Diversity in government and Foreign Policy. Welcome to our new shavers road ahead series leading to the of ever election. I am coming to from my home in washington, d. C. I am our politics editor. Thanks to bank of america making these conversations possible and welcome to audiences on facebook, youtube, twitter, linked in and axios. Com. We hope you will follow along using the axios events and at axios on twitter. Over the next 30 minutes i will be joined by steph kyte and mike allen to unpack that news of the date, but her turnout and how National Security will play a key role in the member election. Now i would like to welcome our first guest, the ceo and president of photo op latino, Maria Teresa Kumar joins us from newark new jersey. Hello. Thank you for having me. How are you . I am tired. They election is a week away. We are not on the road. Are not on the road and i do not know about you but i could i get energy being on the road and there is an end to the day. There is no end to the date when zoom and your office is also your dining room table which is next to the kitchen. I know. That is i enjoy being on the road. For november 3 you do not want to see anything. I am grateful to be healthy and i know that you are current. We are one week away and there are Major Concerns we talk about and hear about in terms of ballots being counted. Mailin ballots being challenged. Problems at the polls on election day. Talk to us about what your group is doing right now in this final stretch, and what are you most concerned about . Are any of thest there is actually suppression efforts . How should we think about what we are hearing . Ms. Kumar so i think the most important pieces that we know that americans in general are really paying attention, but africanamerican and latinos are paying more attention when it comes to how to access the ballot box this time. The majority of African Americans and latinos do not really trust the mailin process , and they have a right not to do so. There have been study after study to show that sadly finger signature matching is the biggest impediment. If the signature does not match perfectly, this proportionally in black and latino communities, their vote simply gets thrown out compared to other zip codes. So what we are encouraging at voto latino, and so many folks are, is go and vote in person, if it is possible. So we are seeing a surge in texas, we are seeing a surge in florida, pennsylvania, and arizona. That is not by accident, margaret. That is a concerted effort by the civil rights organizations to ensure that people are confident in their vote spewed we are also encouraging, obviously, people to vote by mail. But they are not wrong when they fear that their vote may not be counted fully. Coming into the election, but i would predict as we will see not by allsurge of voting americans but the patients we will need post november 3 two ensure that every single ballot counted properly. Places like wisconsin and is of, for example, they will not counterbalance until november 3, so you can imagine this nailbiter of an election where these two key battleground states will not know, possibly, for a week or two. Margaret you are encouraging voters to put on protective masks ms. Kumar masks. Snack,mask, bring a bring water, and bring your favorite playlist, because, in some places, it is going to take you longer. But this should really be an alert for every single american. The fact that we are the country that exports democracy worldwide, we are the leaders and participation of democracy as a way to enfranchise our citizens, yet we have become almost immune to the idea that we have to wait sometimes 12 hours. Poll tax on disproportionately the working class of americans. One of the things we need to work on after this election is, how do we fix that . Because it does not make any sense. Margaret in the meantime, if you vote early, you are much less likely to find anything resembling a 12hour line, i think the right . Ms. Kumar you are seeing some cases of that, again, and some places that have removed polling places in general, but, no, for the most part, you wont. And you have a choice of more varied Polling Centers when you are voting early, whereas if you wait until november 3, you have to go to your precinct. You have to be a very patient person to want to engage in that. [laughs] margaret i have a lot of questions, so let me try to get some of these in. In what states are latino voters most likely to have the biggest impact, and why is the youth vote so important this year . Ms. Kumar so voto latino for the first time, we have been the leading Voter Registration since 2008, we registered 200,000. As of this morning, we have registered over 567,000 new voters in six key battleground states. Becometates have battleground for the most part arizona, texas, pennsylvania, North Carolina, georgia because florida is in there, but the five states ive mentioned before has seen an aging in of young latinos comingofage. Since 2016, 4 million more young latino voters are eligible to vote. Every 30 seconds a young latino becomes eligible to vote. That is why you see a shifting in our electoral map of what is now considered a talk up. I was having a conversation with in texas,ulian castro and he said texas is very much in play to we have registered roughly a quarter of a million new texans. Beto orourke lost by 216 thousand, to give your idea, and we will mobilize 1. 5 million folks. We have invested close to 33 million in six key battleground states, because we recognize all of this is about closing the Voter Registration gap and providing people with key motivation to mobilize and engage. Young latino voters turned out at the polls as much as they could, as much as eligible registration is allowed, there would be an overwhelming impact in the election, no doubt. But there is some evidence that latino voters, although there is a clear majority in favor of voting for democrats and joe biden, there is some evidence that some latino voters like trump more now than they did four years ago. And we saw some lagging enthusiasm for biden over the summer among some latino voters. I am wondering how you will explain the trends, and you think biden has done enough since the summer to improve assurances or excitement among latino voters . Ms. Kumar lets tackle the first question. What the Trump Campaign has done effectively, since 2016, is that he has not stopped talking to latino voters, particularly in florida. Sadly, the way he has peppered and spoken to the peopl latino people in florida is false information, and the challenge is that they are getting messages that are very much blown out of socialism, communism, and the reason why you would not want to elect a democrat who is a man like joe biden, who is very much more of the centerfold, right . So combating a lot of that disinformation, in florida particularly, has been challenging. You will always have a center, though, of latinos, around 25 verytino voters who are conservative, and choice is something that is very important to them. And there are also a lot of veterans within the latino community. So that is where we see that. However, when you shifted to places like texas and arizona and even georgia and North Carolina where you have seen local leadership that is, you t, trump with a small where they have done a lot of racial profiling, a lot of immigration laws that have created hostility, you do not see that kind of misinformation. And people are voting for different reasons. They are voting absolutely for health care. They are also voting for but this is my very first time in my 15 years of doing this inequitiesracial that exist in black and latino households are the top three issues. And that speaks everything to what i shared before, is not only are trump policies at the National Level attacking latino communities interpersonally, but you have great advocates in we really see a lot of this mobilization. Our biggest challenge is there are 15 million of us were eligible to vote who are simply not registered. That is the biggest challenge in the latino community, closing that registeration gap. Close to 10 million of us are younger than 33 years old. With biden, one of his challenges is that for a long time he could not get on the ground, he could not knock on doors, and he was very dependent on zoom conversations. Who conversations, people participate in them are already on your team. What you are going to see now over the weekend, you will see hooley and castro hit nevada, arizona, and head back to texas. He needs more of that communication in order for folks to better understand what he is about because they dont know what he is about quite yet. My hope is that they are going to be able to use this time wisely. Watchet we have a lot to in the closing week of the elections. Maria teresa kumar, i want to thank you for joining axios today. Ms. Kumar thank you for the conversation. Margaret and thanks to bank of america for making this program possible. After a video from our sponsor, stay tuned for a segment with congresswoman karen bass. The racial and economic disparities that have long existed in this country have only been widened by the coronavirus and amplified by the most recent acts of injustice. People around the world are coming together with greater urgency to demand action. At bank of america, we know we all have a role to play to overcome very real consequences of systemic racism and inequity. This includes individuals, governments, nonprofits, and the private sector. Equality is deeply needed. That is why bank of america has committed 1 million for four years to address affordable housing, access to health care, employment and a counseling, and resources people need to succeed. We need to do more now to further advance racial inequality and Economic Opportunity for us all. Again to ournk you sponsor, bank of america. I am the politics are part of her axios. Our next guest is a representative of congresswoman karen bass joining us from los angeles. Thank you so much for joining us. Rep. Bass thanks for having me on. Stef this has already been an Election Year with like no other. California has already broken state records for mailin voting. How do you see this impacting voter turnout in los angeles, particularly among people of color . Rep. Bass i think the turnout has been historic, and i believe it is going to continue. Here inery fortunate california and in los angeles especially. We are not concerned about some of the Voter Suppression tactics that have happened around the country. There have been a couple incidences, but i would not call it Voter Suppression. Stef has the Biden Administration approach to about cabinet positions . Rep. Bass im talking to the Biden Campaign about november 3. Stef we have been hearing from americans there anxious about how this election will play out. Processes, what can you say to them . Rep. Bass first of all, i think that is sad. The main reason people are distrustful is because that is what they hear out of the president s mouth. The idea that a president of the United States would south that type of division and dissension sow that type of division and dissension is a tragedy. I cannot wait until we are past this time in our history. I can tell them the most important thing for people to do this time, you cannot view the election is november 3, that is when the election ends. We have to view the election right now. If you are fortunate to be in one of those states where you can mail in your vote or vote early. Here is the thing. All of us need to have a plan to vote. Website i will vote. Com, where you can put in your personal information and find out how, when, where to vote in your particular location. In order to deal with all of the negativity, have a plan. The other thing is, i am worried about november 4, frankly. Because the president has been so divisive, i am worried about all of those militias and proud boys and all of those white supremacist groups that support the premises support the president. He does not use a dog whistle, he has a bullhorn and he is telling them all to come out. I am worried the president of the United States is going to agitate violence during and after the election. He is even calling for people to go watch the polls and i have talked to colleagues around the country and they are watching the polls for one reason and that is to intimidate and dissuade people from voting. Stef given the president s remarks on these things, and given the concerns about unrest and violence after november 3, what role do democrats like yourself play . How should democrats be preparing to respond, after election day . Rep. Bass we need to be extremely vigilant. We need to know what is going on in our districts. Some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus describe situations where there are white constituents, either in or outside their districts, who are making a clear are going to be armed. Par make it clear theyre going to be prepared. This is the kind of thing we see another countries. Never in the United States like this. It is such a tragedy. It is really because things are rotten at the top. Stef yes. So you are also a member of that today sherry and Foreign Affairs committees. Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees. Do these committees plan there e of it that needs to continue. One of the things and this will be so sad, although i will be rema happy in january extremely happy to see President Biden being sworn in, would be a glorious, historic day. On the other hand, i would have tremendous input the because they will have to go in and look at every single federal agency because the level of corruption, scandal, and controversy, they are going to have to go in and essentially clean up. I think it is going to take them their first term to clean up the damage, the wreckage that has been done by this administration. Stef as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and as we look forward to a Biden Administration that is expected to be one of the most diverse administrations if you wins in november, if he wins in november, how do you see rep. Bass i think it will be so critical, considering the administration we have now is one of the least diverse administrations we have ever seen, and then the idea that President Biden will come in and actually create an administration that reflects america i think is going to send a wonderful signal. Part of the stress that is going on is because we have a president that has created so much anxiety amongst people about the fact that america is getting browner and browner. Decades,xt couple america is going to be a majority minority country, very much like california. That is what california is like right now. I think the diversity in my state i love and i look forward to the country being as diverse, and we need a president like President Biden who i believe will help americans understand that this does not mean someone is going to take something from them. They are not going to lose by diversity, they are actually going to gain. And we will be much better internationally when our country in terms of leadership does reflect the population. That will send a wonderful signal to the world. President biden and Vice President harris, they are going to have to clean up our image around the world as well now because people are laughing at us and the entire world is watching us to find out what happens. Stef thank you so much. So sorry we have to wrap up. We are out of time. I really appreciate your time in your response to that question, so thank you, karen bass. And thank you to bank of america, our sponsor. Reporter thank you to the bank of america for making these conversations possible. Our next guest is army general h. R. Mcmaster, most recently President Trumps National Security advisor. Before that, general mcmaster led soldiers and organizations for 34 years, including in iraq and afghanistan, on top of being a west point graduate. He has a phd in military history from chapel hill. General mcmaster, welcome to act axios. Mr. Mcmaster it is a pleasure to be with you. Mike you are out on the battlegrounds, and this is not your typical book. This is a scholarly book, 70 bibliography, recommended reading, index. You took it very seriously. What was it like to switch hats in such a big way. It was a bit predictable for an army officer. I transitioned to only my second career in my life, one third if you count my time working at a restaurant named mcdonalds before going to west point. What i wanted to do is help deepen americas understanding of the most crucial challenges we face so we can Work Together to build a Better Future for generations to come. This book is foundational to that effort in my second career here at the institution and at stanford university. Mike you talk in battlegrounds about being on the other end of what you call russias firehose of falsehood. What did you learn about what they are up to . Mr. Mcmaster i think it is important to understand that russia has engaged in a sustained campaign of political subversion against us, and they do employ this approach of disruption, disrupting the effectiveness of our government. That was part of the attack on firemcmas socalled ter campaign. It is to gum up the functioning of our government, particularly in the area of policy and National Security. The broad effort is to disrupt us and use disinformation to shake our confidence in who we are as a people, to polarize our society, pit us against each other. In to shake our confidence democratic principles and institutions and processes. What i write about in the book is this president denies the most brazen efforts. It is important to counter this pernicious effort to bring us down. Russia knows it cannot compete with us. Putin