♪ >> good evening, i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. kamala harris and donald trump take a detour from the swing states and head to texas laying out their starkly different spruce the nation.

amna: israeli forces lay siege to northern gaza including one of the few remaining hospitals in an escalation in the war. geoff: and we speak with young voters who could be the deciding factor in which the states vote for a democratic president for the first time since 2008. >> feel like the outcome of this election will not only shape the next four years but really shape the next decade maybe two decades and a lot of my life. announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provide by -- >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the "newshour" including jim and nancy doveman and the robert and virginia shiller foundation, the judy and

peter bloom kovlar foundation upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> it really matters when you have an opportunity to give back. >> being part of something that's bigger than myself. being able to integrate your professional career with some of these other things that are important to you. it's critical to be happy at the end of the day. >> people want those and a difference. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kt.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

and friends of the "newshour." this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour." with just 11 days to go, both vice president kamala harris and former president donald trump veered away from battle territory and into the deep red state of texas. amna: a lineup of pop stars join harris on the trail. but we begin with trump who's cha lated his rhetoric even in this final stretch of the ranks laura baron-lopez begins our coverage. laura: the former president continuing his anti-immigrant rhetoric. >> what kamala harris has done

is cruel. it's vile and it's absolutely heartless. we'reline like a garbage can for the rest of the world to dump the people they don't want. amna: in nearby houston, kamala harris respond. >> he really belittles our country. this is a former president of the united states who has a b bully pulpit who and this is how he use it that somehow the united states is trash? >> after his remarks, trump sat down with joe rogan. their conversation will be uploaded to streaming services later tonight. it all comes on the heels of a resurfaced sexual assault allegation one of more than a dozen made against trump. this week, a former model said that it happened inside trump tower while jeffery epstein

looked on. she explained her decision to come forward on cnn last night. >> i felt a wave of shame. i couldn't look at it, talk about it for a very long time i put it in a little box inside of me. turned the key, locked it. >> the trump campaign called them fake. >> you know, meanwhile trump's v.p. pick j.d. vance campaigned in north carolina. >> we are not going back! you're damn right! >> last night the stars were out for kamala harris. ♪ >> the boss himself bruce springsteen warmed up the crowd before the vice president took the stand hand-in hand with former president barack obama. she drew contrast between herself and donald trump. >> picture it in your mind. it's either donald trump in there, stewing -- stewing over his enemies list or me working

for you checking off my to-do list! >> outside the rally, georgia rallies agree. >> she stands for morals. i can't see myself voting for someone who does not -- is not a good representation of morality for my children. >> the only thing that he knows is to lash out and deflect and call her names because he has no policy. >> harris's running mate governor tim walz spent his day appealing to voters. harris and walz are writing the record. they raked in $97 million compared trump, 60 million. harris outspent trump by $67 million.

a big gap in campaign funds. but in the polls, the numbers couldn't be closer. the final national polls has harris and trump in a dead heat for the popular vote. 48% to 48%. tonight, trump heads to battleground michigan for a rally in travis city and harris stays in houston where she'll highlight her policies on reproductive rights and join forces with the most famous texan of all time, beyonce. for the pbs newshour, i'm laura baron-lopez. geoff: chinese hackers targeted the cell phones of former president trump and j.d. vance as well as the harris campaign. officials familiar tell the pbs newshour. but these sources say they do not believe the hack is exclusively election-related and is instead part of a broad chinese campaign targeting america's telecommunications phones. the chinese embassy called this

disinformation and malicious speculation. ♪ geoff: shifting out focus to late breaking news in the middle east, israel is striking iran tonight. it's in retaliation for iran's attack when teheran launched 180 ballistic missiles at israel. nick shiffrin is following this breaking news. what are you hearing from these forces? nick: the confirmed that they are attacking iran. i'm going to read part of that statement right now. in response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in iran against the state of israel, right now the israel defense force conducting precise strikes on military targets in iran. the proxies in the region have been attacking them on seven fronts including from iranian soil. i want to focus on one word "military targets in iran." that has been the source of the

debate, of the discussion, negotiations perhaps between the israeli government and the u.s. government. israeli officials told me when i was there, that they wanted to have a very, very large response to re-establish deterrence in their words. the u.s. wanted to prevent another round of ballistic missile strikes. those ballistic missile strikes were the second round. so u.s. officials argued that in order to prevent a round, israel couldn't attack two things, nuclear sights or energy sights and that apparently is what the u.s. has convinced israel to do to attack military sightses not anything else. geoff: israeli response had been expected. what's been happening behind the scenes over the last three we weeks? nick: it's been that discussion what the u.s. has been limiting what israel might target. that said, geoff, military targets could be a lot.

there hundreds of military targets all over iran. and so we don't know any specifics about this israeli strike yet. and i will add that israeli officials are worried that iran will respond again to this and they do warn me that if iran responds to this one, then some of those limits might be removed. geoff: nick shiffrin, our thanks to you. we appreciate it. nick: thanks very much, geoff. ♪ vanessa: i'm vanessa ruiz with "newshour" west. here are the latest headlines. more people have been reported sick from the e. coli outbreak tied to mcdonald's quarter pounders. the c.d.c. says there are at least 75 reported illnesses in 13 states as far west as washington state and as far east as michigan. the number of hospitalizations

has risen to 22. one person has died. no source of the outbreak has been confirmed. but taylor farms, a california based supplier of yellow onions to mcdonald's and other fast food chains has voluntarily recalled its produce from a facility in colorado. the biden administration is proposing a new path for student loan forgiveness this time for americans facing hardship. it finalized the education department could cancel lone -- loans for borrowers with and two-year default. those could qualify with those with high childcare costs or those with natural disasters. it is going to face legal challenges just as the first two attempts have.

hezbollah militants traded fire across the lebanese border today. two people in northern israel were killed by shrapnel from a hezbollah rocket attack. while in southeast lebanon, an israeli air strike killed three journalists overnight. many other media are staying in the same area which has been largely spared from attacks so far. the committee to protect journalists called for an independent investigation. we'll have more on the war in gaza later in the broadcast. ukrainian president zelensky says north korean troops could join russian forces on the battlefield as soon as this weekend. that would be the first time a third country puts boots on the ground in the war bringing far-reaching geo political consequence. russian president vladimir putin has not comment on the true presence, which the u.s. confirmed earlier this week. but putin said any decision would be one that both russia and north korea will decide together when the time comes.

>> we are in contact with our north korean friends. and when we have to decide something, we will undoubtedly decide. our friends from north carolina have the same point of view but i want to say that it is our sovereign decision. >> there is now friction between putin and u.n. secretary general antonio gutierrez at an economic summit in russia. it prompted president zelensky to cancel a planned visit from gutierrez to kyiv. a deadly tropical storm in the philippines that has killed 82 people may turn back around and return to the area next week. rescuers and police dug through some 10 feet of mud and debris to search for missing villagerers as landslides buried people and homes.

it was in the botungsu province and elsewhere. nearly 3,000 people have been forced into shelters or with relatives. >> we have nothing left. we have no more house to go home to. all all i'm thinking about is where do we go next? we have no more home. >> tramsi the deadliest to hit the philippines this year. the country sees an annual average of 20 tropical storms. and stocks closed mostly lower on wall street snap ago streak of six consecutive weeks of gains. the dow jones industrial average dropped more than 250 points easing back from its record high late last week. the nasdaq posted the only major gain on the day of more than 100 points and the s&p ended vir virtually unchanged. and phil lesh has died. a musician who began as a

classically trained violinist and jazz trumpeteer became the pioneering basis and founding member of the grateful dead. alongside the late lead gui guitarist jerry garcia soaring solos luscious bass provided the rolling thunder sound from the acid rain of the sound of the 60's until garcia's death. but that was nowhere near the end of lesh. he was performing recently. here he is from his birthday celebration this past in march. an official statement on lesh's social media said he passed peacefully this morning. he was 84 years old. and from his many fans here at the "newshour," fair you well, phil. still to come on the "newshour," president biden issue as formal apology for the treatment of indigenous boarding school students. the "washington post" declined a

presidential endorsement for the first time since the 1980's. and david brooks and elle z. granderson weigh in on the week's political headline. >> this is the pbs "newshour" from the david m. rubinstein and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> today more chaos an carnage in southern gaza as israeli air strikes near don killed 38 palestinians including 18 children. in northern gaza the u.n. said israeli soldiers raided the final working hospital there. it's in the middle of an area where israeli forces had been operating for the last three weeks saying hamas had regrouped there. today's raid and what the u.s. and u.n. called extremely limited you maintain aid have created a political crisis.

nick shiffrin's report begins inside the hospital and a warning, some of the images in this story are disturbing. nick: it is supposed to be the home of healing. but its director warns it's become ago mass grave. a mother lies with her son who died in the hospital because its staff didn't have enough supplies to save him. many of the patients have wounds too graphic to show. many of the wounded waged by adults are children. who are being treated without anesthesia. these days the hospital is overwhelm. by 150 and 200 patients. one of the wounded dies every hour. the sounds of pain interrupted only by the echos of war. right outside the walls, dr. husam abusfia and sent this

audio via the n.g.o. met global. >> as you see now there's bombing near the hospital. we're suffering from a lack of medications and medical supply and medical staff one day before our team doctor was killed. >> he has been trying to alert the world posting online, appealing for blood and supplies in conditions he describes as catastrophic. >> we appeal to the world to intervene for our hospitals. and we want international protections for our medical staff because we are working under this stress and under fear and under bombardments. so we need the help. nick: the dead long ago lost their dignity. few ambulances can reach here so

bodies arrive by donkey cart. outside the hospital, the scene is apocalyptic. this was film by pet r -- peter polis. >> the hospitals are beyond capacity not only of the beds but of the patient's ability to be seen by adequate medical staff. there simply weren't enough medical staff. >> earlier this week he was part of a mission including stopping at israeli check points. >> the ambulances were parked about 50 meters away from the israeli solders are open and the paramedic bring one by one the patients to the soldiers and put them on the ground. this meant that there were people with amputated legs, children with co last mi bags and on the ground. there's dust everywhere. it is -- i think one of the least dignified and inhumane

things that i've ever seen in my life. he leads the forces to be sure these convoys stay safe. >> is the coordination working? >> the coordination is working in the sense that there's communication. but there isn't sustainable respect for humanitarian law and the fundamental principle that surrounds it that apart of the conflict has to enable aid workers to get to people in need. >> kamal adwan is in the middle of gaza's refugee camp. >> the israeli military says hamas has reground here storing weapons and explosives in local schools and in the waiting rooms of u.n. medical clinics. jabalia has terrorist infrastructure says israel's top general. >> jabalia is falling.

this is another psychological collapse. and if we take out the manner, it's another collapse. this pressure brings us closer to more achievement. >> to do that israel has tried to evacuate 400,000 residents who have to wait for permission to pass and begin a long journey by foot looking for safety this war zone has denied. israeli restrictions have left the residents without basic needs. >> there's no more water in jabalia. we haven't been able to take food there in weeks. people are dying under the rubble. >> under u.s. pressure, israel has allowed hundreds of aid trucks to reach nor gaza. and they want to starve northern gaza says secretary of state

antony blinken. >> we reject any effort to vet a siege to -- to -- to starve people, to hive off northern gaza from the rest of gaza. >> israel insist that is's not their plan. but today they are diagnosis is suffering wounds of war. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick shiffrin. ♪ geoff: president biden delivered an apology for a u.s. policy that separated generations of indigenous children from their families for more than 150 years sending them to federally backed boarding schools for forced assimilation into white societiy. >> aformerly apologize as

president of the united states -- i formerly apologize as the president of the united states of america. i have a solemn responsibility to be the first president to formerly apologize to the native american people. native americans, native hawaiians and native alaskans, it's long overdue. quite frankly, there's no excuse that this apology took 50 years to make. the policy, and the pain that it's caused will be a significant mark of shame, a blot on american history. >> int interior secretary shorty after she became the first native american to leave the department. the investigation covered generations of abuse and trauma and the deaths of at least 973 native american alaskan native and native-hawaiian children who

attended the boarding schools. dana has been coveraging this story and she covered the ceremony today. thanks for being with us. this is a part of u.s. history that most americans know little about. the federal government's abusive boarding school system. remind you us of what the federal investigation found. >> geoff, thank you so much for having me it has been a historic day here in phoenix just outside of phoenix in the hilo river school. the investigation started with secretary deb holland who should be noted for being the first native american secretary which that alone tells you something. this issue is so personal for her. her grandparents went to inian boarding school. she took this as a major initiative during her time and launched a three-year $20 million investigation looking into boarding schools. what makes that remarkable is that she was the first person -- she was the first interior secretary. she's investigating the very

department that ran these 400-plus boarding schools across the country no one had looked up this history in 150 years. a very trouble history of wrongdoings, misstreet , physical, sexual, mental abuse. 973 children did not make it home. they died at the school. her investigation alone was quite remarkable and historic in and of itself and found that the children who died there some in marked some in unmarked graves sadly, and those who made it home were very traumatized. ased, mistreated. they did not receive the fullest of education. they did manual labor which president biden noted today. they were in the basics of academics. many people think of boarding schools, they think of an elite education. i was so refreshed to hear her bring this up because this was so far from being elite

education. this was not at all elite. helen revealed all that in her investigation. and this was the culmination of that work. she asked for an apology, an presidential apology. and that's what she god got. geoff: the first time a presidentas apologized for the atrocities of thousands of native american children. >> i sort of smiled and got a slight chill. there were cheers. and there were survivors some of who i've talked to, they're heroes. there were tears. many folks said -- i talked to assistant secretary brian newland he has experience of this at boarding schools. he was her point person on her investigation. and she said i have so many mixed emotions today. those mixed emotions being a sense of sadness for those who didn't make it home. a sense of gratefulness who said

that this time has finally come, those who did not make it home and those who survived are getting the acknowledgement and that means so much to native people to be acknowledge on this dark and forgotten chapter of history. geoff: understanding the acknowledgement. a question, what if any action follow this is apology? >> well, we'll have to see. people say what next? "the washington post," i was part of a team this summer that publish an extensive report at many of the schools that were run by not just the u.s. government but by churches. the "washington post" found that 122 brices, brothers and nuns at 22 schools sexually abused native american children. the catholic church, the pope has yet to apologize for the atrocities here in the u.s. he did do an apology several years ago in candidate and that

was -- that was seen and heard. and many native americans here in the u.s. would like to see him -- that's the next step do that same apology here in the u.s. many native americans also this was brought up in reaction that an apology is the first step of healing. we heard that over and over again for the victims. acknowledging a dark history of the u.s. history. this is all of our history. deb parker, the healing coalition who has been working on this, i know they would want more money spent on language, cultural reinvite zation, these things that were stripped from generations of people have left a gap in the knowledge and the passing to younger generation. it was very powerful to see people not just native elders but also young people, teenagers, those folks -- there's a gap in knowledge and

that needs to be closed. the only way to do that is with funding for cultural reinvite zation programs and language programs. there are many folks who have never talked about this history. i really think biden stepping forward speaking of it, we cannot under degrees estimate how powerful that is is to be acknowledged. geoff: dana, thanks so much for being was. >> thank you for having me, geoff. good to see you. ♪ amna: recent polls show that vice president harris leading for voters under the age of 30. laura baron-lopez has this report from the swing state of north carolina. >> let's vote, baby!

let's do it! >> fresh awe a tour of 26 campaigns, anderson clayton has been working toward this moment. >> this was the first time we ever got the "new york times." >> the nation's young estate party chair decide on a strategy early. >> the misconception is that somebody like me could not do a job like this. laura: to build a coalition of young voters like barak obama did in wait. >> there are those who were saying that north carolina would be a game changer. the last time a democratic presidential candidate won north carolina. >> we put an emphasis on young voters because that is where i think the party had lacked the emphasis. we know that north carolina youth vote is going to change this election cycle for us. and that meant that we needed young people to get out there and organize young people. >> u.s.a.! >> as for former president donald trump's recent inroads with gen z men she pointed the wedge women. >> we're doing everything we can to combat that. but we think that our

demographics and where we need to push on doesn't just rely on young men, it relies on getting out and targeting women, mar marginalized communities, what we speak for. >> there's a any gender gap ages 18 to 29 that's driven in part by a harris lead of 30 points or more among young women. one of these young women is shantel chestnut who is excited to cast her first presidential ballot for harris this year. >> it feels good especially being an hbcu graduate. >> like most of the people we talked to at the university, one of her biggest issues is abortion and women's right. >> there's a lot of things at stake here. and i feel like the outcome of this election will not only shape the next four years but really shape the next decade, two decades and a lot of my life. so i feel like this election is very important for me to vote,

make my voice heard. >> about 40 million gen z voters are eligible to vote this year. those young voters could be the deciding factor in north carolina, a state that donald trump won by roughly 75,000 votes in 2020. >> right now i think they've cared about the economy. they're coming out of college and they're wondering hey, where do i find a job? >> emily stack, the head of the federation for young republicans is trying to change her party's typical difficulty with reaching younger americans. >> in general, the republican party always needs to be better at just talking to the younger voter because a lot of times as you know, even if politics in general, we have an older population that runs government. >> stack says the state's network of college republicans will be key to turnout. >> on campus free speech is nearly nonexistence. >> he restarted college republicans this month in the hopes of providing an outlet for conservative students.

>> there will be a growing numbers once republicans less fearful on campus, experience less censorship and even self censorship where they're willing to come out of the woodwork. >> dude duke university said, we believe in fostering a diversity of focus and we want to insure that a wide range of viewpoints is represented at duke. at the first ever meeting of this revitalized club, 12 students were in attendance. but at least one wasn't voting for trump. >> 21 year-old matthew clinger, a registered republican doesn't agree with most of harris's policies but is putting that aside to vote for her. >> i'm pro-life. i think unlimited government is what's best for the economy and the people. but i believe in truth and i believe in empathy. i do not believe that donald trump represents those values. i look at his attack of the capitol in january 6. i look at his belittling of

immigrants and these stories of cats and dogs and i don't think he should be in charge of our country. >> also apparent of the gathering the gender gap with only one woman student showing up. >> i identity politics has improved. >> trevor card understands why most people may not vote for trump. but most men don't feel them in the democratic party. are i think the democratic party has placed a lot of societal vilification on the shoulders of young men and saying we're the source of a lot of social ills in america. and donald trump has reputiated that message in a lot of ways. trevor's support of trump is based mainly on foreign policy. but he added that overall trump does more to engage his generation in their social media spaces. >> i think he knows how to use cultural vehicles to be able to

reach my demographic. >> you would think pointing at the adan ross podcast is a good example of how the trump campaign had been willing to use atypical training measure, using avenue that is were dominated by that young male demographic to reach them. >> his appeal is not subtle. >> it's podcast, ufc. tearing off his shirt. but he added it's also superficial. >> there's no policy behind that. there's no substance behind that. but there is a sense of welcome. >> reeves a scholar on the challenges facing boys an men, said the irony is democrats have more concrete proposals benefiting young men like medicaid expansion and jobs created by the infrastructure bill. but they don't sell it as good for men or pro male. >> it's a bit more of a head scratcher as to what's happening

with those young men. my view is that it's because the left and the democrats have contested enough. they've seeded too much ground on this issue. i'm quite convinced that that's part of the problem here is that young men today don't see an obvious scripted place for themselves in society and in community and in the family in the way that their fathers did. what ends up being the choice for a lot of men is feeling like a left that's turned its back on them. and a right that thinks the solution is to turn back the clock on women. >> back at north carolina central university, 21 year-old amar'e glover said some of his friends have told them they might backed trump. >> i've noticed it because he hangs out with a lot of the rappers that my generation is cool with. so i feel like that's a way for him to influence us because we'll see that and say trump is cool or get gets us. he understands when really it's

a tactic to get his way inside. >> but he was on his way to vote for harris. i'm thinking about representation honestly. i feel like kamala is a great representation of what america should be and can be in the next four years. >> even before the world thought that, she thought that north carolina was a swing statement >> for anderson clayton, there's no denying that harris expanded the map for democrats. >> i do think she's made a world of difference being at the top of the ticket. folks new that north carolina is a marginal state. it's a state where that new jersey level could be that margin. i could push people over the top and get out and vote. there's a huge impact and a wave of opportunity that joe biden would not have had honestly. >> if clayton is right, it would be only the second time since the 1970's that north carolina has gone blue. >> for the pbs newshour, i'm laura baron-lopez in durham,

north carolina. >> for the first time in 36 years, "the washington post" will not endorse a presidential candidate this election. publisher and c.e.o. will lewis explained it saying "we recognize this will be red in a range of ways including as an about deaquation of responsibility, we deceive it as consistent the post has stood for, a statement in the reader's ability to make up their own minds." that comes after the los angeles time blocked an endorsement of vice president harris. both papers are owned by billionaires and their potential role in all of this is being questioned. i'm joined by sule chan of the columbia review. we should note that you have

worked at the "washington post" and the "l.a. times." you have led the texas tribune. you have some insight as to how these decisions are made. what do we know about what happened behind the scenes at "the washington post"? how this decision was made. >> we know that it was made rather suddenly. the editorial writers and i reported who they are had begun drafting this editorial and had gone through the normal process that a very important editorial would have gone through. several drafts, edits, critiques, feedback and up until a week ago, you know, there had been some nervousness that it wasn't moving forward. but a week ago i had been told that the page editor told the staff that things were move forgot ward. and things suddenly, they learned that the piece had been poled. today, we have an explanation from the publisher. but you have an explanation as to why not to endorse but not really why now?

the staff had drafted these endorsements. so why were they pulled so quickly and so soon before the election? >> in the case of the "washington post," the former executivity editor marty baron called that decision coward dis. and he thinks that trump will intimidate bezos. is there truth that he is hedging his bets into a potential trump presidency and what do we know about that? >> we know that bezos was behind the decision. that the post said that was the case. jeff bezos is one of the wealthiest people on earth. amazon is fashion an antitrust lawsuit brought by the biden administration. bezos is involved in space exploration. there are many area that is would touch in areas of federal regulation. i can't speak to his motivations

but i can say that this does not look great for the post particularly when since when marty baron was editor. the post had framed itself as countering autocraciy, democracy dies in darkness was the slogan bezos had coined and decided to use as "the washington post" slogan. so now some people are seeing that bezos is caving to political pressure. amna: what are we seeing from editors and reporters and staff? >> the staff are very demoralized and upset. several of them have said to me and agree with this that maybe it's time to rethink whether presidential endorsements are useful. but you could have down that a year ago. we're only going to endorse in local and state race. most people made up their minds anyway. i think that would have been a very reasonable decision. that's not what happened here. it was the opposite at both the post and the "l.a. times." the expectation of an

endorsement written, backing vice president harris and then pulled pretty much at the last minute by the owner in both cases. >> we now have two major publications the "l.a. times" and the "washington post" both owned by billionaires and in the case of the post and the l.a. times, patrick xun xong. not endorsing a presidential candidate is there a trend of some kind? what does it say to you? >> well, the trend -- it's a great question. i think that endorsements, you know, we have to think their utility and usefulness. i think when at the state and local level when we they help decide ballot questions of which there so many, things where there's not a lot news and publicity that these editorial board members can add insight and they can interview people on prose an cons of issues. you can make an argument that

the presidential level is less useful because there is so much attention. people are getting information from so many places. and if the n "new york times" or "chicago tribune" says vote this way or that way it may not carry weight like it once did. that's a legitimate discussion. what i think is disturbing for a lot of people in the journalism community is doing it so suddenly and without a lot of trance pansy. will lewis said in his op-ed today. we don't see it as an about deaquation of their responsibility. -- abdecation of their responsibility. so a lot of people are left asking well, what has changed? why now this sudden shift in direction? >> that's executive editor of the columbia journalism review. thank you. good to see you. >> thank you, amna.

>> withust over a week left of voting for more on the race for the white house, we turn tonight to the analysis of brooks and granderson. that's david brooks and "los angeles times" opinion columnist z. granderson. it's good to see you both. so the race for the white house as we mentioned rests on a razor's edge. the "new york times" and sienna college released their final poll. it finds that donald trump and kamala harris are tied at 48%. we should mention there's a final nationwide cn poll that finds them tide. but at 47%. david, there's still no clear leader that has been a feature of this shortened race between trump and harris. where's your take on where things stand from 11 days out? >> i guess my vibe is that harris obviously had a great first act. she sort of plateaued in act two and act three.

so she began coming back to earth, i would say two or three weeks ago, and so she's now tied with trump whereas before she had a slight lead in the nationals. it's very tied in the swing states. but if you look at the models, the people who write mo december, the economist model that is trump with a 54% winning. others have 59%. you would have to say in the last several weeks trump had has a good period. and if anybody has momentum, he has slight momentum and i should emphasize the word "slight." and that's reflective of where they're campaigning. harris is doing some work trying to shore up what should be her base. that's not a great sign if you're in the final coupling weeks of the campaign. >> democrats had need the more donald trump became trump on the trail that harris would be able to cap lies on that and build a strong national lead. that hasn't happened. why not? >> well, one i don't know if we know what the national lead is going to be. i think sometimes we conflate

the conversation about results with the electoral college and the popular vote. democrats have won over the last 15 to 20 years and in the case of both president biden as well as secretary clinton even though secretary clinton lost she won by millions of votes. on the one hand, you know, based upon the fact that she's a democrat, you can expect the vice president to defeat donald trump by millions of votes. that is conversation about the electoral college. and that's the reason why it's close. we need to look at the history of the electoral college and what it's designed to do. i don't think that this election in 2024 reflects what the nation is. most people have voted democrats in the last years. >> don kelly, the former chief of staff said that he believed donald trump met the definition of a fascist. that he would govern like a

dictator. had no understanding of the constitution or the rule of law. the atlantic reported that trump told kelly he wanted the kind of generals that hitler had. donald trump denies all of. this how does all of this strike you? the comments and the way in which donald trump's allies are rushing to defend him and december credit john kelly? -- discredit john kelly. >> general mark milly, you look at stan mccrystal, the former general. they think donald trump would be a threat to the kind of military they dream of which is a military that does its job of protecting america and does not get involved in politics. they're truly alarmed in what general kelly said. it comes out. a place of sincerity and strength. he knows because he was the former chief of staff. i don't think fascism has been swaying voters. when i travel around the country

talking to people about what they want to hear about, they don't take the fascism claim seriously. because they think he's already government. went didn't have a fascist government then. the focus should not be on fascism. it should be on the economy and inflation are the number one things that are moving people away from her. and to me if she focuses on fascism, it will rile up -- it will please a lot of people who think the fascist threat is real. maybe they're right. we're trying to get at the undecided voters, the low interest voters. i don't believe fascism is the way you should close a campaign. >> they're going to deliver their closing arguments. where the mop violently attacked the capitol in 2021. is that a good use of her time? will it have the intended effect of crystallizing voters as democrats see them? >> i'm sure for some people it

will crystallize it. but i agree with david in the sense that vernacular, the vocabulary i don't think its beneficiary. it reminds me when the word xenophobia was used to describe former president donald trump. in talking to other voters, i think what is xenophobia and how does this help me at the house with the kitchen table issues? and i think similarly when you look at the word "fascism." i think a lot of people don't know what that means. it takes time to communicate your message. to david's point, i think it wowould be more prudent of her o focus in on the economy as well as trying to shore up votes around reprotective rights. >> and david, i want to draw you out on a column that you wrote this past week where you cap dured the moment. it's happening during a time that might have reform.

say more. what do you mean? >> why hasn't kamala harris bill a big lead? i just think that's not the way history has worked. politics doesn't lead society if you look at the big moments of social change, they happen with a formula. the cultural change happens first. civic change happens next and then political change. if you look at the 1890's, we used to have a very individualistic ethos. it was replaced in the 1880's and 1890's with the social gospel movement which was about taking care of the poor. the settlement house movement, the environmental movement, the nnaacp. and then you get the progressive movement creating the federal reserve system regulating food safety. it goes culture change, social movements, political change.

and harris has not had the benefit of a cultural shift or the social movement explosion and so it's asking a lot of politics to lead the social change unless you have the preconditions. >> in the time that remains, i want to discuss the news about the news. namely the landscape around the newspaper editorial board. presidential endorsements, in this case the nonendorsements. l.z., what does this signal to you, the move by the owners of the "l.a. times" and "the washington post" to not en no, sir this race? -- to not endorse in this race. >> i'm an op-ed columnist. i need to be careful. but i'm extremely disappointed. i've been covering national politics starting bush v. gore. every newspaper i had worked with had endorsed. given what i had been reporting in writing over the years, certainly over the last couple of years and what i've been reading in my own newspaper, i

did not think that it was going to be controversial. i don't know the background of the decisions of both the times as well as "the washington post." i would say as a journalist and a professor of journalism, this is extremely frustrating and disappointing and does not meet the moment that the nation is at right now? >> david, how do you see it? >> pretty much the same way most journalist will say the same thing. we crawled away from yellow journalism. that there's a chinese wall between the business side and the editorial side of the paper. i think that chinese wall is valuable to the entity of our publications and when it seems like the southern interfering with editorial decisions then you've hurt the integrity of the paper and you may try to avoid retribution of donald trump but at the cost of your newspaper.

>> are they necessary or effective these days? >> no. but it's the principle of creating the -- creating this idea of editorial independence. i think sule chance had it earlier in the program that i think state and local and judgeship, those kind of editorial endorsements are tremendously powerful. i follow them on a lot of local races because i basically trust their judgment. but on the presidential race, everybody has their own opinion already. it's not a mystery, which candidate "the washington post" actually supports. >> david brooks -- >> if i just may, it's frustrating as a journalist to work for a publication to endorse someone when they want to arrest you for doing your job. it's frustrating. >> thank you both. ♪

geoff: be sure to tune in tonight with the atlantic on pbs. the program's moderator jeffery goldberg has a preview. >> thanks, geoff. i'll be joined tonight by some of washington's best political reporters. we'll discuss why kamala harris is calling donald trump a fascist. and we'll take a look at pennsylvania. that's tonight on "washington week" here on pbs. amna: and on pbs news weekend, the successes and challenges of tackling youth obesity with weight loss drugs. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by --

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public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. >> the final night of an an extraordinary campaign. will voters send donald trump back to the white house? >> we stand on the verge of the four greatest years. >> or will kamala harris make history? >> are you ready to make your voices heard? >> a pbs news special election 2024 tuesday, november 5th at 7:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 central. >> this is pbs newshour west from the david m. ruben stein studio in weta in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪

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jeffrey: with just over a week to go until election day, and polls showing the tightest race imaginable, kamala harris is calling donald trump a fascist following reports that he expressed admiration for the way hitler ran his army. also tonight, all eyes are on pennsylvania. next.