CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview With Sen. Tina Smith

Interview

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Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota is joining us.

Senator, thanks so much for coming in.

You think Lieutenant Colonel Vindman's dismissal was an act of retribution by the president?

SEN. TINA SMITH (D-MN): Well, it is no surprise that the president is acting out of retribution, rather than regret.

I mean, we knew that he was going to do this. And the poignancy of the moment when we heard the testimony on the Senate floor about Vindman saying, this -- dad, this is America. In America, you're OK if you tell the truth.

BLITZER: Well, let me play that clip.

SMITH: Yes.

BLITZER: We have that clip.

SMITH: Right.

BLITZER: Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINDMAN: Dad, I'm sitting here today in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected professionals -- talking to our elected professionals -- is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union, come here to the United States of America, in search of a better life for our family.

Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So the family are refugees, Soviet Jewish refugees. They settle in Brooklyn. The two twin brothers, they go into the military.

They're U.S. Army officers. They have an older brother who is a commissioned Army officer. Lieutenant Colonel Vindman serves -- served in Iraq, was wounded, received a medal. And is this the appropriate way for him to be treated?

SMITH: It's not only inappropriate, but it goes against the whole idea of our country and our government, which is that you tell the truth, even to people who hold power, and you're going to be OK.

And it reminds me of another moment in the testimony that I could never forget, which is when the U.S. diplomats were talking to the Ukrainian diplomats about urging them not to follow the corrupt path of investigating their political opponents.

And the Ukrainian diplomat said back, oh, you mean like you want us to do with the Bidens and the Clintons.

It undermines our credibility and our values.

BLITZER: That was a powerful moment.

What, if anything, can the U.S. Senate, for example -- you're a senator -- do?

SMITH: Well, it's not clear to me that there is much that the United States Senate can do.

But one thing I feel so strongly about, to hear colleagues of mine say -- sort of sit on the sidelines and say, this is inappropriate, this shouldn't be happening, when, in the Senate, we had the power to hold this president accountable, and some of my colleagues didn't take that opportunity, to me, that is just a gross misaction.

BLITZER: Clearly, things have gone well in the last week or so for the president. He was acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial.

Take a look at the new jobs numbers that just came out today, 225,000 jobs, unemployment 3.6 percent, the new Gallup poll among -- the highest it's been in three years that he's been president, his job approval number among all Americans 49 percent.

That's the highest number since he was president; 94 percent, by the way, of Republicans approve of the job he's doing. So he feels pretty confident right now.

SMITH: Well, you can see how confident he feels. And that's probably why, yesterday, he had this unbelievable display of disrespect and I think dishonor in the White House, in the way that he kind of, again, expressed his retribution towards those that have disagreed with him.

But the point is -- it's a really good point that you make -- in the coming months, we are going to -- the Democrats are going to need to make the case for what we can do to build a strong economy and hold him to account for this idea that he's somehow presiding over this great economic recovery, when, really, what he's doing is presiding over the end -- or at this point of an Obama recovery, and a recovery that is because of great American businesses and workers.

BLITZER: Your home state of Minnesota is clearly in play in this election cycle.

SMITH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Tell us about that.

SMITH: Yes, Minnesota is very much in play.

It is a new swing state. And what I think about when I hear the president talk about his strong economic points is that, in Minnesota, you might be thinking that things are doing OK economically, but just down the street from you is a farmer whose farm has gone into foreclosure, because we are seeing a 20 percent uptick in farm bankruptcies in Minnesota.

You might be thinking about your child who's got $35,000 in school debt, or your mom who can't afford her health insurance.

[18:15:03]

These are the fundamental economic factors that are affecting the way people's lives are going in Minnesota and I think everywhere in this country.

BLITZER: Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, thank you so much for coming in.

SMITH: Thank you.

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