william: good evening. i'm william brangham. geoff bennett and amna nawaz are away. on the news hour tonight, the

january 6 and classified documents cases against president-elect trump are dropped, as he transitions back into the white house and as he builds up a team to carry out his agenda. then, we examine what was and was not accomplished at the latest global climate conference as world temperatures continue to rise. and venezuela's opposition leader speaks out about president nicholas maduro's crackdown ahead of his inauguration to a third term. >> we will never, never surrender. all venezuelans will never give up. venezuela will be a free country, a prosperous country. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these

individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour, including leonard and norma clore vine and the judy and peter bloom closer foundation. >> two retiring executives turned their focus to greyhounds, giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. they raymondjames financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. life well planned. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to support a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible

by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. william: welcome to the news. -- to the news hour. the two federal felony criminal cases against president-elect donald trump are being dropped. special counsel jack smith filed motions today to end the case charging trump with illegally holding classified documents, and the other for his efforts to unlawfully overturn the 2020 presidential election. smith defended the evidence in both cases, and the decision to prosecute, but said today's expected move hinged on a long-standing justice department policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal prosecution. smith left open the possibilty the cases could be re-opened when trump leaves office. trump lauded today's move,

writing the cases were, quote, "empty and lawless." meanwhile, the president-elect continues to round out his cabinet, including some key economic appointments. he's chosen billionaire hedge fund manager scott bessent for treasury secretary. and for commerce, he's chosen howard lutnick, the ceo of financial services firm cantor fitzgerald and a big backer of tariffs. for more on what these choices mean for trump's agenda, we are joined again by david wessel. he's director of the hutchins center on fiscal and monetary policy at the brookings institution. nice to see you again. let's talk a little more about scott bessent. markets and investors seem to be excited about his pick. david: you can hear this xi of relief from the markets that the president chose scott bessent, a

hedge fund manager who could have been a treasury secretary in a more conventional republican administration, somebody that seems to be a calm set of hands in a fiery cabinet. part of the metaphor. william: metaphors always work for us. what is it about him that could fit into a bush administration or it would be romney administration? what is it he brings that trump likes? david: donald trump understands he needs to have the financial markets on his sides. he may not care about the models we have at the brookings institution but he cares about the stock and bond markets. scott bessent has a plan, 3% growth, which is a little faster than we have had but could happen, 3% of gdp budget deficit, which would be heroic, half the current level of the deficit, and a 3 million increase in the number of barrels of oil we produce. he has kind of a schtick and

people feel comfortable with him but i wonder if he will have as much influence with the president as the markets hope. william: the contrast would be howard budnick at commerce, who seems to be on the opposite side then his treasury pick. david: howard is a really interesting guy. his term almost got wiped out in 9/11. very volatile, very outspoken. he would have been a pick that i think would have made people nervous. he is a big proponent of tariffs. scott bessent is starting to mouth that tariffs are ok but he talks about them as a negotiating tool, a lever. we are not going to do anything radical in a hurry and stuff like that. it's a bit of a team of rivals. the wall street journal described -- william: this is like lincoln's famous fractious cabinet, considered to be a strength to have opposing viewpoints.

david: exactly. the wall street journal explained the competition between scott bessent and howard lutnick to be treasury secretary as a knife fight. that's quite a way to start an administration with these two economic policymakers who don't trust each other. william: on the issue of tariffs, which is trump's off stated argument that he will put tariffs on china and other nations if they don't conform to his economic policies, how likely is it he will do that and which of those men will come out on top in that argument? david: we don't really know. the question is who will he listen to and predicting that with donald trump is always hard. worrying about the trade deficit and proposing tariffs has been something donald trump has said for much of his political career, or even before he was a politician. i suspect he will do something on tariffs. it would be embarrassing if they didn't. the question is if he will do some little move and see what the other side does or do something or medic.

one thing that's important, the president has a lot of authority on tariffs, things he can do without consent of congress. that means the only break on him will be scott bessent and the markets. william: to this team of rivals, not in the cabinet, but we also have elon musk and vivek ramaswamy who are coming in with the pledge to chop. how do you see that playing out? david: incredibly good theater. we will see what they actually do. william: good theater but maybe not good economics? david: certainly we have a big budget deficit problem, but it's really hard to fix if you say we want to cut taxes, we don't want to touch social security and medicare. that leaves a big chunk of the budget on the side. i'm sure elon musk and vivek ramaswamy will propose spending cuts. i'm not so sure congress will go along with them. in the past, the history of these commissions is people who have been outside government saying you can cut this and that

, when it gets to the appropriations committee in congress it sort of like well, maybe not. william: we know who is really the boss. david: exactly. i think it's going to be contentious and the issue scott bessent has is he is the chief bond salesman for the world's largest debtor. if congress and president trump do things that explode the deficit beyond current projections, he's going to have a hard time managing that without seeing a big increase in interest rates, which of course would filter through the economy, raise mortgage rates, could slow the economy. william: always great to have your counsel. thank you so much. turning now to another side of trump's cabinet, for the office of management and budget, the president-elect has chosen russell vought. vought previously led that office for part of trump's first term. he is also a co-author of project 2025, the controversial heritage foundation blueprint for a second trump term. laura barron-lopez joins us now to break down what this pick may signal.

hi, laura. why is this nomination significant? laura: russell wrote a chapter for project 2025 all about expanding the executive office of the presidency. he has made clear that he believes president trump has far more authority to exert his presidential powers and make changes unlike any we have seen in modern history. vought has said his plans for the president argue believes the president has the power to slash spending programs without congress. he also believes the president can use the military during civil unrest and that the president should assert more control over the justice department, as well as -- russell vought supports stripping federal workers of protections. the last one, which would potentially replace tens of thousands of federal workers with political appointees is

something that vought is probably going to be tackling immediately if he is confirmed to this position at the office of management and budget. vought is also expected to work closely with elon musk and vivek ramaswamy in the positions you just mentioned in terms of government efficiency and slashing across the board. william: those are some striking possible steps for a president to take. what else has vought said vis-à-vis his desire to change the scope of presidential power? laura: vought believes that in his role, he can go to battle with the agencies to exert this power alongside the president. he recently shared his goals for trump's second administration when he appeared on tucker carlson's show. >> we have to solve the woke and the weaponized bureaucracy and have the president take control of the executive branch. my belief, for anyone who wants to listen, is the president has to move executively as fast

and aggressively as possible with a radical constitutional perspective to be able to dismantle that bureaucracy and their power centers. laura: when it comes to controlling the justice department, vought has said there is no law dictating there are independent agencies, essentially saying that the norms of independent agencies like the justice department is just that, a norm established in the watergate era. vought has said the whole idea of the justice department being independent, as well as other agencies being independent, should be thrown out. william: all along the campaign trail when trump was asked about project 2025 and what you think, he kept saying, i don't know anything about it, that's not me, that's not my campaign. but he is now tapping other people from that project. who else? laura: you are right, the president-elect tried to say repeatedly he did not know the people who wrote it, but he

clearly does because there are at least six people so far he has named to be in his administration who authored chapters are contributed to project 2025. that includes russ vought, also includes the man who will be his borders are. john ratcliffe to leave the cia. as well as brendan, who wrote a chapter, trump has named him to lead the federal communications commission. some of those have to be confirmed by the senate, others don't. tom does not have to be confirmed as all. he has made clear a lot of his plans, saying on fox just this weekend that he believes trump should cut federal funding to states that say they are not going to cooperate with their mass deportation plan. he says he can guarantee trump will do that. william: as always, thank you so much. laura: thank you.

william: we start the day's other news with events in the middle east. israel's ambassador to washington says a potential ceasefire deal between israel and hezbollah in lebanon is close and can happen within days. officials say prime minister netanyahu's security cabinet will meet tomorrow to discuss the proposed deal. israel has ramped up its attacks on lebanon in recent days, launching airstrikes on the suburbs of beirut. a lebanese politician said that escalation is actually a sign that a deal could be close. >> in the past hours, we have seen an increase in the frequency of israeli attacks. it has become known that the israeli enemy always begins to escalate when it gets closer to a serious negotiation with serious files in its hands. it escalates to put pressure on the other side to make concessions.

william: this comes after hezbollah launched one of its largest attacks on israel yesterday, firing some 250 rockets and missiles. hezbollah began such strikes the day after hamas raided israel in october of last year. that conflict escalated into all-out war this september when israel began large-scale strikes on lebanon, and launched a ground invasion into the south of the country. the prospect of a cease-fire deal was also top of mind today as foreign ministers from the group of seven nations gathered outside rome. secretary of state antony blinken joined his g-7 counterparts, as they expressed cautious optimism about the ceasefire process. the issue of ukraine also looms large at the meeting. it's the last of its kind before a new u.s. administration takes office in january. meanwhile, on the ground today in ukraine -- >> [translated] people were injured by shrapnel.

i escaped as i left the office. william: russian rockets injured more than 30 people in a wave of strikes on two of ukraine's largest cities, harkiv and odessa. incoming u.s. president donald trump has questioned america's commitment to ukraine. there is further evidence today that a woman's own home is now the most dangerous place for her to be. that's according to a sobering united nations report on global femicide, which is the gender-related killing of women and girls. the organization said 85,000 such killings occurred last year. of those, around 60%, or around 140 per day, were at the hands of someone close to the victim. in europe and the americas, most women and girls were killed by intimate partners. elsewhere, close relatives were the primary perpetrators. these findings come as women around the world held demonstrations this weekend and into today to mark the u.n.'s 25th annual day for the

elimination of violence against women. officials in egypt say at least 17 people are missing after a tourist boat sank in rough waters in the red sea. the vessel, named sea story, left the town of marsa-alam for a five-day trip yesterday. 31 tourists of different nationalities were on board, along with 14 crew members. rescue teams managed to bring dozens of survivors back to shore today, with some needing medical treatment. it's not immediately clear what caused the yacht to sink, but authorities had warned against maritime activity due to rough seas. here in the u.s., service workers at charlotte douglas international airport went on strike today ahead of what's expected to be the busiest holiday travel season on record. >> airport workers on strike! >> airport workers on strike! >> we are fighting for our rights! william: the workers, who clean

planes, remove trash, and escort passengers in wheelchairs, are protesting what they call un-livable wages. their union spokesperson said the strike is expected to last for 24 hours. airport officials say they're working to make sure terminal operations are not impacted. on wall street today, stocks ended higher as investors reacted to president-elect trump's pick of scott bessent for treasury secretary. the dow jones industrial average jumped more than 400 points to notch a new all-time high. the nasdaq added about 50 points on the day. the s&p 500 also ended in positive territory. and author barbara taylor bradford has died. the british journalist-turned-best-selling novelist made her mark while in her 40s with the novel a woman of substance, about a servant girl who rises to become a business tycoon. that arc partly mirrored bradford's own self-made success. she was born to a working class family, and went on to write more than 40 books that touched on themes of love, power and

money. she sold some 90 million copies worldwide, and amassed a $200 million fortune. bradford was even featured on a postage stamp. barbara taylor bradford died yesterday at her home in new york. she was 91 years old. still to come on the news hour, donald trump's success among young men illustrates the influence of the online so-called manosphere. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political news. and president biden grants his final pardons to turkeys at the white house. >> this is the pbs news hour from the david and rubenstein studio at w eta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at walter -- at arizona state university. william: at the u.n. climate talks in baku, azerbaijan, negotiators at the last moment struck a deal. wealthy nations have pledged

$300 billion a year by 2035 to help developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change and to help their transition to cleaner energy. while that pledge is stepped up from previous pledges, it is nowhere near the estimated $1 trillion a year that many experts and analysts say is needed. while some have called the deal woefully inadequate, the cop-29 president, mukhtar babayev, defended its accomplishments. >> this is the hardest task that multilateral climate process has ever attempted. we had many difficult conversations. we never stopped putting you together. we pushed you to reach for the highest possible ambition. with this breakthrough, the baku finance goal will turn billions into trillions over the next decade. william: for more on this summit, we are joined again by manish bapna.

he's the president and ceo of the nrdc, the natural resources defense council. so nice to have you back. what is your initial take away from this summit? manish: it is a down payment. what we saw from this deal, largely about finance, is it represented what is possible in a geopolitically complicated world today, not necessarily what ultimately will be needed. so the $300 billion that you spoke about is going to help developing countries make the shift to clean energy. it's going to help them adapt to extreme weather that we're seeing happening today, but most independent experts say we need $1 trillion, $1.3 trillion. so a lot of the hard work that still is left is how do we move from the $300 billion to the $1.3 trillion over the coming years. william: because it is in that chasm that all the outrage exists coming out of baku. i mean, as you know, these nations argue we did nothing to cause this problem, and yet we are suffering the worst impacts,

the famines, the droughts, the things that are made worse by climate change, and they're saying we have to foot the bill for this and this comes nowhere near what we are owed for this. i want to play one little bit of sound. this is the climate negotiator, one of them, from panama. here's what he had to say. >> they throw texts at us at the last minute, shove it down our throat, and then for the sake of multilateralism, we always have to accept it and take it, otherwise the climate mechanisms will go into like a horrible down spiral and no one needs that. this is the only space that we have to negotiate and to work towards our common -- common goals. we accepted the text because we could not leave baku without a text, but we're not satisfied whatsoever. william: not satisfied at all. what do you make of that concern?

manish: i hear that point of view. i really empathize with that point of view. when you look at the united states, the eu, russia and china, they represent roughly 60% of global emissions. you look at the 10 most vulnerable countries in the world on climate, less than 1% of emissions. so this is environmental injustice on a global scale. when covid took place, the rich world was able to mobilize $20 trillion overnight. so developing countries are asking, why not? why can't we get more money? and the arguments for why the rich world should give them money are compelling, strong economic reasons, security reasons, and justice reasons. clean energy is a $2 trillion market this year. we are moving from the dirty energy of the past to the clean energy of the future, important to make that commitment. if we don't, we are going to see increasing climate impacts, increasing conflict, increasing displacement. it's an investment in our security. and as i said, from a global

justice standpoint, those that are bearing the brunt of the cost did the least to contribute to the problem. so those are the arguments for greater contributions to funds like this. what is the argument that the western nations, the eu, the americas of the world, put forward to say why this is too much money to spend or inappropriate money to spend? manish: well, part of the argument is that it's a lot and it represents a tripling of the commitment that was made back in 2009 by secretary hillary -- by secretary hillary clinton when she was secretary of state, when it was $100 billion for 2020. so part of it is how you move from 100 billion to $300 billion is not easy. it requires both governments, rich governments, rich country governments to give money to the developing world, but it also also means mobilizing international institutions like the world bank, the asian development bank. it is also further complicated by the geopolitical moment we're in.

where conflicts all around the world are taking resources, and a recognition that here in the united states, the trump administration, future trump administration, is unlikely to provide support. so other countries are going to have to step up even more in the short run. so that is what is making this particular moment complicated to get to a higher number. william: some people have argued that this whole -- the way cop is run, which is has every single nation involved, close to 200 nations, everyone has to agree on every line in every sentence of every agreement and that that becomes an unwieldy morass that never gets substantive things done. do you share that concern? manish: part of that critique is absolutely true. at one level, it is incredible that the international community, 190 countries, can get behind a single document about how to shift from fossil to clean energy, but that level of unanimity that is required means any single country can derail process, and we see that happening year after year.

so i do believe we need to see about some more fundamental reform in the process around international climate negotiations so that we can actually get global agreements that are commensurate with the challenge. the problem we're facing at the moment is not direction of travel. i think there's an increasing recognition that clean energy, that tackling climate is part of the future. the problem we're facing is pace, speed. how do we move faster? and that is where we can't let individual countries get in the way of what the vast majority of countries want to do. william: manish bapna of the nrdc, always great to see you. thank you. manish: delighted to be here. thank you. william: this year, compared to the 2020 election, president-elect trump made gains across almost every single

demographic group. but one of the most notable shifts was among young men, who moved roughly 15 points to the right. laura barron lopez examines how mr. trump was able to court young men online by reaching out to them in spaces well beyond mainstream media outlets. laura: on the night it became clear president-elect donald trump won the presidency again, he was joined on stage by members of his family and several high-profile supporters. >> this is karma. he deserves this. they deserve this as a family. laura: including the ceo of ultimate fighting championship, dana white, who paid tribute to a group of men he believes helped sway the election. >> i want to thank aiden ross, theo bond, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful joe rogan. laura: while those names may sound unfamiliar to some, they are all part of a growing online

ecosystem that's been dubbed the manosphere, a term loosely defined as male central content published on platforms like tiktok, youtube, and the popular streaming site for gamers, twitch. during his campaign, trump saw massive untapped potential to reach young male voters by appearing on podcasts like the joe rogan experience. mr. trump from: pamela goes on 60 minutes, gave an answer that a child wouldn't give, it was so bad. laura: his three hour long interview has been viewed more than 50 million times on youtube , providing several viral moments that could be shared in clips across social media. a strategy that trump used repeatedly on the campaign trail. on comedian theo vaughn's podcast, he discussed drug addiction. mr. trump from: cocaine more than anything else you can think of. laura: he danced with livestream

or aiden ross. he joked around with online pranksters on his private jet. >> mr. president, people surely love it -- laura: for these online content creators, the focus isn't often politics, says internet and culture writer joshua. >> these are general men's interests, sports, comedy, looking at pictures of attractive women. if you dig deeper into some of these committees, there are critiques about modernity, women's liberation, women in the workforce. laura: he has been researching and tracking how online spaces, including the manosphere, can shape young people's clinical beliefs. how young are young men, boys, when they start interacting with this type of content? >> by 13, 15, they are familiar with it through memes and clips of videos. following that, if you maintain relationships with these people and see how their worldview

evolves, those implicit ideas they encountered years ago can manifest and turn into something that's a real political commitment in which they may decide to vote a certain way. those early ideas do turn out to be very impactful years later. >> what is actually happening to abortion access right now in this country? laura: while vice president harris did repeatedly reach out to voters online, including sitting down with popular podcasters, she faced witticism for not speaking with joe rogan, the nation's most popular one. >> topping on a more personal level with rogan would have boded well for her. laura: this 22-year-old is a longtime joe rogan listener and trump voter. he said trump's interview with rogan allowed young men to see a different side of the president-elect. mr. trump: i always talk about i like to give a long weave. >> we got to hear stories that trump wouldn't typically say on

the road. he uses a lot of rhetoric and his rallies that you didn't get on the podcast and it was a refreshing view of trump. laura: reaching young men who often listen to podcasts and get news from social media was a deliberate effort from the trump campaign, says gop digital strategist eric wilson. >> they had a theory that if you watch cable news, whatever end of the political spectrum you are on, you already had your mind made up about the candidates. they went out to platforms where people might not be as engaged in news and current events to tell them about the election, tell them about the candidate. laura: a recent study from the pew research center found about four in 10 voters under 30 regularly get news from content creators. >> the republican party and the trump campaign put in the effort in the space. they put in the effort and the democrats did not. laura: jeremiah johnson is cofounder for the center for neoliberalism. he says while harris's team

dominated the campaign trail in traditional ways, including fundraising and doorknocking, they made a critical mistake not doing more online appeals to young men. [laughter] >> you are a gangster. >> especially in the podcast that young men were watching, trump was everywhere. these are friendly spaces for people to have relaxed conversations, and more than just donald trump, he was also sending jd vance to do these same podcasts, elon musk, and other campaign representatives, and ultimately resulted in a national shift to the right politically. laura: during these interviews, president-elect trump was rarely if ever fact checked and influencers at times repeated misinformation. therefore matt allowed trump to speak at length and unfiltered. >> not just used these platforms, but used them well and understood their cultural

dynamics. laura: she is an internet researcher at columbia and co-author of not your parents' politics. she says misinformation spreads easily on these platforms. mr. trump: transgender operations where they are allowed to take your child when he goes to school and turn him into a male -- into a female without parental consent. >> if he is doing speeches and interviews with different podcasters and streamers, they are very incendiary, inflammatory. they can be easily packaged into bite-size content that can spread. some can be taken out of context. laura: including, she said, content that reinforces negative stereotypes about women. >> these misogynistic messages that trump himself often uses, streamers use, podcasters use, gamers use, they are not only received, but reinforced online.

rough clicks, through likes, three shares, through comments. laura: for some young men, like evan, these spaces represent something else entirely. >> i think a lot of young conservatives are having to really suppress the amount that they talk, especially in public forums spaces like a college campus, because they are not socially accepted. laura: that sentiment is what jeremiah johnson says democrats urgently need to address. >> i think what democrats have learned in this election is it is very hard to win an election with just your base. democrats need to focus on expanding the tent, welcoming more people in, not shaming and scolding people until they leave. laura: but joshua says many young men are still persuadable and democrats could even win back those who voted for trump. >> i have seen people change in

their beliefs. the most important thing is participation in this media landscape and having a message that speaks to their experience of the world. >> mr. trump: ymca is the best. laura: democrats have catching up to do in an emerging space that has already shown its power to turn out voters. the pbs news hour, i'm laura baran lopez. -- laura barron-lopez. william: as the major federal felony cases against him get dropped, president-elect trump is rapidly filling up his cabinet. for that and more, we turn to our politics monday duo. that's amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter, and tamara keith of npr. so nice to see you both and your fabulous color coordination, or not coordination. >> we did not coordinate at all,

but it works. william: tam, this news today -- we knew this was going to happen, but the felony charges against donald trump have gone away. this die was cast on the night of the election. there was all this considerable evidence that will now never be heard by any jury. what do you make of all that? tamara: this is a validation of the legal plan that trump's team had. they were running out the clock. they had been running out the clock since before charges were even filed. in essence, although vice president harris and others didn't really talk about this as being part of the campaign, it really was part of the campaign. he was the nominee in large part because republicans consolidated behind him after the search of mar-a-lago. that closed off the path for the competition.

this is integral to this election. elections have consequences and this is the result. amy: it's also fascinating to think over four years, there were so many inflection points where the outcome could have looked different. there was the february 2021 impeachment, had more republicans voted to impeach. that's a decision on january 6. you obviously have the justice department. there were a lot of delays getting this investigation started. maybe had it started sooner, we wouldn't be talking about it in 2024. of course the immunity decision by the supreme court, along with trump's ability to draw things out. at every step of the way, we could have had a different outcome. we knew going into the election that the outcome of this case would be determined by election night.

william: do either of you think harris's decision not to focus on this more could have made a difference? they assume this is baked in, people know that donald trump and january 6, he is responsible for that? amy: it's not just that she didn't talk about the legal cases. when her supporters would start chanting lock him up, which they did regularly during the campaign, she would cut them off and say no, that's where the courts to decide. i think that was an acknowledgment of the political toxicity of these cases, that these cases actually engaged and riled up trump voters and that her base was not necessarily voting on that alone. tamara: it's also amazing when you talk to the trump campaign, the inflection point that those indictments. they will argue, we already had momentum going into the primaries, but those first

indictments helped to shore up his base and that base has never left him. that's one of the many decision points along the way. william: i want to turn back to laura's piece she just did about the manosphere. the incredibly effective way that trump reached out to these young men online, the way he did it, and their incredible reception to the way trump was making the pitch to them. how do you see that dynamic? >> there was a large part of the electorate this cycle who were actively avoiding political news. they did not want to think about politics, they were not seeking it out. william: they were not watching politics monday? >> they were not watching politics monday. unless we accidentally came through their tiktok feed somehow. people were actively avoiding politics. both campaigns were trying to crack the code on how you reach people who don't want to be

reached. trump figured out you go on these bro podcasts that are not political, they are about other things, and the politics seeps in. it finds people in their natural environment where they are avoiding politics and it introduces politics at a time when they are open to suggestion. all along we were talking about how this was a risky strategy because young men are not regular voters. well, he got them engaged. he found them on their podcasts or on their tiktok feeds and got them engaged enough to vote for him. it's not clear that they voted down ballot necessarily. >> i've been talking to a lot of folks who study this, both before, during, and after this election. this gen z gender divide is fascinating and it goes much

beyond our politics. there definitely was a gender divide on election day, the kind of which we have never seen before in a place like pennsylvania. among the youngest cohort of voters, the gender gap was 62 points. the overall gender gap was 25 or 26 point in that state. what we are seeing right now is that more and more of these young men are using these sites, whether it is tiktok, podcasts, or youtube, as a way to build community. this is a generation of young men who feel disconnected, lost, left behind, and these are places to go to find that community. what i noticed, it's not just that trump went to those places, but the organic way in which conversations that started off about sports or video games would lead into the hosts

themselves talking about, did you see trump go into mcdonald's, did you see him at the ufc fight? he became part of it. we notice the best candidates are able to meet voters where they are and that's what he was able to do. william: do you think it's a fair criticism against harris that she didn't more actively do that, go on joe rogan? tamara: she didn't. they were in negotiations, it didn't work out. rogan said he was offered a one hour interview, he wanted three, and that he would have to come to washington and not have it in his studio. she did go to spaces that are not normal for politicians. she did go on podcasts. her vice presidential nominee also went on podcasts. in the early stages of her campaign, there was the coconut tree meme and brad summer and all of this stuff, and a lot of that was organic.

in the end, it faded out, and at the same time the harris campaign was more cautious. trump went on podcasts that she definitely wouldn't go on, because you don't know what these guys are going to say. william: sure, it's incredibly risky. amy: i think it comes back to the authenticity piece. when you saw her numbers really spike, it was when the coconut memes and all the brad stuff was happening. younger people were seeing, this is something i can relate to, something that's interesting. as soon as she became more of a traditional candidate, as soon as it was rolling out white papers and putting policy into place, there was not the same connection to her among the younger voters. even among younger women, there was a shift to the right. she still overwhelmingly won those women, but they were not connecting with her in the same younger men were connecting with trump.

william: amy walter and tamara keith, so nice to see you both in your visions of red. have a great thanksgiving. this weekend, the venezuelan opposition accused the nicolas maduro government of, quote, "besieging" political critics who have taken shelter in the argentine embassy in the capital, caracas. the u.s. called the presence of venezuelan police outside the embassy a serious violation of international law. nick schifrin speaks to the head of the opposition, but first looks at this summer's disputed election, and what's happened since. nick: through the window of argentina's embassy in caracas, an urgent alert. the opposition films venezuelan security forces, threatening their political opponents. that opposition has faced a crackdown. unprecedented mass arrests, and

been on the run, ever since nicolas maduro and his government claimed victory in a july election that the opposition calls stolen. last week, the u.s. recognized opposition candidate edmundo gonzales as president-elect, as he helps lead the opposition from exile in spain, after maduro issued a warrant for his arrest. his political matron, maria corina machado, was banned by maduro's regime from contesting the election. and yet she rallied across the country, mobilizing an opposition and providing proof that gonzales won twice as many votes as maduro. over 11 years, maduro's authoritarian rule has led to economic collapse, diplomatic isolation, and the exodus of nearly 8 million venezuelans. the u.s. continues to call for a dialogue between maduro and the opposition, and a transition to democracy.

>> we come here united in the commitment to defend the human rights of the venezuelan people, and committed to bring about an inclusive, venezuelan-led effort to restore the nation's democratic future. nick: maria corina machado remains in hiding, and joins us now from an undisclosed location in venezuela. maria corina machado. thanks very much. welcome to the news hour. we have seen an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition, on anyone in venezuela who opposes the government. can the opposition survive if the crackdown continues? >> not only the country and the democratic forces will survive, but the regime will have to accept that their time is over. it's important to understand that the more violent they get, it's because they are weaker, more desperate. maduro is totally isolated, not only in venezuela but also internationally, and the cracks

and fractures among the different groups that support the criminal regime are growing by the hour. nick: the biden administration vows to continue imposing costs on maduro. critics of the administration have called on the administration to impose more sanctions and revoke the licenses that allow oil companies to work in venezuela. do you want to see the biden administration take those steps? >> we certainly believe the international community should let maduro know that all those criminals who are violating human rights and have committed crimes against amenity will be held accountable. at the same time, maduro supports himself on criminal activities, from drug trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, and all these resources, they use them to persecute and repress the population.

it is the moment where the international community should act. nick: until now the biden administration been concerned that more sanctions would imperil the regional coalition it has tried to build, especially brazil, colombia, and mexico's support for what the is doing. critics of the administration want the u.s. to go further regardless of what regional players want. what do you think is more important, increased u.s. pressure or regional unity? >> i do not think one thing is against the other. i think latin american countries and even european are aligned around a democratic transition. we won an election by a landslide and maduro since then has unleashed the worst repression campaign. it's a moment we have to put a stop to these and make maduro understand that the cost of staying in power is going to be higher every day that goes by.

he cannot wait until january when president-elect edmundo gonzales, recognized by the united states administration, should be sworn into the presidency. william: you say he can't wait until january. january 10 is when the venezuelan inauguration is scheduled. january 20 as the u.s. inauguration. have you been speaking to the incoming members of the trump administration and do you want to take some of the same steps they did in the first trump administration, including the sanctions and oil licenses they took back? >> i have contact with the current administration. i have contact with the next administration. and i hope the strategy, putting strength and pressure on maduro, will work this time because it is a totally different regime, weaker than ever, and our country is united.

under legitimate leadership as never before. william: you point out it's a different regime. the trump administration tried to support juan guaido. they called juan guaido the president-elect. they tried massive sanctions. it didn't work. why do you think it didn't work and why is today different? >> maduro had at that time a lot of support internationally. not anymore. he has russia, iran, north korea, syria, belarus, not much more. maduro at that time had more support from the military that was more united. not anymore. and also he had more resources that he could use to persecute or to even buy allies. now we have a united opposition, a legitimate leadership, because we went to a primary process, then to an election that we won by a landslide.

this is the time to move forward, for the regime to understand that their time is over and it is in their best interest to sit down and accept the terms of a negotiated transition. if he doesn't do that before january 10, maduro and his cronies, it's going to be on worse terms. nick: you have supported u.s. legislation to block the u.s. federal government from doing business with anyone who has commercial ties with the maduro regime. that legislation is sponsored by a rep tentative from florida, michael waltz, senator marco rubio, the national security advisor, and the secretary of state under the trump administration. the attorney general says your statements have constituted the commission of crimes of treason against the country and conspiracy with foreign countries. does that increase the threat against you today? >> i am accused every day of a new crime.

i wouldn't have enough lives for years to address all the accusations they have put on me. i don't know what else they think they can do, but they certainly would not stop us from doing what we should. we will never, never surrender. nick: maria corina machado. thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. william: president biden took to the south lawn today, using his lame duck status to spare a flock of fowl from the chopping block this holiday season. deema zein has the report. deema: for the fourth year in a row, president joe biden marked the start of the holiday season by carving out some time to make sure two turkeys would not be on

the menu this thanksgiving. pres. biden: i hereby part impeach and blossom. keep calm and got along. deema: the president took a more reflective tone today than in past years. pres. biden: this event marks the official start of the holiday season in washington. it's also my last time as your president during this season. i give thanks and gratitude. it has been the honor of my life. i am forever grateful. deema: biden used the moment to represent his home state delaware, naming departed birds after the state flower, a peach blossom. for more than three decades, turkeys have gobbled up attention at the white house rather than the dinner table. but how it got started, that debate has ruffled some feathers. >> president truman was the first president to pardon a turkey. deema: actually truman was the first president to receive a turkey from the national turkey

federation, but there is no record of a pardon. according to the white house historic association, truman said the bird would come in handy for christmas dinner. who was the first president to pardon a turkey? technically it was honest abe lincoln after his young son todd begged to save the life of a bird originally destined to become christmas dinner. jack the turkey instead became a white house pet. president john f. kennedy was the first to spare a thanksgiving gobbler in 1963, despite a side hanging around the turkey's and that red, good eating, mr. president. kennedy sent them back to the farm and a year before richard nixon received a pardon of his own, his daughter chose to gift his turkey to a local petting zoo. it was ronald reagan who carved out a spot in history as the first to use the word pardon when talking turkey. in 1987, the tradition became formalized by president george w. bush. >> let me assure this find

turkey that he will not end up on anyone's dinner table. deema: the event is now an annual white house ritual and for the past decade, the turkeys have been able to experience a treat as sweet as pie, a stay at the four-star willard hotel instead of making it to the dinner table. from here, peach and blossom will head back to minnesota where they will live out their days as agricultural ambassadors for minnesota's agricultural interpretive center, says john zimmerman, chairman of the national turkey federation, who talked to us with his son grant. >> they have a nice campus and facilities where they will house these birds and comfort, feed and take care of them, but they will also be available to school trips and the general population to visit with the birds and hopefully learn more about turkey farming and agriculture. deema: before they were pardoned , we got a chance to meet them up close and even catch them in an interview. how do you feel about being the

top two out of 40 pardoned? they were talking turkey to me. the pbs news hour, i'm deema zein. william: keep on and gobble on. that is the news hour for tonight. i'm william brangham. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you so much for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

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