sharyl: welcome to "full measure." i'm sharyl attkisson. the first presidential debate is tomorrow night. americans have a lot of questions. is clinton's health up to it? will trump keep his cool? the polls are growing tighter and so is the time until the election. with the debate looming, we asked both candidates for an interview. so far, clinton has declined. i caught up with donald trump on the campaign trail in ft. myers, florida and began by asking him about the recent islamic extremist terrorist attacks in new york, new jersey, and minnesota. some of the analysts and some people who are experts, as well as some of the media, seem to go into contortions to try not to say early on it was a possible terrorist event. they want to go in and they just don't wanna say that, because that offends some people, including our president. they don't want to mention the term radical islamic terrorism under any circumstance, including hillary clinton. i laughed this morning when i see her on television saying how she's gonna do this and that. she's been there for 30 years, she hasn't done anything. i mean, she's all talk and no action. but she was saying that she's gonna this and i'm the one that's been talking about this for a long time, as long as you've known me. and this is radical islamic terrorism. it has to be dealt with sharply. it's the only language that they're gonna understand and this problem that we have now is only going to get worse with weak leadership. sharyl: on the economy, in a recent survey, a majority of business economists said that hillary clinton was the best choice for the economy. and libertarian gary johnson came in a distant second, and you came in third. why do you think that is and how could you change their minds? donald trump: well, i think that the most respected economists i think that i've seen tremendous reviews of my tax plan, but they do know, you have to understand, they do know that i'm gonna stop these horrible trade deals. we're gonna have trade, we're gonna have free trade, but we're gonna have real free trade, not free trade, which is a one-way highway out of our country for our jobs and our money. nafta is the worst trade deal ever signed in the history of the world, not only the country. you look at what it's done to our states, and you look at what it's done to, you know, our country, what it's done to us. the jobs are gone, the money's gone. i go upstate new york, i go to pennsylvania, i to ohio, i go all over, especially for the primaries, i've never seen devastation like this. we're like a third world country. those factories were vibrant 30 years ago, and today they're empty, they're falling down, they're collapsg from the rain and the snow. so, no, i think that we've had tremendous reviews. i mean, look, i'm gonna lower taxes, hillary clinton is going to raise taxes. i'm going to -- that's what i do, i have thousands and thousands of people that work for me and have, i've created tens of thousands of jobs. but a lot of people are gonna renegotiate our trade deal, sharyl. and i understand that they're concerned, but there's nothing to be concerned about. we lose right now, we have a deficit, in terms of, of all of the trading we do with other countries. we have a trade deficit almost $800 billion a year. we'osremo than $400 billion a h china, in terms of a trade deficit. with mexico, with japan, i mean, what are we dog? what are we doing? i, i often say, who negotiates thdeal so, your establishment people are saying, ohgee, you know, let things be the way. i don't think we can let them be the way they are, because our country is being devastated and our jobs are being taken. sharyl: i want to hit on a couple of personal controversies for you. new york's attorney general, eric schneiderman, who's already suing you over trump university, which he's called a bait and switch fraud, now says he's opened an inquiry to the trump foundation. are you confident that the trump foundation has followed all donald trump: well, i hope so, i mean, my lawyers do it.oney, i'e anything, i take no salaries, i take no costs, i have zero costs, and a lot of money goes through the trump foundation into charities. goes to charities, it doesn't go to me, it goes to charities. sharyl: i'll point out that mr.schneiderman is a hillary clinton supporter and has apparently found nothing worthy of inquiry with the clinton foundation. donald trump: with the hundreds of millions of dollars of things, isn't it interesting, and he said he's not even gonna look at it. good job with it. sharyl: nearly every major news organization has remarked during the obama administration years, that this has been a record for obstruction and lack of trsp but considering your rocky relationshipith the press, do they have reason to be concerned that things will continue along that path or even get worse? maybe reporters you don't age with could get banned, thing like that. donald: well, i think th, that the press has been very dishonest with me, to a large but the press has been very, very dishonest and when i see it, i'm just amazed. at the same time, i will certainly be open to dealing with the press and reporters. sharyl: do you see yourself banning, banning reporters from certain events and things li that? donald trump: no, i don't see that, but a lot of people have done it, and a lot of people, a lot of different businesses have done it. the press has been very, very dishonest. i mean, even recently when i said yesterday, the bombing, and she said, the bombing, and they criticized my use of the word bombing, but not hers and they cut it outan couple of days. so, the relaip with the press, it's not a question of good, all i want is honesty. and if there's someing or something bad, i can handle that, but when you do something great, and they try to make it as negativossible, constantly, it's really not a fair situation. about a year ago, when there was somethinliher republicans in the race and you had a long hau you really think you had a good chance at being here today? donaldru: well, i don't think i would've been doing it if i didn' you know, my question is, is do you really think this was going to happen? d i guess the answer is, i wouldn't have done it if i didn't, you know, i'm not looking to lose. and ionally, i do well, and i win, and i, i, you know, i do a nice job. this has become a very big situation, it's amaz what's happ you see outside, you see the kind of crowds we have. and you just said somethg,ou ought to show pictures of what's outside, because it's true, the press is an example. crowd, ever. the only time they show it is, is a little bit of protest someplace within the crowd, then all of a sudden they show, and theneoe y, wow, what a big crowd that is. i think the answer is, i would assume that i thought this was going to happen, because i wouldn't have done it if i didn't. sharyl: how has the past year changed you? from the time you started this race to where you are today, with all you've learned, the turns that you've taken, and the criticism that you've had, and donald trump: well, i think it's probably changed me, but i haven't had a lot of time to think about it, because every day i'm mpaigning, i'll make three or four major speeches, sometimes in one day, where you have massive crowds and you know that, you see it. it'been an amazing experience. what has been, is that the people of this country are inle.ooking for hope, they're looking for change, they're looking for success, they're looking for victory. we don't win anymore, our country doesn't win anymore. we don't win our trade, we can't beat isis, we don't win with the military. we have the greatest people in the world in our military, but it's depleted. we don't take care of our vets, it looks like the second amendment's in big trouble. certain if i, if i don't win, the second amendment is in big, big trouble. healthcare is a disaster. we don't win anymore, and iil tell you that i think the reason it's caught on so much is, we're gonna win again, we're gonna start winning again. and people understand that and people see it. sharyl: a bit later in the program, i'll ask trump a few questons posed by some of our could be a history making event. scott thuman takes a look at the history of presidential debates to see how they could make or break a candidate. whatcha' doin? just checking my free credit score at credit karma. what the??? you're welcome. i just helped you dodge a bullet. but i was just checking my... shhh... don't you know that checking your credit score lowers it! just be cool. actuly, checking your credit score wi credit karma doesn't affect it at all. are you sure? posi oooh "check out ckadirma today. creditarma. give yourself some credit." sorry about that. sharyl: 73% of all registered voters in the u.s. s theplan to tune into the debate tomorrow night. and that doesn't include a big number of non-voters who will watch in fascination from the sidelines. of debates, george w. bush once said, "i don't think you ever win them, but you darn sure can may prove pivotal. on the history of must-see political tv. >> good evening. scott: on september 26, 1960, more than 70 million america tuned in to see senator john kennedy go toe-to-toe with vice president richard nixon. >> this is a great country. scott: the optics were everything, kennedy was tanned and rested, while nixon was pale, underweight, and sweaty. prof. lichtman: while i don't think the debates moved the needle very much, ey ended the narrative that kennedy wasn't prepared. scott: allan lichtman is a political historian and professor at amerity in washingn,.c. prof. lichtman: he was so factual. he was so knowledgeable. scott: kenn's knock-out rformance not only helped seal his candidacy, but also cemented the role of tv in making or breaking the candidates. and it's the miakes. domination of eastern europe. scott: the gaffes. pres. bush: before we go to deployment on the midgetman missile or otemath whatever it is -- we're going to have to -- the mx -- mx -- 're going to have to do that. pres. bush: it's christmas. it's ghter]s. scott: and the one liners. mr. perot: there will be a giant sucking sound going south. scott: that have come to define the debates. pres. reagan: i am not going to exploit, for pitical purposes, my opponent's youth an scott: while reagan's zinger ended what lichtman calls the "negative narrative" about his age, he says al gore's performance in 2000 only enhanced his. prof. lichtman: "you're too overwrought, you're too overblown, you exaggerate things," and with all his incredibly deep sighing in a debate. [heavy sighing] intimidate george w. bush. >> but can you get things done? prof. lichtman: all he did was ade the arnegarative scott: lichtman says with polls showing clinton and trump neck and neck, tomorrow's debates are more high stakes than usual. prof. lichtman: both candidates have such high negatives and so much to prove. scott: how important is it that they just get out clean? prof. lichtman: it shouldn't be important at all that they just avoid a gaffe, i think one of the big problems with media coverage is that they cover it like nascar, t everyoke but that's not criticly wt candates should be judged on. what candas should be judged on is their knowlee, visi, their values, their experience, their truthfulness. scott: buta campaign where truthfulness has been cota su mrs. clinton: i did not receive or send any matealhawas scott: lichtman says that standard seems unlikely. mr. trump: hillary clinton and her campaign of 2008tartedhe prchlian: we have in donald trump a completely unprecedented candidate, who has become known for making things up, for playing hard and fast with the truth. and then, of course, you have hillary clinton. people wonder what she stands for and people wonder if she's too secretive, and not being honest enough with the american people. so you've got some pretty negative narratives going for both candidates, that they've gotta make sure don't become a tidal wave after the debates. scott: we've seen a lot of show business in the election so far, haven't we? is this going to be a continuation of that? prof. lichtman: donald trump is the master of showbiz, but the question is will that play in debates? everyone that you interview the flash, that's what the voters tell you. well, these debates will be the test of how much they really mean that. sharyl: we set about three quarters of registered voters, more people who are not registered to vote, but we set about three quarters. scott: there are about 146,311,000 registered voters so that would be 106 million. status. some on the conservative side are talking about at least 80 million people watching. sharyl: thanks, scott. appreciate it. still ahead on "full measure" -- wildfires burning out west are an ongoing natural disaster. both the fires and cost of fighting them are spinning out of control. some claim congress is fiddling shar: a wildfire that's been buing for mo tn o months onalifornia's coastline known as big sur has just become the single cosiest service has ever. far ani's only two-thirds contained. "full measure" contributor lisa fletcher reports on the natural disaster that's burning a hole in the feder lisa: e picture postcard views arou b santhis mmer. record wilir closed the highways and hotels, keeping tourists away from one of the central coast's crown jewels. everyone but the firefighters. >> this actually crossed the creek the night before last. lisa: bob baird is the supervisorf th national forest, his job is to put the fires out. bob: the terrain is incredibly complex. it's rugged california with some of the steepest terrain in the lower 48. lisa: summer wilir ith st have been burning bigger, hotter, and faster over the last several years, consuming not only theandscape, but the with fighting the fires. robert: we need congress to act and we neethem to act now. lisa: robert bonnie is the head of the u.s. forest service. he has spent the last four years trying to get congress ttreat fires more like natural disasters. that would shift the cost off the forest service ledgers and over to funds used for emergencies like hurri tornadoes, and floods. robert: if you look back about 20 years, the forest service enspabout xtof its budget on fire and fire fighti. la year,n a d year, we spt north of 60% on fire-related expenses. lisa: what is that in dollars and cents? robert: it was cse'about $5 billn,o you can see that the agency is bemog re and morelessa fire service. lisa: the los padres national forest is ground zero for one of the summer's worst fires, now ss is a enonally putire on the oundy , c create afer from the main and something that we're trying to protec lisa: thousands of firefighto f, not to mtion the helicopters, bulldozers, and fleets of water trucks -- at a cost of $210 million and counting. with budget, programs designed to prevent fires are in jeopardy. in ft, in 2015, the rest rvice had toak t$700 million from prevention programs and put it into firefighting. these flammable landscapes become far more volatile when the money isn't there to manage pests like the tree killing bawl burrow around the tree in the layer that actually carries the. lisa: fire captain mike lindbery works on some of the biggest fis across the country. dead standing right now all over the state. lisa: and what is the translation for a firefighter? capt. lindberry: the translation for a firefighter is, one, faster moving more deadly fires and the fact even while they're fighting these fires, there's the danger of the trees dropping on them at anyoi. lisa: and youe drping on thkilled with a tree capt. liy: there was a firefighter kill lt week from a tree dropping on him, t's correct. lisa: forest fires produce a double jeopardy. after crews extinguish the flames, the barrenandspe creates a threat for mudslid subsntl backlog. i thinit might be as much as 5 llion acs of areas where we'd like to plant tr post-fire and we essentially c' lisa: li he,erigh above big sur, where mark gerwe's been on e ont li ms.th ts dist markabsolute it's a ster. and for congress andasngton not to recognizehat and stt hard look at that and understand that this is, this is at's going on. lisa: for years,ouse and senate have been at an impasse tting out peop out there tired of hearing about so many committees ansoanle iolved that can't come tan agreement. robert: that's exactly right. this is an issue where there is broad agreement and we need to x it. it's absolutely clear. i think this is becoming mor and more an issue that many americans see every day and think the anger is for not getting on top of this faster, for congress not acting, is growing. lisa: and are the fes more than 14 million acres have burned in the last two years. lisa fletcher, big sur, california. sharyl: still ahead, a few of your questions that we posed to ng"you don't want to drive old blue forever, do you?" "turn it off." "i did." "credit karma huh?" "yea, it's free." "that was easy." "credit karma. give yourself some credit." sharyl: earlier, donald trump responded to a few of my questions. now, it's your turn. we asked the republican presidential nominee some of questions you suggested. what does it mean to be an american? donald trump: to me, being an american is the ultimate, you have to be so lucky to be born into this country. it's the ultimate jackpot. sharyl: will you keep tweeting, yourself, if you become president? donald tru: probably not, although it is a great way of communicating. sharyl: it can be. this is a more complex question, but maybe you can just touch on it. what would you do if russia were to invade estonia? donald trump: well, i don't want to say, because i don't like saying, i don't like telling people what i'm going to do. have is, every politician gets upset. we're gonna this, we're gonna ops he, we're gonna send troops there, they're gonna arrive at a certain time of the y. i n'liaying that. i, i think it's a ad poli tbecuin : is your tax philosophy y to run t a cerinmo governmeulak and spend that? no, itk a ain ountf money and you want to take care of your people and we end up, but taxes are too high in th country. a massive tx reduction and i'm also getting rid of regulatn, we have so the tareduction i'm giving is, is treous,ut you kno what, pelere more excited about thretion cutting we have regulations on regulations, and hes it's tt out of control, and it' that c tell you.inses, yoursea lf, yearou could go back ag somethahiyou've learnetoy, hto change, how to act, would there be something? nald tmp: well, inhi, and i would've known thisybwihaving to go give u sharyl: a progranote -- you to nht' sinclair sti. thi follow-uto my ofur tax -moy"ries uctionsching report sa thath u.s. efft to help rebuild the countractuibut to and sense of right. : somet ulhappen ai th i week onfull that's all for this week. thanks foratching. i'm shylttkiss. until next time, we will be ching r retories t hello. and thank you for watching community matters on myrdc. we'll, hope you continue to watch as we discuss issues facing our community and provide you with the resources and information needed to find solutions. ? today, we're talking about autism statewide. is increasing allyts wiby 14-17% while student la poon is ly growing -3%. communicioto at the autism society of north carolina ankim tizzard, e moer of a young man th aism and the autism resource specialist rectororhe autism etci and, to both of u, wee resource specialist rectororhe autism etci thank you. ap

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