Republicans Fight to Defend Slimmer Senate Majority while Biden Campaigns to Hold Democratic Base
Margaret Brennan moderates a faceoff between Republican Senator JD Vance and Democratic Senator Gary Peters, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, and cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs discussing key issues ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans struggle to defend their slender Senate majority while President Biden campaigns to hold his Democratic base amid dissatisfaction with his handling of the war in Gaza and rising inflation. Republicans emphasize Trump's peace and prosperity record, contrasting it with Biden's inflation and war overseas. Biden is trailing Trump in several key battleground states, including Arizona and Florida, as he pushes to shore up support from black voters.
Vance, a potential vice presidential pick for Trump, declines to say if he has spoken to Trump about the VP role but emphasizes his focus on advocating for the agenda in the Senate. On Trump's potential running mate, he says he doesn't care who the vice president is if Trump is elected. He criticizes Biden for shifting his position on tariffs and adopting Trump's agenda. He supports broad-based tariffs on Chinese goods, arguing that Biden's green energy agenda does not help the American heartland.
On universities, he criticizes left-wing domination and suggests following Viktor Orban's approach in Hungary, which gave conservatives a choice between survival or taking a less biased approach. Gates comments on the fragile state of U.S. national security and the threat of foreign interference in U.S. elections. Krebs warns of the dangers of AI in upcoming elections. Markarova shares the latest on the war in Ukraine. Peters discusses defending the slim Democratic majority in the Senate.