Transcripts For CSPAN2 Campaign 2020 Axios Discussions With

Youtube, twitter, linkedin and, of course, axios. Com. We hope youll follow along using the hashtag axios event and axios on twitter. Over the next 30 minutes, ill be joined by mike allen, and well unpack the news of the day, vote or turnout and how National Security will play a key role in the november elections. But now, id like to welcome our first guest. She is the ceo and president of voto latino, Maria Teresa Kumar if joins us from nfnlgt welcome, teresa. Thanks, margaret, how are you going . I mean, im tired [laughter] but were not on the road. Thats the biggest thing of all of this, right . [laughter] were not on the road, but i dont know about you, i kind of get energy being on the road, and also there is an end to the day on the road. There is no end to the day when zoom and your office is also your dining room table which is also next to the kitchen. I know. I think thats absolutely no, and i think the challenge is that by november 3rd youre just, like, you dont want to see anything. Ve[laughter] right. Well, and, you know, im just grateful to be healthy. So but we are, like we said, a week and a half away. Look, there are Major Concerns that we talk about and hear about in terms of ballots being counted, mailin ballots being challenged, problems at the f polls onn election day. Talk to us a little bit about what your groups doing right now in this final stretch, and what are you most concerned about, like, whats real or any of these supposed threats actually suppression efforts . How should we think aboutut what were hearing . I think the most important piece is 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 africanamericans and a latinos really dont trust this mailin process, and they have every right to do so in part because there has been study after study that demonstrates that, sadly, signature matching is the biggest impediment to insuring thatto their vote counts. What we have seen in florida in the past and in other states is that if the signature doesnt match perfectly, disproportionately in black and latino communities, their vote thmply gets thrown out compared to other zip codes. And so what were encouraging at voto latino is to go and vote in person if its possible. So were seeing a surge in texas, were seeing a surge in florida, in pennsylvania and arizona. That is not by accident, margaret. That is because of the concerted effort by the civil rights organizations to insure that people are confident in their vote. We are also encouraging them, obviously, to vote by mail, but they are not wrong when they essentially feel their vote may not bee counted equally. So coming into the election, what i would predict is were going to see not just a surge of voting across the board but all americans, but its the patience that were going to need postnovember 3rd to insure that every single ballot is counted properly. And pluses like wisconsin and pennsylvania places like wisconsin and pennsylvania, for example, they wont count their ballots until november 3rd, so you can imagine a nailbiter of an election where these two key battleground states wonttw even know possibly for a week or two. We are the leaders in participation of democracy as a way to enfranchise our citizens, yet we had become almost immune to the idea that we have to wait sometimes 12 hours. Talk about a poll tax on disproportionately the workingclass american. One of the things we could figure out after this election is how do we fix that . Because it doesnt make any sense. If you vote early like not on election day, a couple days before, youre much less likely to find anything was only a 12 hour line, right . Exacta l right. You are seeing some cases of that again in places that have removed polling places in general, but no come for the most part you wont and yours have a choice of more varied Polling Centers when youre voting early whereas on novembel have to go to your precinct and that is goingin to be, yet be vy patient person to engage in that. So vote early. We dont have much time and have a lot of questions limited 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 . Voto latino for the first time weve been deleting Voter Registration outfit, into that they would register 200,000. As of this morning we registered over 567,000 567,000 new voterx key battleground states. The states have become battleground of theav most part, arizona, texas, pennsylvania, northpa carolina, georgia is because florida is in there that they have seen an aging at of young latinas comingofage. E since 2016, 4 million for young latino voters are eligible to vote. Every 30 seconds a young latina becomes eligible to vote. That is what you see such a shifty in our electoral map of what is now considered a toss up. I was having a conversation with olean coster, what you seeing . Texas is very much in play Julian Castro. We have registered roughly about a quarter million new texans, beto orourke lost by 20 to 15,000 to give you an idea and we will mobilize 1. 5 milken folks. Weve invested close to 33 million in xp out a ghost is because we recognize all of this is a closing the gap and providing people with Key Information to mobilize and engage. If young latino voters turned out at the polls as much as they could, as much as eligible registrations allowed, that would be an overwhelming impact in the election, no doubt. Theres some evidence latino voters, although theres a clear majority in favor of voting for democrats ever joe biden, theres some evidence some latino voters like a truck more doubt than they did four years ago. We saw some flagging enthusiasm for biden over the summer among some latino voters. Im wondering how you explain the trends that you think biden has done enough since the summertimeme to prove assurances for excitement among latino voters . Lets tackle the first question. What the Trump Campaign has done effectivelyhe since 2016 is that he hasnt stopped talking to latino voters, particularly in florida. Sadly, the way he has peppered and spoken to the people, latino people in florida is false information and that is factual and passive. The challenge is there getting messages that arere very much bloat out of socialism, communism, and the reason why you wouldnt would want to elea democrat who is a elect joe biden it was very much more of the centerfold, right . Combating a lot of that is important and has been challenging to do have a sector that of latinos and she was around 2025 20, 25 were very conservative and choice is something thats important to them and their also a lot of veterans within the Latino Community. Thats what we see that. When you shift into places like texas and arizona and even georgia and North Carolina where youve seen local leadership that is trump with the small tea would have done a lot of racial profiling, a lot of immigration laws that are creating hostility among laborers in the Latino Community, you see the penetration of disinformation and people voting for very different reasons. Theyre voting for healthcare, also voting f for jobs. This is thels first time in my 6 years of doing this work for racialf inequities that exist n black and latino households, the top three issues. That speaks everything i should before is not only are trump policy at the National Level and packing Latino Community disproportionally but you have taxes giving a different level of anxiety at the local level. That is where we feel a lot of mobilization. Our biggest jump the Latino Community is theres 15 million of us eligible to vote for something not registered. That is the biggest challenge in the Latino Community is closing that registration gap and thats because close to 10 million of us are jumpers and 33. With biden one of his challenges is that for a long time he couldnt get on the ground, he couldnt knock on doors. He was very dependent on zoom conversations. Zoom conversations basically people participate are already on your team. You need amplification. What youre going to s. N. A. P. Over the weekend you will see Julian Castro hit nevada, arizona and colorado and head back to texas. He needs more of that communication in order to basically get folks better to understand what hes about because they dont know what is about quite yet. My hope is they will be able to use this a time wisely that way. Rep about to watch in the closing week of election. I want tore thank you for joinig axios today. Thank you so much for your conversation. And thanks to bank of america for making this program possible. After a video from our sponsor, stated for segment with california congresswoman karen bass and political reporter stef kight. The racial and economic disparities thatdi 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. Racial equality and Economic Opportunity are deeply needed. Thats why bank of america has committed 1 billion for 44 years to address affordable housing, access to health care, employment and jobs counseling and resources Small Businesses need to succeed. We can do more and we need to do more now to further advantage racial inequality and Economic Opportunity for us all. Thank you to our sponsor, bank of america. I am stef kight, politics reporter for axios. Our nexts guest is a representative at californias 37th congressional district, congresswoman karen bass joining us from los angeles, california. Thanks so muchre for being here. Thanks for having me on. This has only been an Election Year like none other with far more americans voting early and voting by mail than ever before. California has broken a the ste voting. Or mail and how do you see this impacting voter turnout in los angeles, particularly among people of color . I think the turnout has been historic, and i believe its going to continue. We are very fortunate here in 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 of incidents is but i but i wouldl it Voter Suppression. I think we are in a very good position. I also think well have a lot of sameday voting as well. Awesome. You choose the Congressional Black Caucus. Can you walk us through some of the priorities you have for foa Biden Administration . Sure. Absolutely. Interestingly were in the process of preparing that any more formal way right now but i will tell you our number one, number two and number three priority is covid. It, it absolute has to be because impact on African American population has been absolutely devastating, and Economic Impact has as well and then the educational impact i do think about our children who already suffer from an achievement gap and what on earth is that gap come to look like when they will then out the school for almost an entire calendar year with very and even levels of access to Online Education or consistency . It all starts with covid. Obviously a major issue as well if we dont pass a bill in the the senate. Of course we did in the house but if we dont pass it before the end of the year then of course its going to be front and center on our agenda next year. Absolutely. Your name was floated earlier this year for potential biden running mate and and continues to come up for potential new roles in the new administration. If the bidenharris ticket wins in november are you interested in serving in his cabinet for u. S. Senate . I have seen my name, for all sorted things, and to be quite honest with you i really only have one focus right now and thats the next 13 days. I will be very excited to think about that after then but i have to tell you that in the house im extremely happy sharing the subcommittee on africa, sharing the subcommittee on crime where i do with issues have been close to my heart for the last several decades. Has the Biden Administration approach you at all and that any potential cabinet position . Lifting up talking to the Biden Administration about is november 3. Speaking of november 3, we are a week and half away from election day and im sure its similar to you but weve been heard from a lot of americans they ever anxious to how this election will play out. The very distrusting or electoral process them anyway. What do you say to them . First of all i think that is so sad. The main reason why people are distrustful is because thats what they hear out of the president s mouth. The idea that a president of the United States would so that type of division and dissension is just a tragedy and i cant wait until were past this time in our history. What i can tell it is that the most important thing for people to do, this time, you cant view the election is november 3. Thats when the election ends. We have to view the election right now, if youre fortunate enough to be in one of those states where you can vote early or mail in your vote but heres the thing. All of us need to have a plan to vote and so what i tell everybody is theres a website called 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 planned. Thing iss the other that im really worried about the Supreme Court frankly because the president has been so divisive come im worried about all of those militias and proud boys and Boogaloo Boys and always whats whatsoever ms. Gs that support the president. He doesnt use dog whistle. He has a bullhorn and is telling them to all come out. Im really worried that the president of the United States is going to agitate violence during and after the election. Hes even calling for people to go watch the polls, and ive talked to my colleagues around the country and they are watching the polls for one reason, and thats to intimidate and dissuade people from voting. And given the president s remarks on these things and given the concerns about unrest and violence after november 3, what role did democrats like yourself play . I should democrats be preparing to respond after election day . We need to be one extremely vigilant. We need to knoww whats going on in our district. Some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus have situations where there are white constituents either in or outside the districts that are making it very clear that they are going to be armed, making it clear theyre going to be prepared. This is the kindd of thing we se in other countries. Never in the United States like this. And its such a tragedy and its really because things are rotten at the top. So youre also a member of the judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees. Do these committees plan to continue current investigations into donald trump even if joe biden wins november . There might be some of it. There has to continue. One of the things, and this will be soo sad, although i i woulde extremely happy in january to witness President Biden and Vice President harris being sworn in, that would be a glorious the store today. On the other hand, i will have tremendous empathy because they are going to go in and look in every single federal agency because the level of corruption, scandal and controversy they are going to have too go in and essentially cleaned up. I think its going to take them their first term to clean up the damage, the wreckage that is been done by this administratio administration. As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and as a look forward to the Biden Administration that is expected to be one of the most diverse administrations if he wins in november, how do you see representation in government growing and how do you think that will impact americas future . I think it will be so critical, considering the administration we have now is one of the least diverse administrations weve ever seen. And then the idea that the President Biden will come in and actually create and administration that looks like america i think is going to send a wonderful signal. Part of the distress that is going on is because we have the president that has created so much anxiety amongst people about the fact that american is getting browner and browner. In the next couple of decades americas going to be a majorityminority country, very much like california. Thats what california is like right now and and i think the diversity in my state i love and 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 doesnt mean someone is going to take something from them. They are not going to lose by diversity. They are going to gain, and we would be much better internationally when our country in terms of b leadership does reflect the population. Thats going to send a wonderful signal to the world, and by the way i didth mention that, but President Biden National Security<\/a> will play a key role in the november elections. But now, id like to welcome our first guest. She is the ceo and president of voto latino, Maria Teresa Kumar<\/a> if joins us from nfnlgt welcome, teresa. Thanks, margaret, how are you going . I mean, im tired [laughter] but were not on the road. Thats the biggest thing of all of this, right . [laughter] were not on the road, but i dont know about you, i kind of get energy being on the road, and also there is an end to the day on the road. There is no end to the day when zoom and your office is also your dining room table which is also next to the kitchen. I know. I think thats absolutely no, and i think the challenge is that by november 3rd youre just, like, you dont want to see anything. Ve[laughter] right. Well, and, you know, im just grateful to be healthy. So but we are, like we said, a week and a half away. Look, there are Major Concerns<\/a> that we talk about and hear about in terms of ballots being counted, mailin ballots being challenged, problems at the f polls onn election day. Talk to us a little bit about what your groups doing right now in this final stretch, and what are you most concerned about, like, whats real or any of these supposed threats actually suppression efforts . How should we think aboutut what were hearing . I think the most important piece is 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 africanamericans and a latinos really dont trust this mailin process, and they have every right to do so in part because there has been study after study that demonstrates that, sadly, signature matching is the biggest impediment to insuring thatto their vote counts. What we have seen in florida in the past and in other states is that if the signature doesnt match perfectly, disproportionately in black and latino communities, their vote thmply gets thrown out compared to other zip codes. And so what were encouraging at voto latino is to go and vote in person if its possible. So were seeing a surge in texas, were seeing a surge in florida, in pennsylvania and arizona. That is not by accident, margaret. That is because of the concerted effort by the civil rights organizations to insure that people are confident in their vote. We are also encouraging them, obviously, to vote by mail, but they are not wrong when they essentially feel their vote may not bee counted equally. So coming into the election, what i would predict is were going to see not just a surge of voting across the board but all americans, but its the patience that were going to need postnovember 3rd to insure that every single ballot is counted properly. And pluses like wisconsin and pennsylvania places like wisconsin and pennsylvania, for example, they wont count their ballots until november 3rd, so you can imagine a nailbiter of an election where these two key battleground states wonttw even know possibly for a week or two. We are the leaders in participation of democracy as a way to enfranchise our citizens, yet we had become almost immune to the idea that we have to wait sometimes 12 hours. Talk about a poll tax on disproportionately the workingclass american. One of the things we could figure out after this election is how do we fix that . Because it doesnt make any sense. If you vote early like not on election day, a couple days before, youre much less likely to find anything was only a 12 hour line, right . Exacta l right. You are seeing some cases of that again in places that have removed polling places in general, but no come for the most part you wont and yours have a choice of more varied Polling Centers<\/a> when youre voting early whereas on novembel have to go to your precinct and that is goingin to be, yet be vy patient person to engage in that. So vote early. We dont have much time and have a lot of questions limited 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 . Voto latino for the first time weve been deleting Voter Registration<\/a> outfit, into that they would register 200,000. As of this morning we registered over 567,000 567,000 new voterx key battleground states. The states have become battleground of theav most part, arizona, texas, pennsylvania, northpa carolina, georgia is because florida is in there that they have seen an aging at of young latinas comingofage. E since 2016, 4 million for young latino voters are eligible to vote. Every 30 seconds a young latina becomes eligible to vote. That is what you see such a shifty in our electoral map of what is now considered a toss up. I was having a conversation with olean coster, what you seeing . Texas is very much in play Julian Castro<\/a>. We have registered roughly about a quarter million new texans, beto orourke lost by 20 to 15,000 to give you an idea and we will mobilize 1. 5 milken folks. Weve invested close to 33 million in xp out a ghost is because we recognize all of this is a closing the gap and providing people with Key Information<\/a> to mobilize and engage. If young latino voters turned out at the polls as much as they could, as much as eligible registrations allowed, that would be an overwhelming impact in the election, no doubt. Theres some evidence latino voters, although theres a clear majority in favor of voting for democrats ever joe biden, theres some evidence some latino voters like a truck more doubt than they did four years ago. We saw some flagging enthusiasm for biden over the summer among some latino voters. Im wondering how you explain the trends that you think biden has done enough since the summertimeme to prove assurances for excitement among latino voters . Lets tackle the first question. What the Trump Campaign<\/a> has done effectivelyhe since 2016 is that he hasnt stopped talking to latino voters, particularly in florida. Sadly, the way he has peppered and spoken to the people, latino people in florida is false information and that is factual and passive. The challenge is there getting messages that arere very much bloat out of socialism, communism, and the reason why you wouldnt would want to elea democrat who is a elect joe biden it was very much more of the centerfold, right . Combating a lot of that is important and has been challenging to do have a sector that of latinos and she was around 2025 20, 25 were very conservative and choice is something thats important to them and their also a lot of veterans within the Latino Community<\/a>. Thats what we see that. When you shift into places like texas and arizona and even georgia and North Carolina<\/a> where youve seen local leadership that is trump with the small tea would have done a lot of racial profiling, a lot of immigration laws that are creating hostility among laborers in the Latino Community<\/a>, you see the penetration of disinformation and people voting for very different reasons. Theyre voting for healthcare, also voting f for jobs. This is thels first time in my 6 years of doing this work for racialf inequities that exist n black and latino households, the top three issues. That speaks everything i should before is not only are trump policy at the National Level<\/a> and packing Latino Community<\/a> disproportionally but you have taxes giving a different level of anxiety at the local level. That is where we feel a lot of mobilization. Our biggest jump the Latino Community<\/a> is theres 15 million of us eligible to vote for something not registered. That is the biggest challenge in the Latino Community<\/a> is closing that registration gap and thats because close to 10 million of us are jumpers and 33. With biden one of his challenges is that for a long time he couldnt get on the ground, he couldnt knock on doors. He was very dependent on zoom conversations. Zoom conversations basically people participate are already on your team. You need amplification. What youre going to s. N. A. P. Over the weekend you will see Julian Castro<\/a> hit nevada, arizona and colorado and head back to texas. He needs more of that communication in order to basically get folks better to understand what hes about because they dont know what is about quite yet. My hope is they will be able to use this a time wisely that way. Rep about to watch in the closing week of election. I want tore thank you for joinig axios today. Thank you so much for your conversation. And thanks to bank of america for making this program possible. After a video from our sponsor, stated for segment with california congresswoman karen bass and political reporter stef kight. The racial and economic disparities thatdi 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. Racial equality and Economic Opportunity<\/a> are deeply needed. Thats why bank of america has committed 1 billion for 44 years to address affordable housing, access to health care, employment and jobs counseling and resources Small Businesses<\/a> need to succeed. We can do more and we need to do more now to further advantage racial inequality and Economic Opportunity<\/a> for us all. Thank you to our sponsor, bank of america. I am stef kight, politics reporter for axios. Our nexts guest is a representative at californias 37th congressional district, congresswoman karen bass joining us from los angeles, california. Thanks so muchre for being here. Thanks for having me on. This has only been an Election Year<\/a> like none other with far more americans voting early and voting by mail than ever before. California has broken a the ste voting. Or mail and how do you see this impacting voter turnout in los angeles, particularly among people of color . I think the turnout has been historic, and i believe its going to continue. We are very fortunate here in california and in los angeles especially, we are not concerned about some of the Voter Suppression<\/a> tactics that have happened around the country. There have been a couple of incidents is but i but i wouldl it Voter Suppression<\/a>. I think we are in a very good position. I also think well have a lot of sameday voting as well. Awesome. You choose the Congressional Black Caucus<\/a>. Can you walk us through some of the priorities you have for foa Biden Administration<\/a> . Sure. Absolutely. Interestingly were in the process of preparing that any more formal way right now but i will tell you our number one, number two and number three priority is covid. It, it absolute has to be because impact on African American<\/a> population has been absolutely devastating, and Economic Impact<\/a> has as well and then the educational impact i do think about our children who already suffer from an achievement gap and what on earth is that gap come to look like when they will then out the school for almost an entire calendar year with very and even levels of access to Online Education<\/a> or consistency . It all starts with covid. Obviously a major issue as well if we dont pass a bill in the the senate. Of course we did in the house but if we dont pass it before the end of the year then of course its going to be front and center on our agenda next year. Absolutely. Your name was floated earlier this year for potential biden running mate and and continues to come up for potential new roles in the new administration. If the bidenharris ticket wins in november are you interested in serving in his cabinet for u. S. Senate . I have seen my name, for all sorted things, and to be quite honest with you i really only have one focus right now and thats the next 13 days. I will be very excited to think about that after then but i have to tell you that in the house im extremely happy sharing the subcommittee on africa, sharing the subcommittee on crime where i do with issues have been close to my heart for the last several decades. Has the Biden Administration<\/a> approach you at all and that any potential cabinet position . Lifting up talking to the Biden Administration<\/a> about is november 3. Speaking of november 3, we are a week and half away from election day and im sure its similar to you but weve been heard from a lot of americans they ever anxious to how this election will play out. The very distrusting or electoral process them anyway. What do you say to them . First of all i think that is so sad. The main reason why people are distrustful is because thats what they hear out of the president s mouth. The idea that a president of the United States<\/a> would so that type of division and dissension is just a tragedy and i cant wait until were past this time in our history. What i can tell it is that the most important thing for people to do, this time, you cant view the election is november 3. Thats when the election ends. We have to view the election right now, if youre fortunate enough to be in one of those states where you can vote early or mail in your vote but heres the thing. All of us need to have a plan to vote and so what i tell everybody is theres a website called 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 planned. Thing iss the other that im really worried about the Supreme Court<\/a> frankly because the president has been so divisive come im worried about all of those militias and proud boys and Boogaloo Boys<\/a> and always whats whatsoever ms. Gs that support the president. He doesnt use dog whistle. He has a bullhorn and is telling them to all come out. Im really worried that the president of the United States<\/a> is going to agitate violence during and after the election. Hes even calling for people to go watch the polls, and ive talked to my colleagues around the country and they are watching the polls for one reason, and thats to intimidate and dissuade people from voting. And given the president s remarks on these things and given the concerns about unrest and violence after november 3, what role did democrats like yourself play . I should democrats be preparing to respond after election day . We need to be one extremely vigilant. We need to knoww whats going on in our district. Some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus<\/a> have situations where there are white constituents either in or outside the districts that are making it very clear that they are going to be armed, making it clear theyre going to be prepared. This is the kindd of thing we se in other countries. Never in the United States<\/a> like this. And its such a tragedy and its really because things are rotten at the top. So youre also a member of the judiciary and Foreign Affairs<\/a> committees. Do these committees plan to continue current investigations into donald trump even if joe biden wins november . There might be some of it. There has to continue. One of the things, and this will be soo sad, although i i woulde extremely happy in january to witness President Biden<\/a> and Vice President<\/a> harris being sworn in, that would be a glorious the store today. On the other hand, i will have tremendous empathy because they are going to go in and look in every single federal agency because the level of corruption, scandal and controversy they are going to have too go in and essentially cleaned up. I think its going to take them their first term to clean up the damage, the wreckage that is been done by this administratio administration. As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus<\/a> and as a look forward to the Biden Administration<\/a> that is expected to be one of the most diverse administrations if he wins in november, how do you see representation in government growing and how do you think that will impact americas future . I think it will be so critical, considering the administration we have now is one of the least diverse administrations weve ever seen. And then the idea that the President Biden<\/a> will come in and actually create and administration that looks like america i think is going to send a wonderful signal. Part of the distress that is going on is because we have the president that has created so much anxiety amongst people about the fact that american is getting browner and browner. In the next couple of decades americas going to be a majorityminority country, very much like california. Thats what california is like right now and and i think the diversity in my state i love and look forward to the country being as diverse, and we need a president like President Biden<\/a> who i believe will help americans understand that this doesnt mean someone is going to take something from them. They are not going to lose by diversity. They are going to gain, and we would be much better internationally when our country in terms of b leadership does reflect the population. Thats going to send a wonderful signal to the world, and by the way i didth mention that, but President Biden<\/a> Vice President<\/a> harris are going to have to go clean up our image around the world as well now because people are laughing at us, in the entire world is watching us to find out what happens. We cannot disappoint the world. Thank you so much. So sorry we have to wrap up. We are out of time. I believe patient time and response to that question. Y thank you, congresswoman karen bass and thanks again to bank of america, our sponsor come after another video stay tuned for our final segment with cofounder of mike allen and Lieutenant General<\/a> h. R. Mcmaster thank you to the bank of america for making these conversations possible. Our next guest is army general h. R. Mcmaster, most recently President Trump<\/a>s National Security<\/a> adviser. Before that, general mcmaster led m soldiers and organizations for 34 years, including in iraq and afghanistan here on top of being a west point graduate, he has a phd in military history from chapel hill. General mcmaster, welcome to axios. Mike, thank you. Its a pleasure to be with you. You. Le are out with battlegrounds and this is not your typical Washington Post<\/a> service book. This is a scholarly book, 70 pages of notes, bibliography, recommended reading, index. You took it very seriously. What was it like to switch hats in such a w big way . Mike, it may be a bit predictable for an army w offic. I made a Mission Statement<\/a> for was up at the transition as i transition to only my second grade my life. Third, if you get my time working at a famous restaurant named mcdonalds before going to west point at age 17. What i wanted to do is help deepen americans understanding of the mostle crucial challenges we face so we can Work Together<\/a> to build a Better Future<\/a> for generations to come. This book is foundational to the effort in my secondgrader at the Hoover Institution<\/a> and at stanford university. You talk in battlegrounds about being on the other end of what you call russias firehose of falsehoods. What you to learn about what they are up to . Its important to understand the rush has engaged in a sustainedan campaign of politicl subversionon against us, and thy do employ this approach of disruption, disrupting the effectiveness of our government. That was part of an of the attn me and the socalled hashtag fire mcmaster campaign. To just come up with the function our government, ofticularly in the area Foreign Policy<\/a> and National Security<\/a>. But also the broad effort is to disrupt us and then to use disinformation to shake our confidence in who we are as asa people, too polarized society, hit us against which other and to shake our confidence in our democratic principles and institutions and processes. What i write about in the book is putin also just denies the most brazenis efforts. Its very important for us to counter this pernicious effort to bring us down. Russian knows it cant compete with us. Who knows he cant compete with us on her own terms the russians operatingt under the theory he can maybe be the last man standing. Because he will be successful in his view at shaking confidence within our democratic societies, in europe and the United States<\/a> in particular. This week we saw the director of National Security<\/a> and of the fbi say they have caught russia and iran are readily meddling in thisin election. How worried are you about their actual success in disrupting this election of a a lifetime . Im not worried about it at all, mike, and the reason is we have really improved. His is large and untold story. Of course i was responsible for that in part in 2017 as National Security<\/a> adviser and into 2018. What wevi did jungle, whats the biggest thing you personally did to shake that up . The most important thingng we did is focus our intelligence and collection effort on this pernicious campaign, and then we took the gloves off of our cyber forces in the recognition that a good Cyber Defense<\/a> with this cyber enabled Information Warfare<\/a> against us requires a good offense. A close second to that is just the effort to protect our Cyber Infrastructure<\/a> broadly and our Election Infrastructure Initiative<\/a> for certain particular. We have a very decentralized system but within our federal government is working very close with the states to make sure we can have confidence in the sanctity of our election proces process. General, i know your state of close touch with whats going on and you areh acutely attuned to america. Whats the biggest thing russia has changed and what theyre up to in the 2020s cycle from back when you really delved into it after 2016 . They are continuously adapting from the tactical point of view. Initially it was quite obvious what this Internet Research<\/a> agency was doing. It can really quickly identify the false personas can identify the source of the bots. For example, they would come to work on moscow Business Hours<\/a> and so you could see that thats when the traffic whichch spike. What theyre doing is doubling down i think on this effort to divide us. In 2016 about 80 of the bot controlled traffic relations an issue of race, polarizes and issues ofon race. A distant cycles on gun control and then immigration as well. Russia doesnt create the divisions in our society but they do the best to widen those divisions and to fit us against each other, reduce really are confidence if you are, identity as americans. Thats why education is so important. If americans identify, will be less susceptible to this sustained campaign of disinformation. General, in the book you say all president s, not just president en trump, get putin wrong. Right. This is our tendency i read about a strategic narcissism, to define the world only relation to us and to think the future course of events depends on what were going to do. If we could get a better relationship with putin, hes going to change, he will be like the grinch at christmas. His heart will grow two sizes bigger. He will stop this Disruptive Campaign<\/a> against us. We have president george w. Bush the went to visit putin and say hey, i looked into his cell ad secretary of state Hillary Clinton<\/a> brought the reset button and press obama leaned over and said i will have more flex builder after the election. Li we traded off missile defenses with bold and maybe well see we really are wanting to welcome them backem into the western community. And then of course President Trump<\/a> finds it difficult to criticize putin for some reason under the belief it would be great traffic relationship with putin. What i writeif about is its not going to get better with putin and the reason its not is the ideology and emotion that drives it. He is driven by a sense of honor lost associate with the breakup of the soviet union and the loss of the cold war, and then also this drive to restore russia to national greatness. As i mentioned he canan do thatn his own terms because he doesnt have the resources to do it. He determined to drag us all down like the kgb operated he is. Hes quite adept at it. Hes one of the best wires in the world, deceivers in the world. One ofiv the lessons is lets sp being chumps about this. Lets recognize putin for who he is and compete more effectively mainly by imposing additional costs on the criminal beyond those that factor into the decisionmaking when to take his aggressive actions, whether its the annexation of crimea, the invasion of ukraine, the poisoning of Sergei Skripal<\/a> and hiss daughter, recently i think putin has continued to be emboldened because we and europe havent together impose costs on it. Think about the nord stream ii gas pipeline for example, in germany. That could be powerful if the reale Economic Loss<\/a> for this sustained campaign of aggression against us. General mcmaster, you mentioned the president hasen bn reluctant to criticize putin. Its finally got you under the former Administration Officials<\/a> are reluctant to criticize it. How do you think the criticism of the president is so muted by the people who have been in the building and embracing what happened . I have not hesitated to criticize President Trump<\/a>um at all. You can probably find with a quick Google Search<\/a> 30 times when iat said the president is wrong, he gives putin this space to aid in this effort to deny what is even completely obvious. This is what my friend and National Security<\/a> adviser used to call putins implausible deniability. Its very importantpl to critice the failures of policy and actions by the president , by others, in getting putin his space. What i write about in battlegrounds i criticize both Political Parties<\/a> because what we see ise a tendency for leads within both parties to compromise our principles as americans for partisan critical advantage. Thats one of the ways putin plays us. Doing that and i think President Trump<\/a> has not helped our cause by raising doubts about what is super obvious. What i describe in the book is President Trump<\/a>s tendency to conflate three related questions but distinct questions. In the election . Hack yes, they did. Did they care who won . I dont think they did. I think with the want to do in 2016foot what do in 2020, which is to matter who wins, raise doubts among us about the legitimacy of the results. And to have dirt on whoever comes in so they can weaponized it against them. In 2016 its important to recognize that russia, they were ready to launch a campaign saying Hillary Clinton<\/a> when the election because election was rigged. I think they were b as surprised as most americans, maybe even donald trump was that he won reelection in 2016, and they shifted that campaign to he wouldve won the popular vote if it wasnt rigged. They want us to think our elections are made so the statement the president makes not raising doubts about the election process, hisin administration, has done quite a bit to secure i think are counterproductive and play right into the kremlins hands. General, you have been inside the west wing, seemed that close in a in a way very fewup people laug. You have spent your life studying and practicing leadership. Would which is a president truma good leader . Well, i think he is the elected president of thehe unitd states, mike, and what ive traded u. S. National National Security<\/a> adviserur and serving e fifth commanderinchief i served since i ended west point at the age of 17 17 is to helpe elected president succeed. I respected the decision that the American People<\/a> made througr Electoral College<\/a> at our constitutional system. I think it is for the American People<\/a> to decide who should be the next president. I think my role as a retired military officer is to maybe help americans make that decision. What i try to, do in the book is described more fully these challenges were facing, i challenges that are not going away while we are at each others throats politically. I hope what readers might be able to doo is use that description as criteria for both candidates on Foreign Policy<\/a>. Sadly, no one is like the Foreign Policy<\/a>. No one is talking of these challenges because we are so enmeshed in this partnership. Artisanship wee go live now no discussn the progress of operation warp speed and how it Coronavirus Vaccine<\/a> would be deployed once approved. The Heritage Foundation<\/a> hosts this event. You are watching live coverage on cspan2. Safe and effective vaccines with initial doses available by january 2021. We have a Great Program<\/a> in store for you and want to get right to it so lets do that. Im to legislate the bit about our first speaker, general gustav or gus perna as an army 4star general confirmed by the senate on july 2, to serve as the chief operating officer of operation warp speed","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia801700.us.archive.org\/19\/items\/CSPAN2_20201027_182600_Campaign_2020_Axios_Discussions_with_Rep._Karen_Bass_Maria_Teresa_Kumar...\/CSPAN2_20201027_182600_Campaign_2020_Axios_Discussions_with_Rep._Karen_Bass_Maria_Teresa_Kumar....thumbs\/CSPAN2_20201027_182600_Campaign_2020_Axios_Discussions_with_Rep._Karen_Bass_Maria_Teresa_Kumar..._000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}