Was protected in its mother's womb from conception to birth.
That is the policy that we support.
That's what we're for.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade did not usher in that policy.
What it did do was give the states the opportunity for the first time since 1973 to enact policy that reflects the values and the beliefs and the policy views of their citizens, whether through initiative and referendum, through direct democracy, or through the actions of their legislators and their elected officials.
And so since then, sadly, we've lost a lot more than we've won.
So we've found out the hard way that Roe v. Wade being overturned isn't everything we hoped it would be.
But we're going to learn from this.
We're going to get better.
And the truth is, the dirty little secret is that initiative and referendum has never been a favorable environment for the pro-life movement.
We've virtually never been able to win an initiative and referendum.
And you may remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger qualified all those initiatives when he was trying to bypass the legislature when he was governor of California.
One of the initiatives that he qualified, I think it was either parental notification or parental consent.
Now, I can go out and do a survey in almost any state, including California, and 70 to 80 percent of voters will say, yeah, a minor child, a minor, should not be able to get an abortion without at least their parents being notified.
That's a 70 to 80 percent versus 25 percent issue, okay?
Put it on the ballot, it loses every time.
Why?
For the same reason why school choice tests well in polls and then loses on the ballot.
Because once you take on either the pro-abortion lobby or the teachers' unions, you're not going to get a free and fair fight.
It's not like a poll where you just ask people where they stand.
They're going to drop 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 million dollars on your head.
You're going to be able to spend maybe $3 to $5 million.
You're going to get outspent 5 to 1 at a minimum, maybe 10 to 1.
Planned Parenthood will spend unlimited amount of money on this stuff, and they're going to beat you.
So that's what's going on.
So the legislative environment is our strength.
The initiative and referendum is their strength.
They're running out of states to do this.
At a certain point, like in Georgia, you can't qualify such an amendment to the Constitution without the legislature passing it, which we control.
So they're never going to be able to do that in Georgia as long as we have the legislature.
So at some point, fairly soon, they're going to run out of states where they can do this, and then it's going to be our turn.
And we're also, through our legislative strength, we're going to be chipping away at their INR victories, and we already are.
And there's nothing that prevents us from doing that.
So this is going to kind of go on for a while.
But I don't, as I said earlier, I don't think it's really hurt Trump.
And I, with few exceptions, I don't think it hurt of our congressional or Senate candidates in 2024.
And I think, you know, I wouldn't welcome another half billion dollars in abortion ads.
That's not something I would want to invite or welcome.
But I think they're going to have to come up with another strategy because they just lost every battleground state, and they're either losing or nearly losing every battleground Senate race.
So, when you have candidates like Tammy Baldwin, who up until now has won pretty easily, and all you're running on is abortion, abortion, abortion, and you nearly lose, you may want to reexamine your strategy.
But that'll be up to them.
Well, anyway, thank you all very much for coming.
We will be sending out a news release on this survey.
We can certainly get you a copy of the slide deck if that would be helpful to you in doing your stories.
And we look forward to talking to you in the future.
Thank you all very much for coming.
Yeah, you bet.
Thank you.
Yeah, for the last minute.
Hey, are you still doing this?
I didn't know it was your day.
Yeah, Penny, I needed to use the pleasure for you.
Yeah, just one good one for the moment.
Yeah, and coming up here on C-SPAN, President Biden will speak to the nation for the first time since the 2024 elections.
We'll have live coverage of his remarks from the White House Rose Garden when they get underway here on C-SPAN.
Expecting President Biden to address the nation about the 2024 election results this morning, 11 a.m. Eastern from the White House is what's been reported.
Of course, we'll take you there on C-SPAN when that happens.
It was yesterday, yesterday afternoon, that Vice President Kamala Harris gave her official concession speech.
Here's a portion of what she had to say.
Now I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now.
I get it.
But we must accept the results of this election.
Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory.
I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.
A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results.
That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny.
And anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it.
At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States.
and loyalty to our conscience and to our God.
My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris yesterday, that was from Howard University, her alma mater, here in Washington, D.C.
She talked about the transition, transition efforts already underway by the incoming Trump administration.
The story from Politico noting that the Trump campaign team turned into transition mode yesterday, huddled in West Palm Beach.
Trump's advisors by midday were hurriedly ironing out transition plans, particularly how to handle the questions about people and policies that will help shape a second Trump White House.
After his election night route, Trump advisors have made clear his day one priorities include executive orders on border security and oil drilling and other measures to promote energy independence.
With Congress potentially under full Republican control, Trump's team is emboldened, they write, to push aspects of his America First agenda as soon as he re-enters office.
Unclear officially yet who will control the House of Representatives, though Republicans have a distinct advantage with 38 states, 38 races yet to be decided.
As a reminder, heading into this election, Democrats would need to net four seats to take control of the House.
Republicans have so far netted four seats.
And again, the playing field is getting shorter, just 38 races left on the House level.
That's our C-SPAN results map that you can check yourself and click around.
On the Senate side, there's four Senate races yet to be called.
Republicans will have at least 52 seats in the Senate in the 119th Congress.
We're talking about all of it this morning, spending all three hours of our program today getting your reaction, your thoughts a day after the official announcement and official concession from Kamala Harris on the 2024 campaign and Donald Trump moving forward with a second Trump administration.
This is Jerry in Detroit, Michigan, a Democrat up first this morning.
Jerry, go ahead.
Good morning, John, and greetings yet again from Detroit.
Being a 59-year-old black man, I want to commend Kamala Harris for the job well done.
She gave it her all.
It might not have been the result that I was hoping for, but at least I hope it'll make her a whole lot her and those of us who support her, I think, a whole lot stronger to take on Donald Trump and his bigoted supporters.
I also would like to say we have to take very seriously one of Donald Trump's more scarier threats, and that is to pardon the people who attacked our Capitol nearly four years ago.
I want to add that I hope that never happens because it'll be a slap in the face to all of those great Capitol police officers who defended the building from those Trump supporters.
And one last thing I may before I go.
To those Trump supporters who want to compare January 6th and Black Lives Matter, it wasn't Black Lives Matter that rioted, but those were Trump supporters who attacked the building.
It wasn't FBI or BLM or NP.
That's all I got to say.
Jerry, stick around for one second.
I just want to show two headlines and bounce the second one off you.
First, on January 6th, defendants, this from today's Metro section of the Washington Post, the election of Donald Trump brings hope.
The headline notes: Donald Trump has promised to pardon at least some of them.
That's in the Washington Post today.
But this from USA Today, you mentioned that you're a middle-aged black man.
You used the term bigoted when referring to Donald Trump's campaign.
This headline: a shift in black and Latino voters was key for Trump this election cycle.
He won support from about 13% of black voters nationwide and 45% of Latino voters, according to exit polls.
How do you explain that, Jerry?
Well, my answer to that is it's not the overwhelming majority of black and Latino, you know, female voters.
I mean, you have to keep in mind that in terms of demographics, the overwhelming majority of Donald Trump's supporters are still predominantly white.
And for me, as a black man, I feel that those white Trump supporters do have personal animus and hatred towards those who are different from them.
That's Jerry in Detroit, Michigan.
This is Kelly in Dennison, Ohio, Republican.
Good morning.
Hey, John.
Hey, I called on October the 7th.
There are so many things I would like to say.
They only get to call in 12 times a year.
And there's something really heavy on my heart, John.
For all Americans, I pray that Trump does something about it.
Supposedly, there's over 300,000 children missing.
Now, John, I'm telling you, this is breaking my heart.
What's going on?
Why can't we get these people who have done this and these kids and find them?
John, I'm telling you, this is killing a lot of us in this country because these children are innocent.
Who did this?
I know when Trump was 4,000 children, but he made sure that they were safe and brought back to where.
Now, under this administration, John, what do you say about that?
Please respond to what I'm saying.
That's Kelly in Ohio.
This is Jeff in Bayville, New York, Independent.
Good morning.
Good morning, John.
Trump had said on TV that he intends to appoint RFK Jr. as in a prominent position in public health.
And I would like to bring it to the attention of everybody that Mr. Kennedy is a known vaccine conspiracy theorist, and he's responsible for a terrible situation that occurred in Samoa.
And I would like to just quickly read from the Annenberg Public Policy Center a few sentences from that episode.
And just to let you know that this is what's in store at scale for the United States if Kennedy was to become, say, Secretary of HHS or FDA or some other agency in health.
Kennedy also played a part in one of the worst measles outbreaks in recent memory.
In 2018, two infants in America's Samoa died when a nurse accidentally prepared to combine measles mumps and rubella or MMR vaccine with expired muscle relaxant rather than water.
The Samoan government temporarily suspended the vaccination program and anti-vaccine advocates, including Kennedy and his nonprofit, flooded the area with misinformation.
The vaccination rate dropped to a dangerously low level.
The next year, when the trapper brought measles to the islands, the disease tore through the population, sickening more than 5,700 people and killing 83 children.
Now, Jeff, and Jeff, did you happen to see RFK on, I think it was MSNBC yesterday?
He gave an interview.
Here's the headline from that interview.
After Trump wins, RFK Jr. says that he won't take away anybody's vaccines.
What do you think about that?
Well, it's not a question of whether, first of all, what he says, because he is a pathological liar, and that's been shown over and over again in fact checks.
But even if that's the case, his influence as a vaccine denier and vaccine misinformation person is going to drop the vaccination rates in the country further than it already is dropping.
And once it gets below herd immunity, for example, with measles, it's required to be 93% to prevent outbreaks.
If you drop below that, the danger becomes outbreaks killing children, just like happened in Samoa.
And at scale compared to a country which says 50 million people compared to the United States with 350 million people, you're talking about a tremendous outbreak and loss of life.
And this is absolutely catastrophic if this was to happen.
That's Jeff in New York, Lynn Haven, Florida.
David, Democrat, good morning.
Hey, John.
I want to say a great many voters showed fear and resentment for Kumbla Harris because of the color of her skin.
And as a 75-year-old black combatant military veteran who sacrificed 23 years of life for this country, I know systemic racism when it is employed.
Here's what I have for all of the prognostic haters: there is no fix for a people with a racist DNA.
And that's all I have to say, John.
Richard, Savannah, Georgia, Republican, good morning.
Good morning, John.
I haven't talked to you in a while.
I've been watching since 1979, and you'll remember me.
I'm the guy that asked you with Brian Stelter about Michael Avenatti a long time ago.
So I just wanted to say the first thing I wish Trump would do on the first day is go into the White House press briefing room and get rid of all the media because for years they've been lying to the people and replace them with podcasts, which is the new way, the modern way, and replace them with podcasts like Joe Rogan.
When he endorsed, he was a very liberal man.
When he endorsed Trump on Monday, that took him over because of like 25 million people that listen to him, ages of, what, 20 to 30-year-old men.
But I would like for the media to be out of the White House press briefing room.
They have lied to people.
They have misrepresented for so long.
And we need to get like Megan Kelly's podcast, Rogan, Tucker Cross's podcast representatives in there to do some real news.
And the people that watch MSNBC and CNN for the last decades, I've noticed that.
And I really appreciate you, but the people that watch those two channels, especially, they're just too stupid to know they're stupid.
Richard, when you say get rid of the media and bring in the podcasters, and you mentioned Megan Kelly and Joe Rogan, what are they in your mind?
Are they media personalities?
Are they how would you describe what they do?
They just literally talk to people and tell you the truth.
It's not one sided.
It's not their opinion.
They're listening.
Like Trump went on for three hours with Rogan, and Rogan's the most liberal guy in the world, but they talked for three hours, and we got to understand, you know, each side.
Megan Kelly, even though she worked for Fox one time, she's wide open.
She was a Trump hater.
And now look at her.
RFK, Democrat.
I mean, all these people that were on the Democrat side that sided with Trump is to make America great.
But the people that have the podcast, look at the audiences they have: 30 million, 20 million, 25 million.
That's what I think right now.
We don't need CNN and MSNBC.
They just lie to people.
I mean, it's daily.
But I appreciate you, John.
Richard, the two people you mentioned, Megan Kelly and Joe Rogan, gave their opinion about who they thought voters should vote for, and it was Donald Trump.
You said they don't give their opinion, though.
Do you think that they don't give their opinion over the course of their podcasts?
Well, I've seen that.
Whether that's a good thing or bad thing is up to you.
Well, do you think MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC give their opinion on a daily basis?
Of course they do.
Everybody's got an opinion.
But I would like to change that the White House press brief because for four years they attack Trump daily.
And then for four years, we've listened to nothing but softball from CBS, NBC, ABC to a lady that was the White House press secretary for Biden.
And it's just ridiculous.
What do you think those press briefings are going to look like in a second Trump administration if he doesn't do what you're suggesting?
If it's the media as it stands now, maybe a few changes in seats in the Brady briefing room.
But what do you think those look like?
Do you think Donald Trump shows up in the briefing room as much as he did in the first Trump administration?
I appreciate you asking me that because I definitely do not ever want to see him in that press briefing room except maybe the first day to say that the people that have been lying about me, my family, destroying America's minds, y'all are out.
And then I don't care if it's Fox, MSNBCC, and all of them, I don't care who it is, but the media has destroyed this country's minds and thoughts.
And I definitely do not want to see Donald Trump in that press briefing room.
I want him working to take care of you and me.
Richard, thanks for the call from Georgia.
Talk to you again down the road.
That's Richard.
This is Ann in Jamaica, New York, Democrat.
Good morning.
Good morning.
I happen to be an 80-something year-old African-American woman, and I'm very sad, but this is life that has to go on.
I was hoping that some little girls would wake up and see that we could have a woman president.
And unfortunately, it's not the way it is.
America is, this is sad that we do not have a woman president.
So to me, it's really, really sad because we should have a woman president at this time in American history.
Because why should we have a man president?
I'm 80-something years old.
I would hope before I leave this earth that we would have a woman president.
And it's really, really sad that let a woman, we've had two women who have ran for president, who truly have been qualified to be a president.
And America is such a racist society.
And one of the main reasons that she did not win is because she was a woman.
She was a woman of color.
And that's one of the main reasons that she did not win this presidency.
And very, very sad.
And I'm very sad.
Do you think we'll have a woman president anytime soon in this country?