CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Raja Krishamoorthi
Interview
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BLITZER: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much.
Joining us now Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He's a member of both the Oversight and Intelligence Committees.
Thank you for joining us.
REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL), OVERSIGHT AND INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEES: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: We may have to interrupt our interview briefly to hear what the president just told reporters as he's leaving the White House. We're about to get that videotape. We'll play it for our viewers and then we'll continue our conversation.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Sure.
BLITZER: So if I interrupt you will understand why.
So first of all, how do you plan on voting on the Al Green impeachment resolution tonight?
[17:10:00]
KRISHNAMOORTHI: I appreciate the sentiment. I will vote to table or refer it to the Judiciary Committee, where it is to be considered with the other impeachment matters. Bob Mueller is coming in one week, Wolf.
I'm preparing to question him from the Intelligence Committee and I'm going to be listening very intently on what he has to say before making any other further actions in this regard.
BLITZER: So we're going to see what happens on that front. The president has been speaking, as I pointed out to reporters, I think we're about to get that tape right now. And I want to go to it and play it. Our viewers can hear what the president is saying. You see him walking out of the White House on the South Lawn.
He's going to be taking Marine One over to Joint Base Andrews to head out to North Carolina for this big rally later tonight. I'm sure it will be very, very lively when the president goes out there.
He'll be speaking extensively but just before leaving the White House, just as he's leaving the White House, walked over to reporters and clearly wants to answer their questions. Listen in as the president gets closer to the news media.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: About what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: No, if people want to leave our country, they can, if they don't want to love our country, if they don't want to fight for our country, they can. I'll never change on that, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: I do think I'm winning the political fight. I think I'm winning it by a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
TRUMP: I think that they are not espousing the views of our country, the four congresswomen. I think that they've said horrible things that the press doesn't cover. I think you should try covering it.
When you look at some of the things they said, they're unthinkable. If somebody else or me or anybody else said things like that, it would be historic. So you ought to look at some of the horrible statements because there has never been statements like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Well, the Democratic Party is really going in a direction that nobody thought possible. They're going so far Left they're going to fall off a cliff. So I think they're making a big mistake. But who knows. That's up to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Well, there is a lot of talk about the fact that she was married to her brother. I know nothing about it. I hear she was married to her brother. You're asking me a question about it. I don't know. But I'm sure that somebody would be looking at that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: Well, I think the story last night was that 187 Republicans voted in favor of Trump and four voted against. I think that was the big story. That seems to be the story.
There is great unity in the Republican Party and it is very unfair what happened with respect to the way I would say Republicans are being treated, frankly, but certainly the way -- certainly the way this president has been treated.
In the history of our country, there has never been anything like this and this should never be allowed to happen to another president again. Should never be allowed to happen.
Despite that, we've created the greatest economy in the history of our country, we're doing things like nobody has ever done, we have the best job numbers in the history of our country, African American and Asian American, women, Hispanic American, best job numbers we've ever had. And I have to go because I see it starting to pour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did someone disagree with you, embellishing this fight with the congresswomen?
TRUMP: I'm not relishing the fight. I'm enjoying it because I have to get the word out to the American people. And you have to enjoy what you do. I enjoy what I do. The key is -- the key is -- it is not a question of relishing; they're wrong. They're absolutely wrong. That is not where our country wants to be. We're not going to go and we're not going to be a socialist country. It is not going to happen.
BLITZER: So there you heard the president of the United States, making some very, very tough statements, continuing his assault on the four Democratic congresswomen, all congresswomen of color.
Jim Acosta, he says --
[17:15:00]
BLITZER: -- he thinks he's winning this political fight over these four congresswomen and he said they say horrible things and he said there's never been statements like that before. He also answered other questions.
ACOSTA: That is right, Wolf. And he even worked in a dig at the press, saying that we don't give enough coverage to some of the comments that the Democratic congresswomen have made in the past. That is not the case.
Obviously we've given a lot of coverage to a lot of the things that they've been saying. But Wolf, one of the things that is very clear from the president's comments just a few moments ago is that he is relishing this fight with the four Democratic congresswomen who make up the so-called Squad.
And he said a couple of times there before he left for this rally down in North Carolina this evening, that he feels as though he is winning this battle. And so a week that started off with these racist tweets, that much of the country condemned, has now turned into something of a political weapon, a political cudgel that this president is now planning to wield, I think, in the coming days and we'll hear more about this later on this evening.
He's accusing these Democratic congresswomen of essentially hating their country. Obviously that is not the case. They say they don't hate this country. And, Wolf, one thing to point out, it got somewhat personal at one point. We're not exactly clear as to what the question was in terms of what was asked.
But he was asked about accusations or allegations about congresswoman Ilhan Omar; at one point he -- the president made some sort of suggestion there that perhaps she might be married to her brother. That is an accusation that is floated around on the Web and she has denied that.
And so it does seem as the president is leaving for this rally this evening that he's not only going after these Democratic congresswomen politically, he's hitting them in very personal ways, willing to engage in speculation, wild speculation, unproven speculation that is out there on Twitter.
So I think it is a very clear sign, Wolf, the president is not planning on letting up and he certainly is not backing down from this fight that he feels he's winning right now.
BLITZER: Yes, he said I'll never change. I want to go to -- Jim Acosta, stand by. I want to go back to congressman Raju Krishnamoorthi who listened together with all of us.
And I want to get your reaction, Congressman, to some of the specific things we just heard from the president. He said if these four Democratic congresswomen want to leave the country, they can leave the country and he promised he'll never change and he insists he's winning this political fight.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, he's not only doubling and tripling down, he's now quadrupling down with these racist comments.
Look, a lot of my colleagues may not agree with each other on certain issues. But one thing that unites us and energizes us is opposition to bigotry, racism, prejudice and intolerance and, in this particular case, I totally disagree with the president, that he said that he's somehow winning some kind of war, political war here.
I think that that is completely wrong. And he points out that, in his own Republican caucus, he had a lot of support in the House. But he ended up having 240 members vote on a resolution condemning his remarks as racist.
And that is very important and that is not only symbolically important but important for our children and everybody to know that his comments were wrong.
BLITZER: The president now boarding Air Force One. He's at Joint Base Andrews and flying off to North Carolina for a political rally. These are live pictures we're showing our viewers.
He also said, Congressman, that your party, the Democratic Party is so far to the Left -- and I'm quoting now -- that you guys are getting ready to fall off a cliff.
What do you say to is that?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: I disagree with him. I think that his comments are an effort to distract from what he did earlier in the week. And I think that it is also an attempt to distract from trying to deliver on the pocketbook priorities that the American people want us to jointly work on, whether it is making health care more affordable and accessible or investing in infrastructure or creating greater access to higher educational opportunities.
These things he knows that he's not able to deliver on. And so he's distracting by going toward these other messages. It is very sad that he had to go toward the message of racism in order to distract people from what really is important, to pocketbook issues right now.
BLITZER: He said he's not relishing this fight. But then he went -- the next sentence he said, I'm enjoying it. As you know, Congressman, some Democrats don't think yesterday's resolution strongly condemning the president was enough. Is there anything else you believe Congress can do or should be doing
right now to hold the president accountable short of impeachment?
[17:20:00]
KRISHNAMOORTHI: I don't know. There might be other measures that we might be able to take.
But as of right now, I think that what happened last night was strong.
But the other thing I would just say is we also have to send a message of unity to all of our constituents and to the American people; 30 percent of my constituents are foreign born, Wolf. They are not all Democrats or Republicans or independents but they are all Americans.
And they're upset about what the president did earlier this week. We have to send a message to them that America is not defined by your ethnicity or bloodline or where you came from or how many letters there are in your name. I have 29 in mine.
It is about a set of ideals and if you subscribe to those ideals, you're an American and that is something that we all are trying to communicate as far and loudly as we can right now.
BLITZER: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, thank you so much for joining us.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you, thank you.
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