CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Transcript Interview with Joni Ernst

Interview

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Well, joining me now is Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who served in Iraq, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, and the author of a new book, "Daughter of the Heartland."

And, Senator, we will talk about the book in a minute, but first want to talk about some things at the top of the news, including President Trump at Mount Rushmore on Friday night, and how he characterized what's happening in this country. Take a listen.

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TRUMP: Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.

No movement that seeks to dismantle these treasured American legacies can possibly have a love of America at its heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Senator, as somebody who is going to be on the ballot with the president in November, are you comfortable with that?

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): Well, I think that there is a great level of frustration across the United States all the way around.

And, as a combat veteran, as you stated, someone who has served this great nation, I truly believe that we do live in the greatest nation on the face of the planet, and we do have blemishes in our history. And we need to come together and have some very hard discussions about our past.

But the great thing about this nation is that we can learn from those blemishes, learn from those hard times in the past, and continue to evolve as a continually blessed nation. And, again, just we do live in the greatest nation on the face of the planet.

BASH: And...

ERNST: And I hope that others understand that.

BASH: And, Senator, as somebody who did fight in combat to protect the freedoms that you just talked about, would you agree, seeing what's happening out there, the protests, that the majority are actually peaceful, and not the way the president described them?

ERNST: Yes, I do think that there are so many peaceful protests.

And that's exactly the kind of discussion and exhibition that we want to see, peaceful protests. And I support those peaceful protesters.

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But what we can't allow is -- is violence and that type of disruption and destruction of whether it's personal or private property, public property. We can't allow that to happen.

But, again, we all need to come together, we need to sit down, and we need to have some very real, very hard discussions. If we want to improve our country, we all need to come together.

BASH: Well, one of the ways, I believe, that you and your fellow senators on both sides of the aisle attempted to start those discussions is with a must-pass military spending bill that the president is now threatening to veto because it would rename U.S. bases named after Confederate officers.

You sit on the Armed Services Committee. You support renaming those bases. Should the president sign the bill?

ERNST: Well, I absolutely believe that we need to have a discussion on this.

And, again, sometimes, those discussions are very hard. But I do believe that we should talk about these military bases that were named for generals that took up arms against the United States.

So, I welcome that discussion. I think we all should. And, again, we want to focus on the meaningful things that will move our country forward, but I don't believe in the destruction, again, of property.

If we're talking about statues that belong to other jurisdictions, those decisions should be made at that local level, not by those that are out there vandalizing that property.

So, again, hard discussions all the way around, but we need to have a little bit of peace across the nation. And we can only do that if we're all sitting down in discussions.

BASH: So, just to be clear, that's basically what the bill says, is to start the process.

Given that, should the president sign the bill?

ERNST: Well, I would love that he would sign the bill and move forward.

But, absolutely, we have to have the discussions. We have to do that. And if that's what will help, if we can all get together as stakeholders, then I think it's the right thing to do.

BASH: OK, Senator, let's turn to the coronavirus crisis.

Cases in your home state of Iowa have steadily risen for the last two weeks. You criticized President Obama in 2014 for his handling of the Ebola outbreak, saying that he showed -- quote -- "failed leadership."

Only two people in the U.S. died from Ebola. Right now, there are almost 130,000 Americans dead from coronavirus. So, if President Obama showed failed leadership then, do you think President Trump is showing failed leadership now?

ERNST: Well, I think we all have responsibility in stopping the spread.

And, certainly, I have heard some of the discussions earlier. Wearing a mask is entirely appropriate. Social distancing is entirely appropriate.

We have seen, I think, one additional death in the last 24 hours here in Iowa. So, it is something that we absolutely should be paying attention to. And we all should do our part to make sure that we are protecting others as well.

So, this is a virus that is not going to go away soon. We want to make sure that we are watching this and doing everything that we can as a federal government, including the research and development of therapeutics and vaccinations, to make sure that we are doing the right thing as a nation.

BASH: So, given the fact that one person died there, that's only half the number that died during Ebola, which you have said was failed leadership, is the president right now exhibiting failed leadership?

ERNST: Well, I -- no, I think that the president is stepping forward.

And we have Vice President Mike Pence that is spearheading the task force efforts on the coronavirus, and so understanding where this came from, how it developed.

Of course, the pushback that we got from the Democrats when the president did try to shut down travel from some of those hot spots, it was an extremely difficult environment to operate.

And, you know, we know different today than we did at the beginning of the spread of the virus, and we should continually learn from those efforts and make sure that we are doing the right thing by moving our nation forward, simple things, wearing a mask, making sure that we're washing our hands, but then, as federal government officials, making sure we're moving at warp speed to get to that vaccination.

BASH: Senator, I want to ask about domestic violence.

Experts say that it is likely becoming more frequent and severe because of the pandemic. I was really struck by how candid you were in your book about your abusive now ex-husband.

You wrote that: "I never meant for anybody to find out about the abuse." You thought the details would be locked away in the past.

As a survivor of domestic abuse yourself, what is your message to Americans at home dealing with this right now?

ERNST: Yes.

Certainly, we need to make sure that the resources are available for anyone who is in an abusive situation, to leave that abusive situation, if that's the right course of action for them.

[09:35:00]

We know, during the pandemic, being locked away at home, whether it's a spousal or partner abuse situation, or even child abuse, that this becomes a great concern for communities, for states and for the federal government, so, making sure that we are bolstering those resources, very important. But I say to anyone in an abusive situation, know the way to get out.

Know who you can turn to for support and making sure that you stay safe. You are the concern. Make sure you're safe.

BASH: That is important advice.

You say that the reason you wrote the book was to -- quote -- "share what is meant to be a woman running to have a place at the table," saying that women are the place where you see bipartisanship in Washington.

Election Day is four months away. You're tied with your -- you tied with your opponent in 2014 with women. Now you're down by 20 percentage points with women today.

What do you think the Republican Party is getting wrong with women right now?

ERNST: Well, one, don't pay attention to the polls. I think that's really important.

And the thing that I stay focused on is fighting for Iowa. Every day, I get up early and fight for Iowa. And there are certain things that I think are very important. And even before the pandemic, long ago, I started working on issues like child care and making sure that we are closing the gap in our child care deserts, especially our rules areas.

When you have moms that are out there working, especially our single moms, they have to know that they have safe child care for their kiddos, working on things like paid family leave. I have been working on this for a number of years, collaborating with others in the Senate to find a path forward.

All of those things are very, very important to women. But I would say as well, other things are important to women, too, as we have wonderful women out there serving in our work force, making sure that they have jobs to go to, as we are safely reopening the economy.

That will be a very important factor moving forward and many other things. And, as a woman, I'm also concerned about our national defense, I mean, their -- the economy. Those are all things that are important to women.

So, as long as we are focusing on those, we should be OK.

BASH: Senator, before I let you go, I just want to say that, at the end of your book, you really open up, and you're pretty raw about your feelings during your divorce, failure, how hurt you were.

And these are some things that we don't normally hear from politicians, especially female politicians. Real quick, what made you decide to open up and be as vulnerable as you are in your book?

ERNST: Well, I think it's important to understand that so many other women and men will go through these types of situations. And after the information about the abuse became public through the

divorce, I had so many folks that reached out to me and said: "Joni, I can't believe that you have been through this and you went on to become a battalion commander. You went on to become a United States senator."

And it gave these women hope that there was a better future. And I want others to understand that, too, that we don't have to be defined by those tough challenges in our life, and we can drive on and find joy in our lives.

BASH: Senator, thank you. Thank you for your service, and hope you have a meaningful holiday weekend.

ERNST: Yes, thank you, Dana, so much.

BASH: Thank you.

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