Politics and views in the United States.

Republicans defend their candidate from allegations of fascism, Trump says he'll fire special prosecutor Jack Smith if reelected, and California voters are poised to increase penalties for petty crime.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

We've heard a lot of extreme things about Donald Trump from Donald Trump.

It's really, unfortunately, with a guy like that, it's kind of baked into the vote at this point.

Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu says Americans are willing to hold their nose and vote for former President Donald Trump in spite of accusations that he's a fascist.

Former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly says his old boss praised Adolf Hitler and would govern as a dictator.

Trump responded by calling Kelly dumb and a bad general.

Meanwhile, Trump says if re-elected, he'd fire special prosecutor Jack Smith, ending criminal cases over trying to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents.

We got immunity at the Supreme Court.

It's so easy.

I would fire him within two seconds.

If returned to office, Trump could order the Department of Justice to drop any remaining federal charges against him.

The classified documents case was recently dismissed by a Trump-appointed judge, but Smith is appealing.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Texas today, where she'll focus on reproductive rights with superstar Beyonce.

Harris has used the singer's 2016 track "Freedom" as an anthem and has campaigned with women hurt by restrictive Texas abortion laws.

California's Proposition 36, a reaction to retail theft, is likely to pass.

The ballot measure would increase penalties for drug and theft crimes, and polls show it's supported by 7 in 10 state voters.

But George Galvis with the Oakland nonprofit Courage says two of the most shoplifted items are baby formula and diapers.

When we're spending $137,000 a year to incarcerate people, it really does not make sense as opposed to just investing in programs that actually are effective.

Young voters and those new to the process in Arizona are more likely to have mail-in ballots rejected for signature errors.

Jen Fifield with the Arizona Center for Investigative Journalism says election officials typically verify signatures by relying on driver's license e-signatures, which are often sloppy and incorrect.

When I talked to voters about the ballots that were rejected for this reason in 2022, they were upset.

Democrats have launched ad campaigns in Wisconsin and Arizona, calling Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein a spoiler who helped elect Trump in 2016 by splintering the progressive vote.

And former Green Party vice presidential candidate Rosa Alicia Clemente tells Yes!

Magazine the party could do better than Stein.

There's enough people out there that could grow the Green Party, but there's some people that are keeping us, that are within the party, from growing the way I know we can.

Stein supporters argue there's little difference between the two major parties, and if she's a spoiler, it's a sign of strength.

Both allies helped Stein with ballot access, and she's been endorsed by former Klan head David Duke for her opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.

I'm Katherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.