Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" - Interview with Rep. Mark Pocan

Interview

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INGRAHAM: The win last night by little-known Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last night was a stunning upset over a member of the Democrats' House leadership team. Some are calling Ocasio the new torchbearer for the far left of the Democratic Party. And as we noted earlier, she supports the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE.

So let's look at the party's future with a sitting Democratic Congressmen who also shares that view, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin. Congressman, first of all, I want to thank you for coming on this show. We invite a lot of your colleagues in the Democratic Party and most of them say no. We really respect you for coming on tonight. So thanks so much.

REP. MARK POCAN, D--WISC.: Very glad to be her.

INGRAHAM: So your thoughts on the win last night.

POCAN: I think what we saw, not just that win but other wins around the country, a lot of people are progressive, especially in the Democratic primaries. But I would argue a lot of those issues resonate in competitive districts. So we actually did a poll for the progressive caucus, 30 competitive swing districts. The issues that progressive supported mirrored the issues that people in the swing districts supported. So again, I think if you talk in an honest and authentic like Bernie Sanders did when he ran, I think you can do really well with the voters.

INGRAHAM: This is what Ocasio-Cortez said when she was asked today about whether she would support Nancy Pelosi as speaker. Let's watch.

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INGRAHAM: So that was her talking about Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. You also agree with her that ICE should be abolished, correct?

POCAN: Yes. So I was down at the border a couple weeks ago and just watching the buildup of how ICE has been misused from its original focus I think after 9/11. And I just think that it's impossible for ICE to still do its functions. Now when people see an ICE jacket, instead of being able to go into community and get information to get someone who might be a bad figure, everyone's afraid and they run from it. You're not going to be able to accomplish the goal. So we think there are plenty of functions that have to continue to happen. You can put those back in other agencies, but the way ICE currently is operating especially under President Trump makes it impossible.

INGRAHAM: Again, they are operating that way because we have a fairly big crush from Central America, not as much from Mexico, but from Central America across the border. We've had tens of thousands of people come over the last several months. You've got to do something with them, and ICE is charged with figuring out why people are coming into the country. If you're not coming through a normal port of entry, they have to be dealt with. You wouldn't submit that they just walk into the country and not be greeted by anybody, correct?

POCAN: So here is one of the problems that I found when I went to the Hidalgo Bridge, a legal point of entry where you can claim asylum. They are doing everything possible to make it almost possible for someone to come there to claim asylum. So then you either go back into Mexico where you can be kidnapped by a cartel and held hostage.

INGRAHAM: Why is Mexico not getting people asylum? They gave like 14,000 people asylum.

POCAN: I don't work for the Mexican government, so I couldn't tell you. But what happens is people get forced into that risk of a cartel or they come in illegally and then they wind up in the system. So really part of our problem is how we are taking enforcement at those legal points of entry.

INGRAHAM: This is what she said, Ocasio-Cortez, about the Nancy Pelosi issue. I think we have it now. Apparently we have trouble. But she said she wouldn't support her. That's an interesting position your party is in. The Republicans have gone through their own fits and starts, and they elected Donald Trump. They really hit leadership. John Boehner is out. Eric Cantor is out. Donald Trump is president. Are you going to see that in the Democrat Party? Is she more like you, more like the Bernie Sanders wing, is that the vibrant future where you can get blue-collar workers, maybe white working-class workers, to look toward the party?

POCAN: I think, again, what we are trying to do is if we appeal on an economic message, I think the one thing we can all agree on is Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump ran on actually a pretty similar message about the system being rigged against them, and it resonated. And so I think what we've seen in some of these primaries around the country when people talk about the fact that unfortunately in this town the special interests have way too much sway. People really feel that. Drain the swamp was a brilliant line.

INGRAHAM: Why did Wisconsin go for Trump?

POCAN: Actually because of trade. Donald Trump on the 30,000 foot level addressed it correctly. I think he's fumbled it completely since he's become president.

INGRAHAM: We're getting all these jobs back including in Wisconsin.

POCAN: Harley-Davidson is one of the biggest employers in Wisconsin.

INGRAHAM: Harley-Davidson had already, as you know, I love Harley-Davidson but they had already started to transition to some extent into bicycles. Now they're making bicycles because they couldn't figure out a way to market the big, what do they call them, the hogs. Are you a hog driver?

POCAN: Our governor is.

INGRAHAM: So they had a little trouble with that. But I don't think we should attack Harley-Davidson. All I'm saying is there's a lot of manufacturing coming back into the United States. We see a resurgence with steel. And you can say what you want about Trump fumbled it, but he's actually disrupting the old way, which had to be disrupted, for Wisconsin, for Ohio, for Pennsylvania.

POCAN: We actually are seeing a lot of job loss. I'm not against targeted tariffs. Actually in the Democratic Party I'm one of the people who said Donald Trump --

INGRAHAM: Come on. Become a Republican. Forget the Democrats.

POCAN: The problem is he doesn't have a philosophy around trade. He is just throwing tariffs via tweet. A lot of Democrats and Republicans --

INGRAHAM: Have you spent any time with Bob Lighthizer, the U.S. trade rep?

POCAN: I am tomorrow.

INGRAHAM: You are tomorrow. One of the smartest people. I think you and he will have an interesting conversation.

POCAN: I think he has a philosophy around trade. I'm not sure the president does.

INGRAHAM: He is super smart.

POCAN: I've heard that from many people.

INGRAHAM: Trump wants to bring manufacturing and strength back to key American sectors where other countries are cheating. The only way to do that is to shake up the system. He's doing that.

POCAN: I think if he listens to Lighthizer more, he might be better off.

INGRAHAM: Thank you for coming on.

POCAN: Yes, of course.

INGRAHAM: Was it that scary?

POCAN: No, not at all.

INGRAHAM: Everyone probably wants me to beat you up more, but we can find --

POCAN: I look forward to my next invite.

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