CSPAN - Washington Journal Open Phones
Aired: 2025-09-29
Duration: 04:44


=== Most Important Issue Facing the Country (04:28) ===

[00:00:16]  Well, coming up shortly here on C-SPAN, we're going to take you live to New York City, where the United Nations Security Council is meeting today to discuss Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian territory.
[00:00:26]  This, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Trump at the White House later this morning.
[00:00:32]  While we wait for this to get underway, we're going to show you a portion of our Washington Journal program from earlier today.
[00:00:41]  You can go ahead and start calling in now.
[00:00:42]  I want to take you first to the Gallup organization's monthly tracking poll of the most important problem facing America.
[00:00:51]  The September report is out.
[00:00:53]  The top five answers from those who were surveyed.
[00:00:56]  The number one answer at 28% of respondents.
[00:00:59]  Poor leadership of the government is the most important problem.
[00:01:02]  Followed by those who said economic problems in this country are the most important problem.
[00:01:08]  And then immigration unifying the country at 10% and crime and violence at 8%.
[00:01:15]  Those are some of the numbers from that report that you can find at gallup.com.
[00:01:20]  A little bit more digging into the crime numbers there.
[00:01:24]  Gallup noting in its wrap-up of that report that mentions of crime and violence have more than doubled over the past month, rising from 3% in August to 8% in September.
[00:01:35]  That's the highest level since August of 2020.
[00:01:37]  The uptick comes amid a spate of violent events, including the Minnesota Catholic school shooting that killed two children August 27th, the stabbing death of a Ukrainian woman on a North Carolina train on August 22nd.
[00:01:50]  However, they note most of the increase in crime mentions in this month's poll occurred after Charlie Kirk's murder on September the 10th.
[00:01:59]  Those are some of the numbers from Gallup.
[00:02:01]  We're asking you what you think the most important issue, the most important problem facing America today is.
[00:02:07]  Give us a call.
[00:02:08]  Democrats 202-748-8000.
[00:02:11]  Republicans 202-748-8001.
[00:02:14]  Independents 202-748-8002.
[00:02:18]  As you're calling in, it was Attorney General Pambondi over the weekend noting the increase in crime in this country, specifically concerned about a new era of political violence in this country.
[00:02:31]  In the wake of that shooting at the Dallas ICE facility, she released this message on Saturday on her social media page.
[00:02:39]  We're witnessing a new era of political violence.
[00:02:42]  Assassins have tried to murder President Trump twice and tried to kill Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh.
[00:02:47]  In Minnesota, legislators and even children attending mass were gunned down in cold blood in two separate incidents.
[00:02:55]  And an assassin targeted and murdered our friend Charlie Kirk.
[00:03:01]  A sniper shot three people at a Texas ICE facility, and now more than 200 violent rioters were at a Chicago ICE facility chanting arrest ice shoot ice.
[00:03:12]  At least one had a gun.
[00:03:14]  We've seen this before.
[00:03:15]  We saw it in Portland and with the LA riots.
[00:03:18]  These are not peaceful protests.
[00:03:20]  These are coordinated attacks by radical extremists and they end now.
[00:03:25]  Anyone who threatens or assaults our federal officers will be arrested and charged federally, not in some liberal state court.
[00:03:34]  Same goes for anyone who's funding and aiding these extremists.
[00:03:38]  You will be dismantled brick by brick.
[00:03:41]  We are taking our country back.
[00:03:44]  Make America safe again.
[00:03:46]  Pambondi, with that message released over the weekend.
[00:03:49]  This morning, we're asking you about what the most important issue is facing the country today.
[00:03:56]  The top issue, according to that latest Gallup report, again, more than a quarter of respondents saying that it's the federal government, it's government and unity is the problem in this country.
[00:04:08]  That's the top response, economic responses coming in at second.
[00:04:11]  We want to know what you think this morning.
[00:04:14]  Michael is up first out of Texas.
[00:04:16]  Line for Republicans.
[00:04:18]  Michael, what's the most important problem facing the country?
[00:04:21]  Yeah, am I on?
[00:04:23]  You're on, Michael.
[00:04:25]  All right.
[00:04:25]  I think everyone talks about the national issues and stuff like that, but I think more people should be involved in their local issues.
[00:04:37]  For example, I live in the city of Katie, and our local leadership is a massive joke.