green new scam. trillions of dollars thrown right out of the window is what they are doing. they are trying to spend so much. they are taking money that gives -- and giving it to anyone who wants it if it is certified under the green new scam. it does not work and it is too expensive. [end video clip] host: that is yesterday. what power does president biden have to enact this ban, and what power does incoming president trump reverse it? guest: the power right now is this is an executive action that can be taken under the existing law. president biden has the ability to withdraw this. president trumka tried to

unilaterally restore the lands for offshore leasing and drilling. however, the last time it was tried, there was an obama era ban of new drilling on alaska waters and the trump administration tried to put that back into play and a federal court in alaska shot down the trump administration and they never appealed. the lasting precedent is once it is withdrawn it is withdrawn. the trump administration could tried to do this unilaterally and it will definitely end up in the court and it could take time to resolve through appeals and maybe even getting up to the supreme court. right now the clearest way to reverse what president biden jested is through congress. -- just did is through congress. but that might be complicated because florida republicans have rejected drilling which president biden removed and even president trump his way out of office and 2020 decided to enact

a moratorium of drilling in the eastern gulf of mexico and all of waters that president biden just withdrew. president trump did the same thing for 10 years not permanently. so when you see president trump saying we will reverse this you have to ask what are you reversing? the permanency? are you trying to do this more temporary? and can you get florida republicans to agree? host: we will get your calls on that energy policy, drilling, and energy costs. you can give us a call by party. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. an independents, 202-748-8002. you say in one of your articles that this move is largely symbolic. guest: it is because there is a chance it can be reversed. republicans in congress are certainly going to take an attempt through their reconciliation bill that they

can pass with all republican votes to actually reverse the permanency. keep in mind that it is symbolic also because there is not much drilling in these waters. there is none. host: why? guest: it is not economically viable. the atlantic ocean does not offer prospects and a lot of governors have resisted drilling off of their coast. the people do not want it. the same with the pacific. there are some attempts to restart some already existing offshore platforms in california that are encountering a lot of local opposition. there is a political and social license hurdle. in the eastern gulf of mexico there up in decades of no drilling because it is politically challenging to do that. host: in part of the clip, president-elect trump said we will drill baby, drill and that energy prices will come down bringing everything else down. explain how that will work, how quickly will there be note --

new drilling? an part of the issue is getting petroleum companies so want to drill. guest: even republican congressional staffers who i've talked to have said we are not going to go into this politically contentious areas and offer offshore leases like the coast of south carolina. there is very limited industry interest. so when president-elect trump says we will lower prices, this is a globally set price on oil and gas -- on oil, not gas. the amount that the u.s. is able to drill does some have -- does have some effect on price swings but it cannot alone set the price for oil in the u.s.. there is some effect by producing more, but again the economy on gas and oil is already so saturated. we are already producing a lot. the u.s. is the number one producer of oil and gas in the world. anymore use is not going to

change the dynamics significantly. and in the end, you cannot just tell drillers to drill. they have to find it is within their own economic interests. a lot of people that we have talked to have said there is not enough of an incentive with the price where it is at set globally for them to go and drill. host: what would that incentive be and there is something that the trumpet administration can do? -- trump administration can do? guest: the price of the barrel has to be so high to incentivize economic activity. it takes a lot to have an offshore drill. the price of the barrel has to be so high and that would put the price of oil so high it will not loyal -- lower the prices. host: explain the difference between his first in ministration and his second administration?

guest: he wanted to open up more federal oil and gas leasing. he wanted to drill more onshore and offshore. through reconciliation they opened up the arctic national wildlife refuge to drill and they did not get to drill that. that is a huge politically contentious area in a glascow. you see him -- in alaska. you see him wanting to do those things and facing the prospect of another election he is -- he issued another moratorium on these waters that president biden has taken off of the table. with president-elect trump not having to face another election will he reverse that and continue to open up more land, we do not know. what will be telling is what message she sends to congress and him saying in his press conference that he wants to reverse the ban does not have a lot of specificity and detail so we need to know what to that -- we need to know what that is.

host: we will start on the line for democrats in richmond, kentucky. cindy. good morning. caller: i am a florida native and i moved to kentucky this year. and i have been telling kentuckians about this ban that trump did and actually it started with rubio, i believe, who reintroduced the florida shores protection and fairness act. and that they did put a ban on drilling oil in florida. the republicans dead. and i -- the republicans did. and i tell people in kentucky and they do not even know that the republicans and trump did this in florida. i want people to know that not only did biden just put this ban on, but trump did it in 2020, as

you explained. so, i am really upset about this that people do not know about it that trump put on. what is going on with fox news not announcing this? host: any reaction? guest: this is a universally opposed thing in florida to drill in the eastern gulf of mexico. there are national security and environmental reasons. when you look at the broad sweep of climate forward thinking republicans, a lot of them are in florida. the ones who care about climate change understand that sea levels are rising and oil and gas has some effect on that. the world is still seeing an expansion of demand so there is a sense that this oil and gas will have to come from somewhere else if those broader demand questions do not change. it is also already not coming from the eastern golf. host: let us talk to a republican in florida. this is joe. hello.

are you there? in florida? caller: can you hear me? host: yes. go ahead. caller: let me ask you a question. it takes an act of congress to declare war against another country. what powers has a president got, without the authority of congress, to initiate what he is initiating right now? i do not understand? what is congress for? host: go ahead. guest: in fact, there is congressional authority to do this to the extent that it has been tested in the court. this is from the outer continental land shelf act which has been around from the 50's. there is statute. congress has given the president the authority to do this. it is whether it stands the test of the court is the next

question. we might see that over the next couple of years. host: what about drilling in federal land in alaska? guest: that is likely going to be a political football in the next congress. certainly the republicans would like to open that up. this executive action from president biden does take more of alaskan waters off of the table. but even alaska has not challenged that to a major degree. again, that is a politically sensitive thing. when you get to action old governor -- actual governors, and state representatives having to take these actions. if you put it in their court they are not willing to go that far. host: are there leases given to companies to drill and they haven't started drilling for whatever reason? guest: there have been leases in the alaskan waters for some time but there have also been problems over the years, shall

encountered -- shell encountered a lot of problems getting their offshore operations going. look. there has been drilling in alaska and it is a major oil-producing state. when you get to opening up these environmentally sensitive areas and that is where it is a whole different ballgame. host: richard. line for democrats. augustine, georgia. caller: good morning. president trump wants to drill, baby, drill, that he does not realize how much affect that opec oil companies will have on the oil market. it is not above $80 a barrel. we will not see cheaper prices until oil drops below $75 a barrel. also, we have been drilling since the obama administration. with plenty of permits.

but oil companies i say they rule the country on the energy crisis -- on the energy prices. if you do not have refineries that can process all of the oil or do not want to refine it, we will have higher gas prices. besides, they are having trouble with the batteries for electric cars and cold-weather temperatures. host: let us get a response. guest: i mean the caller is exactly right. at a certain point you need a high price of oil to incentivize more drilling. and opec, the cartel of oil-producing states also working in concert with russia has an incentive to keep prices at a place where they can preserve market share and keep the u.s. out of drilling more. they are swing producers. they can decide whether to produce more or less and to

moderate the price of oil because they control that much of the market. at this point, if prices are low, that will keep more u.s., which are higher cost trailers out of the market. the u.s. is getting more efficient at producing oil domestically so that is having less of an effect. when you have prices low you still get u.s. drillers coming to the market. the lowest cost trailers are often in opec -- drillers are often in opec. about the refineries, that is also correct. u.s. refineries are built to handle crude varieties that are not as readily produced in the u.s.. you were talking about making gasoline out of heavy crude coming from canada and venezuela. and we are building new refineries. it is a huge capital-intensive observation -- capital-intensive operations. we produce the liar varieties

that those refineries are not -- are the lighter varieties that these refiners are not able to handle. host: talk about energy independence and if we will be there? guest: the idea that we have is that we will never import energy from somewhere else. and that is not how it works. it is a global market and globally set price of oil. it is just arbitrage. if you could get cheaper oil from overseas that is what you are going to do. with the refineries, a lot of them are not configured to only handle what is produced in the u.s.. you have to make send stuff. we get 18% of what is refined from canada, a heavier crude oil then we produce. in president elect rob talks about 20 -- president-elect trump talks about tariffs from canada and mexico you are talking about 1/5 of what is

refined off of the market. we will not get that from domestic sources. host: sal in new jersey. republican line. hello. caller: i have been listening and just a couple of points. i was going to say every time i watch c-span most of the time i hear people with the negativity about president trump's policies and now this fellow is drinking the biden kool-aid and you can tell. when the keystone pipeline was open and the keystone pipeline was open, how come gasoline when i went in the gas to get my car was like $2.20 a gallon? he is saying all of this stuff, get oil from other countries and refine it. it cost more money to get oil from venezuela like we are doing, refining it. all of that money took refine it

when we have it here. biden shut down all of the leases and things for people to open oil and open drilling oil -- i forgot the right word. he will not open them up to drill more oil and he shut it all down without congress. he did what he wanted to do. i just want to hear some people with positive things that trump is saying will do to get more people working if they start drilling and opening oil refineries and start making money for the american peer appeal -- people. that is what i like to hear people say. guest: most energy production oil and gas production in this country comes on private land, not controlled by the federal government. that being said, president-elect trump wants to open more of that federal land to drilling. and there will be more drilling on federal land bringing more

jobs to those sites. but a majority of that oil and gas production cannot be shut down by a president because a majority is on private and state lands that the federal government does not have control over. host: the caller said it is cheaper to use our own oil rather than importing from venezuela. explain that again how the economics of that works. guest: this is a global market. there is no american price versus venezuelan price. it is such a global commodity that there is one price pretty much. there are a couple of different points at which you can set the price but it is one price. if one places producing cheaper than another it makes sense to import from another place. it is the cost of doing business, there are traders who make money in between who make sure that the deals get done.

again, it is the actual engineering of the refineries. you cannot just feed american crude through a lot of these refineries, you need different varieties. it is not because they like venezuela more than america. there are literally different types of crude oil coming out of the ground that you need to make gasoline. host: clyde in oklahoma. line for democrats. good morning. clyde? oklahoma? are you there? maybe not. i want to ask you about president-elect trump's nominees in the energy sector. we have chris wright, interior secretary doug burgum and epa administrator is lee zeldin. what are you expecting? guest: they are all going to sail through the confirmation process.

lee zeldin was in congress. when you are an animal of the congress, you definitely get an easier pass through the confirmation. that being said he has a long island republican and he has taken some solid votes for environmental reasons on water protection and is viewed as a strong legal mind. a lot of the epa is regulations and eagle -- and legal matters. chris wright said controversial things about climate science and he is a technologist. he is an m.i.t. grad and he certainly seems to like energy that he does not like the policy that support subsidies for wind and solar technology. to the extent that the energy department has any say over the administration of tax credits and the inflation reduction act which is a huge law the president biden and democrats pass, he would take a negative view.

and then doug burgum -- he believes in using technology to reduce the effect of oil and gas on climate change. a lot of that is nascent. but he has expected to oversee this unleashing of american energy dominance and that would mean more oil and gas drilling on federal land. host: robert. washington, d.c.. independent line. hello. caller: i have a couple of questions to ask and i would like to make a follow-up. remember the first time we play -- we paid five dollars plus a gallon of gas? host: do you remember? guest: i do not. caller: you should. you should. it was 2004 and 2005 the george

w. bush when they added ethanol to gasoline. i do not know why these republicans have selective amnesia and they do not remember when they were play -- paying five dollars plus. the second question at -- i will say who has the greatest fortune in batteries? host: go ahead and tell us. caller: thomas edison. 130 years ago. question number three, who is nikola tesla? host: that when everybody knows. everyone knows tesla. yes. he invented alternating current. caller: right. so now he was one of the greatest minds in the last 1000 years. he came with his idea called free energy.

he devised various different inventions that could basically produce energy but the u.s. government kicked him to the curb. why? they said we cannot make money off of the products. host: do you have a specific question for the gas. we are running out of time. caller: i gave what the specific question, when was the first time he paid five dollars a gallon. host: he has a climate and energy reporter for politico. you can find his reporting at politico.com. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: up next we are joined by jamil jaffer the founder and directed -- and executive director of the national security institute at george mason university. we are talking about the isis threat in the wake of the attack in new orleans and then back a balance discusses her thoughts -- becca balint talks about the

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>> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are joined by jamil jaffer, national security institute founder and -- at the george mason university law school. he has a former senior counsel to the house intelligence committee. welcome to the program. guest: thank you. host: in talking about this attack in new orleans, the fbi said the attacker is 100% inspired by isis. tell us how they reached that conclusion? guest: the most obvious piece of evidence is that he put in isis flag on the back of the truck that he drove into the crowd on bourbon street killing 14 people. beyond that we know that over the course of the last year and in the lead up to the attack he po number things on social media indicating allegiance to andis concerns with music d western culture and the ke.

an that was made clear to us. in particular that he is involved with isis and he mentioned in one of his posts right before he conducted the attack was thinking about killing his own family but decided it will not get his cause enough attention and that was part of his concern which is why he conducted the particular attack that he did in new orleans. host: the u.s., i believe is -- has largely defeated isis in iraqi and syria. what is the current state of isis? do they hold any territory, and how much influence and power do they actually have? guest: we have conducted a strong series of operations over the course of nearly a decade against isis. they hold small pockets of territory. in the last few days u.s. forces along with iraqi forces have conducted strikes against i

write -- isis targets. on december 20, 2024, we killed a senior isis leader. and so we continue to strike as they continue to be a political threat in the region and internationally because they are trying to plot longer-term attacks against the united states and allies in europe and they are trying to inspire people like him to conduct attacks in their homelands here in the united states or europe as well. host: how are they inspiring those attacks? three what medium? guest: it is actually online. they are hosting videos that talk about jihad and training and they talk about what might motivate you to conduct an attack. they talk about extreme versions , not the actual version of islam that most of the muslims in the world practice. they are working in effort to actively take people who have other issues. he had issues and his family life, issues financially and

incorporating to life after the military. they want to convert these people into killers by giving them something to believe in and something that motivates them and explains why they are having problems that are not the actual reason for their problems. host: i will play you a short portion of sabrina saying talking to reporters about the level of threat that isis represents today and then i will get your reaction. [video clip] >> isis maintains capabilities in iraq and syria which is why we have our forces in those countries to make sure that isis can never reconstitute, research or surge back to what it was a decade ago. the entire mission of our force is to ensure the enduring defeat of vices which is why we partnered with syrian democratic forces over the past few years and that is why we continue to conduct strikes whether it be as

recently in the desert or elsewhere because of course isis remains a threat, they are not the same threat they were a decade ago. [end video clip] host: what do you make of that, and the concept of the military defeat of isis given that this is more of an ideology that inspires other people to make attacks on their fellow citizens? guest: it is hard to combat an ideology. it is not just ideology but fighters and planners who are plotting attacks and getting groupies online and making videos trying to radicalize people and communicating over encrypted apps with americans and europeans, trying to get them to attack. there are people in facilities and training camps that have the capabilities that they are obtaining. look at syria which is a fall of

assad. that is a victory for the world but at the very same time those same people coming into power, the new leaders of syria purportedly, he has a former member of al qaeda and making terrorists group in the region. but they now control real territory with real weaponry. they have taken an effort to take out syrian military equipment. that is a real challenge and these terrorists are not going away. they continue these attacks and identifying opportunities. if we take our eye off the ball, they will achieve success, not just the way they did in new orleans but other big tech -- big attacks which is their goal. host: we will take your calls and we are talking about the threat that isis poses to the united states.

we are taking your calls by party. democrats, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8001, for republicans. 202-748-8002, for independents. president-elect trump has said that he wants to scale back u.s. presence in the middle east and just as a reminder the u.s. has about 2000 troops in iraq and 900 in syria. they are there to counter isis, what do you think that is -- the impact that will have the more isolationist or america first agenda? guest: we have had three presidents in a row, obama, trump and biden wanting to reduce our force posture and remove ourselves from a lot of these conflicts and focus at homes. at times we have done that we saw the disastrous withdrawal afghanistan and his successful efforts against isis but the

challenge where he allowed the turkish government to go after our allies the kurds as well. there are challenges with our allies and adversaries oversee. the real fact of the matter is at the end of the day it is better for the united states, americans and allies to fight the adversaries where they are in the middle east and elsewhere rather than allowing them to plan and plot attacks against the united states, europe or americans and europeans around the globe. if we are going to win the effort or be successful at staving off attacks we have to conduct operations overseas, not just in syria and iraq but afghanistan and pakistan and parts of africa as well. host: president-elect trump was asked about it yesterday and i will play you a portion of what he said specifically about turkiye. [video clip] >> the pentagon disclosed that

the u.s. has 2000 troops in syria double the number initially that we were told, will you keep that true capacity the same? >> i will not tell you that because that is part of a military strategy. with turkiye, they have been after that country and different names and forms and shapes for 2000 years. those people that went in our from turkiye, and president erdogan is a friend of mine. he is a guy like and respect and i think he respects me also. he is the one that did not go after certain people after he requested that i do not, the kurds. i do not know how long that will go on because they are natural and amended -- enemies they hate each other. he did not do that and he did not do it the past also. he started and i said please do not do that and he did not. if you look at what happened with syria, russia was weakened, iran was weakened.

he was a very smart. -- very smart guy. he sent his people in and they took over and that is a way it is. [end video clip] host: what do you think of that on you know cedeing the fight to the turkish president? guest: certainly president erdogan has interest in the region -- region as do russia and iran and he is right that in a lot of ways the turkish effort was successful at harming russia , iran and there in stressed -- and their interest in serious here's the problem is that the people who have taken over have long-term ties back to al qaeda and terror groups that have attacked the united states and president trump pointed out there is a challenge between the kurdish and turkish forces. turkiye is a member of nato. at the same time we have a very strong relationship with the kurds who won under president

trump fighting against isis or talkback a lot of that territory. we have not yet won that war but the kurds were helpful. we have to maintain that relationship. president trump has a more charitable story than what took place but at the same time getting the turkish government and president erdogan is a good thing for the nato alliance and a good thing from the united states. they allowed russian missiles and that is a huge problem and we need them to stop that. need them back in the f-35 program but turkiye has different issues in the region. need to figure out how to work together with them but not go out of key -- not go after key allies of ours that have fought for themselves to protect the lands in iraq in syria from the threat of isis and al qaeda. host: we will take calls but one more question before we do, this attack in new orleans was carried out by a u.s. army veteran born in texas. he had pledged allegiance to

isis just before the attack. legally when it comes to an american citizen, what can the fbi do as far as tracking people, surveilling people in the united states that have either isis leanings or have actually pledged allegiance? guest: that is a great or really important question. the challenge that we face today is that we have an authority that used to be the surveillance act and it allows us to surveilled americans with a court order from a court made up of district judges around the country to surveilled terrorists. unfortunately congress allow that authority along with other critically important authority is like roving wiretaps as well as the 215 which allows us to

access metadata to look at connections between terrorist groups. all of those were allowed to expire four years ago. it is no surprise that the authorities critical to identifying people have gone away and we are missing some of them. we need to get those back. second, section 70 two which allows us to survey terroristists and foreigners overseas has expired. it was ratified only for a short. -- a short period. congress has a lot of important decisions to make and has dropped the ball in a big way when it comes to loanable surveillance over four years ago. host: let us go to greg, a democrat in wilmington, connecticut. hello. caller: good morning. good morning guest. i am a lifelong democrat and a big antiwar guy. i think the guest is being a

little bit disingenuous when he describes the situation in syria. he has a terrorist and he has a $10 million bounty or reward on his death. and in a large part he is there because of u.s. support of his terrorist group to take down the legitimate government of syria. this started back in 2011. so the guest -- the history of the situation is completely missing here as i talk. but, short of that, it makes it really difficult. if we are supporting this guy who is a terrorist, and in the overthrow this government, why on earth should i believe

anything the fbi says about what is happening in new orleans or las vegas? i have no faith in my government because of the deception that they constantly do with misleading information about what is going on in the world. that is it. host: let's get a response. guest: i think greg raises important points. to the extent that i suggested that he is not a terrorists or was not for a long time, i agree with him. he is exactly right. he was part of a terrorist organization part of al qaeda. to be clear, we do not support him. supported the syrian democratic forces and they have worked with groups to push against the syrian government. it is true that in the syrian civil war people of different factions fought against another but they have also fought together against assad.

as far as i'm aware we have not supported him and i don't think we should. at the same time that i am glad that assad is gone and i am worried when this guy takes over and it is too that he is putting off -- putting on italian looking good for tv but the reality is that he has very deep ties to terrorist organizations and we should not support him and we should ensure that syria is a country that embraces all of its people and their significant minority populations like christians the jewish community and shia muslims. we not -- we want a country that is secure. if he is truly reformed great. i am not buying it but let us see what happens. i agree with the caller that it could be a problem. with concerns about the fbi there is no doubt that the intelligent community needs reforms. fundamentally they are rolling in the right direction which is

protecting the country from the threat of terrorism and other threats as well. i think we ought to support the military intelligence community and give them the tools and capability while ensure they are doing the right rings to -- protect american civil liberties as well. host: do you think that the threat of isis has grown since the october 7 attack by hamas on israel? guest: there is no doubt that are terrorist adversaries whether they are supported by iran like the houthis, or the terrorist groups that are associated with al qaeda like isis, they are all looking at the united states and our allies and saying these guys are people we need to go after. they have long believed that in october 7 gives him the opportunity to do more and they have seen a lot of indecision in terms of our support for israel which is fighting against an attack that caused the equivalent of a population-based

of a dozen 9/11 attacks. and we want them to hold back and slow down. there are important things to do to protect civilians in gaza but at the same time we cannot give any quarter to torrorists that conducted the attacks. the things they did to young women and girls in that attack were horrific. and i want the american people and i want the callers and listeners to think about how we would feel and what we would do if a group conducted an attack that is the size of a dozen nine elevens in the country of israel. we spent two decades chasing al qaeda and israel is barely a year into the conflict and they have to destroy hamas and take it down. at the same time we have to ensure that the gazan population is safe and secure and they get the food and medical supplies that they need because at the end of the day they are not the adversary and israel knows it. it makes them harder to operate

if the gazan people are suffering and they are viewed as how they are suffering and there is a balance. host: ali, in lorton, virginia. independent. good morning. caller: first, i called to express my view about a couple of things but i would like to thank the first caller. i feel like not many americans understand this. but i want to say the similarities about what happened with iraq. in 2003 the united states came through and put down the saddam hussein regime, a criminal dictatorship and probably everyone will agree about that. and then handed over the government in iraq to extremists, islamic parties, that they have been, a couple of them actually accused of terrorism.

they are well known to the united states. they handed over the government's to them, providing them with ids and legitimacy. and they left iraq to the fate of those people. it is really striking to see the same thing happen again. they are not just terrorists wanted in the united states. he is probably wanted because he killed innocent people. he would take over and he would give it the legitimacy and foreign minister start to flock to him in iraq it took a couple

of months for the terrorist organization and the neighboring country intelligence to form up and start operating and start the civil war. -- i think it was a proxy war and not civil war. host: let us get a response. guest: i think he raises an important question about what happens when dictators leave power, who fills a vacuum? in iraq we put in place a government that we thought would be more allied to the united states and not oppress the people the way that saddam hussein is. the iraqi government over the last decade and a half or two decades has done a lot for the people to benefit them and a lot of better ways. at the same time it has not gotten the u.s. the resulting wanted with the elections in iraq taking place and they elected more problematic governance and that has been a problem that and that has been a

problem. that might replicate itself in syria. ali raises an important point that even the most brutal dictatorships might have aced ability that benefits the united states but the syrian regime was never interested in working with the united states. ever since president obama set the redline and he crossed when he used chemical weapons against his own people, that made it clear that assad was an iranian puppet and a russian puppet and it was not of -- not in our interest to have him in power. it does not mean that the new one is an inch -- is an art interest or will not have a problem with a radicalized organization. we have always supported the syrian democratic forces and believe that they are the right people to come into power and help get syria to a good place. that has not happened. that will be a challenge for the united states and our allies. ali is right to raise these

questions in the example of iraq and it is a cautionary tale. we need to think about that going forward. at the end the dead -- at the end of the day in syria in particular, we have 2000 soldiers, we have a lot of forces in the region, this is the most important people in the idem attic are the turks. -- in the dynamic are the turks. we need to work with them and make sure they are not going after our allies at the same time we get the right people into power. it will not always work but assad is good -- assad being gone is good for the syrian people. host: independent in new york. caller: thank goodness for c-span. i have a quick question. how long was it from the time that the person that did that attack in new orleans? how long was it from the time where he left the military until he supposedly did the attack? guest: he was in the military

for about 13 years. i believe and i need to double check but i think he left around 2021. it has been a few years. he did indicate he had struggles with his departure and coming back to civilian life which is one of the challenges and he also had financial troubles and troubles with his family. two daughters and a son, two marriages ending in divorce. he was going through some trouble and there was a suggestion that he had mental health issues. this demonstrates how important it is without we care for our veterans and address the mental health issues that they have. dst has a very real thing. at the same time it is kind of shocking i think to the american people that someone who was born in the united states in texas raised here and was living in houston and served with what appears to be honor for over a

decade would so quickly turn against the country until 14 innocent civilians and then engaged in a gun battle with police officers where he was ultimately killed. that is a disturbing thing for americans to think about. it demonstrates a real challenge that we have about ensuring that people with mental health are taking care of and that those issues are addressed but also that terrorists are actively looking for people like that and looking to recruit them and then causing them to act out whether it is in the united states, europe and other parts of the world as well. host: i wanted to ask about a january 2 true social post were donald trump linked terrorism to open borders. what is your reaction to prioritizing border security over traditional counterterrorism in the united states? what do you think of that? guest: i don't thing we have to

choose between those two. we can have effective counterterrorism operations while doing a better job securing our border. the number of isis terrorist have crossed into the u.s. in the last two years because of our challenges at the border. we know the homeland security department has encountered record number of suspects of border crossings. they see what we see on the news. the border is open. we don't want terrorist to come into the united states. the new orleans attack highlights whether they coming from overseas or are radicalized in united states, it's an ever present threat we have to fight overseas, identify and have the right to identify those threats, and there is no question we have got to secure the southern border. the american people forget our leaders say we are a country that is failing. we are not failing.

we are a global superpower. we can walk and chew gum at the same time. host: that is jamil jaffer at george mason university law school. thank you so much for joining us. guest: thanks. host: up next, democratic congresswoman becca balint of vermont discusses her thoughts again coming trump administration at democrats' role in the 119th congress. stay with us. ♪ >> ahead of the presidential inauguration on january 20 american history tv on c-span2 presents historic inaugural speeches. each weekend listen to speeches from franklin roosevelt through barack obama. on saturday, hear speeches by jimmy carter in 1977. >> i believe america can be

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host: welcome back to the program. we are joined by representative becca balint, a democrat of vermont any member of the judiciary committee. welcome to the program. this is your first time on the program. a special welcome to you. you just started your second term in congress. the first woman, first openly lgbtq person to represent vermont. tell us what you learned during your first term in congress and what your priorities are for this one. guest: i will start with my priorities. they are the same priorities i had when i came in. shoring up and protecting the democracy. that is something that is incredibly important to my constituents. we have a terrible housing crisis in vermont. getting investments in housing. we have a terrible mental health crisis that is impacting bigger cities in vermont. i would add those are two things

we can get bipartisan work done. things i have learned is that the members on the other side seem to have, many of them, a different value around protecting the constitution and the rule of law. what has been surprising to me is the number of my colleagues, republicans, who will talk disparaging the -- disparagingly about president trump and the way he conducts himself, and in the end they fall in line. host: so -- guest: that is disturbing to me. host: when you say your republican colleagues are maybe not protecting the constitutional rule of law, spell that out. what do you think it happened? guest: it is deeply disturbing to me that i was sitting on the floor the house of representatives the other day

with over 100 people that did not certify the last election. you cannot just support the winner when your guy wins. the fact we have a speaker the house right now who still will not admit that donald trump lost the 2020 election, that isn't just a sign of a lack of character. it's an indication they are willing to be loyalists to one man above the country. that is deeply disturbing to me. host: what is the strategy going to be for democrats? you don't hold the house, the senate or the white house. guest: the one thing i have been thinking about in earnest is that there are places we do need to partner. we were sent here to do work on behalf of our constituents. i spoke about housing, mental health, the opioid crisis, the economic disparity in the

country. those are things we do need to do work across the aisle. we cannot compromise on our values when it comes to believing in the rule of law and shoring up the democracy. we have a very fine tightrope we need to walk. as hakeem jeffries said, we need to partner wherever we can. we need to know who it is we are negotiating with. when you look at what happened in december, we had a deal and speaker johnson walked away from that deal. who are we negotiating with? our weight -- is hakeem negotiating with the incoming president or with elon musk? who is on the others of the table? it makes it difficult to figure out how to work together. host: if you would like to speak to our guest, becca balint of

vermont, give us a call on our lines. the numbers are (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. [cheers] --(202) 748-8002 for independents. you are on the judiciary committee. what is your view of president-elect trump's nominees, pam bondi, cash patel and tulsi gabbard? guest: cash patel as a nominee for fbi director has literally said i am going to go after the press. i'm going to go after journalists. this is not happen in healthy democracy. this is what happens when we are sliding towards authoritarianism. i believe he is wholly unqualified. in the situation with pam bondi, she has served as attorney general in her home state.

that is not somebody that i agree with politically but certainly she is competent. the last nominee you mentioned, tulsi gabbard, intelligence community has said this is not somebody we should be trusting with our national secrets. i agree with them. host: what is your expectation for the process and the senate for those confirmation hearings -- in the senate for those confirmation hearings? are you confident about the investigative process? guest: i believe some nominees will get through if they are qualified, even if they hold differing views from folks in the senate. i thought it was interesting what john thune said, the incoming leader of the republicans in the senate. he said i don't know if they are all going to get through. there are some indications that there are republican members in

the senate who are not thrilled with some of these picks. the fact that he went on i believe it was "meet the press" saying i have concerns, that's an indication there are concerns behind-the-scenes. -- behind the scenes. i hope they will do their due diligence. host: i want to ask about the front page of usa today. it is this. "biden could have won reelection." what is your opinion on that? guest: i saw that headline. every indication we had as democrats in the caucus was that the president was on a trajectory to lose, more specifically that we were going to lose many, many house seats because of that, meaning the democrats would lose house seats. we have a very -- a situation where the republicans have a narrow margin of victory. one or two seats now when you

look at who's being appointed to the administration. it is incredibly sad and discouraging that when you look at all of the work the president has done on behalf of the american people, all the investments made, that message did not get through. it did not get through and it was not getting through. host: why do you think it did not get through? white advice president harris lose the election? guest: it is multifold. that is the work we have to do, look into the details. the ways in which we were all communicating to constituents about their most immediate needs was not effective. you can't discount the amount of not just misinformation or disinformation being spread on social media. there has been a wholesale rewriting of what happened on january 6. that absolutely played into what happened in the election. no question. host: let's talk to callers.

we will start with jeannie in austin, texas. independent. caller: hi. i feel like hearing you know -- i'm a registered democrat. i didn't vote this presidential election. the first time i did not vote. i did not feel connected to what the democratic party was saying. they did not represent me. i'm a latina. i live in austin, texas. what i was seeing with the economy, not one word of compassion came from biden. all those years he was in power. even kamala. really making me feel they understood how we have been living. none of that. just now, it seems like you are in denial about what we, as a people, have been saying what we

need and what has affected us. yes, i did not vote at all. i'm worried about what trump is going to do. it is sickening to me that there is a bro fest happening at this point. we have elon musk in there. nobody is talking about this but he bought up a bunch of land over there where his spacex is an lowballed people. people who bought land over there to retire. no one is talking about how we did that all those people. there are many things about him the people can agree or disagree with. it's very worrisome. i'm more disappointed that the democrats are not going to win again in four years if they continue to deny what is going on with us, the people. host: let's get a response. guest: thank you for the call.

this is something a thing about a lot. i was -- i think about a lot. i was a teacher. the through line has been how do you alleviate suffering? it starts with being -- with everyone's basic dignity and humanity. there are times we needed to see a more compassionate message coming through. you saw on the part of donald trump and jd vance, there was very little compassion or empathy shown for many, many sectors of the electorate. i agree. we have to get back to those basic bread-and-butter concerns. i represent an overwhelmingly rural state. people are having a hard time affording housing, affording groceries. yes, you are right. those are the things we need to be talking about. which is why it is concerning to me that in the press conference

yesterday that present electron pad he was not talking -- president-elect trump had he was not talking about the price of eggs or building warehousing. p was not talking about the price of prescription drugs. he was talking about taking over greenland and these outrageous ideas that do nothing to speak to your concerns, which are legitimate. host: this is william in north, independent line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. you talk about the upcoming administration and the threat to the constitution, yet you appointed everyplace in for the presidential candidate without a primary, which is probably unconstitutional. you talk about not having empathy or sympathy for the causes of the american -- problems of the american people, but the leader does not seem to care what goes on in the country.

he disappeared. he told us it is not what you believe that is necessarily happening. it is not happening the way you think it is. he has come up many times. there is no way as intelligent people you did not know this man had cognitive decline at the beginning. you lied to us over and over again. at the same time you want us to say now we have to believe everything you say about the incoming administration. it is sort of a hypocrisy that needs to end in washington. it is why people lose faith in congress. guest: thank you for the call. you don't need to believe what we say about the incoming administration. all you have to do is look at what happened for the four years when trump was in office. when you look at what happened on january 6 and the fact he still will not take responsibility for that. that being said, you brought up some important issues.

i want to push back on what you said. it is not constitutional for kamala harris to be on the ticket. she was already on the ticket. she had already been through the primary process. it is absolutely constitutional. i understand you may not have liked the process. you may not have liked the candidate, but in terms of that being unconstitutional, that is not the case. the crux of your argument is a good one. which is, there is a disconnection in the way that folks within the beltway here in washington communicate with our constituents back home. it is something i try to do every day to my constituents in vermont. how is this impacting them directly? that should always be the guiding principle. i cannot speak for all of my colleagues and not speak for all of my party. i am showing up to try to do my level best work on behalf of the

people who set me here -- sent me here. that should be guiding us, regardless of party. host: jimbo from bakersfield. "can she described her relationship with mike johnson and other fundamentalist christians in the house?" guest: jim, many of us within the house who are members of the lgbtq community do not have a relationship with incoming speaker. -- the incoming speaker. part of that is the way he has shown up. more specifically in the way he has allowed his party to treat sarah mcbride, the first trans-member of congress -- trans member of congress. she is being harassed and intimidated by other members of congress. he has done nothing to quell

that. that being said, i do have friends on the other side of the aisle. i play on the bipartisan women's softball team. i have friends who i served with on various bipartisan caucuses. i have since the reelection of trump made a concerted effort to make coffee dates with friends on the other side of the aisle, because i know many of them did not want trump to be reelected. they will tell you that. he is not a man who has seriousness of purpose or character. my goal is always to find those partners i can work with. in my home state of vermont i was elected the first woman to lead my senate. i was elected unanimously. that was by republicans and democrats. i take that work of bipartisan work very seriously. no, it is very difficult to have a real relationship with someone

trying to reinvent the nation as one that is beholden to christian nationalists. we will try to work with him wherever and whenever we can. host: last question from x. "what do you say to trump voters in your district?" guest: i love this question. i know in at least 12 towns in vermont people split their ticket between me and trump. i actually received a card yesterday from someone who is a republican in vermont who said to me what i know about you is even if i don't agree with you on all policies, i know you are showing up for me. what i say to my constituents is, my number one priority is making sure i am able to deliver for you, whether it is housing investments, making sure we deal

with our issues of gross economic disparity, and knowing that i have to show up in listening mode. i always say, you know, having been a teacher for so long the most important thing you can do is give attention to people. to stop talking and listening and have folks tell you what they are experiencing directly. my job is to try to translate that into policy i can push through within the committee and on the floor. it is not easy work but it is something i take incredibly seriously. to trump voters in my district, i am not going to ignore your needs by any means. i am going to do whatever i can to protect the state of the democracy. host: representative becca balint, democrat of vermont. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you so much. host: up next, more phone calls

on open forum. you can give us a call. start calling in now. the numbers are on your screen. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8002 for independents. we will be right back. ♪ >> democracy will always be an unfinished creation. >> democracy belongs to us all. >> we are in this sanctuary of democracy. >> great responsibilities fall once again to the great democracies. >> american democracy is bigger than any one person. >> freedom and democracy must be cost guarded and protected. >> we are still at our core a democracy. >> this is also a massive victory for democracy and for freedom.

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former president jimmy carter is lying in state. members of the public are coming in. you can see that on your screen. they are paying their respects. yesterday at the capitol rotunda, vice president harris gave attribute to former president jimmy carter. [video] >> it's an honor to be with you this afternoon. to jack, chip, jeff, amy and jason, and all the other members of the carter family, on behalf of the american people, doug and i offer our deepest condolences. being with you today i'm reminded of the enduring words of a favorite hymn. "may the work i have done speak for me." today we gather to celebrate the life of a man whose works will echo for generations to come.

a man from plains, georgia, who grew up without electricity or running water and served as the 39th president of the united states of america. and lived every day of his long life in service to the people. president james earl carter junior. i was in middle school when jimmy carter was elected president. i vividly recall how my mother admired him. how much she admired his strength of character. his honesty, his integrity, his work ethic and determination. his intelligence and his generosity of spirit.

we have heard much today and in recent days about president carter's impact in the four decades after he left the white house. rightly so. jimmy carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president. and leaves an extraordinary post presidential legacy. host: that was yesterday. we have the full event on her website at c-span.org. we will be covering the funeral of former president jimmy carter tomorrow. definitely stay tuned for that. we will go to your calls now. to selma in bronx, new york. the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i am calling to the guy that called and what he said about joe biden.

what about donald trump? host: is it all you wanted to say? caller: no. donald trump has a mental problem also. when will we start talking about mental problems because donald trump has a metal problem. i want to say that joe biden, why is -- kamala at the top of the ticket did not win? kamala at the top of the ticket. she did not win. joe biden could have won this election. i spoke to people in pennsylvania. i have family and friends in

pennsylvania. they told me a lot of democrats stayed home. they did not come to vote for kamala. that is the reason why kamala lost. they did not like the fact they removed joe biden from the ticket the way they did. they told me a lot of democrats stayed home and did not vote for kamala. joe biden would have won the election. easily democrat who could have beaten donald trump. host: all right. we mentioned this before. the front page of usa today, exclusive exit interview that president biden did. he said when asked, yes, he could have won reelection. you can read that article at usa today. this is ronald in georgia, republican line. good morning. caller: how are you doing?

host: good. caller: i want to know at the beginning of your segment this morning right before i called that lady you had on, she said she was a teacher. but -- they blocked everything, the policy they had going on. they tried to block it. there wasn't enough republicans to vote for it. on the first part of that segment you was talking about y'all had trump up there wanting to have that blocked with the girl he was with. yell shouldn't put that stuff up there. he's our future president.

i really don't have much faith in the way all talk about -- y'all talk about it. host: you mentioned the lincoln riley act. the house passed the act amped up border enforcement and put pressure on democrats. the bill name for a student murdered by a man in the country illegally. it passed the house last year. the new republican-controlled senate is inspected to take it up friday. we will let you know if that happens. the vote was 264-159. this is don in rhode island, independent line. you are next. caller: hello. hi. great haircut, mimi. i have been watching you a long time. this is the first time i have gotten through actually.

host: go right ahead. we are listening. caller: i meant to comment on earlier things. there's a lot that could be said. i watch a lot of c-span. you get the range of colors and interviews as well -- callers. i would like to apologize on behalf of america. i'm sure you get a kick out of it when you're off-line, how people: that are crazy. -- people call in that are crazy. everyone should consider looking into roasting their own sacred cows. this country and people in general are really into their own propaganda. whatever emotionally supports their narrative is what you are going to go with seems to be more so than where the facts would dictate. i would like to share a quote with america.

john maynard keynes -- i'm not a hard-core leftist or righty. i'm a very independent thinking person here. p tends to be on the left. -- he tends to be on the left. he had a vigorous debate with a right wing economist. i can't member the gentleman's name. they would have respectful debate. they would have lunches together and whatnot. the gentleman who had what would have a more right-wing economic theory had a portion of that theory which accounted for bubbles and that kind of thing. 'john maynard keynes theory had -- john maynard kings' had no such -- keynes' had no architecture and he absorbed his friend's theory. what are you flip-flopping? in today's parlance. john maynard keynes responded with a quote although america

should pay attention to. "i don't know what you do, but when i get new facts i change my opinion." that is something we all need to do better. joe biden, 51 agents. trump lost the election. let's get together, people. host: here is darrell -- carol in red hook, new york. are you there? redhook, new york. no. let us go to speaker mike johnson who also was at the capitol rotunda yesterday giving attribute to former president jimmy carter. [video] > president carter's life, his selfless service, his fight against cancer in his lasting contributions to his fellow men are all truly remarkable. whether he was in the white house or his post residential

years, as was discussed, president carter was willing to roll up his own sleeves to serve and get the job done. we all know about his work with habitat for humanity. that was mentioned. the origin story goes it was in 1984 when he first became aware of the work. he was in new york for a friend's anniversary. melitta fuller, the founder of the fledgling charity called president carter and asked if he wanted to visit a site in brooklyn during his trip. president carter agreed. he found his way down to the lower east side. standing on the roof of a dilapidated building he looked on the wealth of wall street to the south and to the power of midtown manhattan to the north. then he looked down and he saw an image he would never forget. an elderly woman cooking breakfast over an open fire in the rubble of the building in the heart of the richest city of the world. the habitat for humanity worker

with him turned to president carter and said, if there is anything you can do, we would take it. he said if there is anything i can do, let me know. the worker said maybe you can send volunteer carpenters from your church. the very next day the president called habitat for humanity and told him he was going to send some carpenters, all right. he himself would be one of them. thus began his famous tradition of donating one week every year to build and restore homes for his fellow americans. it's remarkable to think that one of the 45 men who has served as president in one of the only 13 who held the role in the nuclear age would humble himself to such service. we all know his carefree humidity did not stop at building homes. president carter brought life-saving medicine in the face of conflict, he brokered peace. in the face of determination he

reminded us we are all made in the image of god. if you would ask him why he did it all, he would likely point to his faith. i'm reminded of his admonition to quote live our lives as though christ were coming this afternoon. and of his amazing personal reflection. "if i have one life and one chance, to it count for something." we all agree that he certainly did. host: that was yesterday. we will be showing the funeral on this network. it is scheduled to kick off 10:00 a.m. eastern time. be sure to join us for that. some programming notes. today after this program here on c-span is a discussion about the new congress and lessons learned after the contentious speaker election, the impeachment of a cabinet secretary and other historic events during the

previous session. that is from the american enterprise institute. you can watch that live starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span after this program. it is also on our app and online at c-span.org. at the same time at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span2, outgoing commodity futures trading commission chair roston benham discussing his leadership of the cftc and potential policy changes in the new administration, including cryptocurrency. that is at the brookings institution. that is live at 10:00 a.m. on c-span2, on the app c-span now and online at c-span.org. we are in open forum for about 20 minutes. cindy in mckenna, illinois. republican. caller: good morning, mimi. i would like to say that the democrats seem to like to talk about misinformation. your previous guest is spreading misinformation herself.

she said trump did not talk about the price of groceries yesterday in his speech. i watched it. he did. obviously she did not listen to the whole speech. hey brought up the bacon and the apples. i remember i thought he will talk about that apple story, but he didn't. that is all i wanted to say. do they only hear what they want to hear? that is all i wanted to say. host: that is why we have c-span with our extensive video library. you can go back and listen to events in their entirety. this is james in independent -- an independent in mississippi. caller: good morning. let me know when you're going to cut me off. first, president jimmy carter, it is not a funeral. it is a home-going celebration. a -- home-going television.

no one is in no grave. your body in a grave but your real self is not in no grave. as a christian in christ jesus of nazareth, the things people are saying. no liar shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. all these things they put out about this and that and that and this, no liar, no matter what race, color, creed, whatever is, if you are a liar and a murderer or a liar and murderer, there is no life in you. all these politicians, all these people talking about lies on the democratic side and republican side, who's lying in this and that, remember this one thing. you are going to give an account of what you said, whether it is truth or lies. hello?

host: go ahead, james. caller: i hope and pray the women that supported president trump, the women made their choice. that is the only way president trump won the election, because of the majority of the women. this was women power. all the things president trump did and said about women, about lying, women chose him. i supported the women. whoever the woman vote for, i'm going to go for. i never thought they would go for president trump but they did and i except it. i want to see how much he's going to do for women. president biden, he said he was going to look into the restitution for black americans and slavery and segregation and racism. he did not do it. he was going to look into this. i'm asking president trump to look into the african-americans

of slave dissent, restitution for black people. you talk about the black folks living in the neighborhoods and all these things. let's go back. one more thing, ma'am. host: go ahead. caller: this here. they keep talking about awoke. it's about making white children sat in bad. why people died trying to free black people. black and white folks lost their lives. white folks lost their lives, their families two free black people and you don't tell the history about that. it was a lot of white folks that died. how was i going to make you feel bad if you tell a little white child, yes, this country was like this but also caucasian people lost their lives to free african-americans. yes. host: i have to move on. earl in nashville, georgia. democrat. caller: how are you doing?

i hope you let me share a couple of things with you. for the peoples, as a minister, god is telling us my people who are called by my name. let me stop there. god says, not the president says. not joe biden says, donald trump. he told us what he would do for us, the peoples. they have to put their faith in the lord and not into man. that is a problem. we have put our faith into man and forgot about the lord jesus christ. now we are trusting in man to do what he will say. god is the one who has authority.

the people need to understand what they are doing here. yes, the people have been fooled on both sides. ask them to seek god. host: the washington post updating on the fires in southern california. this is -- "there is nothing left. fires burn pasadena homes to skeletal structures." that is a picture from those fires. thousands of people have been evacuated. over 1400 firefighters are battling those flames in southern california. michael in austin, texas. republican line. caller: how are you doing? i have called before. i talked to you in the past about tariffs. i touched on florid -- fluoride.

i want to touch on greenland. trump is catching flak for considering something like that. do ask people to think critically. at what point it would have seemed crazy for us to purchased alaska -- purchase alaska. we purchased a gigantic piece of land that was far away from what we know to be the united states at that time. when you hear trump who is an opportunist and a dealmaker talk about this, he does not seem to convey it properly. maybe he's hiding his hand but the reasons we would purchase agreement would be for the same reason we purchased alaska. it creates u.s. expansion and access to valuable resources. geopolitically, it's a great area. it intersects many trade routes. i'm sure there are billions of dollars worth of trade in terms of natural gas, oil and a lot of investment in ai.

the servers need to go somewhere and greenland is pretty cold. that would be a noticeable place to hold the servers as we invest in ai in the future. i'm a republican. eileen moderate. i don't where the red hat -- i lean moderate. we should give trump the chance to make these deals and ultimately they would be beneficial for america. host: michael, this is a map to give people an idea where greenland is with relation to the united states. here is greenland. currently under the authority of denmark. here is iceland. canada down here and this is the united states. the united states, canada, greenland and then here is northern europe. here is alaska, part of the united states. this is russia appear. -- up here. nestor in washington, d.c.

caller: this is my first time calling. thank you. can you hear me? host: go right ahead. caller: i want to say something about jimmy carter. it's already been stated. it is biblical. you will know a person by their deeds, by their actions. match that with donald trump, ok? jimmy carter was a very humble man and a humanitarian. i want to give praise to jimmy and his family, number one. also, to talk about the democrats. it has been talked about already. the democrats in my estimation lost the election for four reasons. one, white supremacy. this was noted by a few of your guests. there's a book out there.

there was a recent census around 2020 that asserted to the browning of america. that has got to do with the hispanic vote, the latino vote in america. that is one reason. second, the democrats also failed to committee get a strong immigration policy. it was noted over and over about how the democrats and republicans tried to formulate a cogent immigration policy. what was lacking, and it was rarely mentioned how the republicans played the cards in an effort to convince such a cogent immigration policy for a long time. third, the politics as they call it, the woke politics, identity

politics that intersect between gender and race and trying to be politically correct, i think a lot of folks -- woke is still being defined. it is constantly being defined. that has to do with the lgbtq community and how sex and race intersect. well, that created a lot of confusion. as a black male it creates division within our community. the republicans were able and a few black men that supported trump were able to benefit from that confusion, that woke identity politics. third, i will save this, the democrats failed to understand the power of social media.

they failed to understand the impact of social media as it relates to podcasts and a few other social media outlets. host: we have your point. james in sterling heights, michigan. republican. are you there? caller: there was a demand that called up and said that gasoline during george w. bush went up to five dollars a gallon. i looked it up and there's an npr article online that says the last time -- the first time gas was five dollars a gallon was on june 10, 2022, which was underneath biden. second of all, the last lady that called in on the previous segment talking about deporting all the people that work in agriculture, they are not going to do that. you think they're going to deport everybody? number three, the democrat

representative you had on, what you need to do every time you get one of these people on essay -- is ask them what their definition of democracy is. host: what is your definition of democracy? caller: i want to know what there is is. i bet if you ask a group of them, everyone will have a different idea what they think democracy is. my opinion doesn't really matter. i'm not running the country. that's another thing. ask these people who is running the country now. it is not joe biden. thanks. host: doris in houston, texas. caller: yes. can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: the gentleman just said who is running the country. he is saying joe biden wasn't. neither is donald trump. under donald trump, i believe elon musk and his minions will

be running the country. i also want to say that there is a problem when we elect a man as president of the united states that stood on the stage of helsinki and made himself to be a treasonous person. are you still there? host: we are listening. you were talking about helsinki. caller: yes, when he was in helsinki. he made himself to be such a liar that one thing he said i believe and there are very few things he says i believe. he said the system was rigged. if the system was rigged against him, the system was rigged against joe biden also. i do not believe that many american people are misinformed

enough to put donald trump back in office. i think the whole thing was you would not put a smart, well-qualified white woman in office and he definitely were not going to put a smart, really qualified black woman in office. thank you. host: this is michael in louisiana, independently. -- independent line. caller: i want to point out a couple of things. one donald trump was president the first time -- when donald trump was president the first time this country was on the verge of being independent for fuel and energy. when biden stepped in, we are buying fuel from countries that

hate america now. host: you are talking about venezuela? caller: yes. as well as other countries. when they said we are setting to have a gas issue and we need more crude oil, we started going to other countries that are literally enemies of the united states and that have a very, very poor opinion about the united states. host: here is the question i ask previous guests. when you say we were independent, what is that mean when it comes to energy? caller: being independent means we are not buying oil from anybody. we are supplying our own oil, our own fossil fuels. we are -- we don't need outside help. that is what being independent is. host: even if it is cheaper to

buy it from outside? caller: well, who are we buying it from? host: you tell me. caller: a lot of the countries that are out there that we are buying oil from now, they don't like us. it is not really cheaper to buy oil from them. when donald trump was in office we were getting ready to start -- we had enough. we had more than enough then we needed. we were getting ready to start selling oil. now we are buying oil. you know, when the judge looked at biden and said there is no way he would be able to stand

trial because of his mental capacity, he is still president. if you can't -- not able to stand trial, you're not mentally competent, how can you stand to run a nation? that is what people don't look at. host: going back to what you said about oil, this is what i find about where the united states imports oil from. here is the top five countries where the united states imports petroleum. the first is canada, then mexico, then saudi arabia, then anorak -- iraq and then brazil. those are the top five -- will reimport -- where we import oil from. the top five destinations it is exported to is mexico, china, the netherlands, canada and japan. that is at eia.gov if you would

like to take a look at that. mary in palm desert, california. republican. caller: good morning. i wanted to address the if you are happy or unhappy about president trump. host: optimistic or not optimistic? caller: i'm on the fence. i voted three times for mr. trump. i want to go into why. after eight years of biden, i raised children in washington state. i saw the community i worked in go downhill under those eight years. when i heard he was running i did not watch a tv show or anything. i did not know much about him. we have to get things better. i was walking into homes where people lost their health care.

they lost their provider. the community i worked in as a nurse went downhill. houses were being boarded up and vacant. let's give him a try. well, things got better in that community i worked in as a nurse. at homes, they painted them up. churches open back up -- opened back up. there was less crime. i thought he did a good job. also, an unpopular belief people did not do well under him. people who made up that 60,000, they did better under trump. they had more money in their pocket. that is what it boiled down to for me. it is not about my economy. it is more about the people who are making under $60,000. they are the people that voted for him again and again. i'm in california.

i feel so sorry for the people just down the highway who were losing their homes. my insurance just went up here in palm desert $800 in february. we have had no claims. i don't know how these people are going to get their homes back and their property. it is so sad. also donald trump yesterday talked about the economy and the cost of items at the grocery store. gas here in palm desert, i just filled up. it was $4.89 a gallon. i don't know what that man is talking about. that is the lowest it has been in the last three years. i am hoping and praying people in l.a., riverside county, and i hope we don't have a problem here as well. we have winds here as well. host: we wish you

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