CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: "Interview with Rep. Josh Gottheimer"

Interview

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COOPER: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks very much.

In addition to pro-Israel lobbies like AIPAC opposing Israel's action on this, lawmakers have also been weighing in. Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted, quote: I disagree 100 percent with Representatives Tlaib and Omar on Israel and am the author of the anti-BDS bill, which is the boycott bill, we passed in the Senate, but denying them entry into Israel is a mistake. BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions.

House Speaker Pelosi called the decision a sign of weakness, called the president's statements about the congresswomen, quote, a sign of ignorance and disrespect.

Joining us now is New Jersey Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer who has been directly involved in this.

Congressman, thanks very much for being with us.

You've been critical of Representative Omar and Tlaib.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Thanks for having me.

COOPER: Do you believe they should have been allowed into Israel?

GOTTHEIMER: Yes, and I think unequivocally. They are members of Congress. I think they would have benefited a lot from having that visit and seeing the historic relationship, the importance of our economic relationship, our national security relationship. I agree with Marco Rubio there and Kevin McCarthy and others who said this was a mistake.

[20:10:05] And I really think they should reverse course here.

COOPER: I understand that you and at least two other members of Congress lobbied the Israeli ambassador not to do this and allow the congresswomen to visit. Can you say what he told you? Or what your argument was?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, as you point out, made the strong case the ambassador -- I spoke to him again today and reinforced that statement, which was this is not helpful to the relationship between the United States and Israel.

Obviously, what you want to do is not -- build bridges, not put up walls. You want to make sure that everybody, especially members of Congress, can spend time in Israel and see what many of us who have spent time there have seen, meet with generals, obviously meet with members of the Knesset, with people who agree and disagree, and you want to get a full picture. That's critical to our relationship, and this is a key ally for us not just in the fight against terror, but as democracy -- the key to democracy in the region.

So, blocking members of Congress does nothing. It's a strategic mistake. It does nothing but actually set back the relationship, not move it forward.

COOPER: I'm wondering what you make of the whole idea of president Trump pressuring essentially the Israeli government. Now,the White House says he didn't do that, then moments -- short time later he sent out a tweet saying that Israel would be weak if they didn't do this. And there's also been reporting by "Axios" and "The Times" that this has been going on now for several days into last week, and that the president's private opinions were made known to the highest levels in the Israeli government.

Is that appropriate?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, as you pointed out, it's hard to actually know what happened. I asked the ambassador about this this afternoon, he denied that the president was involved and that was the reason behind the decision. I hope that's not what happened here.

I think either way, what's behind it was the decision that was made to me that was really the mistake here and really not helpful to the relationship. And that to me is the bigger issue. You know, you really -- to me, the key here is to actually open up and welcome all members of Congress and get different perspectives.

And you want members of Congress to come and see as I pointed out before, meeting with members of the Knesset, seeing -- going to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, seeing Golan heights, understanding the perilous situation Israel sits in in a hotbed region against Hezbollah and Hamas. To me, that's actually much more beneficial than blocking people from coming in and I think it was just a big mistake.

COOPER: Yes, I understand that perspective. I guess my question, though, is if the president of the United States is pressuring one way or another -- he's obviously pressuring with that tweet, but making his opinion known so that the leaders of another country know that he wants them to bar two American Congress people. I mean, you can look at it. Would it be appropriate for a president to enlist the help of a --

GOTTHEIMER: No.

COOPER: -- foreign ally to go after his political opponents? Or to harm his political opponents?

GOTTHEIMER: No, of course not. No, of course, not. You should never politicize it. That is not what the president should be doing, and interfering in that way.

And the whole point is not to politicize U.S./Israel relationship and to use tools against -- and to use and push other governments to act against political opponents. Of course, not. And I'm hopeful that that's not what happened.

What we need to have is a -- make sure the U.S./Israel relationship remains bipartisan. That's why I thought it was a good step you had Republicans and Democrats speaking out against the decision today as I did. And to me, that's what I'm hoping you'll continue to hear in the days ahead. I'm hoping that the president didn't interfere this way.

COOPER: Clearly, the president wants to continue to try to make these four congresswomen the face of the Democratic Party, you know, and that's one of the things he has been doing since bringing -- the reason, really, for bringing these four up as much as he has.

How does -- does that concern you? Do you think that is a successful campaign tactic for 2020? How do you counteract that without playing into the president's hands?

GOTTHEIMER: No, I don't think it's successful. I think it's not -- what's great about the Democratic Party is we're a big tent party with lots of different perspectives. I disagree with some of my colleagues on some of the comments they've said, and I think having disagreements is fine and healthy, but the idea is to have a broad perspective in the Democratic Party.

And I think whether he's trying to, you know, go after certain people, A, it's wrong. But B, I think what people understand and they're not going to fall for is we have lots of different perspectives in the party. And doing what he's doing, which is going after individual members, I think people see right through that. I think it's despicable and I don't think it's helpful.

[20:15:00] COOPER: Congressman Gottheimer, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks for having me.

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