Election Day: 'In some ways, it's going to determine the direction of the nation and of the world', says a Democrat Congressman

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00:00It's a pleasure and an honor to welcome another man who's running for office.

00:04You're running for re-election, Congressman Glenn Ivey of Maryland.

00:07Thank you for being with us.

00:08Thanks for having me.

00:09You are a Democrat, a member of the House Judiciary, the House Ethics Committee.

00:15Yes.

00:16What's this election about?

00:17Well, I mean, in some ways, it's going to determine the fate of the nation,

00:21the direction of the nation, and the direction of the world.

00:23I think if Donald Trump wins, it's a very dramatic difference from a victory by Kamala Harris.

00:29And is it about what?

00:31Because we've heard people, even the young people, telling us, you know,

00:35young people saying, we don't care too much about these rule of law issues and all that.

00:39We're more interested in the economy, and we think Trump's better.

00:42Yeah, I think we have to, you know, walk and chew gum at the same time

00:45and make sure we're taking care of both of those things.

00:47The economy certainly is critical, and I think, frankly,

00:51the United States is doing pretty well on the economy.

00:54I know it hasn't gotten to everybody, and so there's concerns for people

00:57who are still struggling on the piggy bank issues.

01:00But overall, you know, inflation's coming down, unemployment's at historic lows.

01:06We've been adding thousands of new jobs every month for about 50 months now.

01:10Things do seem to be going in the right direction.

01:12And the Fed cutting interest rates, again, I think is going to be a big step in the right direction.

01:17With respect to the democracy and rule of law issues,

01:20I think those are things you can underestimate until you lose them.

01:23And we want to make sure that that doesn't happen,

01:25because we can see what happens with other countries

01:28when they lose the democracy and rule of law guidance

01:31that's been the hallmark of the United States for so many years now.

01:35They regret them when they lose them.

01:37Are people kind of sleepwalking into something?

01:39You were not yet a congressman on January the 6th, 2021,

01:43but you have long experience on Capitol Hill.

01:46When you walk around this city today, is it almost forgotten about?

01:51Because seen from across the Atlantic, we're wondering why this isn't more of an issue.

01:58Well, I think it depends on which sector of the country you're talking to or talking about.

02:03I'm African-American. When I was a young man, the country was still segregated.

02:07I know what it's like to not be able to vote.

02:09I know what it's like to be unable to go to certain schools and certain stores and the like.

02:14And, you know, those of us who are old enough to remember the world before Roe v. Wade

02:19and it's sad to see that again.

02:21Women in a generation who've lost the rights that their grandparents and mothers had.

02:26It's easy for us to move in the wrong direction if we're not careful.

02:30We see a growing gender divide over this issue of reproductive rights.

02:33What happens to the women's movement if Donald Trump is elected?

02:36Well, it's hard to say, but I think it strengthens it in some ways,

02:40certainly in the states where those rights have been taken away already.

02:44And it could get worse.

02:45There are certainly states who are looking to take away abortion rights,

02:49even in the cases of rape and incest.

02:51And I'm sure there's going to be a national effort by the Republicans to make that a nationwide ban.

02:56So it's going to be a big fight.

02:58I think even if Harris wins, there's going to be a push by the Republicans to do that.

03:03Having the White House in Democratic hands, I think, makes it easier for us to fend that off

03:08and restore the rights of women's right to choose.

03:11Glenn Ivey, you're an attorney, a former attorney general for the state of Maryland.

03:16Donald Trump, in the last few days, would you characterize his remarks as veiled threats

03:24against, say, the former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the press?

03:28Or are they actual threats? Should they be prosecuted?

03:31Well, I mean, I think he's been making threats like that for years now, unfortunately.

03:36Are they veiled?

03:37I think they're pretty straightforward.

03:40Legally, you have to have the ability to carry it out immediately,

03:44so it's not going to be a criminal prosecution.

03:47But he still has three of those left that are over his head,

03:50so it's not like he'll be out of the clear.

03:52But I think the bigger point, though, is that if he gets control of the government,

03:56the Army and the Department of Justice, he can misuse them.

04:00In fact, in the last administration that he had,

04:03the only thing that kept that from really getting out of control were members of the Cabinet,

04:07Secretary of Defense refusing to seize ballots,

04:10or have the military used to suppress peaceful nonviolent demonstrations.

04:16So making sure that that doesn't happen or that he doesn't weaponize prosecutors

04:21to go after his enemies that he's put a list out about,

04:24that's the stuff that we have to worry about.

04:26How strong are institutions? Is there a plan if he's elected?

04:31Yeah, there's a fight that'll have to happen, but I think we've seen that he pushed it to the brink

04:36when he was in office in 2017 and through 2021.

04:40We don't want to see that again.

04:42We want to make sure that we just keep him out of office,

04:45defeat him here at the ballot box, and we don't have to worry about those issues.

04:49We can begin to repair the rule of law and democracy here in the United States.

04:54Congressman Ivey, you mentioned all those court cases that are still pending.

04:58If Kamala Harris is the winner, should she pardon the former president?

05:03I don't think so, no. And she could only pardon the federal cases.

05:07So there are two state cases that are moving forward,

05:10and I don't think the governors in those states should pardon him, either.

05:12He should be held accountable for what he's done.

05:15That's happened in a couple of cases already with respect to the civil liability for sexual assault

05:20and the corporate fraud that his company committed,

05:23and I think he will be held accountable in the remaining four criminal cases.

05:27Just to be clear, does that mean he should go to jail?

05:30I think so. He's talked about two tiers of justice.

05:34The tier that he's on, he's complaining about being overly prosecuted.

05:38If he'd committed all of these things as a regular person,

05:42not only would he not be allowed to run for office, he'd have trouble getting a job.

05:46So I don't think being in the White House and being the president of the United States,

05:51he shouldn't be eligible for that.

05:54The acts that he's committed already should disqualify him from holding the presidency.

05:59But your U.S. judiciary system is slow.

06:02You know, he gets due process, he gets the rule of law rights that he complains about not having.

06:08He still gets them anyway, but I think he'll still be held accountable ultimately.

06:12Ultimately. What are your constituents telling you?

06:16What is highest on their minds?

06:19There's a lot. Certainly they want to have Kamala Harris in the White House.

06:22Certainly they want to have better opportunities with respect to the economy,

06:27grocery and gas prices. They want to continue to see those come down.

06:31Unemployment and jobs, I think they want to see more of those.

06:34And I think they want to see things happen that allow them to live, you know,

06:38take care of rent and mortgage, have their kids have opportunities to thrive,

06:42go to get education and get good jobs.

06:45The stuff that we've always wanted, but we've been having to fight about lately.

06:49I asked about January the 6th earlier, because January the 6th, 2021,

06:54it was the moment where both houses of Congress meet to certify the election,

06:59normally a formality. The U.S. vice president refused to sway.

07:05And Donald Trump had to exit the White House.

07:10It'll be the new Congress that will certify the election this time.

07:16What will happen if Republicans are in control for that certification process?

07:22I think certification will still happen, provided that we win the majority of the states

07:27that we need to get the 270 plus votes in the electoral college.

07:31You're still going to have Trump and others complaining that the election was stolen.

07:35But at some point, I think we have to, again, hold them accountable

07:38and make sure they follow the rule of law and basic democracy.

07:42You know, if you lose, you vacate office and permit the peaceful transfer of power.

07:47In this sense, it's a peaceful continuation of power with the Democratic Party from Biden to Harris.

07:52One final question for you. What are the tea leaves we should be reading?

07:55What should we be looking for throughout this day? What are you looking at?

07:59Well, I mean, in some ways, I'm not in a battleground state.

08:02Maryland is deeply blue and, you know, clearly Harris is going to win there.

08:06But some of the states that are going to be in play, Pennsylvania is a big one.

08:10But there are others that have gotten interesting very recently, like Iowa.

08:16If Harris wins those states, you know, this could be a blowout.

08:19So we'll see.

08:20You think that's really possible?

08:22We'll see. You know, it's up to the voters to decide.

08:25It feels like a toss up to me.

08:27But when I saw that poll that had her up in Iowa, that was astonishing to me.

08:32So we'll see.

08:33Glenn Ivey, many thanks for being with us.

08:35Thanks for having me.

08:36All right. Appreciate it.

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