and interact with guests and authors such as library of congress carla hayden, writer clint smith and more. the national book festival live saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2. . you can also send a tweet at http://twitter.com/cspanwj. the former president is likely to respond when he holds a rally this saturday in pennsylvania as well 7:00 p.m.. we will cover that live here on c-span as well as on our app. a little bit more from the president's speech last night in the scene he invoked from philadelphia. [video clip] >> as i stand here tonight,

equality and democracy are under assault. we do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise. so tonight, i have come to this place where it all began to speak as plainly as i can to the nation. about the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to face these threats in the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it. we must never forget, we the people are the true heirs of the american experiment that began more than two centuries ago. we the people, have burning inside of each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at independence hall. the flame that lit our way through abolition, the civil

war, suffrage, the great depression, the world wars, civil rights, that sacred flame still burns. now in our time, as we build in america that is more prosperous, free and just, that is the work of my presidency, a mission i believe in with my whole soul. host: your reaction to the president speech in philadelphia yesterday. yvonne in milwaukee, wisconsin a democratic collar. caller: i thought his speech was excellent. it is a call for all of us to come together. we have to think about the country instead of parties if we want to maintain our democracy. that is what we have to do. for all of you maga republicans who are against democracy, you

have to learn to think for yourselves. you will end up in prison if you listen to president trump. it is country over party. host: michael is a republican. caller: he mentioned prosperity, he mentioned crime. i think prosperity it is only for certain people in this country right now. it will only be the people who are already prosperous and everyone will keep lagging behind because nothing he passes will ever bring anything up to anybody else. certainly not the rich people.

host: are you voting for republicans this fall and do you plan to vote? caller: i am not sure yet. i don't see any change for the past 20 years in this country. they never really address the issues where you have the wealth gap. i know that sounds like a democratic issue but i am pretty fair when it comes to issues. i think they have never focused on the people themselves. you go to work every day, try to pay their college bills. i don't see any change and i don't see him changing anything as well. i'm not a fan of the republicans either. host: does that include the former president? caller: i'm sorry? host: you said you are not a fan

of republicans, does that include the former president? caller: i'm not a huge fan of the way he speaks. i was a fan of the way he was going to change things but anyone who was an outsider, they will crash. it doesn't matter if they are a democratic or republican candidate. they are happy with the way things run in this country. that is the way it is been for many years. they don't want to make themselves obsolete. host: when is the last time you voted? caller: last election. host: who did you vote for if you don't mind me asking? caller: i voted for trump. host: you don't sound that enthusiastic about the midterms, and my reading that correctly? caller: i think i realized that

nothing will really ever change. you get a democrat on the line, they will be for biden. if you get a republican, they will be for trump. and independent will probably give you the better answer of where the country is going to go. even then, i don't see things going the way they are going to go. host: what do you do for a living? caller: i own a business. host: a small business. caller: it's been hard not only for me but for a lot of people. i feel sorry for my employees. it's hard to keep them with ours. i see how hard they work. it makes me really sad that everyone underneath these people, they struggle. when he says prosperity i don't even know what he is talking about. host: the hill newspaper reports

on a new quinnipiac poll that the majority of both parties think democracy is in danger of collapsing. 70 2% of democrats and 70% of republicans have fears about the future of democracy. the fears are higher among women in higher by one point among white adults than black adults. margaret in pennsylvania, and independent. did you watch last night, what'd you think? caller: i watched this morning but i thought it was an excellent speech. like the saying goes, we are striving for a more perfect union. i do believe that we must

continue to work together regardless of what side of the aisle you are on. host: when is the last time you voted republican? caller: it has probably been a while. i was a republican for many years. when i worked on my masters degree, i changed my party affiliation to independent because i did not want to impact my students. host: gary from new york. how are you gary? we are listening gary. caller: i don't think he did anything to unite the country. he talked about maga republicans and he did not talk about the issues. we have a 9% inflation rate. we have crime. we have all kinds of problems and all he talks about is maga

republicans. he is so much against crime, he talks nothing about blowing up police stations. if the democrats keep congress, they will go on a spending spree in this country will go down the tubes. he is already on a spending spree. it will just get worse and worse. we spend billions of dollars on another country, we have homeless veterans sleeping on the streets. this guy is a bum. host: we will listen to the president last night in his remarks on maga republicans. [video clip] >> first we must be honest with each other and ourselves.

too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal. donald trump in the maga republicans represent in extremism that threaten the foundations of our republic. i want to be very clear up front , not every republican is a maga republican. not every republican embraces their extreme ideology. i know because i have been able to work with these mainstream republicans. the republican today is driven by donald trump and the maga republicans and that is a threat to this country. these are hard things but i am an american president, not a president of red america or blue

america, but of all america and i believe it is my duty, my duty to level with you into tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful. here in my view is what is true, maga republicans do not respect the constitution. they do not believe in the rule of law or recognize the will of the people. they refuse to accept the results of a free election and are working right now as i speak in state after state to give power to decide elections to cronies to undermine democracy itself. maga forces are determined to take this country backwards to an america where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to

contraception, no right to marry who you love. they promote authoritarian

>> this was the enemy of the state speech. it just like every other radical tyrant, he used his opponents of being fascists while he engages in repressive authoritarian behavior. he is the one that is forcing americans against their will to take a backseat. he is the one who has violated our constitution to open our nation's borders. he is the one interfering in the sacred relationship between parents and child, to try to force dangerous medicine, puberty blockers, hormones, on our little kids. he is the one whose government raided the home of his chief political opponent in a fashion that violates the entire constitutional order.

president riep has the right to decide what is or is not in the national security interests, when he leaves the white house. all of those things, all of them are the behavior of a tyrant and this speech is the moment the biden -- that's biden crossed the rubicon and ceased to be a man who could even pretend, could even claim he is the interest of the -- has the interest of the country at heart and he is irrevocably committed to splitting this country in two and beginning an era of division and era of hatred that will wound our soul if it does not get repaired for generations to come. host: former president trump speechwriter on fox news. john, a republican what is your reaction to the president last night and his remarks from independence hall? caller: good morning greta and america.

what a mean man biden has turned out to be. . caller: good morning greta and america. what a mean man biden has turned out to be. what did the mega republicans due to america. we had a low inflation, low gas prices, people working. what did we do? he ended the war in syria. he withdrew troops in afghanistan, what did donald trump do so bad to america . china pulled out of the climate agreement. does anyone realize what that does to biden's climate bill? does anyone realize we are the only people in the globe now because of president biden that tries to mitigate the environment.

does anybody realize it was not the republicans that did this and finally, where they there to kill trump with all of those machine guns and stuff they took into mar-a-lago? where there to kill him? would they go in and kill whoever was in there to get their way? host: why do you think that? caller: why do i think that? that little maneuver could have been handled with five people dressed in suits and ties. there did not need to be a military use of force. mar-a-lago is not a fortress, it is a country club. you go into a country club, you don't go in with 30 ar automatic weapons. they were there to kill trump. don't make any mincemeat about it. you have people like valerie jarrett, remember this person, valerie jarrett, the biggest communists in the american government, valerie jarrett.

remember her name. she is the killer of america. we have a chinese president. we may already be chinese. this sky offered no solutions, it is all hyperbole and hates. host: her that point. here's the wall street journal poll in the newspaper this morning, a majority say the mar-a-lago search was proper. how was the fbi's search of former president trump's home impacting your likelihood to vote in the coming november elections? 64% of republicans said more likely. 37% of independents said more likely was 63% said no impact and unsure, same number for democrats. this is from john mccormick cost reporting, over half of registered voters think the fbi's search of president's home was appropriate and trying to see if president

trump had classified information. a 50 pooh -- 52% majority agreed the fbi access was part of a legal investigation to determine whether the former president was involved in wrongdoing while 41% viewed it as "just another example of the endless witchhunt and harassment the democrats and biden and the administration continue to pursue against former president trump." we will go to columbia, south carolina, herbert, good morning. caller: good morning. [indiscernible] they are doing the same thing too. that is what they do. it is ignorant. do you love donald trump or do you love america? donald trump is the man tearing candidate. did you see that? where he was blamed by the government to do the things to

bring the country down? this is what happened. you gotta go back to when it started. the guy is not an american, folks. putin lies in everything he is doing. why would any president in the united states ever bring so much turmoil, so much trouble to america? he's doing it because he was told to do it. you gotta wake up. host: heard your point. roy in melbourne, florida, democratic caller, what is your reaction to the speech? caller: i thought it was a good speech. i did think it was good. i think it is what we need in this country because we are so divided right now and it was good. stephen muller does not even know how to tie his shoes when he was a kid so he is pretty pathetic wrapping up all of this stuff. i can tell you right now these people continued on this warpath

-- if these people continued on this warpath, it is not going to get good. it will hurt the country and keep bringing it down. host: which warpath are you talking about? caller: the warpath is the rhetoric that is coming out of the republican party. they just want to win the house. all of these people said -- send all of this money to donald trump and he had a good hoot about it. my brother gives $40 a month to him and she has no money and that is who he is taking advantage of, you ignorant people out there like the guy two colors away. he is drinking the trunk kool-aid. i knew this guy was a crook a long time ago since his father stole his mother's business. it is the same thing, always with donald trump, he is getting your money and at least democrats help you, at least you get social security. wait until they take that away, your military disability. you get republicans, they won't take away the military, but donald trump never served a day

in the military doll. he is just a loser and he does nothing. host: when you question your mom about giving the money, what does she say? caller: you want to know what she says? it's the same fox news talking points because she listens to the and she is in the mountains somewhere way out. they've never seen any of these people. they are in their own way and they think this guy is so good. he is awful. he did nothing but give tax breaks to millionaires all time. people in florida, their house is falling apart and they have a big trump sign in their house. he could care less about you. joe biden is better than the alternative of bringing this country down, because of donald trump gets another term in office, democracy is gone. he should be in jail, he put a lot of people in danger with of

those documents, he is hurting our country, and he is hurting you too whether you like to face it or not. joe biden at least is trying to get the country going in the right direction. donald trump could care less. he is worried about his next money or who he can stall next. he has done it his whole life and will continue to do it. it is just a sad situation down in washington, d.c.. he will never be president again because there is going to be something worked out. i do not care if he is liked up or walk, i don't want him being president again. host: from the former president, he was on a radio show, trump valves pardons and government policy to the capital rioters if he is elected again. the former president said he would issue full pardons and a government apology to rioters who stormed the capital and violently attacked law enforcement to stop the democratic transfer of power. quote i mean full pardons, with an apology to many he told a

conservative radio host wednesday morning. a move would be contended on the president running and winning the presidential election. we capital congress was confirming joe biden's electoral college win in the 2020 elections. here's the president, president biden, from last night, discussing views on the maggot rules in the january 6 -- roles in the attack and said the nation was at an infection point. here he is. [video clip] they look at the mob that stormed the united states capital january 6, rudely attacking law enforcement, not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger at the throat of our democracy but they look at them as patriots and they see them -- see their failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power as preparation for the 2020 two and 2024 elections. they tried everything last time

to nullify the votes of one million people. this time, they determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people. that is why respective conservatives like federal circuit court judge michael ludwig has called trump and extreme mega republicans a clear and present danger to our democracy. while the threat to american democracy israel, i want to say as clearly as we can, we are not powerless in the face of these threats. we are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy. there are far more americans, far more americans from every background and belief who reject the extreme ideology than those that accept it.

folks, it is within our power, within our hands, yours in mind -- yours and mine, to stop the steel on american democracy. i believe america is at an infection point. one of those moments to determine the shape of everything that is to come after and now, america must choose to move forward or to move backwards, to build a future or obsess about the past, to be a nation of hope, unity, optimism or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness. mag are republicans -- maga republicans made their choice, they cause anger, thrive on chaos, they do not live in the truth but in the lies, but together we can choose a different path, we can choose a

better path, forward to the future. a future of possibility, a future to build and dream and hope, and we are on that path moving ahead. host: your reaction to the current president's speech last night in independence hall. there is news this morning. the former president responding that will respond saturday when he holds a rally in philadelphia as well, 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on c-span. you can find our coverage on the c-span app and on c-span.org. president will be responding to the president then if not before. the metro section of the washington post, the nypd veteran who assaulted the police gets the longest sentence yet, 10 years.

a prison term of nearly 17 years, he was the first right -- riot defendant who tried his luck with the jury. 12 others pleaded guilty to a similar charge. the government suggested sentence was just fortunate to what other rioters received. the previous was slightly more than seven years and he credited webster's 25 years of service with the marines and the nypd. let's hear from wally, a republican, what is your reaction to the president's speech last night? caller: i did not really listen to it. i vote republican because of the way i believe, and i sure don't believe the way he talks. it doesn't make any sense to me.

host: why are you a republican? caller: you gotta make a choice from right and wrong, and i go with the right instead of the wrong. i'm a believer and i listen to the guy, the guy worries me. he just worries me. host: all right. pat in irvine, california, and -- an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. one, where can i order a maga hat? i think biden just gave trump the biggest increase in encouragement and all of his followers that you're going to see. i think the speech was nothing

but a bunch of cliches and i didn't think it was very good at all and i thought it was very divisive, hurtful, and insulting to a very large portion of our population. host: all right, pat. paul, a republican in plantation, florida. what'd you think of the speech? caller: good morning. it was the most repugnant, and insulting and divisive speech ever given by a president of the united states, if you can call him that. i've watched a lot of politics in my life and i've never seen such an incompetent leadership role as being used by joe biden. let me say one thing, i am a republican, obviously. but i do not support antiabortion, banning abortion

nationwide. that is a lie. republicans do not support banning abortion nationwide. so let's just get that straight. the other thing, too, one thing people have not realized is evolving as a result of democrat organizations, the secret ballot is disappearing. you can't tell me that a harvested ballot, a ballot that was filled out with somebody standing over the shoulder and telling them how to do it his a secret ballot. that is a cornerstone of our democracy. how valuable is it? just ask an iraqi, asked an afghan. they could go into a booth and vote for anyone they wanted to.

that is the expression of freedom. the democrats are making that freedom disappear. let's get something straight, who really is damaging democracy? it is the democrats. it's a shame. this country is going down the tubes with this damn party. host: paul's thoughts on a plantation, florida. we go to connecticut, an independent, let's hear from you. caller: good morning. the guy from florida has a lot to say about freedom. the republican party, they are trying to take voters away. all the voters in the red states, their votes are gone because the state secretary can put the votes where he wants to put the votes. that is not freedom, buddy. if you want an autocratic country, imagine having autocrats with social security. you people have no say when the autocrats come in.

[indiscernible] the republican party is taking people's rights away. the supreme court, everything. democrats have taken no rights away. that is my thought. host: why are you an independent? caller: years ago i used to go republican. republican in local politics. democrat in the nation. but we are losing our democracy. if we have no democracy, it's autocrats. host: what do you do for a living? caller: i just retired. i am electrician. host: did you belong to a union? caller: yes. host: thanks for calling in this morning. brenda from texas, a democratic caller, hi brenda. caller: hi, greta. thank you for taking my call. i listened to that speech.

i intend to keep it. i think biden speech was excellent and very timely. it definitely will go into our books of history, history books rather. the florida guy he nailed it. with the exception of one thing, he stated he didn't care if trump was locked up, he just wanted him gone. i disagree with that. as a matter of fact, i demand that he is locked up. he has made a mockery of our justice system. i wondered when that crowd attacked our capital if they had stopped that procedure, if they had been successful in stopping that procedure, where were they go from there? did they honestly think the rest

of us would just sit back and let them take over our country? i don't think so. the maga called, i have a message for them, be very careful what you ask for. with this threat of a civil war. be very careful. the 1800s are different from the 2000's. be very careful. thanks, greta. god bless. host: brenda said she taped last night's remarks. he did not need to do that, you can go to our website, and find the entire remarks there -- website, c-span.org, and find the entire remarks there. the leader of the republican party gave a rebuttal to the speech last night and you can find those remarks on her -- on our website as well. more polling from the wall street journal this morning. it says independent voters now

tilting towards democrats and the midterm elections. they are entering the home stretch before november's election in better shape than earlier this year, boosted by gains of independent voters, improved views of president biden, higher voting enthusiasm among abortion-rights supporters. republicans have electoral fuel to tap into, they can keep the debate focused on the economy and what has been the highest inflation in four decades. nearly two thirds of registered voters say the economy is not good or poor, a larger share than the last survey in march, and two thirds paying higher costs make them more likely to cast a ballot. democrats hold a slight edge over republicans, 47 to 40 ash 44% to 47%. democrat were asked who they support if they were in today. a lead to plus or minus --