To it all, well bring you the thoughts from pennsylvania, ohio, back here to colorado. Im wondering if the people are angry enough to make their voice heard. Neither side has me convinced that im voting for something that i like right now. Ill vote for you but just do the right thing. This morning, we talk two leaders in battleground states. Florida representative val demings and Ohio Governor mike dewine. Plus, insight and analysis from our powerhouse roundtable. Announcer from abc news, this is a special edition of this week from boulder, colorado. Here now, coanchor martha raddatz. Good morning, and welcome to this week. We join you this morning from boulder, colorado, after spending the week on a crosscountry road trip. Speaking with voters across the nation. The background to this election is a global pandemic, a struggling economy and massive unrest amidst calls for change. Overnight, in portland, dramatic images of fire bombs thrown at officers. In rochester, continuing demonstrations after the death of daniel prude in police custody. And a different uproar this morning, the president facing allegations he disparaged fallen soldiers. Former defense secretary chuck hagel will join me to respond in a moment. But we begin with the voice of the voter. For months, covid has made it nearly impossible for us to travel the country, but this last week we were determined to safely drive across america to see closeup whats behind the polls in this evertightening race. We begin in the state that arguably handed donald trump his 2016 victory, but now has joe biden with a narrow lead. It has been a 2200mile journey through americas cities and towns, some abandoned from the covid outbreak, some far too crowded for safety. Others, bearing the scars of Racial Injustice and the fallout. But everywhere we went, the president ial election loomed. From the suburbs with the manicured lawns, to the heartland, where even massive Wind Turbines and endless fields were dominated by politics. Which is why we began our journey in the battleground state of pennsylvania. Im a fourth generation sheet metal worker. Reporter and ardent biden supporter. Donald trump lacks empathy. Joe biden has seen tragedy in his life. I think he has the empathy this country needs right now. Reporter and its personal, the once friendly policy talks with neighbors have ended. Lot of anger. Screaming and yelling. Its very hard to get down to the nuts and bolts of things. Reporter as the country grapples with this contentious election, the reckoning on race is front and center. President trump has cast himself as the law and order candidate. A message that trumps base embraces. What do you think of biden . I dont trust him. Reporter for these lifelong hamilton, ohio, residents, trumps word is gospel. I think he almost walks on water. Reporter she say trump is an imperfect man but a perfect president. Well, they couldnt control buy him and they cant control him. Every promise he made in 2016 that he has followed through on, or tried to. Reporter and she wont be convinced otherwise, even on trumps low support from africanamericans, just 11 . Why do you think theres not more support for him in the Africanamerican Community . Oh, honey, i think theres a lot more support for him in the Africanamerican Community than the media is giving credit for and i think in november, its going to show. Hes speaking to his avid followers. Hes not speaking to me and hes not speaking for me. Reporter this woman is a voter in the suburbs of cincinnati, alienated by trumps rhetoric. From the Buckeye State we headed towards the gateway of the west, st. Louis, that iconic arch greeting us the next morning. Against an overcast sky. In nearby ferguson, missouri, after the Police Shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, Kathy Jenkins restaurant was nearly shut down. My numbers dropped so low, i felt like i was under water breathing through a straw. Reporter after those protests, jenkins, a biden supporter, started a successful delivery service, but is counting on things getting better. Its not about making money, its about caring and changing lives. Reporter but those bread and butter issues are vital in this election. No matter where we go across america, no matter who you talk to, one of the biggest issues is the economy. And jobs. The pandemic also hitting Benjamin Browns bottom line. We started off the year up 17 and then you start hearing these reports about this virus thats coming in. Did you have to lay off employees . We did. Reporter while trumps response to the crisis has been fiercely criticized the president still has browns vote. Back on the open road, another some 200 miles under a pictureperfect missouri sky were changing our business model. Reporter for a meeting with a local rancher. The heartland is considered trump country. But michael billings is the exception, hes the owner of this 300acre bison ranch. What has covid done to your business . Some of the effects of covid have shut us down. We cant get our animals to the market, we cant sell products. Reporter billings who didnt vote for trump in 2016 is putting his support behind biden. How do you deal with your neighbors who are trump supporters, do you talk about it . The climate of the nation is such that i wouldnt be surprised if i put up a sign, and then my fence is cut and my buffalo are out. Reporter but not everyone has made up their mind. This farmer and his nephew both voted independent in 2016 and are still undecided this time. Will debates make the difference . No. Did the Republican NationalConvention Speech make a difference . I didnt listen to it. Reporter hazelton likes trump support of farmers, but doesnt like same of the way trump does things and ryan i never voted for a democrat at the top of a ticket. I havent ruled it out this time. Reporter the final leg of our journey nearly eight hours, from the cornfields in kansas to the mountains of colorado, colorado is a classic battleground state, a purple state. Extremists on the left, extremists on the right, and everything in between. These last four years have been really tough particularly for the Latino Community. Weve been antagonized by this administration. Reporter Salvador Hernandez helps the Latino Community of colorado engage in the political process and says joe biden could be doing more to reach that key demographic. I currently dont know what his platform is going to be, other than im better than donald trump. Reporter soon after we arrived in denver, this bombshell headline alleging that trump called fallen american soldiers suckers and losers. An accusation the president has forcefully denied. Tell me what your reaction was when you read that article it broke my heart. Reporter this man is a vietnam war veteran. Were not losers. The government sent us to go fight for this country. Reporter but others we spoke to like this veteran are more skeptical. My Immediate Reaction was, what is this . This doesnt make a lot of sense. Each allegation was supported by Anonymous Sources. So you simply dont believe the article . Absolutely not. Reporter as for how gray measures the president the actions. The actions of the president. What has he done for the military . But also for the veterans as well. He tweets a lot, he says a lot. Its not what he really feels, and so when you take it back to national security, im really worried that hes going to put men and women needlessly in harms way. Reporter this veteran, a west point graduate who was severely wounded in afghanistan, served in iraq as well, when you first saw it, did it surprise you, make you angry . It didnt surprise me. You can see what he said about senator mccain from the very start. I think this is someone who respects the military vote, but thats not the same as respecting military service. Joining me now with a response, former republican senator chuck hagel. A combat veteran himself. Good morning, secretary hagel. You just heard those veterans, youre a veteran of vietnam yourself, whats your reaction to the article . Well, thanks, martha. Im glad youre doing a segment on this story. Well, my reaction is, if these comments are real, and ill address that in a second, but if theyre real, its beneath the dignity of any commander in chief. Truly theyre despicable. Now, one of the points that veterans made, which was a good point, these are Anonymous Sources. But lets go back and look at the words from trump himself. Starting in 2016 about what he said about john mccain and what he continued to say about john mccain. How he denigrated the service of generals mattis, mcmaster, and most recently, general kelly, the history of this president over the last three, four years is pretty clear. 2018 experience when he did not go to the American Military cemetery in france, to recognize and honor the world war i marines, every other leader went, every other leader drove, leaders of france, germany and canada. You can go through a litany of past things that he said from his mouth, actions that hes taken, and it corroborates really the goldberg article in the atlantic. How much do you believe this will resonate with the military really . Well, i think it will resonate. Because what i have just said, hes on the record with saying things himself over the past few years. And that that makes the credibility of this article and those anonymous comments more and more credible. Now, i said before, if you want to make an anonymous comment and if you feel so strongly about that that you make that comment to an established, wellrespected reporter and magazine, you should have the courage to use your name. These guys who said it or allegedly said it, then they should show some courage and step forward as well. I have to say one of the veterans i talked to, who didnt believe it because of the Anonymous Sources, if someone appeared who had provided information in that article and said it on the record in front of a camera, he said im not sure id still believe it. President trump has furiously denied this. Well, i think there are those and i understand this business as you do pretty well, who will never believe it, no matter what is said or who said it, and thats just the reality of politics and freedom of expression and we have a great country where you can believe what you want to believe. But facts are facts, martha, and the reality of those facts are pretty clear. I i think its a pretty clear indictment of this president s attitude towards the veterans. Hell use them, of course hell use them as props in his actions, in his statements, no president has ever done that. Use your veterans, use your active military as props. I mean, couple of months ago he sends an airborne division, camps them outside of washington, the mayor and the police chief didnt ask for that. But its the continuation of the same actions and words that we have seen for this president the last 3 1 2 years. Okay, thanks very much for joining this morning, secretary hagel. Thanks, martha. Republican Governor Mike Dewine from battleground ohio joins us now. Ohio is one of the states we traveled through this week. Good to see you this morning, governor. I want your reaction to the article. Do you believe those are things President Trump could have said . Well, martha, i read the article. But, you know, any time ive been with the president , theres been discussion about the military, hes been extremely respectful. Thats been my personal experience. You know, Jeffrey Goldberg is a very respected reporter, Jennifer Griffin from fox news also said she confirmed parts of the article, so how does that resonate with you . Well, these are certainly respected journalists. But, you know, im kind like my friend chuck hagel, we served in the senate together, you know, one of the things that he just said in your interview, people should come forward, you know, Anonymous Sources are interesting, but, you know, it will never have the credibility i think for the general public unless people actually come forward or willing to do that. But again, my experience with the president , hes been extremely respectful, exactly what you would respect a president in reference to any conversation in regard to the military, you know hes come into ohio. Governor, you certainly governor, i want to stop you for a second, because you know what he said about john mccain in the past. Is i disagree with that . Does that change your mind at all . John mccain, i have a Great Respect for, he was a dear, personal friend of mine. You heard the voices in that piece, veterans upset who do believe it. More than 19 million veterans in this country today, they accounted for 13 of the voters in 2016 according to exit polling, 60 voted for trump at the time. 34 for hillary clinton. Could this make a difference in the race, again i reference those voters who say, yes, i believe he could have said those things . Well, i dont know, martha, i really dont know. I mean, you know, were into the campaign, you know a lot of things come out in a campaign, and i think sometimes people, when they only come out during a campaign, you know people are somewhat skeptical about them, this is you know, were into the 60 days, so i dont know what impact thats going to have. I think what the president has done in regard to the economy before we hit the virus, you know, i think people in ohio are generally very happy with that. You know, the president made commitments in regards to the Supreme Court and federal courts, were very happy with what hes done there. Its going to be a close race in ohio. I think the president is going to win ohio. Ohio has always been a battleground state. Neither side can ever take ohio for granted. I want to turn to the protests, as the protests continue across the country, the administration blames the violence on state and local officials who either did not or were slow to request federal assistance, you as a governor, what should your counterparts in oregon and wisconsin have done differently do you believe . You know, i dont know that. They have to deal with the problem. Theyre the ones who are on the grounds. Weve had a number of protests in ohio. We worked very closely with our mayors, weve given them support whenever they asked for it with the national guard. Look, we want to support protests, but we dont tolerate violence, and thats always the line. We want to support our police, we have a bipartisan bill in front of the legislature which i hope they pass, we involved Community Groups excuse me, weve involved the Police Organizations and it calls for some very Significant Police reform in regard to training and investigations, so we have a good bill and i hope the legislature will pass it. I think people are looking for very positive things, you know, ive never met a Police Officer who didnt want more training and, you know, i started as a county prosecutor and worked very closely with Police Departments. But theres always someone whos not fit quite candidly to be a Police Officer. One thing we provide in our bill is a psychological exam, just to screen people out who are not really fit to be Police Officers. And i want to turn to President Trump and the election, he continues to sow confusion about vote by mail efforts. This week, he encouraged voters in North Carolina to vote twice. Im going to assume you would not condone that sort of illegal behavior there in ohio. What are your concerns going into election day . You can do in mailin ballots up until the day before the election, this is going to be a very different Election Night and it could go on for a long time, what are your concerns . Well, martha, i can only speak to ohio. Ive talked extensively with our secretary of state, we have a very good system in ohio for many years, two decades i think, voters have been able to vote absentee with no reason. They can just ask for an absentee ballot. The secretary of state tells me that were at least double over the requests that we would normally receive now. Were used to doing thing. They also can vote in person at the board of elections during the week. Then, we even have sunday voting in ohio the weekend before the election. So ample opportunity. What we tell people to do is, look, everyone, by the way s now getting in the mail their application, they can fill that out every voter in ohio is getting it. Were asking people if youre going to vote that way, you know to do it as early as you can. The other thing, ohio law provides that the ballot can be counted up until ten days after the election as long as its postmarked by the monday, so, again, we dont want anybody to wait til the friday to mail in but they also have the ability to drop off at the board of elections. Were not concerned about ohio. We always have to be vigilant. Our elections in ohio and across this country are handled in a very bipartisan way. Were confident things are going to work out fine as far as casting. Okay, governor, we hope that will as well. I enjoyed very much crossing through your state. Thanks for joining us this morning. Thank you for coming. Up next, florida congresswoman val demings on the protests continuing to rock the country. 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