CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript Interview with Tammy Duckworth
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Here now to discuss, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.
Senator, President Trump has now been given the opportunity multiple times to clean up his comments about white supremacist, who he never actually explicitly called out or said he didn't want their votes, as well as calling out the far right neo-fascist anti-Semitic group Proud Boys.
[16:05:00]
Instead, he says this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: ... done in New York. Like they have done in New York. I just told you.
QUESTION: But do you denounce them? Do you denounce...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I have always denounced any form, any form, any form of any of that. You have to denounce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: "Any form of any of that," but not specifically condemning what was being asked about.
What's your response? SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Utter disgust.
The president of the United States needs to condemn white supremacy.
Listen, I'm not surprised, though. I mean, you're talking about Donald Trump, the same guy who wouldn't condemn white supremacy in Charlottesville, and who, by the way, when he was a candidate in 2016 pretended that he did not know who David Duke was, former grand wizard of the KKK.
So it's not surprising. It's disgusting. It's especially disgusting when you think about the fact that this is the commander in chief of the United States military, right? And I think about all of our troops of color who are serving right now who have a commander in chief who refuses to condemn white supremacy. It's not acceptable.
TAPPER: And you represent Illinois, which has its own history of Nazis, neo-Nazis, in that state.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security say that racially motivated violent extremism is one of the deadliest threats we face in the U.S., specifically among racially violent extremism, far right white supremacist exactly -- specifically.
What would you like to see done about this threat?
DUCKWORTH: Well, first and foremost, we need a new president, right? We need a president who's actually going to condemn white supremacy.
And, by the way, this president has stoked racial divisions in this country. We have seen an increase in all sorts of violence that is racially motivated ever since Donald Trump became president. We have seen it against blacks. We have seen it against Jews. We have seen it against Muslims. We have seen it against Asian Americans.
And they have been -- everything that he can do to divide us as a nation, Donald Trump has worked very hard to stoke those divisions.
And so I want to see the president of the United States condemn white supremacy. But then I also want a president of the United States who is going to lead us out of this global pandemic that we're in, one who is going to reunite us, and then -- and also get us out of the economic crisis that we're in, a real leader who can be a true commander in chief to our military.
We don't have that in Donald Trump, and we will in Joe Biden.
TAPPER: I have noticed that there are some in the Democratic Party who harbor anti-Semitic -- I mean, Democratic officials specifically and Democratic activists who harbor anti-Semitic views.
Louis Farrakhan has allies in Congress. Is it important for Democrats -- and, obviously, based on what the FBI says, it's not as big a threat. So I don't want there to be any questions about equivalence in terms of the threat, but should Democrats call those individuals out as well? DUCKWORTH: Well, I condemn all form of racial violence. I personally
condemn white supremacy. I condemn violence and anti-Semitism.
I think that we, as a nation, are stronger when we come together. Our diversity makes us stronger. And the divisions and this nation that this president continues to stoke does not help us emerge from this pandemic. We have lost 200,000 American lives so far. We have at least another seven million who are COVID-positive, and still a president who does not do anything to help us lead -- lead us out of multiple crises he's led us into.
TAPPER: At a rally last night in Minnesota, Trump renewed attacks on freshmen Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: What is going on with Omar? I have been reading these reports for two years about how corrupt and crooked she is.
Let's get with it. Let's get with it.
How the hell -- then she tells us how to run our country. Can you believe it? How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: "Tells us how to run our country."
Now, people can take issue with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's views or her politics or individual remarks she's made that have been offensive. But the idea that this isn't her country, what's your reaction?
DUCKWORTH: This is typical of Trump and his supporters.
I mean, we recently saw them attack me and question my lineage in this country, whereas my family has served in uniform going back to the Revolution. This is what they do. They create others.
This president, his bread and butter is to create divisions within us, to turn us against each other. And we cannot allow that to happen. We cannot let him appeal to the worst instincts, especially in a time of crisis.
This is what authoritarian regimes do. This is what dictators do. This is what failed despots do. They find scapegoats to distract you from the real issues at hand. And the real issues are, this president is responsible for leading us into a failed response to a global pandemic that has now resulted in 200,000 dead Americans.
[16:10:00]
What does he -- Donald Trump want to distract us from? He wants to distract us from the fact that Americans right now can't pay their mortgage, can't pay their rent, don't have jobs. Our economy has tanked. And he still hasn't done anything.
So, don't play his game and don't let him distract you from the real issues at hand. We are not better off as a country today than we were four years ago. We have a chance for change, and people need to vote on November 3.
TAPPER: A quick question for you.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett is meeting with Republican senators today for the third straight day. You voted against her confirmation for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. You say you plan on voting the same way for her nomination to the Supreme Court.
Shouldn't you sit down with her first before deciding?
DUCKWORTH: Well, she's made it very clear in her support for groups that are against women's reproductive choices.
I will tell you, though, that the previous two Trump nominees refused to sit down with me. And so let me just tell you, I -- her support for groups in this latest report that say that the fertilized egg is a human life and that doctors who perform fertility treatments that may result in the destruction of a fertilized egg should be charged with a crime, I cannot support that.
My daughters -- my daughters were created with in vitro fertilization. And for her to supportive group that would say that my doctor, in creating my precious beautiful two girls, could be charged with manslaughter because one of those fertilized eggs was not viable is not acceptable.
And I'm going to -- you know what? It's not just about talking to her. It's about me talking to my colleagues on the Senate floor. I'm going to go and find all those Republicans who, when I brought my Maile Pearl onto the Senate floor at 9 days old, and they cooed over her and they hugged her and they thought how great it was to have the first baby on the United States Senate floor, I'm going to talk to them and say, if she -- this nominee has her way, there would be no more Mailes.
My daughter could not exist, because we would be putting my fertility doctors and the doctors who provide the hope of families, to create families and have children, they would put those doctors in jail. And I will not let that happen.
TAPPER: Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, thanks so much for your time, as always.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source