CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript Interview with Chris Murphy

Interview

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Joining me now is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, whose new book, "The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy," is out now.

Great to see you, Senator Murphy.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Thanks a lot for having me.

BROWN: So, let's talk about these numbers.

As I mentioned, the overall crime is down, but murder is up. And we're seeing a spike in gun violence in some places, like New York City. That violence is separate from the racial justice movement we have seen going on in the country. So what do you think is going on right now? C. MURPHY: Well, in my book, I talk about the long-term trajectory of

violence in the world and in the United States.

And, overall, we have seen a pretty radical reduction in the amount of violence in this country and, over the very long term, a really radical reduction in violence all across the world.

But it goes up and it goes down. And in the United States, there's lots of data that suggests -- and I tell these stories in the book -- that violence tends to track poverty and easy access to guns.

And what we have seen in low-income neighborhoods this summer is economic desperation, as 30 to 40 percent of low-income workers have lost their jobs. And we have also seen gun sales spike. You saw record numbers of guns being sold in the spring of this year.

And I think it stands to reason that those two things put together have led to a spike in gun murders. I think the president's refusal to try to heal the nation and mount an effective COVID response is contributory.

But the long-term data would suggest that the factors we have seen this spring, lots of guns and lots of people out of work, were going to lead to increases in violence.

BROWN: All right, let's talk about the president and what we have seen from him recently, in the context of what we have seen this summer, the two people killed in Wisconsin at that protest after the shooting of Jacob Blake.

A 17-year-old suspect is now facing multiple homicide charges. And then there was another person killed in Portland. Unrest has been continuing for nearly 100 days there.

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President Trump likes to point to these and say, we have a law and order problem in this country. He says -- he often says that this is just in Democratic run cities.

Is there a law and order problem, or is there something else going on, in your view?

C. MURPHY: Well, the president has been celebrating violence since his campaign in 2016, when he cheered on his supporters who were beating up protesters at rallies, to his celebration of white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, to today his refusal to condemn a supporter of his who took an assault rifle into a protest and killed two people.

His responsibility is to condemn violence of all kinds. And I was proud of Joe Biden, who stood up the other day and said, listen, whether it's coming from supporters of mine or supporters of the president, there's no room for violence in this nation.

And so what I'd like to see is the president try to heal. Right now, I think he has made the decision that his reelection is dependent on there being more unrest and more chaos.

And so I think you're going to see him throwing fuel on the fire, rather than actually try to do things that would reduce the amount of violence we're seeing.

BROWN: Had a little technical issue there.

It's interesting. We had this new CNN poll come out, and it showed that more Biden supporters are actually concerned about crime in their communities vs. Trump voters. We see it right here, those numbers, 39 percent compared to 30 percent.

The Trump campaign is cutting an ad that Biden is weak on law. What do you think? Are Democrats losing on this issue?

C. MURPHY: Well, there's really no sign of that. We're seeing continued polls showing Joe Biden leading by near double digits.

And as he reminded the nation a few nights ago, during the Obama and Biden years, violent crime in this country went down by 15 percent. And we have seen that big spike in murders in American cities this year under Trump's watch.

Listen, we have to get to the root causes of the violence. My book certainly talks about the things you can do to make sure that there are less illegal weapons out there. But unless you really deal with the racist past and present of this country, the way in which white majorities have used violence to suppress communities of color, the way that poverty leads to violence, you're not going to make a difference here.

And so if you want a law and order president, then elect somebody who's going to be all about racial healing. Elect somebody who's going to lift people out of poverty. That's Joe Biden.

You want a law and order president dealing with the root causes of violence, and that's what our candidate, the Democratic candidate, is talking about.

BROWN: I want to ask you this before you go. It's hard even now to talk about, to think about, without getting emotional.

It's been nearly eight years since one of the most disturbing mass shootings in U.S. history, Sandy Hook. That was in your home state. Sorry. I'm a mom, and it just -- even just talking about it is tough.

As we know, 20 children and six adults were killed. You talk about the need to reduce the number of guns in the streets. But if Congress couldn't do anything after Sandy Hook or Parkland or Pulse nightclub, will they ever? Will there ever be change in that regard?

C. MURPHY: This book is not a book about Sandy Hook. It shows up in these pages. And the book is in part my story, my sort of political coming of age since Sandy Hook.

I have learned a lot about gun violence over the last seven years. And I try to share that in this book, so that others can become true activists in this cause.

And the reason is that, no, it didn't all change after 2012. Why? Because you need a political movement to rival that of the gun lobby. For 40 years, the NRA built up a political powerhouse that did end up defeating our efforts to institute mandatory comprehensive background checks in 2013.

But now our movement is bigger and stronger than the gun lobby. We passed a universal background checks bill in the House. We just have to get the numbers in the Senate. And my hope is that this book, "The Violence Inside Us," can act as a primer for people who want to become more educated on why violence happens in the United States and what to do about it.

It's not all about changing gun laws, but that gets you the most immediate impact. And I think we are on the precipice of being big enough and strong enough as a movement in order to get something passed in 2021.

BROWN: All right, Senator Chris Murphy, thank you so much.

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