hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. and we're live here at hofstra university in hempstead, new york. whether watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we're now just a few hours away from tonight's presidential debate. the first chance for hillary clinton and donald trump to share the stage and to directly challenge each other over policy and politics. the game has been grandstanded facts and potentially fiction. millions in the united states and millions more around the world will tune into whatwhat's up to be stellar. hillary clinton's lectern shorter because she's shorter than donald trump dn, and get t

first question and two minutes answer. and donald trump has two minutes to respond and then begins ten minutes of open debate and conversation. the debate is expected to last 90 minutes, no commercial introduction. divided into six sections. with no breaks. once again, no commercial interruptions. in the republican and democratic primary debates, of course, we heard a lot from the audience, lots of cheers, lots of booing. tonight, the audience here at hofstra university has been instructed to be respectful and to be quiet. you can also forget about any electronic noises as in buzzers, moderator lester holt will be the sole timekeeper keeping the candidates hon effoest and on t. hillary clinton is hunkered down preparing for tonight's debate, donald trump is taking a less traditional approach, trump is not a fan of mock debates. so how has he been preparing? reince preiebus is with us.

>> thank you, wolf. glad to be here. >> what has donald trump been doing? >> studying, preparing, going through hypotheticals and what scenarios might come up, but he's very comfortable. he did a great job in our primary debates. he's also been through, what, 14 seasons, season finales. he will be prepared. he's always showed up for, for the big dance, and he will be prepared and he'll be ready to go tonight. >> has there been a mock debate? has someone played hillary clinton, for example? >> oh, we don't want to get into those details, but i can tell you, though, he has taken it very seriously, but the truth is, you look at hillary clinton, wolf. she's been doing this almost 30 years. i mean, preparing to try to hit this thing out of the park.

people are expecting her to. it's a pretty high bar but she's expected to do that. she's mocked debating even today, and, you know, i expect he's going to want to get in the weeds on every policy ever involved with, even though she hasn't been able to dleliver whn she's had the opportunity. >> your good friend, house speaker, senator ryan, advice for donald trump on "face the nation." listen to this. >> look, hillary clinton's been doing this most of her life. she is the consummate pro. this is new for donald. i think he should obviously over prepare for it. the thing i believe, obviously, i prepared for these myself. you have to offer the country a vision, go on offense, prosecute your case, hold your opponent accountable, but then show the country the direction you want to go, and prepare, prepare, prepare. and i hope he's doing that. >> he was the vice presidential nominee what, four years ago. doesn't sound like trump, though, is over preeparing.

should he be listening a bit more to paul ryan's advice. >> first of all, over prepare. what does that mean? he's preparing and everyone prepares in their own way and he's going to be ready, but he is right about the fact that hillary clinton's been doing this forever. and she's going to be held to a pretty high standard. she's got to hit it out of the park and the other thing, the last part of what he said is true, too. you prosecute your case. you hold your opponent accountable. offer a positive vision for america. that's what people are looking at. people aren't watching this debate saying i kind of like that pro growth plan better than that -- they'll be looking at two people. this is a change electorate and they're going to want to figure out whether the change candidate, whichever one they choose, which it can't be hillary, is ready to are tbe president of the united states. this debate is about demeanor,

being president's, what people view in the best choice in the white house. that's what matters tonight. >> one question the clinton campaign keeps asking is, which donald trump will show up tonight? the clinton spokeswoman jennifer palm jari said we are preparing for different trumps that might show up. may be aggressive or may be laid back, and that's hard to game out. which donald trump is likely to show up tonight? >> i think it's -- the reality is, that donald trump is going to take the approach that best suits the situation. if you've seen donald trump in the last five weeks, a measured, mature, disciplined candidate, delivering policy messages every single night. almost every day of the week. in the weeds on everything from education to community and black and hispanic community engagement. every topic you can imagine, he's been hitting these topics with great detail and that's why in the polls today he's gaining

ground, he's passing hillary clinton in national polls. already passed her in most battleground states, and the hillary clinton campaign, they're flipping out, working with mark cuban, creating ridiculous high school stories that we've had to respond to. they know that they're in trouble, and so now what she's going to do is come out with, you know, loads and loads of policy detail, which isn't going to matter, because she had the opportunity to implement those details and failed miserably. >> is trump still 100% committed to participating after this debate in the two additional presidential debates? >> well, sure. he's going to participate in the other two debates, and he said he would, and i expect that he will, and mike pence is going to participate in the vice presidential debate. >> reince priebus, chairman of the republican national committee. thanks for joining us. >> you bet, wolf. the view from the other side

right now. in the primaries, democrats held nine debates, but hillary clinton has a longer history on the debate stage, from both the 2008 presidential campaign and her successful run for the u.s. senate in new york state. here with me is clinton campaign press secretary brian fallon. thanks very much for coming in. >> thanks for having me, wolf. >> is it true she's still practicing, mock debating today? >> i don't know about another mock session today but certainly taking last-minute preparations. she takes these debates seriously. i have to point out something reince priebus said. you asked about donald trump's qualifications, he's stressed 14 series finales of "the apprentice," they're hoping to coast on style and tell vis showmanship. no doubt about it, during the primary debate that carried him, but on this stage with one of these two candidates standing behind those two lecterns will be the next president of the united states and i think the bar is higher for donald trump.

not just come out and put on a new show. he has to show command of the issue. it's not about who has the best growth policies, reince said. it should be. the american people will hold donald trump to a higher stand and hear his policies. >> which donald trump are you bracing for? which donald trump will show up, a more presidential type donald trump, speaking about policy issues, national security? or someone who's going to be much more aggressive in going after her? >> the perfect question, wolf. i think i agree with my boss jennifer. earlier preparing for both donald trumps, because the possibilities were endless which personality might show up. we've seen in the last few weeks his campaign handlers have been trying to get him to behave in a more presidential manner and given more speeches off a teleprompter. if i had to put my money down, i bet we'd see a more subdued donald trump tonight, making a

desperate, last-ditch effort to seem presidential on the stage. i think they recognize the show manship of the primary debates, insulting opponents, lying ted, low energy jeb, little marco, i think they realize that doesn't play on this stage. so we're expecting that, preparing for that, and i think that him just coming in and not having an outburst, not being his usual bombastic self will not be enough to qualify him for a passing grade. he needs to come prepared to discuss detailed policy and come leer and stop telling the lies that have marked his campaign. he was politifacts liar of the year. >> donald trump makes it clear. you hit him he's going to punch you right back a lot harder. i assume hillary clinton will come out swinging, if you will, going after him? >> first, second and third objective, lay out her positive vision. we view this as an opportunity on the stage tonight. it's hard to be heard against the din of the back and forth normal campaign day to day.

she wants to use tonight why she's running for president, fulfillment of her lifetime of service, and donald trump needs to come prepared to talk about that affirmative vision, too. hopefully treat the american people, 90 million to 100 million or so expected tonight to a serious conversation about the two different paths these two candidates want to take this country on. >> mark cuban, owner of the dallas mavericks, himself a reality television successful show. a hillary clinton supporter. he learned donald trump invited family from the benghazi terror attack obviously supporting donald trump. your reaction to that? >> hillary clinton has spoke ton this, the benghazi terror incident was a horrible, horrendous thing that happened, and hillary clinton since the day it happened has been committed to making the improvements in our diplomatic security to ensure that an incident like that never happens

again. she met with the family soon after that and continues to express sympathy and extend condolences. >> i should correct this. a benghazi survivor who supporting donald trump here as well. >> the point stands. i think both -- in the debate hall tonight, both campaigns it is a tradition, invite many supporters and surrogates, people out there on the campaign trail for them. so it's no surprise that donald trump is doing the same thing. i think that the attention of the viewers will be on the two candidates on the stage. >> and what's the major point she's going to go after donald trump on tonight? what's going to be her main argument? >> again i think there's going to be two different visions of the country that you're going to hear from tonight. hillary clinton thinks we're stronger together, that means on the economic side, building an economy that works for everybody, not just those at the top. donald trump presents an alternative view thinking we can continue to build our economy by lavishing tax breaks on the wealthiest americans like himself. give himself a tax cut just on

the estate tax and comes to keeping us safe, hillary clinton has a real plan to work with allies to defeat isis, laid out a detailed proposal. donald trump has a secret plan to dweebt isis. thinks he's smarter than the generals and abandon our allies and nato. different competing visions and up to the american people which path they want to choose. >> see if she or he comes out swinging, how lively or stays on a high-level of security, national security, we shall say? >> i would be willing to bet, giving advice to come out and surprise people and be counterintuitive coming out and being semicoherent and having an even temperament. >> try to get under his skin jrn. >> i'm not saying that. reaction between when donald trump comes out and the tries to maintain composure should not be to be prisurprised he's won the debate on that. we should hold him to a higher stand. this is a job interview. two competing for the same job you don't judge them on two

different sets of qualifications. hold them to the same bar. the decisions in the oval office are the same no matter who wins this i lexuelection. not preparing would be a mistake. >> brian fallon, press secretary for the hillary clinton campaign. we're live here inside the debate hall at hofstra university. just hours from now, hillary clinton and donald trump will finally face-off in the first presidential debate. the race, a virtual dead heat. the stakes couldn't be any higher. what does each candidate need to do to win the night and win over voters? we'll discuss that and a whole lot more when we come back.

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gives you better taste and better nutrition in so many varieties. classic. cage free. and organic. only eggland's best. welcome back. we're here at hofstra university ahead of this evening's presidential debate. as distinct and hillary clinton and donald trump are as candidates he also bring very different strengths and weaknesses with them into tonight's debate. so how will that factor into their performance? i want to get our political panel in here. david chalian, cnn's political director. mark preston is the executive eder of cnn politics, jackie kucinich, cnn political analyst, washington bureau chief for "the

daily beast." david what is she bringing to the table tonight, hillary clinton, her strength? >> i think her biggest strength is the mastery of policy. doing this her entire public life, her career and i think know be the policy inside and out is her biggest strength. i don't think voters are looking for full white papers when watching a debate, but the fact that they a full comfort zone for her allows her to focus on other things. that means it's a strength for her. >> her strength from your perspective, mark. number one, what david said. i think she does her homework and seen it in debate prep over the part weekend and all the way through. so going into tonight she's absolutely going to be prepared for her, though, it's going to be can she then take what she has learned and put it out there in a way that the voters will embrace? >> what do you think her biggest strength is? >> ia also agree with the polic. explains it, point by point and comfortable with very kplegs co

issues, particularly foreign policy and terrorism. explaining her own record of secretary of state. she's precise and voters can understand it. >> listen to this. this is from one of the democratic primary debates. hillary clinton expressing her knowledge of some of these issues. listen to this. >> given the threat that isis poses to the region and beyonds as we have sadly seen in our own country it is important to keep the iraqi army on path where they can actually take back territory to work with the sunni tribes in anbar province and elsewhere so that their fighters can be also dello-- they're doie fighting. we're doing the support. a vote is not a plan to defeat isis. we have to look at the threats with face now and we have to be

prepared to take them on and defeat them. >> one of the strengths you were suggesting, right? >> exactly that. shows knowledge of issues, cleaning up a political vulnerability for the iraq war, and just think that primary season debates is all they have. studying game film. no doubt. wolf, instructable only so far. in a primary season, the opponent she's going after, she wants his supporters eventually and the people in the audience like -- her people like bernie sanders, during the primary season. a different, entirely different scenario than going up against trump. >> talk about donald trump's strength. what is his biggest strength? >> does a good job conveying a populist message. right? doesn't get into specifics clearly but the way he delivers it in these bite-sized morsels, which are being embraced right now by white working class voters who feel they've been left behind, not just by democrats but washington as a whole, and that really helped fuel his success so far. >> and he does have a very

compelling message, and it is in a way people can understand and he speaks in sound bites. you're right. also very confident. sometimes to a fault, but it does play well. he understands television. he understands how to play to the cameras. and for that, this could be a very good venue for him. >> an exchange he had with jeb bush, and at one of the republican primary debates. >> donald, you know, is great at, at the one liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and he'd be a chaos president. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. it's been a total disaster. nobody cares, and frankly i'm the most solid person up here. >> you see somebody attacks him, he goes right back. >> the counterpunch, clearly a strength of his and you see it there. to what jake was saying, he is a mfter of television. understands it well.

just his facial expression when jeb bush first spoke in that clip is donald trump understanding what television can do. >> if hillary goes after him, hillary clinton goes after him tonight, is he going to take the high road or respond as he did in those republican primary debates? >> well, i think initially he's going to try to take the high road, but if she does go after him specifically using his own words against him like we've seen in the television ads she's running i don't know where he can stay on the high road. and then this really turns into a boxing ring. >> she's been good turning it around. remember, you're likable enough, hillary, in the primary debate with president obama . she's very good, someone looks like they're being unfair or a jerk, she's very good at capitalizing on that. >> he's had excellent trainers, if you will, helping him prepare for the debate. people with a lot of debate experience? >> certainly in sort of political professionals, like

rudy giuliani or chris christie what have done this. no doubt, helped there, too. but roger ailes not only has -- >> formerer head of fox news. >> and former republican operative in the reagan/bush years. on this stage and as well as fox news, he created, a lot of help for donald trump as well. >> see how that help unfolds behind us later tonight. we've discussed the candidates' strengths. how will trump and clinton try to exploit each other's weaknesses? the panel is with us. we'll continue on that right after a quick break. you with the same view, it may be time for a different perspective. if other treatments haven't worked well enough, ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works by focusing right in the gi-tract to help control damaging inflammation and is clinically proven to begin helping many patients

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we're back. we're here at hofstra university on long island in new york. ahead of this evening's presidential debate. the candidates, they have their strengths but also bring certain weaknesses to the table as well. how could they make each of them potentially vulnerable? bringing back our political panel, david chalian, david preston, jackie kucinich. talking about donald trump's weaknesses. >> the first is the truth. a weakness of his, and so obviously you've seen a lot of coverage about the counterfactual statements he's made in just the last week. we've seen this from lots of news organizations. and we've done it ourselves. checked a lot of the things he's said. that's a problem on a debate stage, because both hillary clinton and lester holt presumably will feel the need to correct, if he tells a whopper, a real incorrect statement he puts out there, to correct the record in that moment. and that is going to be -- i know donald trump thinks, oh, the press doing their thing, but the american people have a right

to know what's fact kmul and what's not factual. >> is lester holt the moderator going to do that type of fact checking? the presidential debate commission says that's not necessarily the role of the moderator. that's the role of the opponent. the other presidential candidate? >> right, and it was said here on "reliable sources" on brian stelter's show yesterday, said it publicly, came out and said that. talking to brian and his sources inside nbc have said, in fact, lester holt will not be a potted plant on the stage. what does that exactly mean? we don't necessarily know. i suspect a couple of things. one, focus pd and deliberate on which ones he actually steps in on and i offer this advice, and, wolf, done many debates together, and david. bottom line, lester holt might be smart at the top of the debate to lay out the ground rules how he plans to act during it so there are no surprises. >> what about donald trump's

weaknesses? what do you see? >> he has a very thin skin and sometimes let's his ego take over. if we see that tonight, talked a little about that. if we see that tonight, that could be a big problem for donald trump. we know he can give a speech, know had can be serious, but on the debate stage, he kind of gets carried away sometimes. we haven't seen him in this forum and hasn't done it against one other person. so we'll see who shows up tonight. >> remembering that clip. play it for viewers now when marco rubio was suggesting that donald trump had small, or little hands, if you will. look how he responded at that debate. >> he hit my hands. nobody has ever hit my hands. i've never heard of this one. look at those hands. are they small hands? and -- he referred to my hands, if they're small, smug elomethie must be small. i guarantee, there's no problem. i guarantee you. >> a lot of us remember that little exchange i. >> think one of the lower moments of the president's

campaign, but it does show you, to jackie's point that he can get rattled. he does -- people do have the ability to get under his skin and how he manages that is important. i don't think that was a great moment for donald trump. >> no. >> no. or for america. >> yes. what about hillary clinton's weaknesses? >> look, she has her own problems to deal with. you know, i think most important is that she does, and jackie touched upon this a little bit, she gets caught in the weeds sometimes. so bookish, and said herself she's nos a politician, not a natural politician like her husband. now, her husband is bookish, but, gosh, he could warm up a room quickly. she has difficulty doing that and acknowledged that. that is one of her biggest hurdles she needs to clear tonight. >> play a clip from one of the democratic primary debates in october. once again, explaining her e-mails. listen to this. >> i've taken responsibility for it. i did say it was a mistake. what i did was allowed by the state department, but it wasn't the best choice.

and i have been as transparent as i know to be turning over 55,000 pages of-maile-mails, asking they be made public. >> i assume that's a subject tonight? >> absolutely. and can get bogged down on the weeds on that. start talking legalese. sounds like something her lawyer told her to say. the over explanation doesn't sound trustworthy. something she has to overcome. the numbers are fluctuating and recently dropping with hillary clinton. that's the key to winning some of these voters that aren't sure what they think about her and don't like what they're seeing right now. >> this is a very close race right now. national polls, polls in the battle states, neck and neck. how important is this debate tonight? >> think is where both campaigns agree. the most important day of the 2016 campaign. barring some other event happening between now and election day, they both agree on that. you truly can't overstate how

important it is. you are right, i think because -- the stakes are even higher because it is deadlocked, in a tight race and frankly, donald trump has momentum coming into this. they are deadlocked. hillary clinton had a very clear lead that eroded. i'm curious to see, does that make her a little more nervous tonight? give him a little more confidence tonight? and how they deal with that aspect of it, just the state of the race as they take steps on to the stage. to me, i'm interested about that. >> do you think hillary clinton will try to get under his skin and see if she can provoke some sort of exaggerated response? >> do it in a hillary clinton way, not a bombastic way we've seen from donald trump but i think she is going to use some of the things he has said and weave that into what differentiates the two of them as candidates working on any kind of issue. you know, at this point whether foreign policy, isis, the

economy, women's issues, or what have you? >> an exciting time behind us on that stage tonight. we're live here from inside the debate hall at hofstra university. the first presidential debate is a few hours away. up next, i'll speak to two members of congress close to both candidates. what they want to see, how trump and clinton are prepping for tonight's big event. this and a whole lot nomore whe we come back. smoking's a monkey on my back. it was, it was always controlling your time, your actions, your money. it had me. it had me. i would not be a non-smoker today if it wasn't for chantix. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix

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right now republican vice presidential candidate mike pence is in milford, new hampshire, holding a campaign rally there, in what we call the granite state. the bill political stop is later tonight right here in hempstead, new york, out on long island.

welcome back to our special coverage of the first president's debate. joining us now, a pair of new york state congressmen, democrat steve israel, backs hillary clinton. republican chris collins, of course, backs donald trump. thanks for joining us. what do you anticipate toneight? insults or issues? >> donald trump is a guy comfortable firing people on national television. hillary clinton will stoic what counts for americans. how do we strengthen wages and paychecks, how do we keep people safe? if you judge lie perfoby stakes >> two-thirds of america said we're going in the wrong direction. donald trump is the agent of change. as he stands up and says to america, imagine a future when we are one america when we have

jobs for our children and grandchildren, imagine america when we have defeated isis, secured our borders? that is the america donald trump as president will promise to america day, and their imaginations will be able to see a brighter future. that's my hope that we talk about the status quo candidate and the change candidate. >> trump takes the high road, talks about policy, issue, the future of america. how is hillary clinton going to explain? >> the high road has to be an even standard. you can't apply one standard to hillary clinton and one to donald trump. donald trump who reads teleprompters shows up, doesn't droll because of saying something offensive -- >> there's no teleprompters tonight. >> exactly. will it be the donald trump who shoots from the hips and says offensive things that loses elections. i'm fascinated to see when donald trump shows up, and

finally, this may be the most watched presidential debate in history. i think it's also going to be the most fact-tested presidential debate. fact checked presidential debate. donald trump cannot win this debate making stuff up going along. that's central to this evening. >> go ahead. >> what you'll see tonight is president trump addressing america, addressing the future, the changes he will bring and i think he will be backhanding hillary clinton in one segment after another, the divisiveness of this nation today, the fact that our cities are in -- in an uproar and that the future of our country is not going in the right direction. if he stays on that theme, looks and sounds presidential, the mowment many mow ment um -- momentum to take him to the white house. >> every presidential candidate since the '70s released their

tax returns. what about -- >> that doesn't mean that -- ironic, one after another folks said i want to see what the russian money interests are. that's not on a tax return. his financial disclosure form tells everything he owns -- >> it tells his charitable contributions, an issue, u knas know. >> he's given money through his foundation. when their kids don't have jobs, the uproar in our cities, one ar another, with isis, didn't exist before hillary and barack obama came into office is a threat to the civilization -- >> that's the kind of fact-checking you're going to see tonight. what does he have to hide? why not release his tax forms? a fair question. >> he does not want to give competitors the advantage of knowing the money he makes or doesn't make, and every partnership involved in. i am involved in a lot of private companies. >> but he's running for

president, not ceo of trump enterprises. >> you don't release that to your competitors. it's bad business. >> he will be making financial decisions for the united states of america. >> he has disclosed -- not nearly as required by the member of congress. released to release much more information than donald trump ever has. why is he continuing to refuse to release that information? >> a decision for donald trump, but i can tell you he shouldn't give competitors that kind of advantage, and i don't think at the end of the day the american 3ub politublic cares. >> he'll go after her for e-mails, lying, the whole decision he's apologized for but insist she is still lying. >> talking forthright after about e-mails, she has and we're in a college campus. what is she doing to do to redees the crushing college debt? what is donald trump's solution?

keep us safe from isis? you'll see a contrast of ideas. as you led off if this is insult versus insult, a problem for both candidates. one candidate's ideas versus the other, donald trump has no ideas. >> the kids graduating today in the obama economy can't get jobs, living in the basement of their parents' houses. >> as compared to the bush economy, really doing well? >> again, if hillary has to keep going back to the bush economy. eight years of obama and less 2.2% growth, sluggish recovery in the histories since the great depression and our kids are having traub getting jobs, that's the economy under donald trump. >> ay side from attacking the economy what is donald trump going to do on college debt? >> college debt, stats with personal accountability when it comes to the students running ufr the college debt. >> it's their fault? >> go to a community college in

new york for nothing. get a two-year degree. >> i went to one. >> with no debt. >> all right. >> then go to a state university, transfer those credi credits, no debt. personal accountability enters equation. >> quickly, we're out of time. biggest fear tonight? >> it just becomes donald trump slinging mud and that hurts the democratic process. >> your biggest fear? >> i don't have a fear. donald trump will do great. president trump is coming onstage no fears whatsoever. >> the first member of congress to endorse donald trump, seven moss two days ago. >> very proud of that. good to have people from two parts of new york stit. >> great to be here. nearly a week since keith lamont scott was killed in an altercation with charlotte police. the release of dashcam and body cam video has done little to answer a lot of the questions surrounding his death. scott's brother-in-law joins us with the family's reaction, right after a quick break.

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in charlotte, north carolina, the violence subsided, videos released but relatives of

a man shot and killed by police are left with few answers and a lot of lingering questions. over the weekend police released dashcam and body cam video of the shooting that left keith lamont scott dead. warn you, the video is disturbing. at one point scott on the left of your screen getting ouch his he has his arm by the right side of his body but no gun appears visible. his brother, ray dodd, says questions about scott's character only cloud the issue. >> unfortunately, we're left with far more questions than answers. we shouldn't have to humanize him in order for him to be treated fairly. what we know and what you should know about him is that he was an american citizen who deserved better. that is our position. and it should be yours.

>> ray dotch is joining us now from new york. thanks very much for joining us. so, what's the next step for the family? >> we believe it's important for us to do our best to expand the conversation. we understand that this situation is bigger than us. it's more than just about our family. it's more than just about keith scott. it's about us as a nation realizing that we share inherent prejudice. and that is why this is happening again and again and again. the problem, though, is that we're reluctant to talk about it with unfiltered honesty. >> as you know, your sister released video footage she had of the shooting that certainly but a lot more pressure on police to make the dash cam and body cam video public.

was that her intention? was that her hope? >> i think that we always wanted all of the footage to come out because the only thing we've ever wanted is the truth. for us, we want to get to the bottom of what happened. it doesn't make sense to us that this particular incident would escalate to the loss of life. and the fact that it has, we want to get as many answers from as many sources as we can, just so we can get to the truth. >> ray, does it make any difference to you and the family that your brother-in-law was killed by an african-american police officer? >> notic. and that's why i use the term inherent prejudice. we all carry it. it's not always a black and white situation. i believe and we believe that there's an attitude towards certain people in certain neighborhoods. that doesn't always center solely around the color of the skin of the police officer.

i think that, unfortunately, we as a nation -- the best way i can describe it, wolf, is that we like to live lies. we like to say we are the land of the free, but the truth is, we know that not everybody in this country lives that way, is afforded that. we like to say we're the home of the brave but we also know we don't have the courage to pull back the curtain and take a good, long, hard look at ourselves so we can become a more perfect union. and let me also say this, wolf, we as a family are not at all interested in fighting with the police. nobody wants to be at arms bi--e at odds with law enforcement. that's not our goal. we want to get you the truth and pull back the curtain on what we need to change to make it better

so these kind of things can't happen and there's no other family member sitting in this chair, talking about the death of their loved one like i'm doing right now. >> protests have been mostly peaceful in charlotte since the violence erupted tuesday night. what's your message to the protesters moving forward? >> i think that the idea is to keep protesting. i think that we have to demand that change occurs. and i think historically what we've learned is sitting back and being quiet doesn't do anything. so, we must stand up. we must stand up as a united states and say that we are outraged. enough is enough with this happening. we're going to have to be able to do something so that every single time there's an encounter with police, it doesn't result in the loss of life. if the only way we can accomplish that is to stand up and to make our voices heard, then that's what people should do. so, we certainly encourage them doing it peacefully.

we certainly encourage them to stand strong and continue. and we want everybody who feels that this sort of thing needs to change will join in. >> ray dotch, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you. that's it for me. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room" for our international viewers amanpour. for our north american viewers, erin burnett picks up from hofstra university after a quick break. >> he is unqualified to be you pay your car insurance premium like clockwork.

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i'm erin burnett, special cnn coverage from hofstra university in hempstead, new york, this afternoon, the site of what may become -- likely to become the most watched political event ever. it's the first presidential debate. experts predict as many as 100 million will tune in to see for the first time hillary clinton and donald trump standing side by side, face-to-face, just as multiple polls are now coming in, this is just over the past couple of days, showing it essentially tied for who will win the race for the white house. 43 days away from the actual