CSPAN - Washington Journal Part 2

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Nov. 27, 2025 15:10-16:59 - CSPAN

01:48:57

Washington Journal Part 2

Participants

Main

alexander heffner

31:55

judge jeanine pirro

fox 11:44

kash patel

admin 05:38

pedro echevarria

cspan 13:08

Appearances

donald j trump

admin 01:06

jd vance

admin 00:32

Clips

al green

rep/d 00:04

louie gohmert

rep/r 00:08

mike rogers

rep/r 00:11

muriel bowser

00:29

patty murray

sen/d 00:16

sean duffy

admin 00:04

Callers

sean in texas

callers 00:11

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Speaker	Time	Text
unidentified		Today, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern, C-SPAN presents a day-long America 250 marathon, all part of our more than year-long coverage of historic moments that explore the American story.
		At 11 a.m., we'll feature Boston's Freedom Trail through a guided tour featuring the site of the Boston Massacre, Old Statehouse, Faniel Hall, and Old North Church.
		Give me liberty or give me death at 2.30 p.m. Eastern, Patrick Henry's Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech on the 250th anniversary and in its original location, St. John's Church in Richmond.
		At 6.05 p.m., the U.S. Navy 250th anniversary Victory at Sea concert in Philadelphia with a musical performance by Patty LaBelle.
		Also at 8 p.m., the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, where more than 1,000 reenactors commemorate one of the earliest and most consequential Revolutionary War battles.
		And at 9.30 p.m., a celebration of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, featuring a parade through Washington, D.C., an enlistment ceremony, parachute demonstration, and fireworks.
		Watch the America 250 Thanksgiving all-day marathon today on C-SPAN.
		Also, head over to C-SPAN.org to get the full schedule.
		On the day after Thanksgiving, on Friday, C-SPAN will present a marathon lineup of episodes from our new weekly series, America's Book Club, hosted by acclaimed author and civic leader David Rubinstein from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern.
		Filmed at some of the nation's most iconic libraries and cultural institutions, America's Book Club features lively, thought-provoking conversations with leading authors, policymakers, business innovators, and cultural figures.
		Featured guests include Stacey Schiff at the National Archives, John Grisham at the Library of Congress, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the Folger Shakespeare Library, David Grant, also at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Walter Isaacson at the National Archives, and Jose Andres at Catholic University.
		Watch episodes from our new weekly series, America's Book Club, in a marathon the day after Thanksgiving on Friday, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern on C-SPAN.
		Also, head over to c-span.org to get the full schedule.
		Washington Journal continues.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Our next guest of the morning is Alexander Hefner.
		He's the host of The Open Mind on PBS.
		He's also the co-author of a documentary history of the United States.
		And one of the things he does quite frequently and talks about is civility when it comes to American politics.
		Mr. Hefner, good morning.
		Happy Thanksgiving to you.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Happy Thanksgiving, Pedro.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		I wanted to start about the shooting in D.C., how events like this affect the whole when it comes to this idea of civility in a society.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		They do.
		They make us feel vulnerable.
		They attack our basic idea of dignity, freedom, purity as a country.
		The idea that innocent civilians or officers of the court or military officials could be under that kind of attack.
		It's tragic.
		It's horrible.
		And in many instances, when it comes to gun violence in the U.S., preventable.
		We don't know the specifics.
		I do know having been to D.C. not so long ago that there was this new feature of patrols of National Guards people.
		I say this observationally.
		It was certainly a reality check, but it was not offensive.
		And it was actually encouraging some degree of protection in a place that has been indeed quite vulnerable to gun violence in the last years and decades.
		So personally, my heart is with the victims, their families, and wanting to ensure nothing like this happens again.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		We had talked with our previous guest about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the death of those Democratic legislators.
		That's in the political realm.
		And those are extremes.
		But when you see those kind of events happening, especially when it comes to the realm of politics, what goes through your mind as far as improving this idea of civility amongst those who disagree with each other?
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		I think the first thing to recognize, Pedro, and the viewers out there is that Lexi said this eloquently.
		What differentiates us as human beings is our capacity to rationalize and to be rational and to use our words, verbal cues, body language, and a sensitivity to the plight of the other to have that kind of dialogue and exchange.
		And what I want to emphasize is that it's the act of mad people who've lost that rationality to engage in violence as opposed to dialogue, debate, deliberation, and discourse.
		And so I think that we've seen in this country, there's been a history of assassinations or assassination attempts of presidents, of advocates, civil rights leaders in the 60s, politicians.
		What we as Americans, I think, can say earnestly and objectively is that we want to, for the most part, engage in civil discourse when we go to the market, when we go to the town hall meeting, when we engage in parent conferences with teachers.
		This country could not and would not operate successfully if the vast majority would engage in that kind of irrational behavior.
		And so the folks who would potentially commit such an act, I think, are mentally ill.
		And that is what we have to acknowledge, that this is not about liberal or conservative or where you are on the political spectrum in most instances.
		This is about mental unwellness to the point of evil, to the point of murder, and that's never acceptable.
		But let's understand that the majority of the country does want to practice civil discourse, and I think even the majority of politicians do too.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Mr. Hefner, you've been spending quite a bit of time recently with politicians in other countries.
		We have photos of you talking with the mayor of Toronto, Canada, also with the mayor of Athens, Greece.
		Talk about why you're doing it, but also talk about what have you learned about the civility process from how other countries and cultures deal with these issues.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Well, I think, again, the conversation over meals and activities have culturally enriched the dialogue, whether that's in Santiago, Chile, or Toronto or Athens, as you describe.
		I think a few learnings have been when you have a system of multiple parties and perspectives that is not so diametrically opposed in a partisan context, there's really an opportunity but a necessity to coalition build.
		And that's distinctive from the American process, at least on the federal stage.
		The overwhelming takeaway, Pedro, is that at the municipal level, you've got to get stuff done.
		And you hear from constituents directly, and you, as elected officials, are far more accountable for the safety and well-being of your people.
		So it's one thing to have an innovative idea in the abstract.
		It's another to put it into practice.
		And I think coalition building, accountability are the two features, whether we're talking with the mayors of Miami, Atlanta, who are also featured next year in our series, Mayors of the World, or you're talking about mayors overseas.
		It's the same focus on the well-being of people.
		And I think there may be a greater capacity in a less polarized context to achieve results.
		One of the unifying themes of this series was the desire for more accessible, affordable housing.
		I would say that across the board in these democracies that I visited, whether it's Toronto, Athens, or here in the U.S., Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, housing is a principal concern, and I can talk more about that.
		But when it came to public policy, that was first and foremost on the minds of these mayors.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		We'll talk more with our guest, Alexander Hefner.
		You can ask questions of him too.
		202748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans, and Independents, 202-748-8002.
		Our guest is the host of a program called The Open Mind.
		Mr. Hefner, a little bit about that program, please.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		Sure.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Founded in 1956, if you go to Wikipedia, it is one of the longest-running programs in the history of television overall.
		And it is one of the longest newscast public affairs series as well, founded by my grandfather in 1956 and shortly thereafter hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
		And often on the open mind, our mandate has been, and I've hosted for the last 12 plus years now, succeeding him, to discover ideas that are central to the public well-being, whether that's scientific exploration or public policy areas like housing.
		And we engage with our guests, whether it's the specials we've done over the last two years, interviewing governors and senators in their home territories.
		So we went to visit with Senator Murkowski in Alaska or Senator Warnock in Savannah, Georgia, or whether we're having dialogues as you and I are in person or virtually.
		The founding mandate has been to probe the world of ideas, but in a context that our viewers can actually engage then in the policymaking process because they're informed and want to improve the status quo.
		Often, when my grandfather would have guests on, they were appearing for the country.
		The first time Dr. King set foot on broadcast television was on the open mind for a national audience.
		So that's been the case for guests that we've had over the years.
		Just in the last decade, people like Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, who are not well known to the public.
		And now, you know, they are, but we've wanted to discover ideas that we think are not being heard and people who don't have the forum and invite them on the open mind to do that.
		And you can watch us on PBS stations wherever you're living.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Let's hear from Darren in Colorado.
		Democrats line, you're on with Alexander Hefner.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, Hinton.
		Happy Thanksgiving to you both.
		I just wanted to say I appreciate both your guests this morning.
		I wish actually both of you could counsel a current president.
		Two topics I'd like to touch on.
		One is leadership and the other is social media.
		First, you know, we as humans kind of look for leadership as an example.
		And when you have a president, like he has a nickname for everybody, you know, there is Hillary Clinton, Sleepy Joe, calls a reporter Ms. Piggy.
		And then in my whole life of following politics, I've never had somebody, I mean, act such like a teenager.
		If you, I wish C-SPAN would do a segment on his true social.
		Some of the things he posts are, I mean, if you had a teenager posting this, you would get the kid counseling.
		You know, you got a guy who got cue patches on his lapel and everything and spews hate him.
		And he wants to kill senators for telling service members to obey illegal or, you know, not to obey legal orders.
		It starts at the top.
		I know we have to personalize this and do what we can as individuals, but you had something about social media.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		You had something about social media as well.
unidentified		Yeah.
		And social media, I think it's just the great cover.
		People hide behind it.
		They can say the most hurtful things they would never say to your face, but they hide behind it.
		And like I said, Trump's true social is just a cesspool of disgusting rhetoric.
		And I just wanted your guest comments on that.
		Thank you very much.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Darren from Colorado.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, I've said, I think on this broadcast, you know, the nature of social media is the old supermarket tabloids, but the ones that said, you know, alien child, et cetera, things that were just phony or malicious and basically monetizing that entire framework of discourse, which is often in the fiction section of a library as opposed to the nonfiction in reality section.
		So whether it's ad hominems, hatefulness, divisiveness, yeah, there's no measure of regulation and there's hardly any self-censorship.
		People name call.
		And it is astonishing to me that in this context, we are still such a civil society when it comes to dealing with other human beings.
		Because when you model that kind of discourse, whether you're the president of the United States, a senator, or a celebrity, that is amplified to such an extent that you would think the trajectory would kind of misfire and we'd all start to be calling people names and not engaging with people genuinely.
		That's not the case, so I'm hopeful about that.
		As someone who hosts a television program that was founded in 1956, that believes in the idea of free expression in that medium, I consider myself a millennial Luddite.
		I mean, I'm on the second half of the millennial generation, but someone who still believes in the ethic and ethos of newspaper, which you, Pedro, and your colleagues read on the screen every day as a way to preserve that idea of common values and newspapers across the board of geography and ideological makeup.
		So, yeah, I think one thing to suggest for Thanksgiving and not just this Thanksgiving holiday, but the future is to uninstall apps on your phone or whatever device that you may think are pernicious and inimical to the health of society.
		It's not as radical or revolutionary an act as you might think.
		You can still purchase an item on Amazon, listen to XM Radio or the C-SPAN app or whatever.
		But we all know the apps that came of birth on our phones in 2009, 2010, 2011, that have had such a malicious and destructive impact on civil society.
		It's not every app, but there are apps that have that impact.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Mr. Hefner, a viewer, this is Michael from X asking about the role that emotion and tone plays in civil discourse.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		I think it's very significant.
		You know, the mayor of Santiago, Chile, who considers himself center right, also the mayor of Lisbon, Portugal, you know, they have straddled that line of moderation in their politics and described the challenge of appealing to an electorate that is,
		you know, so tantalized by the extremes and gets sucked into the groupthink of left or right exclusively.
		So I think bringing that humanity to the stage, something that I found the mayor of Atlanta, Mayor Dickens, Mayor Dugan of Detroit also not being defined by a partisan allegiance or any kind of rigid criteria of what it means to be a Democrat or Republican.
		Oftentimes in municipal elections, there are non-affiliated candidates running for office, but instead to be defined by your authenticity and by your work product.
		And in the case of both Atlanta and Detroit, I saw some amazing work product, a station that had been decrepit and abandoned in Detroit during financial difficulties and challenging times over the last 25 years, revitalized into a free library and museum and workspace for the city and state's young people.
		In Atlanta, I saw Mayor Dickens take facilities that were constructed for COVID, the early stage of the pandemic, and transform it into a housing opportunity for people who are vulnerable to homelessness or are unhoused and not making enough to find their first home in the city.
		Also building the first city's supermarket.
		It's hard to believe, Pedro, but downtown Atlanta did not have a supermarket until about two months ago because of the food deserts that are so prolific and persistent and such a persistent problem in American life.
		So the mayor was helpful in ushering this first ever market that is accessible to people who live and work downtown.
		So I think the authenticity of one's mission is vastly important and the emotion that it gets gets embedded in that mission in the case of the mayors of Detroit and Atlanta.
		I felt that and I felt that in their achievements.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		From Brad, who joins us in Brooklyn, New York, Independent Line, we'll hear from Brad.
unidentified		Hello.
		Hello, good morning, Alexander and Pedro, and happy Thanksgiving to both of you.
		I have two points.
		I love this country, and the way that I manifest that is to go on road trips.
		I love to travel the coast and see the nature experience of food, the local customs, the microcultures that are born from America.
		And one of the things that I'm happy to report on is that Americans are not as divided as we might think they are.
		I took a hint from Andrew Zimmer, and I like when I stay overnight to sit at, find a great restaurant that has a bar and sit and like Anthony Bourdain as well, just talk to people.
		Food is the great democratizer.
		And one of the things we don't do most of the time is talk about politics.
		We talk about food, family, our travels, our lives, our experiences.
		And I'm just amazed at how different the Americans that I meet are than the Americans that I see in social media.
		And my second point is that media is a for-profit enterprise.
		And the way that I see that they make money is to create political drama.
		And it's horribly divisive, of course.
		And, you know, I just like you to speak about the effect that profit has on a Fox News, on an MSNBC, on a CNN in shaping the way we perceive ourselves.
		Because I don't see what they're seeing.
		Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Brad in New York, thanks.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Those road trips sound fantastic.
		And I say to your second point, amen, amen, amen.
		Yeah, it's a mystery to a lot of Americans, but in reality, you know, the profit imperative motivates much of what is produced in terms of the topical relevance and also the way that subjects are being framed.
		And to your point about drama or trauma, trauma doesn't have to be trauma.
		So something that is dramatic in the political sphere of making a decision and establishing a new paradigm or policy, whether that is how to lower premiums for health insurance or a new system that might be adopted to preserve health insurance for all Americans when the Affordable Care Act is looking shakier and shakier,
		or for that matter, extending the life of Social Security for generations.
		Senator Booker, who I interviewed on The Open Mind, and he and Republicans have worked together on these baby bonds, the idea that there should be at the front end of American society some kind of infusion of support for a child and their, whether it's for their food, for their future education.
		The essence of a safety net doesn't have to be at the end of life.
		It ought to be at the beginning of life too.
		And Republicans and Democrats have come around to that idea, which is just to say that you can create excitement for legislative outcomes and political discourse that is positive.
		Let's call it the theater of positivity.
		We just don't do it.
		And there's not an ingenuity or imagination on the part of the platforms you describe to do so.
		I've been looking towards the new media platforms to engage in that.
		C-SPAN has a great program now called Ceasefire.
		And if Apple and Netflix and others took that same hardware and said, we're going to create constructive drama that leads towards achievements, outcomes in the public sphere, we might think about it differently.
		And then these entities might still get the kind of viewership that they want.
		To your first point about talking to regular folks, that's been my experience too, from Spearfish, South Dakota to Hayes, Kansas to the coasts.
		I think in many respects, you start conversations about your life.
		And then when it comes to politics, let that be an extrapolation of your human experience.
		Rather than starting with, are you Democrat or Republican, or what do you think about this issue or that issue?
		It's kind of like if you're raising a child and you want to infuse those greens with something that's more delicious, cream spinach today, for example, you need to start with something that is going to be attractive to the audience.
		In the case of regular people at bars, that's talking about their favorite football team, their favorite pastime, their kids, and relating policy to those things as is relevant.
		So I think in road trips that we take and meeting regular people, it's okay to talk about public policy.
		We shouldn't be afraid of that.
		We should start from how it's most germane to each person we're having a beer with.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Beverly is next.
		Beverly in Wyoming, Democrats Line.
		You're on with Alexander Hefner, the host of The Open Mind on PBS.
		Hello.
kash patel ▲ ● ▼		Hello.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I would like to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving.
		And when you have a coin in your hand and there's in God We Trust, who do you, is it on both sides of that coin?
		And when you flip it, does it tell you to be mean?
		You know, I just don't understand the world, how they hide behind politics and Republican and Democrat.
		I just, you know, it's terrible.
		You're the same person if you're Democrat or Republican, when you're mean.
		You're the same person.
		So I think the people need to start being nice to each other and have some respect and honor.
		And that's my topic.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Thank you.
		Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.
		Yeah, I think you just highlight how problematic demagoguery is because the meanness has a point, right?
		The cruelty has a point.
		And, you know, you're not demonic for the sake of being demonic.
		I think demagoguery, when you try to exploit the division for your own advantage, is not a motivating factor for preserving the union or a better republic.
		And I think that that point you're making is so salient to our preservation as a country.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Alexander Hefner, I see a press release, you speaking earlier this year at the College of Charleston.
		I know that you've gone to other college campuses as well.
		What are you seeing there when it comes to this idea of civility?
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		It's interesting, Pedro.
		I did see a backlash against social media by what we're calling Gen Z now in some form.
		I haven't seen it as prevalent recently, this idea that the youngest generation coming of age in high school or college now, Gen Z or Z Plus, are wanting to take their message offline and engage in some of the traditional modes of discourse, debate, protest.
		I think that animates some of the activity on campus, but also just a pervasive notion that there's not effective channels or vehicles to engage in issues.
		And I think that's been the problem for so long in American political life, this feeling of helplessness deterring any action beyond one's community.
		And community action is most important.
		And I think that that's the recognition still.
		And that's why I went to these cities and interviewed and profiled mayors around the world, because I think that the younger community, whether it's College of Charleston or anywhere around the country or world, I think they recognize that, as Tip O'Neill said, the late speaker, all politics is local.
		And there's been a realization that it is far more fulfilling at the local level and you're far more likely to make a difference.
		And that's true.
		And I think that's the prevailing current on campuses that you have to be local to be effective.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		You talked about in talking with these mayors and leaders across the world, this idea of ultimately they have to get things done.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		With that in mind, what did you take away from the recent shutdown we had, how it ended, and what it said about the civil process?
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Well, I think the folks who voted to reopen the government were thinking about the American people.
		The idea that the Democratic Party was engaging in the tactics of the Tea Party in the shutdowns that happened previously, I think it's hard to reconcile with their position on government going back to the Obama administration.
		That is to say that the folks who voted with the Republicans to reopen the government, I think they were thinking about the security of the most vulnerable populations that use food stamps for everyday nutrition, the safety of our airways.
		And having traveled myself during the shutdown, I spoke with more than one flight attendant that was horrified at what they were seeing in terms of the abandonment of safety and security and the fear that it was going to escalate into something catastrophic.
		I mean, I heard that repeated time and time again.
		And, you know, I think one of the things about flying today is that every strata of society does it for one reason or another, whether it's to visit a family member or to go for a job interview or to move across the country.
		You see it in America is our airports and everybody who passes through it.
		And the idea that we were sacrificing for political games and gamesmanship, the security of our people, it was an embarrassing notion and really more than embarrassing, it had the potential to be catastrophic.
		So the one thing you can look up, Pedro, is that in cities, there are virtually no shutdowns.
		There have been shutdowns from time to time in states.
		I think Connecticut has the longest one in history of our 50 states.
		But again, to my point about functionality, if you're a mayor or a governor, you know that you just can't operate successfully without cleaning up the garbage, without having some basic level of interaction with your constituents, some base level foundation of public services.
		And that's why cities and states don't shut down.
		And the federal government, you know, can in some ways because of how disconnected it is from the every person.
		So most of the countries that I visited would not find this familiar, this idea of periodic government shutdowns.
		And we should really erase the normalcy of this idea.
		It's so foolish to hold hostage people's lives for partisan games.
		It's something that I think the American people have had enough of.
		And if there was legislation to ensure that there are no more government shutdowns, I think it would pass handily if it was a proposition put forward to the American people.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		On our line for Republicans, this is Bob in Tyler, Texas.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead.
unidentified		Hey, Alexander, man.
		I just love this topic.
		And I tweeted my question to you at openmind.tv.
		So if I don't express myself well on air, I'd appreciate a response there and maybe a follow.
		So anyway, my question is, 25 words.
sean in texas ▲ ● ▼		Is the separation in our church and state that citizens do not know the word or that congregates do not know the law?
unidentified		Now, the tools for the answer are the first sentences of four things.
mike rogers ▲ ● ▼		So it's the first sentence of the Bible, the first sentence of the Declaration, the first sentence of the Constitution, and the first sentence of Article 1.
unidentified		And I would love to explore that with you at our leisure.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Bob in Texas.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Thanks.
unidentified		Thank you.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Well, you know, we the people, that was the founding creed and remains the founding creed of America.
		In the vast lobbying complex of Washington shenanigans and decision-making, we feel far removed from we the people as the defining characteristic of our republic.
		But with respect to the separation of church and state, I think it's been a long-standing practice.
		And I think the Bill of Rights specifically encourages a country that is free, free to believe, free not to believe, free to believe any rendition of one God or multitudes of gods.
		I think the most important thing from any of these civic documents is the we the people, the idea that we are only as good as our own actions and engagement in civil society.
		And I think that's true of congregants in all the religious services and instruments that exist in this country.
		All the congregations of every faith were as good as we are devoted to the idea of faith or the idea of good government.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Bob, that was Bob.
		This is next call is from Ted.
		Ted's in Colorado, Independent Line.
unidentified		Hey, good morning, and thank you for taking my call.
		And I've been listening to you guys since the beginning of your programming, and I've learned a lot.
		We are going to return to civility if we just practice honoring one another and conflict and resolution.
		And we have to stop with thinking that we always have to end problems with wars and stuff.
		And I just finished one of the longest road trips in my life.
		And I drove from Colorado to Coos Bay to see this beautiful lady at Coos Bay who takes and cleans up beaches called Wash Ashore.
		And she cleans up beaches and she makes sea creatures out of plastics and junks that she collects on the beaches.
		And then from Coos Bay to San Francisco and then to San Jose, California.
		My heart is broken right now.
		My sister, just 13 months older than me, was killed by a drunk driver.
		And you talk about civility and all the people that get in their cars drunk and they don't realize the damage that they're doing to other people and families.
		I mean, this is the hardest Thanksgiving for my family.
		And one of the things I practice civility is I am a feng shui master.
		And the principles of feng shui is peace and harmony.
		And one of the oracles of the I Ching is polarized and another one is retiring.
		And a lot of people are retiring early right now because there's no sense to work in the workforce.
		And, you know, we have to just return to gardening.
		And, you know, we have a garden here in Colorado called Colorado Farm to Table.
		And we grill over 100,000 pounds of produce.
		And all our produce goes to free the food banks.
		I mean, my sister helped families in crisis for the last 35 years.
		And my sister was a very peaceful woman.
		And my sister's birthday was on January 6th that we celebrate the epiphany of Jesus.
		And we always saved a present under our tree till January 6th.
		And she's just to lose my sister to a drunk driver and violence.
		My family has suffered from alcoholism all our life, from even our dad going to Korea and the Philippines.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Gotcha, gotcha, Ted.
		And Ted, I apologize for interrupting.
		I'm sorry about your sister, but I do want to let our guests answer and respond to what you brought.
		But thank you for calling.
		That's Ted in Colorado, Mr. Hefner.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Yes, Ted, condolences to you and your family.
		You know, I think one of the themes of your message was getting back to the basics and the roots of humanity.
		And you, Pedro, asked about the college life.
		I think that young people are deploying use of AI and robotics to solve problems.
		And that's good to an extent, but I think that there is going to be, when Ted references the economy and go back to gardening, I think there is the momentum building for a counterculture to the AI if it doesn't just usurp everything and take control of everything.
		There are a few very positive uses of AI in discovery of cures to disease already when it came to producing vaccines for COVID, looking at the spike protein and what would be most effective.
		AI was deployed for that.
		AI still is very much removed from our humanity in exchanges with each other.
		You know, Ted mentioned alcoholism.
		He mentioned the basic human agency and the freedom to, in this case, drive and to be considerate of your fellow human beings.
		And I think that the human ethos is important in considering our future decision making.
		And when we veer so far and let machines take over, I think we're not going to be so pleased with the outcome.
		When it comes to jobs, in particular, I don't think we're going to be pleased unless we guarantee a universal basic income.
		We're not going to be pleased with what the machines wrought.
		And I just say, with respect to gratitude, which is how the caller started his conversation, one thing on Thanksgiving and every day we in America can express gratitude for is the geography.
		Several of your callers have mentioned driving across the country freely from sea to shining sea.
		And in a lot of places in the world, it's just not feasible to do that.
		There are not the roadways to do it, or there's a segment to the country where there's strife or unrest.
		We can feel gratitude for our island, our country, our continent too.
		And we are not ensnared in the violence of Eastern Europe.
		We are not ensnared in what's been the violence of the Middle East.
		We've been able to practice our civil society in a way that engenders that feeling of freedom from sea to shining sea.
		And I, for one, express gratitude on this Thanksgiving that this is our country and we can drive through it peacefully and admire the beautiful geography and people who inhabit it.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Just a few minutes from now, we are expecting a press conference from the FBI director and the D.C. Attorney the D.C. legal system when it comes to the shooting at the National Guard yesterday.
		We'll take that to you when it starts just around 9 o'clock.
		Larry in North Carolina, Democrats lying, you're up.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		Yes, I'd like your guest's view on civility and violence at how his view of Trump sending people to the Capitol on January 6th and attacking the Capitol and then pardoning the ones that did it.
unidentified		How is that okay?
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, I think that January 6th is a subject that comes up from callers having been on your series over the last several years.
		The idea that that's become acceptable in the minds of any person is wrong from the perspective of just common law.
		You know, the common law dictated that it was trespassing, a violation of the procedures of Congress, what we've called the insurrection on January 6th.
		In this country, there has been a history of forgiving political opponents, but the idea of forgiving people who committed acts that were violative of our democracy and that were violent is challenging.
		And to pardon people who were associated with January 6th is something that many Americans, I think, are going to struggle to stomach.
		Although I will say to the caller that one of the challenging things about America is amnesia.
		We do have this beautiful country, the geography I described before.
		One of the struggles, I think, when it came to COVID and our memory of that in January 6th is that it's very much a blur.
		Most Americans don't record those events and then have a historical memory of it in an age when you can instantly Google something and Google is your memory instead of you living that experience and absorbing it in the flesh.
		I think that's a struggle.
		So I would say to the caller, to me, it's not so much about January 6th as it is about this deficit of recollection and memorialization of events and recognizing we've had some transformative crises in this country from the Great Recession before that 9-11, more recently going through the pandemic period and January 6th.
		These are events to understand fully and not appreciate just in the moment.
		And that's as much of a problem as pardoning people who were connected with acts of political violence.
		And if there is a place for forgiveness in American political life, and I hope there is, that we understand what went wrong there.
		And I think that's the fundamental issue that you would have with what transpired, which is there was no acknowledgement of the wrongdoing of that day and what resulted in breaches of city, state, and federal law.
		Typically, when you do engage in commutation or pardoning individuals, there is some recognition of I did something that wasn't right, and that didn't happen here.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Alexander Hefner is the host of a PBS program called The Open Mind.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Mr. Hefner, how can people find your program?
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		You can go to 13.org/slash openmind or theopenmind.com and check out our episodes.
		And the Mayors of the World Series will premiere next year.
		And I hope your viewers check it out.
		And Pedro, happy Thanksgiving to you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Happy Thanksgiving to you.
		Thank you for giving us your time.
		And just a few minutes from now, we are scheduled to show you a press conference with the D.C. attorney, the FBI director, on update on the National Guard shooting.
		We'll take that live, and you can watch it not only on this channel, but you could also watch it on our app and at c-span.org as well if you wish.
		Up until then, we will take calls, and then you can, when we go to the press conference, we'll take that.
		202-748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans, and 202-748-8002 for independents.
		Text us your thoughts at 202-748-8003.
		And then also you can post your thoughts on social media.
		Even on this Thanksgiving day, you can do that all day long if you wish.
		On Facebook, that's facebook.com/slash C-SPAN.
		And then also on X, you can do that at C-SPAN WJ.
		Again, the plan is to take calls and hear from you about this National Guard shooting.
		And then when we go to the press conference, we will show that to you live.
		If it goes up until 10 o'clock, then we will finish this program.
		But if the press conference starts and finishes before 10, then we will come back and continue on.
		Let's hear from Ron.
		Ron in Michigan, Independent Line.
		Ron, thank you for calling, especially on this Thanksgiving Day.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		Yeah, I just can't understand how all of the left Democrat political violence is never talked about.
unidentified		And every time something gets brought up, it's always January 6th.
louie gohmert ▲ ● ▼		January 6th was nothing compared to what BLM did in 2021.
unidentified		So we need to stop this one-sided bull that is the left that creates more political violence than the right.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Ron there in Michigan, our next call, Robert.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Robert joins us from Cincinnati, Democrats line.
unidentified		Good morning, America.
		Happy Thanksgiving first.
		I'm surprised that the shooting of the National Guard have not occurred earlier.
		I mean, when you pushing people out and grabbing them in stores and in their workplace, it gets to a point where people are pushed to the limit.
		And every time an immigrant does something in this country, they paint it with a broad brush.
		But when the white guy does something, he's got a mental disorder or he's taking pills or something.
		This president that we have have caused this country to almost weaponize between the minorities and the majority.
		We've got to do something here.
		We have to do something.
		Have a good Thanksgiving.
		God bless America.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Robert there in Cincinnati giving us a call.
		Again, you can call in on the lines.
		202-748-8000 for Democrats.
		Republicans 202-748-8001.
		And Independents 202-748-8002 as we wait for this update on the National Guard shooting from authorities.
		Linda, New York, Democrats line, jump right in as we will take this press conference as soon as it starts.
		So Linda, go ahead.
unidentified		Yes, happy Thanksgiving to everyone and praying for the families of the soldiers who were shot in DC.
		I think that the troops, all the troops, should be out of the cities.
		I think it's a political stunt putting them in the cities.
		And I think they should all be out.
		The cities have police forces.
		That's what they're there for.
		And to be used as a political stunt, it's a horrible, horrible thing.
		Also, every, every, seems like every occasion when Trump or Vice President Vance could bring this country together, they always use it for a division.
		You know, whether pardoning the turkeys or when Vance was serving meals at the military base the other day, just using it for division.
		It's a sad, sad thing in this country.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		That's Linda in New York.
		We heard the Defense Secretary yesterday after news of the shooting broke that the president telling him that he wants to see even more National Guard troops come to Washington, D.C., 500 being the number that was uploaded yesterday in Oklahoma.
		Democrats line, this is Clyde.
		Clyde, hello.
unidentified		Thank you for taking my call.
		No, I'm not praying for the ones that's lost their life over this, but, you know, I mean, adding to the problem and, you know, not caring about somebody dying, there's something wrong.
		Because even on January 6th, a woman got shot.
		No person opened their mouth.
		That's murder.
		Because, you know, flat out, you know, you call something, you're opening your mouth.
		Well, you call somebody to die.
		Well, they're just not right.
		That's just the way it is now.
		Still opening the mouth and not listening.
		Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		USA Today, reporting on the events of yesterday, saying that those National Guard members were part of a, quote, high visibility patrol that was near the White House on Wednesday, Wednesday afternoon when the suspect came around the corner, opened fire, according to the Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll.
		After a back-and-forth exchange, Carroll said that other troops subdued and detained the shooter.
		The two wounded guard members were in critical condition, local hospitals.
		The FBI Director Kash Patel said they have not been publicly identified.
		This is from Vanna, Vanna Independent Line, Massachusetts.
		Hello.
unidentified		Hi, good morning.
		I just want you to ask politicians to do something about what happened in slaughterhouses all over this country.
		Nothing is done to protect the animals, and terrible things happened in farms that kill animals before and during the slaughter.
		So I really wish politicians did something to help and stop the cruelty against animals.
		And that's all I have to say.
		Thank you.
		Have a good day.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		We'll hear next from Keith.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Keith in Florida, Republican Line.
unidentified		Hi.
		Hey, good morning, Pedro, and happy Thanksgiving.
		I've been watching the show for a long time since Brian Lamb and Steve.
		Are you seeing your guy now, Pedro?
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		I've been around a while.
unidentified		Yeah, I've talked to you a few times.
		But anyways, you know, the civility thing has been going on forever, but it seems like it's mounted with the shock jocks, and everybody's got to be better.
		It used to be you hide behind the phone on C-SPAN.
		And, you know, we used to cut people off and stuff.
		It said stuff that they do now after the 20 years I've been watching.
		Like the first guy, Colin, he related the National Guard to ICE people going and arresting illegal immigrants.
		Like these people, the National Guard is there to arrest illegal immigrants, and they weren't.
		They were put there and even the Mayor Bowser has helped and they've cooperated each other together that the outside quiet perimeters of D.C. is covered by them.
		So the police that would be down there usually would be able to go down into the neighborhoods and do more of a public servant police force down there.
		And I believe the crime has even dropped there.
		And we should respect the people in uniform and thank them for everything.
		I think this is a sad, sad Thanksgiving for America and the two guys involved, their families and stuff.
		And I wish we would take time.
		You know, there used to be things like if you talk to people, don't say anything you wouldn't say to your grandmother or grandfather.
		You know, let's get back to civil and be able to discuss.
		Everybody calls names and they want to be the shock jock that says it worse.
		You know, we started with what has been that went this serious, and then the cowboy guy and then shock dock mentality has grown.
		And I believe a lot of people have PTSD since COVID.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay.
		Mark, that's Keith, Keith in Florida there.
		This is Mark in California, Democrats line.
unidentified		Hi.
		Hi, good morning and Thanksgiving, longtime listener, haven't called in a while.
		I just wanted to respond to a prior caller.
		I don't know.
		I think I have this reaction every time I hear people try to compare January 6th with the events of BLM.
		And I want to just sort of call out January 6th is unlike all of the other events that they try to compare it to, because it's really just about the fact that a group of people did not like their election results.
		And the events of Black Lives Matter was about the constant killing of Americans by our police force.
		And I just, it just drives me crazy when I hear people try to compare the two.
		Democrats have never stormed the Capitol because they didn't like the election results.
		They haven't caused violence because they haven't liked the election results.
		I think I've made my point.
		But that's really what I wanted to call on.
		So thank you for hearing me out.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Philadelphia is next.
		Democrats line.
		We'll hear from Jack.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		Hey, Pedro.
		Good morning.
		I just want to give a shout out to C-SPAN, you know, the most level-headed coverage of any of the news publications and media.
		And I just want to say that I can't act surprised that this stuff happens.
		You know, when you put National Guard members in cities and areas where the mayor and the police aren't asking for help, it's like pouring gas on a fire.
		And I don't know why people think this is something that wasn't going to happen.
		In addition to that, to the Republican folks listening, like you voted for this president to lower grocery prices and to lower your, you know, make your life better, to make America great.
		He's, you know, basically giving you the Gulf of America and, you know, he's continuing to, he's supposed to get rid of the, you know, murderers, rapists, things like this.
		And you have citizens that are being, you know, harassed on a daily basis on the job, you know, waiting to get their citizenship.
		You know, it's literally like Nazi Germany.
		And I don't think you guys voted for that, but you still won't call it out.
		So, you know, happy Thanksgiving.
		And, yeah.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		North Carolina next.
		Democrats line.
		Lewis, hello.
unidentified		Hey, top of the morning, and happy Thanksgiving.
		Look, I see, this is not what I want to talk about, but I see it catch a nerve on the MAGA Republican when you talk about January the 6th, right?
		And they get a kick, you twitch a nerve when you say that this administration is protecting pedophiles.
		But this is what I want to talk about.
		This is a Thanksgiving day.
		And when them pilgrims came over and hit Plymouth Rock, they were starving to death.
		And if anything, white America should give honor and thanksgiving for the Native American because if you read history from 1620 to 1621, they were starving to death.
		And the Native American came in and gave thanks and broke bread.
		And Andrew Jackson put them all in one little hut.
		That's how white America paid back Native American.
		But y'all have a very good Thanksgiving.
		And remember, keep your brothers in mind because we are our brothers keeper.
		Y'all have a blessed day.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Louisa, North Carolina, Lynn Off of X saying that the president needs to send the National Guard home, that he's putting the National Guard in danger.
		She posts that on X.
		And then Barbara saying, after I heard that the two National Guard were shot, I knew Democrats would blame Donald Trump typical rhetoric that is called hatred towards police and military guards.
		That's Barbara there in Vermont again.
		Posting on X is at C-SPAN WJ posting on via text 202748-8003 is how you do that in North Carolina, Independent Line.
		This is Brandon.
unidentified		Hello.
		Good morning, gobble gobble.
		Hi.
		I had to talk to the speaker, but I have a comment on the unlearning theme of civility and discourse.
		It's regarding a personal view on the H-word.
		When I say H-word, I don't mean E-double hockey stick.
		I mean the H-word with the number eight at the end of it.
		I've removed it from my vocabulary and my personal view on life.
		And I think H with the number eight is a reflection of yesterday.
		And the simple use of that word when you describe a color of food, I think cheapens it.
		Now, there's a lot of things I strongly dislike out there, but to go to the length of the H-word is an example of yesterday.
		And I think just removing it from your vocabulary could help remove it from someone's behavior.
		So thank you for your time.
		Thank you for your program.
		And everybody be well and be kind.
		Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay.
		Crystal in Philadelphia, Democrats line.
		Go ahead, please.
unidentified		Good morning, America.
		And happy Thanksgiving to those who are able to have a nice meal today.
		Trump was once saying that this gentleman came in undocumented.
		No, everybody, that was the mad rush to get out of Afghanistan.
		And they had to have papers and all kinds of things.
		This gentleman helped the army that was over there at the time.
		That's why they let him in.
		Now, somewhere along the line, he got mad about something.
		But Trump, Trump gave him asylum back in April when he was up for review.
		But he's busy on there blaming Biden, Biden.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, I'll take you to that press conference on the National Guard shooting.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		All right.
		Come on, Mayor.
		Next Mayor.
		Oh, I don't even know where he goes.
		Where's Blanche?
		There he is.
		Okay, good.
		You know, it seems like we've been here before.
		Is this working?
		Where's.
		It's working.
		All right.
		Thank you all for being here on this difficult day.
		As you know, my name is Janine Pirro.
		I am the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and I am joined here by several individuals who represent agencies who have been working around the clock since this horrific event happened.
		To my left, we have the director of the FBI.
		We have General Leland Blanchard of the National Guard.
		Mayor Bowser is here as well.
		We have Frank Seldana of the DEA, Chris Hecht of DHS, Executive Assistant Chief Jeffrey Carroll of the MPD, Darren Cox of the Washington FBI Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Samuel Ward of the ATF in Washington.
		Now, I want to provide you with an update on the tragic shooting that occurred on two brave members of the West Virginia National Guard as they served in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, today, as most families join together to give thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon them, two families are shattered and destroyed and torn apart as a result of the actions of one man.
		First and foremost, our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
		These are dedicated service members who were performing their duties in service to our nation, and they are currently in critical condition.
		They have undergone surgery.
		We pray for their well-being as they continue to be cared for in the best possible way.
		We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.
		The two National Guard men that we're talking about are Sarah Bextrom, who's 20 years old, and Andrew Wolfe, who is 24 years old.
		They were uniformed members of the West Virginia National Guard, and they were in D.C. to keep D.C. safe, pursuant to President Trump's executive order to make D.C. safe and beautiful.
		They answered the call, they took the charge, they volunteered, they put their lives on the line for people they don't even know.
		And that, unfortunately, is becoming a reality more and more for the members of law enforcement.
		Yesterday on Thanksgiving Eve at approximately 2:15, near 17th and I streets in the northwest section of the district, near the Farragut West Metro Station, two uniformed guardsmen were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack.
		A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, ambush style, armed with a 357 Smith Wesson revolver.
		One guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again.
		Another guardsman is struck several times.
		Fellow guardsmen who were there responded immediately, engaging the suspect, neutralizing the threat, and subduing him at the scene.
		He was transported to a local hospital where he remains, as we speak, under heavy guard.
		Thanks to the swift and coordinated response of the National Guard and the Metropolitan Police Department, no additional victims were harmed, and the scene was secured within minutes.
		The suspect has been identified as Ramanullah Lekinwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who entered the United States under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome, a program following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
		He resided in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and we believe five children.
		And we're working very closely with our federal partners, especially DHS and the FBI, to review his immigration history and the vetting process itself.
		What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation's capital.
		As we stand here today, the charges that are appropriate right now are three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, a violation of DC Code 22-401 and DC Code 22-4502.
		He will also be charged with possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
		He faces 15 years under the assault with the intent to kill.
		We intend to continue monitoring what the charges will be depending upon the well-being of the guardsmen.
		We are praying that they survive and that the highest charge will not have to be murder in the first degree.
		But make no mistake, if they do not, that will certainly be the charge, murder in the first degree.
		The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi is committed to a thorough and an impartial investigation where we will hold this perpetrator accountable under the full weight of the law.
		Now, Sarah and Andrew volunteered.
		They came here to protect the people of the district pursuant to a crime emergency that President Trump rightly declared in this city and in other cities across the country.
		Our nation's capital should not and must not be a place where evil comes to commit violence, whatever their cause or motive may be.
		We should not have to live in fear in the nation's capital, especially by one who came here from a foreign country.
		Through a process that was so absurd that he came through and released into this country as many were, knowing virtually nothing about his vetting.
		This is what happens in this country when people are allowed in who are not properly vetted.
		These guardsmen and all who are here to protect the district are the line that separates a civilized society from a barbaric one.
		They are the ones who stand for law and order.
		This was not just an attack.
		It was a direct challenge to law and order in our nation's capital.
		And the individual will be made fully accountable.
		And though it seems that we have been here before under President Trump, make no mistake, and the Attorney General, we will not allow this to be normalized.
		It will be confronted, condemned, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
		Now, my message to the individual who committed these acts is you picked the wrong target, the wrong city, and the wrong country, and you will be sorry for the violence and the evil that you perpetrated in our nation's capital.
		And now I call upon the director of the FBI, Kash Patel.
kash patel ▲ ● ▼		Thanks, Judge.
		I'll begin my remarks and end my remarks the same way with prayer for our fallen soldiers, prayer for our law enforcement community, prayer for our National Guards, men and women, prayer for our brave prosecutors at the Department of Justice and the offices of the D.C. United States Attorney.
		We must come together as a nation, especially on this Thanksgiving Day, and remember the sacrifices that so many are making around the world and around this country to secure our freedoms under President Trump's brilliant leadership and administration.
		I'll provide an update on the case as follows: It is an ongoing investigation of terrorism.
		Make no mistake about it.
		The FBI is leading out on this federal assault on a federal law enforcement officer investigation on many fronts.
		We immediately, with our law enforcement partners and the Metropolitan Police Department and the interagency, secured the scene, seized the weapon, sent in our evidence response team immediately to collect evidence and started doing block-by-block canvases.
		We are looking for and interviewing witnesses.
		The firearm and other materials have been sent to our Quantico laboratory already yesterday for immediate analysis.
		That work is ongoing.
		Partnering with the D.C. United States Attorney's Office, we have also executed multiple, multiple search warrants around the country to include the subject's last known residence, which is in the state of Washington.
		The search warrant was executed on that house last night or early this morning, and it is an ongoing process.
		All the individuals found in the house have been interviewed, and some interviews remain ongoing.
		We will not stop until we interview anyone and everyone associated with the subject, the house, and every piece of his life.
		There were also subject interviews, relations conducted in San Diego pursuant to our ongoing investigation.
		So, as the judge noted, this is a coast-to-coast investigation being led right here in Washington, D.C.
		And this subject definitely did pick the wrong country.
		And we will rise together as a nation to show the world what we do here.
		And we are thankful that we have the Attorney General's brave leadership and President Trump's brave leadership and priorities to safeguard our communities.
		I also spoke to Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe last night and Secretary of War Pete Heckseth.
		There is confirmation now that the subject had a relationship in Afghanistan with partner forces.
		We are fully investigating that aspect of his background as well to include any known associates that are either overseas or here in the United States of America.
		That is what a broad-based international terrorism investigation looks like.
		We will provide continuous details to the American public while at the same time not jeopardizing the ongoing prosecution to ultimately hold this perpetrator accountable in our courts of law.
		We will provide as much transparency as possible.
		But as you can see, the breadth and scope of this investigation will continue.
		We will continue to hit the streets and hit every town and every house and talk to every witness.
		The men and women of the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department and the interagency to include the Department of Homeland Security, DEA, and ATF, are working tirelessly on this Thanksgiving Day.
		And I know just by talking to the leaders behind me that instead of going on and being with their families, everyone roggered up and showed up to work today.
		And none of them want to go home.
		That's the resolve that we have together as a team to bring to you justice for this heinous act of terrorism here in our nation's capital.
		And as the judge said, we will ensure that our law enforcement partners are out there in full force to make sure the world can enjoy our nation's capital.
		We will not let this heinous act of violence prevent people from visiting our beautiful nation's capital.
		And we will also continue to highlight any evidence that we can publicly.
		And as the judge said, this individual is in this country for one reason and one reason alone: because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet any way, in any way, shape, or form.
		This individual and countless others and this administration has taken the rightful step to stop any further allowance of people with dissimilar background into the country.
		And we're thankful for that.
		And as I said, this investigation remains ongoing.
		And I think I'll turn it over to General Blanchard of the National Guard now.
		Thank you.
unidentified		All across America this morning, families are waking up.
		They'll spend the day with their children, their brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, friends from across the community.
		There will be the smell of turkey, all the fixings.
		They'll watch parades, football games.
		They'll pray together.
		They'll talk about what they're grateful for.
		This morning, there are two families that will not have that opportunity.
		Andy and Sarah's families, they're spending the day reflecting on the past.
		And in the days coming, they'll reflect on and think about what could have been, what might be.
		Because, regardless of the outcome, we know that their lives, their family lot, their families' lives are all changed forever because one person decided to do this horrific and evil thing.
		And all across America, we are also reminded that there are many law enforcement agents, first responders, soldiers, service members all around the world who, at best, will come home, eat some cold turkey,
		open up Tupperware, eat what's left over, because they spent the day defending the American ideals, getting out there and getting after it on every American citizen's behalf.
		I will say that the District of Columbia National Guard, this task force, is more committed this morning to the President's directive to make D.C. safe and beautiful.
		Our resolve will be tested.
		It is being tested, but make no mistake: each and every one of these soldiers and airmen will meet and exceed the expectation that we have for them.
		They are, in fact, America's best.
		I'm proud of each and every one of them.
		I pray for each and every one of them today, and in particular, for these two young service members who are willing to go above and beyond and pay whatever price our nation asks of them.
		I ask every American today to keep them in their thoughts and prayers as you go about your day.
		Thank you.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Thank you, General.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Mayor, where's Mayor Bowser?
unidentified		Yeah.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		Thank you, Judge.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		I'm Muriel Bowser.
muriel bowser ▲ ● ▼		I'm the mayor of Washington, D.C., and I want to associate myself with the remarks of our Adjutant General from the D.C. National Guard.
unidentified		I want to be very clear what the judge and everyone has reported here.
muriel bowser ▲ ● ▼		Somebody drove across the country, came to Washington, D.C. to attack America.
		And that person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
		These young people should be at home in West Virginia with their families.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		ATF, anybody, DHS.
		Anyone?
		Okay.
		I also want to say that both Sarah and Andrew, I believe, were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington.
		Any questions?
unidentified		Had you drilled down on a possible motive?
unidentified		Have you gotten any information and intelligence on a possible motive we should?
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		You know, as the director has indicated, this is a fluid investigation.
		People are working around the clock.
		It's too soon to say what the motive is, but there are definitely areas that we're looking into, but not ready to say.
unidentified		Can you characterize a little bit about how the assailant was taken down after he opened fire?
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, he got shot.
unidentified		By another guard.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		By another guardsman, yeah.
unidentified		You mentioned earlier that he had the shooter had initially not just had initially shot one of the guardsmen, then leaned over as they were on the ship.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Shot him again.
unidentified		Yep.
unidentified		How many shots are we?
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Well, the specific number, look, he had a 357 Smith and Wesson revolver.
		Okay, so I believe that's a six shooter.
		Yeah.
		So, you know, that kind of tells us how many shots he had.
		Yes.
unidentified		Judge, you mentioned we've been here before because we have.
		It was May when we were last year.
		I want to ask if you could please comment to obviously we understand that you're saying this is under the Biden administration and the words are that it was a failed withdrawal and what happened there.
		There are people who were also upset with the president believing that the National Guard member should not even have been there if it were not for the executive order.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		I don't even want to talk about whether they should have been there.
		We ought to kiss the ground and thank God that the president said it's time to bring in more law enforcement to make sure that a city that had the fourth highest homicide rate in the country was that that violence was quelled.
		I'm not even going to go there.
unidentified		A question for Director Patel.
		Was the suspect granted asylum?
		And if so, when did that happen under which administration?
		And did authorities miss any signs either in the asylum process or even backlog and TV before we worked for the CIA?
		We could talk about that.
kash patel ▲ ● ▼		Well, you miss all the signs when you do absolutely zero vetting.
		And that's exactly what happened in this case.
		When you, in the prior administration, made the decision to allow thousands of people into this country without doing a single piece of background checking or vetting.
		That's how you miss every single sign.
		And Secretary Christy Noam has put out details specifically related to your other question, so I'll let that speak for themselves.
		If or when he was going to get asylum, if you could just clarify that timeline and yes, I believe Christy Noam put that out, and that's a DHS matter, and I'll refer it to them.
unidentified		Director, can you elaborate on the investigative steps that were taken at San Diego?
unidentified		You mentioned Bellingham, Washington, where we live, but could you explain the San Diego connection?
kash patel ▲ ● ▼		So what happened was, thanks to the quick investigation by the interagency and the FBI, we were able to track down his last known residence.
		Working with our United States Attorney's Offices here and at the Department of Justice and prosecutors across the country, we were able to serve search warrants literally overnight and through the night.
		And we were able to hit the house in Washington State.
		During that process, we seized numerous electronic devices to include cell phones, laptops, iPads, and other material that is being analyzed as we speak.
		Pursuant to that investigation and any known associates of the subject and of that house is how we ended up in San Diego, where interviews were conducted and are going to be continued to be conducted.
		And we will go anywhere in the country or the world where the evidence leads us.
unidentified		Are there accomplices, relationships in San Diego you can talk about?
kash patel ▲ ● ▼		All of that is an ongoing investigation.
unidentified		Can anyone give an update as far as Sarah and Andrew who were injured?
		You say critical condition.
		Can you give anything beyond that?
		Are they expected to make it?
		Is it touch and go?
		Can you tell us a little more about how they're being and the full spelling of their names, please?
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		It is Sarah Beckstrom, B-E-C-K-S-T-R-O-M, and Andrew Wolf with an E, W-O-L-F-E.
		Okay, and Sarah Beckstrom.
		How do you spell Sarah?
		Oh, with an H.
		Okay.
		Now, with respect to their medical condition, as I said, they are receiving the finest medical care.
		Their families are with them now.
		They are critical.
		I think you understand the meaning of that.
		It's not clear, you know, how this is going to end up, but let me be perfectly clear about how it will end up in this office.
		If one of them is to pass, and God forbid that happens, this is a murder one, period, end of the story.
		We are praying on a day like today when families come together in America and they hold hands around the Thanksgiving table.
		I beg you, I beseech you, to play to pray for these two young people that they survive.
		Okay, I think that's it.
unidentified		Thank you, everybody.
alexander heffner ▲ ● ▼		Radical Islamist Afghan material.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, we're not going there.
unidentified		Do you have any information on how he might have gotten around?
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		No, no.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		Thank you.
unidentified		What about the asylum process?
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		D.C. Attorney Janine Pirro, the FBI Director Kash Patel, and others on that update on the shooting that occurred yesterday in Washington, D.C. with those National Guard members, Sarah Bextram, Andrew Wolfe, the FBI director talking about the investigative phase and where they're at.
		The D.C. attorney talking about the possible legal charges that face the suspected shooter, all that.
		And you can comment on those from now until the end of the program.
		202-748-8000 for Democrats.
		202-748-8001 for Republicans.
		Independents, 202-748-8002.
		And text us your thoughts at 202-748-8003.
		You can post on social media and the comments of what you heard today will also be available on our app at C-SPANNOW, as well as our website at c-span.org.
		Right at the top of today's press conference, the D.C. attorney, the D.C. lawyer, Janine Pirro, talked about the identities of the two National Guard members, gave more information on that.
		Here's this from the top of the press conference.
judge jeanine pirro ▲ ● ▼		First and foremost, our hearts go out to the victims and their families.
		These are dedicated service members who were performing their duties in service to our nation, and they are currently in critical condition.
		They have undergone surgery.
		We pray for their well-being as they continue to be cared for in the best possible way.
		We have been in constant contact with their families and have provided them with every resource needed during this difficult time.
		The two National Guards men that we're talking about are Sarah Bextrom, who's 20 years old, and Andrew Wolfe, who is 24 years old.
		They were uniformed members of the West Virginia National Guard, and they were in D.C. to keep D.C. safe, pursuant to President Trump's executive order to make D.C. safe and beautiful.
		They answered the call.
		They took the charge.
		They volunteered.
		They put their lives on the line for people they don't even know.
		And that, unfortunately, is becoming a reality more and more for the members of law enforcement.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		That was just about 15 minutes ago from the Washington Post.
		They also post that the Attorney General, you probably heard this during the course of the press conference, that Pam Bonte says the Justice Department intends to charge with terrorism offenses, the suspect in the shooting of the two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. James in California, Independent line on the shooting from yesterday and the update we just heard.
		James in California, good morning.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		Thank you, sir.
		Number one, this immigrant that shot the soldiers.
		I wonder if he thinks about the other immigrants from Afghanistan that wanted to make it over here.
		He just hurt them and hurt himself.
		He didn't, I don't know what he thought he was going to accomplish.
		And I'll say the same thing about Hamas that sat up there and killed and started the big war.
		Do they really think that they're helping by any way?
		I don't understand it.
		Last thing.
		Donald Trump said that with the snap, I don't want to give them snap because I don't want some of them going out and buying Cadillac.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, okay, we'll keep it to the topic of the shooting from yesterday.
		Let's hear from Bill, Bill in Florida, Republican line.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		You know, Pedro, what Biden did in Afghanistan, he created a whole country of enemies.
		The ones that he left behind, the Americans he left behind, and the Afghans that were helping us, they're all mad at us now.
		He probably got a million people wanting to kill us because of what Biden did.
		This is crazy.
		I think the military knew this was going to happen.
		They had to have because what Biden did.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Alvin is in Denver, lying for Democrats.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead.
unidentified		Hey, Pedro.
		The tone of that.
		First, I want to say I am hoping and praying with everything I have that those service members pull through.
		This was terrible.
		The second point I want to make, this administration always overheats, always overreacts.
		Every crisis this country has faced since January 20th.
		And I can go back to that plane crash.
		Everything is bombastic.
		Everything is hyperventilation.
		I will say to Vice President Vance's comments, I saw comments from him that I thought for what happened was perfectly appropriate.
		All the other reactions aren't healthy.
		That's what I have to offer today, Pedro.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, that's Alvin there in Denver giving us a call.
		He brought up the Vice President JD Vance making comments while at a military base.
		Here are those comments from yesterday.
jd vance ▲ ● ▼		But I think it's a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they're active duty, reserve, or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America.
		And as a person who goes into work every single day in that building and knows that there are a lot of people who wear the uniform of the United States Army, let me just say very personally, thank them for what they're doing.
		We're grateful to them and we're praying that they're going to be safe and they're going to spend Thanksgiving with their families.
unidentified		God bless them.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Democrats line, this is Denver.
		Alvin is there.
		Hello, Alvin.
unidentified		Alvin in Denver.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Let's try Joe.
		Joe in Florida, Democrats line.
		Joe, go ahead.
unidentified		Hey, I just wanted to say this has been such a sad Thanksgiving, but what I hate and don't appreciate is the quickness with which this is becoming a political matter.
		No National Guard soldiers, nor for that matter, military members should be used to politicize issues that long ago didn't have anything to do with them.
		Going back and saying that it was a Biden administration policy that led to this, it's like the previous caller said, jumping ahead of the solution.
		Now, I will give credit to the FBI and the law enforcement folks for doing their due diligence and investigating the matter, but it appears that they're trying to set this up to be a political matter going into the election year.
		I hope that doesn't become the reality.
		Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
		Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		This is Alan up next.
		Alan in Arkansas, Independent Line.
		Hello.
unidentified		Wow, good morning, Pedro.
		I just thought I'd tell you real quickly: you took my call six years ago, and I've kind of kept up with it over the years.
		It's made it to a YouTube video with 8,000 sort of positive reviews with a call from one of the calls with an author you had on that day.
		But anyway, I hope this will work out to be another call that makes it to YouTube status.
		And it's to celebrate Thanksgiving.
		And I just wanted to mention two or three quick things about Thanksgiving that everyone seems to, I don't understand why we don't know it.
		But the first is the Pilgrims left Holland or Netherlands.
		They were citizens of not of England.
		They had left England for 12 years and wrote a summary of why they left a few years later, and there were three reasons.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, well, I'm going to pause you only there because we're going to keep to the tone of the previous press conference, the shooting by National Guard soldiers that took place yesterday, the update we just got from federal officials.
		So if you want to comment on that, feel free to call the lines 202-748-8000 for Democrats, 202-748-8001 for Republicans, and Independents, 202-748-8002.
		Let's hear from Michael.
		Michael in Michigan, Democrats line.
		Hello.
unidentified		Yes, hi.
		Like two other previous callers, it's a blame game by Trump to, again, put it back on Biden, Biden, Biden, talking about why weren't they vetted?
		Well, as those folks were getting out of Afghanistan, I mean, there wasn't much time to vet anybody.
		I'm sure they were, in fact, vetted before they got here.
		I don't know about the guy himself, but they're trying to put it on Biden.
		Biden, it's old.
		It's wrong.
		Wake up, world.
		They're the pase cumitadas.
		Those soldiers should not have been in D.C. Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Mark is next.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Mark in New York, Independent Line.
unidentified		Yes, good morning, and happy Thanksgiving to all.
		I just wanted to say that in New York in 2022, Governor Kathy Hochold deployed National Guard to the New York City subway system, and they're still there.
		There are at least 750 troops, and I believe it's been increased since then.
		And it absolutely is effective.
		It eases the mind of commuters and visitors alike.
		I believe it was done after 9-11 as well.
		And there's every reason in the world they should be in New York.
		They should be in Washington, D.C., and any other city that's experiencing an abhorrent number, amount of violence.
		And, you know, it's ironic that Democrats are against it when a Democratic governor has been doing it for years.
		We don't hear about any court cases against that or any motions filed with judges to disband that.
		And let's leave national security to the president and let's get away from it.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Well, even in light of all that, even in light of what you just said at the shooting yesterday, that nothing should change in your mind?
unidentified		They should.
		They are not there to be a target.
		They are there to be peacekeepers and a symbol of strength.
		And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Scott is in Virginia, Republican line.
		You're next.
		Hello.
unidentified		Yeah, good morning, Pedro, and happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
		Just wanted to say that, you know, the rhetoric is out of control on the Democrat side.
		And I just feel that, you know, I find it really ironic that you'll have six congressmen talking about illegal orders when certainly bringing in unveted Afghani refugees.
		None of them said a peep.
		None of them said a peep when COVID mandates came out.
		Nothing about illegal orders.
		Nothing about the rule of law.
		And the truth is, you know, ICE is here to try to pull people who aren't supposed to be here out of here.
		The National Guard are trying to protect citizens trying to live their life.
		And speaking about out against them is gotten out of control.
		And this is what happens when you do it.
		And I think all six of those congressmen should be ashamed of themselves.
		Anyway, thank you, Pedro.
		And my thoughts and prayers go out to their family.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Scott in Virginia, calling about the events of yesterday, the president adding his own thoughts on his Truth Social site in a video that was posted.
		It's reported by the Hills and others.
		He went to Truth Social on Wednesday saying that his administration would review cases of the individuals from Afghanistan who entered the United States, that during the Biden administration, here's a portion of those thoughts from yesterday.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		During this time of the year, when we gather at home with loved ones, these two patriots were wearing the uniform of our country, patrolling the streets of our capital.
		They had taken a selfless oath to defend our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
		And that is exactly what they were doing when they were gunned down in a savage attack.
		I want to express my extraordinary gratitude to every member of the United States military who is deployed tonight at home and abroad.
		I also want to thank the Secret Service and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their work today.
		This Thanksgiving, I ask every family to say a prayer for the two great heroes who were so horribly shot and for their loved ones.
		Please say a prayer.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Again, that was the president from yesterday.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		This is David in New Jersey, Independent Line.
unidentified		Hello.
		Good morning, and thank you.
		Well, first of all, I'm heartbroken over what happened to the two guards persons.
		Secondly, the caller who said that the guard in the subways have made it safer.
		It is not safer.
		The NYPD have been missing in action since the city of New York no longer indemnifies them for any behavior they have.
		The subways are very dangerous, so you can forget about that point.
		Next, try to imagine what it's like to be 18 or 19 or 20 in West Virginia and put in a snake's nest like Washington, D.C. or North St. Louis, North Philly, or Baltimore.
		You're coming from a rural area.
		You are not trained for law enforcement.
		You are not of the nature of the police.
		You are not an in-your-face, aggressive type of person.
		You're a young person who's trying to make some extra income, and at most, you're supposed to be deployed if there's a flood or something like that.
		You're putting sheep to the slaughter.
		This is totally wrong to do this this way.
		Hire more police.
		Hire more police.
		Hire the people who want to eat red meat every morning and, like the police here in Flemington and Meriden Township, thrive on aggressivity.
		These guards people are young people.
		They do not have the nature or the natural protective mechanisms.
		They are nothing but targets.
		This disgusts me.
		And thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, let's go to Beth.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Beth is in Seattle, Washington, Republican line.
unidentified		Well, I am very sad to hear that we have so many defenders of Joe Biden.
		This is an appalling, appalling dereliction of duty that that man did.
		And he had complete support from Kamala and Majorkas and John Kerry and all the big names.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, that's Beth.
		Operation Allies.
		Welcome is what people have been referring to.
		Newsweek has an explainer of what it is, saying that according to the Department of Homeland Security, which was appointing the lead coordinating agency back in 2021, the purpose was to provide a safe, orderly pathway into the U.S. for vulnerable Afghan allies and their immediate family members who had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021.
		Under the program, Afghan evacuees underwent multilayered security vetting conducted by DHS, the FBI, Department of Defense, the National Counterterrorism Center, and other intelligence partners.
		DHS guidance states that individuals were admitted under humanitarian parole while their immigration cases, special immigrant visas, asylum, or other pathways were processed.
		The program saw the arrival of more than 88,000 Afghans, according to the White House and DHS.
		Many were initially housed at U.S. military bases before being assisted by resettlement agencies.
		There's more there on that program.
		If you want to read it for yourself, Sam in Michigan, Democrats line.
unidentified		Hello.
		Good morning, and thank you for taking my call.
		First of all, as a retired veteran, I'd like to send prayers out to all military service members that are serving throughout the globe and especially to those service members that were harmed yesterday in the extrusion of their duties.
		I'm also going to pray for this administration that a sense of calm come about them and that they don't politicize it too much.
		But in the scope of taking accountability, this person was granted asylum in April 2025.
		We don't need to get into a time machine.
		This is where we take accountability for where we place those soldiers and what vetting and security procedures we took to ensure that they would not become targets.
		Thank you for taking my call this morning.
		God bless America.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		In Illinois, Independent Line, this is Tom.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I'm calling as an independent because I'm not trying to divide the country like a lot of things are happening is designed to do.
		So here's my take on what's going on.
		I'm old enough to remember this thing called Kent State.
		Kent State happened under basically the same situation, National Guard trying to control students and unruly people.
		This is a reverse situation of that.
		These men were put in there in a volatile situation, untrained like other people have said before, not for proper response.
		These men, the mayor said it earlier, these men should have been home on Thanksgiving with their families.
		This was not that.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay.
		John.
		John in New Jersey, Independent Line.
unidentified		Hi.
		Hi.
		I just would like to thank C-SPAN for existing and giving us a chance.
		And for those of its listeners, I'd like to suggest that they do some web surfing and look for statistics on the violent crime rate among Afghan refugees.
		I did a quickie.
		I'm not going to tell you what I found, but I'd just like to encourage everybody to stop and think before every Afghan in the country is painted with the same brush.
		Thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		This is last call.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Miriam in Texas, Democrats line.
unidentified		Yes, I'm calling because there he goes again, the Bones First president trying to divide us.
		I mean, we all know that we all are for the National Guard.
		We all treasure our National Guard, Republican, Democrats, Independents.
		But there he goes again, trying to divide us.
		And when they made this, what do you call it, this conference thing, right a few minutes ago, they never mentioned, they didn't even want to mention that the Afghan was, he received asylum through Trump.
		That's how they tried to divide us.
		I mean, why do that?
		Americans know that we all support our National Guard.
		But there they go again.
		The president trying to divide us.
		I mean, I hate that.
		I hate that because they take everything really politically.
		We know that we treasure our National Guard.
		Why are they trying to divide us?
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay, Miriam in Texas sending off this program on this Thanksgiving day.
		Thank you for giving us your time, especially.
		And from me and the rest of the staff of the Journal and all of us at C-SPAN who keep this program operational dawn this holiday, a happy Thanksgiving to you.
		Another edition of Washington Journal comes your way at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning.
unidentified		See you then.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		So you interviewed the other night.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I watched it about two o'clock in the morning.
unidentified		There was a little thing called C-SPAN, which I don't know how many people were watching.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		Don't worry, you were in prime time too, but they happened to have a little re-run.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		Do you really think that we don't remember what just happened last week?
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		Thank goodness for C-SPAN, and we all should review the tape.
unidentified		Everyone wonders when they're watching C-SPAN what the conversations are on the floor.
al green ▲ ● ▼		I'm about to read to you something that was published by C-SPAN.
sean duffy ▲ ● ▼		There's a lot of things that Congress fights about that they disagree on.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		We can all watch that on C-SPAN.
unidentified		Millions of people across the country tuned into C-SPAN.
		Speaker!
		That was a make-for-C-SPAN moment.
		If you watch on C-SPAN, you're going to see me physically across the aisle every day, just trying to build relationships and try to understand their perspective and find common ground.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		And welcome aboard to everybody watching at home.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		We know C-SPAN covers this live as well.
unidentified		We appreciate that.
		And one can only hope that he's able to watch C-SPAN on a black and white television set in his prison cell.
		This is being carried live by C-SPAN.
		It's being watched not only in this country, but it's being watched around the world right now.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		Mike said before I happened to listen to him, he was on C-SPAN 1.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		That's a big upgrade, right?
unidentified		C-SPAN's Washington Journal, our live forum, inviting you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics, and public policy from Washington, D.C. to across the country.
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		Join the conversation live at 7 Eastern Friday morning on C-SPAN, C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, or online at c-span.org.
		Have been watching C-SPAN Washington Journal for over 10 years now.
		This is a great format that C-SPAN offers.
		You're doing a great job.
		I enjoy hearing everybody's opinion.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		I'm a huge C-SPAN fan.
unidentified		I listen every morning on the way to work.
		I think C-SPAN should be required viewing for all three branches of government.
		First of all, if you say hello to C-SPAN and how you'll cover the hearings.
		Thank you, everyone, at C-SPAN, for allowing this interaction with everyday citizens.
		It's an amazing show to get real opinions from real people.
		Appreciate you guys' non-biased coverage.
		I love politics and I love C-SPAN because I get to hear all the voices.

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