CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with former Gon. John Hickenlooper

Interview

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CABRERA: All right. Will Ripley in Seoul, South Korea, for us. Thank you.

I'm joined now by Democratic presidential candidate and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.

Governor, do you take issue with President Trump meeting Kim Jong-un at the DMZ and then stepping into North Korea?

JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, it's showboating. I mean, these are the highest stakes imaginable -- nuclear weapons, nuclear proliferation -- and they should not be negotiated by tweet. You know, out in Colorado, we refer to this sometimes as acting like -- you know, behaving like a cowboy. Although, in this case, I think both of them, it's all hat and no cattle.

CABRERA: Would you meet Kim, though, if you were president?

[19:04:54] HICKENLOOPER: Yes, but I wouldn't do it on a unilateral basis. Obviously, these are the kinds of negotiations that need to happen with our various allies in the region. And to make sure everyone is at the able. And you have to go cautiously forward.

I'm a big believer in constant engagement. That's what I'd call it. We should be engaging frequently with everyone because, you know, whether it's climate change or nuclear proliferation, the globe has become much smaller, and we need to have those relationships all the time. But to do it by tweet and go off and try and create a celebrity moment, I'm not sure I understand the benefit.

CABRERA: Let's talk about an issue closer to home. I want to ask you about the busing controversy that took center stage at night two of the debate. I know you were night one. This was this moment between Senator Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Earlier today, here on CNN, Senator Harris' national press secretary revealed Harris supports busing today. Would you support busing to help further integrate schools if elected president?

HICKENLOOPER: Well, certainly, making sure that our education system is thoroughly integrated should be a goal for everyone. And in many places, busing is essential to making that happen. So, you know, within that framework, absolutely, I would support busing.

CABRERA: So you do support busing in the context of desegregation, right?

HICKENLOOPER: Exactly. I think that you --

CABRERA: OK.

HICKENLOOPER: -- you need to make -- be very clear on what your goals are and how you're going to get there.

CABRERA: Now, we're a couple of days out from the debates. The conversation, though, is still largely focused on this issue and comments from the past, rather than focusing on a vision for America in the future. Do you think this helps or hurts Democrats?

HICKENLOOPER: You know, I think this is an issue that helps Democrats. And I was on the second night on Thursday night, so I saw it up close and personal. And, you know, it was a very direct -- you know, they were both being very direct with each other in a way you don't always see in debates. Certainly, we didn't see it Wednesday night. But they were both, you know, making their points explicit, and there was no question about where each other stood.

CABRERA: I'm sure you've seen the attacks now about this tweet. A lot of other Democratic candidates have come forward, condemning the tweet from Don Junior that questioned whether Kamala Harris was a, quote, Black American or an American Black since her mother's from India, her father's from Jamaica. Senator Bernie Sanders went so far as to call Don Junior racist. What are your thoughts on this?

HICKENLOOPER: Well, I think it's another example -- you know, I tell people I'm running for president because we are in a crisis of division. And we've never been this divided since the Civil War, probably. And this is a classic case of the Trump family -- it's not just the President -- are trying to find every way they can to divide us because they really haven't delivered what they promised in 2016. And the only way they have any hope of re-election is, you know, divide, divide, divide.

CABRERA: You like to say you are the only scientist right now seeking the presidency since you're a former geologist. You've released a plan to tackle the climate crisis. But under your leadership, Colorado began producing more crude oil than ever before. You can see the jump shortly after you took office in 2011. How do you square a surge in oil production with environmental protection?

HICKENLOOPER: Well, so the surge in oil production was a function of prices and exploration. So that happens all over the world and, you know, governors don't have a big control net. What we did do is get the oil and gas industry to sit down with the

environmental community and create the first methane regulations in the history of America. Methane's 25 times more harmful to climate change than CO2 is, so no one had ever -- I mean, all the methane gets vented, was flared. We got the oil and gas industry to agree to pay for it. And in doing that, it was the equivalent of taking 320,000 automobiles a year off the streets of Colorado.

That's -- you know, if we're going to address climate change, we got to get everyone at the table, figure out what are the fastest ways to reduce these harmful emissions, and then go global. Back to that constant engagement, we got to get everyone on the world helping us.

CABRERA: You also kept a fracking ban off the ballot, though, in Colorado in 2014. You spoke out against a similar measure last year in 2018. I hear what you're saying about methane, but critics of fracking cite environmental and health concerns as well.

HICKENLOOPER: So we haven't had, in Colorado, the water contamination that people are so worried about. We just have never seen it. That is a real problem in parts of New York and Pennsylvania, and I recognize that. But that, in Colorado, we haven't had that same issue.

CABRERA: All right, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, 2020 candidate. Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time.

HICKENLOOPER: Thank you, Ana.

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