NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
Welcome back. The broad brush takeaway from last week's Democratic debates was that the party is moving sharply to the left. From health care, to decriminalizing illegal immigration, most of the 20 candidates staked out positions well to the left of where the party had traditionally settled, just, it appeared, just in the last couple of years. One candidate who bucked that trend is Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She's presenting herself as a bit more of a pragmatic Democrat, or as she would say, a pragmatic progressive, who can win back those Midwesterners who supported both Barack Obama twice and Donald Trump once. Senator Klobuchar joins me this morning from the town of Whitefield in northern New Hampshire, where she's glad to be coming in July from that part of New Hampshire. Just wait till February, Senator.
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
I can handle it. Remember my announcement in the snow, Chuck --
CHUCK TODD:
That's right. That's right.
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
I can handle it.
CHUCK TODD:
That's for sure. No, you'd be very comfortable up there. Let me start with this debate about where is the Democratic party headed. During your debate night, I want to play for you what Bill de Blasio said about how he thought the Democratic party should be defined. Take a listen.
[BEGIN TAPE]
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO:
This is supposed to be the party of working people. Yes, we're supposed to be for a 70% tax rate on the wealthy. Yes, we're supposed to be for free college, free public college, for our young people. We are supposed to break up big corporations when they're not serving our democracy.
[END TAPE]
CHUCK TODD:
Is his assessment of the Democratic party concur with yours?
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
Those are his views. And I would certainly agree with parts of what he said. He said we are the party of working people. That is true now and it's certainly true when you look at the Republican tax bill. And when it comes to how we move our country forward on health care, you know I want a public option. And I'm very concerned about some of these plans that would kick half of America off of their insurance. I don't agree with that. And I think that we should make college much more affordable. But we want to make sure that that money is going to the people that need it, and not to a bunch of rich kids. And I have made that very clear. But what I do know is that we are much more unified against Donald Trump. And we have things that we disagree on. But in the end, we will come together. And the Republican Party, by the way, they basically are saying right now to Donald Trump, "How far can we jump? How high can we jump to be just like you?" I'm glad we have some differences. That's why we have the debates. But the most important thing is that we put a candidate on top of that ticket that's going to be able to unify us and win and beat Donald Trump.
CHUCK TODD:
Are you --
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
That's what my numbers have shown. I've won in all those red districts before.
CHUCK TODD:
Yeah.
SENATOR AMY KKLOBUCHAR:
And I believe we can do it.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you this. Could you carry the state of Minnesota if you are the party of giving -- having your health care plan cover undocumented immigrants, for instance? I mean that would be -- whether you -- if you're the nominee, I know you didn't necessarily propose that, but as you know, that's how they would try to run against any Democratic nominee. Are you concerned that it paints a picture of the Democrats as too out of the center for, say, the state of Minnesota?
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
You know, in general, our party is where the country is. We're the party of opportunity, not chaos. When you look at the discussion you just had on immigration, all I can think about is it was not this bad before. Comprehensive immigration reform, which would bring the debt -- deficit down by $158 billion, you use a chunk of that money to help, as the Republican Congressman was saying, with those countries in the Northern Triangle. You let people seek asylum where they are, in those countries. You make sure you're not separating parents from their kids, something I would do in my first 100 days as president. And then you bring in comprehensive immigration reform. I am convinced, Chuck, that with my experience dealing with these immigration bills now twice, I can get this done in the first year.
CHUCK TODD:
What do you say --
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
Those bills were supported by the Chamber, AFO/CIO. We can get this done with a president that wants to get it done.
CHUCK TODD:
As you know, the argument against you in the primary is going to come from the left that says, you know, you vote with President Trump too much. Or you worked across the aisle too much. And some of these compromises are being painted as capitulations. I mean, you heard some of 'em -- that too often -- that the Democrats have gone too far to the Republicans to cut a deal. Look, I'm not saying those are fair criticisms. That's how you're going to be painted by some progressives. What do you tell them?
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
I tell them that I look people in the eye and I tell them the truth. That I'm honest about how we think we can move forward --
CHUCK TODD:
Does that mean your primary opponents are not telling them the truth when they say free college and free this?
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
There're a lot of people making promises. And I'm not going to make promises just to get elected. I am not running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. I am running for president of the United States. And that means you bring people together. And you find that common ground in our own party. And there are bold plans here. I want to double the Pell Grant. That'll help so many kids when you go up to $12,000 a year, double the eligibility up to $100,000 a family, where you can actually get those grants. I want to move forward with a public option and finally take on the pharmaceutical companies that are boosting up the cost of insulin so regular people can't even afford it. Those are big, bold things that haven't been done. And some of my colleagues, yes, they have, they have -- I guess you could call them bigger and bigger promises. But I think what's most important to the people of America is we actually get those things done.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you this about the back and forth between two of your opponents, Senator Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden. Do you think Senator Harris' criticism of Joe Biden's record was fair?
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
I think it is fair to talk about the fact that if you're dealing with a racist or a segregationist, as he was, that you have to call them out. And he has now apologized for not doing that at the time and apologized for his past -- his past statements on busing. But you know what? I really want to move our country forward. What's happening right now with the African American community when we still have public schools that are crumbling, heat's not working in some of our schools in Baltimore. That's why I came out with an infrastructure plan that includes our schools. That's why I think we need to support our public schools with higher teacher pay. And that we need to put a bigger percentage of our federal budget into that and less giving away to the wealthy people. I do think that our tax bill that was just passed that I opposed gave way too much help to the people at the top. I called it all foam and no beer for the middle class. I still stand by that.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me ask you this. At what point should a politician's past positions be held account? What is the statute of limitations politically? What's fair game and what isn't? You know, when is it okay to switch your position and when isn't it? I know that that's in the eye of the beholder and in politics all's fair, period.
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
I think people understand that over time, you learn new things, you have different views on things. You take a vote and you realize, "You know what? Now I've learned new things and it's not the same." But in a presidential race like this with so many candidates, yes, you have to explain your past votes. It doesn't mean that every single person did every single thing right. Your other alternative is to have someone that has no experience at all and has no votes and has done nothing. I don't think the American people want that. They put someone in the White House that didn't have any kind of experience in working with Washington. And what do we have? Chaos, gridlock, not moving on infrastructure, not working to bring the costs of prescription drugs down. So I think that experience, while it always calls you on at sometime, I think that's important. That's what I would say about what I've done.
CHUCK TODD:
Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota in northern New Hampshire, thanks for coming on and sharing your views. Stay safe on the trail.
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR:
Thanks. Great to be on, Chuck. Thank you.
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