MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: 2016 Presidential Election
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. That was Democrat Claire
McCaskill on election night in 2006 when she became the first woman ever
elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. Anyway, Senator McCaskill was
reelected in 2012 in a state Barack Obama lost that year by 10 points.
Well, that year, Republicans made her their chief target nationwide.
Well, now Senator McCaskill, who holds President Harry Truman`s U.S. Senate
seat, is out with her memoir, "Plenty Ladylike" -- that`s the name of it --
in which she recounts her life story and gutsy political journey.
Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill joins us right now. Thank you so
much. Anyway, Senator, welcome, and congratulations on the book.
MCCASKILL: Thanks, Chris.
MATTHEWS: You took a big risk in 2008 endorsing Barack Obama over
Hillary Clinton. You wrote -- write in your new book, "The national
women`s groups that considered my election a product of their handiwork
were furious at the possibility of my backing Obama."
And after you endorsed him over Hillary, you write, quote, "People
across the country, especially women, were very upset. Some wanted their
campaign contributions returned. In fact, one group told me never to
contact them again."
You also say that you told "The Atlantic`s" Jeff Goldberg that Hillary
in 2008 would be fatal for other Democrats on the ballot, saying, "The
Democratic Party has to look at candidates who can be competitive in all 50
states."
And finally, you write about something you said about the Clintons on
"MEET THE PRESS" during your Senate race. Let`s listen.
(VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Wow. Well, this time, you`re an early Hillary supporter,
in fact, endorser. Tell us about Hillary and your evolution toward
becoming a gung-ho Hillary Clinton backer after opposing her last time.
MCCASKILL: Well, last time, it was a hard choice. We had two
historic candidates, two amazing candidates. This time, it`s not so hard.
We have one candidate that has the strength and the stability to lead this
country. She`s come out with amazing substantive proposals that will help
Missourians, that will help the middle class in this country.
She is the right leader at a time when our world is very dangerous and
complicated. So I think she is head and shoulders above the field, and I`m
excited to work on her behalf.
MATTHEWS: What`s the trick to winning a state that could easily go
the other way in a Senate race? I mean, I always think the people that run
in tough states for a Democrat or a Republican, where you have to appeal
across the line to get a majority, learn a lot more about politics than
those who just grow up and spend their lives in safe seats. Your thoughts.
MCCASKILL: Well, it`s easier for me because I`m truly a moderate. I
love to forge compromise. It`s not unusual for the far left and the far
right to both be mad at me at the same time.
And frankly, we need more people that are comfortable with that
because that`s how you get people to come in from the edges and really work
things out. That`s why so many people, Chris, are so mad at the government
because it`s dysfunctional. And they`re gravitating towards outsiders
because they have, I believe, a misplaced belief that somehow, these
outsiders can change our Constitution and the checks and balances of our
government.
But it really takes moderates to get this done, and that`s what I
think you have to be in a state like Missouri.
MATTHEWS: What would happen if Bernie Sanders were to pull an upset,
lightning upset, and defeat Hillary Clinton? Would he win in Missouri?
MCCASKILL: Oh, I -- you know, it depends on who the Republican
nominee is.
Obviously, there`s a cast of thousands over there. And we can`t tell
at this point. Eventually, the circus will leave town, and they will
narrow it down to two or three candidates.
MATTHEWS: OK. Suppose the circus sticks around?
(LAUGHTER)
MATTHEWS: Suppose it is Donald Trump against Bernie Sanders in the
middle of the country of Missouri. Is that too hard to imagine?
(CROSSTALK)
MCCASKILL: Ay yi yi. I`m going on a long vacation if that`s the
case.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCASKILL: That`s hard. I don`t know who wins that.
I think Bernie Sanders wins that, because I think he has got
substantive issues he cares about.
MATTHEWS: Let`s talk about someone who everybody likes who is being
talked about. You`re right in the middle of it, even if you`re on a book
tour with this great book "Plenty Ladylike."
Joe Biden. Personally, I home he doesn`t run, because I don`t think
he can beat Hillary Clinton and I`m not sure it is a great fight to have
right now. But it seems like it`s still a possibility. What do you think?
Is it something he should do?
MCCASKILL: I feel exactly the way you do. I love Joe. I feel
protective of him.
I worry that I don`t know what he pulls away from Hillary Clinton. I
don`t know how he is really competitive in the long run, because, once you
get in, then all the guns start getting -- everybody starts aiming at you
with all the negative.
I don`t think people realize the amount of incoming that Hillary
Clinton is taking right now. Everyone is shooting, literally -- not
literally, obviously -- figuratively, everyone is aiming all of the
negative at her.
And if Joe gets in, then some of that will begin to be directed at
him. And I -- you know what? If he gets in, that is fine. And I love
Bernie. And Bernie is talking about things we need to be talking about.
And Hillary Clinton has to earn this nomination. And she knows that. She
can`t just walk in.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I do -- I`m not supposed to, but I do sympathize with the
situation she is in intellectually, because as one of our smart producers
said yesterday, it`s not that they`re looking for a smoking gun. They may
never have one or even know what they`re looking for. They don`t even know
what the gun looks like or they -- they don`t even know what the -- as long
as they have this smoke cloud around her.
And so every time they get her in a press conference, they start
jumping on her about -- they just yell Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. And
then they yell e-mail, e-mail, e-mail. It`s a smoke cloud around her that
is hard to fight your way out of, because there`s not a gun you can say
isn`t there, because you don`t -- they don`t even know what the gun is.
What are they looking for? How do you deal with that in terms of
press relations? Like, she had this trouble the other day.
MCCASKILL: Well, I think, first of all, she has got to fight through
it. She has got to fight back. She has got to be strong and assertive.
And at the end of the day, what they`re really asking Americans to
believe is that Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, somehow wanted to
harm Americans serving abroad as part of her organization, or that she
wanted the Chinese to be able to hack into our systems?
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MCCASKILL: I mean, I think, at the end of the day, a lot of this
becomes noise. And look at her numbers, still, Chris.
MATTHEWS: I know.
MCCASKILL: People talk about her unfavorables. Her unfavorables are
much lower than Donald Trump`s.
Everybody is talking about Donald Trump that, oh, he`s great and he`s
doing so great. His unfavorables are much higher than Hillary Clinton`s.
MATTHEWS: Yes. I know they`re pushing this. I know what they`re
pushing.
MCCASKILL: And, by the way, he`s got 20 percent of the vote? That
means 80 percent of the vote is against him. So, I mean, perspective here
and context matters.
MATTHEWS: I think they like to push the image, though they don`t have
to say it, just the night that Chris Stevens was killed over in Benghazi,
and the other three people, other three Americans, she had her feet up on
the desk. She was having a Schnapps or something. I don`t know what
they`re trying to argue.
That she wasn`t paying attention, she didn`t care, she didn`t answer
the phone? I think everybody knows she worked like hell to save that guy.
You know it is an absurdity.
MCCASKILL: Of course she did.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about Donald Trump. I have been following
politics like forever, since I was 5 years old.
And everybody came -- all the master of the cloth hall, the old
experts around here, said, oh, he`s not going anywhere. He`s just a cloud
of dust. It is all going to go away by September. And he is still there.
And he`s winning in Florida now, beating Bush, beating Rubio, beating all
the established big shots of the Republican Party. Is he real or not?
MCCASKILL: Well, every time somebody who is kind of the Washington
culture says he`s not real, it makes him stronger, because what people are
reacting to is in fact the Washington culture.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MCCASKILL: And I respect that. I mean, people -- I may not respect
how Donald Trump is running for president, without substance, with rhetoric
and aren`t I wonderful, and kind of anything I can do to get attention, but
I respect that people who are gravitating toward him, because they want
Washington to work differently.
They are frustrated, cynical, angry and very negative about their
government. And I completely get that part.
MATTHEWS: You`re my kind of politician.
By the way, here`s Sheryl Sandberg selling your book here. I will let
her -- use her words, "a brilliant memoir that nearly explodes with
encouragement for women on how to achieve their dreams for women."
It`s so great. What a great role model you are, Senator Claire
McCaskill, elected twice from Missouri. "Plenty Ladylike," it`s her
memoir.
Good luck with it on the road.
MCCASKILL: Thanks, Chris.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source