CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. James Comer
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
HARLOW: Thank you, guys. SCIUTTO: Always good to have you on.
Let's speak now with Republican Congressman James Comer of Kentucky.
Congressman, we appreciate you taking the time this morning, and also for being patient as we waited for the press conference there. It's good to have you on.
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Thank you for having me.
SCIUTTO: So, let's begin. You have said like Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP Leader there, that the President's tweets and comments since those tweets are not racist. Let's just remind people he has said that these congresswomen should go back to the broken and crime infested places from which they came.
Though of course three were born here in the U.S., he said that they hate America.
He's falsely claimed that they're pro-terrorist again today. You say they're not racist.
I mean are those comments offensive? Are they divisive? Are they nationalist in your view?
COMER: I don't - I do not think they're racist. I've said that many times over the last 48 hours. They probably are divisive.
I think if you broke down America on the tweets right now. The people that absolutely despise the President are offended by the tweets, and the people that support the President don't have a problem with the tweets.
You know, this President campaigned outside the box. He was a self proclaimed, not politically correct person running for office. And you know the majority of America that elected President Trump are sick and tired of politicians that are politically correct. The ones that come on your show and just speak in sound bites, and don't really answer the questions.
SCIUTTO: Hey, wait but politically correct here? I mean listen, as you just said, you said his comments are probably divisive. Is that a response that, I mean we both have three kids, is that a description of America - of an America that you want to say listen, if you disagree with me, you must hate this country. The President's repeated that, this is a country founded on political disagreement and the right to express it.
[10:40:00] COMER: Well there's a battle going on in Washington right now. Right here in the halls of Congress where I'm doing this interview. And you have four congresswomen who the President - who has been at the root of the President's ire on twitter. They are the new face of the Democrat Party and they are trying to take the Democrat Party in a socialist direction.
And the overwhelming majority of Middle America, the majority of people - the overwhelmingly majority of people that support the President are afraid of this socialist agenda and they support the President's agenda. And they've gotten to the point where they don't really worry about the tweets...
SCIUTTO: But that's - that's not a different...
COMER: ...they just support the agenda.
SCIUTTO: You're talking about - first of all there are four congresswomen of more than 220 democratic sitting who have diversity of opinion here. But beyond the policy issues, and I acknowledge there is genuine disagreement, even within the Democratic Party on many of these issues but on the vision of America.
Do you want to see a sitting President say you should leave this country in effect if you disagree with my view of it. You must hate this country and to be fair, falsely claim that they're pro-terrorist. There is nothing in the comments there that supports the President's attack on them. Is that a vision of America that you support?
COMER: What I think the President was trying to imply is if you're not proud of America, if you do not want to stand when the National Anthem is being played, if you're ashamed of the way that our country is operated, you're more than welcome to leave the country.
SCIUTTO: Are they ashamed...
COMER: I don't think there's anything racist about that.
SCIUTTO: ...for disagreeing with the President? The President said in a 2017 interview when he was confronted about Vladimir Putin, he compared the U.S. to Russia. This was with Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Reilly said Putin is a killer, the President said I'm quoting him, "There are lots of killers, we have a lot of killers, well you think our country is innocent."
That's the sitting President of the United States comparing America to an authoritarian country, Russia, that's criticism, does he hate America for making that comment?
COMER: No, I don't think that anyone in America would agree with 100 percent of what President Trump says. I don't think anyone in America would agree with 100 percent of what any of the Democrats say.
The bottom line is the brute of this interview is about is the President a racist? And just last week Ocasio-Cortez implied that Nancy Pelosi was a racist. I don't think Nancy Pelosi is a racist, nor do I think that Donald Trump's a racist.
I think that anytime they get in the...
SCIUTTO: Are the comments racist though? Are the comments racist?
COMER: I do not take the comments as being racist. I think...
SCIUTTO: But divisive you said?
COMER: ...basically saying if you think there are other countries and if you sit in the committee's, I'm on several committee's with all four of the members of the so called "squad" and they're constantly complaining about America.
And that's one big difference between conservative, we're proud of America, we want to improve America.
SCIUTTO: They're not complaining about the country, they're....
COMER: And...
SCIUTTO: They're making - they're expressing disagreements with policies. That's different from - is that not different from complaining about the country? I mean this is a President who was elected, he made many very public criticisms of the way he saw America today.
I mean that was his essential message in 2016. Can't you and others make a distinction between criticizing the situation in the country from somehow saying you dislike the country or hate the country. I mean this is the nature of politics for 230 some odd years.
COMER: I honestly do not think the tweets were racist, I think that the media has over blown the tweets. This isn't the first time the President has tweeted something that may or may not be helpful to his cause. It will not be the last time he tweets something like that.
I think that that's part of his style and I can tell you from representing a district in southern Kentucky, where the President's popular, I've not received anything negative about anything the President's said. The calls that I get, the conversations that I have with people back home are we support the President's agenda...
SCIUTTO: Right.
COMER: ....we know it's a battle up there, we know that there are bickering. Everybody would like for Congress to be more civil but I think that both sides probably cross the line in some of their tweets and some of their rhetoric.
The media certainly fans the flames but at the end of the day this is a battle and the people that support the President want the President to stay strong and try to pass the agenda.
SCIUTTO: The President's been repeating these comments. I know folks like to blame the media and I've got lots of family in Kentucky so I hear you. And I talk to them and many of them support the President, just very quickly before I let you go.
Will you vote for or against the resolution before Congress today to condemn the President's comments?
COMER: I am 100 percent against the resolution. It's purely political. We need to be voting on the USMCA. We have a strong economy. We can do things to make the economy stronger.
The Democrats can not get the 218 votes, that's what it takes to pass a bill in the House, so they're trying to keep their base happy with their lack of legislative achievement by having more resolutions about impeachment, about the President, about contempt from half of his cabinet, we need to move on and do the business of the people.
[10:45:00] SCIUTTO: Congressman James Comer from the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, I should say, thanks very much for coming on.
COMER: Well, thank you for having me.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source