MSNBC "The Beat with Ari Melber" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Adam Schiff
Interview
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MELBER: Big questions about Donald Trump`s plan for the troops at the border. Trump walking away from the suggestion that they should open fire against migrants with rocks. "CNN" is reporting that Pentagon rejected a request from Homeland Security that the troops perform emergency law enforcement functions, instead saying they`re actually there to support civil authorities.
Is this election politics or more? I want to bring in Congressman Adam Smith, Democrat from Washington State and I want to mention, as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Congressman, you would potentially be chairing that committee if your party prevails next week. Thanks for being here tonight.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA), RANKING MEMBER ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Thanks for the chance. I appreciate it.
MELBER: Let`s start here with what Trump is saying he might do on the border. How would you deal with that if you become chairman?
SMITH: Well, first of all, we need to be clear. President Trump hasn`t delivered on the promises he made to the American people. And your two guests alluded to that just a moment ago. Our healthcare system is falling apart. He has had no replacement. People with pre-existing conditions are increasingly being denied access to healthcare.
You`ve got Senator Mitch McConnell saying that you know, because of these $2 trillion in tax cuts that they gave to corporations and the wealthy, they now want to cut Social Security and Medicare, something that Donald Trump promised he would not do. There`s no infrastructure plan. On promise after promise, it is important to working-class people in this country, the president hasn`t delivered.
So what does he want to do? He wants to distract you and scare you as your previous guest said by imagining an invasion coming from our southern border. This inflammatory rhetoric is incredibly divisive, and dangerous, and creates fear in this country and we have seen it, and it creates violent reactions. I think the president is being unbelievably irresponsible in this language about what`s happening south of our border.
And the only reason he is introducing active duty military to it is to ramp up that fear. If you`re claiming there`s invasion, well send the active military down there because that proves it. This is an incredible waste of resources.
MELBER: Do you think he is playing politics with enlisted soldiers?
SMITH: I don`t think there`s any question about it. We have had, in fiscal year 2018, 400,000 people attempt to cross the borders in an unauthorized fashion. The border patrol was able to handle that. Now, we`ve got a series of caravans but by best estimate, the only one that`s recently close to us has about 1,000 to 2,000 people, half of whom are children. Our current border control can absolutely handle that, number one.
Number two, it is not an invasion. It is people seeking asylum. I got an e-mail today from, I don`t know, America First Group. I`m somehow on their e-mail list telling me that there`s this invasion coming to our southern border full of terrorists and murderers and the worst people. That is completely untrue, but that is Donald Trump`s right-wing fear mongering message to cover over the fact that he hasn`t delivered on the promises that he made to the American people.
MELBER: Well, it is interesting because you`re so involved in the oversight to that to get a little factual antidote from you and to keep an eye on what happens. Nobody knows what`s going to happen Tuesday but you would be in a position be driving this if your party does prevail. Congressman Adam Smith on the Democratic side, thank you so much.
SMITH: Thank you for the chance.
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