>> i'm glad your name is three letters. >> "state of the union" is next. have a great day, everyone. >> push for peace. the u.s. tries to contain the israel/hamas war. >> we need to do more to protect palestinian civilians. >> as israel continues to retaliate against hamas for its terror attack, is the u.s. making headway privately? senators lindsey graham and richard blumenthal join me in an exclusive bipartisan interview. then, israel's ambassador to the united nations, gilad erdan here. and worries about casualties in gaza exposes a political rift. where does a key progressive stand. vermont senator bernie sanders is here, exclusively next. plus, on the ballot, in florida, donald trump's critics face fierce backlash, as a new poll shows trump leading president biden in key swing states. how worried should the white house be? my panel is coming up. hello. i'm dana bash in washington, where the state of our union is reeling from a month of war and global fury. this morning, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken is trying to thread the needle with close u.s. ally israel, as outrage grows worldwide over civilian casualties in gaza. secretary blinken just met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in the west bank, and earlier, in tense meetings with arab leaders, who want a cease-fire, he defend israel's right to retaliate against hamas for murdering almost 1,400 civilians last month. but blinken has also urged israeli leaders to take a humanitarian pause, to let critical aid into gaza and to press for the release of israeli hostages there. cnn's jeremy diamond is live in israel, where you just heard sirens, jeremy. what's going on at this moment? >> yeah, that's right, dana. we just got sirens here at our location, and as you can see, our cameraman is showing down here some smoke. and that appears to be impact from some rockets here. this is the second time in just a couple of days that those rockets have made it through the iron dome system here. again, the system does take out the majority of rockets, but you and i, dana, were talking on friday when we were at another location and a rocket made impact about a hundred meters away from our position and where several other journalists were based. this is still very much an active and very dynamic situation. we are still seeing these rockets starting to come in. but i also want to talk about the secretary of state, who has been visiting here. he just had a meeting today with the president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, in ramallah. this is his first visit -- the secretary of state's first visit to the west bank since this war began. and a what we have watched as the secretary of state has been in telesleeve, in ayman, jordan, as well, as well as in ramallah, is him playing a very fine balancing act between him reiterating, reaffirming u.s. support for israel and its right to defend itself and go after hamas. but also trying to urge the humanitarian side of things. urging israel to minimize civilian casualties and working to try to get more humanitarian relief into gaza. that was also part of what i saw on the ground yesterday, dana, when i was in gaza, with israeli forces, as part of the first group of foreign journalists allowed into gaza with israeli forces. and the point that they were trying to emphasize was their efforts to try to establish a humanitarian corridor for palestinian civilians to flee from the north and to go to the south. obviously, we know that in recent days, israel has come under heavy, heavy criticism and scrutiny from international law experts for its strike on very densely populated neighborhoods, residential areas where israel says hamas is maintaining tunnels underground, and also some strikes on very near to hospitals and on ambulances. so a very dynamic situation still, dana. israel coming under heavy scrutiny and the u.s. trying to play a fine balancing act between its support for israel and its concern about civilian lives in gaza. >> jeremy, thank you so much for your excellent reporting, as always. and across the u.s., this weekend, large crowds of pro-palestinian protesters took to city streets to call for a cease-fire. and on capitol hill friday, dozens of activists were arrested after entering the offices of several senators. one of those senators is here with me now. independent bernie sanders of vermont. senator, thank you so much for joining me this morning. four weeks ago, more than 1,400 israelis, mostly civilians, were slaugt slaughtered in their homes and at a festival. you've been critical of israel's response recently. how do you think israel should be responding? >> well, this is what you've got. and i think it's clear to most people, what hamas did, and hamas is an awful terrorist torsion, is they slaughtered 1,400 people in cold blood. israel has a right to defend itself. but what israel does not, in my view, have a right to do, is to kill thousands and thousands of innocent men, women, and children who had nothing to do with that attack. so the immediate concern, dana, to my mind is we have got to stop the bombing now! you had over 600,000 people pushed out of their homes. where are they going? they're staying in united nations facilities. overcrowded. there's not enough water, there's not enough food, there's not enough medicine, there's not enough fuel. you have a humanitarian disaster. it has to be dealt with right now. >> so, senator -- go ahead. >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> no, please. >> what you're saying about -- what you're saying about the lack of food and water and so fo forth, that most people believe that that is because hamas is hoarding it, and the other question is -- >> it's not just -- dana, it's not just that hamas is hoarding it. it's more than that. that's what israeli policy has been. >> okay. >> so it's a combination of -- >> let's get to the other point that you made, which is really is key one, which is, innocent civilians dying. and they are. how should israel destroy hamas, post-attack on these innocent civilians in israel, without hurting, killing innocent men, women, and children when hamas is hiding behind them and putting them in danger? how does that work? >> that is, that is exactly the right question to ask the military experts, which i am not one. but clearly, israel has a right to defend itself. hamas's goal is to destroy israel. but there's got to be a better way than killing men, women, and children. the immediate concern is, you have to have a pause in the bombing, take care of the immediate disaster. the united states of america provides $3.8 billion every year to israel. we have a right, israel can do what they want, they're an independent country. but we have a right to say, sorry, you need a new military strategy. go after hamas, but that means -- but do not kill innocent men, women, and children. >> you mentioned money. there is going to be a measure before you relatively soon for the house-passed more than $14 billion. and there is going to be at least some version of that in the senate. will you support that? will you put conditions on that? >> we'll see what the bill looks like. but it's terribly important that as we debate the state of israel, if you want this money, you want to change your military strategy. the other point is, we have to give hope to the palestinian people. they are living -- they were living before october 7th in a disastrous situation in gaza, 75% youth employment. and right now in israel, you're having the netanyahu government, an extreme right-wing government with racists aboard trying to make it impossible for a two-state solution in the west bank. they're killing settlers there. so what we need is the world to come together to give hope to the palestinian people, with a two-state solution, and have many of the very wealthy countries in the region, the united arab public, saudi arabia, qatar, they are extraordinarily wealthy, work with the united states, work with the community in order to provide some hope and decency and freedom to the palestinian people, which hamas will never do. >> i just -- you're right about that. they have a lot of money and they to this point not have been really willing to use that money in that region to help their fellow arabs. i want to just clarify one thing, senator, if i might. you support a humanitarian pause in gaza. some of your fellow progressives say that there should be a full-on cease-fire, which would require an agreement on both sides to halt the fighting. do you support a cease-fire? and if not, why not? >> well i don't know how you can have a permanent cease fire with an organization like hamas, which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the state of israel. and i think what the arab countries in the region understand that hamas has got to go. so what we need right now, the immediate task right now is to end the bombing, to end the horrific humanitarian disaster, to build, go forward with the entire world for a two-tier, two-state solution to the crisis, to give the palestinian people hope. >> senator, democratic congresswoman rashida tlaib released a video on friday. i want you to watch part of it. >> mr. president, the american people are not with you on this o one. we will remember in 2024. >> that last screen said joed jod s joe biden supported the genocide of the palestinian people. you know the definition of genocide. it's described as a crime committed with intent to destroy a religious or ethnic group. is that what israel is doing? >> what's going on right now, thousands of men, women, and children are being killed. it's got to end right now. and one of the things that concerns me, dana, there has not been enough talk about what right-wing republicans are doing -- they don't want any aid to go to the palestinians. somebody should be talking about that. somebody should be talking about how trump wants to expel palestinians from this country. so it's, you know, you can disagree with joe biden, but on his worst day, he'll be 100 times better than trump and the right-wing republicans -- >> so you think rashida tlaib should save her ire for trump and the right wing and not a fellow democrat. >> rashida is a friend of mine, her family comes from palestine, i think she has been shaken as all of us are about what's going on right there, right now. we have to address the humanitarian crisis. but if anyone thinks that trump is going to be better than biden on this issue or any other issue, for that matter, i think they are sorely mistaken. >> and i understand that. i also understand and i know you know that words matter. and i want to ask about what she said -- >> look, words matter, but what matters more, dana is you have a horrible humanitarian disaster that has to be dealt with right now. you call it whatever you want to call it. it has to be dealt with. women and children cannot be bombed with 2,000-pound bombs. >> so when she says, from the river to the sea, from the river to the sea, which the adl says is anti-semitic, she says, it's aspirational, but the adl says it is anti-semitic, do you want her to stop using terms like that? and others? >> dana, you know, it's not what i want or anything else. this is what you've got. president obama just said the other day, i think quite correctly, and we've all got to deal with it. this is an enormously complex issue, and slogans like the river to the sea, if that means the destruction of israel, that's not going to work. people who are saying, israel, right or wrong, we are for you all the way, that's not going to work. this is a horrendous ly ly complex -- you have a right-wing government in israel which is racist and only 18% of the people of israel want netanyahu to stay in office. i hope they get rid of him and hope in a government which understands the severity of the crisis and can help us move towards a two-tier state. on the other hand, in terms of hamas, off terrorist organization that cannot be trust. this is, as president obama said, a very complex issue. >> senator, real quick, and you're really alluding to this in your answers and our discussion here, you are in a unique position, even a difficult up with, because you're a leading progressive voice in american politics, and you're also jewish. and you have family who died in the holocaust. how difficult is this for you? >> this has nothing to do with me, dana. what this is is, as a nation, we are living now in my view through a more difficult moment than we have lived in my lifetime. you know, people are worried about, we had the pandemic, worried about climate change, worried about the attacks on democracy, our health care system is collapsing. we have artificial information which is going to make radical changes to the economy, crime all over this country. people are worried and concerned. all that i am begging people is to understand slogans are not going to do it. social media is not going to do it. we need a serious discussion on how the hell we get out of this difficult situation, maintain democracy, bring peace to the world. and it ain't easy. but slogans are not going to do it on any side. >> senator, thank you so much for your time this morning. i really appreciate it. >> thank you, dana. >> one republican says there should be no limit to what israel can do to hamas. a bipartisan interview with senators lindsey graham and richard blumenthal is next. plus, a new poll this morning as a major warning sign for president biden's re-election. that's c coming up.. welcome back to "state of the union." a dispute between the house and senate could delay badly-needed usa to both israel and ukraine, after house republicans passed a bill this week that is a non-starter in the u.s. senate. here with me now to talk about the latest in israel is republican senator lindsey graham and democratic senator richard blumenthal. they have traveled extensively internationally together, including to israel after the october 7th attacks. thank you both for being here. senator graham, the biden administration is warning israel nailing to limit civilian casualties and address the humanitarian crisis in gaza risks eroding global support, including in the u.s. you've said there should be no limit to what israel can do to take out hamas, but is the administration right that israel needs to do more to protect civilians in gaza? >> well, i think israel is committed to following the law of armed conflict. one thing i want to say for sure is israel is not engaged in genocide, and another thing we need to deal with is the whitewashing of the status of people in gaza. i'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to be free from hamas. but the most radicalized people in the planet live on the gaza strip. they've been taught since birth to kill and hate the jews. how you teach math in gaza, if you have ten jews and kill six, how many would be left? that's in their school system. i'm all for providing humanitarian aid in a fashion that doesn't help hamas. i'm all for israel having the time and space to destroy hamas. i'm all for a new governing regime for the palestinian people when this is over. and i'm all for israel and saudi arabia reconciling. that's where i'm at. >> but no pause? no humanitarian pause? >> i don't want to take the pressure off hamas militarily, but if israel can find a way to help the humanitarian situation, yes, i would like to do it. but after world war ii, did anybody ask us these questions? you've got to realize the united states dropped two atomic bombs in cities in japan to end the war. i think this is total war between israel and hamas. i want to protect innocent people as much as possible, but i want the world to realize that the radicalized population in gaza has been going on for over a decade. this will not be easy. when you've been taught from birth to hate the jews and kill them all and drive them into the sea, here's what i think. 80% of people in gaza support the idea of the river to the sea. that has to change. >> senator blumenthal, 14 of your democratic colleagues think there should be a pause. what do you think? >> i think there should be a pause to enable more humanitarian relief, food, fuel, water to reach the palestinians, but also to enable release of the hostages. i'm met almost every day by phone or in person and we saw them when we were in israel with the families of the hostages. these situations are really heartbreaking. and i think that we should do a humanitarian pause to enable release of the hostages. also, movement of civilians from the north part of gaza, which is really the combat zone, to the southern part through a humanitarian corridor. there are measures through a humanitarian pause that can be taken to reduce civilian casualty. but let's keep in mind, israel's right to defend itself. we went on this trip, a bipartisan group, ten of us, to express solidarity with israel. and what we heard and saw was harrowing in the videos that were shown to us and what a minister of the war cabinet said, you know, these people tried to run and hide, for our whole history, we've tried to run and hide. israel was supposed to be a safe place, where we didn't need to run and hide anymore. so, for israel, this is a fight, a war about its very existence against a terrorist organization that has a single goal, destroy israel, annihilate the jewish people, and you know, is continuing to advocate. just the other day, a senior hamas official said that israel can expect a second strike, a third strike, a fourth strike, just like october 7th, until it is annihilated. so israel, i think, should do a humanitarian pause, but the ultimate goal has to be kept in mind. >> and you're talking about hamas. i know you're both very concerned, as are others, about it expanding beyond the gaza border and expanding more regionally. you both are introducing a bipartisan sense of the senate resolution tomorrow about iran. senator graham, what will it say? >> well, it basically says, if the war expands, if hezbollah opens up a second front in the north against israel in a substantial way, to overwhelm the iron dome, then we should hit in islamic republic of iran. there is no hamas without the ayatollah's support. there's no hezbollah without the ayatollah's support. the great satan in the region are not israel or the united states, it's iran. so senator blumenthal and i just got back. the israel is begging us to deter iran. they don't want the war to widen. if any of our troops are killed in syria and iraq by iranian-backed militias, i think that's an expansion of the war. the resolution puts iran on notice that all of this military force in the region will be coming after you if you expand this war by activating hezbollah or killing an american through your proxies in skprooe iraq. they need to hear that and believe that. >> senator blumenthal, i know it's just a sense of the senate, which means it's not binding, but to have this voice from the u.s. senate, that warns iran that the u.s. could militarily strike iran, if they expand this war, that's pretty aggressive. >> it's aggressive, but it's absolutely necessary. and it's not only in israel's explicit interests, they will support this deterrence and the key word here is deterrence. the purpose of the resolution is to deter iran by showing, we're going to be behind the president, as he seeks to stop the war from widening or escalating. and here's the other point, dana, which i think is really critical. we visited saudi arabia and egypt. and believe me, they loathe and fear iran and hezbollah and hamas and the other proxies as much as israel. so they are in favor of deterring a wider war. i think there is bipartisan common ground here, and there's consensus in the region that deterrence is critical, because iran here is the toxic, maligned influence. it is financially fueling, equipping, supplying all of these probationis that have it their goal to disrupt and destabilize the region, when powers like saudi arabia want economic prosperity. they want to normalize relations with israel and a key to stability and peace. and there is a strong view, and i agree with it, that the reason why hamas struck now and why iran gave them the green light to strike now is because the talks on normalizing the israel and saudi arabia were making progress. >> there is going to be a, some form of a measure to approve more funding for israel. the house passed something that was just focused on israel. you both, i'm sure, would agree, it's dead on arrival, because it doesn't include support for ukraine. senator graham, i'll start with you. the senate, will it ultimately pass a bill that includes funding for both? >> yeah, i think so. i think you'll have a bill that will have border security, that will be insane not to fix our broken border is just -- you know, we're living on borrowed time in terms of the border being broken and an attack on our own nation. i am for ukraine support. we can't pull the plug on ukraine and let putin get away with this. there goes taiwan if you do that. i'm definitely for israel. i think you'll see a package of border security, funding for ukraine, funding for israel coming out of the senate, probably as one package. i would support that. >> before i let you both go, senator blumenthal, i have to ask about some new polling that is a big warning sign for your fellow democrat in the white house. "the new york times" and siena college, it chose that donald trump is leading in nevada, georgia, arizona, and michigan. tight races in pennsylvania and wisconsin. how worried are you about the president's re-election campaign? >> i was concerned before these polls, and i'm concerned now. these presidential races over the last couple of terms have been very tight. no one is going to have a runaway election here. it's going to take a lot of hard work, concentration, resources, and so we have our work cut out for us. but i believe that the president's record and we've just been talking about an area where his leadership has been critical, where he's forged a bipartisan consensus in favor of a peaceful outcome with a palestinian state as the goal. a lot of bipartisan agreement between senator graham and myself on the need for a combined package. i think this has leadership is going to be really critical, as it was in putting together this trip. but let me make this point, dana. i think we are at a turning point in the middle east, a critical point of potential no return if there is a widening of the war. so we need to get together on deterring iran and making sure that it understands that it will face consequences if it unleashes its proxies, as it seems possibly to be intent on doing. i think president biden's leadership is important. >> you definitely do not have bipartisan agreement on who should be in the white house after 2024, but it is important to have this bipartisan discussion on such a critical issue and such a critical moment. and i appreciate you both coming on. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. and up next, israel's u.n. ambassador draws attention by wearing a yellow star of david at the u.n. we'll talk to him, next. my spo. contra costa college saw potential in me that i didn't know i had. focus. determination. drive. contra costa college helped me blaze the trail. now i'm a comet, and there's no stopping me. come on, this is your shot. take it. join the team at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu welcome back to "state of the union." this week, a shocking symbol on the floor of the united nations. the yellow star of david. israel's ambassador there wore that star to call attention to the sharp rise in anti-semitic incidents worldwide following the hamas attacks in israel. here with me now is israel's ambassador to the u.n., gilad erdan. i want to get to that moment at the u.n. this past week soon, but first, i want to ask about president biden. he was asked by reporters last night if there anybody progress towards a humanitarian pause. is that true? are you making progress towards a humanitarian pause in the fighting? >> as far as i know, we are fully coordinated with the administration. we are closely monitoring the humanitarian situation in gaza. obviously, we always remind to everyone, we shouldn't believe or take any numbers coming out of gaza at face value. everything is being controlled by the terrorists of hamas. there is no humanitarian crisis in gaza, in coordination with the u.s. and the u.n., we allow the number of trucks entering gaza now with food and medicines to reach almost 100 trucks every day. so we don't see the need for humanitarian pauses right now, because it will only enable hamas to rearm and regroup and prevent us from our goal of preve preventing ing capabilities. >> you've said this before, there is no humanitarian crisis in gaza. that's an amazing statement, because there were humanitarian problems there before the war, and now, obviously, it has gotten bad. take their numbers aside. it has gotten to the crisis point. >> i'm not -- no, i'm not saying that the life in gaza is great and hamas is the only one who should be held accountable for any situation in gaza. but there's a standard, due to international humanitarian law, what does it mean, a humanitarian crisis? and i'm saying again, there is no humanitarian crisis based on international humanitarian law in gaza. by the way, last night, everyone could watch thousands of gazans near the shifa hospital with electricity, with their cell phones, watching a movie. how the hamas terrorists are slaughtering israeli civilians and soldiers. so you could see on the streets of gaza. >> all of those things could be tree at the same time. so if israel and the government wants to maintain credibility, is denying that there is a humanitarian crisis inside gaza the way to do it? >> i'm not denying the humanitarian situation in gaza is very bad, and it's very sad that for 16 years, hamas exploited all the money that was transferred to gaza, instead of investing it to build hospitals or desalination -- water desalination power plants, only to turn gaza into a war machine. it's very sad. but israel shouldn't be held accountable for this situation. we have a goal to prevent future atro atrocities from being happen and will happen. this i want to make sure, because there have been -- because we know that hamas has built its headquarters, they hide among the civilian population. there was another incident at a refugee camp yesterday and the palestinians are saying it's because of an israeli strike. is that true? >> look, again, i will have to repeat what i said. the fact that hamas is using the palestinian, the gazaens -- >> but was that strike -- was that blast from an israeli strike? >> i don't know the details, but i reiterate, israel never intentionally target civilians. we do everything that is possible to minimize, to mitigate civilian casualties. hamas is the only one who should be held accountable. otherwise, if we represent the mod modus operandi of hamas, it will inspire all terrorist organizations across the globe, because that's the way now they attack our democracies. >> let's turn to a moment where you were at the u.n., obviously, you were there in your capacity as israel's ambassador, we're showing a picture right now, wearing a jewish star of david and the words "never again" were on it. this was during a security council meeting this past week. the head of israel's holocaust museum said that doing that dishonors both the victims of the holocaust and the state of israel and that the yellow patch symbolizes the helplessness of the jewish people and being at the mercy of others. i don't believe that that was your intention. what's your response? >> well, during times of war, i don't intend to fight, or you know, again, end comments on anyone. i just want to emphasize that my goal was to first of all shock the security council that, you know, today, it has been -- it's the 30th day, it has been 30 days since the worst atrocities committed against the jewish people since the holocaust. and still, the security council of the u.n. which was established in the wake of the holocaust to prevent atrocities has not even condemned hamas for this horrifying attack against the jewish people. so i wanted to shock them. i wanted to remind them of their silence. and i wanted to convey a message that we, not like in the past, we are not weak, as we were during the holocaust. that's why it was inscribed with the words "never again." it wasn't aimed to mark the jews like during the holocaust, we continued to fight until we eradicate hamas' terrorist capabilities. >> before i let you go, i know that you saw that there was an israeli official who warned israelis against traveling abroad and if they do, please do not display outward signs of israeli or jewish identity. there have been an -- there's an alarming rise in anti-semitism, not only in the u.s., but around the world. as ambassador to the u.n., what do you do to combat that? >> i think that the situation right now is shocking. we are on the brink of a catastrophe, even here in the united states. we see now thousands of people chanting "death to israel", "death to the jews." we see jewish students all across the united states on college campuses, that are being threatened not only by other students, by their professors and presidents of universities can not even condemn the terror attacks. so right now, i think it's already too late to say that we expect them to speak up or call out the anti, the anti-semites. we expect them to take action. we expect them to expel students, to fire professors who are anti-semitic. we expect them to call the police to investigate the harassments of jewish students. this is truly unacceptable, this situation right now. and as i said, we are on the brink of a catastrophe. any moment, we might see a terror attack against a jewish community here in the united states. >> well, god forbid, as they say, but i appreciate your time. thank you so much for coming on. >> yeah, it's -- thank you, dana, for having me. >> thank you, ambassador gilad erdan, thank you. and here in the united states on the political front, new polls are flashing bright red warning signs for president biden and his campaign in key swing states. we're going to look at these new numbers, next. there is a significant like landslide that donald trump will be found guilty by a jury on a felony offense next year. >> your angry against the truth is reprehensible. you can yell and boo about it as much as you like, but it doesn't chelange the truth. >> one bit of evidence that we have seen recently about the former president's popularity when it comes to republicans, there's new evidence this morning about his popularity when it comes to a potential general election matchup with president biden. a stunning "new york times"/siena poll shows that donald trump leading joe biden in nevada, georgia, arizona, and michigan in tight races in pennsylvania and wisconsin. my panel is here with me now. karen finney, i will start with you. >> thanks, dana. >> you're welcome! >> in all candor, truth serum, this has to be like a political five-alarm fire in the white house. >> well, look, i think we've all always said, this is going to be a tough race, period, full stop. i don't think anyone is taking anything for granted. and a couple of things, though, i'll say. if you look at the trend, right, in 2011, president obama was not in good shape. and that has been a trend in several -- and remember, we were all thinking that hillary clinton was going to be president and the economy was going to be the issue in 2022. i only say that to say, there's clearly more going on underneath the surface that this poll doesn't tell us. and that is where elections were won. understanding not just the what, but the why. the second thing i would say, though, is, yes, i hope it is an alarm for the campaign. and i hope it shows particularly when you look at young voters and voters of color, that while they have made important early investments in reaching out to those electorates, we have to keep doing it. we can't take anything for granted. and it's not just about talking about the president's record and what he's done, but also elections are about the future. so reminding -- talking to people about what he wants to do to continue the work that he's been doing on their whabehalf. >> congresswoman crockett, karen just talked about warning signs across the board, but particularly when it comes to people of color. "the new york times," and they're right about it, say in a remarkable sign in a gradual racial realignment between the two parties, the more diverse the swing state, the farther mr. biden was behind. and he led only in the whitest of six. >> yeah, no, it's really scary for me. i'm glad that karen, the because here is deal. perception is reality. so when you look at the data provided in this poll, it takes about how people feel. and when people decide whether their going to the poll or not going to the poll, it is all about how you feel in that moment. and so while the facts may not align with their feelings, they're feelings are dictating the reality and the reality is that they feel better or felt better when trump was in office. but we've been trying to push back. we've got some very popular african american art ists aing things like i got checks when trump was in office. i want those chokes again not understanding that that came from congress. so we have the perception issue and then we also have an issue as it relates to civics in this country and people not understanding exactly how any of this works. >> congresswoman comstock, yoo you are not the biggest fan of donald trump. what do the polls tell you? >> well, i think polls are -- these are obviously a year ahead, as karen said. and i think republicans are ignoring the warnings of my friends asa hutchinson and chris christie and ignoring that the four times indicted donald trump could be a convicted donald trump by the time we get to next summer. we know right now that there is a deficit for republicans in terms of money. joe biden is raising a lot more money than trump is and trump is spending a lot of money on his legal bills. so if you're a donor to donald trump, you're a donor to his defense fund. so what they tell me, is when i look at states, i see states that donald trump lost senators and governors for republicans in georgia lost senators and went after governor kemp lost senators last year and a governor very popular governor democrat josh shapiro because mast re ano who is a big trumper, maga does not sell in general elections. a year out, this might be popular. but going into, when people are faces with maga, this does not sell well when the reality of those ads that the biden campaign is going to be spending on, maga has been losing for seven years. normal republicans could win like glenn youngkin but maga has been -- >> i see a lot of people saying donald trump is not a good guy. he's a crook. but he was better for my pocketbook and that is where democrats have a problem. joe biden has been out going around the country talking about bidenomics. which is a phrase that i think the republicans are more likely to deploy as we get closer to november if americans continue to feel that fuel, food, housing et cetera, are all getting month more expensive and they look back an the trump presidency and say, yeah, he was unpleasant but it was better at the bank. >> i hear you and i think that is true, but the world has changed and no one is factoring in. we did not have a pandemic known as the coronavirus that existed when trump first was in. so, yes, absolutely, gas prices were in a better situation. but also people understanding that bad policy takes a little while to go into effect. and honestly, that is what we're seeing. it wasn't better for the american people that the rich folk got the tax breaks. it would have been a lot better if those that were struggling every day got them or the child tax credit that is going away or the fact that people are upset with the president as it relates to israel, but when you look at the package that was passed by maga mike, that was pushed out by the republicans, what did that package do? it defunded american workers saying we're going to take money back from the irs and it also made sure that israel got money and there was nothing for the palestinians. >> but next year the argument is not going to be that so much. but next year if the election is about donald trump then republicans lose. so i think right now everyone is focused on biden and looking at biden but next year is going to be a very attack trump election. >> when it is head-to-head, it's a very different conversation. and when voters are reminded of the trauma of donald trump, every day, because i don't think they're hearing it and seeing it the way we -- >> but they are head-to-head. >> no, they're not. democrats have to primary so most democrats are not -- >> he's not on your screen every day. you aren't getting the negative ads, 24/7. >> when we're in the general election. thank you so much. appreciate it. we'll be right bacack. thank you so much for spending your sunday morning with us. fareed zakaria, "gps" is next. nice footwork. man, you're lucky, watching live sports never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! 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