CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript Interview with Chris Coons
Interview
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Joining us now the person who will introduce the former vice president later tonight, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.
Senator Coons, thanks so much for joining us.
From what I understand, your speech will focus in at least in part on faith. Faith is obviously a large part of the Biden's lives, he and his wife Jill Biden practicing Catholics. So, what will your message be tonight? You're going to have a huge audience out there.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Wolf, that's right. Thanks for a chance to be on with you. I am excited. This has been a great convention, a great week. And I'm
blessed to have an opportunity tonight to introduce Americans to this side of Joe Biden, to someone I've known and watched and followed for 30 years.
I've seen how in moments of joy and of triumph he's turned to prayer, and I've seen how in moments of great loss and deep suffering, he's turned to God for strength, for solace, and for the ability to get up and go -- go on with his life after a loss that defined his early time in the Senate and after the loss recently of his beloved son five years ago.
I think that's important, Wolf, because tens of millions of Americans right now are going through very hard times. More than a million people filed for unemployment last week. We've had 170,000 Americans die in this pandemic, often alone. And so many of us are anxious or concerned about our children going back to school or college, about our parents or -- friends or family possibly be sickened whether in senior centers or in their homes.
So, Joe's compassion, Joe's positive and optimistic view and his empathy is important for us getting through this. And I want us to have the chance tonight to help people see how that's rooted in his faith.
BLITZER: Not long ago, as you know, Senator, President Trump claimed that Vice President Biden wants to, quote, hurt God, his quote is hurt God. Do you expect faith to play an increasingly prominent role in the campaign over the next two months?
COONS: Well, Wolf, one of the things I'll say tonight is I think bears repeating is that for too long, Democrats have been retiring, shy, quiet about our faith and about the ways in which our faith inspires us to act. That's certainly true with Joe Biden.
I think it's important that we see the original founding sin of our nation, slavery and racial justice as equally faith issues in this election as the social issues that, since the '80s, have been defined as the religious issues in an election.
So, whether or not we have a just and human immigration policy, whether or not we are good stewards of creation and confront climate change, whether or not we treat each other as children of God, these to me are all important issues in the election.
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And they should be understand -- understood as issues that for Americans motivated by faith should implicate their decisions at the voting booth in November.
BLITZER: Senator, thanks so much for joining us. We'll look forward to your remarks later tonight. Appreciate it very much.
COONS: Thank you, Wolf.
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