good morning. welcome. once again, it's saturday, which means i get to sit down with some smart people, to tackle the week's big stories, in a different way. this hour, we're asking, with democrats on a winning streak and the president's poll numbers really bad, should biden still get out of the race? then, the gop's akborgs problem can republicans change their tune and win back voters on an issue they have been pushing for half a century. and canada propaganda. we all saw dc panda bears head back to china and what it means for relations with beijing. is the panda story being over or underplayed. the panel is here and ready. so sit back, grab your coffee, and let's talk about it. first, our saturday starter, the democrats, yes, there was good news, great news for the president's party this week after big election wins but the president's week began with suggestions she consider ending his campaign for re-election. and now, he faces even more obstacles. democrats are still celebrating, after big gains this week. abortion rights won in ohio. they held the governor's mansion in ruby red, kentucky. and took control of virginia's state legislature. but while the white house takes a victory lap -- >> i think the american people made clear that they are prepared to stand for freedom. it was a good night for democracy. >> it is all not good news. the latest cnn poll shows biden trailing trump 49% to 45. and the president is hemorrhages support among key voting blocks, like independents and young voters. >> i do feel like it is a little too early. i think there should be an age limit on the president. >> and there is the recent "new york times" poll which has biden now losing five of the six battleground states he won in 2020. >> he just has to ask himself, is this the best path? >> but the president says he's not worried. >> posting to x, voters vote, polls don't. with me around the table, podcaster, paris swisher, editor of the dispatch, and los angeles times columnist, jonah goldberg. "new york times" journalist and podcast host, lullu garcia-navarro, riahem salsem, manhattan institute and editor of the review. raihem, let me start with you, are democrats leaning too much into what the good results say this week about the election in 2024? should joe biden still step down and not run for a second term? >> i think, unfortunately, the answer is yes and the best time for him to have done it was january of this year. and not right now. allow democrats to have a robust primary process and allow them to get through it, and that people are currently unvetted, but time is rung out and i think what the results show su that the democratic brand has some fundamental strengths. low propensity voters, affluent educated folks will turn out in large numbers for democrats, but joe biden himself is the weaken, and this is since the afghanistan pullout. this is not just this year. it is not new. it started a long time ago. >> why should he pull out? for a loser, he is winning an awful lot. and not just this election. it is all over the country. every election he's had, they keep winning. and we're not asking these questions about donald trump, who is running around like a fascist, and in trial most of the campaign season, no one says should he quit? >> i think he should quit. >> well, but i'm saying it is not the same discussion happening. >> for sure because donald trump is not the president and joe biden is. >> sure. >> and i completely disagree with you on this idea that he is going around winning. the governor of kentucky barely mentioned his name at all. the candidates running in virginia didn't mention his name. trying to distance themselves from him. he is unpopular. he is very unpopular. >> that happens every single election season, the incumbent often doesn't have long coat tails, and the down ballot tends not to try and, you know, hitch themselves to that wagon so i don't know why joe biden is getting such short sh rift. >> great for republicans. have at it. have him run again. when you look at barack obama, his polling was much, much stronger during the first term, even when things were dicey, it was in response to news events, with president biden, this has been weakness from the very first year of his presidency. >> let's take a moment to actually put some numbers on the screen. and they're not good for biden. in the latest cnn poll, only 25% of americans say biden has the stamina and sharpness to be president. 72% say things are going badly. so i guess the question, kara, is do democrats have the right message but the wrong messenger? >> i don't think so. i think they will come home in the end. they will face trump, who will be pontificating and yelling and saying crazy things. he will be in trials. he could be convicted. there's so much between now and then that i think you know, the same thing could happen with biden in the primary. remember, he wasn't ever going to win. and everyone was in love with beto. and this guy can't win. he's a loser and then he won. and so i just, like i have to say, you agree with him, polls don't vote, voters vote. >> and i think there is a lot of truth to that. the key for biden is the anti-trump coalition is much larger than the pro-biden coalition. >> sure zblut. >> but we have a collective action problem in this country. >> we have two candidates so unpopular, much like in 2016, each has a chance to lose to the other and 60 and 70% of americans don't want to vote for either of these people but both parties are so weak and in part joe biden made a terrible mistake with his running mate, that it is impossible for him to step down and find somebody to replace him, so the only way that biden will be able to win is by doing what he suggests, which i think is probably what will happen. i still think trump will probably lose but to run all about catastrophe-ization about a donald trump president and not much touting how great joe biden is. >> and let's see what happens when joe manchin gets in the race and other independent candidates who can peel votes away from joe biden. >> that's talk about that. as if biden didn't have enough problems, joe manchin made an announcement this week that sure sounded like he was at least opening the door to the possibility of an independent run for president. take a look. >> i will not be run can for re-election, to the united states senate, but what i will be doing is traveling the country, and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle, and bring americans together. >> so i hear a lot of talk, lulu, in this group, if i have it correct, not a lot of enthusiasm for trump, in fact, real concern, i know on your part, very deep unhappiness with four more years prospect in the oval office, but also concerned about biden. what's wrong with the unity ticket? why shouldn't we all sit there and say that's what we need? >> who is joe manchin's constituency here? dean i don't know any democrats that love joe manchin considering what happened in the last two to four years, when he held things hostage. and i don't know any republicans that loved joe manchin who think, go, this is the man who i want to see become the president of the united states. we're in a highly polarized country where people have very strong beliefs, and this mythical middle that he is supposedly trying to appeal to just doesn't exist in the way that he thinks it does. i think he's dead in the water. >> biden's only hope is appealing to the mythical middle. if he is trading off some of the young progressives who are looking at the war in israel and favor of a pro-hamas position, he will go down, down, down, what he needs to try to do is get the suburban moderates who are saving democrats time and again partly because of the abortion issue. i think that's his only way out. >> let's posit. let's say that joe manchin runs on the no labels ticket. you have robert f. kennedy jr. and cornell west. and jill stein announced she will run as a green party candidate. you put trump and biden and now four lesser party tickets, candidates on, what does that mean? >> it makes it a mess. this is more important. all of these other people. these people do want a choice. but i think it will come down to a biden/trump choice for people. and once they are reminded of trump again, he's been very quiet, even though he has been very loud for the media, but for most people, they are not really paying attention to his antics in court. when he comes back, people are like oh, that guy. no, not that guy again. and i think biden will win maybe not by acclamation but by "not that guy". >> i agree with the analysis but the multi-candidate thing messes everything up because in joe biden, in 2021 electoral vote 43,000 votes, if it had gone the other way, we have lost it. three states that tipped it in electoral college by 43,000 votes. in 2016, 78,000 votes that got trump in office. if you're talking about robert kennedy and cornell and all of these guys, one or two percentage points in all of these places -- >> do you think it necessarily means it helps trump and hurts biden. >> i think robert kennedy hurts trump because of the anti-vaxxer freakout coalition and i think manship hurts biden. so you're not sure who all of that -- and who would have an impact. let me just say, i checked into it today, jill stein, hardly a household name, her vote total in minor states pennsylvania, michigan, and wisconsin, was the difference, more than the difference between trump and hillary clinton. so it really can make a difference. >> republicans face their own problems. up next, the gop tries to figure out it's bortion dilemma. is 15 weeks the answer for a party that spent decades wanting zero? then, the war between hamas and israel has sparked a growing debate here at home. where do we draw the line between hate speech and free speech? and later, the new "it" time for dinner reservations. find out who on the panel is snagging those hot 5:00 p.m. time slots. for 50 years, republicans tried to reverse a constitutional right to abortion. and last year, they got their wish, when the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. but since then, there has been nothing but bad news at the polls for the gop. and now, it's clearer than ever, if they don't make a change, their long-sought policy success may come at a hefty political price. a scramble inside the republican party. now playing out in public. >> we need a 15-week federal limit. >> what to do about abortion. what laws to pass, and how to message it to voters. some want to play to the pro life part. >> we are better off with a culture of life. >> and others look to track, and at least not alienate more moderate voters. >> as much as i'm pro life, i don't judge anyone for being pro choice. >> new urgency this week, after ohio voters added abortion rights to the state constitution. >> winning was our only option. and we did it together. >> the republican-winning buckeye state, becoming the seventh to vote to allow abortions. since the supreme court overturned roe v. wade. in virginia, republican governor youngkin tried to find a middle ground. pushing for a 15-week abortion limit. >> this is a choice between no limits and reasonable limits. >> but democrats making abortion their key issue ended up taking control of both houses of the state legislature. so what do republicans do about abortion? >> it takes time to teach a dog to drive a car, you know. once they catch it, they don't necessarily want what to do immediately. look, i think personally, i think that this sorting out in the states is a good thing, right? as someone who is opposed to roe v. wade and glad it was overturned, i believe the federalism thing was the right answer to it, but it is going to take time, and right now, i think the gop is in a hot mess because none of them have any muscle memory or any experience or any preparation for how to talk about an issue that they have been pushing for a very, very long time and they will have to learn it will take a while. >> lulu, how big of a problem do republicans have with abortion now that they have finally gotting roe v. wade overturned after 50-plus years and is there any way that they can tamp down the backlash. >> i find myself agreeing with jonah, which is interesting, because the fact of the matter is, is that they got what they wanted, they had planned for it, and now, they are in this terrible conundrum, where the states, it has gone to the states, they're always talking about states rights, and in state after state they're losing on the referendum and now you're seeing people like ron desantis and rick santorum, these referendums are terrible ideas, the voters, don't know what they really want, we really shouldn't let them decide such an important issue like this, so it is, i think, such a cynical ploy, after getting what they wanted, with roe v. wade, and it was overturned, and now we're seeing precisely this, the states are saying what they want, and people are deciding, and so we have this result. >> ron hunt, as i mentioned it in the piece, virginia governor youngkin clearly thought that he had hit the sweet spot with his idea of a 15-week limit, and he had some reason to think so. 93% of abortions are performed by 13 weeks. and by 15 week, the fetus is the size of an apple. but what youngdin kept calling, a quote, reasonable solution, turned out to be a real political loser. and my question is why. >> i will say that virginia is a state that has been trending blue for a long time. and when you look at the actual result, it is not that far off from the 2020 result. if it is not offyear, maybe the outcome would be different. what i will say bigger picture is when you look at other democracies, for example in western europe where they worked out the abortion regulation through the give and take of politics, what you wound up with were abortion restrictions tighter than the roe v. wade regime but looser than what a lot of republicans -- >> they don't like to have their rights taken away from them. people don't like it. >> and i don't understand why republicans don't understand that. they don't like to have books banned. they don't like to have things banned. they don't like to have their trans gender rights restricted. these are not winning issues. >> people in france don't like their rights taken away from them and they landed in a more reasonable place than roe v. wade had us, in a way as jonah said before that you -- >> what is that? >> most of western europe, it has been 20 and 24 weeks, so a bit more permissive than what youngkin proposed but the 15-week would be broadly popular, but it will have to happen state by state. >> it is not widely popular. >> anyone who is talking with numbers doesn't understand the issue whatsoever. there are no numbers they want to be told. most abortions do happen, people do not want to be legislated at by glen youngkin for sure, and they don't want to be talked down to, mostly by men, about when and where they should have their medical needs met. women should decide this with their doctors, nobody is having these late term abortions that republicans fantasize about, and what is happening is that women want to make the decision, they're not going to irresponsibly make, it they don't want to be told about it, i had an abortion, i have talked about it publicly, it wasn't something that i wanted to have, it wasn't something that any woman said, i would love to go and have an abortion, the fact of the matter is, is that this has been put to the people, many states now, and what you are seeing over and over again, it is driving women to the polls, because women know what they know. >> which is the way it should have happened. >> also, look, to get brian back on this, the position is ruth bader ginsburg position in the criticism of roe that it short victimed the national democratic position and created the pro life movement and i think it is an interesting counter-factual, if there had about two proposed constitutional amend amendments in ohio, one, the one that is there and the one that basically reflected youngkin's position, it is no way obvious to me that the youngkin position of 15 weeks wouldn't have won. there is a lot of support for middle of the round. >> talking about counter-factual, i have to say president trump seems to agree with kara and lulu. here is what trump says. take a listen. >> would you sign federal legislation that would ban abortion at 15 weeks? >> no. let me tell you what i would do. i will come together with all of the groups, and we will have something that is acceptable. i would sit down with both sides and negotiate something, and we will end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years. >> so all right, i often agree with him. >> i was going to say, he in a more elegant way, nikki haley, really saying the same thing, which is we aren't going to pin down a number, because people aren't -- >> the minute you talk about numbers, especially to women voters, you have lost the narrative. they want this right. they don't want to be told what to do. and they will make responsible decisions. >> and saying there are no female pro life voters. there are a lot of opinionist -- >> and they lost. they lose. >> that's true. and people learn over time, activists learn, they change their tactics and change their strategies and this is going to be -- >> please. >> i don't understand the pro life movement, which for years has been saying zero, abortion is murder, why are people now saying, well, i can accept 15 weeks? >> that's not quite right, chris. when you look at pro life movement, politically there was an emphasis on late term abortions, sex selected abortions. >> abortion is murder. i saw the demonstrations. >> absolutely true. but the -- >> why are they accepting 15 weeks? >> well, look, it's because of political reality. recognizing that they wanted it in the thrust of democratic politics and that's where it is right now, and painful right now, but people are learning and the movement has to grow. if you are going to create a culture of life, it has to happen by persuading people. >> i don't think they trust people on the right to say it's going to be 15 weeks and then not going to move the goal post and it is 10, oh, no it is a. >> i'm glad we settled that one. after a quick break, a growing debate that is spreading from colleges to the campaign trail. >> anti-semitism and hate, you should lose your federal funding today. >> how do you decide what is hate speech and what is free speech? a group tackles a tough subject. 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! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. fighting in the middle east, the reaction here at home, especially on college campuses, has sparked a fierce debate about speech. students protesting israel's offensive in gaza, some siding with hamas, some with palestinians caught in the middle, and others blurring the lines between both. there are also demonstrations with muslims. what university leaders should do about the protest is now an issue in the presidential race. >> joe biden should have the department of justice on these college campuses and holding the universities accountable for civil rights violations. when you have -- syou should no have money going to these places. >> if the kkk were doing this, every college president would be up in arms. this is no different. shoe treat it exactly the same. -- you should treat it exactly the same. >> lulu, how do we extinguish between hate speech and free speech? i mean obviously physically threatening somebody with words is over the