CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Senator John Kennedy

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCIUTTO: Listen, everybody, please stand by because joining us now, we have Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana.

Senator Kennedy, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), LOUISIANA: You bet. Good morning.

SCIUTTO: Listen, I don't want to, you know, spend your entire day here responding to everything that the president said, but the president just did speak on what is the key issue here which is the shutdown of the government over border security. And I just want to ask you about that point he made claiming that China, a hostile foreign power, in many ways, an authoritarian regime, negotiating with them, that they are more honorable than your colleagues in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, you worked with him for a long time. Nancy Pelosi.

Is that an acceptable thing for the U.S. president to say?

KENNEDY: Here is how I took what the president said. I think he is frustrated. My guess is that Speaker Pelosi is frustrated, too. I think it'd be fair to say that he's made more progress negotiating with President Xi of China than he has negotiating with Speaker Pelosi.

SCIUTTO: But he said China is more honorable.

HARLOW: Honorable.

SCIUTTO: I mean, and remember, it's not the first time he's praised an authoritarian foreign power. He accepted Vladimir Putin's word over the U.S. intelligence community on Russian interference. He has talked about Kim Jong-un in glowing terms. And you know how brutal a leader he is.

KENNEDY: Right.

SCIUTTO: Is that the kind of thing you want to hear coming from a president's mouth?

KENNEDY: I don't think the president is talking about the personalities. I think he is talking about the negotiations. And the negotiations are not going well. I can give you my point of view.

SCIUTTO: Please.

KENNEDY: I spent an hour with the president yesterday with my colleagues. I don't think any fair minded person believes that it's possible to seal a 1900-mile border just with border agents and technology. I don't know any fair-minded person who thinks that we can seal the border without some sort of wall or barrier. Indeed, we have 600 miles now.

Mrs. Pelosi, Speaker Pelosi, who is negotiating for the Democrats I think understands that in her heart, but the problem I think we have is that Mrs. Pelosi's hatred for President Trump is greater than her desire to have border security. The president has indicated any number of times that he is willing to negotiate the amount of moneys involved, but that it is unrealistic to expect us to seal the border without using a barrier. And I happen to think he is right.

I would just point out hate is a very underestimated emotion. I don't know who said that, but someone did. And I think Mrs. Pelosi is allowing her distaste for the president to interfere with resolving this shutdown.

HARLOW: Well, I think the president's distaste for Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, Senator, was just very clear. He's called them less honorable than Xi Jinping and the Chinese regime.

Look, you heard the president many times during the campaign say that Mexico would pay for the wall, right?

KENNEDY: Yes.

HARLOW: OK. So he just said this morning quote, "I never said this." That's not true, he did. And in fact, the White House conceded this to us just yesterday. Here's Mercedes Schlapp.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

HARLOW: She said yes, taxpayers pay for it. Do you think, Senator, that the president has misled the American people on who will actually pay for this?

KENNEDY: No. And I don't think that's relevant to the discussion.

HARLOW: Of course, it's relevant.

KENNEDY: I think --

HARLOW: Respectfully, Senator, of course it's relevant to the discussion. Either you tell the American people the truth about more than $5 billion or you don't. Has he misled the American people or has he been honest with them?

KENNEDY: Poppy, I understand your point. I just don't agree with it. I just don't think it's relevant to this discussion. The only real relevant issue to this, if you strip away the politics and the personalities and dislike for each other, is, can you seal a 1900-mile border without using in part a wall or a physical barrier? I don't care what you call it. You don't have to use the word wall. You can call it a Lang Doodle (PH) for all I care. But I think experience shows both in the United States and Israel, in Saudi Arabia, in Bulgaria, in Malaysia, in India, those countries all use physical barriers, that if you do have --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But, Senator -- here's what hangs in the balance is the people, right? The nearly a million Americans who tomorrow won't get a paycheck. Here is one of them, just listen to him, he's an air traffic controller.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

HARLOW: So does any of this help him?

KENNEDY: No. And I don't want government to be shutdown. I don't know a single one of my colleagues that want government to be shut down. But I do want border security. And I do think that it is not a principle stand -- well, let me put it a different way.

Speaker Pelosi is a very talented person and she is very smart. And I think she knows in her heart that it is impossible to seal a 1900-mile border without using some physical barriers. And I think she is allowing her distaste for the president to interfere with her good judgment. That's my opinion. I know you don't agree with it.

I think what we're headed -- can I just make one other point? I think where we are headed here after listening to the president yesterday and just listening to him this morning and listening to Speaker Pelosi, I think he is going to invoke the National Emergencies Act.

SCIUTTO: Well, do you think believe that that is the right thing to do, to in effect bypass Congress? And are you concerned about the precedent that sets? Because you can imagine future presidents saying, listen, if I can't get money for whatever my legislative priority of the day is, I'm going to call it an emergency and take funds from elsewhere? Doesn't that precedent --- as a sitting United States senator, does that concern you?

KENNEDY: Well, of course. And it's not my preferred choice, Jim. You make a very salient point. But we don't want government to be shut down. And I see no indication that Speaker Pelosi is ever going to concede that a physical barrier is necessary to seal a 1900-mile border. And I don't think the president is -- I think he is tired of fooling around on the border security issue. If there are logger heads and you want to open up government -- let me put it this way.

If the president does invoke the National Emergencies Act, I know some -- it's not my preferred choice, some of my colleagues think it won't end the Western civilization. I don't. And I have done enough research on it to know with the caveat, I'm not recommending it, it will be challenged in court, but the president's position will not be frivolous. I think he has a pretty good legal argument.

SCIUTTO: Well, listen, you may be right because you're certainly seeing both sides dig in here.

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Listen, we always appreciate having you on, Senator Kennedy. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.

KENNEDY: Thanks, guys.

HARLOW: Thank you.

KENNEDY: Thanks for having me.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source