November 1, 2024 • 49 mins
On this episode of The Middle we'll be asking you how you're feeling with just days left until the 2024 election. What are your hopes and fears? We're joined by Univision anchor Enrique Acevedo and former CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. The Middle's house DJ Tolliver joins as well, plus callers from around the country. #2024 #election #Trump #Harris
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Support for the Middle comes from the Tiwani Foundation, making
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More information on how you can support the Middle at
Listen to the Middle dot com. Welcome to the Middle.
I'm Jeremy Hobson, along with our house DJ Tolliver and Tolliver.
(00:24):
I have to say, even at first of all, Happy Halloween,
Oh thank you. I can see what your face looks
like right now. You're in costume, but nobody else can.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So I'm mad no one else is dressed up.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It's just well, I have to say, even after spending
so much time paying attention to the campaign and talking
to our listeners about it, I have no idea what
is going to happen, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
An election, come on, man, get with it. An election
happens Tuesday, that is true.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, we don't know what will happen after that and
how long it will take. But you know, I remember
when I was a business reporter, the worst thing for
the business world was uncertainty, and I think that's part
of what's going on right now. A lot of uncertainty
about what's going to happen. We will say whatever happens,
we will be back here every week trying to provide
a space for people who may disagree to talk about
the important issues in a civil way. The middle will
(01:12):
still exist after this election. But this hour we want
to hear from you. How are you feeling, what are
your hopes and your fears about this election. We'll get
to your calls in a moment at eight four four
four Middle. That's eight four four four six four three
three five three. But first, last week we were in
Las Vegas and asking you whether or not you trust
the polls in the lead up to the election. I
have to say I'm with those of you who did
(01:33):
not really trust them. But here are some of the
voicemails that came in after the show.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
My name is Anne Gable from Colorado. Do we trust poles?
My answer is no, absolutely not, because they can be
biased in any way and unless you are knowing their
questions and how they're a phrase, anything can come out
of that.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
My name is.
Speaker 7 (01:52):
Isaac and calling from Columbas, Ohio. Because I'm from jimc.
I feel that my generation is not hold the same
as the older generations and to the point about the
scam called I often don't answer unknown numbers, so it
feels like the information may not be entirely representative, especially
of the newer generation of voters.
Speaker 8 (02:13):
Hi, this is Jennifer from Tempe, Arizona. We have endless polls,
limitless numbers of poll after poll after poll, but there's
only one vote. The poll will never be a vote,
so now I don't trust the polls.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Well, thanks to everyone who called in, and you can
hear that entire episode on our podcast in partnership with
iHeart Podcasts, on the iHeart app or wherever you listen
to podcasts. So now to our topic this hour, how
are you feeling about the election? Both of the candidates,
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have repeatedly told their followers
that the country will be in fundamental danger should their
opponent win. Trump has been called, including by Republicans who
(02:49):
worked with him at the highest levels, a fascist. On
the other hand, Trump has said the country quote would
be finished if Kamala Harris is elected president, and still
about half of American voters are likely to support each
of them. It just depends on how the voters in
those swing states, mostly in the geographic middle, by the way, decide.
So we want to hear from you hopes, fears, some
hopes would be nice, Tulliver, let's have the number again, please.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, it's eight four four four Middle. That's eight four
four four six four three three five three. Or you
can write to us a listen to the Middle dot
com and.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Joining us as we take your calls. Is former anchor
and longtime journalist Candy Crowley. For years, she hosted State
of the Union on CNN and also served as the
network's chief political correspondent. Candy, great to have you back
on the Middle.
Speaker 9 (03:32):
Thanks, it's good to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
So I was trying to think about what election we
compare this to, if that's even possible.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Is it like.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Twenty twelve, when you know Obama painted Romney as an
out of touch rich guy. Is it like two thousand
when Al Gore the vice president, tried to distance himself
from the president Bill Clinton and ended up losing just barely.
Or will it be like a Reagan landslide in nineteen
eighty coming off of terrible inflation or something else completely.
Speaker 9 (04:00):
I'd scratched the rig and landslife scenario, but you know.
To me, the structure is the same, but the back
and forth is coarser and more vehement. They say it's
the closest election ever. I feel like I've heard that
before in other elections. But nonetheless it is close, but
(04:22):
I feel like the temperature of the race and the
tenor of the race is different than anything I've seen.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
We just did that whole episode on polls last week.
You heard some of those callers. How much do you
trust what the polls have been saying at this point?
Speaker 9 (04:40):
Well, my big probably polls is they sort of suck
the fun out of it, right. It's like it's way
more fun to kind of go into something where you
don't exactly know what's going to happen. Is like Christmas eve, Right,
you know what you wish for, but you don't know
what you're going to get. But now I have to say,
I know some really smart people who do polls every
time they go through an election. Let's say the Hillary
(05:03):
Clinton Donald Trump election, when all the polls sort of
so it would go one way and then it went
Trump's way. That they learn things from that, and it's
not as though they're randomly calling people or or when
they do call people. They don't get demographics. I mean
they know how many or what the percentage of the
(05:24):
people between ages eighteen and twenty five vote, what's the
percentage there, and so they factor all that stuff in.
It's a really complicated process. But having said that, they've
been wrong to a certain extent. I don't think to
as much of an extent as the public thinks, but
certainly it is. Any postural set was just a snapshot
(05:46):
in time. So what you heard yesterday is only what
people felt yesterday, and we don't know how they're going
to feel next Tuesday. So do I trust them? I
kind of is that an answer?
Speaker 1 (05:56):
What do you look at? You as a political watcher
for so many years, what are you looking at right
now to try to figure out because obviously you can't know,
but there's so much anxiety in there right now. Is
there anything that you look at to say, well, it
looks like it's going this way trajectory?
Speaker 9 (06:12):
But I have to say, in the last what three
four weeks, there's been no trajectory on either side. It's
kind of been forty eight, forty eight, forty ninety seven,
forty you know, which is basically as you know, ad nauseum.
We are told a dead heat. So what I look
at is when what they the internals of the pole,
(06:34):
and when I can get them. And I'm always writing
friends saying, send me what you've got. So it's, you know,
looking at what about Trump's base? What are they looking
like in terms of turning out? Now they have these
exit poles, I'm sorry, not exit poles. They've learned from
the ballots that have been cast certain things, and so
everyone's looking at analyzing whose voters are coming out, But
(06:56):
of course you don't know how those voters are actually voted.
So I tend to look at the demographics of the polls, like,
how did young white men vote? Say on the poll,
I'm sorry, how did How did young white men respond?
How did middle aged women respond? How did older people respond?
Because that kind of tells you. Once you match that
(07:19):
up with who's showing up at the polls, it can
be interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Let's go to the phones because they're lighting up. Jeff
is in Chicago. Jeff, welcome to the middle What are
your hopes and fears here?
Speaker 10 (07:30):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 11 (07:31):
Yeah, I'm very worried. I normally don't let things that
I'm not under control of affect me, But this one
really does worry me. I mean, we're talking about a
potential fascist, vengeful autocracy being founded, which is the biggest
break from what it is to be in America, I
(07:51):
think since the Civil War.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So what are you most worried about there? I assume
you're talking about Donald Trump? What are you most worried about?
Do you think that he's going to win the election?
Speaker 11 (08:02):
You know, I have no idea who's going to win
the election. I mean, it's incomprehensible to me that anyone
would both the guy. He's talked about making the DOJ
go after people who have criticized him. Companies have obeyed
in advanced as Tim Snyder has said, by you know,
(08:24):
like the La Times or the Washington Post. He's talked
about going after enemies of the people, enemies of the state,
talk about replacing the civil service, which was put in
place in the late nineteenth century because of the spoil
system with loyalist flax. This is so deeply Unamerican. It's
incomprehensible that we have to let this happen. And yet
(08:47):
here it is.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Jeff, thank you for that Candy Crowley. One thing that
Jeff just said there that I think is really interesting,
and I bet we're going to hear a lot of
this is people that are voting one way cannot understand
how people could possibly vote the other way. It's like
they don't know their neighbors.
Speaker 9 (09:02):
Yeah, that's all anybody says to me. And it's particularly
true on those who intend to vote for the vice president.
I don't get it. How can with all these daily
things that go on and revelations and all this kind
of stuff, and the things he says and the things
that people around him say, how could anybody has to
vote for this man? On the other hand, I would say,
(09:23):
on the other side, there's less of that and more
positivity that they're going to win. Now, this is even
worse than a poll. This is me talking to random people.
But you know, I don't get that same sense of Holy,
how these people are you know, not listening. I get
more like, Hey, we've got this, you know we're going
(09:45):
to win this.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Let's go to Nick in Manhassean on Long Island, New York. Nick,
what are you feeling about this election?
Speaker 12 (09:54):
I feel like I feel like we're all passengers on
the Titanic and Donald Trump the iceberg, and I don't
think we can survive if he wins. As the previous
caller said, he has shown fascist tendencies, and he has
(10:14):
the emotional maturity of a four year old and the
attention span of a four year old. And I'd like
to ask your guests, Ms Crowley, how come the media
gave him a free pass for his mishandling of the
COVID pandemic. If Kamala Harris is responsible for all the
actions under Biden while she served as VT, why does
(10:37):
Trump get a free pass for COVID. He was a
source of disinformation and he responded very slowly to that,
and we lost almost half a million lives.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Let's let's let Candy respond to that and not maybe.
I mean, you can answer about COVID or however you want.
But also there are people that believe that he's getting
a pass from the media on things that other candidates
would not get a pass for, right.
Speaker 9 (11:04):
I mean, there's two ways I would specifically answer the
COVID question and say, I can't speak for I did
see some COVID things, But I think the best answer
for that is this is drinking from a fire hose
every day there's something else, and there's I know that
twenty four hour networks. You would think, well, wait a minute,
they got twenty four hours, but it doesn't quite work
(11:24):
like that. And you know, but I think that the
criticism is valid. I don't know if it's as bad
as it seems, because I do think again that there's
so much coming at you at one time that you
can't report all of it, like everything that Donald Trump
(11:46):
said or everything that Harris said. So there's that, but
that does that in no way, in any way sort
of gives forgiveness to the times that there were things.
I think actually the first first election, there was very valid,
very valid criticism of the way the coverage went for Trump.
Speaker 10 (12:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Well, Tolliver, I'm old enough to remember when a candidate
would defend the candidate in the other party when one
of their supporters said something that was not true.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
That wasn't so long ago. But I think you might
be talking about this clip in a town hall during
the late Senator John McCain's campaign against Barack Obama in
two thousand and eight, I got.
Speaker 13 (12:24):
To ask you a question.
Speaker 8 (12:25):
I do not believe in.
Speaker 13 (12:27):
I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and
he's not. He's not he's a he's an Arab. He
is not no man, no.
Speaker 14 (12:38):
No man, no ma'am.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
He's a.
Speaker 15 (12:41):
He's a.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
He's a decent family man, citizen that I just happened
to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that's what
this campaign is all about.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That is unfathomable.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
That was then, and this is now. We'll be right
back with more of your calls on the Middle. This
is the Middle. I'm Jeremy Hobson. If you're just tuning
in the Middle as a national call in show focused
on elevating voices from the middle geographically, politically and philosophically,
or maybe you just want to meet in the middle.
This hour, we're asking you, how are you feeling ahead
of Tuesday's election? What are your hopes and your fears? Tolliver,
(13:16):
what is our number?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
It's eight four four four Middle. That's eight four four
four six four three three five three Jeremy. Next year,
I'm going as that phone number. I'm just gonna tattoo
it on my head. That's a good idea, said it
so many times. You can also write to us that
listen to the Middle dot com or on social media.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
I'm joined by former CNN Chief Local correspondent Candy Crowley,
and before we go back to the phones, Candy, this
is the first presidential election since January sixth, twenty twenty one.
It is the first since the Supreme Court overturned ROVERSUS weighed.
It is also, of course happening at a time when
prices are still high following a once in a century pandemic,
(13:55):
and even though the numbers have come down significantly, last
year saw a record number of illegal border crossings in
this country. What do you think this election is about
for voters?
Speaker 9 (14:05):
I have thought about that so much. It is about
all those things, and certainly for one issue voters there
you take, you know, take your pick there. There are
lots of women obviously voting on the Dobbs decision. Immigration
obviously is a big thing. But I think it's bigger
than that, and I haven't found the right word for
(14:26):
it yet. I think that there is a character element
going on here. I think it is not exactly a
popularity contest, but in some ways it feels like that,
like who do you like better? And I think it's
because of these attacks we see coming, you know, coming
at us from both sides, and I think it seems
(14:49):
like a larger election than the issues. I know that
sounds weird because there are a lot of people that
vote on the issues, but there's you know, it's the
old thing about who do you want to sit down
have a beer with. I'm not sure anybody wants to
have a beer either one of them. But I think
that there's some element that is larger. And I don't
know if it's a morality element or a tone element,
(15:11):
or a like, what do you want in a leader?
Do you not care what they say? Do you want
you want that leader of the free world to be
a certain person? I feel like that has a big
has a lot to do with it.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Let's go to Dawson, who's in Dallas, Texas. Dawson, welcome
to the middle. How are you feeling out of the election?
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Hi?
Speaker 16 (15:31):
Thanks for having me. Honestly, the most thing I could
say is nervous and just I think nervous is the
best way is. But it I'm eighteen, this is my
first election I voted, and it's just it's kind of
scary to see how divided we are and how one
side is just wanting to beat the other more than
to understand the other.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
So this is your first election, what makes you nervous?
Speaker 16 (15:53):
I've been in politics. I haven't been in politics myself
because live listen to my parents and I've kind of
learned from them, and I grew up very publican, but
then I've kind of learned and just wanted to briden
my horizons. And this selection is just very nervous for
me because I do know the past history of both candidates,
and one seemed to have been more radicalized than the other,
and I'm just worried about how, whether he wins or loses,
(16:14):
how that could display into his supporters and just everyone around.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
How are your friends talking about this? I mean, you're
you're an eighteen year old in Dallas. Are there conversations
going on about this?
Speaker 10 (16:28):
Oh?
Speaker 16 (16:28):
Yeah, all the time.
Speaker 17 (16:30):
I've so.
Speaker 16 (16:31):
At my work, we have a lot of my coworkers,
I say, I've talked to them. It's kind of like how, Hey,
how's it going. And a lot of them are just
saying that, like they're not voting or they're just not
shared because there's so much not anger, but just so
much energy on both sides to vote for the other.
And that's why I tried to take my time to
like really inform them, because I feel like that's the
thing that we're missing right now, is actual information and
being informed rather than just spewing hate or spewing random
(16:54):
facts that don't have any sources out at each other.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Let me ask you one more question, Dawson. Where do
you get your news about the election?
Speaker 16 (17:02):
So I mainly try to stay on social media's. I
do check mainstream sources like Fox, BBC, but I look
at them, check the titles, and I do my own research.
Do look at sources, see where I can find actual statings,
and just do your best on your own and try
to find multiple sources that say one thing.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Thank you so much for that call, and thanks for listening,
Candy Crowley. So interesting to hear that, especially because I've
heard Kamala Harrison. Every one of her rallies now go
after Generation Z. She is specifically calling them out in
every single rally that she does. Is the youth vote.
It's always elusive to the candidates actually go out and vote,
But what do you think about it?
Speaker 10 (17:41):
In this election?
Speaker 9 (17:45):
There are signs that they're energized, but they're all I
feel like pretty much every election, someone goes we're going
to get the young people out. We're going to and
then the young people say they're not talking about my issues,
and then we go back and forth, and in the end,
eighteen year olds have like the worst per Sandy show
ups at the voting booth. So I feel as though
(18:05):
there might be an uptick in that, And certainly there
was during the Obama elections. You saw upticks, particularly the
first one. So maybe the divisiveness of this one brings
out more people on all sides. Certainly seems that way
when you look at the lines and you see all
of the Secretary of States at various places saying this
(18:28):
is the most we've ever seen in early voting. I mean,
we'll see if that proves out on the day of voting,
but certainly we're seeing a lot of people vote, and
some of them have to be young people.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Well, let's go to Susan in Leewood, Kansas. Susan, welcome
to the middle. How are you feeling ahead of the election?
Speaker 18 (18:43):
Well, I would say disillusioned and sad. I'm seventy one
and so I can remember clearly it didn't.
Speaker 11 (18:53):
Used to be like this.
Speaker 18 (18:54):
It's only since Trump has come onto the political scene
that now we don't trust our elections, we don't trust
our our judicial system. It just didn't used to be
this way. You know, we did have the hanging chads
things like that. Those were legitimate and they got them
(19:15):
cleared up. But just randomly saying this election was stolen.
It just didn't used to be that way. And I'm
so sad that Trump has introduced this and now it
just seems like it's baked into our political system permanently.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Thank you for that call, Susan Candy Crowley, your thoughts
on that disillusionment from Susan, and especially worry about people
saying that the election is rigged, which we know that
there's no evidence of that.
Speaker 9 (19:43):
And already bringing lawsuits. I'd have to take these calls
break my heart because everybody's so despondent and upset.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Even the eighteen year old. I loved the eighteen year old.
Speaker 9 (19:53):
Though, yeah, okay, yes, and he's young, ho to go vote,
but he's still you know, anxious and worried about it.
It's like the I don't know whatever their joy was,
and the joy campaign it has not transmitted to the
people voting, obviously, But insofar as her point about being
baked in. I think it is exactly what it looks like,
(20:15):
which is kind of, you know, drawing the sting early
on so that if the Trump side does not win,
they're quite prepared to go and fight every place they
think there has been voter fraud, when we keep being
told over and over and over again that it's a
much better system, that every four years, every two years,
they get better. So at this point I believe the
(20:38):
secretaries of State and we'll see, but certainly every signal
we're getting out of the Trump campaign is that they
intend to fight this if he loses.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, let's go to Nancy and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Nancy in
a swing state, a very important part of a swing state.
How are you feeling ahead of the election.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
I am very nervous and I am praying a lot.
I'm hoping that Trump will win kind of savor nation.
He's the only person that can do it. He's got
the experience deal with Peutin and deal with a lot
of these other countries. Kamala has done nothing in four years.
(21:19):
He does not have the experience, and she cannot deal
with Putin and some of these other foreign countries.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
There in Pennsylvania. Nancy, do you do you have a
sense of whether Pennsylvania is going to go for Trump
or Kamala Harris based on the people that you're around.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
People that are around here are basically Democrats. I don't know.
That's why I'm doing a lot of praying. The people
that have lived here for many, many years had their
Trump signs in their front lawn, which makes me very happy.
Speaker 19 (21:57):
Do you have any friends.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Who are voting voting the other way?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Nancy?
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Do you speak with people who are voting for Kamala Harris?
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Say, right now it's fifty fifty.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yeah, well, thank you.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Your friends for voting. Yeah, I just I hope he wins,
because yeah, she just can't handle. They're afraid of Trump.
They don't know what he's going to do, so they
will listen to him. They will not get into World
War three.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Nancy, thank you very much for that call. Candy Crowley,
you can hear the nervousness there in Nancy's.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
Voice, right. I mean, like I said, both sides find
this a frightening election in terms of their worthy. The
other person's going to the other side's going to win.
So that's that's what you hear. When you go out.
Although I hear a lot more positivity, usually on the
Trump side, but if she's surrounded by Democrats, I can
see why she might be have anxiety at this point.
Speaker 10 (22:53):
What's coming in online?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Yeah, I was going to say, next episode has to
just be a therapist for one hour. We need to
simmer down, you know. Unfortunately, well, you know, not unfortunately,
but a lot of the comments we're getting online are
expressing anxiety too. Georgie and Cleveland, Ohio says I have
mentally checked out of the presidential race and we'll be
submitting a rite in candidate. My only hope is that
(23:15):
we come out of Tuesday with the divided government that
can lessen the damage. Linda and Colorado says my son
is far right and I've lost him once again to politics.
I told him no matter the results, we're all going
to have to live with them, so please, let's just
make the best of it. Last one. Alicia in Colorado
Springs says, I'm very stressed. I'm trying really hard to
keep my emotions in a box so that I don't
feel too much of one way or another. And I'm
(23:36):
also reminded that it probably won't even end on Tuesday, right,
you know, well, we're sitting here in a week talking
about this.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
You know, that's why, you know, it's very hard to
h to figure out how to promote our show for
next week because we have no idea what's going to
be going on. So let's let's listen to what Tom
in Cincinnati has to say. Tom, how are you feeling
ahead of the election.
Speaker 19 (23:58):
I don't like you. I don't want to vote for
either of them or wanting going to vote for either
of them. And I'm lean a little bit conservative. ALSOID
a lot of liberal viewpoints, like on certain things. But uh, honestly,
one of the things that's making me lean towards Trump
is just because of the fact you won't like to
hear it, but bas coverage on NPR, I mean it's
(24:18):
just non stop bashing the Trump always play bad remarks
or remarks or the receipt badly and the prinss and
and never do it for Hars. I mean there's always
one side it, you know, positive quote clips from Hairs
every night that don't say anything from Trump unless it's bad.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Because of the coverage that you hear. Because of the
coverage that you hear you're more likely to vote for Trump.
Speaker 10 (24:42):
That's what you're saying.
Speaker 19 (24:44):
The coverage from mpr'.
Speaker 10 (24:50):
NPR and MSNBC, right.
Speaker 19 (24:51):
It's so unfair because it's just so unfair. I mean,
I don't like Trump. I think the guy's e boy.
I think he's a jerk. I think he's a really
bad guy, like a lot of people think. I also
think there's some good things about the what he would
do with Ukraine, what he would do with China, what
he would do with the order, things like. Actually, but
I disagree with trying to export all the I like
(25:14):
immigrations myself, so and I agree with him on that.
I wish I think we need more immigrants, not uh
not lest but of course do that the right way
is the point. But anyway, I just think it's really unfair.
And when somebody called before and said, why wasn't he
an account for COVID? He beat the heck out of
them over COVID. And the guy did come up on
(25:34):
the vaccine, which he didn't get any credit for. And
you used to have nightly uh press conference. They have
all the experts there every time.
Speaker 14 (25:41):
Let me let me I think there.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Let me let me take your thoughts to Candy Crowley
because that's very interesting. Uh, what do you think of that,
Candy Crowley? You know what, he's probably not alone as
a person who who is.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Like, he's not alone. Neither is NPR.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (25:58):
The fact is that the trust in the media has fallen.
I think it's below Congress now, which is really low.
So there is a lot of that out there. I
think it comes with the territory, but not so much
of it comes with the territory. So there's a lot
of you know, it's the news business is sort of
(26:20):
constantly moving toward what do we do, how do we
make this more relevant? How do we make this? You know,
the opinion out there is that we're not fair, is
the opinion. I'd be interested to know if you thought
that Fox was fair. Right, So there's there's always I
think part of the problem is everybody's in their own
silo in terms of not let me take that back.
(26:43):
Cable news tends to be in a silo, and that's
what people can watch all day, right, you don't. I
don't know how many people sit down for the evening
news or listen to NPR all day. So I think
that brings about some of the I don't trust them
because you just hear one side of the story. But
you can hear the other side of the story if
(27:05):
you tune into the right place. So I think we
need to get I think that's the worst thing that's
happened to us is that under the guys of news,
everybody's moved to a corner and fights from that corner.
And I think that's that doesn't help.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Let's go to Carter in Golden Colorado. Carter, Welcome to
the middle.
Speaker 10 (27:24):
Go ahead.
Speaker 19 (27:24):
Hi.
Speaker 14 (27:26):
The very first election I was able to vote in
was in twenty sixteen I turned eighteen, So this is
my third election with Trump on the ticket. I'm excited
to vote for Kamala, which is nice because I was
not excited about Biden or Hillary. But overall, I'm just
excited for this election to be over. I'm ready for
(27:48):
the Trump era to be over. I'm excited to see
what politics is like post Trump, because this has just
been like so exhausting.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Thank you, Candy Crowley, what do you think about that?
Speaker 9 (28:03):
I think we've I was I was getting so excited.
You say I'm excited about the election, but she's excited
for it to be over which I think we have
found a lot of people for versality. I think everybody
will is looking forward to this being over. Unfortunately, I
don't think that's going to happen on the sixth. When
will it be over is now sort of the question?
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Right this we could be we could be counting for
a long time. There could be a lot of lawsuits
that come up. Obviously, January sixth has become a more
important date than it ever should have been, just because
of that's the when the certification happens. Do you think
that this is going to go on for a long
time or do you think that there's a chance we
know a lot by you know, Tuesday night like we
used to in the old.
Speaker 9 (28:41):
Days, right you could go to bed at a normal time, well, midnight,
one o'clock, something like that. I think that it will
take more than that evening. Now, maybe enough states with
enough electoral votes will come in and be definitive because
the margin is so great. But when the margins are
(29:01):
this small, you can't know. If somebody's up by ten
thousand votes and there's only eight thousand votes out there,
you can call a race and if you're looking at
you know, they look at the various counties and who's
how many votes are still left to be counted, that
kind of thing. So I think it's possible. I don't
think it's probable, you.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Know, Tolliver. A lot of people have looked at this
year twenty twenty four and said it reminds them of
the sort of turmoil of nineteen sixty eight, when the nation,
of course was in the midst of the Vietnam War.
There were the assassinations of Martin Luther King Junior, and
Bobby Kennedy had also just been assassinated before the election
that year.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Yeah, and that was the last time a sitting president
decided not to run for reelection, and it was Lyndon
Johnson's vice president who ended up running against Richard Nixon.
Here's the Democratic presidential candidate in nineteen sixty eight, Hubert Humphrey,
urging civility.
Speaker 20 (29:56):
We're not going to settle any problems by shouting. We're
not going to set any of our problems by violence.
We're not going to settle any of our problems by
people having catchphrases. We're going to settle our problems when
we settle down as neighbors and as Americans. When we
can learn to live together, when we can learn to
(30:18):
trust one another, when we can put faith in ourselves
and in our country.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Hubert Humphrey lost that election Tolliver, which was a three
way race with George Wallace also in the mix. Nixon
and Humphrey, though at the end of the day were
less than one percentage point apart. Wow, the popular vote,
which is funny because it was such a landslide electorally,
but in the actual popular vote it was very close.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Dang popular vote.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
We'll be right back with more of the middle. This
is the Middle. I'm Jeremy Hobson. This hour, we're asking you,
how are you feeling ahead of Tuesday's election? What are
your hopes and fears? You can call us at eight
four four four Middle. That's eight four four four six
four three three five three. You can also reach out
at least into the Middle dot com. I'm joined by
former CNN Chief lotical correspondent Candy Crowley. And Candy, let
(31:07):
me ask you before we go back to the phones,
what are you going to be watching for on election night?
For an early clue about what's happening.
Speaker 9 (31:15):
The East East Coast. Obviously, because their results come in
Pennsylvania's got I know everybody is probably really tired and
will never go visit Pennsylvania again because we've talked about
it so much. But nonetheless, Pennsylvania is huge. It's it
becomes so much more difficult for whoever loses Pennsylvania to
then find a way to get to their magic electoral
(31:38):
vote count. So that's to me. That kind of tells
you how the evening's going to go, and I think
turnout will tell us a little something. There are all
those counties that the real wonks can say, oh, now,
watch this county because it's never voted for a winter
or a loser before. And the only problem with those
sorts of things is there's always a first. So I
(32:00):
sort of go back to the tried and trude, which
is Pennsylvania has a huge number of electoral votes and
it's been hugely important in this and so has my
native Michigan. By the way, just want to.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
Put it in absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Let's go to Sharon in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Sharon, how
are you feeling ahead of the election?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Oh?
Speaker 14 (32:19):
Wow?
Speaker 17 (32:19):
First of all, can I say it's an honor to
be on the phone with Candy Crowley, A journalist who
is a journalist and was a journalist when journalists were journalists.
If that makes some sense, shirt?
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Can I do?
Speaker 19 (32:35):
I want a T shirt?
Speaker 17 (32:37):
We need more journalists Handy's rank first of all, longer.
I want to say that it suddenly occurred to me
as I was mailing my mail in ballot, But this
is the probably since I voted for Hillary Clinton many
many years ago. This is probably the first vote I've
(32:58):
ever made presidential vote where I wasn't voting for someone
but against the other candidate. And I think a lot
of people are doing it. It's like I can't stand
fill in the blank. Well, the other guy's not as
(33:18):
bad as that, so I'll vote for him or her.
The other thing is, I was really it amazes me
when I heard the young man a couple of calls
ahead talk about the things that mister Trump has done,
and yet he was going to vote for him. It's like,
(33:43):
I'm a little confused. And last but not rest I
believe I do not understand why when a candidate is
being questioned the journalist, the interviewer doesn't ask and how
are you going to do that? Specifically?
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 17 (34:05):
Thank you goody of it.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, Sharon, thank you very much for that call. Candy Curley,
I'll let your response, and she is such a huge fan.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
Of your Resulfah.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
First of all, Sharon, you've made my week, probably my
month and the year, So thank you very much. That's
so nice. I think she's getting at what I was
saying trying to say at the beginning, which is it's
about more than the policies and the plans. And maybe
the best way to put it is that people vote
for one or the other because they can't, not because
they like the person they're voting for, but because they
(34:36):
more dislike the other one. It's come up in other elections.
I just think it is on steroids in this election,
of the sort of visceral hatred that people seem to
have for the candidate they're not voting for. So I
think she's onto something that says, to me, it's just
more than what's your plan for this or what's your
(34:56):
plan for that? So why journalists don't ask a follow
up question? Very often they don't get one, but it's
a great question. They tend to come in sit downs,
and at this point, I have to tell you, the
candidates don't have very good answers for how they're going
to pay for something, how will you go about making
housing more affordable. We do have a part of a
plan from her about the twenty five thousand dollars for
(35:18):
new homeowners and that kind of thing. So, but getting
into specifics in a campaign hardly ever happens. I can
tell you.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Let's go to Tim, who's in Richardson, Texas. Tim, how
are you feeling about this election?
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Not good?
Speaker 21 (35:34):
I'm going to give you a really unvarnished opinion, then
no profanity, but real quickly. When Rob O Reagan was running,
we Neve in Ohio, my family and my mom went
to see a speech that he gave, and she came
home and she was absolutely furious because he had told
the crowd that his opponent, who I'm sorry but I
(35:54):
don't remember who that was at the time, but his
opponent was directly responsible for shutting down the main department
store in our town, which was absolutely false because all
the steel mills were closing and it was a very
depressed economical area. And she came home and she was
absolutely furious. And she never once voted for a Republican
ever again until she died in two thousand, which shows
(36:17):
you how just one thing that a politician can say.
Speaker 19 (36:21):
If it's if it's not true.
Speaker 21 (36:23):
Can can really influence how a voter thinks of a party.
The Endvarter's part is, I'm absolutely appalled and mystified that
Donald Trump, who is on the record, is a multiple
convicted felon, a convicted convicted of sexual assault, a trader
(36:47):
in this country, in that he kept top secret documents,
refused to return them, he wanted to have his vice
president hung. The list goes on and on and on.
How anybody seriously Republican or a Democrat in their right
mind could vote for somebody like that, or that's a.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Very good point, and it's another one Candy Crawley, somebody
saying that, you know, they're just mystified that people would
vote the way that they're not voting. I just want
to bring in a special guest who's joining us now.
That would be Univision anchor and Rique Oscevedo, who's actually
had town halls with both Trump and Harris in the
last few weeks. And Rique, thanks for joining us, and
(37:30):
I know you're joining us from outside of the country,
from Mexico City, right now, How is this what's the
anxiety level of this election outside of the United States,
and especially in you know, one of our closest allies, Mexico.
Speaker 15 (37:43):
It's extremely high, Jeremy. I think the level of anxiety
outside the US illustrates just how important this election is
for geopolitical purposes and for the world at a time
where we have two wars going on, one in Eastern
(38:05):
Europe the other in the Middle East, but also at
a time of extremely high uncertainty and regarding you know,
economic development in North America, energy independence, things like immigration
and security. So I think right up there with Ukraine
(38:28):
and probably the Middle East, in Mexico is keeping an
eye on this election more than any other country around
the world.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Do they have any sense, I mean, the people that
you're talking to in Mexico, let's say, do they have
any sense of who's going to win? Or are they
just kind of like it's a coin flip, just like
it looks in the United States.
Speaker 15 (38:50):
I think people understand it's a coin flip, but I've
been surprised by the level of sophistication there is now
in Mexico about the electoral college swing states, the issues
that mattered to American voters and their role in Mexico
has played in US presidential elections since twenty sixteen, when
(39:11):
Donald Trump decided to make Mexico a central part of
his campaign and his rhetoric. So I think people understand
what's happening. They there are very well aware of the
fact that after the election we had earlier this year
here in Mexico, this is the most consequential electoral process
(39:32):
for millions of Mexicans, both on this side and on
the other side of the border.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Right, let's go to Seth, who's in Barnard, Vermont. Seth,
how are you feeling ahead of this election?
Speaker 22 (39:43):
Yeah, Hi, there, good data you. Thank you for all
you do to protect our democracy. I'm optimistic. I'm really stoked.
We've been getting a number of signs that people are
more engaged in terms of the fact that they're able
to do mail in voting now. And on another note,
(40:04):
I would like to say that I'm calling from a
tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Vermont where
a book was written called It Can't Happen Here by
Sinclair Lewis, which discusses the scenario where the media is
underfunded and over time loses engagement because of the loss
(40:30):
of democracy within our populace.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Well, I'm going to focus on the first part of
what you said that because you're the first, the first
sign of hope we've heard in this entire show from
a caller, So Candy Crowley, I mean, it is true,
a lot of people are engaged, a lot of different
people that haven't been engaged before in the process.
Speaker 9 (40:48):
Yes, and that's a good thing. And I think he's
perfectly right when we see him so far. Again, I
don't know what if nobody shows up on the actual
election day on the fifth, so then we already have
the numbers and it doesn't become a blockbuster of a
voting day in terms of a voting period, in terms
of how many people come. But I think it looks
(41:08):
like that, and I do think that's hopeful. But I
do think that the next day, whoever wins will think
it's really hopeful, and whoever loses will not think it
was either enough people or too many, one of the two.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Jeremy. He also called you a protector of democracy. Yes,
that was on your CV.
Speaker 17 (41:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Greg in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania is with us. Greg, how are
you feeling ahead of the election, well.
Speaker 5 (41:34):
Like most people, it's quite nerve wracking, and I just
want to say, I'm I'm almost thirty five now and
I've been registered libertarian since since I could vote, and
I just feel like there's a bit of bias in
the media because I agree that Trump can sound like
(41:57):
an idiot, but I do think think the media can
take snippets of what he says and it makes him look,
you know, even more reckless. And it's almost like he's
gotten a little loose with his words. I've heard somewhere
(42:17):
since he was on the Apprentice. He's just gotten a
little looser, and it can be seen as like Alwa's
fascist and racist, and I think that's a overdrawn conclusion.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Greg, thank you for that. And Ricastevado, you actually had
Trump with you in a town hall. What do you
think about Greg's point that you know a lot of
people will say, well, don't take Trump literally. You know,
he different people. People that are big supporters of Trump
hear him in one way and other people hear him
in a different way.
Speaker 15 (42:56):
I think I love the question and I welcome the criticism.
I think it makes for a great discussion. First of all,
I think media is a lot of things media now
is like Kendy Crowley was saying, the Network News or
(43:17):
sixty Minutes or this show, but also someone on YouTube
just pedaling lies and conspiracy theories, or social media and
instant messaging. Media is such a broad concept, so I
always encourage people to look at media as they look
at food. They have to understand that now it's abundant,
(43:41):
is readily available, and it's not necessarily making you more
informed or have just access to better content. I think
people have to realize that with this sort of infinite
off for there are there are perils to what they're consuming.
(44:02):
So so first of all, I would say just sort
be more specific about what media means and more careful
about what you're consuming. The other part of the question
is how are we covering Trump? And you know, I
had a very controversial interview with President Trump where a
lot of people thought I gave him a lot of
space and was too soft on him, and I think
(44:25):
it was for me revealing to see that was the
reaction to an interview where I actually listened to what
he had to say and I allowed on thee sided voters,
especially Latinos, to hear from President Trump without necessarily having
a confrontation or sort of a false indignation just because
we were seeing right next to each other and I
(44:46):
was and I am a Latino or a Mexican.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Candy Crowley, you're your thoughts.
Speaker 9 (44:50):
I do think again, I mean, I go back to
how we're all in our own silos, and so if
you just watch one station, you come away thinking, oh,
he was taken out of context. The good journalists that
I know, and I know many are very aware of
taking people out of context, are very aware and either
set up a SoundBite with the context or let the
(45:12):
context run. So but I take the argument. I know
sometimes I used to think that that people criticizing the
media just didn't like the truth that they were hearing.
But I think with the and he spoke a lot
of he spoke as well as about who's funding the media,
I liked it a lot better when media, let's say
the Nightly News or Kronkite somebody like that they were
(45:35):
lost leaders. They didn't care if they made money. Now
news has to make money, and I think you get
a different product that way.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Just really quickly, this whole brew haha over Puerto Rico
and the comedians saying it was an island of trash?
Is that how much I've heard it spreading like wildfire?
What are you hearing about that among the Latino community
in the US?
Speaker 12 (45:56):
I agree.
Speaker 15 (45:57):
I think with the election just being right now now,
five days away last weekend might seem like a small thing,
a comedian making a joke during a political event, But
context matters, and I think that the timing matters as well.
A very small thing can become a very big thing,
and I think a lot of people felt offended by
those remarks, especially with the history Puerto Rico has had
(46:21):
politically in the US. So my point was going to say,
it was going to say, I think Greg is right
in having a critical approach to how he consumes media,
what he likes and we doesn't like. I think that
that speaks of Greg as a sophisticated consumer of news,
and we need.
Speaker 10 (46:39):
More of that.
Speaker 15 (46:41):
We need to be more accountable and understand something is
not working when journalism and the media has record low
credibility levels. Historically, we've never been so distrusted, So that's
that's something that should lend itself to self criticism.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
I Unfortunately, we don't even have time for me to
go to another call, but I'm going to go to
Candy Crawley for the last word here. Candy, what's your
advice to all of these very nervous listeners that we
have about how to handle what's about to happen in
this country on Tuesday, whatever it is.
Speaker 9 (47:15):
I'll tell them what I tell my kids, who are
equally nervous, and that is I sort of grew up
in the sixties, late sixties, early seventies, and the cities
were on fire due to racism. The two deaths that
you mentioned Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, there
were just it seemed to me at the time that
(47:37):
the world was on fire and I wouldn't see adulthood.
We got through it. We'll get through this. I'm confident
of it. I know people think it'll be the end
of the world if one or the other gets it,
but it's not true. It won't be the end of
our world. Those were you know, we were in Vietnam,
and you know, tens of thousands of young men, American
men were dying in a war a lot of people
(47:59):
didn't like. So we'll get through it, That's what I
would say.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Great advice to end on their former CNN Chief political
correspondent Candy Crowley and Univision anchor and Rique Acevedo. Thank
you both so much.
Speaker 10 (48:10):
For joining us.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Thank you, and next week We'll have no idea where
we will be except that we will be here taking
your calls, trying to make sense of the election with
guests that can talk about just about anything.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
As always, you can call in at eight four four
four Middle that's eight four four four six four three
three five three, or you can reach out at Listen
to the Middle dot com. Or you can also sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
The Middle is brought to you by LONGNOK Media, distributed
by Illinois Public Media and or Vana Illinois, and produced
by Harrison Patino, Danny Alexander, Sam Burmistas, and John Barth.
Our intern is an Akadessler. Our technical director is Jason Kroft.
Thanks to our podcast audience and the more than four
hundred and twenty public radio stations that are making it
possible for people across the country to Listen to the Middle,
(48:52):
We'll be back next week. I'm Jeremy Hobson.
Speaker 10 (48:54):
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 19 (49:14):
Thinking as
Support for the Middle comes from the Tiwani Foundation, making
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More information on how you can support the Middle at
Listen to the Middle dot com. Welcome to the Middle.
I'm Jeremy Hobson, along with our house DJ Tolliver and Tolliver.
(00:24):
I have to say, even at first of all, Happy Halloween,
Oh thank you. I can see what your face looks
like right now. You're in costume, but nobody else can.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So I'm mad no one else is dressed up.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
It's just well, I have to say, even after spending
so much time paying attention to the campaign and talking
to our listeners about it, I have no idea what
is going to happen, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
An election, come on, man, get with it. An election
happens Tuesday, that is true.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, we don't know what will happen after that and
how long it will take. But you know, I remember
when I was a business reporter, the worst thing for
the business world was uncertainty, and I think that's part
of what's going on right now. A lot of uncertainty
about what's going to happen. We will say whatever happens,
we will be back here every week trying to provide
a space for people who may disagree to talk about
the important issues in a civil way. The middle will
(01:12):
still exist after this election. But this hour we want
to hear from you. How are you feeling, what are
your hopes and your fears about this election. We'll get
to your calls in a moment at eight four four
four Middle. That's eight four four four six four three
three five three. But first, last week we were in
Las Vegas and asking you whether or not you trust
the polls in the lead up to the election. I
have to say I'm with those of you who did
(01:33):
not really trust them. But here are some of the
voicemails that came in after the show.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
My name is Anne Gable from Colorado. Do we trust poles?
My answer is no, absolutely not, because they can be
biased in any way and unless you are knowing their
questions and how they're a phrase, anything can come out
of that.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
My name is.
Speaker 7 (01:52):
Isaac and calling from Columbas, Ohio. Because I'm from jimc.
I feel that my generation is not hold the same
as the older generations and to the point about the
scam called I often don't answer unknown numbers, so it
feels like the information may not be entirely representative, especially
of the newer generation of voters.
Speaker 8 (02:13):
Hi, this is Jennifer from Tempe, Arizona. We have endless polls,
limitless numbers of poll after poll after poll, but there's
only one vote. The poll will never be a vote,
so now I don't trust the polls.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Well, thanks to everyone who called in, and you can
hear that entire episode on our podcast in partnership with
iHeart Podcasts, on the iHeart app or wherever you listen
to podcasts. So now to our topic this hour, how
are you feeling about the election? Both of the candidates,
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have repeatedly told their followers
that the country will be in fundamental danger should their
opponent win. Trump has been called, including by Republicans who
(02:49):
worked with him at the highest levels, a fascist. On
the other hand, Trump has said the country quote would
be finished if Kamala Harris is elected president, and still
about half of American voters are likely to support each
of them. It just depends on how the voters in
those swing states, mostly in the geographic middle, by the way, decide.
So we want to hear from you hopes, fears, some
hopes would be nice, Tulliver, let's have the number again, please.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, it's eight four four four Middle. That's eight four
four four six four three three five three. Or you
can write to us a listen to the Middle dot
com and.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Joining us as we take your calls. Is former anchor
and longtime journalist Candy Crowley. For years, she hosted State
of the Union on CNN and also served as the
network's chief political correspondent. Candy, great to have you back
on the Middle.
Speaker 9 (03:32):
Thanks, it's good to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
So I was trying to think about what election we
compare this to, if that's even possible.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Is it like.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Twenty twelve, when you know Obama painted Romney as an
out of touch rich guy. Is it like two thousand
when Al Gore the vice president, tried to distance himself
from the president Bill Clinton and ended up losing just barely.
Or will it be like a Reagan landslide in nineteen
eighty coming off of terrible inflation or something else completely.
Speaker 9 (04:00):
I'd scratched the rig and landslife scenario, but you know.
To me, the structure is the same, but the back
and forth is coarser and more vehement. They say it's
the closest election ever. I feel like I've heard that
before in other elections. But nonetheless it is close, but
(04:22):
I feel like the temperature of the race and the
tenor of the race is different than anything I've seen.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
We just did that whole episode on polls last week.
You heard some of those callers. How much do you
trust what the polls have been saying at this point?
Speaker 9 (04:40):
Well, my big probably polls is they sort of suck
the fun out of it, right. It's like it's way
more fun to kind of go into something where you
don't exactly know what's going to happen. Is like Christmas eve, Right,
you know what you wish for, but you don't know
what you're going to get. But now I have to say,
I know some really smart people who do polls every
time they go through an election. Let's say the Hillary
(05:03):
Clinton Donald Trump election, when all the polls sort of
so it would go one way and then it went
Trump's way. That they learn things from that, and it's
not as though they're randomly calling people or or when
they do call people. They don't get demographics. I mean
they know how many or what the percentage of the
(05:24):
people between ages eighteen and twenty five vote, what's the
percentage there, and so they factor all that stuff in.
It's a really complicated process. But having said that, they've
been wrong to a certain extent. I don't think to
as much of an extent as the public thinks, but
certainly it is. Any postural set was just a snapshot
(05:46):
in time. So what you heard yesterday is only what
people felt yesterday, and we don't know how they're going
to feel next Tuesday. So do I trust them? I
kind of is that an answer?
Speaker 1 (05:56):
What do you look at? You as a political watcher
for so many years, what are you looking at right
now to try to figure out because obviously you can't know,
but there's so much anxiety in there right now. Is
there anything that you look at to say, well, it
looks like it's going this way trajectory?
Speaker 9 (06:12):
But I have to say, in the last what three
four weeks, there's been no trajectory on either side. It's
kind of been forty eight, forty eight, forty ninety seven,
forty you know, which is basically as you know, ad nauseum.
We are told a dead heat. So what I look
at is when what they the internals of the pole,
(06:34):
and when I can get them. And I'm always writing
friends saying, send me what you've got. So it's, you know,
looking at what about Trump's base? What are they looking
like in terms of turning out? Now they have these
exit poles, I'm sorry, not exit poles. They've learned from
the ballots that have been cast certain things, and so
everyone's looking at analyzing whose voters are coming out, But
(06:56):
of course you don't know how those voters are actually voted.
So I tend to look at the demographics of the polls, like,
how did young white men vote? Say on the poll,
I'm sorry, how did How did young white men respond?
How did middle aged women respond? How did older people respond?
Because that kind of tells you. Once you match that
(07:19):
up with who's showing up at the polls, it can
be interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Let's go to the phones because they're lighting up. Jeff
is in Chicago. Jeff, welcome to the middle What are
your hopes and fears here?
Speaker 10 (07:30):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 11 (07:31):
Yeah, I'm very worried. I normally don't let things that
I'm not under control of affect me, But this one
really does worry me. I mean, we're talking about a
potential fascist, vengeful autocracy being founded, which is the biggest
break from what it is to be in America, I
(07:51):
think since the Civil War.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So what are you most worried about there? I assume
you're talking about Donald Trump? What are you most worried about?
Do you think that he's going to win the election?
Speaker 11 (08:02):
You know, I have no idea who's going to win
the election. I mean, it's incomprehensible to me that anyone
would both the guy. He's talked about making the DOJ
go after people who have criticized him. Companies have obeyed
in advanced as Tim Snyder has said, by you know,
(08:24):
like the La Times or the Washington Post. He's talked
about going after enemies of the people, enemies of the state,
talk about replacing the civil service, which was put in
place in the late nineteenth century because of the spoil
system with loyalist flax. This is so deeply Unamerican. It's
incomprehensible that we have to let this happen. And yet
(08:47):
here it is.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Jeff, thank you for that Candy Crowley. One thing that
Jeff just said there that I think is really interesting,
and I bet we're going to hear a lot of
this is people that are voting one way cannot understand
how people could possibly vote the other way. It's like
they don't know their neighbors.
Speaker 9 (09:02):
Yeah, that's all anybody says to me. And it's particularly
true on those who intend to vote for the vice president.
I don't get it. How can with all these daily
things that go on and revelations and all this kind
of stuff, and the things he says and the things
that people around him say, how could anybody has to
vote for this man? On the other hand, I would say,
(09:23):
on the other side, there's less of that and more
positivity that they're going to win. Now, this is even
worse than a poll. This is me talking to random people.
But you know, I don't get that same sense of Holy,
how these people are you know, not listening. I get
more like, Hey, we've got this, you know we're going
(09:45):
to win this.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Let's go to Nick in Manhassean on Long Island, New York. Nick,
what are you feeling about this election?
Speaker 12 (09:54):
I feel like I feel like we're all passengers on
the Titanic and Donald Trump the iceberg, and I don't
think we can survive if he wins. As the previous
caller said, he has shown fascist tendencies, and he has
(10:14):
the emotional maturity of a four year old and the
attention span of a four year old. And I'd like
to ask your guests, Ms Crowley, how come the media
gave him a free pass for his mishandling of the
COVID pandemic. If Kamala Harris is responsible for all the
actions under Biden while she served as VT, why does
(10:37):
Trump get a free pass for COVID. He was a
source of disinformation and he responded very slowly to that,
and we lost almost half a million lives.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Let's let's let Candy respond to that and not maybe.
I mean, you can answer about COVID or however you want.
But also there are people that believe that he's getting
a pass from the media on things that other candidates
would not get a pass for, right.
Speaker 9 (11:04):
I mean, there's two ways I would specifically answer the
COVID question and say, I can't speak for I did
see some COVID things, But I think the best answer
for that is this is drinking from a fire hose
every day there's something else, and there's I know that
twenty four hour networks. You would think, well, wait a minute,
they got twenty four hours, but it doesn't quite work
(11:24):
like that. And you know, but I think that the
criticism is valid. I don't know if it's as bad
as it seems, because I do think again that there's
so much coming at you at one time that you
can't report all of it, like everything that Donald Trump
(11:46):
said or everything that Harris said. So there's that, but
that does that in no way, in any way sort
of gives forgiveness to the times that there were things.
I think actually the first first election, there was very valid,
very valid criticism of the way the coverage went for Trump.
Speaker 10 (12:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Well, Tolliver, I'm old enough to remember when a candidate
would defend the candidate in the other party when one
of their supporters said something that was not true.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
That wasn't so long ago. But I think you might
be talking about this clip in a town hall during
the late Senator John McCain's campaign against Barack Obama in
two thousand and eight, I got.
Speaker 13 (12:24):
To ask you a question.
Speaker 8 (12:25):
I do not believe in.
Speaker 13 (12:27):
I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and
he's not. He's not he's a he's an Arab. He
is not no man, no.
Speaker 14 (12:38):
No man, no ma'am.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
He's a.
Speaker 15 (12:41):
He's a.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
He's a decent family man, citizen that I just happened
to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And that's what
this campaign is all about.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That is unfathomable.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
That was then, and this is now. We'll be right
back with more of your calls on the Middle. This
is the Middle. I'm Jeremy Hobson. If you're just tuning
in the Middle as a national call in show focused
on elevating voices from the middle geographically, politically and philosophically,
or maybe you just want to meet in the middle.
This hour, we're asking you, how are you feeling ahead
of Tuesday's election? What are your hopes and your fears? Tolliver,
(13:16):
what is our number?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
It's eight four four four Middle. That's eight four four
four six four three three five three Jeremy. Next year,
I'm going as that phone number. I'm just gonna tattoo
it on my head. That's a good idea, said it
so many times. You can also write to us that
listen to the Middle dot com or on social media.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
I'm joined by former CNN Chief Local correspondent Candy Crowley,
and before we go back to the phones, Candy, this
is the first presidential election since January sixth, twenty twenty one.
It is the first since the Supreme Court overturned ROVERSUS weighed.
It is also, of course happening at a time when
prices are still high following a once in a century pandemic,
(13:55):
and even though the numbers have come down significantly, last
year saw a record number of illegal border crossings in
this country. What do you think this election is about
for voters?
Speaker 9 (14:05):
I have thought about that so much. It is about
all those things, and certainly for one issue voters there
you take, you know, take your pick there. There are
lots of women obviously voting on the Dobbs decision. Immigration
obviously is a big thing. But I think it's bigger
than that, and I haven't found the right word for
(14:26):
it yet. I think that there is a character element
going on here. I think it is not exactly a
popularity contest, but in some ways it feels like that,
like who do you like better? And I think it's
because of these attacks we see coming, you know, coming
at us from both sides, and I think it seems
(14:49):
like a larger election than the issues. I know that
sounds weird because there are a lot of people that
vote on the issues, but there's you know, it's the
old thing about who do you want to sit down
have a beer with. I'm not sure anybody wants to
have a beer either one of them. But I think
that there's some element that is larger. And I don't
know if it's a morality element or a tone element,
(15:11):
or a like, what do you want in a leader?
Do you not care what they say? Do you want
you want that leader of the free world to be
a certain person? I feel like that has a big
has a lot to do with it.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Let's go to Dawson, who's in Dallas, Texas. Dawson, welcome
to the middle. How are you feeling out of the election?
Speaker 5 (15:31):
Hi?
Speaker 16 (15:31):
Thanks for having me. Honestly, the most thing I could
say is nervous and just I think nervous is the
best way is. But it I'm eighteen, this is my
first election I voted, and it's just it's kind of
scary to see how divided we are and how one
side is just wanting to beat the other more than
to understand the other.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
So this is your first election, what makes you nervous?
Speaker 16 (15:53):
I've been in politics. I haven't been in politics myself
because live listen to my parents and I've kind of
learned from them, and I grew up very publican, but
then I've kind of learned and just wanted to briden
my horizons. And this selection is just very nervous for
me because I do know the past history of both candidates,
and one seemed to have been more radicalized than the other,
and I'm just worried about how, whether he wins or loses,
(16:14):
how that could display into his supporters and just everyone around.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
How are your friends talking about this? I mean, you're
you're an eighteen year old in Dallas. Are there conversations
going on about this?
Speaker 10 (16:28):
Oh?
Speaker 16 (16:28):
Yeah, all the time.
Speaker 17 (16:30):
I've so.
Speaker 16 (16:31):
At my work, we have a lot of my coworkers,
I say, I've talked to them. It's kind of like how, Hey,
how's it going. And a lot of them are just
saying that, like they're not voting or they're just not
shared because there's so much not anger, but just so
much energy on both sides to vote for the other.
And that's why I tried to take my time to
like really inform them, because I feel like that's the
thing that we're missing right now, is actual information and
being informed rather than just spewing hate or spewing random
(16:54):
facts that don't have any sources out at each other.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Let me ask you one more question, Dawson. Where do
you get your news about the election?
Speaker 16 (17:02):
So I mainly try to stay on social media's. I
do check mainstream sources like Fox, BBC, but I look
at them, check the titles, and I do my own research.
Do look at sources, see where I can find actual statings,
and just do your best on your own and try
to find multiple sources that say one thing.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Thank you so much for that call, and thanks for listening,
Candy Crowley. So interesting to hear that, especially because I've
heard Kamala Harrison. Every one of her rallies now go
after Generation Z. She is specifically calling them out in
every single rally that she does. Is the youth vote.
It's always elusive to the candidates actually go out and vote,
But what do you think about it?
Speaker 10 (17:41):
In this election?
Speaker 9 (17:45):
There are signs that they're energized, but they're all I
feel like pretty much every election, someone goes we're going
to get the young people out. We're going to and
then the young people say they're not talking about my issues,
and then we go back and forth, and in the end,
eighteen year olds have like the worst per Sandy show
ups at the voting booth. So I feel as though
(18:05):
there might be an uptick in that, And certainly there
was during the Obama elections. You saw upticks, particularly the
first one. So maybe the divisiveness of this one brings
out more people on all sides. Certainly seems that way
when you look at the lines and you see all
of the Secretary of States at various places saying this
(18:28):
is the most we've ever seen in early voting. I mean,
we'll see if that proves out on the day of voting,
but certainly we're seeing a lot of people vote, and
some of them have to be young people.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Well, let's go to Susan in Leewood, Kansas. Susan, welcome
to the middle. How are you feeling ahead of the election?
Speaker 18 (18:43):
Well, I would say disillusioned and sad. I'm seventy one
and so I can remember clearly it didn't.
Speaker 11 (18:53):
Used to be like this.
Speaker 18 (18:54):
It's only since Trump has come onto the political scene
that now we don't trust our elections, we don't trust
our our judicial system. It just didn't used to be
this way. You know, we did have the hanging chads
things like that. Those were legitimate and they got them
(19:15):
cleared up. But just randomly saying this election was stolen.
It just didn't used to be that way. And I'm
so sad that Trump has introduced this and now it
just seems like it's baked into our political system permanently.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Thank you for that call, Susan Candy Crowley, your thoughts
on that disillusionment from Susan, and especially worry about people
saying that the election is rigged, which we know that
there's no evidence of that.
Speaker 9 (19:43):
And already bringing lawsuits. I'd have to take these calls
break my heart because everybody's so despondent and upset.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Even the eighteen year old. I loved the eighteen year old.
Speaker 9 (19:53):
Though, yeah, okay, yes, and he's young, ho to go vote,
but he's still you know, anxious and worried about it.
It's like the I don't know whatever their joy was,
and the joy campaign it has not transmitted to the
people voting, obviously, But insofar as her point about being
baked in. I think it is exactly what it looks like,
(20:15):
which is kind of, you know, drawing the sting early
on so that if the Trump side does not win,
they're quite prepared to go and fight every place they
think there has been voter fraud, when we keep being
told over and over and over again that it's a
much better system, that every four years, every two years,
they get better. So at this point I believe the
(20:38):
secretaries of State and we'll see, but certainly every signal
we're getting out of the Trump campaign is that they
intend to fight this if he loses.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, let's go to Nancy and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Nancy in
a swing state, a very important part of a swing state.
How are you feeling ahead of the election.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
I am very nervous and I am praying a lot.
I'm hoping that Trump will win kind of savor nation.
He's the only person that can do it. He's got
the experience deal with Peutin and deal with a lot
of these other countries. Kamala has done nothing in four years.
(21:19):
He does not have the experience, and she cannot deal
with Putin and some of these other foreign countries.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
There in Pennsylvania. Nancy, do you do you have a
sense of whether Pennsylvania is going to go for Trump
or Kamala Harris based on the people that you're around.
Speaker 6 (21:39):
People that are around here are basically Democrats. I don't know.
That's why I'm doing a lot of praying. The people
that have lived here for many, many years had their
Trump signs in their front lawn, which makes me very happy.
Speaker 19 (21:57):
Do you have any friends.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Who are voting voting the other way?
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Nancy?
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Do you speak with people who are voting for Kamala Harris?
Speaker 6 (22:04):
Say, right now it's fifty fifty.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Yeah, well, thank you.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Your friends for voting. Yeah, I just I hope he wins,
because yeah, she just can't handle. They're afraid of Trump.
They don't know what he's going to do, so they
will listen to him. They will not get into World
War three.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Nancy, thank you very much for that call. Candy Crowley,
you can hear the nervousness there in Nancy's.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
Voice, right. I mean, like I said, both sides find
this a frightening election in terms of their worthy. The
other person's going to the other side's going to win.
So that's that's what you hear. When you go out.
Although I hear a lot more positivity, usually on the
Trump side, but if she's surrounded by Democrats, I can
see why she might be have anxiety at this point.
Speaker 10 (22:53):
What's coming in online?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Yeah, I was going to say, next episode has to
just be a therapist for one hour. We need to
simmer down, you know. Unfortunately, well, you know, not unfortunately,
but a lot of the comments we're getting online are
expressing anxiety too. Georgie and Cleveland, Ohio says I have
mentally checked out of the presidential race and we'll be
submitting a rite in candidate. My only hope is that
(23:15):
we come out of Tuesday with the divided government that
can lessen the damage. Linda and Colorado says my son
is far right and I've lost him once again to politics.
I told him no matter the results, we're all going
to have to live with them, so please, let's just
make the best of it. Last one. Alicia in Colorado
Springs says, I'm very stressed. I'm trying really hard to
keep my emotions in a box so that I don't
feel too much of one way or another. And I'm
(23:36):
also reminded that it probably won't even end on Tuesday, right,
you know, well, we're sitting here in a week talking
about this.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
You know, that's why, you know, it's very hard to
h to figure out how to promote our show for
next week because we have no idea what's going to
be going on. So let's let's listen to what Tom
in Cincinnati has to say. Tom, how are you feeling
ahead of the election.
Speaker 19 (23:58):
I don't like you. I don't want to vote for
either of them or wanting going to vote for either
of them. And I'm lean a little bit conservative. ALSOID
a lot of liberal viewpoints, like on certain things. But uh, honestly,
one of the things that's making me lean towards Trump
is just because of the fact you won't like to
hear it, but bas coverage on NPR, I mean it's
(24:18):
just non stop bashing the Trump always play bad remarks
or remarks or the receipt badly and the prinss and
and never do it for Hars. I mean there's always
one side it, you know, positive quote clips from Hairs
every night that don't say anything from Trump unless it's bad.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Because of the coverage that you hear. Because of the
coverage that you hear you're more likely to vote for Trump.
Speaker 10 (24:42):
That's what you're saying.
Speaker 19 (24:44):
The coverage from mpr'.
Speaker 10 (24:50):
NPR and MSNBC, right.
Speaker 19 (24:51):
It's so unfair because it's just so unfair. I mean,
I don't like Trump. I think the guy's e boy.
I think he's a jerk. I think he's a really
bad guy, like a lot of people think. I also
think there's some good things about the what he would
do with Ukraine, what he would do with China, what
he would do with the order, things like. Actually, but
I disagree with trying to export all the I like
(25:14):
immigrations myself, so and I agree with him on that.
I wish I think we need more immigrants, not uh
not lest but of course do that the right way
is the point. But anyway, I just think it's really unfair.
And when somebody called before and said, why wasn't he
an account for COVID? He beat the heck out of
them over COVID. And the guy did come up on
(25:34):
the vaccine, which he didn't get any credit for. And
you used to have nightly uh press conference. They have
all the experts there every time.
Speaker 14 (25:41):
Let me let me I think there.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Let me let me take your thoughts to Candy Crowley
because that's very interesting. Uh, what do you think of that,
Candy Crowley? You know what, he's probably not alone as
a person who who is.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Like, he's not alone. Neither is NPR.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
You know.
Speaker 9 (25:58):
The fact is that the trust in the media has fallen.
I think it's below Congress now, which is really low.
So there is a lot of that out there. I
think it comes with the territory, but not so much
of it comes with the territory. So there's a lot
of you know, it's the news business is sort of
(26:20):
constantly moving toward what do we do, how do we
make this more relevant? How do we make this? You know,
the opinion out there is that we're not fair, is
the opinion. I'd be interested to know if you thought
that Fox was fair. Right, So there's there's always I
think part of the problem is everybody's in their own
silo in terms of not let me take that back.
(26:43):
Cable news tends to be in a silo, and that's
what people can watch all day, right, you don't. I
don't know how many people sit down for the evening
news or listen to NPR all day. So I think
that brings about some of the I don't trust them
because you just hear one side of the story. But
you can hear the other side of the story if
(27:05):
you tune into the right place. So I think we
need to get I think that's the worst thing that's
happened to us is that under the guys of news,
everybody's moved to a corner and fights from that corner.
And I think that's that doesn't help.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Let's go to Carter in Golden Colorado. Carter, Welcome to
the middle.
Speaker 10 (27:24):
Go ahead.
Speaker 19 (27:24):
Hi.
Speaker 14 (27:26):
The very first election I was able to vote in
was in twenty sixteen I turned eighteen, So this is
my third election with Trump on the ticket. I'm excited
to vote for Kamala, which is nice because I was
not excited about Biden or Hillary. But overall, I'm just
excited for this election to be over. I'm ready for
(27:48):
the Trump era to be over. I'm excited to see
what politics is like post Trump, because this has just
been like so exhausting.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Thank you, Candy Crowley, what do you think about that?
Speaker 9 (28:03):
I think we've I was I was getting so excited.
You say I'm excited about the election, but she's excited
for it to be over which I think we have
found a lot of people for versality. I think everybody
will is looking forward to this being over. Unfortunately, I
don't think that's going to happen on the sixth. When
will it be over is now sort of the question?
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Right this we could be we could be counting for
a long time. There could be a lot of lawsuits
that come up. Obviously, January sixth has become a more
important date than it ever should have been, just because
of that's the when the certification happens. Do you think
that this is going to go on for a long
time or do you think that there's a chance we
know a lot by you know, Tuesday night like we
used to in the old.
Speaker 9 (28:41):
Days, right you could go to bed at a normal time, well, midnight,
one o'clock, something like that. I think that it will
take more than that evening. Now, maybe enough states with
enough electoral votes will come in and be definitive because
the margin is so great. But when the margins are
(29:01):
this small, you can't know. If somebody's up by ten
thousand votes and there's only eight thousand votes out there,
you can call a race and if you're looking at
you know, they look at the various counties and who's
how many votes are still left to be counted, that
kind of thing. So I think it's possible. I don't
think it's probable, you.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Know, Tolliver. A lot of people have looked at this
year twenty twenty four and said it reminds them of
the sort of turmoil of nineteen sixty eight, when the nation,
of course was in the midst of the Vietnam War.
There were the assassinations of Martin Luther King Junior, and
Bobby Kennedy had also just been assassinated before the election
that year.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Yeah, and that was the last time a sitting president
decided not to run for reelection, and it was Lyndon
Johnson's vice president who ended up running against Richard Nixon.
Here's the Democratic presidential candidate in nineteen sixty eight, Hubert Humphrey,
urging civility.
Speaker 20 (29:56):
We're not going to settle any problems by shouting. We're
not going to set any of our problems by violence.
We're not going to settle any of our problems by
people having catchphrases. We're going to settle our problems when
we settle down as neighbors and as Americans. When we
can learn to live together, when we can learn to
(30:18):
trust one another, when we can put faith in ourselves
and in our country.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Hubert Humphrey lost that election Tolliver, which was a three
way race with George Wallace also in the mix. Nixon
and Humphrey, though at the end of the day were
less than one percentage point apart. Wow, the popular vote,
which is funny because it was such a landslide electorally,
but in the actual popular vote it was very close.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Dang popular vote.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
We'll be right back with more of the middle. This
is the Middle. I'm Jeremy Hobson. This hour, we're asking you,
how are you feeling ahead of Tuesday's election? What are
your hopes and fears? You can call us at eight
four four four Middle. That's eight four four four six
four three three five three. You can also reach out
at least into the Middle dot com. I'm joined by
former CNN Chief lotical correspondent Candy Crowley. And Candy, let
(31:07):
me ask you before we go back to the phones,
what are you going to be watching for on election night?
For an early clue about what's happening.
Speaker 9 (31:15):
The East East Coast. Obviously, because their results come in
Pennsylvania's got I know everybody is probably really tired and
will never go visit Pennsylvania again because we've talked about
it so much. But nonetheless, Pennsylvania is huge. It's it
becomes so much more difficult for whoever loses Pennsylvania to
then find a way to get to their magic electoral
(31:38):
vote count. So that's to me. That kind of tells
you how the evening's going to go, and I think
turnout will tell us a little something. There are all
those counties that the real wonks can say, oh, now,
watch this county because it's never voted for a winter
or a loser before. And the only problem with those
sorts of things is there's always a first. So I
(32:00):
sort of go back to the tried and trude, which
is Pennsylvania has a huge number of electoral votes and
it's been hugely important in this and so has my
native Michigan. By the way, just want to.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
Put it in absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Let's go to Sharon in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Sharon, how
are you feeling ahead of the election?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Oh?
Speaker 14 (32:19):
Wow?
Speaker 17 (32:19):
First of all, can I say it's an honor to
be on the phone with Candy Crowley, A journalist who
is a journalist and was a journalist when journalists were journalists.
If that makes some sense, shirt?
Speaker 11 (32:33):
Can I do?
Speaker 19 (32:35):
I want a T shirt?
Speaker 17 (32:37):
We need more journalists Handy's rank first of all, longer.
I want to say that it suddenly occurred to me
as I was mailing my mail in ballot, But this
is the probably since I voted for Hillary Clinton many
many years ago. This is probably the first vote I've
(32:58):
ever made presidential vote where I wasn't voting for someone
but against the other candidate. And I think a lot
of people are doing it. It's like I can't stand
fill in the blank. Well, the other guy's not as
(33:18):
bad as that, so I'll vote for him or her.
The other thing is, I was really it amazes me
when I heard the young man a couple of calls
ahead talk about the things that mister Trump has done,
and yet he was going to vote for him. It's like,
(33:43):
I'm a little confused. And last but not rest I
believe I do not understand why when a candidate is
being questioned the journalist, the interviewer doesn't ask and how
are you going to do that? Specifically?
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 17 (34:05):
Thank you goody of it.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, Sharon, thank you very much for that call. Candy Curley,
I'll let your response, and she is such a huge fan.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
Of your Resulfah.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
First of all, Sharon, you've made my week, probably my
month and the year, So thank you very much. That's
so nice. I think she's getting at what I was
saying trying to say at the beginning, which is it's
about more than the policies and the plans. And maybe
the best way to put it is that people vote
for one or the other because they can't, not because
they like the person they're voting for, but because they
(34:36):
more dislike the other one. It's come up in other elections.
I just think it is on steroids in this election,
of the sort of visceral hatred that people seem to
have for the candidate they're not voting for. So I
think she's onto something that says, to me, it's just
more than what's your plan for this or what's your
(34:56):
plan for that? So why journalists don't ask a follow
up question? Very often they don't get one, but it's
a great question. They tend to come in sit downs,
and at this point, I have to tell you, the
candidates don't have very good answers for how they're going
to pay for something, how will you go about making
housing more affordable. We do have a part of a
plan from her about the twenty five thousand dollars for
(35:18):
new homeowners and that kind of thing. So, but getting
into specifics in a campaign hardly ever happens. I can
tell you.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Let's go to Tim, who's in Richardson, Texas. Tim, how
are you feeling about this election?
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Not good?
Speaker 21 (35:34):
I'm going to give you a really unvarnished opinion, then
no profanity, but real quickly. When Rob O Reagan was running,
we Neve in Ohio, my family and my mom went
to see a speech that he gave, and she came
home and she was absolutely furious because he had told
the crowd that his opponent, who I'm sorry but I
(35:54):
don't remember who that was at the time, but his
opponent was directly responsible for shutting down the main department
store in our town, which was absolutely false because all
the steel mills were closing and it was a very
depressed economical area. And she came home and she was
absolutely furious. And she never once voted for a Republican
ever again until she died in two thousand, which shows
(36:17):
you how just one thing that a politician can say.
Speaker 19 (36:21):
If it's if it's not true.
Speaker 21 (36:23):
Can can really influence how a voter thinks of a party.
The Endvarter's part is, I'm absolutely appalled and mystified that
Donald Trump, who is on the record, is a multiple
convicted felon, a convicted convicted of sexual assault, a trader
(36:47):
in this country, in that he kept top secret documents,
refused to return them, he wanted to have his vice
president hung. The list goes on and on and on.
How anybody seriously Republican or a Democrat in their right
mind could vote for somebody like that, or that's a.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
Very good point, and it's another one Candy Crawley, somebody
saying that, you know, they're just mystified that people would
vote the way that they're not voting. I just want
to bring in a special guest who's joining us now.
That would be Univision anchor and Rique Oscevedo, who's actually
had town halls with both Trump and Harris in the
last few weeks. And Rique, thanks for joining us, and
(37:30):
I know you're joining us from outside of the country,
from Mexico City, right now, How is this what's the
anxiety level of this election outside of the United States,
and especially in you know, one of our closest allies, Mexico.
Speaker 15 (37:43):
It's extremely high, Jeremy. I think the level of anxiety
outside the US illustrates just how important this election is
for geopolitical purposes and for the world at a time
where we have two wars going on, one in Eastern
(38:05):
Europe the other in the Middle East, but also at
a time of extremely high uncertainty and regarding you know,
economic development in North America, energy independence, things like immigration
and security. So I think right up there with Ukraine
(38:28):
and probably the Middle East, in Mexico is keeping an
eye on this election more than any other country around
the world.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Do they have any sense, I mean, the people that
you're talking to in Mexico, let's say, do they have
any sense of who's going to win? Or are they
just kind of like it's a coin flip, just like
it looks in the United States.
Speaker 15 (38:50):
I think people understand it's a coin flip, but I've
been surprised by the level of sophistication there is now
in Mexico about the electoral college swing states, the issues
that mattered to American voters and their role in Mexico
has played in US presidential elections since twenty sixteen, when
(39:11):
Donald Trump decided to make Mexico a central part of
his campaign and his rhetoric. So I think people understand
what's happening. They there are very well aware of the
fact that after the election we had earlier this year
here in Mexico, this is the most consequential electoral process
(39:32):
for millions of Mexicans, both on this side and on
the other side of the border.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
Right, let's go to Seth, who's in Barnard, Vermont. Seth,
how are you feeling ahead of this election?
Speaker 22 (39:43):
Yeah, Hi, there, good data you. Thank you for all
you do to protect our democracy. I'm optimistic. I'm really stoked.
We've been getting a number of signs that people are
more engaged in terms of the fact that they're able
to do mail in voting now. And on another note,
(40:04):
I would like to say that I'm calling from a
tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Vermont where
a book was written called It Can't Happen Here by
Sinclair Lewis, which discusses the scenario where the media is
underfunded and over time loses engagement because of the loss
(40:30):
of democracy within our populace.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Well, I'm going to focus on the first part of
what you said that because you're the first, the first
sign of hope we've heard in this entire show from
a caller, So Candy Crowley, I mean, it is true,
a lot of people are engaged, a lot of different
people that haven't been engaged before in the process.
Speaker 9 (40:48):
Yes, and that's a good thing. And I think he's
perfectly right when we see him so far. Again, I
don't know what if nobody shows up on the actual
election day on the fifth, so then we already have
the numbers and it doesn't become a blockbuster of a
voting day in terms of a voting period, in terms
of how many people come. But I think it looks
(41:08):
like that, and I do think that's hopeful. But I
do think that the next day, whoever wins will think
it's really hopeful, and whoever loses will not think it
was either enough people or too many, one of the two.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Jeremy. He also called you a protector of democracy. Yes,
that was on your CV.
Speaker 17 (41:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Greg in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania is with us. Greg, how are
you feeling ahead of the election, well.
Speaker 5 (41:34):
Like most people, it's quite nerve wracking, and I just
want to say, I'm I'm almost thirty five now and
I've been registered libertarian since since I could vote, and
I just feel like there's a bit of bias in
the media because I agree that Trump can sound like
(41:57):
an idiot, but I do think think the media can
take snippets of what he says and it makes him look,
you know, even more reckless. And it's almost like he's
gotten a little loose with his words. I've heard somewhere
(42:17):
since he was on the Apprentice. He's just gotten a
little looser, and it can be seen as like Alwa's
fascist and racist, and I think that's a overdrawn conclusion.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Greg, thank you for that. And Ricastevado, you actually had
Trump with you in a town hall. What do you
think about Greg's point that you know a lot of
people will say, well, don't take Trump literally. You know,
he different people. People that are big supporters of Trump
hear him in one way and other people hear him
in a different way.
Speaker 15 (42:56):
I think I love the question and I welcome the criticism.
I think it makes for a great discussion. First of all,
I think media is a lot of things media now
is like Kendy Crowley was saying, the Network News or
(43:17):
sixty Minutes or this show, but also someone on YouTube
just pedaling lies and conspiracy theories, or social media and
instant messaging. Media is such a broad concept, so I
always encourage people to look at media as they look
at food. They have to understand that now it's abundant,
(43:41):
is readily available, and it's not necessarily making you more
informed or have just access to better content. I think
people have to realize that with this sort of infinite
off for there are there are perils to what they're consuming.
(44:02):
So so first of all, I would say just sort
be more specific about what media means and more careful
about what you're consuming. The other part of the question
is how are we covering Trump? And you know, I
had a very controversial interview with President Trump where a
lot of people thought I gave him a lot of
space and was too soft on him, and I think
(44:25):
it was for me revealing to see that was the
reaction to an interview where I actually listened to what
he had to say and I allowed on thee sided voters,
especially Latinos, to hear from President Trump without necessarily having
a confrontation or sort of a false indignation just because
we were seeing right next to each other and I
(44:46):
was and I am a Latino or a Mexican.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
Candy Crowley, you're your thoughts.
Speaker 9 (44:50):
I do think again, I mean, I go back to
how we're all in our own silos, and so if
you just watch one station, you come away thinking, oh,
he was taken out of context. The good journalists that
I know, and I know many are very aware of
taking people out of context, are very aware and either
set up a SoundBite with the context or let the
(45:12):
context run. So but I take the argument. I know
sometimes I used to think that that people criticizing the
media just didn't like the truth that they were hearing.
But I think with the and he spoke a lot
of he spoke as well as about who's funding the media,
I liked it a lot better when media, let's say
the Nightly News or Kronkite somebody like that they were
(45:35):
lost leaders. They didn't care if they made money. Now
news has to make money, and I think you get
a different product that way.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Just really quickly, this whole brew haha over Puerto Rico
and the comedians saying it was an island of trash?
Is that how much I've heard it spreading like wildfire?
What are you hearing about that among the Latino community
in the US?
Speaker 12 (45:56):
I agree.
Speaker 15 (45:57):
I think with the election just being right now now,
five days away last weekend might seem like a small thing,
a comedian making a joke during a political event, But
context matters, and I think that the timing matters as well.
A very small thing can become a very big thing,
and I think a lot of people felt offended by
those remarks, especially with the history Puerto Rico has had
(46:21):
politically in the US. So my point was going to say,
it was going to say, I think Greg is right
in having a critical approach to how he consumes media,
what he likes and we doesn't like. I think that
that speaks of Greg as a sophisticated consumer of news,
and we need.
Speaker 10 (46:39):
More of that.
Speaker 15 (46:41):
We need to be more accountable and understand something is
not working when journalism and the media has record low
credibility levels. Historically, we've never been so distrusted, So that's
that's something that should lend itself to self criticism.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
I Unfortunately, we don't even have time for me to
go to another call, but I'm going to go to
Candy Crawley for the last word here. Candy, what's your
advice to all of these very nervous listeners that we
have about how to handle what's about to happen in
this country on Tuesday, whatever it is.
Speaker 9 (47:15):
I'll tell them what I tell my kids, who are
equally nervous, and that is I sort of grew up
in the sixties, late sixties, early seventies, and the cities
were on fire due to racism. The two deaths that
you mentioned Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, there
were just it seemed to me at the time that
(47:37):
the world was on fire and I wouldn't see adulthood.
We got through it. We'll get through this. I'm confident
of it. I know people think it'll be the end
of the world if one or the other gets it,
but it's not true. It won't be the end of
our world. Those were you know, we were in Vietnam,
and you know, tens of thousands of young men, American
men were dying in a war a lot of people
(47:59):
didn't like. So we'll get through it, That's what I
would say.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Great advice to end on their former CNN Chief political
correspondent Candy Crowley and Univision anchor and Rique Acevedo. Thank
you both so much.
Speaker 10 (48:10):
For joining us.
Speaker 1 (48:11):
Thank you, and next week We'll have no idea where
we will be except that we will be here taking
your calls, trying to make sense of the election with
guests that can talk about just about anything.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
As always, you can call in at eight four four
four Middle that's eight four four four six four three
three five three, or you can reach out at Listen
to the Middle dot com. Or you can also sign
up for our free weekly newsletter.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
The Middle is brought to you by LONGNOK Media, distributed
by Illinois Public Media and or Vana Illinois, and produced
by Harrison Patino, Danny Alexander, Sam Burmistas, and John Barth.
Our intern is an Akadessler. Our technical director is Jason Kroft.
Thanks to our podcast audience and the more than four
hundred and twenty public radio stations that are making it
possible for people across the country to Listen to the Middle,
(48:52):
We'll be back next week. I'm Jeremy Hobson.
Speaker 10 (48:54):
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 19 (49:14):
Thinking as
Host
Jeremy Hobson
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