CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Seth Moulton

Interview

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BLITZER: Kyung Lah in Miami for us, Kyung, thank you.

Joining us now, Democratic congressman and presidential candidate Seth Moulton of Massachusetts.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to talk about your presidential campaign in a moment. First, let me get your thoughts on this border funding legislation that's clearly dividing Democrats here in Washington. You're out of town so you won't be able to vote. You're voting right now.

But Speaker Pelosi has just agreed to take up that Senate version of the bill which has s angered so many of your progressive friends out there who are upset about the terrible conditions at migrant detention centers.

You call yourself a progressive.

How would you have voted on this bill?

MOULTON: I have those same concerns and they're very legitimate concerns among my progressive friends. I am progressive on this issue. But, look, this is one of the realities of Washington. You do not always get what you want.

We have a crisis at the border. I'm a Democrat who's not afraid to say that. And this is the best way to deal with it immediately. That's why I think in this case Speaker Pelosi is right and we should advance this legislation to help with the crisis at the border, even though there are some risks.

BLITZER: Why did you decide to leave Washington and not be able to vote on this final day of the session, on this specific legislation, for example?

MOULTON: You know, I didn't know it would be such an contentious vote. This was a piece of legislation that was expected to pass easily. So I decided to be down in Miami, to advance my presidential campaign, where obviously there's a lot of attention being paid to these debates. It's a vote I hate to miss but it's a trade-off I had to make.

BLITZER: Let's talk about your campaign. You didn't qualify for the first round of Democratic presidential debates because you didn't meet the polling or the donor threshold established by the Democratic National Committee.

Are you going to stand out on a crowded field if you're missing out on these marquee events like these debates?

MOULTON: I was one of the last people to get into this race but who the Washington establishment at the Democratic National Committee decides to include in debates that are 7.5 months before voters go to the polls is not going to decide this election. Voters on the ground are going to decide this election.

And that's where my message has been resonating where I've been talking about my leadership experience as a four-tour combat veteran in the Marines and how I had to bring a lot of Americans together in order to serve our country.

That is fundamentally the leadership experience I think we need for the next commander in chief. If we're going to beat Donald Trump, we have to assemble a broad coalition of everybody in the Democratic Party plus independents, those Obama-Trump voters and even disaffected Republicans.

I'm the only person in this race who brings the experience of bringing together Americans in the most divisive, difficult circumstances imaginable. In the middle of an Iraq War, a war that many of us disagreed with.

I think that perspective is valuable. I think people are noticing the only combat veteran and the only governor from a state that Trump won are two of the people the decision has excluded from this debate. I'm not sure that's how we pick the best person to take on Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Well, Tulsi Gabbard served in Iraq as well, right?

[17:20:00]

MOULTON: I'm the only person who's led. My experience being a platoon commander in the infantry on the ground, in the fight on the front lines, is just very different but I think that this is experience that matters in a race like this.

I think it's a good thing that unlike any other candidate in this entire, huge field, the first time I have to make a decision involving the lives of young Americans and live with the consequences of that decision, Wolf, won't be when I'm sitting in the Situation Room at the White House.

BLITZER: Based on what we saw at the Democratic debate last night, your rivals were there, 10 of them, you party has clearly become more significantly progressive on issues from health care for immigration to free college.

Is the Democratic Party moving too far to the Left?

MOULTON: They're definitely moving to the Left. That's a problem for our party if we stand to win this election. I think it's just going to make it a lot more difficult to defeat Donald Trump.

I don't think Trump is going to be as easy to beat as many Democrats think. If we choose policies out of touch with the mainstream, out of touch with middle America, out of touch with the districts that we need to win, the swing districts, in order to assemble this coalition to beat Trump, then that's going to be a problem for us in the general election.

I'm not sure why people on the debate stage last night were so afraid to take on Senator Warren. Senator Warren is a friend of mine from Massachusetts. There are places where we agree but there are also policies where I disagree. I've criticized Bernie Sanders on some of these same policies, where I think the party is going too far to the Left.

If we put forward a nominee who essential aligns with socialism, we're going to have a tough time winning this general election.

BLITZER: Seth Moulton, thank for you joining us.

MOULTON: Thank you.

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