Fox News "The Story" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Tim Scott

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

MARTHA MACCALLUM, HOST: So, thank you, Bret. And tonight, the border wall, it hangs in the balance as a short-term bill to fund the government through the beginning of the New Year is now in plate tonight in the Senate. But it is missing one very crucial line item that is very important to this president. The $5 billion that he wants to pay for the wall.

The clock is ticking down to midnight on Friday. If the stopgap measure put forth by Senate Republicans is signed by the president by Friday, the border security can as essentially kicked down the road until next year, when Democrats take control of the House, and all of that is unlikely to materialize after that.

So, this as the president is dealt another blow on border security front today by none other than the federal Judge Emmet Sullivan, the same judge who had blistering words for Michael Flynn at the sentencing yesterday. A lot of questions raised about how that all went down as you saw here last night.

He is now taking another step today in a totally separate case, siding with asylum-seekers who are suing the Trump administration for kicking them out of the country. He says they can come back in and have those cases heard.

Republican Senator Tim Scott, says Congress needs to do "Whatever it takes to fund the wall," and he joins me now tonight. Senator Scott, excellent to have you with us. Thank you very much for being here.

SEN. TIM SCOTT, R-S.C.: Great to be here.

MACCALLUM: So, right out of the gate, is the wall that President Trump promised dead?

SCOTT: Absolutely, it cannot be dead. Our president has been negotiating in good faith to make sure that the resources that are necessary to secure our country to be a sovereign nation, it requires border security. And our president will continue to work to make sure that, that becomes a reality.

Whether that's reprogramming money that he's looking at, and or more funds through C.R. or the other vehicles, we have to continue this fight, and it cannot be dead because that is not in the long-term best interest of this country. And I certainly, I'm not happy about any continuing resolution that does not include wall funding.

MACCALLUM: But, you know, is a practical matter. Once you get into January, there is a very sort of ownership issue with this wall. Nancy Pelosi has said that she would never let President Trump have the wall as long as she is speaker.

SCOTT: There's no doubt that Nancy Pelosi is trying to treat this president incredibly different than she did President Obama. She provided President Obama $8 billion for border security. She won't even have a discussion with our president about providing the same resources that are even more urgently necessary today than they were in 2013.

That is not putting your country first. That is putting your party and politics before national security. That's an issue.

MACCALLUM: We have 60,000-something people crossed the border illegally last month. That's a basic -- that's a pretty average number, and we have seen an increase in those crossing over the course of the last year.

As a political matter, Ann Coulter, says this about the wall issue with regard to the president's ability to be re-elected. She says, "My prediction is his support will evaporate and Trump will very likely not finish his term and definitely not be elected to a second term."

She been obviously very outspoken on this issue since the beginning and was a huge supporter of the president because she thought this was going to happen.

SCOTT: Yes. Absolutely, the president is in a strong position. These numbers have not been much better than they are right now, frankly. So, I'm not concerned about his re-election. I'm not sure that he is thinking about re-election as it relates to the wall. This is an issue he campaigned on, not because it was a good politics, but because it was good policy.

A sovereign nation, again, must defend its borders. And the president recognizes that with the number of crossings that we've had on our southern border, that a porous border is also a national security risk. Because so many people who come across the border, they don't come from Mexico, they come through Mexico.

We are not sure where they come from. And so, for us to turn a blind eye to national security, and a porous border is negligent. And President Trump is committed to continuing this fight because it's the right thing. And as long as we continue to focus on finding the resources, rather that it takes reprogramming or not, we have a responsibility to protect America, and that requires a strong, forceful position on the border.

MACCALLUM: Well, it going to takes some creativity in terms of those resources, and we will watch to see what happens with that.

SCOTT: Yes, ma'am.

MACCALLUM: As you heard me mention in the intro, Judge Emmet Sullivan, who everybody is very familiar with from yesterday, as well.

SCOTT: Unfortunately.

MACCALLUM: Said that, asylum seekers who are suing the administration because they feel like they were treated unfairly in terms of what a credible threat is that they face in their home countries.

He says they're going to have to be allowed back into the country. What do you think about that?

SCOTT: We have too many activist judges who want to create law from the bench and not follow the law.

Well, here is the truth, from 2008 to 2016, we saw a 1,700 percent increase in asylum seekers. And how many of them were legitimate? Fewer than 20 percent. So, we really have serious issues. And one of the reasons why the president seeks to close some of the loopholes is because it endangers national security.

He has been consistent on this issue. But if you just think about that number, a 1,700 percent increase means that people have figured out how to gain the system. The question we should ask ourselves is once they're in the country, how many show up for court? That's a critical issue that the president is trying to address.

MACCALLUM: I know it's a big week for you. Criminal justice reform is something you feel very strongly about. A little bit of pushback from some of your fellow Senators. Senator Kennedy spoke out against it today. He feels like it's going to free people who are a danger to society. Why do you believe it's going to actually make communities safer than ever?

SCOTT: That's a great question, Martha. I grew up in a single-parent household, mired in poverty, unfortunately in a crime-ridden neighborhood. We had our house broken into. The first thing that I think about when I think about criminal justice reform is community justice reform.

If you lower the number, the number today is about 76 percent of inmates return to jail because they committed crimes. And states like South Carolina, we've closed seven state prisons, public safety has gone up because we have put in place recidivism programs that has bent that curve in the right direction. Said differently, public safety increases when we focus on making sure that those who return to society are not committing crimes.

This bill makes sure the focus is on reducing recidivism, cutting in half hopefully over the next several years. We know that -- we know it works, it worked in Texas, a close to eight state prisons. It's worked in Georgia and it's worked in South Carolina. We're taking that red state approach.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: You know, a lot of bipartisan support and clearly the support of the President as well. I know that opportunity zones are also important to you.

SCOTT: That's good.

MACCALLUM: I saw the signing of that bill the other day. So, your friend Trey Gowdy is leaving Washington, leaving Capitol Hill.

SCOTT: Come back, Trey. Come back.

MACCALLUM: But he does say that there's one thing -- well, it's funny you should ask that. He said there's one thing that would bring him back. Listen to this -- listen to this.

SCOTT: Well, that -- OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: Ever run for office again?

REP. TREY GOWDY, R-S.C.: Never. I'll get back in politics if Tim Scott runs for president. And he says, "Look, I need you to go to Iowa or New Hampshire, knock on doors. But you'll never see me on the ballot again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACCALLUM: So you're going to get Trey Gowdy back into politics, sir?

SCOTT: Well, you know, I'm not sure that I get him to walk her on my homeowner's association, knocking on doors for my presidency of the homeowners association much less anything else. God bless, Trey. He has served our nation incredibly well. We have been blessed by his public service.

MACCALLUM: Senator Tim Scott, a pleasure to have you here tonight. I hope you'll come back soon. Good to be with you.

SCOTT: Thank you, Martha. Merry Christmas to you, guys.

MACCALLUM: Merry Christmas to you too, Senator. Many thanks.

SCOTT: Yes ma'am.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source