NBC "Meet the Press" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Interview
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CHUCK TODD:
--and sharing your views. Joining me now from Minneapolis on the other side of the aisle, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Senator, welcome back to Meet the Press.
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
Thanks, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
Let me stick to election security there. You heard Senator Blunt's concerns about the bill this week. It was essentially unmarked money. And it sounded like that was many of the Republicans there. What would you say in response to that? Essentially, he's saying he'd support more money if it's specified for what it is rather than an annual semi-entitlement. What do you say?
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
We were simply listening to the Secretary of States of the states in this nation. And they said that they needed more help. And we think it's paramount we act quickly, given that we now have the intelligence heads for the United States government in an unprecedented move all going to the White House and saying that this is happening now. We have a common set of facts. And that's why as we move forward, I'm glad that we were able to get the $380 million out to the states. 47 states now have their funding for things like backup paper ballots. But we also need to get the Secure Elections Act passed. And that's what my friend Roy Blunt was talking about there. We're going to be voting on that bill finally in committee. And that's going to allow us to require backup paper ballots of the 14 states that either have partial or don't have them at all.
CHUCK TODD:
Right. Let me get you to respond to something the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, said about this election. Take a listen, Senator.
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CHUCK TODD:
Senator, I have to say it's that last phrase that sort of sent a little bit of a shiver down my spine: "so that we can have a legitimate election." It wasn't a guarantee yet. How confident are you that the 2018 midterm elections are going to be legitimate?
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
I am very concerned that you could have a hack that finally went through. You have 21 states that were hacked into. They didn't find out about it for a year. And that's one of the reasons that we want to pass our bill, so that there's now a requirement that they tell the individual Secretary of States immediately so they can protect themselves. And I think you also have the fact that you've got the president undermining this on national TV. Still, after his security people, General Nakasone, that they go in front of the world, and they say this is happening, he says that night at a rally in Pennsylvania that it's a hoax. So, that concerns me. But at the same time, there are some very good people working on it. I'd love to see this broadened out, so we start to discuss also the threats to our power grid system, the threats to our financial system, because the Russians aren't just stopping at the election equipment.
CHUCK TODD:
Is the president's comments undermining national security when he does that?
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
I think they do because you've these people that are our security people, our intelligence people. When he stood next to Vladimir Putin in front of the world and really sided with him over the intelligence people, it sent that same message to the world. So, I wish he would listen to these people. But what we have right now is a common set of facts--
CHUCK TODD:
Yeah.
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
--between at least Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and a common purpose to protect our democracy.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. I want to get a couple political questions in here. I'm curious of your response to something Cynthia Nixon said this weekend at the Netroots conference, gathering of progressives, a lot 2020 chatter there, and we can get into that. But something she said about socialism. I'm curious of your reaction.
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CHUCK TODD:
What do you make of that? And where do Democratic Socialists fit in your Democratic party, Senator?
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
I make of it it that she's in a primary in New York state and running for office. But what I've seen in our party is that, yes, there are divides along certain issues, but what unites us is so much stronger, Chuck. We have a president in the White House where we need a check and balance. We have an administration that is actually down in Texas undermining this protection so that people don't get thrown off their insurance if they have a pre-existing condition. That unites us. What unites us is doing something about pharmaceutical prices. So that instead of what the president did, giving a speech and seeing their stock go up, that we actually bring those prices down. And I sit in those leadership meetings with everyone from Joe Manchin--
CHUCK TODD:
Right.
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
--to Bernie Sanders. And I see a lot more unity than I do divide.
CHUCK TODD:
Elizabeth Warren said something also yesterday. She said, "The criminal justice system, from start to finish, is essentially racist." You were a part of the criminal justice system, a former County prosecutor. That's a large charge. I understand where she's going there. Is that a fair hit?
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
For people who have been victimized and have been a victim of crime, they need a criminal justice system that works for them. And I have worked with a lot of very good prosecutors and very good police officers that do some of the hardest jobs every day. But we know that there is racism in the system that needs to be fixed, that's why we have started instituting body cameras, which is a great solution, doing things on eyewitness ID, and I think the solutions are there for us. We just have to reform the system.
CHUCK TODD:
Senator Klobuchar, as always, thank you for coming on, sharing your views.
SENATOR KLOBUCHAR:
Thank you.
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