CNN "The Lead With Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois

Interview

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We are back with our politics lead. The final push to the midterm elections.

Joining me now is Democratic whip, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senator, good to see you, as always. Thanks so much.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Good to be with you.

TAPPER: So, President Trump just coined a new rallying cry, saying that Republicans create jobs and Democrats create mobs. Obviously, he's trying to play into the feelings that Republicans had during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

Are you worried that Kavanaugh's bitter confirmation battle might help motivate Republican turnout?

DURBIN: I listened to the president's plea at these rallies, and rallies are kind of standard fare as we get close to an election. I can't believe this mob rule charge.

I have three words for the president: Lock her up. Rally after rally, his supporters are out there screaming lock her up, every time he mentions a Democrat, particularly if it's a Democratic woman. And here we have a situation where the president goes to Montana and praises, again, a Republican congressman for body-slamming a reporter and we're supposed to be the mob? Give me a break.

TAPPER: Well, let me ask you about that. Because he did praise a Republican congressman and seemed to joke about his assault of a reporter in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and had to do community service and anger management training, pay a fine, et cetera.

[16:20:07] This afternoon, Republican House majority whip, Steve Scalise, who obviously was a victim of a politically motivated shooting said that President Trump was just joking, and people shouldn't make a big deal out of it. He went on to say, quote, it's irresponsible for the mainstream media to create a false equivalence between this and Democrat leaders in Washington regularly using threatening rhetoric to call in their support to harass Trump officials, supporters and Republican members and candidates. Scalise continued to say, this is about which party has the best ideas, not which party has the most bullies.

Your response?

DURBIN: I like Steve. And I respect his comeback from a very grievous gunshot injury. But I want to tell him this -- I abhor this kind of uncivil, coarse conduct on both sides, both political sides. And I wish every voter would too.

Neither party has a monopoly on good behavior or bad behavior. We ought to encourage candidates who are civil to one another and address the issues and reject those that don't, period.

TAPPER: The president has seized on illegal immigration as a campaign issue. He's been talking a lot about the caravan. Frankly, he's been doing this since day one of his presidential campaign, back in 2015. There are a lot of Democratic strategists who are concerned this rhetoric works in rallying the base and Democrats are not able to turn out Latino voters.

Do you agree?

DURBIN: Well, I can tell you the turnout of Latino voters even in the city of Chicago, which has a large population is disappointing. We wish it were larger. Sometimes it's very difficult for them to move to naturalized citizenship status, because of the time involved, the cost involved.

Having said that, there is no excuse for trying to exploit the situation at the border. This president was given an opportunity to join in a bipartisan negotiation for a comprehensive immigration bill and he rejected it. What he's doing is trying to exploit this issue a few days before the election, and I think it's pretty transparent.

TAPPER: I want to turn now to the apparent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudis have been murdering people, innocent people, and turning a blind eye to human rights for decades. Why do you think this moment is different than when, for instance, the Saudis bombed and killed a school bus full of children in Yemen?

DURBIN: Play the videotape. The fact that that man entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and was never seen again really leads us to the inescapable conclusion that something awful has happened to him. The Saudis have been unable to explain it.

Just a week ago, I got a call from their leader's brother who told me there was a real investigation under way. Still, we don't know what's happened.

Apparently, I think the conclusion is inescapable. He was kidnapped, tortured, murdered, maybe even dismembered. That is an outrage. And we shouldn't view that as business as usual with any country, let alone one that calls us their ally.

Do you know at this time that the United States taxpayers are subsidizing the fueling of Saudi bombers, going into Yemen, killing innocent civilians there? That should stop immediately. And then we ought to sit down under the Magnitsky profile and the Magnitsky rules that we have established in Congress, signed by the president, and establish the sanctions that will be imposed in the Saudis for this conduct.

TAPPER: You released a letter, demanding that President Trump reveal any business ties he may ha to Saudi Arabia. The president says he has no business interests in Saudi Arabia. Do you have any evidence that his businesses or business interests have impacted his response to this controversy and this tragedy?

DURBIN: Well, I would sure like to see some income tax returns, wouldn't you? I mean, when it comes right down to it, this president has been opaque, he has been resistant to any disclosure that could dispel these conflicts of interest. We know he had extensive interest in Russia, interest in Saudi Arabia. We don't know how far they went or whether any exist as of today.

Most presidents would have stepped forward a long time ago and said, I want to clear my name. Here's the evidence. Here are my tax returns. Not President Trump.

TAPPER: Senate minority whip, Dick Durbin of Illinois, thanks so much for your time, sir. Have a good weekend.

DURBIN: Thanks, Jake.

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