NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Veronica Escobar
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
Joining me now from El Paso, it's Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. Congresswoman Escobar, welcome to Meet the Press. And you were having a town hall meeting at the time of this incident. And all of a sudden, there was this moment of frenzy a bit, law enforcement officials informing you. Tell me, quickly, more about how you learned of this incident in real time there.
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR:
So Chuck, we were having the town hall meeting. And we were in the middle of our Q&A when my staff approached me. I knew something was wrong. It felt unusual. And I was told about the active shooter and that our law enforcement agents, who were there to take care of us during the townhall and keep us safe there, they needed to rush over to the scene. And so we asked folks, we told them that it was the end of the meeting, that we needed everybody to calmly get home and stay home. And my staff and I went to our downtown office and continued to follow the news and get updates. And it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. But just like the mayor is grateful to her first responders, we are so grateful to ours and to all of the medical personnel who have been working through the night, Chuck, to keep many of the victims alive.
CHUCK TODD:
So let me ask you this. We've learned - we're learning more about this shooter in El Paso. We're learning about a motive with him there. Simultaneously, you heard the mayor of Dayton talk about, you know, their city 250, when it comes to having one of these massacres happen on their watch. What do you see as your responsibility, going forward, as an elected official in Washington, D.C.? How should you confront this?
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR:
My primary responsibility, right now, Chuck, is to be with the community, comfort the community, be of service to the community. And I first want to say that El Paso is one of the most compassionate, generous, kind, warm, loving communities in the country. We're standing in front of United Blood Services, where people have been pulling up to line up to give blood over an hour in advance. Yesterday, the line was wrapped around all the buildings, where donations were taking place. People had to be turned away. With the Family Reunification Center, food had to be turned away, because there was so much love and abundance. But yes, that -- so my primary responsibility is here, with my community. But as a legislator, all of us, as legislators, Chuck, we have to talk about what's really happening. And we have to speak the truth.
CHUCK TODD:
And what is that truth?
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR:
It's not politicizing an event. To call - that truth is we have not just a gun epidemic in this country, but we have a hate epidemic in this country.
CHUCK TODD:
Veronica Escobar, congresswoman from El Paso, I know it's been an incredibly rough 24 hours for you and your community. Hang in there. We're all, we're all with you.
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR:
Thank you. Thank you.
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