CNN "The Lead With Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview With South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford

Interview

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REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: He was my head political guy when I was governor. He reads the political winds very, very, very well.

And I didn't know if there was another shoe to drop from the Trump standpoint, Mueller standpoint, mid-election standpoint. But is it about exiting stage left before something comes on that front, something we don't know?

Or, on the contrary, is it something from her end? You know, all kinds of rumors are swirling down here in South Carolina. Is it, you know, this report that came out or this, I guess, letter of inquiry on private plane usage that came out, I guess, over the weekend or on Monday?

Is there something there she just wants to exit so she doesn't have to deal with that as a public figure? Other people are saying money. Other people are saying, no, what it is, is, Lindsey Graham is going to be appointed attorney general, and this is setting up so the governor can make the appointment with her to the U.S. Senate.

There are all kinds of rumors going on out there. All I know is that something is going on, probably more than meets the eye, given the timing of this particular announcement.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: What did you make of the fact that, at this event, which was obviously well-choreographed, she had submitted her letter of resignation last Wednesday, and it was announced today with her and President Trump together?

And she preemptively said to reporters, I'm not going to run for president in 2020? Obviously, there's speculation and a desire from some never-Trump Republicans that she challenge him. "I'm not going to run. The only thing I'm going to do in 2020 is campaign for President Trump."

What did you make of that?

SANFORD: It's the obvious. I mean, she's been a strong supporter, as is everybody on his team.

There's a real penalty that goes with going against the president. And one of the things you can't do is to challenge him too heartily. And we see a long list of folks who have left the administration because in some cases they have done so.

So I think it's simply the price of admission. And she knows where the bread is buttered, as does everybody in the administration. And you're going to say the appropriate thing at the appropriate time on your exit.

TAPPER: Obviously, you have been critical of President Trump, and I know, in your view, you paid a price for it when he endorsed your opponent during a Republican primary, and she defeated you narrowly. Do you think that Ambassador Haley has not stood up to President Trump sufficiently?

I have seen other people make the case that it was almost as if she was running a different foreign policy when it came to issues such as Russia.

SANFORD: Maybe there are a handful of very slight departures, but they have been nuanced, at best.

I think the reality of this administration -- again, in fairness to any administration out there -- is that you have got to toe the line on the big things. And I think she has done so, just as every other Cabinet member has done, based on the -- the absolute bearing that this president has on directions that he wants to go.

So I don't begrudge her that. It just is what it is.

TAPPER: What do you make of President Trump today, when asked about people floating the idea of his daughter Ivanka Trump serving as U.N. ambassador, he said she -- there is no one who would be more competent than her, she would do a great job, although he did seem to bemoan the fact that appointing his daughter would lead to accusations of nepotism, I guess mainly because it would actually be nepotism?

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: But what did you make of him basically saying there's no one that would be better at the job than my daughter?

SANFORD: Are you kidding me?

I mean, the nature of the American political system is that we have got roughly a pool of 300 million people to pull from, and we ought to. And there are a whole host of talented people, some with very considerable foreign policy experiences, that could be pulled from with a post like this.

And the idea of circling the wagons and saying, you know, we're going to run this like a -- again, a crime organization is not the right example. I'm not using that -- but we're just going to pick from family, is crazy. That is -- again, it's happened in a couple of instances in this country. It is the outlier, and I don't think it's a model that should be replicated, because it moves against this idea of meritocracy of ideas and instead to the idea of blood being the strongest of all ties.

Ultimately, what ought to tie us together in the political environment is the merit of her ideas and ability to advance those ideas in making arguments, rather than simply a blood tie.

TAPPER: What do you make of people making the argument that Nikki Haley might be a strong Republican candidate for president in 2024?

SANFORD: Well, I think that's the obvious.

I mean, I think she's running. I don't think Jon Lerner would be attached the way that she is to him for as long as he has been. I mean, that's in essence his job. That's what he focuses on, is the political world.

And I -- it would seem to me that she is running. I don't think you would find a lot of observers out there saying I don't think she's running. I mean, if it smells, tastes and looks like something, it probably is.

[16:35:10]

In this instance, you could look at a lot of different markers laid out, well done on her part -- again, she's very competent, and she, again, has done a good job in this posting -- that lay out I think a very strong road to the presidency in 2024.

TAPPER: All right, Republican Congressman Mark Sanford of South Carolina, always good to see you. Please send my regards to your sons, Marshall, Landon, Bobo and Blake.

SANFORD: You're phenomenal to remember them. I appreciate it.

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