CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Interview with Rick Scott

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Thank you so much for joining me, Senator.

You just heard that powerful message from your fellow Republican in North Dakota. Now Daytona police -- Daytona Beach police are saying that crowds were larger than normal yesterday.

What is your message to Floridians who want to be out and about? Should they wear masks to stay safe?

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Oh, I think -- well, look, if you're walking by yourself on the beach somewhere, probably, you don't have to.

But if you're -- if you're close to anybody, you ought to be -- you ought to wear a mask. If you go into a grocery store, you ought to wear a mask. So, yes, I -- I mean, you ought to -- look, we have to social distance. We have to wear a mask. We have to open our economy. We have to do it safely.

So, absolutely, should you be wearing a mask? Is it fun? No, they're hot. But yet we have to do it.

BASH: I have to ask you.

You said something that sounded a bit different on FOX this past week. You said: "We all understand social distancing. Quit telling us how to lead our lives."

And you went on to say, "Let us get back to the normal life the way we want to do it."

So, now you're saying that people should wear masks?

SCOTT: Oh, I -- no, well, I think they should, but it's a choice you get to make.

I mean, I grew up -- I grew up in a family. My mom had a 11th-grade education. My adopted dad had a sixth-grade education. They were still smart. And we don't need people telling us how to lead our lives every day.

Do I believe people ought to wear masks? Yes, I do believe people ought to wear masks. Do I believe people ought to social distance? Yes, I believe they ought to social distance. Do we need the president and governors and all the local officials

that tell us how to lead our lives every day? No. We will figure this out. We want to keep our family safe. We want to keep our friends safe. And we're going to do this in a safe manner.

So, I -- I trust the American public. I think they're going to make good decisions.

BASH: But the way you answered the question at first, it suggested that you also understand, as a leader, it is important to lead by example and to explain to your residents and your constituents what is healthy and what is necessary to stay safe, correct?

SCOTT: But I think -- I think you're right, lead by example.

I had four hurricanes. So I went out and I talked people into the problem. I said, here's -- here's what's happening. We're going to have nine foot of storm surge. We're going to have this much rain. We're going have this much wind, so you need to prepare yourself.

[09:35:04]

And so -- and they did, because people are smart. They want to -- they want to stay alive. They want to take care of their families.

I trust the American public to make good decisions.

BASH: President Trump announced on Friday that he was reopening places of worship, like churches, synagogues, and mosques. And he called them essential places. And he vowed to override governors, if necessary.

First, would you feel comfortable going to a church service this morning?

SCOTT: Absolutely.

First off, it doesn't matter what a governor says or the president or any local leaders. We have the Bill of Rights. We have a right to worship. We have a right to get together and respect -- and we need to respect people's religion.

And so, if you want to go to your church, I believe people are going to do it safely. I believe they're going to social distance. I believe they're going to wear masks if they're close.

But we should allow people to do what they want to do. They have a right to their religion. They right -- have a right to worship their religion. And absolutely do I feel comfortable going to church.

BASH: What you just said suggests that churches and maybe other institutions, if they feel that it is their right to do something, they should kind of not follow the guidelines and, in some cases, the laws of governors.

Is that what you're saying? SCOTT: No.

I mean, first off, the church I go to, they're -- they're social distancing. People are wearing masks. And I think it's the right thing to do.

But do I believe that the government -- that the government should be telling us what to do? Do I believe the government -- government can tell us we don't have a right to worship? I don't believe they can. I believe I have -- I have -- I have -- all Floridians, all Americans have a Bill of Rights.

And we have a right to worship if we want to. I believe people are going to do it safely. And some -- some -- look, some people are not going to feel comfortable for a while. They're still going to do it through -- through the Internet or watching it on TV.

But there's people that are going to say, I want to go worship with my fellow -- with my -- the people that go -- that I generally go to church with. It makes -- I feel better doing that. Some people believe that way.

Let them do it. This is America. We have rights in this country. We have the Bill of Rights. Follow it.

BASH: Well, on that, following the law, the president said he believes he has the power to override governors.

You were the governor of Florida. Just when you're talking about constitutionally, and what he has the power to do or not do, do you think he can override governors on this?

SCOTT: I don't think it matters what any -- a governor or president says.

I have got the Bill of Rights. I have a right to go worship in church service if I want to do it. I don't believe they have a right to stop me.

BASH: OK.

I want you to take a listen to what President Trump said this week about mail-in voting in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't want them to do mail-in ballots, because it's going to lead to total election fraud.

So, we don't want them to do mail-in ballots. We don't want anyone to do mail-in ballots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Your state of Florida, along with dozens of other states, allows voters to mail-in absentee ballots without needing a reason. In fact, more than a million Florida Republicans voted by mail in 2018.

So -- and you know the president himself did that this spring.

So, do you agree with the president that mail-in voting in 2020 will lead to total election fraud?

SCOTT: Well, what I have always believed is, well, I want people to go vote. And we have got to do it where there's no fraud, so 100 percent participation, zero percent fraud.

So, with the way we do it in Florida, we do -- we have absentee ballots. We're able to -- we're able -- we have figured out how to do it in a safe manner.

Now, I think what a lot of the Democrats want to do is do only mail-in ballots. And I don't think that's right. I think -- I think you -- if -- as long as you can do it safely, as long as you can make sure there's no fraud, we ought to be able to do absentee ballots like we do it in Florida.

BASH: And given your experience, do you believe that there can be absentee ballot or mail-in voting without fraud?

SCOTT: Yes, if you -- if you follow the law, and you enforce the law on, and you set up the laws the right way, you can do it.

But the Democrats want to do only mail-in ballots. That's not what we do in Florida. You can do absentee, you can early-vote, or you can vote on Election Day. And we have laws that try to make sure there's no fraud.

BASH: Right.

SCOTT: And I think that's very important.

BASH: And that is very important. You said you have laws to make sure there's no fraud.

The president is saying that mail-in voting in 2020 will lead to total election fraud. It sounds like you disagree with that.

SCOTT: Well, I think what he's saying is, is that it's only -- they're only -- only talking about doing mail-in ballots.

And so as long -- look, I believe you can do it if you do it safely, and you have the laws, and everybody follows the laws. So, I think that -- that's the key.

And I think -- look, I'm fine with absentee ballots the way we do it in Florida, with early voting the way we do it in Florida, and with Election Day voting, clearly, which is -- which is clearly the safest.

[09:40:00]

BASH: Let's turn to the federal response. You just heard Governor Phil Murphy calling for more federal help from

the government. It's not only Democrats, though. Republican governors, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Mike DeWine of Ohio, they also say their states really need more money to avoid cuts to essential services, education, first responders, and the like.

What do you say to them?

SCOTT: Well, first off, I was a governor. I was a governor for eight years.

I watched a lot of these individuals. They were governors when I was. Like, Andrew Cuomo and I got elected at the same time. He didn't balance his budget. He borrowed more money every year.

I mean, his -- you look at New York. New York has probably 2.5 million people less than Florida, and their budget is almost double ours. Why? Because he doesn't want to cut anything. He -- he's involved in every liberal thing there is.

And then he wants Florida taxpayers to bail him out. Why? There's all these people from New York and New Jersey that moved here to get away from the ridiculous taxes up there. So -- and, by the way, what have we already done for them?

We have given them $50 billion for their Medicaid program. We don't know yet if their Medicaid program costs went up. We gave them $30 billion for their higher education and K-12. We don't know if their costs went up.

We gave them money through FEMA. We have given them other direct grants through other federal agencies, a total of $270 billion. And we have lent them -- we have -- we're -- we have a plan to lend them $500 billion.

BASH: Senator...

SCOTT: That's over -- that's over a trillion dollars.

I mean, give me a break.

BASH: Senator you mentioned. OK.

Well, you mentioned New York. Let's look at the stats, because Florida gets more money from the federal government than it gives. But New York gives more to the federal government than it gets.

And I want you and our viewers to look at this study from the Rockefeller Institute. It found that Florida receives $25 billion more in programs than it pays in taxes. New York pays $22 billion more in taxes than it receives in programs.

So, why shouldn't Florida be willing to chip in to help New York?

SCOTT: Well, first off, the -- the government of New York has never sent a dime while I have been up there in D.C. to the federal government. They don't do it.

What happens is, their citizens, while they're working in New York, pay into Social Security and Medicare. And they get sick and tired of all the taxes up there and move to Florida and receive those benefits.

That's not the government of New York sending a dime to the federal government. So, that's exactly what's happened. That is -- that has nothing to do reality.

BASH: But all of this is taxpayer -- all of this money is taxpayer money that we're talking about.

SCOTT: Well, that's exactly right.

What -- what Andrew Cuomo and other governors want to do is, they want the federal government to tax citizens in other states, because they probably can't tax -- raise the taxes anymore because they have seen -- they're seeing what's happening.

All this money is moving out of their states to places like Florida, because their people are sick and tired of their taxes, their regulation, their unfunded pensions.

I mean, look at New Jersey. New Jersey has got total obligations, between unfunded pension and debt, of over $200 billion -- yes, $200 billion. How are they ever going to pay for that?

And so what they -- sure, they want us to -- Florida taxpayers to pay for them. I mean, that's what California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, they all do, because they won't fund their pensions, and they won't watch their balance sheets. They won't watch their budget every year.

I did that. It's a pain in the rear to watch what you have to do. But you know what? Every family does it. Every business does it. They have to live within their means.

But these -- these governors, they don't. They just borrow more money every year. They promise a pension plan. They don't fund it.

BASH: Senator, I want to turn to the issue of China.

You have had some pretty harsh words for China, both on the coronavirus outbreak and its latest restrictions on Hong Kong. You said, we're in -- quote -- "a new cold war, and the U.S. needs to fight against an adversary."

What should the U.S. response be? Should there be more tariffs? Should the president pull out of the trade deal?

SCOTT: Sure.

Number one, the most effective thing we can do is, if every American citizen would only buy things that they can in the United States, and never buy another thing made in communist China, that would be the biggest thing. It's bigger than all the sanctions, bigger than everything else we do.

All right? So, stop buying anything made from communist China, and do your best to buy things made in America, and we will get this economy going again faster.

But, on top of that, let's remember what they do. They steal our jobs, our technology. They put over a million people in prison for their religion. They -- they were not transparent in this pandemic. Americans lost their lives and lost their jobs.

So, we -- I have a bill that would allow them to -- allow the president to sanction them if they don't cooperate. We should not allow their students coming in here, if they're going to try to steal the technology for a vaccine. I have a bill for that.

But we have got to hold them accountable.

BASH: And -- but do you think that the president -- I mean, obviously, a big part of his campaign, his reelection campaign, is to be tough on China, and to claim that his opponent is not.

That's -- there are lots of fact-checks to go on there. But how can the president say that and not be tougher on China on some of the things that you just called for?

[09:45:10]

SCOTT: Well, I think they have got to hold them accountable on this trade deal.

It doesn't -- at least what I know so far is, they're -- China's not buying what they said they were going to buy. So, we have got to hold them accountable. We have got to continue to look at whether we need to add more tariffs to make sure American companies are not getting hurt.

So, we have -- I have talked to the trade representative to make sure that that's happening. So -- but we do everything we can to buy American, do everything we can to sanction them if they don't cooperate.

But I think -- I think -- I agree with you. I think this election, a lot is going to be about, one, who's going to be tougher on China. And I think Joe Biden has not been tough on China, and Donald Trump has.

I think it's also going to be about capitalism and socialism. And, clearly, Donald Trump clearly believes in capitalism more than Joe Biden ever has.

BASH: All right. All right, Senator, those are going to be discussions that we're going to be -- and debates that I know you're going to be having for a long time.

I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much.

SCOTT: Bye-bye. Have a good day.

Source