CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Adam Kinzinger

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

BLITZER: Important point. All right, Manu, thank you very much, Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill.

Joining us, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. He serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS: You bet.

BLITZER: Let's get to some of these issues.

Will you support President Trump and vote for tariffs on Mexico if it comes down to that?

KINZINGER: No, I don't intend to.

And here's the thing. And I need to stress this. There is a massive crisis on the border. I have actually worked it as a Guard pilot. I didn't just throw on a windbreaker and go get my picture taken. I worked it. It is a massive issue. It has to be addressed.

And, thus far, our friends on the other side of the aisle have refused to address it with us. And I hope, if the president does it, he's successful in getting Mexico to make a move.

But I don't think linking policy differences with a trade issue like tariffs is the right thing to do, for a couple of reasons. We're already in a pretty intense trade battle right now with China. It's the right battle to have with China. It should have been done 20 years ago.

There is a massive effect on my district and my district's farmers, on top of the fact that everything's flooding right now and they can't get the crops in the field. To now open a second trade battle with our largest trading partner would have a devastating effect on the people I represent.

And, frankly, I think it could give an opening for China to move into that market. So I support the president's assessment of the problem 100 percent. But what I don't like is the idea of using tariffs just because we have a policy disagreement, as massive as it may be.

BLITZER: And I know you're just back from the Air National Guard. You spent some active duty in the Reserves along the border, not far from the border with Mexico.

If this is still unclear, if it's still unclear, Congressman, that this is just a threat from the president, or if this tariff will hold at only 5 percent, or will it go all the way up to 25 percent in the following months, how do the farmers, the manufacturers plan around this, because the impact will be enormous, especially on your constituents?

KINZINGER: Yes, I mean, it's certainly a problem.

And keep in mind Mexico is now our largest trading partner. And so this has massive implications at a time when, frankly, my farmers are still very supportive of President Trump. They say it's costing them, but they understand that, on behalf of the country, we have to win this war and that China's targeting them because they're Trump's base.

So I think focusing on that one thing right now is the right thing to do and finding hopefully other carrots or sticks, whatever it takes, to get Mexico to play ball with us. They really need to. And I think there's a lot of things they can do.

But, like I said, if the president goes forward with this, I hope he succeeds, because it's a real problem. But I will have to do what's in the interest of my constituents if a vote is ever put before me.

But I'm also going to caveat that to say all the votes that the Democratic Party has put before us in the House, they have thrown some super political elements in there and I don't think really intend to do anything. So we will see what it ends up looking like.

BLITZER: Congressman, according to the Customs and Border Protection service, 133,000 people crossed the southern border illegally last month alone, including 11,000, 11,000, unaccompanied children.

And now the Department of Health and Human Services is actually scaling back activities for children due to this influx, in some cases canceling those activities altogether.

What needs to happen to address this, because this is a heart- wrenching situation?

KINZINGER: It is.

And this is, Wolf, why I think Republicans and Democrats have got to for a moment put our politics aside. I think this is -- this is fixable. I don't know all the answers. I'm going to be clear about that, because if I did, I would probably write an article and it would be adopted and everything.

But when you have a parent sending a minor up through cartel territory unaccompanied, 11,000 of them, first off, you got to wonder what's going on there, obviously a very desperate situation. But then you have a child that shows up. We literally run out of space. So you have two options.

You can call and see if they have a relative in the United States. If they don't want, one that we can get a hold of, you either have to hold on to them, send them back to the country of origin, or -- I mean, you can't walk into the middle of Dallas and release an 11-year- old child alone.

So this is the problem. It's not the Trump administration being mean. It's not the Obama administration, when they were doing it, being mean. It's the fact that there is really no option.

[18:15:03]

And so, yes, maybe more facilities, that kind of stuff. But the reality is, is, this migration problem is way overwhelming the infrastructure that we have, and it's going to take bipartisan agreement to fix it, and be damned the political consequences of it.

BLITZER: But, Congressman, you and I know this is a great country, and we have the capability to help 11,000 kids who are unaccompanied and make sure that they're safe and secure.

KINZINGER: Yes.

And whatever we can do, we ought to do that. Part of it is through not-for-profits that take care of these children, also seeing, of course, if they have parents there. At one point, they were talking about housing people at military bases. And that was controversial, because, oh, my gosh, it's a military base.

So the question is, yes, do we have the capability? We do. But that capability is not taking 11,000 children, putting them in strangers' homes in the United States, or releasing them out into the streets. You have to do something. And you have to prove, for the ones that do come up with parents, that it's actually their parents, because sometimes they will just grab an unaccompanied minor and say, this is my kid.

BLITZER: Let me turn into a different topic, as we commemorate D-Day.

President Trump, as you know, he never served in the U.S. military. But he says he's making up for that by rebuilding the U.S. military right now. You're a veteran. You're in the Air National Guard. You served

active duty only last week down in Texas. What do you make of that point that the president is making?

KINZINGER: Well, I don't think you can ever make up for not serving by doing anything.

We don't need everybody to serve. We don't want everybody to serve, but service is a special breed of people that ought to be honored and recognized for that.

I do think the president is rebuilding the military. And as a guy in the Guard, I can tell you my flying hours have increased, the training has increased. The morale has increased, because the funding is back. We're now investing in future weapons system, which we had dried up over the last 10 years, which is why China and Russia in some cases have parity on some of that.

So that's a good thing. But this is a moment where tomorrow we recognize the importance that America has had in the world. And I think it's an opportunity for all of us, Republicans and Democrats, to try to remember what it used to be like when we put politics at just inside the water and not outside of the water's edge and see if we can restore some of that.

Everybody bears responsibility for some of that. And if we as a country can take a deep breath, and just appreciate what we have done for the world and for the people that live here, that would be a good start at least.

BLITZER: Congressman Kinzinger, thanks so much for your service.

KINZINGER: You bet. Thanks, Wolf.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source