CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Congressman Francis Rooney

Interview

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[09:41:21]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

A small number of Republicans have been tentatively distancing themselves from the president as there are fears within the party that he could lose two weeks from now.

Texas Senator John Cornyn put some steps between him and the president, some space, rather, when it comes to his relationship with the president. This is how he described it to a Texas newspaper. Quote, maybe like a lot of women who get married and think they're going to change their spouse, and that doesn't usually work out very well.

Well, joining me is Florida Congressman Francis Rooney. He also serves the Joint Economic Committee, as well as the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has had some public disagreements with the president.

Congressman, thanks so much for time -- taking the time this morning.

REP. FRANCIS ROONEY (R-FL): Thank you for having me on.

SCIUTTO: You have considered voting for impeachment of this president, although you did not. You differed with him on issues such as climate change. The president's emergency declaration on the wall, on building the wall, as well as the transgender military ban.

I wonder, we're 15 days from an important election November 3rd. Will you be supporting President Trump on Election Day?

ROONEY: Well, I'm still ruminating about that. You know, this crazy world we're in every day brings some new dialogue, commentary, event. And so I'm going to study everything the next couple of week.

But, you're right, there's probably no Republicans disagreed with the president more than me. Those emergency declarations were unconstitutional. The -- the -- the -- I was the only Republican to vote to reaffirm the two-state solution with Israel, which has been our policy since 1948. And I was -- had an open mind about impeachment.

I spoke extensively with the speaker about running a more exhaustive process to really get all the information, more like a Watergate program, which would have probably raised the level of concern over what the president had done than just that one phone call.

SCIUTTO: OK. Those are enormous differences you're describing there. You're saying the wall funding declaration emergency was unconstitutional. You say that you disagree, you know, on a fundamental issue of U.S. national security and foreign policy, that being two-state solution for Israel and the West Bank.

We're 15 days out. We're four years into the president's administration. Isn't that enough -- don't you have enough material to make that decision at this point?

ROONEY: Oh, probably do, but I'd prefer not to say right now what it's going to be. And I want to see what happens.

I mean who would have thought some of the events of the past week would have taken place. And the more we go down the road resisting masks and distance and tracing and the things that the scientists are telling us, I think the more concerned I get about our management of the COVID situation.

SCIUTTO: OK. Well who do you think would better manage the COVID outbreak based on their public statements, the president still denying the science and Vice President Biden who says he will follow the science. Who, Biden or Trump, would better handle the outbreak?

ROONEY: I don't think there's any doubt that Vice President Biden has the right approach. And there's a lot of Republicans that would agree with that as well. They're -- unfortunately, there's a few Republican governors who do not, like the North Carolina -- or North Dakota guy that was in the news this morning.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Looking at the broader response to this, and I know that, you know, no one's been perfect about it, in no country. But do you believe that the president and this administration has let down the American people on its response to the virus?

ROONEY: In many respects, yes. My understanding is that he was briefed by the intelligence services on as early as the 3rd of January and 11 other times in January and February.

[09:45:02]

And the fact that we didn't act on it while countries like Singapore and South Korea were acting on it, and Australia, is a little troublesome because we had the information.

SCIUTTO: Understood.

The president spoke to your constituents over the weekend in Fort Myers, Florida. And during it, he attempted to strike a more emphatic tone, knowing that there were a lot of seniors there who have suffered through this outbreak.

I wonder, in your view, has he already lost them? ROONEY: He will -- he will do well in my area. It's a very strong

Republican area. I think he has a lot of support. For whatever reason, they turned out 57,000 more votes for Trump in 2016 than they had for Mitt Romney in 2012. So it's going to be very interesting to see how much enthusiasm there is this time.

SCIUTTO: OK.

I want to ask about the plot against Governor Whitmer, which, of course, included a plot against another Democratic governor in Virginia.

The video of their training, and I think we're going to show a short clip here now, and all the things they were planning here, to kidnap and possibly kill. I've seen a lot of terrorist videos in my time as a national security correspondent, ISIS video, al Qaeda videos. This is as bad as any I've seen here.

The governor of Michigan says that by calling her a dictator, by calling her a prison warden, by egging on his crowds to say "lock her up," that the president is, in effect, inciting these groups. And I wonder if you agree?

ROONEY: Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I think that a more presidential, compassionate tone, as we've seen out of President Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, et cetera, would calm the fires a little bit and prevent some of these people on both sides of the political spectra from committing violence or threatening violence.

SCIUTTO: I mean that's a remarkable statement to say that the sitting president you believe is inciting this kind of violence. And I just -- I just wonder how you could then cast your vote for him in 15 days' time.

ROONEY: Well, like I say, I'm -- I've got a very open mind about that, and I'm continuing to study it. And I have some disagreements with the way the administration has conducted things in the last three and a half, four years.

SCIUTTO: You've heard some of your Republican colleagues, among them Ben Sasse, in a conversation with constituents, say that they fear a Republican blood bath on Election Day. And I know these things are hard to predict. But you're a politician. You've talked to a lot of voters. Do you have a similar fear coming up in two weeks' time?

ROONEY: Well, first of all, I really don't want to be a politician. I like being a business leader. And --

SCIUTTO: I know, to your credit.

ROONEY: And those are much -- much more interesting careers.

But the fact is, we got slayed pretty good in the suburbs and among women and things in 2018. And I don't see anything that's going to change that now. The same positions that got us the thrashing that we got then still obtain. SCIUTTO: Understood.

Well, Congressman Rooney, we always enjoy speaking to you on this broadcast. You're always welcome. And if you don't mind, when you've made your decision, you're welcome back here to come on and share it and explain it.

ROONEY: I appreciate that.

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