Fox News "Fox News Sunday" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Roy Blunt

Interview

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WALLACE: Kevin Corke reporting from Buenos Aires -- Kevin, thanks for that.

Joining us now with reaction to the meeting with President Xi is one of the Senate's Republican leaders, Roy Blunt.

Senator, as Kevin just reported, President Trump has agreed to pause any inquiries and tariffs or new tariffs for 90 days while we negotiate with the Chinese about trade issues, trade architecture, issues like trade technology and also about their buying more U.S. goods. But isn't that the kind of vague, nonspecific offer from the Chinese that the Trump administration has rejected in the past?

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), VICE CHAIR, REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE: Well, Chris, first, let me join all the Americans who express in such gratitude for President Bush in his life and his great example.

But on this topic, people like me who have really been concerned about the president's stated trade policy can take some encouragement about what happened in the last couple of days, the signing of the U.S., Canada, Mexico agreement. That's a big step that six months ago or even just a few weeks ago, we were concerned we would not be making that kind of progress. And on the Chinese front, you're exactly right.

But we need more specifics here. The ag products that come from my state, that come the middle of the country, I think the soybean exports to China have gone to virtually zero from about one out of every three rows of soybeans were being exported to China. So, whether it's those kinds of crops or pork or beef or chicken, we need to see some real specific figures here. This has hurt a lot of Missouri farm families and farm families all over the country.

But the president's goal to get China in a better and fairer place in trade is the right goal. I'm just hoping that what we've seen in the Canada, Mexico side of the ledger is now going to have the same kind of impact as we are negotiating seriously with China.

WALLACE: Do you worry -- and you kind of indicate you do, about the impact that the president's trade wars around the world, but especially with China, are having on the economy? We see the stock market jumping up and down. GM announced layoffs this week, that is going to close five plants and lay off 15,000 workers, do you worry that the president's trade policy is playing a role in all of that?

BLUNT: Well, I am concerned about it and the president knows that. He's been very open to talking with me about it but I think it's hard to win a trade war and I also think, though, that the facts on the table with China are stronger than any other country in terms of our legitimate concerns in the more other things that the president can move off the table, whether it's Canada, Mexico, the E.U., Japan, the more of those things he can move off the table, the more flexibility he has with China.

But I'd like to see China become the market that they should be for us, but I would also like to see China create the opportunities for American companies that invest there to do things besides just steal our intellectual property and violate the agreements that China has clearly made and doesn't stand up to.

WALLACE: Senator, President Trump also canceled his meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20. He said because of Russian aggression against Ukraine. But the Russians, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry suggested that the main reason, the real reason may be because of President Trump's domestic political problems, including new revelations from the special counsel.

Two questions about that, do you think that the special counsel's investigation has cast a cloud and made it more difficult for President Trump to do business on the world stage? And what you think of the fact -- because this is not the first time that Robert Mueller has announced some action just as the president was headed out on a foreign trip?

BLUNT: Well, you know, I haven't thought a lot about the Mueller thing here. I certainly do think that lying to the Intelligence Committee that I'm part of it is a big mistake for whoever does it and create lots of problems for the committee itself. You know, when you lie to a congressional committee, when you live to an investigation were hundreds and thousands of man-hours, people hours are being spent, the question you asked the next witness may be different, a witness you don't call may be somebody you would have called if you've gotten the right answer.

I'm glad to see the special prosecutor taking that particular crime seriously, but on the Russian front, I hope if the president did have any words to exchange with President Putin it was outrage about what the Russians are doing in Ukraine. It is totally unacceptable. The president I think announced that he wasn't going to have that meeting pretty quickly after what happened in Ukraine as were opposed to in response to anything else and if the president had a chance to talk to President Putin, I hope his talk was very frank and no holds barred that we are not going to accept the kind of activity that the Russians are looking at in Ukraine and Crimea and we better send a strong message about the rest of Eastern Europe.

WALLACE: Senator Blunt, thank you. Thanks for coming in.

BLUNT: Great to be with you.

WALLACE: Always good to talk with you, sir.

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