MSNBC "Hardball" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. James Clyburn

Interview

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MATTHEWS:  Well, Axios is reporting that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- quote -- "told Trump over the phone that the decision he made, made no sense.
 
For more, I`m joined by House Majority Whip U.S. Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina. 
 
Mr. Whip, thank you so much for this. 
 
What -- how…
 
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA:  Thank you. 
 
MATTHEWS:  I guess ask you a logic question.  How do you keep protections against people -- or people with preexisting conditions and protections up to kids who are 26-year-old children of them, how do you do all that if you have no plan?  It doesn`t make sense. 
 
CLYBURN:  No, it doesn`t. 
 
MATTHEWS:  No plan to do that with.
 
CLYBURN:  No, it doesn`t.
 
Thank you so much for having me, Chris. 
 
And the fact remains, this president has once again misled the American people.  He said time and time again that he would protect people with preexisting conditions. 
 
And we are told that 52 million Americans are under 65 have preexisting conditions that would make them ineligible for the Affordable Care Act.  So it would seem to me that the first thing you ought to be doing is improving what we have already done. 
 
He says they will be -- the Republican Party is going to be the party of health care.  He has not shown us what that means.  He says repeal and replace.  He talks repeal all day, every day.  I have never heard him offer one suggestion as to replacement.
 
On yesterday, Democrats had a press conference around 2:30 in the afternoon, and we laid out for the American people what we`re going to do to improve the Affordable Care Act.  And this president has now been pushing these junk policies.
 
MATTHEWS:  Yes. 
 
CLYBURN:  We are going to get rid of junk policies.  We are going to get rid of any attempt not to cover people with preexisting conditions. 
 
We are going to say to those people in these communities whose children are born with diabetes that you will be able to bring those children onto your insurance policy.  And children who are still in college, they can stay on your insurance policy until they`re 26 years old. 
 
If you were doing anything, it seems to me, you ought to be lifting the 26 to around 30.
 
MATTHEWS:  Yes. 
 
CLYBURN:  Because the way the economy has gone with this president, they are going to have trouble finding jobs. 
 
MATTHEWS:  Well, it`s hard to ask you a question like this, but what`s the politics in this for him?  I mean, one thing that unites all communities in this country is health care.  Certainly, the whole issue of Medicare, Medicaid is very popular in the country for people of limited means.
 
People have Alzheimer`s in their family.  They need help with Medicaid, all kinds of middle-class people, not just working poor people.  Those programs are very essential to the livelihood of most American families, except for the very rich. 
 
CLYBURN:  Yes, that`s quite true. 
 
In fact, we know for a fact that the largest form of bankruptcy in the country is over health care, people -- the cost of it.  And so what we ought to be doing is working together to shore up the Affordable Care Act, make it the kind of program that it should be to protect American families. 
 
That`s what we have always done in this country.  We said at the day we passed the bill that it was a first step, that, incrementally, we will get to where it needed to be. 
 
But, all of a sudden now, this president wanted to go back to where we were when insurance companies could deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions and also kick people off the policies once they got sick. 
 
MATTHEWS:  Thank you.
 
CLYBURN:  We`ve gotten rid of all of that, and I believe that the American people should remember that old adage.  Fool me once, shame on me -- on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me. 
 
MATTHEWS:  Thank you so much.  Well said. 
 
Next time we have you on, I want you to explain to me South Carolina.  Ha!  You got Mulvaney down there, you got Lindsey Graham.  You got a -- what a collection.  
 
CLYBURN:  Well, I`m still learning this state, Chris.  I`ve only been there for 70-plus years.  I`m still learning.
 
MATTHEWS:  Thank you.  You`re the best man.
 
CLYBURN:  Thank you.
 
MATTHEWS:  Thank you.  You`re the best man down there.  Thank you so much,

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