Sharyl welcome to full measure. Im sharyl attkisson. The first president ial debate is tomorrow night. Americans have a lot of questions. Is clintons health up to it . Will trump keep his cool . The polls are growing tighter and so is the time until the election. With the debate looming, we asked both candidates for an interview. So far, clinton has declined. I caught up with donald trump on the campaign trail in ft. Myers, florida and began by asking him about the recent islamic extremist terrorist attacks in new york, new jersey, and minnesota. Some of the analysts and some people who are experts, as well as some of the media, seem to go into contortions to try not to say early on it was a possible terrorist event. They want to go in and they just dont wanna say that, because that offends some people, including our president. They dont want to mention the term radical islamic terrorism under any circumstance, including Hillary Clinton. I laughed this morning when i see her on television saying how shes gonna do this and that. Shes been there for 30 years, she hasnt done anything. I mean, shes all talk and no action. But she was saying that shes gonna this and im the one thats been talking about this for a long time, as long as youve known me. And this is radical islamic terrorism. It has to be dealt with sharply. Its the only language that theyre gonna understand and this problem that we have now is only going to get worse with weak leadership. Sharyl on the economy, in a recent survey, a majority of business economists said that Hillary Clinton was the best choice for the economy. And libertarian gary johnson came in a distant second, and you came in third. Why do you think that is and how could you change their minds . Donald trump well, i think that the most respected economists i think that ive seen tremendous reviews of my tax plan, but they do know, you have to understand, they do know that im gonna stop these horrible trade deals. Were gonna have trade, were gonna have free trade, but were gonna have real free trade, not free trade, which is a oneway highway out of our country for our jobs and our money. Nafta is the worst trade deal ever signed in the history of the world, not only the country. You look at what its done to our states, and you look at what its done to, you know, our country, what its done to us. The jobs are gone, the moneys gone. I go upstate new york, i go to pennsylvania, i to ohio, i go all over, especially for the primaries, ive never seen devastation like this. Were like a third world country. Those factories were vibrant 30 years ago, and today theyre empty, theyre falling down, theyre collapsg from the rain and the snow. So, no, i think that weve had tremendous reviews. I mean, look, im gonna lower taxes, Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes. Im going to thats what i do, i have thousands and thousands of people that work for me and have, ive created tens of thousands of jobs. But a lot of people are gonna renegotiate our trade deal, sharyl. And i understand that theyre concerned, but theres nothing to be concerned about. We lose right now, we have a deficit, in terms of, of all of the trading we do with other countries. We have a trade deficit almost 800 billion a year. Weosremo than 400 billion a h china, in terms of a trade deficit. With mexico, with japan, i mean, what are we dog . What are we doing . I, i often say, who negotiates thdeal so, your establishment people are saying, ohgee, you know, let things be the way. I dont think we can let them be the way they are, because our country is being devastated and our jobs are being taken. Sharyl i want to hit on a couple of personal controversies for you. New yorks attorney general, eric schneiderman, whos already suing you over trump university, which hes called a bait and switch fraud, now says hes opened an inquiry to the Trump Foundation. Are you confident that the Trump Foundation has followed all donald trump well, i hope so, i mean, my lawyers do it. Oney, ie anything, i take no salaries, i take no costs, i have zero costs, and a lot of money goes through the Trump Foundation into charities. Goes to charities, it doesnt go to me, it goes to charities. Sharyl ill point out that mr. Schneiderman is a Hillary Clinton supporter and has apparently found nothing worthy of inquiry with the clinton foundation. Donald trump with the hundreds of millions of dollars of things, isnt it interesting, and he said hes not even gonna look at it. Good job with it. Sharyl nearly every major News Organization has remarked during the Obama Administration years, that this has been a record for obstruction and lack of trsp but considering your rocky relationshipith the press, do they have reason to be concerned that things will continue along that path or even get worse . Maybe reporters you dont age with could get banned, thing like that. Donald well, i think th, that the press has been very dishonest with me, to a large but the press has been very, very dishonest and when i see it, im just amazed. At the same time, i will certainly be open to dealing with the press and reporters. Sharyl do you see yourself banning, banning reporters from certain events and things li that . Donald trump no, i dont see that, but a lot of people have done it, and a lot of people, a lot of different businesses have done it. The press has been very, very dishonest. I mean, even recently when i said yesterday, the bombing, and she said, the bombing, and they criticized my use of the word bombing, but not hers and they cut it outan couple of days. So, the relaip with the press, its not a question of good, all i want is honesty. And if theres someing or something bad, i can handle that, but when you do something great, and they try to make it as negativossible, constantly, its really not a fair situation. About a year ago, when there was somethinliher republicans in the race and you had a long hau you really think you had a good chance at being here today . Donaldru well, i dont think i wouldve been doing it if i didn you know, my question is, is do you really think this was going to happen . D i guess the answer is, i wouldnt have done it if i didnt, you know, im not looking to lose. And ionally, i do well, and i win, and i, i, you know, i do a nice job. This has become a very big situation, its amaz whats happ you see outside, you see the kind of crowds we have. And you just said somethg,ou ought to show pictures of whats outside, because its true, the press is an example. Crowd, ever. The only time they show it is, is a little bit of protest someplace within the crowd, then all of a sudden they show, and theneoe y, wow, what a big crowd that is. I think the answer is, i would assume that i thought this was going to happen, because i wouldnt have done it if i didnt. Sharyl how has the past year changed you . From the time you started this race to where you are today, with all youve learned, the turns that youve taken, and the criticism that youve had, and donald trump well, i think its probably changed me, but i havent had a lot of time to think about it, because every day im mpaigning, ill make three or four major speeches, sometimes in one day, where you have massive crowds and you know that, you see it. Itbeen an amazing experience. What has been, is that the people of this country are inle. Ooking for hope, theyre looking for change, theyre looking for success, theyre looking for victory. We dont win anymore, our country doesnt win anymore. We dont win our trade, we cant beat isis, we dont win with the military. We have the greatest people in the world in our military, but its depleted. We dont take care of our vets, it looks like the Second Amendments in big trouble. Certain if i, if i dont win, the Second Amendment is in big, big trouble. Healthcare is a disaster. We dont win anymore, and iil tell you that i think the reason its caught on so much is, were gonna win again, were gonna start winning again. And people understand that and people see it. Sharyl a bit later in the program, ill ask trump a few questons posed by some of our could be a history making event. Scott thuman takes a look at the history of president ial debates to see how they could make or break a candidate. Whatcha doin . Just checking my free credit score at credit karma. What the . . . Youre welcome. I just helped you dodge a bullet. But i was just checking my. Shhh. Dont you know that checking your credit score lowers it just be cool. Actuly, checking your credit score wi credit karma doesnt affect it at all. Are you sure . Posi oooh check out ckadirma today. Creditarma. Give yourself some credit. Sorry about that. Sharyl 73 of all registered voters in the u. S. S theplan to tune into the debate tomorrow night. And that doesnt include a big number of nonvoters who will watch in fascination from the sidelines. Of debates, george w. Bush once said, i dont think you ever win them, but you darn sure can may prove pivotal. On the history of mustsee political tv. Good evening. Scott on september 26, 1960, more than 70 million america tuned in to see senator john kennedy go toetotoe with Vice President richard nixon. This is a great country. Scott the optics were everything, kennedy was tanned and rested, while nixon was pale, underweight, and sweaty. Prof. Lichtman while i dont think the debates moved the needle very much, ey ended the narrative that kennedy wasnt prepared. Scott Allan Lichtman is a political historian and professor at amerity in washingn,. C. Prof. Lichtman he was so factual. He was so knowledgeable. Scott kenns knockout rformance not only helped seal his candidacy, but also cemented the role of tv in making or breaking the candidates. And its the miakes. Domination of eastern europe. Scott the gaffes. Pres. Bush before we go to deployment on the midgetman missile or otemath whatever it is were going to have to the mx mx re going to have to do that. Pres. Bush its christmas. Its ghter]s. Scott and the one liners. Mr. Perot there will be a giant sucking sound going south. Scott that have come to define the debates. Pres. Reagan i am not going to exploit, for pitical purposes, my opponents youth an scott while reagans zinger ended what lichtman calls the negative narrative about his age, he says al gores performance in 2000 only enhanced his. Prof. Lichtman youre too overwrought, youre too overblown, you exaggerate things, and with all his incredibly deep sighing in a debate. [heavy sighing] intimidate george w. Bush. But can you get things done . Prof. Lichtman all he did was ade the arnegarative Scott Lichtman says with polls showing clinton and trump neck and neck, tomorrows debates are more high stakes than usual. Prof. Lichtman both candidates have such high negatives and so much to prove. Scott how important is it that they just get out clean . Prof. Lichtman it shouldnt be important at all that they just avoid a gaffe, i think one of the big problems with Media Coverage is that they cover it like nascar, t everyoke but thats not criticly wt candates should be judged on. What candas should be judged on is their knowlee, visi, their values, their experience, their truthfulness. Scott buta campaign where truthfulness has been cota su mrs. Clinton i did not receive or send any matealhawas Scott Lichtman says that standard seems unlikely. Mr. Trump Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008tartedhe prchlian we have in donald trump a completely unprecedented candidate, who has become known for making things up, for playing hard and fast with the truth. And then, of course, you have Hillary Clinton. People wonder what she stands for and people wonder if shes too secretive, and not being honest enough with the american people. So youve got some pretty negative narratives going for both candidates, that theyve gotta make sure dont become a tidal wave after the debates. Scott weve seen a lot of show business in the election so far, havent we . Is this going to be a continuation of that . Prof. Lichtman donald trump is the master of showbiz, but the question is will that play in debates . Everyone that you interview the flash, thats what the voters tell you. Well, these debates will be the test of how much they really mean that. Sharyl we set about three quarters of registered voters, more people who are not registered to vote, but we set about three quarters. Scott there are about 146,311,000 registered voters so that would be 106 million. Status. Some on the conservative side are talking about at least 80 Million People watching. Sharyl thanks, scott. Appreciate it. Still ahead on full measure wildfires burning out west are an ongoing Natural Disaster. Both the fires and cost of fighting them are spinning out of control. Some claim congress is fiddling shar a wildfire thats been buing for mo tn o months onalifornias coastline known as big sur has just become the single cosiest service has ever. Far anis only twothirds contained. Full measure contributor Lisa Fletcher reports on the Natural Disaster thats burning a hole in the feder lisa e picture postcard views arou b santhis mmer. Record wilir closed the highways and hotels, keeping tourists away from one of the central coasts crown jewels. Everyone but the firefighters. This actually crossed the creek the night before last. Lisa bob baird is the supervisorf th national forest, his job is to put the fires out. Bob the terrain is incredibly complex. Its rugged california with some of the steepest terrain in the lower 48. Lisa summer wilir ith st have been burning bigger, hotter, and faster over the last several years, consuming not only theandscape, but the with fighting the fires. Robert we need congress to act and we neethem to act now. Lisa Robert Bonnie is the head of the u. S. Forest service. He has spent the last four years trying to get congress ttreat fires more like Natural Disasters. That would shift the cost off the Forest Service ledgers and over to funds used for emergencies like hurri tornadoes, and floods. Robert if you look back about 20 years, the Forest Service enspabout xtof its budget on fire and fire fighti. La year,n a d year, we spt north of 60 on firerelated expenses. Lisa what is that in dollars and cents . Robert it was cseabout 5 billn,o you can see that the agency is bemog re and morelessa fire service. Lisa the Los Padres National forest is ground zero for one of the summers worst fires, now ss is a enonally putire on the oundy , c create afer from the main and something that were trying to protec lisa thousands of firefighto f, not to mtion the helicopters, bulldozers, and fleets of water trucks at a cost of 210 million and counting. With budget, programs designed to prevent fires are in jeopardy. In ft, in 2015, the rest rvice had toak t 700 million from prevention programs and put it into firefighting. These flammable landscapes become far more volatile when the money isnt there to manage pests like the tree killing bawl burrow around the tree in the layer that actually carries the. Lisa fire captain Mike Lindbery works on some of the biggest fis across the country. Dead standing right now all over the state. Lisa and what is the translation for a firefighter . Capt. Lindberry the translation for a firefighter is, one, faster moving more deadly fires and the fact even while theyre fighting these fires, theres the danger of the trees dropping on them at anyoi. Lisa and youe drping on thkilled with a tree capt. Liy there was a firefighter kill lt week from a tree dropping on him, ts correct. Lisa forest fires produce a double jeopardy. After crews extinguish the flames, the barrenandspe creates a threat for mudslid subsntl backlog. I thinit might be as much as 5 llion acs of areas where wed like to plant tr postfire and we essentially c lisa li he,erigh above big sur, where mark gerwes been on e ont li ms. Th ts dist markabsolute its a ster. And for congress andasngton not to recognizehat and stt hard look at that and understand that this is, this is ats going on. Lisa for years,ouse and senate have been at an impasse tting out peop out there tired of hearing about so many committees ansoanle iolved that cant come tan agreement. Robert thats exactly right. This is an issue where there is broad agreement and we need to x it. Its absolutely clear. I think this is becoming mor and more an issue that Many Americans see every day and think the anger is for not getting on top of this faster, for congress not acting, is growing. Lisa and are the fes more than 14 million acres have burned in the last two years. Lisa fletcher, big sur, california. Sharyl still ahead, a few of your questions that we posed to ngyou dont want to drive old blue forever, do you . Turn it off. I did. Credit karma huh . Yea, its free. That was easy. Credit karma. Give yourself some credit. Sharyl earlier, donald trump responded to a few of my questions. Now, its your turn. We asked the republican president ial nominee some of questions you suggested. What does it mean to be an american . Donald trump to me, being an american is the ultimate, you have to be so lucky to be born into this country. Its the ultimate jackpot. Sharyl will you keep tweeting, yourself, if you become president . Donald tru probably not, although it is a great way of communicating. Sharyl it can be. This is a more complex question, but maybe you can just touch on it. What would you do if russia were to invade estonia . Donald trump well, i dont want to say, because i dont like saying, i dont like telling people what im going to do. Have is, every politician gets upset. Were gonna this, were gonna ops he, were gonna send troops there, theyre gonna arrive at a certain time of the y. I nliaying that. I, i think its a ad poli tbecuin is your tax philosophy y to run t a cerinmo governmeulak and spend that . No, itk a ain ountf money and you want to take care of your people and we end up, but taxes are too high in th country. A massive tx reduction and im also getting rid of regulatn, we have so the tareduction im giving is, is treous,ut you kno what, pelere more excited about thretion cutting we have regulations on regulations, and hes its tt out of control, and it that c tell you. Inses, yoursea lf, yearou could go back ag somethahiyouve